When it comes to running gags throughout seasons, Reacher is able to add them in effortlessly. One of those was brought in at the end of the Reacher season 3 finale, and it just perfectly summed up Villanueva’s character.
Caution: This post contains some MINOR SPOILERS for the Reacher season 3 finale.
After Elliot was killed by Beck’s bodyguard, Duffy, Reacher, and Villanueva wanted revenge. They also needed to stop the bodyguard from getting back to Beck’s house to blow Reacher’s cover. There was only one way to do that, and it involved destroying Villanueva’s car.
Reacher effortlessly flips the car, making it looks like there’s been an accident, forcing the bodyguard to pull over. From there, Reacher is able to kill the man. We don’t get to see what happened to the car after that, though. At least, not until the end of the Reacher season 3 finale.
Villanueva is still driving his beat-up car in the Reacher season 3 finale
After the entire operation, Villanueva is able to return home to his wife. We see him pull up with his beat-up car, the wing mirror still just about hanging on. I was a little surprised the door opened and closed so easily to be honest. I wanted to hear some sort of screech to it.
The best part was that his wife didn’t even notice the car. She was just happy to have her man back, and she made sure he knew that as she pulled him back into the house.
Villanueva’s car sums up his journey throughout Reacher season 3
The car is a great metaphor for Villanueva’s journey throughout the season. He was the one only there to support Duffy, seeing her as a daughter. There was a beautiful platonic love between them, and I would love to see a Duffy spin-off series, especially if it offered more of their relationship.
While Villanueva seemed to be used for comedic relief, he was also a sounding board and a grounding piece to the puzzle. He brought up concerns in the plans, but at the end of the day, he was always going to stand up for the little guy. He was going to do what he needed to for revenge for Elliot and to protect Richard Beck, who was the innocent party in all of this.
However, this was a man close to retirement, and that’s all he wanted. His one goal was to get back home to his wife. He and the car were heavily beat up, but they managed to make it home. Villanueva has seen a lot throughout his career, but the Beck and Quinn case was likely one of the worst, and the car offers a reminder of that.
In the end, nothing was going to stop Villanueva getting back to his wife, though. Villanueva went to hell and back throughout Reacher season 3 and he may be a little worse for wear because of it, but he made it through — and so did the car!
Reacher is available to stream on Prime Video.
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