Alan Ritchson Defends Reacher Against Biggest Character Complaint

Summary

• Alan Ritchson defends the lack of character growth in Reacher, comparing it to Tom Hanks’ character in Castaway.
• Despite mixed audience reactions, Reacher Season 2 has become Prime Video’s biggest show of 2023.
• Critic reviews for Reacher Season 2 have been positive, but audience reviews have seen a decrease compared to Season 1.

When everything in cinema has to have a shared universe or character arc, Alan Ritchson addresses the frequent complaint over Jack Reacher’s “lack of growth” across two seasons of Prime Video’s hit series, Reacher. Comparing his character to Tom Hanks in Castaway, Ritchson countered audience gripes that his character has not changed or learned anything with the suggestion that it is something they should be thankful for.

While speaking with Stream Wars, the action man of the moment was more than happy to defend the status quo of Reacher’s character, simply saying, “That’s Reacher.” His full quote reads:

“You know, people want to know how he’s grown or changed… How addicted are we to character arcs? Why can’t we have more Tom Hanks’s, you know? Like that dude’s never had a character arc in the world. He’s not changing just because he’s off the island with the volleyball now, like, he’s the same dude. He’s still trying to deliver packages on time. That’s Reacher.

“And maybe we should just enjoy the fact that he hasn’t grown at all. Maybe he hasn’t grown. He doesn’t have any new responsibilities or a contract that he has to uphold and honor, he has a toothbrush. Maybe he brushes his teeth more, maybe he’s got better hygiene.”

Reacher has been a massive success for Prime Video, with its second season smashing records and becoming the streamer’s biggest show of 2023 despite only debuting late in December. However, the return of Reacher has not been quite as successful as its first season in one big way.

Related Reacher: 10 Jack Reacher Books the TV Show Could Adapt Next After season two, what adventures could Reacher get into? Here are a few stories from the Jack Reacher books that the show could adapt next.

Reacher Season 2 Has Seen a Drop in Positive Audience Reviews

Prime Video

Even though Reacher’s lack of character development has not been a huge issue for fans of either Lee Child’s novels or Prime Video’s adaptation, season two has been a mixed back when it comes to audience reactions for other reasons.

Critics have continued to heap praise on the movie, with season 2 managing to best the already impressive Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score of 92% achieved by season 1, soaring to a near perfect 98%. On the audience side of the coin, things have been a lot less positive, with the excellent 91% for the first season giving way to 79% for the second.

Reacher

Release Date February 4, 2022

Creator Nick Santora

Cast Alan Ritchson , Maria Sten , Malcolm Goodwin , Willa Fitzgerald

Seasons 2

The consensus among audiences seems to be that the second season has “let down” fans with a combination of poor dialogue, overbearing clichés and a boring story. Many fans have suggested that work on the season has been rushed in order to capitalize on the success of season one, while others have complained that the supporting cast don’t do enough to rally around Ritchson’s central character.

However, none of this really matters in the grand scheme of things, as work on Reacher‘s third season is already underway, and as long as the viewership continues to be high, it is unlikely that there is going to be even a sniff of a cancelation on the horizon for the action series.

Reacher can be streamed now on Prime Video.

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