As the second episode of Reacher begins, Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) returns to the police station with Roscoe and Oscar. As Jack walks away, Oscar (Malcolm Goodwin) asks him where he is going, but Jack ignores him and keeps walking. Oscar asks Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald) to follow him since Jack listened to her outside the morgue. If he doesn’t listen to her, Roscoe is instructed to shoot him. She follows him in her squad car until Jack stands directly in front of her car forcing her to slam on the breaks. Once she gets out, Jack argues he doesn’t need a babysitter or her messing up his investigation. She reminds him it isn’t his investigation. She wants Jack to let her solve his brother’s murder and do her job because she is really good at it. Roscoe realizes Jack is going to visit and assault Paul Hubble (Marc Bendavid) until he tells him what he knows.

She recommends going together because she doesn’t want him to poke Paul’s eyes out. He hops into the squad car with her and says he is a hobo instead of a vagrant. They enter the Hubble house and learn from Charlie (Kristin Kreuk) that Paul is out and won’t be back for a while. She wants to thank Jack for keeping Paul safe in that awful prison. Charlene isn’t sure where Paul is although she knows he is dealing with the embezzlement mess. Jack tells her about his brother who was found on the side of the highway and the fact he had Paul’s telephone number on him. Jack confirms they’re there to find out why Paul had the phone number. Charlene’s girls enter because it is time for them to go to bed. Lucy (Ava Cheung) and Tally (Ava Louise Murchison) are introduced to Jack and Roscoe. Charlie says Tally is the one with the glasses. While the girls go to bed, Jack asks to use the restroom. Instead, he goes snooping through the house to see what he can find.

Reacher finds something clinging to one of the strings on Paul’s shoe so he takes it with him. When Jack returns to the living room, he tells Charlene they’ve taken up too much of her time and they’re going to leave. Outside, Jack tells Roscoe about Tally having the glasses which is the main difference between the girls. He finds this important because he was attacked in prison after taking another inmate’s glasses. He suspects their orders were to find the new boys and take out the guy with the glasses. Paul’s glasses had been smashed, but Reacher believes he was their target. He is worried that Hubble is on the run or they’ve already got him. Then, he shows her the seed he found on Paul’s shoe and she quickly identifies it as an agrimony burr. They grow in the tall grass around here. They call them hitchhikers because they stick to your clothes and stay there. Jack wonders if they are found where his brother was killed.

They check out the scene where they find cogongrass which doesn’t produce burrs. Jack says it had to get on Paul’s shoe somehow. He told Oscar the shooter knew firearms well, but it was more than that. The victim was a skilled marksman since he hit the second victim as they sprinted away in the dark. The gun had a silencer on it and that can decrease its accuracy, yet the shooter still managed a kill shot. Jack squats down near the shoe prints while explaining they’re Joe’s because they’re size 13. The divot shows he heard someone coming up behind him and tried to turn when he took two in the head. Jack pinpoints the shooter’s path and says he knew Joe was coming. The moon would’ve been about 26 degrees further west so the area would’ve been darker. Then, Reacher shows Roscoe where the shooter most likely hid. A sniper shot from the tree line would’ve done the job. However, the sniper wanted to be close because he enjoyed it.

Roscoe wonders if it was personal, but Jack says it is always personal when you take a life. She begins asking questions about Joe, what he did for a living, and whether he had a family. Jack suspects she is trying to find out information for her investigation although she is just trying to be nice to a guy who lost his brother. She argues he might as well answer the questions though. Jack says he didn’t have a family and Joe was working in Homeland Security when he last spoke to him. He isn’t sure what department his brother was working in since he hadn’t spoken to him in a long time. He decides to go find a motel and doesn’t want a ride from Roscoe. She follows him to the motel where he gets harassed by a group of teenagers.

Jack knows they’ve been waiting for him there and suspect a rich guy gave them 50 bucks each to attack him. One boy admits it was a hundred instead. Jack tries to turn around to leave, but they throw a beer can at him. In the squad car, Roscoe knows it is about to get bad so she calls Graham (Rohan Mead) an idiot. They tell Jack he is about to get his butt kicked, but he says he is going to break the hands of three drunk kids. He explains one of them is going to have to drive the others to the hospital. Jack quickly hurts the kids while the one left standing says he knows where the hospital is. Roscoe wonders what the heck just arrived in Margrave. Later that night, we see several people in Hazmat suits walking toward a residential building. The next day, Jack finds a dog without water so he jumps the fence, flips the bowl over, and fills it using the water hose nearby. The homeowner comes out and questions what he is doing. He also claims he gave the dog water, but Jack doesn’t believe it.

