Amazon’s Reacher Is Weirdly Copying Its Main Rival With Roscoe’s Absence

The fact that Willa Fitzgerald didn’t return for Reacher season 2 has created an odd parallel with one of the show’s biggest competitors. Despite being an instant hit with fans, Fitzgerald’s Roscoe Conklin has so far been confined to the events of Reacher season 1. Strangely, another Amazon show has already followed a version of this character arc framework, and it could hold clues as to what lies ahead for the Reacher season 3 cast or beyond.

Willa Fitzgerald brought Roscoe Conklin to life before being written out of the show at the end of Reacher season 1. Starring alongside Alan Ritchson’s title character, Fitzgerald didn’t just serve Reacher as a brilliant sidekick, but also a well-matched love interest. Roscoe was replaced in the Reacher season 2 cast by Serinda Swan’s Karla Dixon, an old flame from Reacher’s time in the 110th Special Investigators Unit. While casting changes aren’t uncommon, Reacher‘s comparisons to another show make this similarity even more prominent.

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Roscoe’s Reacher Season 2 Absence Copies Jack Ryan’s Cathy

Roscoe disappears from her show just as Cathy vanishes from hers

Just as Roscoe and Reacher part ways after the end of season 1, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan also separates its protagonist from his love interest at the same point. Abbie Cornish’s Cathy Mueller stars as the object of Jack Ryan’s desires in the Amazon adaptation of Tom Clancy’s book series. However, she promptly vanishes from the Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan season 2 cast, and the show offers no explanation as to where she’s gone. As such, Willa Fitzgerald’s Reacher exit matches that of Abbie Cornish’s departure from Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.

Although the show never explains why Cathy isn’t in Jack Ryan seasons 2 and 3, it can be explained away by the fact that much of the story takes Jack out of the US. Therefore, it wouldn’t make sense for Cathy to follow him, seeing as they aren’t in the same line of work. Additionally, Jack Ryan even has a new love interest in season 2. For Roscoe, her farewell to Ritchson’s Reacher is actually written into the season 1 finale.

As such, the absence of Willa Fitzgerald from Reacher season 2 is less jarring, especially given the fact that she’s referenced more than once. So, although it’s undeniable that the exit of both women from season 2 of their respective Amazon shows seems oddly coincidental, their departures aren’t handled the same. In fact, Reacher does a much neater job of writing out its main character’s love interest than Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan does.

Cathy’s Jack Ryan Story Teases Roscoe Returning To Reacher – Eventually

Cathy returned for the final season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan

Cathy’s unusual and sudden absence from Jack Ryan doesn’t mark her final appearance on the show. Abbie Cornish returns to play a major role as Cathy in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan season 4. Seeing as Cathy and Jack get married in Tom Clancy’s books, her return in the show’s final season seemed inevitable – despite her prolonged spell away from the Amazon adaptation. Cathy’s eventual return could be a plot device that Reacher mimics in the future and allows for the reunion between Roscoe and Reacher in a later season of the show.

The difference between each show’s respective source material is that Cathy and Jack do end up together in the Jack Ryan books. Inversely, out of all the Jack Reacher books written by Lee Child, Roscoe only appears in the very first – Killing Floor, which was used as the basis of Reacher season 1. However, Malcolm Goodwin’s Finlay cameo in Reacher season 1 proves that the show isn’t afraid to deviate from the books, as Finlay is another character who never returns after Killing Floor.

Roscoe & Cathy’s Stories Both Share The Same Problem

Both Amazon shows change their love interests too often

Although both female characters’ arcs bear similarities, there are still issues. The fact that Roscoe and Cathy were such a big part of their respective shows’ inaugural seasons before vanishing feels like a waste of two compelling figures. However, while the fact that Cathy is missing for the middle two seasons of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan doesn’t line up that well with her return, at least Reacher‘s title character’s reputation of being a wanderer sufficiently explains why Roscoe doesn’t return for season 2. Fitzgerald’s character is busy rebuilding Margrave, and Reacher doesn’t feel settled unless he’s on the move.

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In addition, both Reacher and Jack Ryan being assigned new love interests in their respective second seasons undermines the well-written relationships they’d had during the previous installment. The narratives of both Reacher season 2 and Jack Ryan season 2 would still have made sense without shoehorning in another female character for the protagonist to fall for as part of some kind of obligatory, unspoken formula. As a result, the sudden disappearance of both love interests in Reacher and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan in their second seasons both felt a little forced.