Reacher Season 4 Will Finally Fix One Big Villain Problem From Previous Seasons

Warning: Potential spoilers for Reacher season 4Reacher has always struggled to craft a great villain to go up against its Alan Ritchson-shaped hero, but season 4 should finally fix that. Reacher season 4 will adapt Gone Tomorrow, where the title character finds himself investigating a bizarre suicide he was witness to, with the case soon taking on a political edge.

In contrast to the more action-focused third season, Gone Tomorrow is more of a detective story. That doesn't mean there wouldn't be plenty of action, and Reacher season 4 might feature the franchise's most disturbing scene if it stays true to the source material. It will also introduce a rather formidable villain for Jack to face off with.

Reacher Season 4 Will Give Jack A Villain Who Is A Mental AND Physical Threat

It will be interesting to see if the fourth season attempts to mask the reveal of the true villains like Gone Tomorrow does. Readers will recall that Lila Hoth is the story's ultimate antagonist, who, after posing as a friend of the woman who took her own life, is revealed to be a terrorist with a fondness for torture.

There's no need to spoil her goals in the story - and Prime's adaptation might tweak those details anyway - but Lila is one of the most terrifying foes Reacher has encountered. In the past, he's faced off against enemies who were either psychological or physical threats; Lila is both.

She plays Jack like a fiddle during the early chapters of Gone Tomorrow, posing as a concerned friend and potential love interest. Once her mask drops away, it's revealed Lila and her mentor Svetlana are part of a terror cell, and their specialty is disemboweling victims and recording the deed.

She sends one of these DVDs to Reacher, which sickens him to the point he swears vengeance on the "Hoths." Lila is three steps ahead of Reacher throughout, and while she might not be his size, their vicious knife fight in the book's closing chapters proves she's as dangerous as past foes like Paulie (Olivier Richters).

Reacher's Previous Villains Have All Underwhelmed

Lee Child's Jack Reacher books are a curious mix of old-fashioned detective stories with a character right out of an 1980s action movie. Child was never terribly concerned about tricking readers into thinking Jack could die, so he rarely spent time crafting villains that could conceivably take him down.

That, unfortunately, means Reacher's previous bad guys have been a mixed bunch. Paulie was the most imposing physical threat Reacher has faced, but the character is also a total dummy. His boss Quinn (Brian Tee) was the brains of the operation and a sociopath, but he never felt like a real threat either.

Reacher's first and second seasons had lame duck antagonists, too. It feels like Lila could finally give Ritchson's hero a challenge in terms of both brains and fighting ability. Assuming the next series adapts their final encounter, it will be one of Jack's most wince-inducing battles thus far.

Reacher Season 4's Villain Is One Of The Most Vicious From The Books

The likes of Quinn or season 1's KJ Kliner (Chris Webster) were shown to have a fondness for torture and murder, but again, it never felt like a real match for Reacher. That's not so with the Hoths, who almost come off as supernatural threats in their ability to outplan and outmaneuver him.

They also see their acts of torture as an art form, as they are experts in making sure their victims experience hours of agony before death. Lila vows to Reacher he will meet the same fate, and in one of the most intense chapters of Gone Tomorrow, she almost keeps her promise.

If Reacher season 4 translates the intelligence and viciousness of the Hoths from Gone Tomorrow, they'll be the best foes the show has had to date. Audiences should prepare for an intense season regardless.