- Title: Reacher – Welcome to Margrave
- IMDb: link
Adapted from The Killing Floor, Lee Child‘s first Jack Reacher novel, Reacher introduces us to the title character by having the former military investigator turned drifter (Alan Ritchson) arrested in the southern town of Margrave, Georgia, for a murder he didn’t commit. While an alibi eventually clears him, his demeanor doesn’t endear him to Chief Detective Oscar Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin) who locks him upon along with another suspect who admits to the crime but also obviously isn’t guilty. While some might see this as Finlay using Reacher to get the truth out of the other suspect, that’s not how the episode presents things with Finlay mainly wanting both men out of his hair.
Ritchson is a more imposing sight than Tom Cruise, fitting the mold of Child’s best-selling character. After an attempt on his life in prison and being followed after release, Reacher becomes suspicious of what the town has against him. Discovering an unexpected personal connection to the murder makes him reconsider his intention of leaving on the first bus which will lead to an increasing body count over the course of the series and, eventually, answers. The only friend Reacher meets im Margrave is Officer Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald) who appears to be the only local in a town of 17,000 smart enough to not pick a fight with Reacher. Before the season is over, others will regret that mistake.
