S03.E08: Unfinished Business

[AnimeMania]

(Season Finale)

Reacher finally faces off with both Paulie and Quinn.

Premiere Date: March 27, 2025      Prime Video   

[Raja]

The showdown by the big guys was a swing and a miss. All that time Reacher had nothing but try to out muscle more muscles.  Somehow, I spike the gun's barrel. The old man and the security guard was better.

It was a shame for the ATF Reacher only had 5 rounds for that sniper rifle. He picks off 5 from behind so the bad guys didn't know he was there. But the entire team buys it with the local police 40 minutes away and no medics and nearby crowd control if things went haywire. Well lessons learned long ago. 

Beck goes out showing the father's love with a bluff being more dramatic than just losing a gun battle.  To the end of another set of agents ignoring one last murder by Reacher, at least these two quit.

[AntFTW]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

The showdown by the big guys was a swing and a miss.

It reminded me of Family Guy with Peter and the chicken, several rounds of nonstop fighting.

[Chicago Redshirt]

7 hours ago, Raja said:

Beck goes out showing the father's love with a bluff being more dramatic than just losing a gun battle. 

Other than Chekov's childhood replica gun needing to be used and Beck needing to die for his complicity in Quinn's business, it seems bizarre to me that Beck didn't get a real gun. it's hard to believe that he wasn't packing when he went to what he thought was the sale, that he didn't have an opportunity to get a gun either while they were at the ambush or sometime after they got back to his house.

It's also hard to believe that Quinn did not sniff out his tough-guy speech about I've been waiting to get back at you for what you did to Richie as a bluff long before the epoxy job on the gun failed. If it was a real gun, why would Beck monologue about how he wanted to shoot him for what he did to Richie rather than just shoot him?

Even assuming it's a real gun, why wouldn't he take his chances and use one of the bigger better guns versus what looks to be a relatively small caliber non-automatic gun? 

Compare and contrast how he handled the Russian Roulette situation with Richie. 

It felt like Quinn dropped several levels of badassery in this final episode. Which was disappointing.

Edited Thursday at 10:32 PM by Chicago Redshirt

[BlackberryJam]

The editing of the 3 day long fight scene with Paulie was terrible. One actor would strike a pose while awaiting the move from the other. Ugh. Had it been edited better, it wouldn’t have felt so choreographed.  

I also still don’t care about Teresa. I mean, how many people died for this personality-free and interest-free rando?

Edited Friday at 03:16 AM by BlackberryJam

[UnknownK]

Dead people everywhere, warehouse full of loaded automatic weapons, but anyone can take whatever they like and just drive out the front gate.

[paigow]

No more buses for Reacher... until he gets pulled over and has no registration or insurance... 

[Raja]

11 minutes ago, paigow said:

No more buses for Reacher... until he gets pulled over and has no registration or insurance... 

Surely Reacher is smart enough to spend psrt of his pension on a helmet before crossing the state line.

[Hanahope]

I agree that the fight between Reacher and Paulie was not choreographed well, Villaneuva's fight was much better.  Still eventually they got across that brains will help beat mere muscles and size.

I also thought the shooting of Quinn was a bit of let down, but i guess Reacher wasn't going to take any chances this time.  but i bet the Russians would have tortured the guy more first.  Quinn got off light.

and yeah, Theresa was such a non-entity the whole sturm and drang over her was such a nothingburger imo.  At least there was something we felt for Richard.  

Kindof surprised all of the ATF agents were killed in the shoot out.  really doesn't inspire much confidence.

I really would love a Neagley spin off.  

[shrewd.buddha]

I appreciate that this show brings its story to a close at the end of the season. Things are tied up with no cliffhangers or added scenes to tease another season.

Given their history, it's hard to believe that Beck never trained his son Richie in self defense or how to handle a gun. 

15 minutes ago, Hanahope said:

Theresa was such a non-entity the whole sturm and drang over her was such a nothingburger imo. 

The actress must have been some showrunner's sister or something - there was nothing added by having the character finally appear. 
It was an odd way to handle a character whose name was hammered into the audience's consciousness for eight episodes. 

