A karambit is a little knife curved like a claw. It was invented in Indonesia, which is where Lila (Agnez Mo) and her mother Amisha (Anggun) are from. Its unpleasant appearance in this episode means the enemy has a much yuckier appetite for destruction than Reacher (Alan Ritchson) and the gang had previously realised. Well, at least nobody so far this season got stabbed in the eye with chopsticks or anything. The physical world and knowing how to navigate it is the key issue in “Karambits and Pieces,” which all hinges on the government making the mistake of only storing items virtually. The scanning of physical items which are then destroyed, so the only copies exist in the cloud or maybe on a jump drive, couldn’t be more topical this week. Episode writer Penny Cox, who has worked on Reacher since the second series, has accidentally struck gold.
As seen here, the Baltimore-DC metro area sure is a strange part of the world. From bars that are open at 9 am (serving Natty Boh, in case you were worried the place was classy) to a bagel place called ‘Hole Lotta Love,’ there’s enough mystery around to keep everyone busy. Tamara (Sydelle Noel) does something foolhardy but which bravely gets the gang some of the information they need, as well as a family photo for Jacob (Christopher Rodriguez-Marquette), who worries about what kind of sweetener she takes in her coffee. Sugar, for the record. Not to be outdone, Russell (Kevin Weisman) is more than a journalist: he’s the kind of guy who recognises smoke from a “commercial-grade incinerator” when he sees it. It’s good for men to have hobbies! It’s really important for people to notice the physical world around them and how that affects their choices. For one thing, Lila is small enough Reacher can hoist her over a subway turnstile in one easy motion. For another, Tamara and Reacher are so much on the same page they just have to glance at each other to get their points across.
It’s equally clear that Congressman Sampson (Marc Blucas) doesn’t normally have beer for breakfast, but he’s badly rattled after the events of the previous episode and needs someone to tell his war stories to. Mr. Ritchson is very good at listening, which a lot of actors aren’t; they are just visibly waiting their turn to say their lines. But he observes, he notes how fast the drink goes down, and he listens. And look at Reacher’s face when Sampson describes some things that he was peripherally involved in back in Indonesia: he gets angry. It’s not the first time America has been burned, as Reacher says by listing a few unpleasantly famous names, but that doesn’t make it any better. These kinds of choices are not supposed to be the American deal, and being involved in that kind of nastiness is not what Reacher gave up his youth for. The anger Reacher expresses in that bar is terrifying for being so utterly contained. What’s more, with just a twitch of the muscles in his jaw Reacher makes it clear his anger is personal.
Taking it personally when the government does something directly bad to you is an emotion American art does not usually allow the hero. Instead bad things happen to the hero’s best friend. To the pretty girl the hero likes. But Reacher, as an ex-military child and ex-military police, could not be more military if he tried. So when the army misuses its soldiers and as a result innocent people die, Reacher is thinking of how very easily that could have been him with blood on his hands. When he is kidnapped, restrained in a cage and physically attacked by government men, it’s not just a metaphor for other things in the news. Reacher does not like the misuse of power, not one little bit – and the show is on his side. The little moment where a man in black tosses a shovel from hand to hand with a smug smile on his face is definitely personal, as is the very hard news that Jacob has to digest. Mr. Rodriguez-Marquette really is doing something special here: unafraid to cry, absolutely determined to do the right thing for his sister and nephew, and still never allowing his emotions to override anyone’s humanity. Ms. Noel finally gets some good moments here too, as she gets her back-up dancers to share their information in ways which keeps everyone on the same page. Mr. Weisman is a little more the comic relief, but only because he’s not a physical threat. He’s the brains instead.
But if we’re going to talk about misuses of power, the little scene with the people in the subway tunnels makes that analogy perfectly clear. The police know there are people down there living like that and well, that’s all there is to that. It’s awful for being so normal, and it doesn’t deserve to get lost under all the other horrors this show depicts. The fact the fights in this episode feel improvised – just look at all the things used as weapons in the warehouse, or the stray shot from a man who dies with his finger on the trigger – shows how quickly power can spiral out of control. And while we’re at it, it can be said those horrors include Elspeth (Kathleen Robertson) showing up at the morning bar with her own bottle of scotch, because whatever they have in the well (UK readers, that means house bottles) isn’t good enough for her man. Why go to a bar if you’re not going to drink what they sell in the bar? Why be above the world, and not part of it?
Because being part of the world means knowing there are old people sleeping in subway tunnels. It means having to face how easy it can be to lose everyone you love, and how very difficult it can be to get justice. It also means having to keep realising, over and over again, you are not as smart as you think you are. Reacher normally holds himself separate so he doesn’t have to deal with these things, except on his terms. But the final shot is of Reacher realising he’s not as smart as he thought he was, and boy howdy is somebody going to pay for teaching him that lesson.
One final thing: it’s the law on TV for someone carrying groceries to have something sticking out of the top of the paper bag, but for once in our lives it’s not a baguette! This time it’s spring onions for soto ayam, which the internet tells me is an Indonesian spicy chicken soup. I bet restaurant requests for this go through the roof in the coming weeks.
Credit needle drop: “World’s in a Bad Condition” by Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin.
Reacher Season 4, Episode 4 is now streaming on Prime Video.
Learn more about the show on the IMDB site for the title.
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