The fourth season of Reacher is currently airing weekly on Prime Video, but Paramount has finally given the third season a physical media release.

The third season of Reacher is based on Lee Child’s 2003 novel “Persuader”, the seventh book in his Jack Reacher series. Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) is a former major in the United States Army Military Police Corps, who is now more of a nomad without a home. However, wherever he travels, trouble always seems to find him, and he usually ends up teaming up with local law enforcement to take down some bad guy or operation.

In this third season, Reacher finds himself in Abbottsville, Maine, where he is recruited by DEA agent Susan Duffy (Sonya Cassidy), who is looking for a missing undercover agent. The agent had been investigating suspected drug smuggler Zachary Beck (Anthony Michael Hall), who is using his oriental rug importing company, Bizarre Bazaar, as a cover for his operation. When Reacher discovers that a former nemesis he long believed to be dead, corrupt soldier-turned-arms dealer Lieutenant Colonel Francis Xavier Quinn (Brian Tee), is alive and well and somehow connected to Zachary Beck, he agrees to go undercover to help find the missing agent as well as deal with Quinn once and for all. In order to get in and become one of Beck’s bodyguards, Reacher arranges to save Beck’s son Richard (Johnny Berchtold) from a kidnapping—something that has happened before to the young man with disfiguring consequences. However, Beck doesn’t have a lot of trust in anyone, and once undercover Reacher needs to tread carefully as he’s constantly under surveillance. Plus, Beck’s hulking head of security, Paul “Paulie” van Hoven (Olivier Richters), somehow makes Reacher look tiny! Assisting Duffy on the case are veteran DEA agent Guillermo Villanueva (Roberto Montesinos) and rookie Steven Eliot (Daniel David Stewart), while Neagley (Maria Sten) also assists Reacher remotely with his investigation.

I had forgotten just how awesome this third season was until I started re-watching the season via the Blu-ray release. Once I started, I just couldn’t stop, and made my way through the entire season. This series is so well-written, blending exciting action with humor and some tense dramatic moments. This season there is the added tension of Reacher working undercover. Zachary Beck may appear to be just an average businessman, but he can turn ruthless at any moment, and has a team of bodyguards to take out any threat. Reacher is a big, tough guy, but he might have finally met his match in Paulie. It was great to see Anthony Michael Hall in this villainous role!

This series has a lot of action, and star Alan Ritchson always executes these scenes to perfection. Whether its guns, or just his fists, Reacher is a one-man wrecking machine who can take down a roomful of enemies with ease. In his new undercover role, Reacher is often paired with various other bodyguards, many of whom he’s forced to dispatch with along the way, though surprisingly this never seems to attract attention. He’s a smart guy who knows how to cover his tracks.

This season we also get some flashbacks and a bit more of Reacher’s backstory as he hunts down a rogue nemesis from his past, who he thought he had eliminated years earlier. However, Quinn may not even remember him, as he’s suffering from a form of amnesia following the fall that was supposed to have killed him. Though this may work in Reacher’s favor should they come face-to-face while he’s undercover.

One thing I always enjoy about the Reacher series is the fun local law enforcement characters that Reacher teams up with each season. It’s disappointing that we often never see these characters again as they are only around for the season before Reacher heads off to some new location. But this season we get a fun trio led by the quirky Susan Duffy and her heavy New England accent. She and Reacher work well together and complement each other’s skills and efforts on the case. She is joined by the Murtaugh-like Guillermo Villanueva, who’s getting too old for this sh–, and the naive rookie Steven Eliot, who’s still learning the ropes. The season also sees the return of Neagley to assist Reacher.

Paramount Home Entertainment has released this third season of Reacher on Blu-ray & DVD (there doesn’t appear to be a MOD 4K UHD release this time around). We were sent the Blu-ray version for review. I really enjoyed binging through this third season for the second time on disc. The episodes flow nicely into one another, usually ending on some big reveal, making you want to immediately check out the next episode. The picture looks fantastic—I can’t imagine how a 4K UHD release could look any better. The picture is pristine with bright, beautiful colors and a stellar amount of detail in faces. The audio track is equally impressive, providing clear dialogue throughout, as well as a very immersive feel—you feel like you’re right in the middle of the action.

The third season’s eight episodes are split evenly across 2 discs, which are placed on either side of a standard HD keepcase, covered with a glossy cardboard slipcover. Unfortunately, there is no bonus material on the discs, and no digital copy included.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (6:28:40)

• All 8 episodes of season 3:
  Disc 1 (3:15:33): “Persuader”, “Truckin'”, “Number 2 with a Bullet”, “Dominique”
  Disc 2 (3:13:07): “Smackdown”, “Smoke on the Water”, “L.A. Story”, “Unfinished Business”
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.00:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Audio Description, German 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, German, French

Extras:

No bonus material has been included.

Final Thoughts:

The third season of Reacher is another satisfying 8-episode action-packed story with lots of twists, action, humor and drama. It’s more like the first season, with it back to Reacher working primarily solo, but teaming up with local law enforcement, where the second season had him reuniting with and working alongside his old team. The new characters are great—some interesting villains and a fun dynamic between Reacher and his makeshift team. The season also delves a bit into Reacher’s backstory. Paramount’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds amazing, but unfortunately doesn’t include any bonus material or digital copy. That said, the release still comes recommended based on the quality of the series itself. It’s a highly rewatchable series.