Reacher season 2 was packed with exciting moments and unpredictable twists, but certain scenes were a little too crazy to be believable.

SUMMARY

 Reacher season 2 had moments that felt unrealistic and out of character, which were distracting but didn’t take away from the entertainment value.
 The show is based on Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books, although there have been changes to adapt to the medium.
 Certain actions and scenes in Reacher season 2, such as the use of a pipe bomb and unrealistic physical feats, deviated from reality but still served their purpose in the storyline.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Reacher season 2.Reacher season 2 was even more action-packed than the first installment, but there were numerous occasions when the show lost its footing in reality.

Some of the crazy moments were simply to augment the on-screen action, whereas others felt like the writers had made members of the Reacher season 2 cast act out of character for no reason other than narrative convenience.

There were even a few instances where plain common sense just went out of the window. While these choices didn’t detract from the feeling of being entertained by the ending of Reacher season 2, they were still distracting.

Reacher‘s source material comes in the form of a long-running series of books by Lee Child. Reacher season 2 is based on a novel called Bad Luck and Trouble, which is actually the 11th book in the series.

Although the show has been largely faithful to Child’s stories, there have been alterations due to the change in medium as well as poetic license. Although Reacher is generally quite grounded, that doesn’t stop the show from casting reality aside at times in the name of entertainment.

10. Reacher’s Crew Building A Pipe Bomb And Using It In A Suburban Neighborhood

The 110th potentially endangered the lives of innocent people with this over-the-top move

The 110th Special Investigators Unit is the focus of Reacher season 2. Despite their propensity for violence, they don’t tend to be the instigators of the bloodshed in which they’re involved.

Having said that, their military background means they’re capable of huge amounts of destruction at any one time. This knowledge is put on display in Reacher season 2, episode 3, “Picture Says a Thousand Words”, when the 110th makes and uses a pipe bomb.

The ambush on the 110th’s target address is clearly supposed to be a stealthy affair, as evidenced by Neagley skillfully and quietly picking the lock on the front door. Not only does the deployment of their DIY bomb lose the 110th any element of surprise, but it also endangers the lives of everyone nearby.

It could also have killed anyone who might have been in the house who wasn’t a part of the criminal undertakings. Reacher might be reckless at times, but his strong moral compass makes this move very out of character for him.

9. Reacher Activating An Airbag By Kicking The Car

Reacher’s kicks defy physics

Alan Ritchson’s character is regularly mentioned to be not only physically huge but also inhumanely strong. Although his strength doesn’t quite reach the realm of superhuman, the show features moments that toy with that perception.

In Reacher season 2, episode 2, “What Happens in Atlantic City,” Reacher displays his immense power very early on in the episode by kicking Russo’s car so hard that the airbag deploys.

It takes a great deal of force for an airbag to activate and, in the real world, it’s incredibly unlikely that someone could kick a car hard enough to pull this off.

Having Reacher do this adds to his already huge intimidation factor and reminds the audience of the risks taken by the bad guys by going after the main character. It may not be realistic, but at least it sends the right message.

8. AM Starts A Fire In An Airport Toilet – And No Alarm Goes Off

Reacher season 2 forgot about airport security measures

Airport security is notoriously stringent, but AM’s actions in Reacher season 2, episode 1, “ATM,” subvert that reality. As an illegal arms dealer, AM keeps his real identity close to his chest, choosing instead to rifle through a variety of aliases that all share the same initials.

His introduction to the show has him burning one of his many fake passports, but the setting of an airport bathroom surely wouldn’t be the safest place to do this. Either the airport’s fire systems are offline or it lacks them completely, and either is a horrific option.

7. The Driver Carrying Military-Grade Missiles Stops To Help A Broken Down Truck

The New Age driver was very foolish

Transporting destructive and expensive weaponry comes with certain responsibilities, and one of those duties is not to abandon your load to play Good Samaritan.

While it might be a nice gesture to help out a fellow driver in a time of need, doing so in possession of such sought-after cargo is very misguided. This scene also raises the question of why the vehicle isn’t being accompanied, especially when it’s being transported by a private defense contractor.

