WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Reacher season 3, episode 1.

The first episode of Reacher season 3 features Reacher putting a hanger over his motel room door after DEA agents come knocking. Those federal agents turn out to be Guillermo and Sam, associates of Susan Duffy, but Reacher initially doesn't stick around to figure out what they want. After Reacher tries to escape and is intercepted by Duffy, Guillermo, and Sam point out that they identified themselves as federal agents, which Reacher says isn't enough to get him to answer.

As Reacher can infiltrate Zachary Beck's inner circle. Before that unfolds, Duffy and Reacher find out that they have a mutual interest in Beck's Bizarre Bazaar operation, an apparent rug business that smells like trouble. At the beginning of Reacher season 3, episode 1, Reacher is only interested in getting close to Xavier Quinn, bringing up some unfinished business.

Reacher Is Pretending To Look Through The Hole To See If The Person Knocking Shoots

Reacher Makes Sure It's Safe To Look Through The Peephole With The Door Hanger

During one of the early scenes in Reacher season 3, Reacher uses the motel paper "Do Not Disturb" door hanger to cover the peephole in the door. Doing so allowed him to determine that the people who identified themselves as federal agents were not impostors planning to kill him. If they were assassins, they would likely have shot through the peephole in the motel door once Reacher covered it with the paper hanger. Reacher then knew if it was safe to look through the peephole himself.

Reacher erred on the side of caution once people came knocking at this door, which certainly threw him off guard. Whether they were truly federal agents or not, they knew who they were looking for, which meant that they wanted something from Reacher – information, resources – if not Reacher himself. Reacher, who is known to be a vagabond drifter type, didn't want to deal with whoever it was, which is why he grabbed his toothbrush and slid out of the bathroom window.

Why Reacher Still Runs Away, Even After His Guests Don't Shoot

Reacher Didn't Know What The Feds Wanted & Didn't Care To Find Out

As Reacher explains by the dirty motel pool,"Anyone can be anything," claiming he fled because he couldn't blindly trust the DEA agents being who they said they were. Reacher was slightly surprised that Duffy knew his name until he realized that she and her buddies really were the feds and that they weren't going to provoke him.

Reacher impatiently fields Duffy's questions but makes it clear he doesn't want to get involved in whatever they're up to until she mentions Warrant Officer Powell.

Reacher impatiently fields their questions but makes it clear he doesn't want to get involved in whatever they're up to until Duffy mentions Warrant Officer Powell. Duffy figures out that Reacher is after Quinn, which is how their paths begin to overlap in Reacher season 3.