Reacher Season 2: A Faithful Adaptation with Key Changes

The Faithful Adaptation

Amazon Prime Video's Reacher season 2 is largely faithful to the source material, but the sophomore outing still takes some liberties with Lee Child's Bad Luck and Trouble. The eleventh book in the Jack Reacher series, Bad Luck and Trouble is quite a jump from Child's debut, Killing Floor, which served as the basis for season 1. However, the focus on telling a story that's more personal to Alan Ritchson's Jack Reacher and his military backstory is a welcome contrast to season 1's small-town corruption. When it comes to the broad strokes, Reacher season 2 adapts Child's Bad Luck and Trouble book pretty faithfully Reacher's Season 2 Features A Shorter Time Jump Published in 2007, Bad Luck and Trouble was pretty much set in the present-day when it hit shelves. Since it's the eleventh Jack Reacher novel, quite a bit of time passes between Bad Luck and Trouble and the Margrave, Georgia-set Killing Floor, which was Lee Child's 1997 debut. In Reacher season 2, there's still a time jump, but it's significantly shorter. While catching up with Neagley at a New York diner, Reacher mentions that it's been two years and some change since Margrave. However, for some viewers, the time jump is significant enough to put a nail in Roscoe and Finlay's Reacher season 2 return.

Jack (Alan Ritchson) talking to someone at a diner in Reacher

Jack Reacher Is In Arkansas When Neagley Reaches Out In Child's novel, self-proclaimed 'hobo' (not a vagrant) Jack Reacher is drifting around Portland, Oregon, when he sees Frances Neagley's S.O.S. Amazon Prime Video's take on the story decided to ditch the West Coast altogether in favor of other climes. When the sophomore season opens, Reacher visits a thrift store in Murfreesboro, Arkansas — a far cry from Oregon. The change in setting doesn't have a huge impact; namely, it just allows Reacher to meet up with Neagley much more quickly.

Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher Sitting in a Diner in Reacher Season 2

Reacher Season 2 Shifts Child’s Bad Luck & Trouble Book To The East Coast Not only does Calvin Franz' aerial killing take place in New York State's Catskills, but Reacher gets relocated to Arkansas. In fact, most of Reacher season 2 orbits around New York City. Jack Reacher meets up with Neagley in Manhattan; later, the group heads to Atlantic City, New Jersey as part of their investigation. In the novel, Franz is killed high above California and most of the book takes place in the Los Angeles area or Las Vegas. While the change in location doesn't really impact the narrative arc as a whole, it certainly adds a different atmosphere to the events that unfold.

Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher in Reacher season 2, episode 1

Key Plot Points and Character Changes

Calvin Franz Is Murdered In New York State The death that kicks off Bad Luck and Trouble's propulsive story is the murder of Calvin Franz. In both the book and TV series, Franz idolizes Jack Reacher; in his final moments, he even chides his killers for messing with the 'big guy.' For the most part, Franz's death remains true to the source material too. Beaten to a pulp and then tossed from a helicopter 3,000 feet above California, Franz dies in the desert in Child's novel. In the show, his tragic murder is relocated to upstate New York. Regardless, it's a gnarly way to go out.

Calvin Franz (Luke Bilyk) in Reacher season 2

Lee Child’s One Shot Occurs Offscreen Between Seasons In the three-part premiere of Reacher season 2, Jack Reacher lets slip a name familiar to fans of Lee Child's books: James Barr. According to Reacher, Barr owes him one. This is a very clear-cut reference to the events of One Shot, the ninth book in Child's series, which was adapted into a 2012 movie starring Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher. A popular novel, One Shot seemed like a prime choice for Reacher season 3, which was renewed ahead of the sophomore outing's debut. However, given the nod to One Shot, it seems it occurs off-screen — likely to help the series stand apart from the films.

Alan Richtson as Jack Reacher, Serinda Swan as Dixon, Shaun Sipos as O'Donnell, Dean McKenzie as Lowrey in Reacher season 2

Reacher & Neagley Meet Up With Their Friends Before Heading To New Age In Lee Child's novel, Bad Luck and Trouble, Reacher and Neagley head to former 110th member Tony Swan's workplace after speaking with Franz's widow. Swan works for defense contractor New Age, which becomes a key element of the investigation, but, on this first visit, Reacher and Neagley are turned away pretty abruptly by the company HR manager, Margaret Berenson, who claims Swan was fired three weeks earlier. The show switches up the order of events a bit, with Neagley and Reacher assembling their old teammates before Neagley and Karla Dixon (Serinda Swan) visit New Age.

Maria Sten as Neagley and Alan Richtson as Jack Reacher in Reacher season 2

Character Development and Early Introductions

Reacher Solves Neagley’s Code Much Quicker Aimless as ever, Jack Reacher has nothing but the clothes on his back and an ATM card in Child's Bad Luck and Trouble, and in the Amazon series, he's much the same. In the book, the math-obsessed investigator sees an anonymous deposit in his bank account for $1,030.00. Eventually, he puts together that it's his fellow math lover Neagley who's calling for urgent help with their old military police code, 10-30. In the show, Reacher gets a receipt from the ATM and sees deposits for $110 — the number of his old unit — and $1,030, and realizes pretty instantly who sent it.

Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) stares into a mirror in a shot from Reacher season 2, episode one.

David O'Donnell & Karla Dixon Are Introduced Earlier In The Show Amazon Prime Video's take on Bad Luck and Trouble makes the wise move of introducing Reacher and Neagley's old 110th buddies way earlier than the book does. In fact, the duo make a point of assembling their friends first. Both David O'Donnell (Shaun Sipos), now a lawyer, and Karla Dixon, now a private investigator, enter the plot pretty quickly. This allows viewers to get to know the former members of the 110th much sooner — a great, stakes-raising move for a medium that doesn't allow for the same kind of interiority as a novel.

Shaun Sipos as David O'Donnell in Reacher season 2

A Present-Day Setting Defines Amazon’s Reacher With Reacher season 2 being set in the present, it has a much different feel from Child's novel, which came out in 2007. For starters, technology has made quite a leap in the decade-plus since the book hit shelves. The basics remain the same: Reacher has a bank card, mobile phones exist, and Neagley tries to crack the password on a flashdrive (though, as she points out, USB variants have certainly changed since 2007). While Bad Luck and Trouble felt of its time, Reacher season 2 feels very of-the-moment, thanks to its updated tech and pop-cultural references.

Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher in a shot from Reacher season 2, episode 2