Summary

In this episode, Sean and Cindy discuss season four of Reacher, exploring character development, plot intricacies, and their personal impressions. They also delve into the show’s graphic content, character choices, and the impact of critics’ reviews.

Long version

This week, we get into what worked better this time around, why Reacher may be more interesting precisely because he barely changes, and why every season apparently requires him to have sex with somebody even though romance and Reacher go together about as naturally as a 1964 sex-ed film.

Also discussed: Alan Ritchson’s increasingly Hulk-like proportions, Cindy’s realization that she is attracted to the fictional stoic brick wall and not necessarily the cheerful man playing him, the season’s stronger supporting-character arcs, some unexpectedly brutal violence, New England clam chowder crimes, Pancake the cat, and one very unfortunate ear.

Then it’s time for some critical thinking, as we look at a review that criticized the season’s plot while also taking a swipe at the people who watch Reacher. Criticizing a show is fair game. Assuming something about the intelligence of its audience because of the genre? We have thoughts.

Finally, we talk about Reacher’s fallibility, the Mortal Kombat energy of the final fight, and modern streaming television’s increasingly aggressive habit of stopping every ten minutes to explain the plot back to us.

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Chapters

00:00 – Welcome Back Banter (Vacation, Pets & Podcast Life)

01:00 – Reacher Season 4: Spoiler-Free Impressions

03:13 – What Changed This Season?

04:39 – Spoilers Begin

06:47 – Reacher Gets Things Wrong

07:00 – Does Reacher Really Need a Romance?

08:50 – Reacher vs. Alan Ritchson

10:32 – Critical Thinking: Reviewing the Review

14:34 – Reacher Is the Sun: Character Arcs

16:49 – This Season Got REALLY Graphic

18:34 – Reacher Eats His Way Across America

22:05 – Pancake the Cat Steals the Show

23:34 – Russell, the Journalist & the Hard Drive

24:24 – The Bioweapon Plot and Sampson

26:16 – The Finale Goes Full Mortal Kombat

28:34 – The CIA, Exposition & Streaming TV’s Bad Habit

30:36 – Next Up: Widow’s Bay

Coming up on episode 3 ‘Til Plot Do Us Part:

Spooky season begins with Widow’s Bay and a movie that everyone now seems to be changing their minds about because now Kate Dippold is a genius instead of trampling on a classic—Ghostbusters 2016 Lady Version.

Keywords

Reacher season 4 review, Alan Ritchson, Reacher podcast, Amazon Prime Video, Lila Reacher villain, TV criticism, married couple podcast