[Spoilers ahead]

We just finished the series last night, after watching one or two episodes a week for the last few weeks. Neither of us had read the books when we started, though I’m halfway through the first book currently.

Overall, we liked it. It’s a quasi-mystery, in the sense that it doesn’t try hard to keep the true villains secret. The details of the counterfeiting operation are interesting but not critical for enjoying the series. Keeping Reacher silent at the beginning helps establish him as an interesting character (regardless of whether he’s realistic). That setup made his relationship with Roscoe feel off, as I’d expect him to want to keep his walls up, but it’s TV, so they have to do it. The gore was just about at the limit of our tolerance. I hope they don’t increase it.

The finale was excellent. It didn’t drag out too much. The pairings, while predictable, were satisfying. It was surprising that Teale and KJ didn’t think “Reacher” immediately when the fire broke out, and that they didn’t already have their arms distributed. I’m glad they showed a bookend to Finlay’s smoking habit, the “only one job” speech to Hubble didn’t feel like it was paid off in full.

What really impressed me was the denouement. It’s hard doing that well on TV because of time constraints and because it often feels obvious. So I enjoyed the length and thoroughness of this.

We’re looking forward to season 2.