Reacher finales always go big. Big fights. Big reveals. There’s room for the unexpected, but it’s never subtle. In “Unfinished Business,” we’re set up for lots of guns, a high casualty rate (watch that Reacher Body Count — RBC, for short — soar!) and the potential for some tears.
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Tailing both sides of the weapons deal pays off when Neagley (Maria Sten) tips Reacher (Alan Ritchson) off to the fact that the Yemeni buyers are nowhere near the salvage yard. McCabe/Quinn (Brian Tee) has set a trap to kill Beck (Anthony Michael Hall).
Reacher, “Unfinished Business”
Picking up at the moment Reacher realizes the salvage yard meeting is a trap, Reacher hangs up on Neagley to focus on what’s going down. In the yard, ATF agents wait for the alleged buyers to get out of their vehicle. Beck stands out in the open, confused by the delay.
From his vantage above the yard, Reacher sees McCabe/Quinn’s (Brian Tee) men approaching from the edges of the salvage yard through the sight of his sniper rifle. He takes out two (RBC: 12) before the rest open fire on the ATF agents. Beck gets into his car. Duffy (Sonya Cassidy) and Villanueva (Roberto Montesinos) grab bulletproof vests and drive the surveillance van into the firefight. Reacher picks off two more (RBC: 14) before heading down into the yard.
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He kills one man with his pistol (RBC: 15) before headbutting another, taking his rifle, and shooting him with it (RBC: 16). Duffy and Villanueva park the van in the middle of the yard and take positions behind it. Duffy spots Reacher grabbing a new weapon off another dead man (RBC: 17). She and Villanueva move out to engage. Reacher shoots another goon (RBC: 18).
In the chaos, Beck tries to make a run for it. McCabe’s warehouse foreman spots him and follows while Reacher wins a quick draw with another one of his men elsewhere (RBC: 19). Just as the foreman is about to execute Beck, Reacher shoots him in the head (RBC: 20).
Time to Pivot
Beck, Reacher, Duffy, and Villanueva huddle up and share what they know. Reacher says the deal’s going down at Beck’s house. Beck tells Duffy that Teresa (Storm Steenson) arrived there before the party, zombie-like.
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They hear a cell phone ping. Reacher finds one of McCabe’s guys texting for backup, puts a gun to his head, and directs him to delete that message. He dictates a new one to send to McCabe. “All good. Heading back now.”
At Beck’s house, McCabe joins the party. The Yemeni buyers arrive out front and walk up to the house. Neagley’s out beyond the tree line, scouting the security. She spots Paulie (Olivier Richters) in the guardhouse.
Reacher calls and reports that everyone’s dead at the salvage yard except him, Duffy, Villanueva, Beck, and McCabe’s guy with the phone. The new plan is to drive the trucks right into the compound themselves. They pick up Neagley on the way. McCabe’s man is driving the first truck. Villanueva is trying his best to keep up in the second.
Pleasure Then Business
At the party, McCabe greets the Yemeni guests and shows their boss, Nasser (Anousha Alamian), a picture of an unconscious Teresa. He offers her as a goodwill gift to make up for the shipping delays. Nasser insists they’ll enjoy the food, drinks, and women first. Then, they’ll make the buy. McCabe acquiesces and hands him the key to Teresa’s room.
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Outside, Paulie waves the trucks into the compound. Once parked, Reacher looks for rope to tie up the driver. Paulie comes towards them, telling them they need to park on the other side of the carriage house. Duffy calls across to Reacher to tell him to get the driver to say they’ll move the trucks. Reacher says it’s too late for that. The driver’s dead (RBC: 21) because Reacher couldn’t find any rope.
Reacher tells the others to find Teresa and Richard (Johnny Berchtold). He’ll deal with Paulie. Beck leads the group to the basement so they can sneak in. Paulie opens the driver’s side door, and the dead driver falls out. Reacher grabs Paulie from behind with a belt around the neck. They fight.