Next, Jack arrives at the Margrave Police Station to see if there is any progress on Joe’s case. Roscoe can’t talk right now because Chief Edward Morrison (Peter Skagen) has been killed. Jack insists it wasn’t him although Roscoe already knows. He jumps into the vehicle with her and they go to the new crime scene. An officer approaches Oscar outside to find out what happened to the chief, but Oscar doesn’t want to say. He orders the officer to keep the onlookers away and doesn’t seem happy when Jack arrives with Roscoe. Oscar admits this is worse than anything he ever saw in Boston. Somehow, Jack already knows that the Chief has been nailed to the wall. As they enter the house, they see a woman dead on the ground as Jasper (Harvey Guillen) records everything he is saying. Oscar asks Jack how he knew. He doesn’t answer and instead walks into the room while saying they wore latex overshoes and gloves. Jack believes it was likely four people.

Jasper screams that the Chief’s balls are missing. Jack suspects they’ll find the balls during the autopsy because they’re in the chief’s stomach. Oscar asks Jack to come outside and demands to know how he knows what he knows. Jack explains that the people Hubble was working for said they’d nail him to a wall and cut his balls off if he caused problems. He says Joe didn’t tell the cops he was tracking something down to Margrave so he shouldn’t trust the cops either. Oscar wonders if he couldn’t reach out to the cops because he was dirty. Jack is adamant that his brother was clean unlike the chief. He is convinced Edward Morrison was working with the same people Paul was working with. He wonders who else is involved and suspects it could be Officer Baker (Hugh Thompson) and Stevenson (Jonathan Koensgen). Baker wouldn’t go into the bathroom with him at the station house even though the bathroom had a window.

He theorizes it means Baker already knew he wasn’t the killer. Jack says Roscoe checks out, but he isn’t sure about Oscar who might be hiding something. He wonders why a black cop from Boston with a 20-year pension would come work in a Southern backwater town in the middle of nowhere. Jack asks whether he is next in line for Morrison’s job, but Roscoe says Mayor Teale didn’t promote Finlay. Instead, he appointed himself acting chief. Whoever is running this had Morrison under their thumb and nobody would sit in the chief’s chair unless they’re under it too. Since they skipped Oscar to pick Teale, Jack believes Oscar is clean. Oscar agrees and says they at least know who they can trust. He contemplates calling his buddy from the FBI, but Roscoe says Teale said no state officials or Feds. Jack says they should let them think they have it under control and bringing in outside help would scare the culprits into hiding.

Jack says the Morrisons were killed because of a misstep and their killings sent a message that they shouldn’t screw up or cross those responsible. He also argues that they need to work as a team or he’ll find out who killed Joe on his own. Seconds later, Oscar learns that Teale has called for an emergency town meeting. He thinks they’re dealing with four bodies, but Jack suspects there are five since they should count Hubble. Jack and Roscoe rush to the Hubble house where Charlene tells them Paul called to say he had to sort out this bank mess although he never came home. His phone is going to voicemail now. She has been with him since her freshman year at UGA and he has never not come home. Roscoe tells Reacher to go find Finlay who will know how to protect them. She’ll stay and protect them since she is armed. Jack asks about using Charlene’s car. Once they reach the garage, he finds a golf bag and a cloth that says “Axis Financial Augusta Golf Outing”.

He grabs a knife from a tacklebox and urges her to shoot anyone shorter than him before driving away. Mayor Grover Teale (Bruce McGill) promises the locals that they’ll get the people who did this and punish them accordingly although some don’t believe him. He tells them he has been pointed chief of police and won’t sleep until they have the culprits behind bars. One man stands up to say they need a real police chief and a real chief detective. A woman questions him about the animal arrested at the café and whether he was involved in the possible serial killings. Kliner Sr. (Currie Graham) explains that Reacher has a rock-solid alibi and one of the victims was his brother, Joseph. He begins telling the group about his decision to bring Kliner Industries to the town five years ago and the reasoning behind it. He knew they could bounce back, he trusts the police force, and he has faith in Chief Detective Oscar Finlay. He also trusts Teale and will provide whatever funds are needed to find the person or persons responsible.

