Reacher Season 1 Episodes 7 and 8: The Picard Twist Called From Day One

Going into the last two episodes of Reacher season 1, we needed answers. By the end of this stretch we had plenty of them, and the biggest one, Picard being on the Kliner payroll, was something that had been called from day one. Episode seven opened with the clean suits arriving at the Stevensons' home, and Stevenson's wife was pregnant. As we put it: "They woke up and they chose war today."

Stevenson's Death Proved We Had Him Wrong

Finlay noted that Chief Morrison's killing was about sending a message, while this one was about getting information, since they tortured Stevenson's wife in front of him. The conclusion was that Stevenson was never involved. The Kliner side thought he was working with Reacher's group, while Reacher's group thought he was working with them, and if they had let him in, maybe they could have protected the couple. That landed hard, because we had been suspicious of him too: "We were sitting here being like he's in on it. He's in on it." "I know. I feel bad."

Before that, Reacher turned up at Kliner's funeral, where the chief stared him down and told him he thought Reacher killed him, then took his car with only two windows tinted because "Only rock stars need four tinted windows." Paying with the counterfeit roll and asking for tickets to a Hall and Oates concert had us laughing, and the cow feed got a mention we flagged at the time.

Reacher Plays Baker and the Fight at Hubble's House

Reacher asked Baker, the last cop in Margrave, to lunch and told him he trusted him because the killers never went after him. We did not buy it for a second: "He's so lying. He's lying through his teeth." When Reacher pinned everything on Finlay, we briefly wondered if he meant it, then realised he was setting a trap at Hubble's house. Pointing out that Finlay found Hubble's number and then Hubble suddenly panicked and confessed sold it, though there was also the remark, "This seems way too easy." The performance worked on us too: "It was very convincing." "It convinced me." Baker also ordered the last slice of peach pie, a gag we suspected would come back around.

Then came the ambush. With the camo paint on, stepping out into the rain, he drew the comment "You look like the Hulk." Luring the clean suit crew to the car one at a time was "So wrong. I love it," and reminded us of stealth games where you bring the guards to the one spot nobody patrols. Leaving the boots behind as a decoy got a "Genius," and the fight ended up in the pool, as predicted. We also found it interesting that with Kliner theoretically taken out by the Venezuelans, the nephew was still working with this Venezuelan kill team.

Washed Singles, Cow Feed and Finlay's Close Call

The counterfeiting scheme finally clicked. US banknotes are all the same size, so bleaching the ink off a dollar bill leaves perfect paper to reprint as hundreds. Singles were shipped into Margrave from cash heavy businesses, the runoff destroyed a town in Mississippi, and the diatomaceous earth needed for the process was hidden inside massive orders of animal feed. Our reaction to the cow feed payoff was simply: "There it is."

Meanwhile Finlay was trapped in his motel by Kliner's men. It felt like being in Taken, and the escape through the wall, Kool-Aid Man style, had us shouting him on. When he thought to stop during the getaway, we called it a great call: "My adrenaline would have been going so much. I wouldn't have even thought of that." By the time Reacher casually mentioned killing Dawson Kliner and four others, "we're just not surprised anymore."

Picard Is Dirty, KJ Confesses and Hubble Is Found in Augusta

Joe's note about Jobling's garage put the apostrophe after the s, and that detail led to the boxes of cash hidden at Pete Jobling's parents' place. Then Neagley traced the FBI agent who closed the EPA case to a partner named Picard. It had been called from the start: "I said it from day one. I said I don't trust that man." The reasoning came from details, Picard's lines on the map steering everyone away, and the timing of Roscoe's call to him. "I don't know if that made sense," came the admission, and the reply: "the brain is a strange place and the connections and inferences one can make you just can't explain to anybody else."

KJ then admitted to killing his own father and to having Joe killed, and we felt "He just knows exactly what to say to get under Reacher's skin." Our read: "It was KJ. It was a power play by KJ." At the diner, Reacher reasoned his way to Hubble in Augusta, and once again "He just never gets to eat the pie." Picard's roadside showdown came quickly, and when Reacher explained finding Hubble's motel, the response was "Dude, stop showing off."

With Neagley joining Finlay and Hubble to go after Roscoe, Charlie and the girls, we felt the end was near, but with a bunch of seasons still to come, it raised the question of what would go wrong. Then again, maybe each season just covers a different mystery.