6. Reacher Being Stabbed In The Forearm And Continuing To Fight Unfazed

Reacher’s invulnerability goes a little too far

Reacher has proven he can take an incredible amount of physical punishment, but a knife being buried to the hilt in his forearm barely elicits a response in Reacher season 2, episode 8, “Fly Boy.” Post-stabbing, Reacher continues to dominate in the chopper fight scene.

Although it could be argued that adrenaline plays a role in masking some of the pain, there’s surely only so much it can do. The most incredible feat after Reacher sustains the wound is him holding onto Dixon’s stretcher as it slides from the cargo hold.

5. Langston’s Man Not Seeing A Car Speeding Toward Him

Reacher’s team materializes out of thin air

Following Russo’s heroic sacrifice to save Jane, she’s found out in the open with no one left to protect her. When Langston’s man has Jane in his crosshairs, it looks like it’s all over.

Reacher’s crew comes to the rescue just in time but the way the scene is put together makes it seem as if their car comes out of nowhere. One minute the bad guy has the upper hand and the next he’s taken down by a car that’s suddenly there. In reality, the assailant would have seen the vehicle approach and stepped out of the way.

Russo dies in Reacher season 2, episode 6, “New York’s Finest.”

4. Shane Langton Readily Believing That Neagley Is Dead

Robert Patrick’s character had a lapse in judgment

Although he’s not the nicest of men, Langston clearly isn’t an idiot. However, he falls for one of Reacher’s deceptions unusually easily by taking his adversary at his word in Reacher season 2, episode 7, “The Man Goes Through.”

When Langston demands that Reacher come to his compound with Neagley, Reacher spins the lie that Neagley died at the hands of Langston’s man. Rather than treating Reacher with suspicion, Langston doesn’t blink and immediately buys into the lie without taking any countermeasures for the likely event that Reacher is planning something.

3. Dixon Climbing From The Stretcher Into The Chopper In Her Injured State

The remaining members of the 110th are apparently very hard to kill

Dixon is incapacitated for much of final episode of Reacher season 2, but that doesn’t stop her immediate return to heroism following her unlikely escape. The finale puts Dixon in severe peril when it shows her dangling from an in-flight chopper while strapped to a gurney.

Reacher’s inability to pull her up makes it seem especially likely that Dixon is about to meet her end, but she pulls off an astonishing feat of somehow freeing herself and clambering to safety. Despite this being one of the best Reacher scenes in both series, it doesn’t stop it also being ridiculous.

Not only does Dixon manage to save herself, but she also has enough left in the tank to rescue Reacher during the act. Dixon is bloodied and broken by this point in the story and may be capable of one or other of these feats, but pulling off both of them toys with the realism of the show. However, the scene itself is well-executed considering Reacher losing sight of what an injured human being is capable of.

2. AM Waiting So Long To “Take Care” Of The Cop That Reports Him

The Reacher villain was left without any usable pseudonyms

When AM finds himself without any false identity to use, he violently takes another. When he’s pulled over and forced to reveal this new identity in Reacher season 2, episode 6, “New York’s Finest,” he lets the cop who’s questioning him get as far as radioing in his name before he strikes.

It’s clear from the beginning that AM’s plan to escape will always be murderous, but waiting so long meant that his one remaining alias was rendered useless. This is a tactical disadvantage his character should have foreseen.

1. The Huge Cheque For Franz’s Family Being Left Hanging Out Their Mailbox

Reacher’s placement of the cheque could have meant it being lost

Out of all the things Reacher does with the money after season 2’s ending, his delivery to Angela Franz is the most ridiculous. While the gesture itself is sound, Reacher leaves an incredibly valuable envelope dangling precariously from the mouth of the Franz family’s letterbox.

All of Reacher’s other deliveries took place by direct transfer or the secure delivery of cash. Angela Franz’s cut of the money was so exposed that it could easily have been blown away or even stolen in the Reacher finale.