Reacher’s Best Character Still Deserves a Spin-Off: Why Finlay Could Lead

Finlay’s emotional depth

Season 1 gives Finlay a personality beyond his role as a detective. He enjoys classic rock, which irritates Reacher, and can handle himself in a fight. In the finale, he sheds his tweed jacket, takes one last cigarette and heads into battle.

A deeper look at Finlay comes in the sixth episode, “Papier.” He tells Reacher that his wife, Sharon, died of cancer, and that he blames himself for failing to save her. He moved to Margrave as a form of exile and penance.

Finlay keeps paying Sharon’s cellphone bill so he can leave her messages and hear her voice. He says people assume he is divorced, and he avoids correcting them because he does not want their pity.

A return to Boston

Finlay appears in Season 2’s “A Night at the Symphony,” helping Reacher and David O’Donnell question Daniel Boyd. Though their working relationship has been prickly, Reacher tells Finlay he would have wanted him in his old Military Police unit, the 110th.

A different kind of detective story

Finlay’s return to Boston could provide a starting point for a series focused on his work in the city’s police department and his effort to live with his loss. Jack the dog could also remain part of his home life.

Unlike Reacher, Finlay is a working detective who prefers to follow the rules, which would constrain how he handles cases. But his time with Reacher may have influenced him, leaving room for him to draw on less conventional methods.