Reacher Season 2 Finale Drops Multiple Clues to Possible Season 3 Story

Season 3 of Reacher could be based on one of the most popular Lee Child books.

By Charlie Ridgely

Reacher's second season has come to an end, but fans already know the story isn't stopping here. Prior to the Season 2 premiere last month, Amazon reassured fans by announcing that Reacher had been renewed for Season 3. In fact, Season 3 is in production as we speak, so the wait for new episodes shouldn't be too long. What we don't know, however, is which of Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels will provide the inspiration for the next installment. 

The inspiration for Reacher Season 3 hasn't been announced yet, but the Season 2 finale dropped a couple of major clues about which book's story will be coming to the screen. The only problem is those hints lead to two different books. WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR REACHER SEASON 2! 

The story of Reacher Season 2 is self-contained, so it largely has no bearing on what will happen in Season 3. To this point, the only clues we've had about the story of Season 3 are star Alan Ritchson saying that it will be based on one of the most beloved Jack Reacher books, and telling us here at ComicBook.com that the next story will see his character in a "new world." That narrows the field down a little bit, but two distinct moments in the Season 2 finale seem to point to potential future Reacher tales. 

Tripwire

Easily one of the most popular books in Child's entire series, Tripwire was the third installment in the Reacher saga. The story began with Jack Reacher in a somewhat unusual situation, living in Key West rather than randomly showing up in another town. In the book, Reacher is digging pools by day and bouncing at a club at night, until someone shows up looking for him. 

Tripwire checks both both boxes that Ritchson's hints provided, so it's absolutely on the table. The finale drops the biggest clue of all, though. 

At the end of the season, Reacher takes all the money that his team stole from New Age and disperses it to the people who lost loved ones and had their lives upended by Project Little Wing. One of those people is Milena, who worked at a bar earlier in the season and was close to Orozco and Sanchez. In the last few minutes of the finale, Milena is seen hugging her co-workers and hopping into a brand new convertible. They joke about visiting and sending postcards before she calls back to her pals, "Key West or bust!'

Milena doesn't have incredibly strong ties to Reacher, and her moving to Key West doesn't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of Reacher's journey, but it does feel like an obvious hint from the writing team about the future of the show on TV. Besides, putting someone like Milena in Key West would give Reacher a connection when he gets there, which could help explain him getting set up with a couple of different odd jobs.

Given how many Jack Reacher fans adore Tripwire, mentioning Key West in the show will definitely raise a few eyebrows.

61 Hours

Another fan-favorite Reacher novel that couldn't be more different from Tripwire, 61 Hours is also at the top of potential stories for Reacher Season 3. This time, it's all about the ending of Season 2.

61 Hours begins with Reacher on a bus full of strangers, riding through the state of South Dakota. The bus crashes during a wild snow storm and kicks off a chain of events involving a loose killer and protecting an important witness.

The end of Reacher Season 2 sees the titular hero get on a bus, seemingly to nowhere, and converse with a stranger about where he's headed. Now, riding a bus across the country without a real destination is just what Reacher does all the time. What's interesting here is that the focus of the final moments of the entire season is on not only Reacher's bus ride, but the fact that he's surrounded with new people. It's another situation where it feels like it's more of a hint from the writers rather than a direct set up to the next season.

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These clues may seem like stretches, but they both lead to natural choices for Reacher's third season. Either book would put Ritchson's character into new settings and elements, keeping the show fresh moving into Season 3. That said, it's still hard to rule out other options like Die Trying or Persuader, which are also among the most popular Jack Reacher novels.

What story do you think Reacher will adapt in Season 3? Let us know in the comments!

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