After the speech ends, Finlay tells Teale he is going to start cross-referencing evidence from both murder sites to establish a pattern. Teale doesn’t think that is necessary because the killings aren’t related. Instead, he wants Oscar to investigate the worst criminals arrested by Morrison. He orders Oscar to focus on the crucified police officer since that takes priority over the victims by the highway. Oscar goes outside to tell Reacher about that conversation. Although Jack believes he is corrupt, Oscar suggests it might be incompetency. Jack says they need to check Kliner since people with that kind of money are rarely angels. He tells Oscar that he and Roscoe should pretend to look through the old case files like Teale requested to give him cover. Then, he requests protection for Paul Hubble’s wife and kids even if he is dead. Oscar reveals his FBI buddy’s name is Picard and he is stationed at the Atlanta field office. He asks Jack to get a phone so he can call him when he gets that set up.

When Reacher asks if they can trust Picard, Oscar says he has known him for a long time and gave him the best advice of not accepting the Margrave job. After Oscar leaves, Teale approaches Jack to apologize for his arrest and give his condolences. Reacher explains he is going to stick around for a while since Margrave is such a nice town. Once Jack gets a cellphone, Mosley (Willie C. Carpenter) says he heard about his brother. Mosley asks if he is looking for payback, but Jack says he wants payback, justice, and vengeance. He tells Jack he might not be the only one before asking if he has Spanish-speaking amigos in town with him. Jack doesn’t know them. That makes sense to Mosley since the men didn’t seem friendly. Charlene says her husband trusted Jack Reacher so she wonders if he is a good person. Roscoe thinks she is. Jack arrives and says Picard (Martin Roach) is coming and will be taking Charlene and the girls into protective custody.

He gives Roscoe the number to his burner phone. Although Charlie believes she would be safer with them, Reacher says her husband would’ve wanted her to be with Picard. She asks why he is talking in the past tense. Jack says they have to assume Paul is dead. There will be time to grieve later so she should focus on her kids. Jack goes outside to wait for Picard. When he sees the girls’ bikes, he has a flashback of approaching the bully kids with Joe (Gavin White). Jack (Maxwell Jenkins) and Joe intend to fight the boys, but Billy’s dad arrives before they can. In the present, Jack sees a black car in the distance. The car stops and the window rolls down. Jack begins walking toward the vehicle before it drives away. He rushes back in to tell Charlie it is time to go right now. Moments later, Jack grabs Roscoe’s gun and points it toward the doorway as Picard steps inside and shows his badge. Once Jack confirms he is Picard, they load their bags and prepare to leave.

Picard tells Roscoe and Jack that it would take longer to get them into actual witness protection. Since Oscar can’t get the FBI involved yet, Picard is going to take a few personal days and watch the family himself. He demands they not let him get burned because his job is on the line. Once Picard leaves with Charlene and the kids, Roscoe says he wants to see what Joe was doing with Homeland Security. Jack is going to visit the guard Spivey (Patrick Garrow) at Warburton. As Jack drives, he calls Spivey pretending to be Oscar Finlay. He claims Jack is suing because he got roughed up at the prison so he wants to get together to get their stories straight. Jack meets with him outside a bar later that evening. Spivey admits he didn’t sound like a black guy from Boston so he knew he was being set up. He thought he’d return the favor. Spivey whistles causing a vehicle’s lights to turn on and a guy with a gun approach. When Spivey leaves, two men try to force him to get into the trunk, but he says no.

Jack realizes they don’t want to draw attention to themselves or they’d shoot him here. He distracts them by talking about hesitation and beats both of them. The fight is abruptly ended when a car arrives and calls for backup. Roscoe gets off the phone and says Avis and Hertz confirmed there are no unaccounted rental cars in the state. Seconds later, Reacher enters with a bloody face and admits it didn’t go as planned. Roscoe tends to his wounds and recommends getting stitches, but settles for super glue when Jack says no. Oscar confirms none of the suspects from the Blue Cat bar were apprehended. He tells Jack that they should be working together on this stuff. When he claims Jack beat up a couple of goons, Reacher says they were military or ex-military because they would’ve been killed in ten seconds otherwise.

