There’s no denying that a large reason fans straight-up adore <em>The Terminal List</em> is due to the intense action sequences peppered throughout. Sure, seeing Chris Pratt in a terribly serious role as former Navy SEAL James Reece is something to behold, but it’s the way that the book-to-screen adaptation tackles the combat experience of its leading character that really hits the mark. In fact, if there’s one scene from The Terminal List that has made the audience’s skin crawl, it’s got to be the moment where Reece kills the man hired to kill his family. It’s a gruesome sequence that, for some, would be the end of the story. But, as Pratt revealed to Collider in a recent interview promoting The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, that scene nearly didn’t happen at all.

Chris Pratt Thinks That ‘The Terminal List’s Axe Scene Is Among the Show’s Best

If you don’t remember the moment we’re talking about, you will when we expand on it a bit further. This violent sequence occurs near the end of the fourth episode, “Detachment,” where Reece has tracked down the Mexican hitmen who were most directly responsible for the deaths of his wife, Lauren (Riley Keough), and daughter, Lucy (Arlo Mertz). Admittedly, El Navajas (Albert Valladares) was only hired to kill the Reece family, so he isn’t the one ultimately responsible, but his direct actions in their murder put Reece over the edge. Upon capturing the assassin, Reece chains him and strings him up, asking if he knows who he is. While El Navajas is uncooperative at first, Reece removes his signature tactical tomahawk, the WK RnD full-size axe, according to Terminal List author Jack Carr. With it, the former SEAL carves through the man’s guts, allowing them to spill on the floor as the assassin dies a horrific and painful death. It’s a powerful scene, one that clues the viewer in to the emotional state of our hero and how he has been shattered by what’s been done to him.

According to Pratt, this moment midway through The Terminal List‘s first season is one that fans continue to bring up. “Yeah, the studio didn’t want us to do it, but we did it, and then it turned out to be the best part,” Pratt recalls telling excited fans, adding that this sequence is “one of the things that people talk to [him] about the most.” This doesn’t come as a surprise. After all, this author knows of former members of the armed forces who binge-watched The Terminal List several times after its premiere in 2022. For many, the show’s commitment to authenticity in the way the series portrays its operators is one of the biggest draws. More than that, a scene like this in particular is something that only works as well as it does here because of the masterful talents of someone like Pratt, who is able to so fully identify with James Reece at that moment that the audience can’t help but do the same.

It’s also just a gnarly moment to watch. When The Terminal List starts, we expect the levels of combat violence that we see Reece and his SEAL team encounter overseas. That type of military action is just standard protocol. But when the action follows Reece home and the series takes a hard turn into First Blood territory (as described in our review of Season 1), it becomes hard to look away. It’s no wonder that the show has become so popular — added to Prime Video’s growing collection of action thrillers — that it’s spawned not only a prequel series but is returning soon for a second season based on Carr’s sequel novel, True Believer.

‘The Terminal List’ Thrives on Authenticity — Even If Chris Pratt Thinks ‘Dark Wolf’ Is Better

But there’s a distinct reason that Pratt believes a show like The Terminal List has done so well, even though it’s been a few years since the first season dropped. “I think that authenticity has created something that’s actually pretty refreshing in the marketplace right now,” the star explains. To Pratt and the creators’ credit, The Terminal List was never meant to be a show that critics would attach themselves to. From the very beginning, it was unashamed of the type of military/revenge thriller that it leaned into being, sticking to the tone of the original Jack Carr novel quite well. Despite that, Taylor Kitsch adds that Carr didn’t handhold the production, instead giving them plenty of creative freedom in their interpretations of the characters. “It makes you want to serve his story and these characters even more, to be honest,” Kitsch told Collider.

The show’s authenticity to the characters and the world that Carr created (including some of the more horrific moments from the book, such as the axe-gut sequence) is surely why so many have flocked to The Terminal List. With the prequel Dark Wolf out now and Season 2 of the original series in production, we can’t wait for more as the world of James Reece continues to grow. While Pratt has since admitted that Dark Wolf is better than Season 1 of the flagship show, the truth is that The Terminal List stands on its own as a thrilling one-and-done story that could just as easily have been finished after those first eight episodes. Just like the novel, the first season stood alone as a thoroughly engaging high-octane thrill ride that further proved Pratt’s abilities and offered plenty of action to those not quite satisfied with today’s action movies.

There’s no doubt that Dark Wolf has been a powerful entry in The Terminal List franchise. Pratt’s inclusion as a younger Reece, still heavily involved in teams and not yet disillusioned by his experience, is a high point for sure, but here Ben Edwards is the main focus. There’s no doubt that the prequel will have a lasting impact on the upcoming True Believer adaptation, though especially now that we can put a face (Tom Hopper) to Raife Hastings’ name. Whatever Reece and Raife will encounter in Season 2 of this Prime Video thriller, none of this would’ve been possible without all the work that Pratt, his co-stars, and creatives behind them put into original The Terminal List.

The Terminal List and The Terminal List: Dark Wolf are available for streaming on Prime Video.

Here you can find the original article; photos and images used in our article also come from this source. We are not their authors; they have been used solely for informational purposes with proper attribution to their original source.[/nospin]

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