Warning: spoilers ahead for Reacher season 2’s finale.

Reacher season 2’s finale gives Alan Ritchson a moment Tom Cruise would have been proud of. When Amazon’s Reacher was first announced, many could not help but be skeptical about it because the Jack Reacher movies had not lived up to the expectations of Lee Child’s readers. Although Tom Cruise did his best to portray the titular character by adopting his unique mannerisms, the actor just did not have the physicality to play the giant and brawny Jack Reacher.

Since Alan Ritchson perfectly represents the Lee Child character, the book series’ readers appreciated his casting in Reacher season 1 and even sang praises of how he depicted the character’s stoic demeanor. As Alan Ritchson continues to give a compelling portrayal of Jack Reacher, it is hard not to believe that Tom Cruise, too, would appreciate his performance. And if not his performance, Tom Cruise would at least be proud of Alan Ritchson for executing one season 2 action scene.

Related After keeping Swan’s whereabouts a mystery throughout its second season, Amazon’s Reacher finally reveals what happened to the character in its finale

Reacher Season 2’s Helicopter Stunt Is Worthy Of A Tom Cruise Movie

Reacher season 2’s best action scene is similar to a Tom Cruise stunt

Reacher nearly fails to save O’Donnell and Dixon in Reacher season 2’s finale. Langston manages to board them in his chopper to throw them out like the rest of their former military team members before Reacher can stop him. However, instead of giving up, Reacher sprints across the tarmac and grabs the base of the helicopter’s wheel after it rises a few feet above the ground. Reacher then puts his physical prowess on full display by holding on to the chopper’s wheel until Langston opens its rear end to chuck O’Donnell and Dixon out. Although the scene is a little over the top and stretches one’s suspension of disbelief too far, it seems reminiscent of one of Tom Cruise’s best stunts.

In Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt holds on to the door of an aircraft from the outside as it leaps into the sky, just like Reacher grabs the helicopter’s wheel in Reacher season 2. Although the Tom Cruise stunt seems more realistic because Cruise performed it himself, both scenes offer the same level of bone-knuckling thrills one expects from them. Owing to this, it would be fair to say that the helicopter stunt from Reacher season 2’s finale is worthy of finding its place in a Tom Cruise movie, even though it seems a little less immersive than Tom Cruise’s usual fare of practical stuntwork.

How Reacher’s Helicopter Hang Compares To Lee Child’s Book

Reacher season 2’s helicopter scene is significantly different from the book

The show’s depiction of the helicopter scene is a far cry from the book’s. In Lee Child’s Bad Luck and Trouble, Reacher sneaks up to the chopper and then waits for the night’s darkness to set in. Once it is dark enough, he checks whether the rear door of the helicopter has been left unlocked. Luckily for him, the door clicks open, allowing him to climb inside and wait for Langston and his men to show up. Despite his massive stature, Reacher finds a way to fit himself inside the helicopter’s luggage compartment. He then waits for over half an hour for Langston and his men to arrive with Dixon and O’Donnell.

Even the events that follow are significantly different in the book. The show likely opted for a far more intense and action-packed rendition because the book’s version seems a little underwhelming for the audiovisual storytelling medium. While the book’s description of Reacher’s stealth plan highlights the character’s tactical brilliance and patience, the show’s version portrays how he is nearly superhuman and is willing to put his life on the line to save his former team members. Instead of playing it safe like the books, the show also manages to raise the stakes of Reacher by highlighting how one mistake could lead to his and his teammates’ deaths.

Related Reacher season 2’s closing arc makes one significant change to the original Lee Child book, which makes Dixon and Reacher’s ending so much better.

Reacher’s Helicopter Finale Pays Off Season 2’s Biggest Improvement On S1

The helicopter action scene makes Reacher season 2 better

Some action scenes in Reacher season 2 make the Alan Ritchson character appear stronger than his book counterpart. However, despite being a little exaggerated, the action scenes raise season 2’s entertainment factor by injecting a heightened sense of intensity and spectacle. Compared to season 1, which primarily featured hand-to-hand fights, Reacher season 2 even raises the stakes for the titular character with its action scenes by showing how he has to get involved in a lot more than simple fist fights to serve justice to criminals. At the same time, Reacher season 2’s helicopter finale also proves that the titular character is capable of getting injured, making him seem less invincible and more realistic.

Produced by Amazon Prime Video, Reacher adapts Lee Child’s Jack Reacher book series to live-action. The series follows veteran Military Police Officer Jack Reacher as he unravels a dangerous conspiracy in the fictional town of Margrave, Georgia. Played by the towering Alan Ritchson, the titular hero collaborates with officer Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald) and Chief Detective Oscar Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin) to clean his name and save Margrave from crime and corruptio