(Covers information from Amazon Prime Series)
Oscar Finlay is a character appearing in the first two seasons of the Prime Video series Reacher. He is portrayed by Malcolm Goodwin.
Biography[]
Oscar Finlay was the Chief of detectives in the Margrave Police Department, and holds the rank of Captain. Finlay is from Boston where he attended Harvard before joining the Boston Police department where he served for 20 years before retiring. He was recently widowed. After the events of Season One, Finlay tells Reacher that he is moving back to Boston and hints that he may be done with Police work. However, Reacher calls on him for help when he is trying to get information from a Senator's aide only to discover that Finlay had re-joined the Boston police force and was now a Lieutenant working as a detective.
Throughout Series[]
Season One[]
In Welcome to Margrave, Finlay is now a chief detective for the Margrave PD, investigating the first murder in the town in twenty years. His prime suspect, Jack Reacher, is brought in for questioning by two officer. Chief Morrison doesn't take a liking to Reacher's stoic and quiet attitude, threatening to put him in a holding cell to force him to talk. Finlay intervenes then, asking the officer to put Reacher in the conference room. Once there, Finlay introduces himself as the detective on the case, informing Reacher that he's been arrested for the murder of a man earlier that morning. The murder was brutal yet professional, and they can't I.D. the body due to the swollen fingertips. Finlay determines that a lawyer can get him to open up, but Reacher finally speaks to decline his right to a lawyer - he didn't kill anyone recently or in this town. Finlay thinks the crime is something Reacher is capable of due to his MP background. Reacher speaks as he informs Finlay of how wrong his theory is, as the M.O. of the kill suggests three killers with distinctly different styles, not a single killer. Finlay still has a description of Reacher walking near along the road when the body was found. Reacher assures Finlay that was him - he asked the driver to do him a favor and drop him off at the town lines, on account of Blind Blake, the blues musician who allegedly died in Margrave. Finlay still isn't convinced and puts Reacher in holding until he can confirm the alibi.
In the meantime, Finlay and Roscoe chase down their only lead - a phone number that was stuck to the bottom of their victims shoe. It matches local finance manager Paul Hubble. As they explain the murder, Hubble spontaneously confesses to being the killer. Roscoe prepares to record him dismissing his rights, but Hubble doesn't need to be read his rights. He confesses again to having killed the man. As Finlay digs deeper into the circumstances of the killing, it becomes clear that a nervous Hubble is lying. They return to the station with an arrested Hubble, placing him in the cell with Reacher. Finlay requests Reacher to come with him but he refuses until the ties come off. He finally concedes so Reacher breaks them apart with ease than picks up the plastic, surprising Roscoe and Finlay.
Once outside, Reacher prepares to leave now that Hubble has confessed, but Finlay isn't convinced that Reacher isn't still involved. Reacher and Finlay talk in the parking lot about Hubble's confession, which is a false confession. Finlay thinks he still has information to share but Reacher thinks Stevenson has something to share about the case as he held eye contact with Hubble. Finlay remarks that Hubble married Stevenson's cousin, but Reacher thinks it's more than that. Finlay calls him out on being overconfident, but Reacher perfectly profiles Finlay to prove his point. He went to Harvard, is divorced, and recently stopped smoking. He can tell all of these by various observations. Finlay admits that he went to Harvard, is near the age of 40, and can't deny the lingering scent of cigarette smoke in his tweed suit. Unable to argue, Finlay instructs Reacher to follow him inside. The pair speak to Stevenson in Finlay's office, where Reacher interrogates Stevenson to rule out the three major motives for murder. When Stevenson confirms that Hubble was at a family gathering past midnight, Finlay dismisses the man from the office. Finlay wonders why a man like Hubble would confess to a crime he didn't commit. He hopes Reacher can get Hubble to talk in prison. He reminds Reacher he's not a cop anymore and Chief Morrison wants him detained until this alibi clears
The next morning, Finlay watches his wedding ring spin and then calls Sharon, remarking that he misses her and he's in a small Georgia town solving a hard case. When he hangs up, Roscoe brings Reacher's military file in. She gives him a run down of Reacher's stats, with each revelation being more impressive than the last. She reads his Military Police numbers even though Finlay says he doesn't want to hear them. Reacher solved over 100 cases, each with successful prosecutions. His list of Medals is extensive and impressive. Finlay wonders why Reacher is in Margrave, but she just wonders what he's doing in jail. She would hate to be the one who put him there. He tells her to leave his office so she listens.
