Reacher Episode 17: Persuader

Reacher arrives in Maine and interrupts what appears to be a real kidnapping of a college student named Richard Beck, then ends up in a violent chain of events that gets him noticed by Richard’s father, Zachary Beck.

While selling old vinyl records in Abbottsville, Reacher sees Richard being forced into a van, steps in, and kills the kidnapper; during the chaos, he also shoots a police officer and a chase follows. Richard then explains that he had been kidnapped before and that his father only paid the ransom after one of his ears was cut off, which is why he is terrified and wants to go home.

Reacher takes Richard back to Zachary Beck’s home, where Zachary thanks him for saving his son but quickly becomes suspicious of him. Zachary offers Reacher a job, and Reacher accepts after passing a dangerous test involving Russian roulette. By the end of the episode, Reacher has taken the first step into Zachary’s guarded world, which is filled with armed security and tense, uncertain loyalties.

Along the way, the episode establishes that Reacher is not just reacting to the kidnapping but is being pulled into a larger undercover operation involving DEA agents, although the full purpose of that arrangement is not yet clear within the episode itself.