Why Alan Ritchson’s Reacher Seems Weaker In Season 4

Published Aug 22, 2026, 1:00 AM EDT

Dhruv is a Lead Writer in Screen Rant's New TV division. He has been consistently contributing to the website for over two years and has written thousands of articles covering streaming trends, movie/TV analysis, and pop culture breakdowns.
Before Screen Rant, he was a Senior Writer for The Cinemaholic, covering everything from anime to television, from reality TV to movies.
After high school, he was on his way to become a Civil Engineer. However, he soon realized that writing was his true calling. As a result, he took a leap and never looked back.

Sign in to your ScreenRant account

Spoilers ahead for Reacher season 4.Reacher's titular Alan Ritchson character is a near-invincible force to be reckoned with. In previous seasons, he has knocked down and even killed opponents with one single blow. There have been sequences where he has even displayed near-superhuman strength. For instance, in season 3, he flips a car upside down with little help from another man.

The original Jack Reacher books are packed with even bigger feats of strength displayed by the character. Case in point, Reacher manages to stop a bullet from reaching his vitals in Tripwire simply because his chest muscles are too thick and dense. Although Jack Reacher met a stronger opponent, Paulie, in season 3, he eventually found a way to overpower him as well.

In Reacher season 4, however, the Alan Ritchson character seems to struggle against some very ordinary-looking enemies. He even almost gets a brutal blow to his face during the bowling alley sequence before Lila saves him. This makes it hard not to wonder if season 4 has actually nerfed the character or something else is contributing to Reacher's sudden weakness.

Reacher Is Facing One High-Calibre Threat After Another In Season 4

In terms of sheer size and presence, Alan Ritchson's Jack Reacher seems bigger than ever. There is a scene where he even claims he weighs over 250 pounds now. Despite this, there have been one-on-one unarmed showdowns in the new season where he has taken some time to overpower his enemies. The biggest reason behind this is that, this time around, he is not merely facing regular goons.

Almost every opposing faction in Reacher season 4 includes high-caliber individuals. From federal operatives to professional hitmen, from elite mercenaries to FBI agents, Jack Reacher is constantly being pitted against forces that include people with immense combat experience. To make things even harder, he does not have time to catch a break.

Previous seasons of the Prime Video detective series saved some of the best high-stakes fights for the final arc. Reacher even got enough time to recover from showdowns and, more often than not, seemed well-prepared for some of the bigger challenges that awaited him.

In season 4, however, he has been fighting one battle after another in some of the most unexpected places, like subway stations and bowling alleys.

Reacher’s “Weakness” Makes Season 4 Even Better

After season 1, Reacher season 2 made the Alan Ritchson character look a little too overpowered and invincible. Season 3 managed to reverse some of this by showing how someone like Paulie could genuinely give him a run for his money in a one-on-one fight. It looks like season 4 is continuing this trend by establishing how, as strong as Reacher may seem, he, too, has human limitations.

This inadvertently makes Reacher season 4 a lot more compelling and high-stakes. It is gradually establishing how Jack Reacher's opponents do not necessarily have to be as big as Paulie to give him a tough fight.

With this, season 4 also seems to be setting the stage for an ultimate showdown between the Alan Ritchson character and the Hoths (Lila and Amisha). Reacher season 4, episode 4's twist ending has already established the two women as ruthless villains. They know their way around the Indonesian karambit knife, which could give them a major edge over Jack Reacher in a fight.

By giving a glimpse of how the Alan Ritchson character, too, can take his time to overpower highly trained people, Reacher season 4 is doing a great job of making its main character seem human and setting up the massive stakes for his final fight against the Hoths.

Reacher

8/10

Without a phone and traveling light, former military police officer Jack Reacher drifts between American towns, embroiling himself in local crimes and bringing justice in his wake. Based on the series of novels by Lee Child, Reacher's journey offers him an intimate understanding on the nation he once served.