The Reacher season 4 finale is here, and it may be one of the bloodiest episodes of the entire series. We're not complaining, however, as watching Jack Reacher kick butt is easily the best part of the show.
The season finale brought the final fight between Reacher and the Hoths, whom Reacher trusted for a few seconds before uncovering their true identities as terrorists who plan to sell weapons of mass destruction for profit. A lot goes down in this episode, and nearly every loose end is tied up in a neat little bow. Still, you might have some questions... and that's where we come in.
Scroll on down for our breakdown of the Reacher season 4 finale, but be warned: there are massive spoilers ahead. When you're done, check out our list of the best Prime Video shows to stream right now.
Reacher season 4 finale ending recap
After Sampson stops the suicide bomber containing Lila and Amisha's toxin in bomb form, Jacob and Tamara pull up to get Reacher out of there. Because Lila and Amisha are trying to sell the bomb, Reacher realizes that they'll try again.
Meanwhile, Plum wakes up in the hospital and sees the news about Sampson and the suicide bomber on TV and remembers he had found the man's name - Tomas Wabari. He gives it to the police, who end up finding the building where Lila and Amisha killed Anna and Ben – but the Hoths and their goons are long gone.
Reacher, Tamara, and Jacob ditch the van and set out to find Lila and Amisha but not before realizing that they must've gone back to that old restaurant building to set up their lab once more – seeing as no one would be looking for them there and that the entire Philadelphia police force is staked out at the airport in case they leave the state. Sure enough, the Hoths are at the abandoned restaurant building, one hour away from finalizing the toxin. Lila takes the flash drive for safekeeping, and she and Amisha begin to plan their escape route… just moments before Reacher, Tamara, and Jacob arrive to start taking everybody down one by one.
During the dramatic shootout, one of the goons takes a jar of the toxin and runs away to a nearby club – where he threatens to drop it and kill everyone inside. Tamara and Jacob shoot him dead, and the jar thankfully falls from the balcony without so much as a crack.
Back at the old building, Reacher manages to throw Amisha out of a window, seemingly killing her, and fatally stab Lila in the chest with the toxin. He retrieves the flash drive and makes it outside, clutching what appear to be near-fatal wounds, and who should appear but good ol' Dean Foster… who isn't super happy about his ear getting shot off. He takes the flash drive, but not before a surprisingly alive Amisha appears and slits his throat. Tamara and Jacob rush in to save Reacher and take her down… but rather than kill her himself, Jacob does the right thing and takes her into custody.
A bit later, a healed-up Reacher gives Plum the cat and the flash drive. Plum gets to work on what's sure to be the biggest article of his career, while Reacher meets with Elsbeth one last time. In the final moments of the season, Reacher and Tamara attend an oceanside memorial for Anna and Ben, whose ashes are scattered into the sea by Jacob. Reacher buys a Philly cheesesteak and gets on the train, headed to his next adventure (but not without sweetly sharing half of the sandwich with an unhoused woman).
Does Plum survive his gunshot to the chest?
Thankfully, yes. Despite being left to die (though not for long) by Jacob (who couldn't really do much else in the moment), he gets taken to the hospital and immediately undergoes surgery for his injuries. He also gets a cat to keep him company during his recovery. Not a bad deal.
Who dies in the Reacher season 4 finale?
It's a bloodbath. Lila Hoth, the scientist, and all of their goons are ultimately killed, and the world is saved from a lethal airborne toxin. Personally, I'm just glad nothing bad happened to the kitty cat.
The most significant deaths in the Reacher season 4 finale are:
- Lila Hoth - injected with the toxin by Reacher
- Dean Foster - throat slit by a surprisingly alive Amisha
- John Sampson - stopping a suicide bomber
Do Lila and Amisha succeed in making the toxin?
The Hoths are one hour away from the toxin being ready to made into a much more successful bomb before Reacher, Tamara, and Amisha crash their hideout. What's left of the toxin is stored in two places: a jar and a syringe. Reacher fatally stabs Lila with the syringe, and one of the goons nearly releases it upon a crowd of dancing people at a club. Tamara and Jacob take him down and the jar manages to fall... but not shatter. We don't see the jar again after that, however. We can assume the toxin was contained by the proper authorities.
What happens to the flash drive?
As a refresher: the jump drive belonged to Anna Merrick, Jacob's sister. On the drive is a photo of John Sampson in Indonesia posing with two soldiers. Behind them is a whiteboard that contains a formula for a toxin that kills people – a weapon of mass destruction, as he explains.
Lila and Amisha managed to kill Anna and use the formula to construct the toxin, testing its effectiveness on her son Ben (who dies a gruesome death). After killing Lila, Reacher retrieves the jump drive and gives it to Plum while he's recovering in the hospital. He tells him, "Get your Pulitzer." Plum immediately goes to work on what will no doubt be the article that makes his career.
Does Jacob avenge Anna and Ben's deaths?
Though Ben has the chance to slit Amisha's throat with her karambit... he doesn't. Instead, he reads her rights and takes her into police custody. Rather than kill his sister's killers, he lovingly has Anna and Ben's ashes cremated and put together in the same urn. They have a beachside service, where Ben scatters the ashes into the sea.
Where is Reacher headed to next?
At the end of the finale, Reacher boards a train – though the episode doesn't specify where. However, in the first episode of the spin-off show Neagley, Reacher is in Chicago. In the final episode of the show, he states that he's been working out of St. Louis, Missouri.
Why is he in the Midwest? Well, Reacher season 5 is set to adapt Lee Child's 20th novel, Make Me. In the novel, Reacher arrives in a small town in Oklahoma known as Mother's Rest. More on that below.
Will there be a Reacher season 5?
Reacher season 5 was announced in May, well ahead of the season 4 premiere. Keep in mind that the TV series is not adapting the book series in any kind of linear order... and that the order thus far as been season 1, book 1; season 2, book 11; season 3, book 7; and season 4, book 13.
Reacher season 5 will adapt Make Me, the 20th book in Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. Per the novel's official synopsis: "Reacher's one-day stop becomes a quest into the most hidden reaches of the internet. Walking away would have been easier. But that's not the path Reacher takes." Pre-production season 5 has already begun.
Reacher season 4 is streaming now on Prime Video. Fill out your watchlist with our guide to the most exciting new TV shows.
