‘Reacher’ Season 2 Ending Explained — How Does Reacher Save the Day?

Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Reacher Season 2.

The Big Picture

• Reacher successfully rescues Dixon and O’Donnell from Langston’s clutches in a spectacularly violent fashion.
• Mahmoud, the middle-man arms broker, is confronted and shot by Reacher and the rest of the 110th, ensuring their revenge.
• Reacher shares the $65 million with the families of those who helped the Special Investigators and takes care of Neagley’s dad, proving his generosity and loyalty to his team.

And so, with a mighty punch, a hail of bullets, and a monotone mumble, another thunderous season of Prime Video’s Reacher has come to an end. Mercifully for us Reacherites, the show has already been renewed for a third season which cannot come fast enough. Now, as predicted, Alan Ritchson‘s dose of Dad TV saved the day once again and in spectacularly violent fashion, as we have all come to expect from the Walking Refrigerator.

But how did we get there? Well, we go back to the conclusion of last week’s episode. Reacher’s old Army United, the 110th Special Investigators, have finally traced Robert Patrick‘s vile Langston down, after he’s been attempting to pick off the members of the team one by one. After a bit of reconnaissance when Reacher and Neagley (Maria Sten) spy a group of troublemaking youths playing some excellent music outside the facility and antagonizing the poor security officer who is just trying to do his job, the man-slab gets a bright idea.

Does Reacher Rescue Dixon and O’Donnell?

We are straight out of the frying pan, which is probably cooking a meal with 8000 calories that Reacher will inhale and turn instantly into muscle, and into the fire as Reacher hands himself over to Langston, after receiving proof that Dixon (Serinda Swan) and O’Donnell (Shaun Sipos) are alive and well. Langston, as is expected from all Reacher antagonists, must make remarks about the man’s stature, admiring the majesty of Reacher’s sheer girth. Langston turns his back for a moment, and Reacher somehow manages to eliminate Langston’s entire team using just his vibranium skull — before Langston finally invites him to take a seat after shooting O’Donnell in the leg.

Outside, Neagley partakes in a spot of shooting NPCs in a barrel as she snipes the guards before telling Senator LaVoy’s team to proceed with the infiltration, after calling in a favor to the sketchy senator in exchange for the assistance they provided earlier in the season. Meanwhile, she takes on the role of the noisy kids outside, playing “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane — lovely choice — to draw out the poor minimum wage guard back out of the gate. Langston is irritated by this piece of musical artistry, having punched Reacher’s face a number of times with very little effect.

Suddenly, the raid happens, and Reacher is freed thanks to the metal fastener that he’d previously stowed away in his boot. Langston, realizing his team is outnumbered now, encourages his remaining cronies to run, and they head for his helicopter, with O’Donnell and Dixon strapped onto their beds, just like the rest of the 110th who took their final flight from this helicopter. However, they’re not getting away that easily. Reacher runs after the helicopter with the grace of an elephant in heat, combined with the arthritis of an 80-year-old man, and jumps as his sheer mass renders gravity irrelevant, to grab onto the wheel of the chopper. It’s utterly ridiculous and absolutely magnificent.

Shenanigans ensue upon the chopper and, of course, Reacher gains the upper hand, freeing Dixon and O’Donnell — although he still rescues Dixon from falling to her death via some tremendous one-armed grab on the stretcher. Langston realizes his days are numbered and offers up some information, but Reacher informs him that he doesn’t need anything and allows him a private tour of the skies of New York State for 30 seconds before it all comes crashing down. Good riddance to bad rubbish. Reacher establishes that the pilot knows where to take the characters, which is a conveniently remote house in a snowy landscape that is perfect for a secret attack.

What Happens to Mahmoud and the Military Hardware?

Azhari Mahmoud (Ferdinand Kingsley), our creepy little middle-man and arms broker, arrives to purchase the Little Wing-equipped missiles that fell off the back of a New Age truck into Langston’s hands, armed with $65 million in bearer bonds. Unfortunately for him, Langston doesn’t answer the door, a blond rhinoceros does. Reacher confronts Mahmoud about his role in the murder of his friends, which Mahmoud brushes off, stating that he was just a middle-man all along and that it’s just business, even remarking about how distasteful it is to fire a gun. So Reacher shoots him — and so do the rest of the 110th. Every single bullet from their clip, too. Just to make sure.

However, the pilot — who was only doing his job — and the scientist hired by Langston remain, in the basement. Both plead for their lives, and Reacher is content to let them go, as they fly away in the helicopter… but only until they’re over the Hudson River. Because there are some lovely new homing missiles just sitting there, and somehow, two utterly invisible characters are given the most horrendous death possible as Neagley blows up the helicopter from a distance. This man is an absolute psychopath and must be stopped… is what nobody should be saying, because it’s too much fun.

LaVoy’s team then turns on the 110th, who express surprise it took them this long, but it turns out Reacher has already predicted betrayal as a possibility, and Homeland Security rolls in to arrest the back-stabbing scoundrels. Reacher grabs one of their phones to taunt LaVoy, because his descent into sheer villainy for our enjoyment is almost complete. But just as they leave, Reacher gets asked where the money from the deal has gone. “What money?” Reacher simply replies

What Happens to the $65 Million?

We transition into A SLOW MOTION WALK INTO A DINER, with our team, battered, bruised, and bloody all sitting down and asking for black coffee — apart from Neagley, who’s fine, and wants some kids’ cereal. Reacher then asks for 50 cents to use the jukebox, despite having $65 million under the table. Never change, big guy. We get a montage of everyone who came to the aid of the Special Investigators — including the families who lost people, and Detective Russo’s (Domenick Lombardozzi) brother and nephews, each getting a check made up from the $65 million. Neagley’s dad gets live-in medical care too. That last one comes as a surprise to Neagley, only for Reacher to reveal he took care of it, so Neagley wouldn’t need to worry about her dad anymore.

The big guy continues to melt everybody’s heart as he tells O’Donnell that he’s put enough money into a trust fund for his kids to ensure they can go to private school, college, trade school, and do whatever they like. He even informs Dixon he’s set up an LLC for her in Delaware to allow her to choose her own work going forward. But what has Reacher done for himself with the money? Well, he needs a new toothbrush. He’s serious, too. The group then poses for a last photo before they part ways, after toasting to absent friends. It’s a genuinely lovely moment that reminds the audience that, as silly as this show can be, it would never work as well as it does without the earnestness and heart of the main man.

The next morning, Reacher wakes up alone in a motel room, and do we see despondency on his face? It’s short-lived, however, as Dixon drops by one last time, and with a parting gift: A toothbrush! Completionists cheer everywhere, as Reacher’s teeth can once again be sparkling. He wants a bit more than a toothbrush from Dixon, but she’s hitting the road. We transition to Reacher and Neagley at the bus station, where Reacher reveals he has, in fact, spent money on himself. The world’s most frugal man has purchased a bus pass to get him across the country for a full year. What an investment. Neagley admits she isn’t happy with the arrangement the 110th have, only getting in touch as and when necessary, and tells Reacher to stay in touch, reminding him that they’re his team, soldiers, and friends, but also more than that. Reacher takes a moment, letting Neagley’s sentiment sink in, and then boards the bus. He sits across from an older gentleman, who inquires as to what he’s been doing in town. “Visiting family.”

Both seasons of Reacher can be streamed on Prime Video.

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