Amazon Prime Video’s Reacher burst onto screens on February 4, 2022, with a critically acclaimed adaptation of Lee Child’s debut novel, Killing Floor. The series stars Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher, a formidable former U.S. Army military police officer who finds himself embroiled in a deadly conspiracy in the fictional town of Margrave, Georgia. When Reacher arrives in Margrave, he’s immediately arrested for a murder he didn’t commit—a brutal killing that turns out to be his own brother, Joe , a Homeland Security agent investigating a sophisticated counterfeiting operation. As Reacher digs deeper into the town’s secrets, he uncovers a web of corruption that will require all his combat skills and investigative expertise to dismantle.
Developed by Nick Santora for Amazon Studios, the first season marked a significant departure from the previous Tom Cruise film adaptations by casting the 6’2” Ritchson, whose imposing physique better matches Child’s literary description of the character. The production team built an entire fictional town of Margrave from the ground up in Ontario, Canada, creating an authentic small-town Georgia atmosphere. The show garnered strong critical reception, earning a 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising Ritchson’s performance and the faithful adaptation of Child’s source material. Reacher quickly became a streaming phenomenon, making history as the first Amazon production to top Nielsen’s streaming rankings in February 2022, which led to its swift renewal for a second season just three days after its premiere.
Arrival and False Accusation
In the dead of night, a man desperately flees from a mysterious attacker wielding a weapon. The victim is quickly gunned down, and to cover his tracks, the killer brutally murders the victim, leaving the body near the roadside. The following morning, Jack Reacher, a former military policeman, arrives in Margrave, Georgia, and walks into a diner. Before he can take a single bite of his meal, he is arrested by the police and charged with murder. Chief Detective Oscar Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin) explains the situation to him, but Reacher firmly denies any involvement in the killing.
Finlay then interrogates another suspect, Paul Hubble (Marc Bendavid). Under duress due to threats against his family, Hubble makes a false confession despite having an alibi at a party. Both he and Reacher are transferred to state prison, where they are ambushed by other inmates in the shower room. What follows is a brutal confrontation, with Reacher severely injuring several prisoners. Following interventions and Finlay’s growing doubts about their guilt, Reacher and Hubble are eventually released.
The day after their release, Reacher is approached by KJ Kliner (Chris Webster), the son of local business leader Kliner Senior (Currie Graham), while trying to get a shave. KJ threatens Reacher, making it clear he doesn’t trust him. When another victim turns up dead, Reacher is devastated to recognize the body as his brother Joe (Christopher Russell), a slain Homeland Security agent. Vowing revenge on the killer, Reacher reluctantly accepts Finlay’s assistance in his mission. Together with fellow officer Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald), they drive to Hubble’s house to investigate.
At the Hubble residence, they meet Paul’s wife Charlene (Kristin Kreuk) and inquire about a piece of paper with Hubble’s phone number found hidden in Joe’s shoe, but she claims to know nothing about it. The next morning brings another shocking discovery—Chief of Police Edward Morrison (Peter Skagen) has been found nailed to a wall, his genitals brutally removed. Noting that Hubble went missing the previous night, Reacher suspects he’s been murdered as well. As a precaution, Hubble’s family is placed under unofficial FBI protection by Finlay’s friend, Agent Picard (Martin Roach).
Grover Teale (Bruce McGill), the mayor of Margrave, promptly appoints himself as the new chief of police. Meanwhile, Reacher heads to the home of Taylor Spivey (Patrick Garrow), the corrupt prison guard, only to be ambushed by a group of assassins. Fortunately, Reacher fends them all off, concluding they’re likely South American special forces operatives. Later that night, due to a flood, he and Roscoe decide to spend the night at a local motel, where they share an intimate evening exchanging confessions about their pasts.
The following day, they return to Roscoe’s house only to discover someone has broken in and left an ominous message: “See you soon.” Upset over the break-in, Roscoe gives Reacher a gun, urging him not to lose it as it is a family heirloom. When they return to the police station, they find medical examiner Jasper (Harvey Guillen) inspecting the first murder victim. It is revealed that the victim’s name was Pete Jobling (Drew Moss), a trucker for South Freight Shipping. Soon after, they contact Joe’s friend, Secret Service agent Molly Beth Gordon (Lara Jean Chorostecki), who informs them that Joe had been overseeing an anti-counterfeiting operation in Margrave.
