Introduction: Reacher, an American crime thriller streaming television series created by Nick Santora for Amazon Prime Video. It is based on the Jack Reacher book series by Lee Child, starring Alan Ritchson as the titular character, a drifter and former military policeman who encounters deadly criminals on his travels. The first season which is based on Child’s 1997 debut novel Killing Floor, was released on February 4, 2022. The first season has eight episodes, and a second season has been ordered. Former US Army military policeman Jack Reacher visits the fictional small town of Margrave, Georgia, and is arrested for murder. After being released, he joins forces with Oscar Finlay and Roscoe Conklin to investigate a massive conspiracy involving corrupt police officers, politicians, and business owners.
Episode 1: “Welcome to Margrave”
“Reacher, why does trouble always seem to find you?”
The series starts at Margrave, Georgia, with two-gun shots following a well-planned brutal murder. The main character, Jake Reacher, arrives at Margrave and establishes his authority and charm right away. He gets arrested for the aforementioned murder while he was sitting at a café.
When Reacher is taken to the police station, we are introduced to the other significant characters of the series. While he is being processed by Officer Roscoe Conklin, Chief Edward Morrison has an unsuccessful interrogation with Reacher. We are introduced to the police captain and Margrave’s chief detective, Oscar Finlay, who was also formerly a detective in Boston. A man of wits as he is a man of few words, Finlay shares the details of the murder with Reacher during the interrogation, but as it is, Reacher is a man of even fewer words. Although, he does break his silence for the first time in the show while talking to Finlay and gives his observations on the murder, mentioning why he is not guilty.
As Reacher likes to say, “In an investigation, details matter,” in this one, on a scrap of paper, a phone number with the word “Pluribus” is found on the victim’s shoe. He is put in the holding cell while Officer Roscoe and Finlay visit Paul Hubble, the owner of the phone number. As they question Hubble about the murder, he notices a black car outside his window and gets intimidated, and readily confesses to the murder. Hubble, by nature, is a meek and timid person, and even though the officers figure his confession is a lie, they arrest him.
Reacher and Hubble are sent to police custody together, where Officer Spivey puts them among lifers. Reacher brutally thwarts an attempt on their lives there, following which Hubble reveals that he confessed to covering up a criminal organization that would have brutally killed him and his family otherwise. After being released from custody, Reacher is verbally threatened in town by the son of local businessman Kliner, the owner of Kliner Industries, and an influential man in Margrave.
Another murder takes place, the same type of bullet as the earlier one, Reacher identifies the body to be that of his brother, Joe Reacher.
The episode ends with Reacher saying that he will find everyone responsible for the death of his brother and kill each one of them. This episode not only builds the plot and creates suspense, but it also gives us details and backstories to create an impression of all the characters. A story is being woven that just doesn’t form the structure but also has an intriguing design to be completed.
