Why Jack Reacher speaking Farsi in Season 1 makes sense

Jack Reacher is a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to Lee Child’s books, especially when it comes to languages. In Reacher Season 1, fans got a small hint of his linguistic abilities with Farsi.

The ex-military investigator is skilled in various weaponry, and combat, and has quit the intelligent mind for figuring out clues and details. After all, the 110th was schooled on “details matter.” With Amazon Prime Video adapting Child’s books into hit seasons, Reacher’s story has come to life.

The first season introduced the lone wolf nomad and his rocky relationship with his brother. Season 2 introduced his old friends and comrades from the 110th. While snippets of Reacher’s life have been revealed, the series has yet to really dive into the languages he speaks.

Reacher Season 1 was the only time fans got to see a small snippet of what languages he can understand. With Reacher Season 2 not putting any emphasis at all.

Reacher understood Farsi in Season 1

In the sixth episode of Season 1, Reacher is in a taxi cab when the driver gets a call over the radio in Farsi. Reacher answers back in the same language.

With Reacher Season 2 now over, there’s still more to explore as the third season is underway with the book it’s based on confirmed. Fans hope that more of Reacher’s personal life is sprinkled throughout the storyline. But both seasons haven’t had time to really dive into Reacher’s ability to speak French, Spanish, and German.

To be fair, the second season didn’t allow for much room to hear any of the characters speak anything besides English. But in Season 1, Reacher overhears the message to the driver in Farsi.

On Reddit, a fan explains that the “Driver gets a call for the airport, he says he’ll do it after he drops this big beast off.”

They used the word “beast” thinking a man like Reacher wouldn’t understand their language. But it was far from the truth as Reacher answered in near-perfect Farsi that the driver couldn’t take the trip as he had to wait for the “beast” before driving him uptown.

According to ScreenRant, the use of Farsi was much more believable to use than the other languages Child details in his books. This is largely due to Reacher’s background. In the first season, fans learn of his backstory in Afghanistan and having spent some time there as a soldier. He also grew up with a Marine father and moved around constantly with his brother. Reacher likely picked up Farsi quicker than the French or Spanish due to his experience in the Middle East.