Amazon Prime Video’s Reacher has managed to carve a unique place out in television by being one of the few action-mystery shows out there. Even better, the series has done this successfully and created a near-perfect adaptation of author Lee Child’s long-running novel series. Fans have latched themselves onto the stoic and forthright Jack Reacher, portrayed by Alan Ritchson, as he travels across the country, finding trouble without even trying. However, Reacher Season 3 proved to be the moment where the series really hit its stride.
Adapting Lee Child’s novel, Persuader, the third season of Reacher shows the titular hero going undercover with a crime family to find a missing criminal informant while also getting revenge on a man who killed someone close to Reacher years before. Not only was the season a great adaptation, but it also delivered some unforgettable action sequences. However, like the previous two seasons, romance was also an underlying factor of the season, and while it’s worked in the past, this element slightly held back an otherwise standout season.
Reacher is no Stranger to Love Interests
Like James Bond, Jack Reacher is a character who is sure of what he wants to do in every facet of his life and, as a result, it only makes him all the more attractive to those who already liked him as is. As a result, each season has established a trend that Reacher will find at least one love interest before the final episode. Perhaps his strongest bond came in Season 1 when he met Officer Willa Fitzgerald, who seemed to be one of the few who understood Reacher on a much deeper level. Because of this, fans still talk about whether or not Fitzgerald and Reacher would ever be endgame, even though the books have also never showcased Reacher as one to settle down. Nevertheless, she’s easily one of the best love interests on the series simply by being a perfect foil to Reacher on top of being a well-written character.
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Season 2 introduced Karla Dixon, a character with whom Reacher had chemistry back when they were in the 110th. However, professionalism kept them from pursuing things. Dixon was heavily trained like Reacher and equally intelligent, so there was a natural attraction between them on multiple levels. Even still, it was Dixon’s understanding that Reacher never would want to settle down that kept their romance as a fling and nothing more than that. Even still, there was a preconceived bond between the two that helped fuel the romance and made things feel organic.
In the case of Duffy, she is one of the more abrasive characters to appear in Reacher and gives a strong, “love me or hate me, I don’t care” vibe to her. While this is similar to how Reacher operates, it created far more unnecessary tension than anyone would’ve guessed. Plus, unlike past seasons, there were more than a few moving parts that made romance feel both forced and ultimately out of place. Nevertheless, Duffy and Reacher spent a lot of time together and, in this case, their similarities and shared guilt over their past failings made a bond between the two of them, strong or not, present.
Reacher & Duffy Lacked Chemistry
With that in mind, their romance was inevitable, even if it made no sense in the grand scheme of things. But the real drawback is that the series could’ve gone in a different direction had this one aspect deviated from the source material. In the books, Reacher and Duffy get together early on, making the lack of natural chemistry make sense, while the show goes the route of a slow buildup.
In Persuader, an earlier hook-up makes far more sense because, at the end of the day, there’s not much to Reacher and Duffy beyond the physical. While they share similar values and discipline, they are far too different. In the series, Duffy is quick to judge Reacher’s attitude and choices while he’s consistently put in a position to explain himself. Considering she doesn’t know how he operates, it makes sense, but for fans who have seen how Reacher operates for years, it’s a bit tedious to witness. More than that, almost all of their conversations were about the case that Duffy was working on or better understanding Reacher’s vendetta against Quinn. With that in mind, it was clear that most of the season was about the two getting to know one another and still not learning enough.
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When it comes to attraction, there weren’t any obvious hints from Duffy until she saw Reacher come in from his swim. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, it was clear that, like with Dixon and Reacher, things were purely physical. Thankfully, Duffy did decide that their relationship would mainly be physical; she stated it was because she had been in a similar situation before. Ultimately, the entire situation throughout the season comes across more as messy than anything else. This is especially true when factoring in the real-life or death situations Reacher was facing every single day. It could be argued that the stakes would justify their actions, but the pace of the season was so fast that it seemed like any romantic rendezvous would be more time-consuming than anything else.
In essence, Reacher and Duffy as a partnership were more about business than anything else, and romance didn’t really seem to be at the forefront of either of their minds. For Duffy, she was someone fueled by trying to correct a mistake, whereas Reacher wanted nothing more than revenge. Almost all of their conversations reflected these personal interests, and it set a precedent that there was absolutely no room to grow between them. It’s easy to see why viewers would question their bond, considering there was absolutely nothing between them that felt romantic, and when there was an attraction, it was barely enough chemistry to get by.
Reacher Season 3 Didn’t Need Romance
Like all book adaptations, not all elements will be translated, and the same can be said for Reacher Season 3. One of the biggest changes was the absence of Richard Baeck’s mother, who was alive in the books but dead on the show. Ultimately, these changes can benefit a story and help the narrative run more smoothly on screen, and that’s exactly what happened for Reacher Season 3.
With all that in mind, it would’ve made even more sense to nix the romance angle entirely between Reacher and Duffy as there wasn’t much of a platform for it in the first place. As stated earlier, Duffy and Reacher were both hyper-focused on their missions, and because of that, romance is nothing more than an inconvenience at best. But in terms of pacing and the larger stakes of the season, it sets an even larger precedent for why there shouldn’t have been romance in this particular season to begin with.
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Unlike previous seasons where Reacher was active in an investigation that was out of his control, ie, finding who was killing his team in Season 2, Season 3 had Reacher in a position where he had more control than even in an undercover operation that tied to his own desires. But being undercover is no walk in the park, and Reacher had to consistently fight suspicion, kill those that questioned him, and even try to form bonds with people, all without looking like he was actually one of the good guys. Considering how many moving parts were in the season, having no love story would’ve worked best on principle.
Of course, there’s also Reacher’s bonds with other characters like Richard Beck, which was an interesting and heartfelt friendship that started to grow, while his rivalry with Paulie proved to be one of the highlights and most defining moments in the entirety of the series. There are more than enough pairings for Reacher, and the one he had with Duffy could’ve been a healthy, albeit testy, professional relationship at best. Reacher and Duffy as characters were interesting and offered more than enough to deliver an unforgettable season, but Duffy, as an individual, was tough and capable all on her own and served as a perfect ally for Reacher and nothing more. Not only did romance not work well for Reacher Season 3, but it may have relegated an otherwise great character to nothing more than a love interest when she’s more than that.
