Warning! This article contains spoilers for Reacher season 3’s finale.Reacherbroke my heart in season 2 by featuring Russo’s demise, but surprisingly, the show features an even more tragic scene in season 3’s final arc. In its opening season,Reacherseemingly played it safe by not featuring any major character deaths. The only heroic character who dies in season 1 is Jack Reacher’s brother, Joe, whose fate is revealed through a brief flashback. However, after the first season, theAmazon Prime Video detective seriesdoes not hold back from killing off a major character.
After establishing Russo as one of the secondary heroes,Reacherseason 2 walks through his final moments by highlighting how he puts his life on the line to save an innocent woman and her daughter from the villains. Russo’s death proves to be immensely heart-breaking because he gradually grows on the viewer as a character, and the show even establishes how much he cares about serving the greater good instead of becoming a corrupt police detective. Surprisingly, however, as tragic as Russo’s death may seem,Reacherseason 3 delivers an even more gut-wrenching moment.
Beck’s Death Hits Almost As Hard As Russo’s From Reacher Season 2
Reacher Season 3 Redeems Him Before Killing Him Off
In many ways, Russo and Beck’s stories inReacherare similar. Both characters are initially assumed to be villains, but the show eventually reveals how they are only being misunderstood because of their circumstances. AsReacherseason 2’s second half reveals, Russo had always been a morally righteous police officer but was clueless about how his senior officer from the police department was taking bribes from the overarching antagonists. Towards the season’s end, Russo even proved his loyalty and integrity by putting himself in harm’s way to protect innocent civilians.
Reacher Season 3’s Villain Operation Explained: Every Character Involved & What They Do
Although Reacher season 3 intially maintains an air of ambiguity surrounding the villains’ main operation, it eventually reveals the truth about them.
Unlike Russo, Zachary Beck was initially portrayed as a typical villain embroiled in an illegal gun-running business. However, as the season eventually revealed,Beck, too, was revealed to be a victim of his circumstances because Quinn was manipulating him into working under him by threatening to harm his son. While Beck cannot be considered as morally sound as Russo, the show does a good job at redeeming him towards the end of season 3 by showing how he is willing to join forces with Reacher to ensure his son’s safety.
Reacherseason 3 also features a heartwarming moment towards the end where Beck tells his son, Richard, how much he appreciates him. This brings out the character’s vulnerable side, highlighting that he is not even close to being as ruthless as Quinn and Paulie. Since Beck manages to fully redeem himself towards theend ofReacherseason 3, his death almost hits as hard as Russo’s, making his journey feel far more poignant than initially expected.
The Show Perfectly Builds Up To Its Character Death Scenes
Image via Prime Video
Russo’s dynamic withReacherin season 3 was initially a source of comic relief. In many ways, the two characters' conflicts even seemed reminiscent of how Reacher and Finlay argued over little things in season 1. By portraying a buddy-cop-esque relationship between Reacher and Russo,the series even gives viewers the hope that they could work together in the future, just like Reacher and Finlay did in season 2 to solve a criminal conspiracy.
…Just when it looks like Beck is finally on the right path toward making up for his past mistakes,Reacherseason 3 walks through the series of events that lead to his heroic death.
However, all these potential story setups eventually turn out to be narrative devices to leave viewers teary-eyed when Russo tragically dies.Reacherseason 3 follows a similar trend by giving audiences the hope that Zachary Beck and his son will get the happy ending they deserve. But just when it looks like Beck is finally on the right path toward making up for his past mistakes,Reacherseason 3 walks through the series of events that lead to his heroic death. With this, like Russo, Beck, too, passes away in a hard-hitting way, continuing the series' trend of killing likable supporting characters.
Beck’s Death In Reacher Season 3 Was A Perfect Ending For The Character
It Highlighted The Cost Of His Redemption
Zachary Beck put his son’s life in danger the day he decided to walk down a morally questionable path by starting an illegal gun-running business. He just did not foresee that a bigger player like Quin would eventually cross paths with him and threaten to destroy everything he cared about.Beck’s tragic storyline inReacherseason 3is all about him facing the dire consequences of his own actions. He falls victim to Quinn’s manipulations and coercion because he got himself involved in a criminal enterprise where many dangerous figures operate.
Reacherseason 3 gives Beck the redemption he deserves for doing the right thing towards the end and prioritizing his son’s safety instead of succumbing to Quinn’s pressures. However, the show also perfectly balances this with his sacrifice to highlight that,for someone like Beck, redemption comes with a hefty cost. Even if Beck had somehow survived towards the end, he would have faced life imprisonment, which again would have been a stark reminder of how he cannot get away from his past choices despite attempting to turn things around towardReacherseason 3’s ending.
Reacher
Reacher follows Jack Reacher, a former military police investigator, as he navigates civilian life. Without a phone and carrying minimal belongings, Reacher drifts across the country, experiencing the nation he once served, and encounters intriguing challenges along the way.
