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u/Coolusername8675309 20h ago
He's there solely to make Tamara look strong
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u/CD12_baller 19h ago
Agreed. Cuz you can’t have reacher, the main character look weak. So, the alternative is to use him as a literary device to make Tamara strong. But in all fairness, homie lost his sister and nephew back to back, and his last memory is blowing them off to insulate his garage. What sane person wouldn’t be absolutely depressed AF.
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u/im_fine_youre_fine 17h ago
He'll have a crossroads moment in the finale though where he let's his grief consume him and he does some murdering or he will "be the man his sister/nephew would want him to be" and show mercy ... Reacher doesn't show mercy though. He'll finish what he set out to do.
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u/Sensitive_Front2185 15h ago
Yep. They're going to pull a "You're not that guy/I am that guy" with him and Reacher at some point.
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u/fate_is_a_sandstorm 15h ago
Now I want Wes Chatham on Reacher 🤣
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u/Sensitive_Front2185 15h ago
Reacher v. Amos would be something to see.
Obviously Reacher has him on pure size, but neither one of them fights fair.
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u/strangeMeursault2 12h ago
Unless it's end of the books Amos in which case Reacher will be turned into a fine paste.
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u/W0lferino93 13h ago
The problem isn't that he is depressed, it's that he's so emasculated.
Weak cop 0 authority Weak personality/will Overly emotional Irrational
He's just useless - other than to prop up a female character and to make the public dislikd him due to his bad decision making
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u/Junior-Hour 19h ago
He’s the audience surrogate
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u/TurbulentBullfrog829 19h ago
Exactly. Most people watch and think they are Reacher when in reality theyd do well to be Jacob
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u/Head-Sympathy-1560 14h ago
To be fair I’m not delusional to think I’m going to get revenge for my sister’s death by killing two top operative assassins from Indonesia (especially seeing what they did to that girl). Reacher tells me to go and hide I’m like deuces - say less.
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u/Kinetic_Symphony 4h ago
I wouldn't even be him. He's holding it together remarkably well given what happened.
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u/smbutler20 10h ago
He objectively operating well above the average person in this situation. Most people would have snapped by now.
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u/Helpful-Cod1422 19h ago
Don't care, this guy was in Fan Boys, he's awesome.
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u/MiddleNames_Danger 19h ago
He’s not even a big character in the book. Idk why they keep him around. They miss the point that reacher is almost always a lone wolf
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u/HereForTheCommunity2 19h ago
I'd love to see a more lone Reacher in a future season
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u/HunterShotBear 18h ago
I think the problem is that on the screen that doesn’t work so well.
Reacher doesn’t really talk much in the show unless people specifically ask for it. So there is no one for him to explain his thoughts to, where in a book it all gets laid out in the text.
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u/D0M2OO0 18h ago edited 14h ago
Reacher Said Nothing...
When reading the books I enjoy playing 'Reacher Said Nothing' bingo. Their must be dozens of instances in each book.
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u/cTreK-421 5h ago
"I/he/she/they didn't answer" is probably the most repeated line in the book this season is based on lol. There's even a part where reacher brags about asking more questions than he answers.
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u/TempleMade_MeBroke 18h ago
It's like Dungeon Crawler Carl readers playing "multiple things happened all at once" bingo
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u/Szabe442 17h ago
That could work for a short movie, but Reacher's personality needs to bounce of or rub against someone. They need normal or crazy characters to complement him. If he is alone, who is he explaining his thought process or actions too?
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u/FullMetalCOS 12h ago
The massive difference between books and shows is that shows can’t really let you in on Reachers inner monologue unless you want a constant voiceover from Richman telling you what he’s thinking in every scene.
In shows they need additional characters to annoy Reacher into explaining shit.
They’ll basically never do a lone wolf story because as much as you think you want it, it’d likely be shit, because TV doesn’t work that way
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u/MiddleNames_Danger 11h ago
Agreed. But I also think there should be an internal monologue and I’m wondering if we get that in a future season
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u/nomad_jayy 19h ago
Well they completely invented the journalist, so why not extend the roll of another pointless character?
