For a show so keen to avoid spoilers, they might have come up with a different title for this episode! That said, “Plum Out of Luck” begins with a bang thanks to the fight in the abandoned restaurant. The smoke of the flash grenades is a very clever way to stage this fight, and it means that the gore inherent in such close gunfire and knife work can largely be avoided while still getting the point across. What’s more the action is very cleverly staged, with the focus remaining on the jump drive as it skitters across the floor, between the automatic gunfire and the falling bodies. The smartest guy we’ve seen in the whole show is the guy on the street outside on the bike, who takes one look at a battered and bloody Reacher (Alan Ritchson), says “Jesus Cristo,” and immediately cycles in another direction.
Fortunately Russell (Kevin Weisman) is not so out of luck that he can’t provide the intel needed to move the plot along. He was able to ID the mysterious person in the back of the photo all the fuss has been about, but not before Reacher and Tamara (Sydelle Noel) are all over the news as wanted criminals. This is a headache for Sampson (Marc Blucas) but at least this means his wife Elspeth (Kathleen Richardson) finally gets a good moment of terrifyingly inspirational speechifying. So does Amisha (Anggun), though hers seems slightly less effective.
It is dismaying that the main villains of the second, third and fourth seasons of Reacher are not white, and in two cases also not American. This is not the best look for a show designed as a violent cathartic fantasy for so many people. However, the way the show handles its villainy is so ludicrously over the top that it doesn’t feel as offensive as this description of it sounds. The issue has always been Reacher’s anger at misdirected power, bullies, and people who are prepared to go much too far for their own selfish desires. And at least it’s egalitarian in showing who all the different bad people are. The violence meted out against the henchmen is disproportionate, sure, but it’s not the only violence there is (though the bit with the shredder is so over-the-top that it’s hard to remember that). As ever the villains in this show are so unbelievably evil that all the gore does feel merited. Even if one of them does know the name of his minimum-wage earning receptionist.
The fact that the cliffhanger takes place in Delaware, the most boring state in the nation, is incredibly funny. It is also fascinating that AI is used as a plot device, as the technique to decode the mystery in the photo all the fuss is about. No hallucinations in the machine here, sadly. The way in which Amisha and Lila (Agnez Mo, who does her best with some truly clunky exposition here) talk about their options thanks to said AI makes you hope it will ignore all previous instructions and save the day, but there are two more episodes to go.
At least there are a few moments of levity in the episode: Reacher takes his shirt off, and he teases Tamara for having a crush on ‘anti-Conan’ Jacob (Christopher Rodriguez-Marquette). The scene where Reacher calms Tamara down from a panic attack and she opens up to him is very sweet (unfortunately this makes it clear Reacher has had his quota of women respecting this series already). Jacob is separated from the others and makes the mistake of thinking he can rely on his honorary uncle Monty (Nick Searcy), who really is a small-town cop out of his depth. But Jacob isn’t. Once he gives up trying to rely on other people he’s capable of saving himself. But it’s a very bleak ending for our gang of heroes in this episode, and there’s no getting around that the episodes to finish out the season don’t feel like they’ll be a barrel of laughs.
One final thing: the reference to water ice was greatly appreciated. I do appreciate how this show, despite being filmed in Canada, works so hard to feel like it’s in its specific American settings.
Credit needle drop: “Don’t Fear the Reaper” by Blue Öyster Cult.
Reacher Season 4, Episode 6 is now streaming on Prime Video.
Learn more about the show at the IMDB site for the title.
You might also like…
