Why Jack Reacher Tries To Kill Xavier Quinn

This post contains spoilers for “Reacher” season 3, episode 4, “Dominique.”

Setting off Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) doesn’t take much. Whether you mistreat a dog or participate in an illegal arms deal, you’ll likely end up with a body part in a cast after he’s finished with you. However, there are exceptions regarding Reacher’s s*** list, and last week, Xavier Quinn (Brian Tee) found himself back on it after being initially scratched off years before. In this case, though, Reacher doesn’t want him in the hospital; he wants him where he left him last — lifeless and floating out to sea.

Continuing season 3 this week (which adapts the best book in the “Jack Reacher” series, “Persuader”), we learn why Xavier Quinn, a former U.S. Army colonel turned arms dealer, is a ghost from Reacher’s past that he’s determined to exorcise. In perhaps one of the most emotional episodes ever, “Dominique” showcases Reacher reflecting on a case from his military days when he first encountered Quinn, who now goes by the name Julius McCabe. Cunning, elusive, and sadistic, Quinn was responsible for torturing and killing Sgt. Dominique Kohl (Mariah Robinson), a promising young protégé who worked with Reacher before his best friend, Neagley (Maria Sten), and was held in just as high regard. This revelation presents a terrifying Reacher, propelling him forward and transforming Quinn into a villain we’re itching to see meet his comeuppance. Unfortunately for this particular scumbag, bad breeds bad, and boy, did Reacher go bad to catch his perp the first time around.

It only took a glance from a bus stop during last week’s first three bingeable episodes to show Alan Ritchson switch into a side of Reacher we’ve never encountered before. Rattled and driven by vengeance, Reacher’s worst fears materialize when his new friend with a badge, Susan Duffy (Sonya Cassidy), presents photographic evidence Quinn is alive and notably lacks a bullet in the cranium. The discovery forces him to tell the whole story of how Quinn originally crossed his path that ended with a horrifying discovery that rocked this mountain of a man to his core. Seeing Reacher set on getting someone is one thing, but seeing him this heartbroken as to why is something else entirely.

All credit goes to Ritchson for further humanizing someone who, until this point, has been almost comedically unstoppable in taking down the bad guys. (Although the best person who’s portrayed Jack Reacher might not be Ritchson or Tom Cruise, but another actor entirely.) Here, we see him at his most fragile, stumbling out of a barn and looking close to tears. It’s a state we never thought we’d see Reacher in. It also explains why he keeps Neagley (Maria Sten) so close yet so distant at the same time, afraid of history repeating itself when danger gets too near. This concern for those around him demonstrates that he isn’t the cold-hearted hero he makes himself out to be. And that’s also exactly why he failed to kill Quinn in the first place.

When it came to taking care of Kohl’s killer, Reacher is told by his commanding officer to “do it once, do it right.” The truth is that Reacher was never going to do it right in the first place because that’s not who he is. Walking someone to a cliffside and executing them isn’t in Reacher’s nature — it’s in Quinn’s. As a result, fueled by grief, guilt, and a desperate need for revenge, Reacher became careless and shot a man, not bothering to see if it even did the job. “I assumed he was dead and gone,” he confesses to Duffy. “I’ve learned not to make assumptions in an investigation.” Now, all that’s left for Reacher is to make things right in a new season of the show that gives our hero a different cause to fight for. Taking Quinn down isn’t just about justice against the worst person Reacher has ever known; it’s about finding redemption for something that has just been returned to the surface.

What that looks like and how he’ll get it have yet to be revealed. Of course, fans of the books will be ahead of the game compared to casual viewers. However, there’s still every chance the show could deviate, and this inevitable reunion between the two could end very differently. Our only hope is that, however it goes down, Reacher doesn’t make the same mistake twice, and more importantly, it gives him the peace he’s looking for.