Warning! This article contains spoilers for Reacher season 3’s finale.
Anthony Michael Hall has weighed in on his character’s tragic death in the Reacher season 3 finale. Based on Persuader, the seventh entry in Lee Child’s best-selling book series, the latest season of the Prime Video adaption saw Hall join the Reacher cast as businessman Zachary Beck. While secretly using his oriental rug business as a front for trading illegal arms, Beck’s shady dealings see control of his enterprise assumed by Brian Tee’s Julius McCabe, aka Francis Xavier Quinn. In the Reacher season 3 finale, Beck is shot and killed by McCabe as he attempts to protect his son.
Speaking with Decider about his character’s fate, Hall explains the finale’s shocking death and how his character attempts to save his son from the season’s primary villain. Calling the moment a “sad twist,” Hall suggests that his character’s death was poetic, not only for his motivations but also his use of the toy gun that had been gifted to him as a birthday present. Check out his comments below:
It’s a sad twist, right? Because it’s the gun he kept from childhood and then he winds up meeting his own demise. But I think it’s beautiful because in a classical drama, there’s always a death. So the fact that he dies for his son essentially is really powerful.
Going on to credit the moment’s emotional depth to showrunner Nick Santora and his team of writers, Hall also details how the character’s arc from Child’s original book was modified and made more powerful by his attempts to redeem himself.
That’s a testament to Nick and the writers. I mean, he has great taste. Like I said, he drew heavily from the Persuader book. But yeah, that’s a powerful arc. A guy that’s trying to redeem himself to his son, who’s trying to seek self-redemption and self-forgiveness and also forgiveness from his son. So the fact that they start to go in the right direction and then his life is cut short, it’s powerful.
Zachary Beck Had A Very Different Ending In The Books
Boasting an impressive 98% rating on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, most critics seem to agree that the Reacher season 3 finale delivered an emotional and action-packed conclusion to an already well-received season. While the season’s final episode managed to tie up several narrative threads, including resolving Reacher’s history with McCabe/Quinn and rescuing missing DEA informant Teresa (Storm Steenson), it was Zachary Beck’s story that ultimately proved the most meaningful.
That the elder Beck attempted to save his son using the fake weapon, only to later be betrayed by it breaking, was not only deeply moving, but also symbolic of their frayed relationship.
With Beck’s illicit dealings not only responsible for seeing his son treated like a captive in his own home, but even physically mutilated, the relationship between father and son was understandably strained. Nonetheless, Zachary’s son, Richard, continued to show love and devotion to his father, a fact reinforced by his thoughtful choice of birthday present. That the elder Beck attempted to save his son using the fake weapon, only to later be betrayed by it breaking, was not only deeply moving, but also symbolic of their frayed relationship.
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Why Quinn Cuts Off Beck’s Ear In Reacher Season 3
Beck shows up with a cut-off ear in Reacher season 3’s episode 7 when he meets Neagley, making it hard not to wonder why Xavier Quinn chopped his ear.
Much like Hall suggests, Beck’s death is an incredibly powerful moment, made all the more impactful by his character’s last-minute attempts to amend for his life choices. It is a decision that is a vast departure from Child’s original Persuader book, in which his character survives, is knocked unconscious by Reacher, and is left to be arrested by authorities.
Our Take On Reacher Season 3’s Book Changes
The TV Show’s Ending Is A Better Choice
Image via Prime Video
While most fans of Child’s original books seem to agree that Alan Ritchson’s character is a more faithful adaptation than Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher movies, the Prime Video show has not been shy about deviating from the source material where necessary. This latest departure from the books is, in many ways, an improvement, and one that helped deliver the season 3 finale a much-needed emotional boost. With viewers already keen to see what Reacher season 4 will have in store, audiences will likely continue to see many more carefully crafted changes to the original books.
Source: Decider
Reacher
8/10
- Release Date
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February 3, 2022
- Network
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Prime Video
- Showrunner
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Nick Santora