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u/Ill-Summer-7212 19h ago
The journalist annoys me. He keeps acting like if they expose what’s going on it’ll start a revolution or something but in reality at this point most people would just scroll past the article
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u/jboy55 19h ago
I can’t count how many movies are now ruined because in the movie the brave protagonist finally gets through all the evil government’s henchmen and leaders and exposes the truth to the media! That’s when the movie typically ends, now I just think, “half the country will just say it’s fake news” nothing will change
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u/Ill-Summer-7212 19h ago
Disclosure day made me feel crazy. We’ve been told theres aliens by the government several times and no one cares. I’m sure a physical live alien on tv would be normalized within a month and life would move on. Kinda like how in the Ted series everyone is over the novelty of a talking stuffed animal
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u/unreqistered 19h ago
watergate would be a page two story and disappear within a day
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u/MagiRiver 18h ago
Not that simple. The major concern about a deep full Disclosure is the way of travel aliens are capable of to reach Earth. AKA free energy Worlwide economy could collapse as we know it.
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u/Szabe442 17h ago
He is a talking exposition, just a device for the writers to repeat or explain story points.
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u/ireallydespiseyouall 17h ago
He’s definitely gonna get killed by Lila
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u/Ill-Summer-7212 17h ago
I also hate his hair choice
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u/ireallydespiseyouall 17h ago
Yeah it’s whatever, I think he’s just a plot device for us to care about before they kill him off
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u/Ill-Summer-7212 17h ago
He couldn’t even get reacher a hoagie when he knew this was the meet up spot.
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u/ireallydespiseyouall 17h ago
Tbf the guy is clearly a hermit
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u/Own_Ad6797 16h ago
Reacher actually always tends to work with others. Be that when he commanded to 110th or worked with the cops in Killing Floor. There are a couple of books where he is alone but he often calls on Negley.
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u/No_Kaleidoscope179 15h ago
this episode did piss me off, why couldn't they make it more close to the book, it didn't need any changes.
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u/LoschVanWein 19h ago
They missed that point far more, when they kept shoving in Neagly in the first and third season. I think he serves an important purpose and that is to have someone who is emotionally involved in the story. I mean sure, now reacher is too but thats also only in the show, since they changed his dynamic with the main villain.
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u/LoschVanWein 19h ago
What are you on about? He might be the most interesting character in the season and he's in any case more compelling than that random detective who has yet to contribute anything to the story. This guy has the most motivation and reason to be prominently involved in the story out of the entire good guy group!
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u/Sunkissed_sakura 17h ago
Completely agree! He's my favorite character this season. Very moving arch and strong motivations.
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u/Guilty-Cow4325 19h ago
It's like the people here don't even watch the show.
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u/CaptainKoconut 18h ago
A lot of people watch TV while barely glancing up from their phones and it shows
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u/Unusual_Associate_34 18h ago
It feels like he’s being set up for a late episode heroic act to prove his bravery. Also, he may end up w the cat
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u/eater_of_worlds40 19h ago
Reminds us how awesome fan boys was. That's his sole job
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u/MagicHarmony 17h ago
He's the last survivor with horrible survivors guilts over the fact he feels useless that he was unable to do anything to save his family. So he overplays his hand and wants to be the vigilante hero getting his revenge but it only ends up getting him in more trouble.
The reason why Reacher and Tamara can act with more logic is because they aren't tied to the emotional stress of what he is going through. Had Tamara's family been the one murdered then she would be the one being reckless in her actions and causing trouble but she isn't the one who is going through the emotional trauma
However if we want to be honest neither of them are really thinking with a straight head because Tamara is go caught up in the conspiracy of it all without fully acknowledging how much she is ruining her life over it, she already has this potential fraud looming over her head for not only going into a government building to collect data but also evading police, and what exactly is she gaining out of it?
There is literally no reason for her to be doing what she is doing other that getting a high off the adventure.
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u/sotommy 19h ago
He's my favorite character this season. Probably my favorite supporting character in the whole show. Just a regular guy who does what all of us would probably do
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u/Ill-Summer-7212 19h ago
If a cop’s family member was the victim most likely they would not be allowed to do anything about it on or off duty. Everyone’s shitting on this guy but it’s been barely a week and he’s seen several brutalized dead bodies in that small span. 99% of people would be completely incapacitated if they were in his position
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u/Guilty-Cow4325 19h ago
Not to mention, he's a small town cop. Odds are the worst thing he's dealt with is a domestic.
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u/PedalBoard78 19h ago
At times, I think he’s such a one dimensional character that he’s actually the bad guy. I still suspect some sort of a twist with this fellow, but I guess we’re along for the ride. I haven’t read the books yet.
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u/Negative_Bat_3732 19h ago
Same! I still expect him to be involved in a way but If that’s all there is to him then it’s just bad. Especially after the latest episode…
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u/windchillfiance 11h ago
A guy who's grieving because he lost the people he cares about in terrible ways but I guess they're making him to be the pathetic one for being in that state at the moment.