Do you think every season of Reacher should tell a brand new mystery, or carry threads forward?

Finlay's Big Finale Moment Made This Our Favorite Reacher Episode Yet

The rescue plan started with Hubble carrying the gasoline canister into the truck bay, and Finlay allowing himself a first smoke in ages before the blast. When the explosion hit, the shout was "That's Reacher knocking." Right there came the verdict "I think this is my favorite episode yet," and we agreed it had been free of the cheesiness we had flagged in earlier episodes: "It's been all fire." We also could not stop pointing out Finlay's arms. He's jacked, a point that kept coming up.

When Picard reappeared, it was a vindicating moment: "I told you he wasn't done." Finlay squaring off with him had us cheering him on, and when he finally put Picard down, we were thrilled. Meanwhile Reacher faced KJ, who launched into a long hunting story about a rhino. We called it an "Idiot monologue" and pointed out that talking too much is how you lose. Then came the axe. It had been seen coming: "Too obvious. It's like you can't have that there and not utilize it." Reacher sent him into the fire and simply walked out unscathed.

Reacher's Goodbyes, the Medal and That Peach Pie

The flashback to Reacher's mother hit hard. Reacher learned she knew about the Okinawa incident, and that Joe had wanted to tell her the truth. Even Reacher had assumed his father hated him. The grandfather's war medal for bravery, the one he keeps on him, finally made sense, along with the line that it takes bravery to do what is right.

We liked that Roscoe understood him, handing over her number on a Clark Bar, and were glad he said goodbye. Finlay keeping the dog and naming it Jack made us laugh. Then the peach pie. We had been begging for this man to get one bite, and when asked if it was worth the wait, the answer was "I've had better." We found that hilarious, though there was some hope for a bigger reaction. Seeing him leave the medal on his brother's grave and walk down the road, we both felt that now he could finally cry.

Why the KJ Twist Left Us a Little Disappointed

The fact that this was based on a Lee Child book had slipped from memory, which is why more episodes kept being expected. Once it dawned, the idea of new cases each season was welcome. But the villain reveal split our feelings. One view was that KJ did not earn the twist villain spot: "I'm a little dissatisfied with the fact that it was KJ if I'm honest." Killing off Kliner had suggested a puppet master we had not met, and it just turned out to be KJ.

The way the story was told made KJ feel like the only option with so few episodes left, since nobody new was going to come in. It was a mystery box problem: the show set up something wrong in Margrave but did not quite know how to reveal what was inside, so "the ending was not as satisfying as the rest of the show set up." The FBI agent being in on it felt like the better twist, though that seemed too easy too.

Hubble as the secret mastermind, the accountant in jail all along pulling the strings, would have been a great twist. But the catch: "it's not the show's vibe." The show is not at that level yet.

KJ being slapped by his father stood out as the one interesting dynamic. A slap is arguably worse than a punch, because it suggests you are not worthy of a fist. Being told he could not do anything about it gave KJ a chip on his shoulder.

Episode Seven's Devastating Deaths Gave the Show Depth

We loved the moment in episode seven when the other cop, whom we were convinced was on the take, turns out to be innocent. That one hurt. We had really thought he was a bad guy, and even Roscoe suspected he was fishing. In a situation where you do not know who is clean, you are wary of anyone asking questions.

The show did just enough with him for us to notice his nervous tics and sense he was sweet. Seeing his home and pregnant wife, you fall in love with both quickly, thanks to great casting. That couple and Joe's contact at the Secret Service were, for us, two very devastating deaths.

Cheesy, Quirky and Still Finding Its Identity

The show seems to be trying hard to be intense yet has a lot of cheesy moments. It is still fun, and the cheesiness does not make you hate it. As we put it, "It's got quirks. It's got a lot of quirks," and in the end, "I accept you. I like your quirks."

Looking to season two, the question is whether the tongue-in-cheek tone survives alongside the unflinching gore, and the guess is that if it shifts, it will probably lean darker. The haze in the lights gives a softer visual feel to a show potentially about a hard-boiled military detective. The fight scenes were great, and "the choreography was amazing on the action sequences." The nailed body and taped eyes show it could go very dark, but the levity keeps it from becoming harrowing. Amazon has renewed it not once but three times over, so there is a lot more to watch.

Should Reacher lean into a darker tone in season two, or keep its cheesy quirks?