Reacher Season 2: 18 Biggest Changes To Lee Child’s Bad Luck & Trouble
Amazon Prime Video’s Reacher season 2 is largely faithful to the source material, but takes some liberties with Lee Child’s Bad Luck and Trouble.
Warning: Spoilers for Reacher season 2 below!
SUMMARY
Reacher season 2 stayed broadly faithful to Lee Child’s Bad Luck and Trouble novel but made some key changes to the original story.
The character of Detective Russo and his heroic sacrifice is a new addition, as are the 110th Special Investigators Unit flashbacks.
Season 2 ends with Reacher and the 110th killing arms dealer AM, instead of leaving him for the authorities.
Amazon Prime Video’s Reacher season 2 is largely faithful to the source material, but the sophomore outing still took some liberties with Lee Child’s Bad Luck and Trouble. The eleventh book in the Reacher series, Bad Luck and Trouble is quite a jump from Child’s debut, Killing Floor, which served as the basis for season 1.
However, the focus on a story that’s more personal to Alan Ritchson’s Reacher and his military backstory is a welcome contrast to season 1’s small-town corruption. When it comes to the broad strokes, Reacher season 2 adapts Child’s Bad Luck and Trouble pretty faithfully.
Just like the novel, season 2 finds the titular ex-military police officer at the center of a conspiracy targeting former members of Reacher’s 110th Special Investigations Unit.
Aided by season one returning favorite Frances Neagley (Maria Sten), Reacher reassembles the members of his unit who haven’t gone missing to avenge their murdered friends, and stop a mysterious terrorist arms dealer from acquiring an experimental missile dubbed “Little Wing.”
18. Calvin Franz Is Murdered In New York State
Franz was killed in California in Child’s novel
The event that kicks off Bad Luck and Trouble‘s propulsive story is the murder of Calvin Franz. In both the book and series, Franz idolizes Jack Reacher; in his final moments, he even chides his killers for messing with the “big guy.”
For the most part, Franz’s death remains true to the source material. Beaten to a pulp and tossed from a helicopter 3,000 feet above California, Franz dies in the desert in Child’s novel. In the show, his murder is relocated to upstate New York. Regardless, it’s a gnarly way to go out.
17. Reacher Season 2 Features A Shorter Time Jump
There was a bigger gap between the events of Killing Floor and Bad Luck and Trouble
Published in 2007, Bad Luck and Trouble was pretty much set in the present day when it hit shelves. Since it’s the eleventh Jack Reacher novel, that means quite a bit of time passed between Bad Luck and Trouble and the Margrave, Georgia-set Killing Floor.
In Reacher season 2 there’s still a time jump, but it’s significantly shorter. While catching up with Neagley at a New York diner, Reacher mentions it’s been two years and change since Margrave.
16. Jack Reacher Is In Arkansas When Neagley Reaches Out
The eternal drifter was far away from Arkansas when the novel begins
In Child’s novel, self-proclaimed “hobo” Jack Reacher is drifting around Portland, Oregon, when he sees Neagley’s S.O.S. Prime’s take on the story ditched the West Coast altogether in favor of other climes.
When the sophomore season opens, Reacher visits a thrift store in Murfreesboro, Arkansas — a far cry from Oregon. The change in setting doesn’t have a huge impact; namely, it just allows Reacher to meet up with Neagley that much quicker.
15. Reacher Solves Neagley’s Code Much Quicker
Reacher instantly recognizes the distress code
Aimless as ever, Reacher has nothing but the clothes on his back and an ATM card in Child’s Bad Luck and Trouble and in the Amazon series, he’s much the same. In the book, the math-obsessed investigator sees an anonymous deposit in his account for $1,030.00.
After some light detective work, he puts together it’s his fellow math lover Neagley calling for urgent help using their old military police code, 10-30. In the show, Reacher gets an ATM receipt and sees deposits for $110 — the number of his old unit — and $1,030, and realizes almost instantly who sent it.
14. Reacher Season 2 Shifts Child’s Bad Luck & Trouble Book To The East Coast
Season 2 relocates the action of Bad Luck and Trouble
Not only does Franz’s aerial killing take place in New York State’s Catskills, but Reacher gets relocated to Arkansas. In fact, most of Reacher season 2 orbits around New York. Reacher meets up with Neagley in Manhattan; later, the reassembled 110th heads to Atlantic City, New Jersey as part of their investigation.
In the novel, Franz is killed above California and most of the book takes place in the Los Angeles area or Las Vegas. While the change in location doesn’t impact the narrative arc as a whole, it certainly adds a different atmosphere to events.
13. Lee Child’s One Shot Occurs Offscreen Between Seasons
It appears Prime won’t be re-adapting the Tom Cruise movies anytime soon
In the second episode of Reacher season 2, Jack lets slip a name familiar to fans of Child’s books: James Barr. According to Reacher, Barr “owes him one.” This is a clear reference to One Shot, the ninth book, which was adapted into a 2012 movie starring Tom Cruise.