Investigation Amid Murders
Meanwhile, Finlay searches Spivey’s home and discovers his phone, which shows multiple calls to Kliner listed in the call history. After threatening a lawyer to hand over Pete’s file, Reacher learns that the shipping company Pete worked for had their legal fees paid by Kliner Industries, making Kliner Senior a new suspect. Accompanied by Finlay, Reacher confronts Kliner at his office, but the businessman angrily denies any involvement in the recent murders. Reacher then tracks down Hubble’s former boss, discovering Hubble had quit that job over a year ago and had been secretly working elsewhere before his disappearance.
In a sudden turn of events, Reacher is ambushed once again by the South American mercenaries and finds himself in a high-speed car chase. To outwit them, he jumps out of his vehicle and from a hiding place shoots them dead. When he opens their trunk, he finds Spivey’s lifeless corpse. After disposing of the bodies, Reacher receives a call from Finlay informing him that a burnt car has been found on a farm. Upon examining it, they suspect it might have been Joe’s vehicle.
When Roscoe arrives at the farm, she presses Reacher about his past, prompted partly by KJ’s constant taunts accusing him of being a killer. Seeking to understand the man she’s allied with, she asks about his service overseas. Reacher explains his former life guarding an Iraqi village filled with abused children, and how he killed the adults who were sexually exploiting them. This moment of vulnerability creates a deeper understanding between them as they continue their investigation.
The pair then visit Pete’s home and speak with his ex-wife. Noting their surprisingly large house, Reacher theorizes that Pete may have stolen counterfeit money from Kliner and was killed for it. He also suspects the bills were likely produced in South America, which would explain the assassin attacks. Later, a motel room belonging to Joe is located, and Reacher enters to find almost everything ransacked by the South American hitmen. Fortunately, he discovers a note with several clues written on it. Just as they’re examining it, the mercenaries arrive and immediately open fire on Reacher and Roscoe.
Managing to escape, Reacher contacts his old partner Frances Neagley (Maria Sten) and tasks her with decoding Joe’s clues. They then head to the airport to meet Molly Beth, who is bringing Joe’s case files. However, when she fails to appear, Reacher searches for her and eventually finds her in a tunnel, wounded and dying, with the case files stolen. This devastating loss further fuels Reacher’s determination to solve the case and avenge both his brother and now Molly Beth.
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Reacher confronts KJ at a diner, where a heated argument erupts between them. Just as Reacher begins to get violent, Kliner has him forcibly removed from the premises. After hearing about Roscoe’s father figure, Gray, and his alleged suicide, Reacher points out that most men leave something meaningful behind before taking their own lives. He checks Roscoe’s gun case and finds a key inside. They travel to a barbershop that Gray used to frequent, following yet another thread that might unravel the growing conspiracy in Margrave.
Uncovering Town Corruption
When they speak to the shopkeeper, Mr. Mosley (Willie C. Carpenter), he reveals that he was paid to keep certain files confidential and stores them in his basement. Through these files, they discover that Kliner has been buying the town’s silence through his generous charitable donations while running a counterfeiting operation. This leads to another revelation: Gray was likely murdered.
At the morgue, Roscoe examines Gray’s files and realizes he might have died from head trauma rather than suicide. Jasper then finds microscopic diamond fragments in the wound photos, suggesting that Teale could have struck Gray with his diamond-tipped cane, indicating he had a vendetta against him. Filled with rage, Roscoe storms into the station to confront Teale, but Finlay quickly escorts her out.
In Memphis, Reacher and Neagley catch a ride in a police car with several officers, but the situation turns deadly when one officer pulls out a gun and kills his partner, admitting he was coerced into doing it. They desperately try to escape, but the car veers off the road and plunges into a lake. Fortunately, they manage to escape the sinking vehicle and continue their pursuit of the truth.
Meanwhile, Finlay bursts into Kliner’s office only to find his lifeless body slumped in his chair, throat slit. When Finlay brings photos of Kliner’s body to Reacher, he immediately recognizes the distinctive neck wound as a Venezuelan butterfly cut—a signature of the South American agents. They conclude that whoever Kliner had been working for likely ordered his execution. KJ, devastated by his father’s death, begins accusing Finlay of being the killer.
