Reacher Season 2 Has Already Solved Amazon’s Main Character Replacement Problem

Reacher season 2 has seemingly overcome some of its biggest main character replacement problems. In its first season, Amazon’s Reacher did an incredible job at bringing the characters, mysteries, and action of Lee Child’s Killing Floor to life in the audiovisual storytelling medium. However, it got audiences so invested in its character beats and dynamics that it became nearly impossible to imagine a second season without the same ones.

Unfortunately, since the titular character, Jack Reacher, is a self-proclaimed hobo who never outstays his welcome in one location, season 2 marks the inception of a whole new adventure for him in a place far away from season 1’s Margrave. From a narrative standpoint, this immensely benefits the show because it keeps things fresh and allows it to stay true to its source material. However, from a character development standpoint, it initially posed several problems for Reacher season 2’s overarching story.

Replacing Roscoe & Finlay Is Reacher Season 2’s Biggest Challenge

Roscoe and Finlay’s dynamic with Alan Ritchson’s Reacher was one of the primary driving forces that contributed to Reacher season 1’s compelling. As police officers, Roscoe and Finlay took a more procedural approach towards solving crime and getting to the bottom of Margrave’s conspiracies. Reacher, on the other hand, served as the muscle in their team, with his no-holds-barred approach towards threatening or gravely hurting any bad guys who tried getting in his way. From a narrative standpoint, Reacher season 2 is trying to elevate itself above season 1 by raising the stakes for the titular character and getting him embroiled in an international conspiracy instead of a local one.

Since Reacher season 2 introduces the members of Reacher’s former U.S. Army 110th MP Special Investigations Unit as his allies, it is hard not to wonder whether they will compliment his cold, stoic demeanor like Roscoe and Finlay. Season 1’s humor also primarily revolved around Reacher and Finlay being at odds with one another, which is another character beat that season 2 might have a hard time recreating. While the involvement of Reacher’s former military team members promises more high-octane action in season 2, the new characters could potentially make the titular character seem less imposing, given how they, too, have military combat experience.

Reacher Season 2’s Trailer Is A Promising Sign For Its Main Character Replacements

Reacher season 2’s trailer suggests that as challenging as replacing Roscoe and Finlay may seem, season 2 might have the perfect recipe to make audiences forget the two season 1 characters and get them invested in the new ones. By upping the ante of Reacher’s overarching mission and introducing antagonists far more powerful than season 1’s Kliner family, Reacher season 2’s trailer has established that the titular character would need his former team members’ help during the central mission. Roscoe and Finlay were well-written characters, but their detective skills as police officers of a small town would not have taken them too far in the national security threat that drives season 2’s storyline.

The trailer also highlights that even though Reacher’s new team members were in the military and might be far more skilled in combat than Roscoe in Finlay, they still come nowhere close to reaching the titular character’s near-superhuman strength. This is evident in a scene from the trailer where Reacher’s former team member, David O’Donnell, says, “Just like the good old days” after Reacher beats a bad guy. Reacher responds by poking fun at him and saying that he always stays on the sidelines while he does all the work. Another scene portrays something similar when David asks Reacher why he hits so hard, and Reacher, as usual, “says nothing” by proudly declaring, “I don’t hit soft.“

These scenes in the trailer affirm that even though Roscoe and Finlay are not a part of Reacher season 2’s roster, the show’s creators have tried recreating the dynamic Alan Ritchson’s character had with them. Reacher’s colossal strength compared to his allies is still a running gag in season 2. Just like Roscoe and Finlay were intimidated and amused by Reacher’s stature and aggressive methods of serving justice, Neagley, David O’Donnell, and Karla Dixon, too, will be struck and hilariously confused by his unorthodox methods of upholding the law.

Will Roscoe & Finlay Return In Reacher Season 2?

Reacher season 2 is adapting Lee Child’s Bad Luck and Trouble, the 11th book in the Jack Reacher book series. Since Roscoe and Finlay were not a part of the original Lee Child novel’s storyline, it seems unlikely that the two would show up in season 2. Considering how Reacher season 1 primarily succeeded because it stayed true to the story elements and character beats of Lee Child’s Killing Floor, Reacher season 2 will likely tread a similar path and not deviate from the source to forcefully reinstate the two season 1 characters.