A popular novel, One Shot seemed like a strong candidate for Reacher season 3, which was renewed well ahead of the sophomore outing’s debut. However, given the nod to One Shot, it seems that story occurred off-screen — likely to help the series stand apart from the films.
12. Reacher & Neagley Meet Up With Their Friends Before Heading To New Age
The 110th reunion takes place much quicker in the show
In Child’s Bad Luck and Trouble, Reacher and Neagley head to former 110th member Tony Swan’s workplace after speaking to Franz’s widow. Swan works for defense contractor New Age, which becomes a key element of their investigation, but on this first visit, the duo is turned away by the company HR manager, who claims Swan was fired weeks earlier.
The show switches up the order of events, with Neagley and Reacher assembling their old teammates before Neagley and Karla Dixon (Serinda Swan) visit New Age.
Reacher streams exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
11. David O’Donnell & Karla Dixon Are Introduced Earlier In The Show
Reacher season 2 puts the band back together in a more timely manner
Prime’s adaptation of Bad Luck and Trouble makes the wise move of introducing Reacher and Neagley’s army buddies earlier than in the book. In fact, the duo makes a point of assembling their 110th friends first.
Both David O’Donnell (Shaun Sipos) – now a lawyer – and private investigator Dixon enter the plot pretty quickly. This allows viewers to get to know the former members of the 110th much sooner — a stakes-raising move for a medium that doesn’t allow for the same interiority as a novel.
10. A Present-Day Setting Defines Amazon’s Reacher
Bad Luck and Trouble took place around 2007
With Reacher season 2 being set in the present, it has a different feel from Child’s novel, which was published in 2007. For starters, technology has made quite a leap in the decade-plus since the book hit shelves.
The basics remain the same: Reacher has a bank card, mobile phones exist, and Neagley tries to crack the password on a flash drive (though, as she points out, USB variants have certainly changed since 2007). While Bad Luck and Trouble felt of its time, Reacher season 2 feels very of the moment, thanks to its updated tech and pop culture references.
9. The 110th Flashbacks
“Operation Kite Runner” is a new addition to the plot
The first season of Reacher introduced a flashback structure, where the title character would occasionally recollect a key event from his childhood. Season 2 continued this storytelling trend, where Reacher would often flash back to his days running the 110th Special Investigators Unit before he left the army.
Bad Luck and Trouble features no flashbacks whatsoever, but the show was smart to add them, as it gives viewers an insight into the bond Reacher formed with his team. With “Operation Kite Runner,” Amazon’s adaptation also revealed the reason the unit was disbanded.
Just as the 110th was preparing to wrap up an investigation in a drug trafficking operation within the army, their commanding officer Lt. Colonel Fields (Josh Blacker) ordered them to stand down.
It turns out the bust would destroy the reputation of one of Fields’ friends, but despite knowing the effect it would have on their careers, the 110th go through with the arrests anyway. Despite doing the right thing, Fields disbands the 110th and vows to make the rest of their time in the army a misery.
8. O’Donnell Is A Family Man
The self-proclaimed ladies’ man has settled down
In terms of personality, the O’Donnell from Bad Luck and Trouble and the one played by Shaun Sipos in Reacher season 2 are nearly identical.
They’re both sarcastic jokers who carry around a ceramic knuckleduster and knife and act as the comic relief of the group. In Child’s novel, O’Donnell is described as a ladies’ man and has no family ties to speak of.
In the 110th flashbacks, this is the way he’s depicted too, but in the present day, O’Donnell’s former colleagues are shocked to learn he’s happily married and has children.
This adds some depth to the character and gives O’Donnell something to lose as he investigates the deaths of his friends. O’Donnell becoming a family man also proves to Reacher it’s possible for him to live a more normal life too; if he wanted to, that is.
7. Solving The Jimi Hendrix Clue
Technology took some of the fun out of this Bad Luck and Trouble passage
One of the more amusing sections in Bad Luck and Trouble involved a treasure hunt for a Jimi Hendrix CD. The 110th unearths a clue that involves finding out the name of a track from a Hendrix album, so Reacher has to go to Tower Records to find it.
He then has to buy the album too, since a huge sticker covers the track listings. Amazon’s Reacher skips this whole passage, and simply has Dixon Google the album to learn the track is called “Little Wing.” This is a smart change – though the treasure hunt would have been fun.
6. Detective Finlay’s Shock Cameo
Viewers weren’t expecting to see Finlay back in season 2
A big part of the success of Reacher’s first season was the chemistry between Ritchson and co-stars Willa Fitzgerald and Malcolm Goodwin as Roscoe and Finlay.
There was heartbreak among viewers when they learned neither character would return for Reacher season 2 – which made Finlay’s surprise cameo in episode 4 all the more delightful.
In episode 4, Reacher calls on Finlay for help when he needs to interrogate a senator’s aide on the down low. Not only did Finlay’s cameo open the door for other characters to return in the future, but his appearance actually fit into the story neatly. In Child’s Jack Reacher books, recurring characters are rare, but with this change, it appears Amazon’s series will take a more flexible approach.
5. The Marlo Burns Ambush
The 110th laid a trap for season 2’s big bad
Marlo Burns (Christina Cox) is the Director of Operations at New Age, the defense contractor behind “Little Wing”. In an earlier episode, it appeared Burns is working with the evil Head of Security Langston (Robert Patrick), but the 110th eventually discovers Burns was being blackmailed by him.
Langston had threatened to hurt Burns and her daughter Jane (Kate Moyer) if she didn’t cooperate, and in episode 6, the team tries to lure Langston into a trap using Burns as bait.
Robert Patrick replaced the originally cast Rory Cochrane as Langston shortly before filming on Reacher season 2 began.
They set up this ambush in a scrapyard, but despite their best-laid plans, Langston soon realizes it’s a trap. Both the Marlo Burns ambush and the following action sequence are original to Reacher season 2. It’s ultimately a good addition, as Langston learns firsthand how dangerous Reacher is, since in the novel the two characters only encounter each other during the final chapters.
4. The Death Of Detective Russo
Russo was easily the best new addition to Prime’s adaptation
Russo (Domenick Lombardozzi) is very loosely based on a detective called Brant from Bad Luck and Trouble. The show fleshes the character out considerably, and while Russo and the 110th initially butt heads, he becomes a valuable ally.
Russo also realizes his boss is in league with New Age, and refuses to even consider a bribe when he’s told his life is in danger. Reacher trusts Russo to protect Jane Burns when they’re setting up the Langston ambush, though they’re soon discovered by a New Age hit team.
What follows is an intense car chase, leading to Russo sacrificing himself to give Jane time to escape. He’s fatally wounded in the ensuing firefight, with Neagley even breaking her no touching rule to hold Russo’s hand as dies. Like the Langston ambush, this section is original to Reacher’s second season, with Russo’s emotional demise upping the stakes even further.
3. Reacher And The 110th Kill AM
AM had a slightly happier ending in Bad Luck and Trouble
While there are tweaks and changes to the way Bad Luck and Trouble’s ending plays out, season 2’s finale is broadly similar to Child’s source material. O’Donnell and Dixon are still kidnapped by New Age’s rogue faction and Reacher gives the head of security a taste of his own medicine by throwing him out of a helicopter.
One huge change is that, rather than tying AM up and leaving him to be captured by the authorities, the team takes justice into their own hands.
Instead, Reacher and the 110th execute AM in cold blood, emptying their pistols into him. This might be satisfying in a bloodthirsty way, but it still feels like the more fitting fate for self-styled “ghost” AM would have been to let him get arrested. Maybe the showrunners felt that after all the bodies AM left in his wake, letting him live would have felt anti-climactic for some viewers.
2. The New Age Engineer Isn’t A Hostage
The Engineer has a very different fate on the show
Reacher season 2 made the titular avenger even more brutal than he was in the book. He racks up quite the bodycount throughout the second season’s eight-episode run.
Surprisingly, another change to the novel came with the fate of the New Age engineer who was supposed to show AM how to use “Little Wing.” In Bad Luck and Trouble, the engineer is called Dean, who is being forced to cooperate with New Age, who are threatening his daughter.
Season 2 dropped this, and the engineer has no issues working with Langston or arming the missiles with “Little Wing” tech. The series renamed this character Johnson (Jonathan Higgins), and after he claims to not know what AM planned with the missiles, the 110th lets him and Langston’s pilot leave. This is just a ploy, as the 110th then kills both the engineer and pilot by firing a “Little Wing” rocket at their “escaping” chopper.
1. Dixon Doesn’t Send Reacher A Coded ATM Message
The message was a callback to the start of Bad Luck and Trouble
Reacher is a nomad who doesn’t have a home or a mobile phone, making him tricky to track down. In both Bad Luck and Trouble and the first episode of season 2, Reacher got pulled into the story when Neagley left a coded message in his ATM account. The novel ends with a callback to this, with Dixon adding two coded messages to his account.
Reacher season 3 will adapt the seventh novel, Persuader.
The first is $101810.18, with 10-18, 10-18 being code for “mission accomplished.” Dixon’s second ATM code is $10,012, with 10012 being her zip code in New York.
This is an invitation for Reacher to come visit her, but he instead buys a bus ticket and continues his wandering ways. Reacher season 2 instead closes with an emotional farewell between him and Neagley, as he catches a bus leaving New York.