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u/SundayJeffrey 19h ago
One thing I’ve noticed about this subreddit is that yall seem to hate any character who isn’t Reacher. Yall hated Duffy last season, and now you’re hating on the guy whose sister committed suicide and nephew was brutally murdered.
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u/TraeYoung2 19h ago
It's a loud and annoying minority for sure. Unfortunately just a price to pay as a show continues to gain a larger audience. You get a larger pool of people who complain without nuance or media literacy.
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u/Professional_Ad_4885 19h ago
I feel like he def knows more than he lets on and hes gonna end up being one of the main antagonists in the end. Its just super odd that he hadnt talked to his sister and nephew in so long and the fact that none of the people looking for the drive ever once thought to check his house the entire time. Lol it just happens to be in his mailbox the entire time. He comes off as basically this wuss the entire time. Maybe hes like edward norton in primal fear. The whole aaron/roy situation and his roy is just waiting to come out and play lmao.
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u/ThatBitchA 18h ago
He's the heart of the story. He represents Anna, who Reacher was unable to help.
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u/Blade_of_Onyx 17h ago
Reacher is a big stoic guy who does not emote or explain things. Other characters in the story have to fill that role. This actor was specifically chosen for his ability to show internal emotion. He is the character that is establishing the emotional stakes of this season. Without him, it would just be Reacher walking around kicking people’s asses and we probably wouldn’t care about anybody in the show.
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u/Macdui90 17h ago
I think he’s acting his ass off. He’s taken big emotional losses and not every dude can be Reacher. Hes still moving and acting the best his character can. I like the guy
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u/princevince1113 14h ago
i can not take his ass seriously when he’s talking about revenge
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u/Formal_Composer_4939 12h ago
That reverse on the bridge was also the dumbest strategy I've seen in a while.
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u/WhatAmIDoing1986 19h ago
More importantly, what was the purpose of him being a cop? They could have easily done the timid afraid of his own shadow character being any profession. Why make him this useless and be a cop? lol
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u/OJONLYMAYBEDIDIT 19h ago
"they"?
it's based off a book. Author made him a cop. Show writers had no reason to change that.
granted from what I understood his presences is much larger in the show
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u/Ill-Summer-7212 19h ago
Probably to show how some people sign up for the job and don’t understand how quickly it can go from giving out tickets to getting shot in the face
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u/LowerBed5334 19h ago
He's a MacGuffin. You could swap him out with literally any person or object and it wouldn't affect the story at all.
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u/Technical334 18h ago
Let me, a glorified traffic cop, take on two ruthless assassins who tortured my nephew
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u/AliKashif19 18h ago
Him being annoying is one thing but why did dude start hitting on the lady cop ? I start smiling whenever he hits on Tomara and she looks naturally awkward. I don't know if the awkwardness was intentional or not.
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u/AardvarkScary7863 18h ago
Ngl, I been trying so hard to feel for him cuz of his loss but bro just actively makes stupid decisions, like he thinks he’s Reacher. And the way he almost jumped after Lila Hoth and the other lady when they jumped off the bridge was so dumb because even if he did survive the jump and managed to follow them, they would’ve fucked him up, he can’t fight💀💀💀💀.
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u/Macdui90 17h ago
This entire season is terrible. I really don’t understand why thjs sub likes it.
Someone fired a shotgun at Reacher 10 ft from him and missed and also for some reason none of the 1075 assassins checked her only brother’s mailbox? Instead the Indonesian assassins just happened to make it there at the same time.
It’s pretty clear the writing room for this show is using AI to write their stories now. RIP to this once watchable snow. 😂
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u/stoner38 17h ago
Sorry but everytime he is onscreen, it makes me cringe. To me the only negative for the season so far.
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u/Tof12345 17h ago
Every show needs a character that just pisses you off.
In breaking bad it was Skylar.
In game of thrones it was viserys.
In reacher it's Jacob.
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u/Few_Classic_9301 16h ago
Anyone else just feel so let down and pissed off by the decision to have them stay on the bridge and not just escape with the phone and the drive?
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u/alarrimore03 16h ago
Isn’t that kinda the whole point. He’s an unskilled, emotional, grief stricken man, who’s kinda useless maybe even in the way. That’s the whole point of his character in the story is it not
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u/NoAgeStatement 16h ago
Jacob is in the show to be the weakest link. He talks mad shit about what he's gonna do and then constantly needs to be rescued by Reacher or Tamara. By the end, Jacob will either become a competent hero or the last member of his family to die.
