This article contains spoilers for Reacher Season 4, Episode 4
It can be comforting to watch a show and know what to expect, which makes Reacher a comforting action show. While the characters and locations change, the formula stays largely the same. In “Karambits and Pieces,” there are some good moments, including a big twist at the end of the episode, but there remains a nagging sense of lethargy.
The plot-by-numbers episodes have made the fourth season of the Alan Ritchson-led show feel slow out of the gate. This raises the question of whether the show will switch things up or remain content in the comfortable niche it has carved out for itself.
Reacher Digs Deeper Into the Conspiracy
Reacher Episode 4 picks up where Episode 3 left off, with questions about the suicide of Senator John Sampson’s (Marc Blucas) chief of staff. The senator and Reacher then share a drink, actually a couple, as Sampson reveals his connection to the man and what their Delta squad really did in Indonesia.
Sampson, though honest, is now a politician and must keep his ties to that mess secret. That means little to Reacher, who still plans to find the missing flash drive. He wants to see what is so important that it left people dead and has government agencies scrambling to find it.
Meanwhile, the B team, consisting of Detective Tamara Green (Sydelle Noel), Officer Jacob Merrick (Christopher Rodriguez-Marquette), and journalist Russell Plum (Kevin Weisman), put a plan into action. They intend to break into the late Anna Merrick’s (Karen Kwong-Chip) workplace to see what she had access to.
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As it turns out, whatever she put on the drive is now the only copy in existence. The original files, both digital and physical, have been destroyed. This makes the contents of the drive that much more important, and some are willing to go to great lengths to obtain it.
Reacher meets up with the rest of his team just in time for Detective Green to get a call confirming the worst. Anna’s kidnapped son, Jacob’s nephew, has been found dead. Reacher heads to the hotel where Lila Hoth (Agnez Mo) is searching for the drive, while everyone else heads to the morgue to identify the body.
Lila and Amisha Change the Game With a Shocking Reveal
Reacher gets Lila onto a subway train as he fights off more goons who were waiting for her. He then escapes into the subway tunnels, hides until it’s safe to move, and races back to the hotel where he plans to meet Lila.
At the morgue, after identifying the body, the team discovers that the weapon used to kill Jacob’s nephew is a Karambit, a curved knife used by practitioners of a particular martial art in Indonesia. Fast-forward to the hotel, where Lila and her mother, Amisha (Anggun), find their security guards dead and are confronted by four men demanding the drive.
They both draw Karambits and prepare to fight. When Reacher arrives, he finds the four men dead, along with the two security guards. Of course, this is when the police show up, and he once again finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
There were two key moments in the episode, both handled well, that occurred at the beginning and the end. The conversation between Reacher and Senator Sampson was well done, and Blucas does well as his character develops. The twist at the end, with Lila and Amisha brandishing the Karambits, casts new light on both of them and on the roles they are playing in the hunt for the flash drive.
Can Reacher Season 4 Break Out of Its Formula?
As always on this show, someone has been lying, and now everything changes. It might be just what the season needs to kick-start it into a more interesting gear.
The biggest problem is the team of Tamara, Jacob, and Russell. While all have their moments, their scenes often drag the show down. In a high-energy show like Reacher, that stands out. It’s difficult to build character backstories in only eight episodes, especially when the story is based on a book. The characters are trying to push things to the edge, but it comes off more like a requirement than something organic.
With “Karambits and Pieces” bringing us to the halfway mark of the season, the show struggles to sustain momentum. That said, the big twist at the end of the episode might be the push it needs to breathe more life into a show that at times feels like it is simply going through the motions.
Reacher Season 4 Episode 4 is now streaming on Prime Video. New episodes premiere every Wednesday through Sept. 16.
