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Reacher gets interesting

Reacher gets interesting

Last updated on: September 11, 2026 at 5:29 pm by Coyle Neal

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Reacher gets interesting 2026-09-11T17:29:15-06:00 Coyle Neal

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We’ve reviewed Amazon’s series Reacher here a few times in the past. Season 4 continues to be excellent and lives up to the standards of its predecessors. I’ve not read the book it’s based on, but it is solid so far. Oh sure, there is the odd plot hole here and there (are we really concerned about chemical warfare technology from 30 years ago?), but the mystery is interesting, the action excellent, and the whole thing well made. Reacher is a solid show, and one you should watch (though not with the wee ones, of course).

But what makes this particular season interesting, up through episode 7 at any rate, is the presentation of the politician. [Spoilers abound from here on out!]

And look, I don’t remember what his name is (Simpson? Sampson?). I know he’s a Representative, which makes it ridiculous that he apparently has his own good squad. And can order around the CIA. And, well, lots of improbables. But not all the folks watching are Political Scientists, so let that all go.

What matters here is that we have a view of a politician that I’ve not seen for a while. (And again: only episode 7 has been released; maybe they’ll undo all of this in episode 8). What we have is an elected official who served in the military in an operation overseas that was perhaps more than it appeared, and maybe was even actively evil. We know all this, the question is: how involved was he?

This is a very obvious set up, but Reacher gives us a curveball: he was a good soldier, honest and upright, and has stayed honest and upright through his career as a politician. In other words, he is what he appears to be. He’s even more than that. Even as an elected politician long past his military prime, he still lives up to the standard he presents. Brave, self-sacrificial, and concerned with the safety of others.

This… is not what we expect in a modern TV show.

And I know I’m taking a risk here. It might be that the season finale next week shows us that he really was a slimy politician all along. Still, it’s a refreshing perspective. In a world that is jaded, sees all authority figures as corrupt, and expects the worst of everyone, it’s nice to have a guy that we can look at and say “he seems minimally decent, and it wouldn’t kill my conscience to vote for him.”

Here’s hoping Christians can say that more and more in the real world as we move forward. But for now, if only for one episode, we can say it about Representative what’s-his-name in Reacher.

Dr. Coyle Neal co-hosts the City of Man Podcast, blogs here on Schaeffer’s Ghost, and is an Amazon Associate (which is linked in this blog). He teaches Political Science, Philosophy, and History in Southwest Missouri.

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