Reacher season 4

The show about a big man going through America and putting wrongs to right has proven to be pretty successful for Amazon as Reacher returned this year for its fourth season, which is no small feat in the age of streaming but I do wonder can the show's simplicity lead to a sense of repetition. Lee Child's books proved to be very successful and the showrunners have no shortage of source material to adapt from but I did find this season got off to a so-so beginning. 

This time around Reacher is in Philadelphia and, by chance, he finds himself caught in a government conspiracy when he tries to save a women from committing suicide on the subway. Unfortunately, his attempt to save was unsuccessful and it attracts the attention of a lot of people, some trustworthy and others not so much. 

Much like the seasons that came before, you can jump into any season of Reacher and quickly get up-to-speed with the story as we see him surrounded by an entirely new cast of characters. This has really worked in the show's favour and lets anyone jump on the bandwagon to see what all the fuss is about.

However, I find the start of season four to be quite messy as we're bombarded with exposition about who wants what and why in a way that felt excessive. Then the showrunners throw in a couple of action scenes here and there to keep the audience engaged from their phones to the point that they serve little purpose. Two characters go to a house to collect evidence, which they receive but a fight has to breakout for the sake of action but it didn't change the course of the story as it tries to develop.

Thankfully, Alan Ritchson is on top form again and his charisma, as silly as some of his lines are, keep things moving along to the second half of the eight episode season and this is where things finally come together. Some bits better than others but the entertainment meter does start to spike towards the end, even if it might require some suspension of disbelief.

Season four is by no means perfect but it is still a lot of fun and I hope Reacher can iron out some of the rough edges for a more cohesive story next time around. This doesn't reach the same highs as seasons one or three but it's still an entertaining show which I can recommend to any action fan.