Warning! Contains mild spoilers for Lee Child’s Persuader.

SUMMARY

Reacher season 3 casts Paulie perfectly, but needs to avoid making Reacher seem superhuman in the fight scenes.
Season 2 lacked the groundedness of season 1, but season 3 is heading back to the roots of the franchise with Lee Child’s Persuader.
The perfect casting for the villain in Reacher season 3 could strain the show’s suspension of disbelief if not handled carefully.

Reacher season 3 has cast the perfect actor for Paulie, but it potentially makes a season 2 problem even worse. Although Reacher season 2 had its own merits, it failed to recapture the groundedness and realism that made season 1 so compelling.

Fortunately, Reacher season 3 is already on the right track by adapting Lee Child’s Persuader. Instead of treading the same path as season 2 and raising the stakes for the titular character, Reacher season 3 is returning to the franchise’s roots by portraying the Alan Ritchson character as a mysterious stranger in a small town.

Since Reacher and Paulie’s fight is one of the highlights of the original Lee Child Jack Reacher book, Reacher season 3 had the massive responsibility of casting the right actor to play Paulie.

From the looks of it, the show has also made the right casting choice by getting Olivier Richters on board to portray the Persuader villain. However, despite having everything in place for a successful adaptation, Reacher season 3 could repeat a season 2 mistake if it does not handle one book arc carefully.

Reacher & Paulie’s Season 3 Showdown Could Strain The Show’s Suspension Of Disbelief

One Book Moment From Lee Child’s Persuader Would Seem Too Implausible In Amazon’s Reacher

Jack Reacher and Paulie’s showdown is one of the white-knuckling moments in Lee Child’s Persuader because the two giants go head-to-head before Reacher finally takes Paulie down. However, like many action scenes from the franchise, this one, too, seems a little over-the-top in the book.

The reason being that Jack Reacher lifts Paulie off the ground during the fight even though Paulie is supposed to be 7 feet tall and way more muscular than Reacher. As ridiculous as this fight scene may seem, though, the Lee Child book leaves a lot to a reader’s imagination, making it somewhat believable.

In Reacher season 3, however, since the size difference between Paulie and Reacher is seemingly even greater than in the book, the action scene where Reacher lifts Paulie would seem too implausible.

This exaggeration of Reacher’s strength in the show could stretch the suspension of disbelief a little too far, making the show’s existing plot armor problem even worse. While it is fine for the Amazon show to portray Reacher as an almost invincible character, it cannot risk making him look superhuman, especially after season 2’s events.

Reacher Season 2 Was Also Weighed Down By Its Plot Armor Problem

Reacher Season 2’s Villains Were Not An Even Match Jack Reacher

After Russo’s death in Reacher season 2, Langston seemed formidable enough to harm Reacher and his former team members from the 110th Special Investigations Unit. During the climactic chopper showdown, Langston even came close to killing Reacher, O’Donnell, and Dixon.

However, the only reason Reacher eventually gained the upper hand in the fight was that the show gave him and his former military friends a whole lot of plot armor. This significantly weighed down Reacher season 2’s ending because it made Langston and his men seem less credible and dangerous as adversaries.

Reacher season 2’s second villain, AM, was also being set up as an intimidating and strategic enemy throughout the season’s runtime. However, when it came down to facing Reacher and his team members, AM suddenly had no backup plans or tricks up his sleeves.

The ease with which Reacher and his team overpowered and killed him made his arc feel rushed and undermined the tension that had been built up surrounding his characterization. If Reacher season 3 sticks to contrived plot points and makes the titular character seem superhumanly strong against Paulie, it could worsen season 2’s plot armor issue.

Season 3 Must Change How The Book Portrays Reacher & Paulie’s Fight

The Climactic Showdown In Reacher Season 3 Cannot Emulate The Book’s Choreography

Lee Child does an incredible job of keeping readers hooked by portraying an evenly matched showdown between Jack Reacher and Paulie in Persuader. When the fight begins, there are also moments when Paulie easily dominates Reacher and seems unbothered by Reacher’s consistent efforts to hurt him.

However, the bit where Reacher single-handedly lifts the 400-pound Paulie could seem too far-fetched in the audiovisual storytelling medium. Therefore, Reacher season 3 should stay loyal to its source material but avoid adapting the parts where the book stretches the bounds of believability.