Copyright Screen Rant
With every new season, Prime Video's Reacher has replaced many of its main characters while keeping the titular character as its only narrative anchor. Given how the Prime Video detective series closely adapts one original Jack Reacher book every season, it makes sense that it drops many characters as soon as a season ends and Reacher sets out to move to a new town. It is also hard not to appreciate that Prime Video's Reacher accurately portrays the Alan Ritchson character's hobo lifestyle where he embraces the open road and avoids committing to long-term relationships. Unfortunately, this accurate portrayal of the character has come with its own downsides. Even after three seasons, Reacher season 1's Roscoe Conklin and Oscar Finlay come off as the series' best characters. While Roscoe's on-screen chemistry with Jack Reacher was incredible, Finlay's buddy cop dynamic with him was both hilarious and surprisingly endearing. This is where the show's character replacement problem lies. Every time Reacher teams up with a new set of characters, one is reminded of his nearly perfect relationship with Finlay and Roscoe. Fortunately, by changing one character's book story, Prime Video's Reacher has found a way to fix this issue. Reacher Has Fixed Its Biggest Character Replacement Issue By Making Neagley A Returning Character Roscoe and Finlay's return in Prime Video's Reacher seems unlikely. The show slightly drifted away from the books and featured Finlay in a small role in season 2. However, beyond that, the chances of his return seem slim. When Reacher parted ways with Roscoe in season 1's ending, he made a heartfelt confession saying that she would be the reason he would stay behind in Margrave. This was a testament to how much he admired her. After 3 seasons, though, it is almost as if she never existed. Fortunately, the Prime Video show has changed Neagley's original story from the books to make her a recurring character. Her presence does not exactly make up for Roscoe and Finlay's absence. However, it does give the series a sense of narrative continuity across seasons. In his lifestyle as a drifter, Reacher, too, seems to have found at least one constant in Neagley's steadfast presence, who understands him more than anyone else and even respects his boundaries. ...Neagley's unwavering competence and loyalty offer a different kind of balance. One of the most hilarious scenes from the series is from season 1 when Reacher orders an entire buffet, including everything from fried chicken to ribs, from collard greens to rice with gilbert gravy. Finlay, to everyone's amusement, contrasts this by ordering nothing but a spinach salad. It was scenes like these in season 1 that captured how Finlay and Roscoe challenged Reacher instead of being mere sidekicks. Again, their absence can still be felt in the Prime Video show, but Neagley fills the void by playing the same role as them. She often outsmarts Reacher and proves to be a reliable partner in action. Unlike Roscoe and Finlay, she does not serve as Reacher's moral compass. However, Neagley's unwavering competence and loyalty offer a different kind of balance. This, in turn, gives viewers a familiar anchor and helps them get over the fact that Roscoe and Finlay will never likely return. Neagley’s Spinoff Will Further Solve This Continuity Problem
