When I first saw Amazon was adapting the popular book series by Lee Child, I had some trepidations. That was until I I saw season 1 of the series. Alan Richson was someone I had known from various other shows in the past, but he came into his own in this show. I truly believe he was the perfect casting for Jack Reacher. Season 3 of the series solidified that even more for me. I loved the 3rd season of this show.

As always, retired Military Police Investigator Jack Reacher (Alan Rishson) is in a new town at the beginning of the season, and this time, he’s in Portland, Maine. Based on Persuader, the 7th novel in the Child book series, Reacher, as he likes to be addressed, ends up stopping a kidnapping attempt by a Nam, but it’s a trick to get Jack Reacher to gain the trust of the young man in question and his father, (Anthony Michael Hall) a rug merchant, who he needs to get close to. He ends up working for a DEA agent named Duffy(Sonya Cassidy) and her team. There is more to the story, but if I say anymore, it’ll be reaching, no pun intended,  into spoiler territory. 

In the first season, it was contained to a small town in Georgia, and the second season was mainly based in New York, but extended to other places showing the budget was bigger in season two. Season three, though, mainly sticks to Maine except one episode set in California and another episode that features returning character Neagley (Maria Sten) in Chicago. The Atlantic Ocean is used very prevalently as a backdrop. The main set is a house along cliffs overlooking the ocean. It’s a beautiful setting for season 3 of the show.

Being that season three takes place in Maine, you know you’re going to get a lot of things that remind you of the North East or New England in general.  The first is donuts, which are synonymous with New England. Dunkin’ Donuts is a popular chain that serves them. One of the main characters has a distinct Boston accent, and lobster rolls are handed out in one instance as dinner for Reacher and his new friends. New England is a character in this season of the show for sure.

With the title of the series being called Reacher, you gotta get all the Reacher-isms in here for fans of the books and new fans of the show. Three things this character is known for are his size, toothbrush, and cash he keeps in his pocket to get from place to place. Some new things each season has introduced are his constant appetite, his need for sleep when he’s tired, and a sense of humor previous Seasons didn’t have. This season has been pretty funny. I’m glad it’s not a cookie cutter of previous seasons. That’s a good thing.

Reacher has some unfinished business with a past adversary, but that’s just one of the subplots in this season. The writing by Cait Duffy, Nick Santora, and others is very good. They adapt Child’s book impeccably well. The direction by Sam Hill is also very good. I felt the show didn’t lose me at all during 8 episodes. All the subplots and character development came together nicely in the end. That’s  what I like to see from this series.

Alan Richson has made this character his own. It’s like an old pair of jeans you keep wearing because they fit so well. He fits this character so well. I’m glad Amazon is adapting these books and casting him in the role. He is perfect as Jack Reacher, way better than Tom Cruise, because he looks the part, and he was able to make people know him for this role. He is so recognizable as this character now. If you didn’t know, you wouldn’t have known he played any other role. He’s so indelibly linked to this character that itt’s a good thing.

One thing you know you’re going to get with a Reacher film or show in this case is action scenes and fight sequences. This season there is a lot of gun play. Mainly, towards the end of the season, there are some big action scenes. One in particular that I loved was a fight scene between Reacher and a giant thug named Paulie (Oliver Richters). This may have been the best fight scene in the show thus far. These guys almost drowned, they hit each other with everything, including the kitchen sink, and fought everywhere in the villains compound. I had a blast watching this sequence.

Reacher Season 3 is right up the same alley as the previous two seasons and has a good story based on the Child’s book series and the cast is all respectable in every one of the roles. In the end the show is called Reacher and Alan Richson has made this character his own.  He owns the screen every scene he’s in. This season a funny banter between he and a few of the other characters has made the show more humorous than the previous two seasons. That’s a good thing. There is a fine balance between the humorous stuff and serious life-threatening sequences. In the end I knew he was coming back so I didn’t take that too seriously. I enjoyed Reacher Season 3. It has become like a comfortable couch to sit on. 

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen