Reacher Season 3's Ending Confirms What We All Thought About Why Reacher Always Gets In Trouble

By Padraig Cotter

Published Mar 28, 2025

Followed

Thread 7

Image via Prime Video

Warning: Major spoilers for Reacher season 3, episode 8 "Unfinished Business" below!The ending of Reacher season 3 sees Neagley outline her theory on why the title character does what he does - and it's what we've always suspected. The first three seasons of Reacher have seen Alan Ritchson's muscle-bound vagrant seeking revenge for the deaths of friends and loved ones, and that quest always results in lots of dead bad guys. He might not be the warmest of characters, but Reacher tends to look out for the little guy, too.

Reacher vs Paulie fight is just as destructive as you might imagine, and by the end of "Unfinished Business," a bloody and bruised Reacher rides off into the sunset. What's interesting is that the episode closes with his best friend, Neagley (Maria Sten), outlining her thoughts on what motivates Reacher. It turns out it doesn't have much to do with some old-school sense of justice either.

s Neagley (Maria Sten) discreetly pointing a gun in Reacher Season 3 Ep 7

Prime Video's Neagley Spinoff Will Do 1 Thing Jack Reacher Has Avoided For 3 Seasons

The latest episode of Reacher featured a great scene for Neagley that also underlines how her spinoff will differ from the main series.

Posts 5

Why Reacher Always Gets Into Trouble, According To Neagley In Season 3's Finale

The "smug sons of bitches of the world" better look out for Jack Reacher

Just like Reacher's season 2 ending, "Unfinished Business" closes with a scene between Jack and Neagley. She's munching away on a bagel and, after they debrief for a moment, Neagley claims to have "figured out" why Reacher is always getting into trouble.

It's not because you need to put things right. And it's not because you love the little guy. It's because you hate the big guy. You hate the big, powerful, smug sons of bitches who think they can get away with things. So you make sure they don't.

After thinking on her assessment, Reacher responds with a dry "You just figured that out?" His question is still fair, considering how long he and Neagley have known each other. This can't be the first time Neagley has pondered the question of what drives her friend and why he always finds himself meting out justice - typically one punch at a time. Considering this is Reacher's third misadventure since leaving the army, it makes sense that Neagley has started to look for the common patterns that drive him.

Reacher's Character Makes More Sense After Hearing His True Motivation

Reacher's hatred of the "big guy" goes right back to his childhood

Alan Ritchson's Jack looking intensely toward Maria Sten's Neagley in Reacher — Custom Image by Grant Hermanns

Reacher season 3 largely dropped the flashback structure of the first two series, where episodes would periodically dip into a key moment from the title character's past. Season 1 focused on his childhood, where the young Jack's refusal to apologize for hitting a vile bully (even knowing the consequences it would have on his father's military career) helped shape his own sense of right and wrong. Neagley's speech just underlines her friend's motivation; Reacher is a bully of bullies.

Each season has seen him go against powerful foes who believe their wealth makes them immune to consequences. From the Kliners in season 1 to the corrupt cops in series 2, Reacher makes sure they are held to - even if that means throwing them off helicopters or setting them on fire. In keeping with how stripped back Reacher is as a character, it's the purest possible motivation imaginable and that's what makes the show so much fun.

The "big guys" rarely seem to get held able in reality either, so watching Reacher take care of them is very cathartic...

Real life doesn't function like it does on Reacher, where a hulking drifter can blow into town, destroy a criminal empire, and then take the bus to his next adventure. The "big guys" rarely seem to get held able in reality either, so watching Reacher take care of them is very cathartic. Case in point is the Reacher season 3 finale, where after defeating Olivier Richters' Paulie, Jack proceeds to take a shotgun to the rest of Quinn's crew with the practiced ease of a man cutting the grass with his lawnmower.