Reacher Season 1 Ending, Explained

Highlights

• Alan Ritchson impresses as Jack Reacher, bringing justice to a town while maintaining a romantic relationship.
• Reacher takes down a corrupt operation involving counterfeit money and avenges his brother’s murder.
• Season 1 ends with Reacher leaving Margrave, setting up for Season 2 based on Lee Child’s “Bad Luck and Trouble.”

Alan Ritchson earned rave reviews for his performance in the first season of Reacher on Amazon Prime. The show is based on the Lee Child book series, which has amassed 26 novels in total. Ritchson took on the role of Jack Reacher, following on from Tom Cruise, who played the titular hero in two movies in 2012 and 2016. The first season is based on the book, Killing Floor, which was also the very first entry in the book series. The second season of Reacher will be released on December 15th on Amazon Prime, premiering with the first 3 episodes on that day. It will then release week to week, with the finale on January 19. The season will consist of 8 episodes in total.

Alan Ritchson was joined in the crime action show’s debut season by Malcolm Goodwin as Detective Oscar Finlay, Willa Fitzgerald as Roscoe Conklin, Chris Webster as KJ and Willie C. Carpenter as Mosley. Fans of the books were delighted to get a new iteration of the Reacher character after expressing disappointment with the two movies starring Tom Cruise, as they weren’t particularly faithful to the character. In Alan Ritchson, the series has the perfect actor for Jack Reacher.

RELATED: Reacher: Season 2- What To Expect

How does Reacher Season 1 end?

Jack Reacher has his suspicions about the three-man team at the center of the illegal operation and uncovers Mayor Teale and Kliner Sr were heavily involved in the murders, but it was Kilner’s son who was behind the actual murders, and significantly, was the man who pulled the trigger that killed Reacher’s brother, Joe. His friend Dawson beat his body after Joe had already died, which led Chief of Police Edward Morrison to hide the body and flee the area after regrettably being involved in the whole thing.

Reacher discovers the complex counterfeiting operation that is being run out of Margrave, with the Kilner foundation creating a massive amount of fake money to drive the economy in the small town. It is revealed that Joe Reacher had locked down all the manufacturing processes to make sure nobody could create them or steal them, and that is why he was murdered. Reacher goes up against an army of villains and kills all those involved in the operation and burns their warehouse to the ground, taking the chemicals and fake notes along with them. He emerges from the burning warehouse stating “It’s over” and passionately kisses Roscoe.

In a flashback scene, Jack and Joe Reacher go to visit their dying mother, and tells him before they go in “No matter what, don’t cry.” She tells them she is so happy to see her son. Joe tells her he can get her to the states to see experts to help her, but she declines. Joe announces “I don’t need to solve all the world’s problems, solving some is more than enough.” She then hands Jack his grandfather’s war medal which he got for bravery in the face of danger. She then tells him it takes bravery to do what’s right. When they leave, Joe tells Jack “Now you can cry.”

Despite building up a close relationship with Roscoe Conklin throughout the season, Reacher tells her he can’t stay in the small town of Margrave. Reacher thinks the aftermath of the investigation would keep him stuck in Margrave for at least two years, which would not be ideal for a man like himself who likes to wander and not stay around in one place too long. Reacher suggests Roscoe run for mayor, which she seems to consider.

Reacher then goes to say his farewells to Finlay at a diner where he agrees to cover for him, so he doesn’t have to be interviewed over the whole investigation. Finlay tells Reacher he would’ve wound up dead if it wasn’t for him and Reacher tells him he’s one hell of a cop. But Finlay announces that he’s done with police work and is moving back home. Finlay then orders them each a peach pie, which they enjoy before Reacher leaves.

Before leaving Margrave, Reacher visits the location where his brother, Joe, was murdered, and he buries the medal that their grandfather had received for his bravery. He then says “Takes bravery to solve the world’s problems too, Joe.”

In the final scene of Season 1, Reacher is walking on the highway, trying to flag down a car to help him on his way to his next destination. As the credits roll, he hasn’t managed to flag anyone down, but he just keeps walking. Season 2 will catch up with where Reacher is now, and it will be based on Lee Child’s 11th novel, Bad Luck and Trouble.

What happens in Reacher Season 1?

Alan Ritchson’s version of the Reacher character is a former head of a military investigation unit who has now retired and wanders aimlessly through America. He gets off a bus in a small town called Margrave in Georgia looking to find the burial site of the legendary bluesman, Blind Blake. His arrival coincides with a local man called Pete Jobling being found brutally murdered, along with an as-yet-unidentified man.

An eyewitness places Reacher near the scene of the crime, so the local police arrest him on suspicion of murder. Reacher can prove that he was actually on a Greyhound bus when the murders took place, leading authorities to accept he wasn’t involved in the double murder. Reacher agrees to take a look at the unidentified second victim and is shocked to discover it’s his older brother, Joe Reacher. Turns out, it was Joe who first informed Reacher of Blind Blake and his place of burial which led him here in the first place.

Reacher ends up helping with the investigation, determined to stay in Margrave until Joe’s killers are brought to justice. The lead detective on the case is Oscar Finlay, a black man who is less than welcome in the town of Margrave after being transferred from Boston to escape his life in New England. He is partnered with an up-and-coming female officer called Roscoe Conklin, and Reacher joins forces with them both. After some initial tensions between Reacher and Finlay, they form a strong bond and mutual respect for each other. As for Reacher and Roscoe, their bond ultimately turns romantic as the season progresses. Their investigation leads them to a corrupt federal agent, a powerful businessman and the mayor of the town.