After keeping Swan’s whereabouts a mystery throughout its second season, Amazon’s Reacher finally reveals what happened to the character in its finale

Warning: spoilers ahead for Reacher season 2’s finale.

SUMMARY

 Swan was innocent and was actually trying to stop Langston by joining New Age as an informant.
 Swan was killed by Langston and his men for refusing to join forces with them.
 Reacher honors Swan’s sacrifice by using the money he acquires from AM to help his fallen comrades’ families and donate to an animal shelter, as Swan was an animal lover.

After dropping several red herrings throughout season 2, Amazon’s Reacher finally reveals what happened to Swan. Swan was first introduced in Reacher season 2 as one of the former members of the 110th Special Investigations Unit.

Flashbacks revealed that although Reacher had meticulously chosen his team members, Swan always had the tendency to tip off into the morally gray area. These flashbacks made him suspicious after Reacher and his team learned Swan was on New Age’s payroll.

Swan’s morality became one of the primary drivers of Reacher season 2’s overarching storyline when Reacher continued trusting his former teammate, but Neagley, Dixon, and O’Donnell could not rule him out as a primary suspect in the crime.

Although Reacher and the crew ultimately did find the truth behind Swan and his involvement in Langston’s Little Wing project, his whereabouts remained unknown. Reacher season 2’s finale confirms what happened between him and Langston before Reacher, Neagley, Dixon, and O’Donnell got involved in the case.

Langston Killed Swan Before Reacher Season 2 Even Began

Swan was likely the first 110th member to die.

Many initial clues in Reacher season 2 suggested Swan was betraying his team by being actively involved in the New Age conspiracy. Despite initially denying that Swan could be a traitor, Reacher, too, started questioning the motives of his former team member.

However, Reacher season 2’s episode 6 finally confirmed that Swan was innocent when Marlo revealed that Swan was trying to help her stop Langston by joining New Age as an informant. While this proved that Swan was not assisting Langston, it did not reveal what happened to him. Season 2’s finale confirms that he was likely killed even before Franz.

After capturing Reacher, Langston confronts him by teasing him that Swan is still with them. Before Langston can reveal what happened to Swan, Reacher realizes that he was murdered by Langston and his men as soon as they learned that he was double-crossing them.

Langston reveals that he tried to sign Swan in by asking him to become a part of the Little Wing weapons trade. However, Swan chose to stick to his moral code and refused to join forces with Langston. As a result, he became a threat to the Little Wing project, and Langston killed him before he could expose their plan and stop them.

Why Swan’s Name Was Still Being Used By Reacher Season 2’s Villains

Langston was trying to set Swan up.

After teasing that Swan is alive, Langston pulls out a jar with Swan’s eye and thumb in it. He proudly claims they did not need Swan to pull off the Little Wing trade. They only required his fingerprints to sign documents and access computers and his iris to scan and create fake data logs of him logging in and out of New Age’s building.

This shows that after killing Swan, Langston and other corrupt New Age employees were trying to use Swan as a ploy by setting him up as the perpetrator of the New Age deal. They were using his fingerprints and iris to stack all the evidence for the crime against him.

How Reacher Honors Swan In Season 2’s Finale

Reacher honors Swan’s sacrifice in the best possible way in season 2’s episode 8.

In Reacher season 2’s finale, Reacher and his team target AM after getting Langston and his men out of the way. Despite initially being portrayed as a formidable villain, AM becomes helpless when Reacher, Neagley, Dixon, and O’Donnell surround him and confront him for his actions.

AM tries to justify his crimes by claiming he is only a middleman and has nothing to do with his buyers and sellers. For obvious reasons, Reacher and his team buy none of that and kill him. In Reacher season 2’s final arc, Reacher does not surrender the bearer bond he acquires from AM to law enforcement.

Instead, he uses it to honor his fallen comrades and help their families. He divides the money between Russo, Sanchez, Franz, and Orozco’s families to help them rebuild their lives after the tragic loss of their loved ones. An early scene from the season, where Reacher refuses to believe that Swan would let his dog starve to death, establishes that Swan was an animal lover.

Therefore, Swan’s share of the money goes to an animal shelter because Reacher believes it is what Swan would have wanted. By doing so, Reacher not only addresses the potential financial needs of his team members’ families but pays a heartfelt tribute to Swan.