Reacher Season 3 Episode 5 title promises fight of the century

Reacher Season 3 has been building to a brawl between two major characters, and thanks to the title of Episode 5, it looks like that that showdown might be coming soon.

Season 3 of Reacher has followed Jack undercover at a business that imports and exports rugs, but where something more sinister is clearly happening.

Reacher is searching for a missing person who worked there, while he’s also trying to figure out how the operation connects to an enemy from his past, whom he thought was dead.

Episodes 1-4 have had titles that hint at where the story is going, and Reacher Season 3 Episode 5 is no different, potentially setting up the fight of the century.

Reacher Season 3 Episode 5 is called ‘Smackdown’ for a reason

Here’s how each of the previous episodes have connected with their respective storylines, and the larger Reacher universe:

• Episode 1 was called ‘Persuader’ in line with the title of the book on which Season 3 is based.
• Episode 2 was ‘Truckin’ and had Jack follow a delivery truck for much of the run-time.
• Episode 3 was ‘Number 2 with a Bullet’ and saw Reacher bumped up to deputy when the outfit’s second-in-command is shot dead.
• Episode 4 – ‘Dominique’ – revolved around the story of Jack’s late friend and colleague Dominique Kohl.

Episode 5 is titled ‘Smackdown’ – a word that Merriam-Webster defines as “the act of knocking down or bringing down an opponent, a contest in entertainment wrestling, a decisive defeat, or a confrontation between rivals or competitors.”

All of which points to Jack getting to use his fists, and there are two potential candidates for who could be on the end of those paws.

McCabe is the overarching villain this season, and Reacher wants him dead, because of what he did to Dominique Kohl. But being the big bad – and with the season only at the half-way point – it’s unlikely they’d get into it during Episode 5 of 8.

So the more likely candidate is Paul “Paulie” Van Hoven, a man-mountain who is played by Dutch bodybuilder Oliver Richters, and at 7 feet 2 inches, is around a foot taller than Reacher actor Alan Ritchson.

We know Paulie is a nasty piece of work thanks to a file detailing his dishonourable discharge for punching a captain’s eye out of its socket, and tearing off someone else’s finger.

While Paulie and Reacher have beefed since they set eyes on each other, trading insults before Jack pranked him in the gym, causing the even bigger bloke to smack himself.

Meaning a battle between giants is inevitable, and might just be the central ‘Smackdown’ in Episode 5.

For more on the show, here’s how to read the Reacher books in order and details of the Reacher Season 3 soundtrack, plus how many Reacher movies Tom Cruise made. Alternatively, check out our list of the best TV shows of 2025 so far.