Spreading Out
Duffy climbs in through a basement window so she can let the others in through a door. Neagley borrows clothes from Beck and Villanueva so she can pass as part of the catering staff. Beck tells Duffy that Teresa is probably in the east wing and gives Villanueva directions on how to get to Richard’s room.
While Paulie and Reacher continue to beat on each other, Neagley blends in at the party as a server, looking for McCabe/Quinn. The fight moves into the carriage house, where they both end up buried under a pile of fertilizer bags.
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Up on the third floor, one of McCabe’s men spots Villanueva as he’s coming out of the bathroom. They fight. Down below, Richard hears some of the ruckus in his room.
Paulie digs his way out of the pile of bags and uncovers an unconscious Reacher. He grabs a length of chain and wraps it around Reacher’s neck. Reacher wakes up as Paulie starts to pull him by his neck to the rafters. Satisfied, Paulie leaves him there, kicking and choking. After Paulie leaves, Reacher manages to climb up the length of chain and brace his feet against the rafter. He pulls the pulley out of the rafter. We assume he falls to the ground. Outside, Paulie hears the crash and turns around to see Reacher emerge from the carriage house, carrying a garden rake.
Fight Night
In the third-floor bathroom, Villanueva wins his fight by utilizing a plugged-in electric shaver and a toilet tank lid. Having knocked the guy out, he’s catching his breath when Richard peeks in. He tells Richard he’s there to rescue him.
Paulie and Reacher’s fight moves onto the back lawn. They tumble over the ridge and towards the water’s edge. They fall into the riptide hole. Reacher tries to climb out, but Paulie surfaces and drags him back into the water. They fight in the water. Reacher finally throat punches Paulie and leaves him to sink to the bottom.
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Duffy searches the east wing bedrooms. At the party, Neagley spots McCabe/Quinn but gets busted by the head caterer. She pulls him aside and tells him she’s been hired to find out who has been stealing from the company. She enlists him to watch for any suspicious activity. Returning to the party, she notices that McCabe/Quinn is gone.
Paulie Comes Back
Reacher heads back to the house by way of the road. Behind him, Paulie emerges from the forest. The slow, lumbering, painful, limping chase is on.
Reacher gets to the gatehouse with its suspended machine gun first. Paulie’s right behind him. They fight. Finally, Paulie has control of the machine gun, aiming it at Reacher. He gloats, telling Reacher he’s bigger and stronger than Reacher. He pulls the trigger, and the machine gun backfires. As he dies choking on his own blood, Reacher explains how he’s smarter. He plugged the machine gun’s barrel with a bullet from the belt. (RBC: 22, but that’s a BIG 22)
Teresa
Duffy finally finds Teresa. She’s so drugged, Duffy can’t get her to stand up. Downstairs, McCabe interrupts the Yemeni second-in-command, Waleed (Khalid Karim), to insist they conclude business as he has another appointment to keep. He asks where Nasser is. Waleed says Nasser’s gone upstairs to enjoy his gift.
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Duffy hears someone coming. Nasser arrives with a bodyguard and tells him to stay at the door to make sure they’re not disturbed. He comes in and sees only Teresa sitting on the bed. Duffy waits until his pants are down before coming in with her weapon drawn.
The Body Count Climbs
Having changed into clean, dry clothes, Reacher finds the weapons and cracks open the crates. As he arms himself with a pump-action shotgun, McCabe’s man, Rusty (Simon Northwood), brings Waleed and a second man to the building. Reacher takes Rusty and Waleed out with the shotgun. (Body count: 24). Reacher shoots the last man through the door. (Body count: 25)
Inside the house, both Neagley and Duffy hear the shots go off. Nasser calls for his bodyguard. Duffy shoots Nasser in the crotch. When the bodyguard rushes in, she shoots him, too. Nasser’s still moaning. Duffy shoots him in the head. She gets Teresa on her feet and helps her out of the room.
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Reacher crosses the lawn to the house and enters through the kitchen. He takes out two of McCabe’s men on the way up to the party. (RBC: 27). The remaining Yemeni group members go looking for Waleed. McCabe intercepts them, shoots them, and takes the satchel of cash.
