When Amazon's Reacher returns, audiences will see some key differences from the first season. Amazon's TV adaptation made some course corrections from Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher movie duology. While the latter films helped raise further awareness of Lee Child's novels, they never quite captured the spirit of the books either. The casting of Cruise as Jack Reacher also became a controversial issue, but Amazon's Reacher presented a more faithful take on the source material and became an instant success.
Reacher season 1 adapted Killing Floor, the first novel in the series. Season 2 is mixing up the order by jumping straight to book 11, Bad Luck And Trouble. This outing is considered one of the best Reacher books, and one that probes the title character and his past a little deeper. Each novel is essentially standalone, which has allowed Child to explore different genres and settings, so Reacher season 2 is already shaping up to have key differences from the first series.
10 No Roscoe Or Finley
Right off the bat, one of the more controversial choices Reacher season 2 has made is not bringing back Rosoce and Finlay from the first season. Reacher, Roscoe and Finlay made for an endearing gang, but just as the main character never encountered them after the first novel, it seems they'll never reappear on Amazon's adaptation either. Reacher always moves on once a given story has ended, so it wouldn't make much sense for either to appear in season 2; that said, their absence will definitely be felt.
9 Flashbacks To Reacher's Time In The Army
Killing Floor also made sense as the first season of Reacher, as it explored the titular avenger adjusting to civilian life after his time in the army. Book 11 Bad Luck And Trouble ties directly into his time as head of the 110th MP Special Investigations Unit. When former members of this group turn up dead, Jack reunites with some of the survivors to find out what's happening. It appears season 2 will feature prominent flashbacks to his Army days, which will give viewers a new insight into how they shaped the man he became.
8 Neagley Will Be A Main Character
While season 1 was broadly faithful to Killing Floor, it further fleshed out the villains and made the smart choice to introduce Neagley (Maria Sten) early. She's the closest thing Reacher has to a best friend, and they served together in the army. Neagley was a lot of fun during the first season, but by the nature of the story being told, she was definitely a supporting player. She's a major character in Bad Luck And Trouble, however, and season 2 will be giving her more of a spotlight.
7 Reacher Will Have His Own Team
While Reacher season 1 had a fun gang of its own, both Roscoe and Finlay had to adjust to the almost alien nature of Reacher himself. Bad Luck And Trouble sees him reunite with some of the people who know him the best, so the dynamic will be totally different from season 1. Reacher's crew - consisting of Neagley, Serinda Swan's Karla Dixon and Shaun Sipos O'Donnell - are all extremely capable in their own ways and were handpicked by Reacher for his investigations unit, so he'll be less of a lone wolf next time.
6 A Whole New Setting
Almost all of the first season took place in Margrave, a creepily "idyllic" Georgia town controlled by a local businessman. This added to the small-town mystery feeling of the story, but Bad Luck And Trouble will be moving to the big, bad city. While the book itself took place in both Los Angeles and Las Vegas, it seems season 2 will be moving the action to New York City instead. On a purely visual level alone, Reacher season 2's new setting will give the season a completely different flavor.
5 A Genre Shift
Again, Reacher season 1 played out like a small-town mystery; albeit, one that had a hulking human tank at its core. Just as Child's Jack Reacher novels play around with different subgenres, Bad Luck And Trouble is more of a military thriller than a murder mystery. Reacher and Co will be facing off against corrupt detectives, a private defense contractor and a weapons dealer this time around, so it definitely wouldn't be more of the same for year two.
4 A Bigger Scale (& A Bigger Reacher)
As can be surmised from Reacher season 2's setting, characters and story, it will be a bigger-scale story in every way. The book opens with a famous passage involving a helicopter and the plot features Reacher and his unit going up against some nasty new antagonists. Reacher himself will also be quite literally bigger, as star Alan Ritchson put on more muscle mass to better resemble the character from the books. If he looked imposing in season 1, he should practically resemble a mountain in season 2.
3 A More Emotional Reacher
Reacher is a man of few words, to the point where "Reacher Said Nothing" has become something of a franchise catchphrase. Jack might be a stoic figure, but while he may not have cried over the death of his brother in season 1 or leaving Roscoe behind in Margrave, that doesn't make him a machine either. Bad Luck And Trouble will explore Reacher's more vulnerable side a little more, as the case and its ties to his past are more personal than some other outings in Child's saga. Again, viewers shouldn't expect him to start bawling, but they will get more a deeper look into Reacher's persona.
2 Powerful New Foes
The Kleiners and their henchmen made for formidable enemies in Reacher's first series, but there was little doubt Reacher would prevail. Reacher year two will have an upgrade, with Terminator 2 icon Robert Patrick joining the cast as an ex-NYPD detective with close ties to a defense contractor. Patrick is always an excellent choice for a villain, and he'll be joined by The Sandman's Ferdinand Kingsley as A.M., a chameleonic terrorist and arms dealer who goes by many aliases. Despite his links to terrorism, A.M. is primarily driven by money.
1 Lee Child's Next Cameo
British author Lee Child has made cameos in every live-action Reacher adaptation to date. In the first Cruise movie, he was a "Desk Sergeant" and in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back he played a "TSA Agent." Reacher's season 1 finale gave him another challenging role as "Diner Patron," who walks past the title character. Child is almost certainly going to continue this proud tradition in season 2, so fans should keep their eyes peeled for the author's next winky appearance.