Why Reacher Created The 110th Special Investigators Team Revealed In Season 3

Warning: Major spoilers below for Reacher season 3 episode 4 "Dominique"A throwaway line in Reacher's latest episode reveals how his team of Special Investigators came to be. Reacher season 2 adapted Bad Luck and Trouble, which found the title character reuniting with the surviving members of his old team. The 110th Special Investigators were not only a crack team of the Army's best and brightest, but they also became a surrogate family to Jack. The critical response to season 2 wasn't as warm as the first series, but the show was right to dive into Reacher's backstory and flesh him out a little more.

Season 3 adapts Persuader, the seventh novel in Lee Child's Jack Reacher book series. Episode 4 "Dominique" explores his friendship with Dominique Kohl (Mariah Robinson), a young Sergeant he mentors as they investigate a corrupt military intelligence officer named Quinn (Brian Tee). Kohl is later brutally tortured and killed by Quinn, which powers Reacher's modern-day mission to bring Quinn down. Episode 4 also introduces Reacher's mentor, Garber.

Custom Reacher image of Sonya Cassidy as Sarah Duffy and Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher

Reacher Season 3 Cast & Character Guide: Every New & Returning Actor

Reacher season 3 brings back very few characters from the show's previous two runs, but it makes up for certain absences with exciting new figures.

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Reacher Season 3 Reveals Garber First Had The Idea To Create The Special Investigators

Garber was just giving great ideas away

Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) in Reacher Season 3 Ep 1

It is Reacher's commanding officer Garber who assigns Kohl to work with him, feeling he could use the help. Being something of a one-man band, Reacher is becoming swamped by cases so Garber thinks he needs help. While talking about Kohl, Garber even suggests Reacher could use a team of MPs to help out. Fans of the books will recognize this comment as the birth of Reacher's Special Investigators unit, though it appears the formation of the unit is still some time away.

The Special Investigators - which consisted of members like Neagley (Maria Sten) and O'Donnell (Shaun Sipos) - made a major impression during the short time they were together, with their motto being "You do not mess with the Special Investigators." Season 2 shows the original unit was broken up after they disobeyed an order from their superior to drop a case because of Army politics, but their own sense of right and wrong wouldn't allow that.

Reacher Seemingly Came Up With The "Special Investigators" Name Himself (As A Joke)

Reacher can be funny even when he's not trying

One of the big changes with Reacher compared to the books is that the live-action take is way funnier. That's not to say he's dropping quips left and right, but compared to the more stoic Reacher from Child's novels, Alan Ritchson's take is more fun. This can be seen when he dismisses Garber's concept as a band of "Special Investigators." It's an in-joke for sure, but it wouldn't be surprising if Reacher decided to reuse the name when he remembered how he mocked the notion.

Cobie Smulders played Susan Turner in 2016's Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.

The Special Investigators unit continued after Reacher left the Army, with Major Susan Turner taking over. It might have been working alongside a bright, dedicated Sergeant like Kohl that convinced Reacher to form the unit. She showed him the value of getting another perspective and trusting in a partner - and she no doubt would have been his first recruit, had she survived the Xavier Quinn investigation.

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