Reacher season 3 episode 6: Why doesn't Quinn recognize Reacher on his second encounter? Explained
Reacher season 3 episode 6 premiered on Prime Video on March 13, 2025, as the titular hero continues his rescue mission for the missing undercover DEA agent, Teresa Daniels. He has not been able to achieve much in that regard yet, but episode 6 takes Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) closer to his goal.
Reacher season 3 episode 6 picks up right where episode 5 left off. Reacher and Zachary Beck (Anthony Michael Hall) are in a warehouse. Here, the former comes face to face with his old nemesis Francis Xavier Quinn (Brian Tee), whom he had assumed to be dead for years.
However, one question that many might have is why doesn't Quinn, who now goes by the name Julius McCabe, recognize Reacher. The reason is Quinn's amnesia, a result of the injuries he sustained after surviving Reacher's attempt to kill him 13 years ago.
Disclaimer: The following article contains spoilers for Reacher season 3 episode 6. Reader's discretion is advised.
Reacher season 3 episode 6: Reacher expected his cover to be blown off when he met Quinn
Quinn tortured and killed Reacher’s protégé, Sergeant First Class Dominique Kohl (Mariah Robinson), back in 2012. When Reacher found out, he shot Quinn in the face and pushed him off a cliff and into an icy river. Somehow, Quinn survived the attempt but lost his memories due to amnesia.
After learning about Quinn's predicament, Reacher had his suspicions about the amnesia diagnosis as he doubted that it was just an act. Consequently, it would have been best if he did not have to confront the ex-U.S. military intelligence lieutenant colonel.
As one of Zachary Beck's trustees, Reacher season 3 episode 6 left Reacher no option but to confront Quinn even though this put his cover at risk. Luckily, his suspicions turned out to be unfounded as Quinn did not recognize Reacher at all.
In fact, Quinn paused his own reprimand of Beck for employing an ATF agent as his housemaid to praise him for bringing someone as intimidating as Reacher with him. Reacher was nearly not as thrilled about meeting Quinn and discreetly kept a gun hidden behind his back.
Also read: What book by Lee Child is Reacher season 3 based on? Unraveling details on adaptation
Reacher season 3 episode 6: Reacher's cover is blown off in an unexpected way
In Reacher season 3 episode 6, Quinn did not recognize Reacher, so he kept his cover intact in front of Beck. However, the relief did not last long because Beck's son, Richard (Johnny Berchtold), realized that Reacher, who saved him, had pre-planned his kidnapping attempt in episode 1.
Later, when Reacher met Duffy (Sonya Cassidy), Villanueva (Roberto Montesinos) also showed up. Fatefully, Richard also stumbled upon the alley and recognized Villanueva as the plain-clothes-cop who was seemingly killed during the failed kidnapping attempt. Reacher came clean to Richard in the car. Despite this, it was not Richard who blew his cover.
In fact, it was Zachary Beck who ultimately connected the dots. He found out that Warrant Officer Powell at the 110th Special Investigations Unit ran his license plate, and Frances Neagley of the same unit pulled the military dossiers on Angel Doll, Winston Duke, and Paulie Van Hoven.
Using his reputation as the founder of that unit to win Beck's trust backfired on Reacher as Beck ordered Paulie (Olivier Richters) to go upstairs and shoot the mole. To his credit, Reacher was a step ahead of them and shot the other vehicles' tires before smashing through the front gate with the snowplow-equipped pickup truck.
The first six episodes of Reacher are available for streaming on Prime Video.