Edited Friday at 02:57 PM by shrewd.buddha

[Raja]

40 minutes ago, shrewd.buddha said:

The actress must have been some showrunner's sister or something - there was nothing added by having the character finally appear. 
It was an odd way to handle a character whose name was hammered into the audience's consciousness for eight episodes. 

They should have just given her full name, Theresa MacGuffin.

[Netfoot]

57 minutes ago, Hanahope said:

I also thought the shooting of Quinn was a bit of let down

Given Quinn's fondness for cutting people I would have preferred for Reacher to slowly dismantle him, slice by slice, over a period of several minutes.

 

[dleighg]

The 3 hour long fight scene with Paulie had me switching to something else to watch several times. I'm not a big fan of fights (I know, why am I watching this show?) 

Glad Duffy had the opportunity to shoot they guy in the family jewels before dispatching him.

I found Reacher riding off on a motorcycle mildly amusing. So no more hitchhiking and greyhounds for him?

[jessiebell]

I fast forwarded thru the Paulie-Reacher fight scenes.

Duffy shouldn't have finished off the guy - he deserved a slow death.  As did Quinn.  

Amazing all those bullets flying and I don't think any of the birthday party goers were killed.

Also amazing at how quickly the cops let Reacher and company go considering how many dead men were laying around.

As Richard drove off with that beautiful house in the background I kept thinking who's going to get that house.  Guess the government will take it for all of Beck's crimes.

 

 

[Raja]

9 minutes ago, jessiebell said:

I fast forwarded thru the Paulie-Reacher fight scenes.

Duffy shouldn't have finished off the guy - he deserved a slow death.  As did Quinn.  

Amazing all those bullets flying and I don't think any of the birthday party goers were killed.

Also amazing at how quickly the cops let Reacher and company go considering how many dead men were laying around.

As Richard drove off with that beautiful house in the background I kept thinking who's going to get that house.  Guess the government will take it for all of Beck's crimes.

 

 

I think that in the end Richard has a good case that as hostages his father was forced into any crimes the ATF could prove. And covering up for Reacher's  the Russians murder of Quinn is rife with dealing opportunities 

[Ottis]

16 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

I also still don’t care about Teresa. I mean, how many people died for this personality-free and interest-free rando?

That was a weak subplot. The real story was always Reacher and Quinn.

4 hours ago, dleighg said:

The 3 hour long fight scene with Paulie had me switching to something else to watch several times. I'm not a big fan of fights (I know, why am I watching this show?) 

I'm with you. Long fights and car chases bore me. Show a win or loss and move on.

5 hours ago, shrewd.buddha said:

I appreciate that this show brings its story to a close at the end of the season. Things are tied up with no cliffhangers or added scenes to tease another season.

Every season is a take on one of the books, so yeah.

 

[thuganomics85]

Agree that the Villanueva vs. the guard fight actually ended up being better than the supposedly epic Reacher vs. Paulie showdown.  The former felt more like an intense, suspenseful, gritty battle of wills, while the latter felt like an over-the-top Kaiju battle in human form.  Which, to be fair, was probably what they were going for and it might delight some, but it kind of became comical the more it went on.  And the resolution was a letdown: especially since it required Reacher to actually have to spell out to Paulie what he just did, in a way that it was clearly more about explaining to the audience what just happened.  A clunky bit of exposition right there.

I actually didn't mind though that there was no big fight for Quinn, and Reacher just shot him cold.  It would make sense that Reacher wouldn't drag things out this time.  And at least Quinn did get his memory back long enough to know what was the catalyst of his downfall.

No surprise that Beck dies in an attempt to protect Richard.  Figured that was where that was all heading.  And now Richard's got a car and a bag of cash, and he's off to be a drifter himself!

Teresa is back home safely, and Duffy is now off to do her own thing as well.  At least she's the one who breaks things off with Reacher.  He's normally the one that has to do that!

