It's Official, Alan Ritchson's Reacher Is No Longer The Hero Of His Own Show

Published Sep 13, 2026, 11:00 PM EDT

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Spoilers ahead for Reacher season 4, episode 7.Alan Ritchson's character is supposed to be the titular hero in Prime Video's Reacher. However, after Reacher season 4's episode 7, it is hard not to question his status as the main character. For obvious reasons, the Prime Video detective series still centers around Jack Reacher. After season 4's recent developments, though, it looks like the "hero" is an entirely different character.

Reacher season 4 has been significantly different from its predecessors in more ways than one. Alan Ritchson's Jack Reacher seems weaker because he is facing one high-stakes threat after another. For the first time in the series, Reacher's own sense of judgment has also been increasingly flawed as he has struggled to realize Lila Hoth's true motives.

Even in the most recent episode of the Prime Video series, the larger-than-life main character tried his best to stay ahead of the curve. To his dismay, things still eventually went south, and he could not be the one to save the day. While he struggled to get things right, another character stole the show and embodied the "hero" energy and grit.

Reacher Guesses The Attack Location Wrong Not Once, But Twice

After Reacher and his crew learn about the Hoths' bioweapon plan, they try to deduce the exact location where they would test it before selling its formula on the Dark Web. Reacher theorizes that they would pick a place with a large crowd, leading him to believe that a famous opera concert could be targeted during the attack.

While it is understandable where this deduction comes from, the fact that he blinds himself with just one theory while dismissing all other possibilities seems a little careless.

He and his team waste valuable time after they arrive at the opera and realize they made some terrible assumptions about the Hoths' plan. With what follows, he repeats the same mistake when he quickly jumps to the conclusion that the attack will happen on the highway. Yet again, he turns out to be wrong and many steps behind the main villains of the season.

Reacher's most popular crime-solving credo from previous seasons has been a simple yet effective five-word sentence:

"In an investigation, assumptions kill."

He has also emphasized on multiple occasions that "details matter." Despite this, in season 4, he jumps into assumptions and ignores many obvious details. As a hero who preaches about avoiding assumptions and focusing on details, Reacher seems to be contradicting himself in season 4. He has clearly lost his way as the main hero.

Sampson Ends Up Being The Biggest Hero In Reacher Season 4

While Reacher and his crew try to understand where the bioweapon attack will happen, it takes Sampson a few minutes to conclude that Lila and Amisha will target his fundraiser. Since Sampson had a history with Amisha and knew exactly why she wanted him dead, it makes sense that he figured out this mystery before Reacher.

However, it is not like Reacher was completely clueless about the fact that the Hoths held some underlying grudge against Sampson. Even after realizing where the terrorist attack will happen, Reacher arrives at the location a little too late. This forces Sampson to take things into his own hands and put his life on the line to save the lives of the many high-profile individuals gathered at the fundraiser.

Before Reacher season 4, episode 7's credits start rolling, Sampson takes the center stage as the main hero with his big sacrifice while Jack Reacher largely remains clueless about his next step.

Reacher's List Of Mistakes This Season Is Getting Bigger

The more Reacher season 4 progresses, the more the titular character's mistakes and misjudgments keep bundling. Even in the season's opening moments, Alan Ritchon's Reacher made the grave mistake of telling Anna he was a cop. This made her feel even more helpless and prompted her to die by suicide.

Later, he seems fully convinced by Lila's made-up story about having cancer and wanting a bone marrow transplant from her "father," Sampson. Even after learning that Lila lied to him once, Reacher throws all caution to the wind and gets romantically involved with her. He does not even consider the possibility that if she lied to him once, she could have done it again.

Towards the end of episode 6, Reacher almost even faced doom and accepted his death after being caught by Alquist's mercenaries. His line of mistakes this season were already starting to establish that he is way out of his depth this season.

In episode 7, he seems to prove that he is no longer the main hero. He has made far too many mistakes, and, if it wasn't for Sampson's sacrifice, many innocents would have also died because of his wrong assumptions and slow thinking.

Season 4 Brings Back Reacher's Antihero Tendencies

Reacher season 2 is packed with quite a few scenes where the Alan Ritchson character takes things a little too far with the secondary villains. He brutally murders many bad guys and shows little to no mercy towards anyone who crosses his path. After season 2, it was hard not to see him as more of an anti-hero rather than a typical heroic vigilante.

While his season 3 arc was relatively tame in this regard, he seemingly returns to his old ways in season 4. This is especially evident when he brutally snaps Alquist's neck in episode 7. Arguably, Alquist had it coming for a long time. However, it is hard not to see how Reacher himself is growing more and more frustrated and impatient with his own inability to get things right.

As always, the Alan Ritchson character will eventually set things right and reclaim the "hero" status before Reacher season 4 concludes. However, this has easily been one of his most challenging and morally complicated missions to date.

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 of the nation he once served.