Together with Reacher, Finlay conducts a stakeout around Kliner’s house and confides that his wife has passed away, explaining that he came to Margrave to distract himself from his grief. Their conversation is interrupted when they notice Dawson (A.J. Simmons), Kliner’s nephew, handling a suspicious delivery. When Dawson stops at a motel for the night, Finlay and Reacher break into his truck but find nothing noteworthy. Reacher then attempts to contact one of Joe’s associates for help, only to learn that this contact was recently killed. As an alternative, he reaches out to Professor Castillo (Alexandra Castillo).
Meanwhile, Roscoe defends Hubble’s family from two mercenaries in a tense confrontation. After the attack, she takes them to a diner where Charlene reveals that Hubble was offered substantial bonuses and a raise by Kliner if he agreed to go to Venezuela—further confirming that Kliner’s business was indeed a front for money laundering. This new information adds another layer to the complex web of deception surrounding the case.
Finally meeting with Professor Castillo, Reacher learns that she was Joe’s partner at one point. She shares a crucial revelation: Joe had discovered that the counterfeit bills were being produced in Georgia, not South America as they had previously believed. After the murder of Officer Stevenson (Jonathan Koensgen) and his wife Emma (Jorja Cadence), Reacher and Finlay are called to their home, where they discover the victims’ bodies tied to chairs. Meanwhile, Teale, supposedly disappointed with Roscoe’s lack of progress, fires her from the force.
That night, Reacher sets a trap for the mercenaries at Hubble’s home, with Dawson turning out to be one of them. During the ensuing fight, Dawson knocks Reacher unconscious with a crowbar and throws him into the pool. Before he can drown, however, Reacher regains consciousness, overpowers Dawson, and kills him, narrowly escaping death once again in his relentless pursuit of justice.
The Counterfeiting Operation
With all the evidence gathered, Reacher finally unravels the counterfeiting operation: Kliner was producing fake currency by bleaching real low-value dollar bills, and through Hubble’s financial expertise, they were able to reprint them as convincing USD 100 notes. Meanwhile, a group of mercenaries surrounds Finlay’s motel room, but he manages to escape and reunites with Reacher at Pete’s house, only to find it has been burned to the ground. They decide to check Pete’s parents’ home next and discover a box full of USD 100 bills hidden in their garage.
Reacher tells Finlay he’ll catch up with him later and calls Neagley, who reveals that “The Viking” might have been an FBI agent who died years ago, but his partner could still be alive. She delivers a shocking revelation: the Viking’s partner is Agent Picard—the same person Finlay assigned to protect Hubble’s family. Just as Reacher hangs up and rejoins Finlay, he opens the door to find KJ, Teale, and Picard pointing guns at them. Picard and Teale confess to being involved in the counterfeiting scheme, while KJ admits responsibility for most of the murders, including his own father’s. They reveal that Hubble is still alive and order Reacher to find him, with Picard keeping close watch.
Reacher theorizes that Hubble is hiding in Augusta. While en route, he seizes an opportunity to shoot and wound Picard, using the opportunity to escape. Now free, he travels to Augusta alone and convinces Hubble to return with him. Hubble explains that he, Pete, and Joe had been working together to expose Kliner’s illegal operations. This revelation finally completes the puzzle of why Joe came to Margrave and how everything connects to the counterfeiting operation.
Meanwhile, Finlay is held hostage by Officer Baker (Hugh Thompson) at the police station, but Reacher crashes his truck into the building, crushing Baker in the process. When Neagley arrives, they launch an assault on the warehouse, igniting a fire that destroys the counterfeit money and taking down Kliner’s henchmen, allowing Hubble to rescue his wife and children. The confrontation culminates in a series of violent showdowns as justice is finally served to the conspirators.
With everything coming to a head, Finlay kills Picard by forcing him into a stamping machine, while Roscoe shoots Teale multiple times in the head, and Reacher hurls KJ into the burning flames. In the aftermath of their victory, Reacher is told he needs to remain in town for the inevitable questioning, but he dismisses this notion. He explains that he’s a drifter who never stays in one place for long. Finlay also decides it’s time to move on, as he’s quitting the police force for good.
Before departing, Reacher makes one final stop at the location of Joe’s death, where he solemnly buries the French war medal their mother had given his brother—a poignant gesture of closure and remembrance. As he walks away from Margrave, the case solved and his brother avenged, Reacher returns to his nomadic lifestyle, ready for whatever adventure awaits him next.
