Diksha Sundriyal
Prime Video’s action crime drama series, ‘Reacher,’ follows the story of a lone wolf named Jack Reacher, who lives a drifter lifestyle. In the third season, he lands himself in Abbotsville, Maine, where he stops the kidnapping of a college student named Richard Beck. At first glance, it seems to be something completely in line with Reacher’s character, but then more details about Richard’s father and his business come to light, and it becomes clear that there is more to the story. With Nick Santora serving as its showrunner, the series is known to deliver high-stakes drama with a lot of action-packed sequences. The third chapter in Reacher’s story taps into something similar.
Reacher Season 3 Explores More of the Protagonist’s Lone Wolf Nature
Each season of ‘Reacher’ is based on a book in the series written by Lee Child. The third season adapts the seventh book in the Jack Reacher series, titled ‘Persuader.’ First published in 2003, the story is a classic Reacher tale where he walks into a town and fights the bad guy, but what makes it even more interesting is that here, he truly is on his own. He goes undercover to bust a crime ring while also chasing an enemy from the past. Because he is surrounded by enemies all the time and the risk of getting killed is much higher, the stakes are raised, which is why this book serves as the perfect plot for the third season.
Talking about the choice to adapt ‘Persuader’ for the third season, Lee Child revealed that this had always been the plan. The creators of the show wanted the first two seasons to be introductory for the audience so that they would get to know Reacher on different levels. The first season focuses on his family, particularly on his brother, while the second season is about his professional family, with the Special Investigators called back into action. Both seasons build a strong repertoire for the character, which is why the third season sheds all of that familiarity and takes him into a completely new territory.
In writing ‘Persuader,’ Lee Child wanted the protagonist to be challenged in ways he hadn’t before. Apart from being surrounded by the wolves at all times, another level of danger was added to the plot in the form of Paulie. Reacher, himself, is a huge guy whose presence is intimidating to his enemies and whose one punch is enough to end a fight. However, in Paulie, he not only meets his match, but he meets someone who might actually be able to take him down. Paulie’s presence also creates a sense of foreboding, where we know that the fight between the two of them is bound to happen at some point, which adds another level of excitement to the story.
The Fictional Richard Beck Adds the Heart to the Story
Apart from being all about solving crimes and punching bad guys, Reacher also has a soft spot for things and people, and it comes out once in a while. With bad guys in abundance in the third season, Richard Beck serves as the emotional core of the story. He and Reacher bond with each other, and the man comes to care for the boy, even though his father is a criminal. It was for this emotional depth that Lee Child created the character, which also allowed him to make Zachary Beck’s story more complex than that of a simple bad guy. The twists and turns in the story reveal that there is more to Zachary’s decision to do all the bad business that has brought him under the scrutiny of the law, and protecting his son is one of the major motivations behind it. With this, the Becks become more sympathetic and relatable three-dimensional characters, and it is easier for the audience to root for them despite everything.
Read More: Reacher Season 3 Episode 1, 2 and 3 Recap: Trouble Finds Reacher Once Again
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