All in all, I think this season was better than the last one, but S1 is still ahead by a good bit.  The villains this go around where a little more rememberable compared to the norm, but I think the biggest difference so far is that the supporting characters really haven't stood out like Roscoe and Finley did way back in the first season.  I get this is Reacher's show and all, but of the best parts of S1 was the interplay and chemistry between those three.  Reacher really hasn't had that with anyone else outside of Neagley, and even then, she was also from S1.  Then again, it's not like I really take this series too seriously, so I'll be back for sure to watch whatever town needs the assistance of a big-ass drifter next time!  

[Netfoot]

5 hours ago, dleighg said:

I found Reacher riding off on a motorcycle mildly amusing. So no more hitchhiking and greyhounds for him?

He hardly has room in his life for a toothbrush. He doesn't even want to have a fanny-pack with an extra pair of drawers. You think he will hang on to the bike? Doubt it. He will probably ride to the next bus terminal or go until the fuel runs out then give it to someone or just park it and walk away.

[Unclejosh]

Yeah he basically wants no ties to anything. Most of the books have him walking into a town and meeting someone or some cop being a dick if I recall. He goes to a salvation army or thrift store and buys clothes and throws the old ones out.

[paigow]

4 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

 And now Richard's got a car and a bag of cash, and he's off to be a drifter himself!

That should last about a week until he gets carjacked and left for dead at the Double Deuce

[Lone Wolf]

11 hours ago, Unclejosh said:

Yeah he basically wants no ties to anything. Most of the books have him walking into a town and meeting someone or some cop being a dick if I recall. He goes to a salvation army or thrift store and buys clothes and throws the old ones out.

Speaking of the books, I'm not sure "the real Reacher" would even know how to drive a motorcycle.  In Killing Floor he was fumbling around trying to drive a stick shift car, and bikes are somewhat counterintuitive to begin with - shift with your foot and hand, throttle with with your hand, brake with foot and/or hand...

I guess he'd figure it out eventually (after all, he's Jack Reacher), but yeah, the likelihood of him keeping it any longer than until it runs out of gas is pretty low.

On 3/27/2025 at 9:21 AM, AntFTW said:

It reminded me of Family Guy with Peter and the chicken, several rounds of nonstop fighting.

I came here to say exactly that.

And him walking away with little more than loose teeth is almost as cartoonish.

Edited Saturday at 09:14 AM by Lone Wolf

[Raja]

4 hours ago, Lone Wolf said:

Speaking of the books, I'm not sure "the real Reacher" would even know how to drive a motorcycle.  In Killing Floor he was fumbling around trying to drive a stick shift car, and bikes are somewhat counterintuitive to begin with - shift with your foot and hand, throttle with with your hand, brake with foot and/or hand...

That surprises me to no end. In every other way he is the perfect male power fantasy figure. And just short enough to fit throw a standard door without bending over.

[paigow]

When Reacher was a junior officer, did he ever drive a manual transmission jeep?

[Raja]

34 minutes ago, paigow said:

When Reacher was a junior officer, did he ever drive a manual transmission jeep?

It is one of those only on TV things. After training on the system to know how to do it Army officers rarely drive anything and those skills go away. It was the policy in my division. In hindsight it would be like Justin Timberlake has the money so should always be driven everywhere to avoid his DUI conviction.

With something like driving a stick on a jeep goes away, you would be like Agent Villanueva driving that truck. And TV Reacher is way too young to have been worrying about a jeep. And as a junior officer in a MP company, it probably be equipped with the automatic transmission version of the Humvee. And by the time he is running CID would be driving sedans except when undercover which a real CID unit commander wouldn't be undercover himself but more like a city PD Chief of Detectives.

Edited Saturday at 04:58 PM by Raja

[Ottis]

On 3/27/2025 at 11:15 PM, BlackberryJam said:

he editing of the 3 day long fight scene with Paulie was terrible. One actor would strike a pose while awaiting the move from the other. Ugh. Had it been edited better, it wouldn’t have felt so choreographed.  

Even worse was the level of disinterest any cops and agents had at the end to the crime scene. Ritchie has time and space to pack up money and drive away in a car, Reacher steals a motorcycle. We can see agents on scene. Yet no one seems to notice or care about these departures without even a cursory check? 

On 3/27/2025 at 11:15 PM, BlackberryJam said:

I also still don’t care about Teresa. I mean, how many people died for this personality-free and interest-free rando?

