5 Biggest Differences Between Reacher Season 3 and the Original Book Persuader
While the new season stayed fairly close to the original source material, there were still some major plot changes.
On March 27, the final eighth episode of the third season of Reacher was released. The plot of the best chapter of the whole show was based on the seventh novel of the series by Lee Child Persuader.
The new season turned out to be a fairly faithful adaptation of the original. However, showrunner Nick Santora changed some significant details, which could not go unnoticed by fans of the books.
1. Steven Eliot's Death
The team of agents allied with Reacher was led by Susan Duffy. She was joined by the young and inexperienced Steven Eliot as well as Guillermo Villanueva, who was about to retire.
After faking the rescue of Richard from a kidnapper, the agents had to stop a guard assigned by Quinn. However, the guard killed Eliot and escaped – Reacher and Villanueva eventually killed him.
In the book, Eliot appeared as a more experienced agent – he was even older than Duffy, although she was in charge of the operation. Eliot died at the Beck mansion – Quinn's people killed him.
2. Quinn's Crazy and Reckless Nature
Quinn was a former intelligence officer who sold military secrets to bad people. Reacher and his partners Dominique Kohl and Tony Frasconi were investigating Quinn. Quinn killed Kohl and Tony, and Reacher shot him in the head. Quinn survived, but lost some of his memory.
In the novel, Lee Child emphasizes that Quinn is a sadist and a psychopath. He once kidnapped Richard Beck and cut off his ear to force Zachary's cooperation in selling weapons.
In the series, Quinn was portrayed as an even crazier and more reckless man. When he learned that two secret agents – Reacher and the governess Annette – had broken into Beck's house, he also cut off Zachary's ear, which did not happen in the novel.
Quinn also forced Richard to play Russian roulette and repeatedly talked about his perverted desires – for example, he scared Teresa by telling her that the only thing saving the woman from his games was the client's desire to have fun with her.
3. Elizabeth Beck's Fate
In the series, Zachary Beck raised Richard on his own. The boy's mother, Elizabeth, died when he was young. In the book, Elizabeth is alive – she and Richard found out that Reacher was working for the FBI.
In the show, Richard simply witnessed Reacher talking to his partners, and that's how he learned the truth.
4. Paulie and Annette
In the show, Paulie killed Annette by simply punching her in the face. This proved to Reacher how dangerous he was. In Lee Child's novel, it was someone else who killed her.
Annette's death was a bigger surprise in the book. Reacher, who had not yet been exposed, was assigned to throw the body of a mole into the ocean. He looked into the bag and feared that Teresa was in it, but he saw Annette.
Although Paulie did not kill Annette in the book, he was much more vicious. Elizabeth and Richard were abused by him. Paulie controlled the Becks on Quinn's behalf and allowed himself to commit disgusting acts.
5. Zachary's Death
In the series, Zachary Beck joined Reacher's team in the fight against Quinn. The villain took over the Beck house to make a secret arms deal during the owner's birthday party.
At some point, Quinn took Richard hostage, and Zachary saved his son by sacrificing himself, and Quinn killed Zachary. In Lee Child's book, the entire Beck family survived – not just Elizabeth, but Zachary as well.
