‘Reacher’ Recap: ‘Reacher Said Nothing’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Seven of ‘Reacher’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Sometimes when we are working toward an important goal in life, one that is daunting and exhaustive in nature… we quickly lose sight of our progress. Because there is just so much, we can tackle in a single day and being in the thick of it and struggling with seeing the finish line, can leave us exhausted and worried that we might not ever achieve what we are pouring our heart and soul into. But if we take a moment to breathe on our journey and look at our quest objectively, we will see little signs of progress and if our quest involves people… well then, they have some tells that will inform us just how far along we really are. Because if we’re after a goal that they don’t want us to achieve, their desperation and their sour actions… tell us everything we need to know about how close we are and that can push us to head right for the finish line.
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If anything, that particular tell is top of mind today, simply because it was featured in the next episode of Reacher on Prime Video. For when we catch up with the dark forces that have descended upon Margrave, in ‘Reacher Said Nothing’, they are making big moves to figure out how close Reacher is to cracking this case wide open. To the point where Officer Stevenson and his wife and their unborn child are slaughtered to get answers and, in an effort, to keep Reacher off the trail, Teale makes a point of firing Finlay to keep Reacher out of everything. Making it clear they are super close to the truth, and the bad guys are utterly worried about being exposed and that motivated Reacher to do something quite bold.

In that, he hung out with Officer Baker, whom he knew to be dirty… in order to set a trap for the folks that brought down Stevenson. That way he could handle these scumbags on his own terms and hopefully find the smoking gun he’s been searching for and well… his plan worked. For Baker let Dawson and his boys know that Reacher was going to ‘search’ the Hubble home and they descended upon it like locusts late in the night and well… their arrival let Reacher do his thing. Granted, Dawson required a little more effort and care to bring down because he is a special kind of psychopath. But once the deed was done and Reacher stood bruised but victorious, he was indeed finally able to put it all together, courtesy of the need to wash his now sullied clothes.

Because that helped him to realize… that if the paper wasn’t being made or brought in, there had to be another way they were counterfeiting bills. And when he realized that chemicals in the feed that Kliner was buying en masse, could help transform bills in an untraceable manner, he came to realize… that they were bleaching one-dollar bills and printing C-notes that looked worn and from the 1990s to get them in circulation and all they needed now… was proof. Which they found at the home of Jobling’s parents. But once they were ready to present the evidence to Picard so he could prosecute, another hint about how desperate and angry the operation was getting… came into play. Since Picard and KJ were waiting for Reacher and Finlay… with guns drawn. 

Which is… the perfect way to set up the season finale of this magnificent series. Since it answers the last of our questions about what’s happening in Margrave. For now, we know… exactly how Kliner and his cronies pulled this mess off and how they used the fake money to consolidate power over the town. But what matters more here, is that exposing the truth about the town and the operation, sets the stage for an epic showdown. One that will test Reacher like never before. Because not only does he have to figure out how to escape this trap in one piece, but he has to figure out how to bring down an operation that is intertwined with a once broken city, and it will be fascinating to see if Reacher is capable of handling that with minimal resources on his side or if this story is going to shock us… and let evil win. Until next time.  

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