Willa Fitzgerald’s Reacher exit as Roscoe Conklin brought the show’s inaugural run to a natural finish, but the moment also served as a catalyst for an unfortunate trend that has now been confirmed to continue into the coming season. Reacher season 3 is set to be an adaptation of Persuader, which is the seventh in Lee Child’s long line of Jack Reacher novels. As was the case with the Reacher season 2 cast, the new season will introduce several new characters while leaving most of the old ones behind. However, it’s not this trend that is the problem.

Reacher season 2’s explosive ending saw Alan Ritchson’s title character resume his life as a lone wanderer and part ways with the 110th Special Investigations Unit. Although Maria Sten’s Frances Neagley will appear in Reacher season 3, the show’s semi-anthological approach means the upcoming story will be largely unrelated to seasons 1 and 2. That being said, it will still be highly recognizable as the same show – and not necessarily for all the right reasons.

Reacher Will Have His Third Love Interest In Three Seasons

Sonya Cassidy is playing Reacher’s new romantic partner to Ritchson’s character

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Reacher season 3 will add yet another romantic conquest to its main character’s list, as the trailer shows the muscle-bound protagonist in the throes of a passionate kiss with Sonya Cassidy’s Sonya Duffy. It had long been suspected that Reacher would have yet another love interest when the show returned, and now it has been confirmed. So, with the departure of Roscoe at the end of Reacher season 1 and Karla Dixon (Serinda Swan) in season 2’s finale, Ritchson’s character is quickly turning into quite the ladies’ man.

The female love interests in the Reacher show are always incredibly well cast. They have great chemistry with Ritchson, and they are given characters to portray who are fantastic in their own right. Unfortunately, the rate at which the show’s hero cycles through his romantic entanglements is something of a problem, as it makes them seem disposable and easy to replace. Plus, it becomes easy to predict that there will be an emotionally charged farewell between them both in the season finale.

Reacher Didn’t Need Another Romance Subplot After Seasons 1 & 2

Love stories aren’t the only way to reveal more about Reacher’s personality

Despite his Stoic demeanor and hard-to-read expressions, Reacher is actually quite a layered character with a fascinating backstory. Although the show has explored his origin a few times so far, his various romantic arcs have received far more focus. There’s only so much that can be learned about what a non-Platonic relationship with Jack Reacher can look like, and it’s been extensively covered in the show’s first two seasons. So, bringing in Sarah as another Roscoe replacement feels very much like retreading old ground.

Reacher is clearly a show that wants to adhere to a particular type of formula each season.

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To see things from another perspective, Reacher is clearly a show that wants to adhere to a particular type of formula each season. Sure, there are a lot of differences between the first two runs, but there are also a lot of hallmarks that give the adaptation of Lee Child’s work its identity. One of these tropes has now been revealed as Reacher being unable to save the day without a woman by his side, and that relationship invariably turns into something more than friendship or just simple teamwork.

Season 3 Must Invent A New Way For Reacher To Dump His Latest Lover

Sarah is owed her own kind of exit

Reacher and Roscoe parted ways very organically in the show’s first finale. With Roscoe’s pull to remain in Margrave and help rebuild the town, her path just didn’t align with that of Ritchson’s character, who yearned for the open road. Reacher season 2 handled its breakup a little less convincingly, but it wasn’t entirely unbelievable. Both Reacher and Dixon shared the opinion that they were merely resolving old sexual tensions that were never properly addressed during their time in the military. So, Reacher season 3 has an interesting challenge ahead.

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Related

Why Reacher Season 3 Needs Neagley, Even If She Isn’t In Lee Child’s Persuader Book

Neagley may not be a part of Lee Child’s Persuader book, but there is one big reason why the Amazon Prime Video show still needs her in season 3.

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To make sure Sarah’s exit doesn’t come across as even more unoriginal, the show will need to find a new reason why she and Reacher can’t stay together. It seems obvious at this point that Reacher will double down on his need to stay on the move, so it remains to be seen whether Sarah will let him go willingly, or whether there’ll be some kind of disagreement – or worse. Either way, the severe lack of Reacher characters that crossover between seasons makes it very unlikely that their new romantic ties will last beyond the finale.

Reacher season 3’s three-episode premiere hits Prime Video on February 20, 2025. Then, new episodes will be available every Thursday until the finale on March 27.