Beck’s Redemption
The party-goers scatter, screaming, as McCabe’s men and the Yemeni buyers exchange fire. In the basement, Beck hears the gunshots and rushes out to find Richard. In another corridor, Villanueva tells Richard to run. Richard runs right into McCabe, who takes him hostage. Forcing him into Beck’s study, he’s grabbing more weapons from the display cases when Beck arrives, pointing the toy gun Richard gave him at McCabe.
McCabe puts down his weapon, believing the toy gun is real. Beck calls Richard to his side. Unfortunately, the barrel of the gun falls apart as Beck’s holding it. McCabe realizes it’s a toy and grabs a gun. Beck pushes Richard down before catching all the bullets. Richard finds an automatic weapon and fires it, scaring McCabe out the door. Richard rushes to his father’s side just as he dies.
The Money Maketh the Man
Neagley comes in and finds Richard with a dead Beck and a satchel full of money. Quinn/McCabe’s running through the hall. Reacher finds him, but one of the Yemeni men is still shooting at them. Reacher takes him out (RBC: 28) while Quinn/McCabe escapes. He runs out the front door of the house just as the Russians arrive in their motorcade. Taktarov (Aleks Paunovic) gets out of his car, demanding that McCabe hand over his money. When McCabe doesn’t have it, Taktarov orders his men to take him.
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Reacher interrupts, stating that McCabe is his. Taktarov points out that Reacher is outgunned and all alone. Villanueva and Duffy appear. Neagley comes out of the house carrying the money and offers to buy McCabe. Taktarov threatens to take both. Neagley drops the satchel and pulls the pin from a grenade. She warns him that if he won’t make a deal, he’ll get neither.
Taktarov decides the money’s more important. The Russians take the money and leave McCabe/Quinn with Reacher and his team. Villanueva goes in to help Richard. Duffy goes to call Teresa an ambulance, pointing out that it’ll take a while for them to arrive, so Reacher’s got some time.
Her Name Was Dominique
Neagley turns to Reacher and tells him to do what he’s got to do. She heads back into the house. Quinn immediately tries to make a deal with Reacher. Reacher finally believes that Quinn’s amnesia was real but tells him it doesn’t matter because all that matters is: “Her name was Dominique.”
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Quinn’s expression changes as he remembers the last time Reacher said those words to him. It’s his Cousin Rhonda moment. Reacher knows Quinn remembers now. He shoots him. Final Reacher body count: 29.
Leaving on Good Terms
By morning, Richard looks out the window at the gatehouse and wall. Reacher asks if he’s going to tear it all down. Richard says he doesn’t know what he wants to do. Reacher tosses a set of keys to Richard and tells him to grab all the cash in the house. Here’s his chance to drive off and find his freedom.
Reacher passes Villanueva as he’s heading out of the house. They wish each other well. Outside, he runs into Duffy, who informs him she’s parting ways with the DEA. She’s made sure he and Neagley are in the clear. As a final parting, she lets him know she’s not into relationships, so although they’ve had fun, she’s moving on.
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Neagley’s waiting at her car with breakfast and coffee. Reacher tells her that Duffy gave him the speech he usually gives. Neagley’s amused. She lets him know she’s figured out why he does what he does. It’s because he hates the bullies who think they can get away with stuff. So he makes sure they don’t.
Carry On
Duffy and Villanueva box Agent Elliot’s (Daniel David Stewart) badge and DEA ID and deliver it to his family. Reacher finds a motorcycle in Beck’s storage building. Richard empties Beck’s safe of cash and packs the toy gun. Villanueva arrives home with a bouquet. Before he can get his key in the lock, his wife, Maureen (Stephanie Herrera), opens the door with a smile.
At the compound, Reacher sees Richard packing the car. Richard waves goodbye. Reacher nods. Richard drives away, a wide smile spreading across his face. In Boston, Duffy brings Teresa home. In Maine, Reacher rides off on the motorcycle.
All three seasons of Reacher are now streaming on Prime Video. Season 4 has already been greenlit, and filming will begin in the summer of 2025.
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