Spoilers for Season 1 of Neagley are ahead! You can stream the series with an Amazon Prime subscription.
We knew Jack Reacher would appear in Neagley, Reacher’s spinoff on the 2026 TV schedule. However, what we didn’t know was that he’d be involved in a monumental moment for Maria Sten’s titular character. So, obviously, we had to ask the actress about this sequence, Reacher’s cameo, and why this had to happen with Alan Ritchson’s character.
The scene I’m referring to comes in the finale, when Reacher shows up to support Neagley at her dad’s funeral. Afterward, as they’re walking away, Sten’s character shakes Ritchson’s character’s hand. Due to her haphephobia, she does not touch people, so her admitting she wants to change and offering her hand to Reacher was a very big deal. According to the lead actress, this is the only way a moment like this could have happened.
Maria Sten Told Us Why Neagley Shook Reacher’s Hand
Since Neagley and Reacher have known each other for so long, and accept each other for exactly who they are, it makes sense that she’d choose to shake his hand first. Her first significant and intentional moment of touch is a big deal, and it feels obvious that it should be with Reacher. To that point, Maria Sten told us at San Diego Comic-Con that this whole interaction felt natural:
Because if it was ever going to happen, that's the guy. Like, the way he shows up that day and the way that she didn't know, but then when she sees him, she's like, ‘Of course you're here.’ And then the handshake, like, it could only happen with Reacher.
Along with that, Sten explained that this interaction “speaks volumes about their relationship.” We’ve seen Neagley and Reacher work together since Season 1 of Reacher, and according to the actress, that history is referenced in a lovely way through this interaction in Neagley’s finale:
It speaks volumes about their relationship. It also sort of, in a way, ties into the first three seasons of Reacher and why it is that Neagley’s always around and why she's always showing up. And so that is the moment that shows exactly why that is.
This handshake does solidify how much Neagley and Reacher mean to each other, and as Sten told us, it “lands the whole plane” as it shows their “closeness.” Overall, she thought the gesture was “profound,” and it helped Neagley show that she’s ready and willing to work on herself, as Sten said:
She says, ‘But I'm not always going to be this way,’ which, of course, sets up that she is wanting to grow. And also, I think, the difference between the two characters is that Reacher is happy being who he is, how he is, and Neagley is stuck in this place of wanting to maybe change her circumstances. But yeah, the handshake is – I love how they paid that off after everything that happened in that season.
I couldn’t agree more with her. Season 1 of Neagley is deeper than Reacher, as it dives into her past and reveals why she won’t touch people. It’s illuminating for both us as the audience and her personally. So, to have it end with her shaking hands with the one character she has a rich history with meant the world.
How Maria Sten And Alan Ritchson Reacted To This Moment Behind The Scenes
Speaking of Reacher and Neagley’s history, Alan Ritchson and Maria Sten have quite a history too. They’ve worked together for five years, so to have that all culminate in this handshake felt very full circle. To that point, I asked Sten what it was like behind the scenes for her and Ritchson as they filmed this monumental moment. She said it was very easy and natural:
You know, it's so funny because I don't think we really talked about it at all. I think Alan and I have such a – the characters and their relationship to me feel so easy, and I think that's always been the case with how we work together; it's like we just kind of land into our interaction in a very organic way, and it was the same with the handshake.
Sten also noted that her favorite part of the whole scene was “Neagley’s little sass,” which was my favorite bit too. While this was a heartfelt and meaningful scene for her and Reacher, she still had to sass him a bit.
While things were smooth and easy on set, like it was any other day at work, Sten did note that at one point it hit her how big a deal this handshake was:
It was interesting because I remember shaking his hand and being like, ‘Wow, we've never done this before, you know, after working together for five years.’ So it was a big moment, and it almost felt the same.
While it was a big scene, it also felt very natural, and I think that’s why it works so well. Neagley trusts Reacher, and her reaching out her hand really hammered that idea, alongside her desire to change and heal, home.
Now, hopefully this scene can serve as a jumping-off point for Neagley’s growth if her show gets a second season. So far, Neagley has gotten pretty good reviews, and it comes right on the heels of Reacher’s Season 4 finale. Therefore, I have hope for the future, and it’s clear Neagley does too, considering she had the courage to shake her longtime friend’s hand.
