Reacher Season 4 Does One Thing Better Than Most Modern TV Shows

Warning: This article contains spoilers for "Reacher" Season 4 Episodes 1-3.

Alan Ritchson's title character has abided by an unbending moral code right from the start of the Prime Video series, an approach that reflects Jack Reacher's (largely) unchanging lifestyle of choice. He wanders into a new locale, chances upon a crime that catches his attention, and recruits a capable team of allies to help him set wrongs right — and sleeps with an incredibly capable, impossibly attractive new friend along the way. Season 4 of "Reacher" doesn't deviate from this formula, but it never needed to. There's nothing inherently flawed about abiding by certain tropes and trends within a given franchise, after all. It's simply about how the creative team colors in the spaces between those lines, and showrunner Nick Santora and his writers have done exactly that.

With the first three episodes of the new season dropping at once, viewers have been given an even grander look at how "Reacher" is getting the job done in style. This time, the action shifts to the not-so-friendly confines of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Reacher witnesses Anna Merrick (Karen Kwong-Chip) take her own life on a late-night subway trip to nowhere. This shocking burst of violence adds a charge to this year's adventure (as every season premiere has done so far, to be fair), but even this puts a twist on the usual "Reacher" M.O. His failure to help a person in need lends a new strain of emotional distress behind his obsessive interest in the case, which in turn makes us that much more invested in everything that follows.

By the end of Episode 3, it's clear that "Reacher" is doing what modern television so often fails to do —make smart, creative choices within an established framework.

Anyone who's watched even just a few episodes of procedurals like "JAG," "NCIS," or "Law & Order" knows that TV has always found a way to thrive amid very consistent routines. Audiences tend to crave comfort and familiarity above all else, which helps explain why "Reacher" has managed to translate the success of author Lee Child's best-selling series of novels into one of Prime Video's most reliable hits in all of streaming these days. The appeal of seeing a walking, talking tank like Jack Reacher lay waste to hordes of unambiguous bad guys with his bare knuckles speaks for itself. It's really as simple as that.

But don't mistake simplicity for laziness, however. "Reacher" could've taken the easy way out, coasting on the built-in appeal of its main lead and the track record it's built up. Instead, Season 4 goes out of its way to perfect its own formula and find new, interesting ways to keep viewers invested. For instance, Reacher's ability to annoy every authority figure in his immediate vicinity has always been a blast to watch. But here, his endless wisecracking early in the premiere actually serves an important purpose: allowing him to prove he's also the smartest person in the room and deftly make crime-scene observations that would put Sherlock Holmes himself to shame. Or how about Episode 2, titled "Cage Fight," which takes several beats to humanize the victim's brother Jacob Merrick (Chris Marquette) and flesh out one of Reacher's most important allies this season (along with Sydelle Noel's burned-out detective Tamara Green).

None of this is particularly novel, but the way in which "Reacher" Season 4 makes even the most minor, tropey moments feel real and meaningful is a treat to watch. 

Perhaps the most impressive element in the early going, however, might be "Reacher" Season 4's most predictable moment yet in Episode 3, "One Small Step." Naturally, viewers had to know that from the moment Agnez Mo's Lila Hoth arrived on the scene and seemed to be sizing up Jack Reacher (and vice versa), the two were destined to, well, come together. And the way this goes down — er, pardon the turn of phrase — is as classically "Reacher" as it gets. While patching himself up after the gnarly, knock-down bowling alley brawl (even more brutal than the "John Wick"-like library fight), a shirtless Reacher answers his door to find Lila waiting for him. What comes next might as well be written on the wall. But, even here, the writers make this more than simply checking an item off their to-do list.

Rather than beat around the bush (get your mind out of the gutter), episode writers Seth Cohen and Amy Pocha treat this with a self-aware sense of humor and make it feel like more than just an obligatory hook-up. Clearly unhappy about having to initially deceive Reacher about her true purpose as a journalist, Lila makes up for it by sharing the significance of her mother's bracelet that she wears. The two bond over their shared inability to get over how they each failed Anna and the guilt they now carry — a recurring theme that defines much of Reacher's actions throughout the season to come.

Such basic character-building used to be common enough strength throughout TV, but "Reacher" is quietly bringing it back, proving that modern tastes and old-fashioned storytelling can still coexist.

New episodes stream on Prime Video every Wednesday.