Reacher Season 2: The Biggest Way New Villains Are Fixing S1

The Evolution of Reacher's Villains

Reacher season 2's villains have upped the stakes dramatically from the first series.

Ferdinand Kingsley as AM and Alan Ritchson as Reacher collage

Reacher season 1 adapted Killing Floor, where the titular character arrives in the small town of Margrave following his brother Joe's murder. After Reacher does some digging, he discovers a money counterfeiting operation is being carried out in Margrave, and in both the novel and Amazon's adaptation, he burns it to the ground.

Robert Patrick as Shane Langston talking on the phone in Reacher season 2

Reacher's season 1 finale increased the action quota and bodycount significantly too, which included a gruesome death for main villain KJ Kliner (Chris Webster).

Reacher season 2 covers Bad Luck and Trouble, where Jack reunites with his Special Investigators army unit to avenge one of their own. Lee Child's books have taken Reacher all over America - and sometimes overseas - where the stakes range from small and personal to global. Bad Luck and Trouble is one of the latter, as the more the team uncovers, the messier their mission becomes.

The New Level of Danger: 'Little Wing'

The primary villains of Reacher season 2 are AM, a terrorist arms dealer, and Langston, the head of security for defense contractor New Age, who have been developing a special software called 'Little Wing' for surface-to-air missiles.

It's also said that 'Little Wing' never misses, so once it's fired, it hits the target every time. To summarize the threat, if terrorists got hold of 'Little Wing,' they could shoot down commercial flights with very little difficulty.

On Reacher itself, 'Little Wing' is described as having the potential to cause another 9/11, which makes the mission of season 2 far bigger than the first series. Not to say Reacher season 1's counterfeiting operation wasn't deadly, but 'Little Wing' is another level of dangerous.

Underestimating the Enemies: Reacher's Blind Spot?

Part of the charm of Reacher is his hyper competency, being able to deduce clues from the most obscure pieces of evidence, while also having the muscles to take down any foe.

Reacher definitely understands the threat posed by 'Little Wing,' but he doesn't seem to take his enemies very seriously. He has little issue goading Langston and making threats, while not acknowledging that New Age has already murdered three Special Investigators.

The 110th members were handpicked by Reacher and were the best in their collective fields. The fact they were taken down so easily should be cause for concern, but for the time being, Reacher doesn't appear worried at all. His main focus is revenge, which might be blinding him to how much danger he and the rest of the 110th are in. There's also AM, who is a good deal deadlier than he was depicted in Bad Luck and Trouble. He has little issue killing whoever threatens his plans or to tie up loose ends - which are both categories the 110th falls into.