He knew they were South American military because they spoke Spanish, had Glock-17s, and used a martial art called Reisy. It is regularly used by branches of South American special forces. He calls them hired muscle since they’re not running the show. Roscoe changes the subject by saying Joe was working for the Secret Services division of Homeland. The group covers everything from mail fraud to protecting the president and child exploitation. Jack wonders if he was investigating counterfeiting since Hubble managed money. Oscar argues that all crimes revolve around money though. Roscoe left a voicemail with the Office of Investigations because people usually get hurt when they’re looking into something others don’t want them to. Jack admits that is a good assumption before he reveals he wants to find Spivey’s house to search it. Since Spivey has heard things went bad at the bar, he has likely left town. Oscar says a prison guard’s address wouldn’t be public and they can’t get it until morning anyway.

He offers to check it out and tells Jack to get some sleep, but Reacher wants a beer. Oscar doesn’t think that is a good idea since the locals were ready to hunt him down with torches like Frankenstein although Jack says it was Frankenstein’s monster. They argue about that for a bit until Oscar threatens to arrest him like a vagrant. Roscoe chimes in to say he is a hobo and not a vagrant. Once Jack leaves, Oscar puts Roscoe in charge of tailing him once again. She follows him out and invites him out for a drink at a roadhouse just across the border in Alabama where nobody will know him. He agrees, but they have to stop by a gas station and Roscoe’s house first. While driving to the bar, they hear a Blind Blake song on the radio. They share a drink before Patsy Cline’s Crazy comes on causing Roscoe to say they have to dance. Although Jack is hesitant to join her, she drags him out to the dance floor anyway. After that, they head out into the rain. Reacher offers her his jacket to stay dry, but she doesn’t want it and instead runs out into the rain.

As they drive back, they spot police lights in front of them so Jack grabs a gun while claiming they’re not far enough from Margrave. He warns her to duck if he says go. They stop and talk to the police officer who says the road east to the highway has been flooded preventing anyone from getting through. She asks about a motel where they end up having to spend the night. They try to dry off and grab something to eat from the snack machine. Jack tells her how Clark Bars were always available at the military bases when he was a kid. Later, he sleeps on the floor while they talk about him being all over the place. Roscoe has barely left Margrave and never really wanted to. Her family has been here since the town was founded. She argues that the Conklins built the town before the Teales stole it from time. Roscoe says her parents died when she was a kid, but she had Gray who had Finlay’s job before. Since he always looked out for her, he was like her second father. Although he was good to her and taught her how to work a case, he had a dark side too.

Gray was depressed so he ended up hanging himself from the rafters in his garage about a year ago. He always gave her daisies on her birthday because they’re her favorite. Jack likes snapdragons thanks to their cool name and the fact that they’re hard to kill. She learns he doesn’t have any family besides Joe who is now dead. If he hadn’t heard that Blind Blake song in a bar a few days ago, it could’ve been years before he found out his brother was dead. They agree it has been nice getting to know one another before they say goodnight. In the morning, they return to Roscoe’s place for a real breakfast only to find that the door has been tampered with. She retrieves the gun from her car before they burst through the door. Although the house is clear, there are dirt tracks on the floor so the intruder likely walked through the flower bed. Reacher says it was rubber overshoes and that makes Roscoe worry they were going to kill her, but he says they might’ve been after him since his car was out front.

When Roscoe shuts the door, we see that someone has carved “see you soon” into the wood. They agree they likely plan on coming back. Before the episode ends, Reacher reiterates that he is going to need a gun.

 

Reacher Review

Although the episode was a bit slow in the beginning and middle, it felt like it could’ve reached a turning point near the end. The characters are starting to settle in and we can see where things are heading in future episodes. The fighting scenes are fun although there hasn’t been a whole lot of them yet. I expect that to change before the season is over. The episode wasn’t bad, but I think it can get even better.

Reacher reminds me a lot of Joe Pickett because they have so many things in common, including a corrupt small city, the main characters lost a brother, and the general atmosphere is similar. Joe Pickett took some time to really get into its groove so I expect Reacher to do the same. The episode scores a 7 out of 10. Recaps of Reacher will be available on Reel Mockery here. Learn how to support the Reel Mockery project by clicking this link.