This story contains minor spoilers for Reacher season 4.

A desperate woman, in the middle of a crisis, finds herself on the subway in Philadelphia. It’s late, and her train car is sparsely populated, so she might think her dangerous plan will go unnoticed. She doesn’t know that one of her fellow passengers has been trained by one of the world’s largest military organizations to be aware of his surroundings at all times. He approaches, offering help. She’s not sure she can trust him. Maybe you aren’t either, if you’ve never watched Prime Video’s Reacher—but that’s a mistake you can and should rectify now. Here are five reasons why.

You don’t have to have watched the first three seasons to get involved

Author Lee Child (a pen name used by Jim Grant) has, to date, written 30 works of fiction about Jack Reacher. The books and stories jump around in time, so that the reader sometimes encounters Reacher when he’s still a major in the U.S. Army Military Police, but most of them find him after his service, when he’s traveling around the country with no fixed address. So far, the Prime Video series—adapted for TV by Nick Santora—join Reacher (Alan Ritchson) when he’s shown up somewhere new, sometimes for a quirky reason: for instance, in Season 1, based on Child’s first novel Killing Floor, Reacher gets off a bus in Margrave, Georgia, because a famed blues musician was buried there; in the fourth season (based on Gone Tomorrow, the literary Reacher’s 13th outing), Reacher’s come to Philadelphia to watch a baseball phenom pitch before the player blows out his arm.

Since each season is self-contained, you can choose your own adventure based on whichever criteria you prefer. If you want to prepare for Neagley, the spinoff series coming to Prime Video next month, you can enter with Seasons 2 and 3 of Reacher, in which the titular character (Reacher’s trusted investigator, played by Maria Sten) is first introduced. But if you’re a Philadelphia homer or just want to be part of the discourse right now, Season 4 is a great place to start, especially because…

Season 4 includes some local color!

I won’t lie: the show is mostly filmed in Toronto and its environs, so if you recognize any Philadelphia landmarks, they’re likely to be in B-roll shots flying over the city, composited into the deep background of a parking lot, or on the level of the very temporary-looking sign alleging a water ice stand in a neighborhood park. Even when Reacher orders a cheesesteak in the cold open of the Season 4 premiere, I’m pretty sure he’s in Sankofa Square, across the street from downtown Toronto’s Eaton Centre shopping mall.

However, the show’s production budget did permit some location shooting, so look out for some classic Reacher action in places like The Rail Park and Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens. Both are shot so lovingly, and used so creatively, that I paused playback to look them up. To whichever local official approved the permits: it was worth it! Just don’t ask any follow-up questions about whether I’ve planned my trip to the city yet!

Reacher’s suspicion of cops is part of the story basically immediately

And his suspicion of the U.S. government arrives not long afterward.

Without spoiling the inciting event of the season, Reacher gets picked up for questioning right away. Det. Shaun Docherty (Kevin Corrigan) and his partner Tamara Green (Sydelle Noel) tell him their interrogation won’t take long if Reacher is “honest and co-operative.” In response, Reacher stares, emotionless. “You had a passport on you, but no driver’s license,” says Docherty. Reacher stares some more. Docherty: “No answer for that?” Reacher: “It wasn’t a question.” A couple more exchanges get them to Reacher’s address; he says the building they’re in is where he currently resides. “So you’re homeless,” says Docherty. “Now I see why you’re a detective!” Reacher replies.