That afternoon, Reacher returns to the station after his release to meet with Roscoe. He learns of another murder, so she adds that she doesn't know if he can leave yet. Finlay storms over to confront Reacher over Hubble talking to him in lockup. Reacher denies everything but Finlay doesn't believe him, something Reacher doesn't care about. Finlay threatens to lock Reacher back in prison until a forensic scientist goes through his alibi video, or he can go with them to the morgue in case something jogs his memory about Hubble.
The trio head to the morgue where they learn more about the crime and the new victim. The medical examiner Jasper explains that the first John Doe is hard to identify as his dental work is inconsistent - some done in the US and some foreign. His fingertips were compromised by a dermatitis reaction. Reacher sees the monitor with a photo of the victims hand. He picks it up and admits the victim was allergic to latex so they killers worn a polyvinyl protective suit. The dental work is off because he had them fixed wherever he was living at the time. He broke his right arm when he was eight and had it set in Berlin. His tonsils were taken out at ten in Seoul. The examiner removes the body from the box and shows Reacher the face. He emotionally picks up the mans hand and sees a scar on the left wrist. They were wrestling when he pinned him against a stove without knowing it was hot. That's how his brother got the scar. Reacher leaves the morgue while Finlay throws questions at him. The two get heated until Roscoe intervenes to break it up. She tells Reacher to sit in the back. She knows he won't beat up Finlay without a reason, but Reacher warns that Finlay's giving him a reason. She knows he has kind eyes and won't. He gets in the car. As they drive, Reacher wonders if Joe told him about Blind Blake for a reason so he could do something about his brother being dead. Finlay wonders what he'll do. Reacher thinks he'll find everybody responsible and kill them.
In Pie, Finlay, Neagley, Reacher, and Paul Hubble. They gather weapons to free Roscoe and the Hubble family from Kliner's factory. Where he killed Picard.
Season Two[]
Sometime after Margrave, Finlay relocates himself and Jack back to Boston where he re-joins its police department and works his way to Lieutenant as a detective. He is still haunted by his deceased wife Sharon but is slowly recovering. Finlay is contacted by Reacher and Neagley to assist them in their investigation. Finlay catches Senator Malcolm Lavoy's Aide, Daniel Boyd while using drugs with Karla Dixon who is in disguise as an opera patron, Finlay arrests Boyd and brings him to an interrogation room at the Boston PD.
In the interrogation room, Finlay questions Boyd of his drug related charge, the latter attempts to intimidate Finlay with his family and position but he is not fazed and brings up that the woman in the car was not his wife and knows that he is working for Senator Lavoy. Finlay tells the cover story of FBI agents coming down to see him after his name is alerted to its local office database. Reacher and David O'Donnell enter the room using the aliases Special Agent Jack Margrave and Special Agent Blake, as a tribute to their connection 2 years prior. Finlay overhears the interrogation in which he learns details about Little Wing. After extracting the information from Boyd, Reacher and Finlay catch up with each other since Margrave, Finlay offers his help but Reacher declines as to not further involved him in the 110th unit's case, Finlay is reunited with Neagley and he compliments her outfit only for an embarrassed Neagley to tell him to mind his own business. The trio amicably departs after.
Physical Appearance[]
Finlay is of medium build with short black hair. He is known for wearing tweed suits which he believes make him appear more distinguished.
Personality and Traits[]
Relationships[]
Roscoe Conklin[]
Jack Reacher[]
Appearances[]
| Reacher | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season One | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Season Two | ✓ | |||||||
| Season Three |
Notes and Trivia[]
Book Comparisons[]
- In the novel Killing Floor, Finlay is only known as Captain Finlay as his first name is never revealed.
- In the novel, Finlay has the rank of Captain. In the television series, he has been called captain and chief detective.
- The series depicts Finlay as being recently widowed, whereas the novel indicates that he is divorced from his wife.
- Finlay does not appear in the novel Bad Luck and Trouble.
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
Season One[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Season One[]
References[]
- ↑ Per Reacher's profiling of Oscar in Welcome to Margrave.
- ↑ ATM