'Reacher' reloads for a second season, and it's just as good

There's an unusual amount of time spent in 'Reacher' where the lead character, played with unyielding intensity by Alan Ritchson, is made to correct people.

He's not Mr. Reacher, or Jack Reacher, or anything else. He's Reacher. The simplicity of it, the sheer uncompromising nature of it, is something that feels distinctively unique in modern crime shows. It's often the case in Nordic noirs that the central detective is haunted by some horrifying past that lingers into the present, or a shady deal once upon a time that comes back to haunt them in a later season.

Much of the second season of 'Reacher' concerns the ex-Army investigator reconnecting with his old comrades in the 110th Special Investigations Unit and a conspiracy involving arms dealers and one of said old comrades. For the most part, however, you're just watching and waiting for Reacher to start beating the shit out of people while piecing the whole thing together. That simplicity is pure pulp noir, along the lines of Mickey Spillane and Mike Hammer. Like Spillane's creation, Reacher is a veteran who just barely suppresses the violent rage and the misanthropic hatred he feels - and channels into finding out who did whatever crime was committed through the course of the show.

Given the somewhat surprising success of the first season, the second season keeps things more or less along the same line. This time around, however, there's a noticeable bump in the budget. The cast is bigger, the locations are slightly more exotic - actually shooting in New York, for example - and Ritchson as well has become more confident in the role. Where there was a certain blankness in the first season, now we find Reacher a lot more rough and saltier than he was in the last season. Beyond that, however, it's business as usual. Taken from 'Bad Luck and Trouble', the second season has the same level of meticulous detail and connective tissue that made the first season so engaging and fun.

While the season might suffer from some pacing issues, particularly in the later episodes, there's no denying that 'Reacher' makes for a sharp slice of grisly pulp thriller that is so often dazzled with bells and whistles. Here, there's no need for any of it. The writing is strong enough, and the characterisation by Ritchson and the cast is lucid to make it compelling without any of it. Yes, it's a little silly in parts, and it's over-the-top in other parts, but that's sort of the fun of it. 'Reacher' never over-extends itself. Pun intended.

The first three episodes of 'Reacher' Season 2 are available on Prime Video and runs until January 19th, 2024.