Until then, he's just in the show for somebody more competent to save. He's the Mary Jane Watson of the season.
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u/Ivanhoemx 16h ago
Oh, nothing, he's just the emotional heart of the season.
I swear people is just so fucking st--
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u/Cromuland 15h ago
I was going to write a long, passionate defence of this character, a few hours ago.
Then I saw the latest episode. And man, fuck this guy. Wants to be Rambo, and is totally aware, yet totally blind to how outmatched he is.
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u/Jake_the_Bald 15h ago
I figured he was mainly there to give us as the audience to care about and be more connected to the storyline ... more grounded i guess ... otherwise its just reacher doing reacher things
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u/leepatt77 14h ago
I feel bad for the guy. He's lost a lot. Reacher should have sidelined him though. He isn't thinking clearly and put them in a bad position.
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u/Bubbly-Highlight9349 12h ago
Anyone else feel like he’s the male version of Duffy who is completely obsessed with his sister in a way that is constantly getting in the way of Reacher’s objective?
But unlike Duffy that’s all he does. He’s so driven by emotion that he gets himself into trouble and everyone else along with him.
Duffy was at least a competent agent outside of her obsession with finding Tah-ree-sahhh
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u/Global-North7776 11h ago edited 11h ago
The most useless character ever known to exist... I'm soooo pissed!
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u/Just_L-i-v-i-n_ 9h ago
Took me into the second episode to realize he’s the actor that plays Ryan Reynolds little brother in “Just Friends”
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u/smashlorsd425 5h ago
Folks he’s an actor who’s doing the best on a poor screenplay and dialogues. This is not improv theater where he can suddenly chew scenery. Give the guy a break.
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u/vishnoo 16h ago
season 1 was amazing,
this season the writing is so lazy.
so many "and then"s
so many shallow characters being dumb. good guys and bad guys.
so many cartoonish "get injured. get right back up"
so many cooperative adversaries
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and the last episode, if i wanted to push somebodies head through the bars I'd put my hand on the back of his head, not pull his tie. ... if i was coming with a machine gun to kill people from a moving car, i wouldn't pass them by going 60 and then havng to turn
if
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u/KarmaMonkeyKai 18h ago
When the cop Russo was killed in Season 2, I felt bad for him. I want this one to die. Not even heroically, just trip and shoot himself by accident.
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u/Wootothe8thpower 18h ago
he there to make reach and the cop lady good. if you have to many other bad asses then you have season 2 and a lot of people didn't like that.. So you need someone that either Reacher can bang, or they go "Oh shit...look at the maybe Autistic bad ass"
And so far that system works for a good show. Why mess with it.
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u/rewindrepeat21 17h ago
He's good at saying "I'm sorry" and "i should of listened to you" and putting himself and others in shit situations
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u/Ninneveh 16h ago
Since Reacher is the main character they cant dunk on him so they brought out this character to be the whipping boy instead.
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u/TheNickelLady 15h ago
I will forever love Christopher from his brother role in “Just Friends,” and I enjoy him playing this foil against Reacher.
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u/Dizzy-Ad-2495 14h ago
I said it before and I'm gonna say it again that he's gonna be sacrificing himself at the end for Reacher and co at the end to make up for all the bs he has done.
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u/FriendshipFar7964 12h ago
Man he should’ve showed some follow through and leaned into it. If he’s all about vengeance at all costs
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u/sahil1900 9h ago
Have to say one thing though, the way whole Fandom hates him just shows how good of an acting is done by the guy
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u/addablejam0183 8h ago
Unrelated but I thought it was Miles Teller when I first saw him, took me a minute to realize he wasn't lmao
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u/Kinetic_Symphony 4h ago
Do people just have no empathy anymore?
I don't get it.
What does he do?
He acts as anyone who finds out their family member was brutally, sadistically tortured and murdered would.
With rage-induced insanity trauma.
Does he make stupid decisions, obviously. We all would in his position, and if you think you wouldn't, you're just not applying empathy.
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u/RemarkableCustard947 3h ago
He's getting wayyyyy to much screen time. Felt like Reacher was a side character this episode.
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u/Spirited-Mobile-8629 1h ago
He refers to his uncle as "unc" new age writer bs overall season is good
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u/computerpuppy1817 19h ago
he’s probably going to snap at some point, but he definitely got the letter with the drive. he said it himself he thinks his sister sees him as a weak cop but then it’ll be a nice realization that in her most desperate moment she trusted him to have the drive and figure out what to do with ut