Ditto. That was a miss, and I'm not sure how they could have fixed it. Maybe open with Teresa helping Ritchie and then getting kidnapped?

22 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

I think the biggest difference so far is that the supporting characters really haven't stood out like Roscoe and Finley did way back in the first season.  I get this is Reacher's show and all, but of the best parts of S1 was the interplay and chemistry between those three. 

ITA with that. Add Negley and have them all in a season. For whatever reason, I feel badly for the side characters who are collateral damage, like nerd agent. They just kind of get forgotten while everyone else lives their lives.

[mjc570]

On 3/27/2025 at 11:15 PM, BlackberryJam said:

The editing of the 3 day long fight scene with Paulie was terrible. One actor would strike a pose while awaiting the move from the other. Ugh. Had it been edited better, it wouldn’t have felt so choreographed.  

I also still don’t care about Teresa. I mean, how many people died for this personality-free and interest-free rando?

Thank you! I was so sick of her, as well as Duffy's pathetic accent.  Also agree about the Long Fight (yawn)

I really only watched it because I am a HUGE Alan Richson fan.  This episode especially was just preposterous and boring, despite the amazing body count.  I wonder how they just hand waved aside all those deaths?

I can't remember watching anything that had less suspense.  

[BlackberryJam]

54 minutes ago, mjc570 said:

Thank you! I was so sick of her, as well as Duffy's pathetic accent.  Also agree about the Long Fight (yawn)

I really only watched it because I am a HUGE Alan Richson fan.  This episode especially was just preposterous and boring, despite the amazing body count.  I wonder how they just hand waved aside all those deaths?

I can't remember watching anything that had less suspense.  

I know this is based on a book series and I'm just wondering if the books are as predictable. 

I'm certainly not watching for the good acting or the incredible storylines. Alan Ritchson is hot and likable. 

[Raja]

1 hour ago, BlackberryJam said:

I know this is based on a book series and I'm just wondering if the books are as predictable. 

I'm certainly not watching for the good acting or the incredible storylines. Alan Ritchson is hot and likable. 

There wouldn't be 40 Spenser novels if Spenser and Hawk acted differently every time out. I suspect Reacher and Neagley aren't any different.

[BlackberryJam]

4 hours ago, Raja said:

There wouldn't be 40 Spenser novels if Spenser and Hawk acted differently every time out. I suspect Reacher and Neagley aren't any different.

I wouldn't know. I've not read those or seen the show.

By predictable, I didn't mean that the characters acted the same over and over. I meant that I could predict what was going to happen in each scene and what was going to happen next. Season two was a particularly long and painful episode of NCIS. But then again, maybe the writers of those shows are just ripping off the Reacher books.

[jessiebell]

I've read all the Reacher books up to when the author started writing with his brother.  So far the shows tend to the basic story line.  Can't say I remember each the details of each book but I do remember the season 2 show took place on the east coast whereas in the book the bodies were dumped out over the California (or maybe Nevada) desert and Reacher and company went to Vegas not Atlantic City.  I enjoyed the books but found them utterly forgettable.  I look at the show as unrealistic but pure escapism - which I really need during these times.  I've told people that Reacher could be unarmed in a  room with 20 guys with Uzis and he'd be the only one to come out alive.

[Netfoot]

3 hours ago, jessiebell said:

I've told people that Reacher could be unarmed in a  room with 20 guys with Uzis and he'd be the only one to come out alive.

Yes.

Great, isn't is?

[Taryn74]

On 3/28/2025 at 4:04 PM, thuganomics85 said:

All in all, I think this season was better than the last one, but S1 is still ahead by a good bit.  The villains this go around where a little more rememberable compared to the norm, but I think the biggest difference so far is that the supporting characters really haven't stood out like Roscoe and Finley did way back in the first season.  I get this is Reacher's show and all, but of the best parts of S1 was the interplay and chemistry between those three. 

Completely agree. I still randomly think of the scene where Reacher told Finley "I was embarrassed ordering that" (about Finley's salad at the BBQ restaurant) and laugh.