Laying all the cards on the table before a showdown proves detrimental without exception, irrespective of the context of discussion, and as we approach the finale of the second season of Amazon Prime’s Reacher, we are reminded of the fact once again. So far, the season had built momentum for the inevitable confrontation between Reacher and his current adversaries, represented by the calculative, methodical A.M. and the brutal, despicable Langston, but it was delayed too much, and unsurprisingly, a rushed ending couldn’t pack that strong a punch.
In this season so far, Reacher’s past life in the army became the fulcrum of the narrative as members and friends of his former special investigation unit started getting hunted down by Shane Langston, the chief of security of the aerospace company New Age Tech. 110th unit special investigators, Franz, Sanchez, and Orozco, were brutally tortured and killed by Langston, as the terrorist conspiracy he was involved in with the weapon dealer, known simply as A.M., was going to be exposed due to their investigation. Reacher and the remaining members of his team—Neagley, O’Donnell, and Dixon—began their mission to take down Langston in order to avenge their friends, and in the process, they found themselves boxed into a corner. In the previous episode, Langston managed to abduct Dixon and O’Donnell and force Reacher to surrender himself. Reacher’s bluff regarding Neagley’s death left her as backup, but with time running out, Reacher needs to take on the double responsibility of saving his friends and foiling Langston-A.M.’s terrorist conspiracy.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did Reacher Save Dixon And O’Donnell?
As the episode begins, Reacher is held captive and taken inside the warehouse along with his comrades, Dixon and O’Donnell, and Langston proceeds to goad and taunt the crew about his apparent victory. Regarding Swan’s involvement in the situation, it is revealed that after learning of Swan’s knowledge of their conspiracy, Langston offered him profits to earn his loyalty. Like the rest of the 110th, Swan rejected his proposal and met the tragic fate shared by Franz, Sanchez, and Orozco. Only his condition became even more sickening post-mortem, as the shrewd Langston continued using his eyeball and finger in order to operate through his identity, thereby making him the scapegoat while keeping his records clean. It’s tragic, to say the least, that Swan’s honesty resulted in such a horrifying end and maligned his reputation, even among his peers, to some extent.
However, soon enough, Langston learns Reacher’s bluff about Neagley’s death and proceeds to torture him to force the information about her involvement out of him. Langston prepares to take Dixon and O’Donnell away in a chopper to make sure that they meet the same fate as their fallen comrades, and Neagley starts taking out the security stationed outside using a sniper rifle. Thankfully, Senator Levoy stays true to his word about sending his security personnel for Reacher’s mission, as Neagley notices three operatives getting airdropped at the far side of the warehouse.
Neagley creates a distraction to break inside the warehouse, and in the meantime, Reacher manages to free himself from the cuffs. A vicious gunfight ensues between Team Reacher, consisting of Neagley and the operatives Levoy sent, and Langston’s men, and the former manages to quickly overpower them. However, Langston goes airborne using the chopper, along with the engineer capable of installing Littlewing—in order to meet A.M. and seal the deal—and takes a still captive Dixon and O’Donnell with him. Out of options to pursue him, Reacher takes the daring approach of latching on to the chopper, and from this point on, the scenes start aping superheroic levels of action. Langston decides to eliminate the captives after the chopper reaches a proper height and opens the chopper hatch, and using the opportunity, Reacher manages to hoist himself up. He engages in a brawl with Langston and the last of his lackeys while the rear door of the chopper remains open, takes on blows while keeping Dixon from falling by holding onto her stretcher in one hand, and eventually, after regaining his footing, throws Langston out of the chopper. Unsurprisingly, Langston ends up on the receiving of the brutality he was previously dishing out.
Did Reacher And His Team Manage To Bust The Littlewing Deal?
Holding the chopper pilot at gunpoint, Reacher, Dixon, and O’Donnell manage to reach the rendezvous point where the deal involving Littlewing was going to take place between A.M. and Langston, and Neagley joins the team following the coordinates, along with Levoy’s operatives. Totally clueless about past incidents, A.M. basically waltzes right into Reacher’s ambush before realizing he has been tricked. Upon questioning, A.M. refuses to share the identity of the buyer of Littlewing and prepares to turn himself in. Knowing the fact that for a hardened, influential criminal like him, evading the reach of jurisdiction will be like a cakewalk, Reacher’s team decides to put an end to the Littlewing ordeal by dispatching A.M. and the 110th riddle him with bullets like a pincushion. Given how much of the season was spent hyping up A.M. from the first episode, the anticlimactic end felt like a laughable, pitiful excuse for a confrontation.
Among the surviving members of New Age’s conspiracy, the chopper pilot and the engineer beg for mercy, and Reacher decides to let them escape with the chopper. However, the team has supposedly taken a lesson from Langston’s strategy of leaving no loose ends as they decide to test the capabilities of Littlewing for the first, and hopefully the last, time by using it to destroy the airborne chopper.
At this point, as what is supposed to be a surprise twist, Levoy’s operatives turn on Reacher’s team and prepare to eliminate them to maintain the Senator’s secrecy. However, it was a twist that not only Reacher, but viewers too, saw coming from miles ahead. Therefore, when Reacher mentions anticipating their double-cross way earlier and calling Homeland Security accordingly, it serves the function of merely an update instead of a surprise. Levoy gets his well-deserved end as he and his operatives get arrested.
What Happened To The 110th Unit?
A total of sixty-five million dollars in bearer bonds—the selling amount of Littlewing, which was supposed to be Langston and his filthy cop buddies’ cumulative retirement fund—was brought by A.M. and sent by the unknown buyer(s). Reacher refrains from sharing the information with Homeland and takes the amount, evenly distributing the sum among the families of his 110th unit members and to Russo’s family. Reacher uses the huge chunk of money to provide for Franz’s, Orozco’s, and Sanchez’s loved ones, Neagley’s ailing father, O’Donnell’s kids’ education fund, Russo’s brother and nephews, and Dixon’s own PI firm. Perhaps the most heartbreaking and kindest one is to an animal shelter, from where Swan had adopted his canine companion, who unfortunately waited till his death in Swan’s absence. It’s pretty on point with Reacher’s nomadic characterization, as to how, after sharing with everyone, the amount Reacher has kept for himself is enough to buy himself a new toothbrush.
The team gathers in a bayside campfire to mourn the losses and also to celebrate the lives of their fallen comrades, reliving the golden years of 110th all over again, knowing full well that they have to once again go back to their lives from the next day onwards. As a memoir of their reunion, another portrait of the 110th gets snapped, and the glaring absence of the majority of the members of the team is telling, to say the least. Despite the uncertainty of the future being ever present, the mutual respect and love shared by the team emphasizes the fact that they will be there for each other whenever the need arises.
Spending the last night together with Dixon, Reacher prepares to take his leave the next day to continue his vagabond routine—roaming across the country, wherever the roads lead him. Neagley arranges an annual bus pass for Reacher, lamenting the fact that it took a tragedy to get the friends together. As we already know, Reacher and Neagley share a special bond as best buddies and will probably keep in touch in years to come. Reacher boards the bus, venturing out to the unknown, with his heart heavy with the memories of the past few days. There is no telling what his future adventures might be like, perhaps involving problems in some midwestern suburbs or more big-scale situations like the concluded one. Overall, the second season fared well in exploring the emotional undertones and character dynamics but fell short in executing a well-told story and lacked in the action department as well, which is a USP of the franchise. Hopefully, the makers will take note of the reception of this season to make improvements for the already greenlit third one, as fans expect a strong comeback to match the brilliance of the Margrave saga.
