‘Reacher’ Season 3, Episode 6, “Smoke on the Water” Recap & Review

This article has spoilers for Reacher Season 3, Episode 6, “Smoke on the Water”

With an action-fueled TV show, you know what you are getting into. Reacher is no exception, with many big characters (size and characteristics) and depicting all the different ways to injure, maim, or kill. However, “Smoke on the Water” is an excellent example of how a show can take that formula, throw in some great humor and interesting plot points (even if a few need to be taken with a grain of salt), and make a great hour of television. 

We jump right in where we left off in “Smackdown,” as Reacher (Alan Ritchson) and his boss Zachary Beck (Anthony Michael Hall) have been called into a meeting with the big boss, McCabe, or Quinn (Brian Tee) as Reacher knows him. Quinn doesn’t recognize Reacher, which seems to indicate that the rumours of his memory loss are true. The meeting ends with Quinn dismissing Beck and Reacher, but not before meeting his bosses, the Russian mob. The layers of who’s in charge are quickly laid out, which helps immensely as the episode progresses.

As Quinn sends his troops to deep dive into any leads to discover who is behind the leaks, the investigation into the missing Teresa (Storm Steenson) continues. Reacher uses the excuse of taking his boss’s son Richard (Johnny Berchtold) into town so he can meet up with agents Duffy (Sonya Cassidy) and Villanueva (Roberto Montesinos). However, that goes to hell when Richard discovers Reacher and Duffy talking. Reacher has no choice but to let Richard know who he really is and what he is doing, and he hopes the kid will keep his secret.

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Meanwhile, Quinn finds some information and has hitmen track down the source. They first find the lieutenant from Reacher’s old squad, who helped him track down a lead. Another pair is then sent to Chicago to investigate, and that trail leads to Neagley (Maria Sten). Not surprisingly, Neagley holds her own against the two gunmen, but the lieutenant is not as lucky. This was a deviation from the main story threads, which works well. It’s fun, playful, and has consequences. It is a reminder that these things can be done right if properly thought out and executed.

Neagley warns Reacher just in time as Quinn and the hulking Paulie (Olivier Richters) show up to track down a tip they were given, only to discover that Reacher is indeed the leak. What follows is a great action sequence in the woods, where Reacher dispatches numerous bad guys under cover of darkness in ways that would make Rambo proud while getting away.

A very humorous scene follows the action in a laundromat, where the discussion centers on laundry, money, and coffee. Reacher does this well, injecting some humor but not enough to take you out of the scene. 

The final leg of “Smoke on the Water” has Reacher and Duffy following up on a tip about Teresa’s whereabouts, this time being held on a boat a short distance offshore. She’s not there, but it’s a chance for Duffy to show off her determination and focus and also for them to get rid of one of Quinn’s more sleazy henchmen. The interactions between Duffy and Reacher here are solid, and funny when Reacher shrugs off this stuff that happens every so often. While they miss Teresa yet again, Reacher has a plan to take them to LA and get some help from a yet-to-be-named source. 

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Like most episodes this season, the pace is terrific and especially impressive as they juggle many stories here. There is no doubt that Reacher will have a confrontation between Quinn and Paulie, but this episode was constructed well and didn’t give off the sense that it was simply treading water in terms of plot to move on to the next big thing. The comedic timing has gotten better, too. Although the whole story about Quinn losing his memory is funny for the wrong reasons, it’s still a nod to the fans that, yes, this is being done for a reason. So far, it’s paying off.

Thankfully, “Smoke on the Water” was less flash and more substance. The series is confident in what it wants to do and how to do it, which certainly showed this week. With only two episodes left, there is still much to wrap up. Let’s hope they are as well-crafted as this one.

Rating: 4/5 Stars