‘Neagley’s Maria Sten Officially Reveals Her Wildest Finale Moment and What’s Next for Season 2

Editor’s note: The following contains major spoilers for Neagley.

Since appearing on-screen in the hit Prime Video series Reacher, Frances Neagley (Maria Sten) has been a fan favorite character, with her kick-ass skill set that could back up Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) and help him out in any situation. That’s why he’s the first person that she’s able to shake hands with when her emotional walls come down ever so slightly. Over the course of the season of Neagley, Frances learns that a team might not be so bad, and that Detective Hudson Riley (Greyston Holt), Renee Birdwhistle (Adeline Rudolph), and Keno (Jasper Jones) can each be useful in their own ways. So, when she sets things up for them to keep working together, it opens up new possibilities for the future and what could be in Season 2.

Collider recently got the opportunity to chat with Sten about why she loves the dynamic between Frances and Hudson, how she’ll continue to work through her Haphephobia, how monumental the handshake with Reacher was, the moment at the funeral, and that intense finale fight scene where she used her thighs to take down a man.

Hudson Doesn’t Judge Frances for Her Faults in ‘Neagley’

“I love their dynamic between there’s a real journey of a relationship.”

COLLIDER: To jump right in with spoilers, I love how the relationship between Neagley and Hudson continues to evolve over the season. He eventually tells her, “I like you even though you’re not always that nice,” which is fitting. They also clearly respect each other. What do you like most about that dynamic? What would you like to see happen with them in the future, moving forward?

MARIA STEN: I love their dynamic because there’s a real journey of a relationship. There’s real growth that happens there. They have quite similar family trauma, in different ways, but there is family trauma, and they both have to deal with it this season. There is a common ground found in that. And they respect each other because they’re both good at their jobs. More than anything, when Hudson shows up for her in an unexpected way when she is at her most vulnerable, that changes how she views him. That he is not judging her speaks highly of his character, and she learns to maybe open herself up a little bit, in spite of herself, to the idea that maybe something could happen there between them. She is still who she is, and she has her problems and issues that she has to deal with. I think that will be the interesting thing to explore in the show – will they or won’t they? – as we continue along.

There is something super fun about Neagley knowing Hudson has these issues with his family and she’s just like, “No, you can get useful information for me, so just go deal with it.” There’s something so funny about her not really caring that he still has all of that to unpack.

STEN: Yeah. She is pushing it all away for herself as well, so she isn’t really empathetic to the fact that he also has this stuff going on. She’s like, “You just don’t deal with it. Just keep going on the case.” Neagley is very tunnel vision, and oftentimes maybe isn’t necessarily thinking about the consequences of her actions and her asks when it pertains to people that aren’t the closest to her.

Neagley’s Haphephobia is very present this season. It’s not really something that we think much about when we see her on Reacher because he knows how to deal with it. What was it like for her to deal with it when it comes to Hudson, and how monumental is it that she even wants to try to work through that?

STEN: It is monumental for her. I don’t think that it is willingly done. The thing that happens to her this season that forces her to face her past and her reality is the thing that then makes her choose to figure out how she can overcome this thing. And of course, there’s the fact that she is in this high-stakes situation with this new person that she has some interest in. I think all the right ingredients are there for her to finally face herself, and of course, she does. Whether she does so successfully or not, hopefully we will continue to figure that out in the show.

Maria Sten Loved the Moment That Frances Neagley Was Finally Able To Shake the Hand of Jake Reacher

“That’s my favorite line from the whole show.”

Image via Prime Video

It’s fun to see her take that baby step. How did you feel about the moment when she shakes hands with Reacher for the first time? What was it like to know that was coming? I love when she tells him, “I can’t believe it, you’ve got soft hands.” Nobody else could get away with that.

STEN: Exactly. I love that. That’s my favorite line from the whole show because it so encapsulates who Neagley is. Even though we’ve gone on this incredible journey with her and we’ve really seen her change, leaps and bounds, emotionally and with how she goes through the world, and finally being able to actually shake someone’s hand, she still is the one person who’s going to sass Reacher because she’s the same old Neagley that we remember from Season 1. And so, I love that. It’s a reminder to the audience that even though she’s changed, she’s still Neagley.

I loved that because it’s such a sweet moment, but then she still had to work that in and get a laugh from it.

STEN: Yeah, exactly. And it had to be Reacher, right? It had to be the person that has been there for her from the beginning.

The most heartbreaking aspect of the season is that Neagley isn’t there to say goodbye to her father and has to find out that he’s gone after the fact. What did it mean to her to have this new team that she’s formed by her side at his gravesite, and then to also have Reacher there as support? It was such a beautiful moment without even having to say anything.

STEN: Yeah. It reminds me of Season 2 [of Reacher], where at the very end, Neagley reminds Reacher, “You say that you’re alone, and you call us friends and teammates, but you know we’re more than that, right?” And by that, she means, “We’re family.” I think it mirrors that idea of these lone wolves that go through the world being most comfortable with people at a distance still having people in their lives that are worth fighting for and that are worth letting in. I do feel that that is also true of Neagley in this moment. To me, it signifies hope for her because she is so isolated and had been and has been comfortable that way. And now, there’s this huge change that happens in her life. The fact that these people are there showing up gives me hope for her.

Maria Sten Loved Getting To Do Her Intense Finale Fight Scene in ‘Neagley’

“He was like, ‘You can hit me harder! I’m big. Hit me harder!’ And so, I hit him harder.”

Image via Prime Video

There’s a lot that happens in the finale, and one of my favorite moments in it is when you have this fight with a big bald man who punches and headbutts you, and then you wrap your legs around his neck and make him no longer a problem.

STEN: Correct.

What was it like to shoot all of that? How did you feel about that scene? I just love that scene.

STEN: Thank you. That was intense. He is no small man. He’s a stunt actor and he’s amazing. He really brought it, and I brought it. He was like, “You can hit me harder! I’m big. Hit me harder!” And so, I hit him harder. We really went at it. And then, of course, there’s the great moment where she climbs him and strangles him with her strong thighs. We are women. We have to use what is available to us. It’s just such a great moment, but it was a very intense fight. I remember a moment when he landed on top of me, and then she has to get him off of her. And I could not, for the life of me, get this man off my leg. They were all behind the camera chuckling. I couldn’t get him off of me because he’s so big. It’s fun that we get to do these things and play make-believe, but it was definitely an intense scene. It worked out. I’m glad that we were able to pull that off in the way that we were.

It’s a very badass moment, so you should be proud of that.

STEN: Thanks. Thank you.

Neagley is available to stream on Prime Video.

Release Date

September 16, 2026

Network

Prime Video

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  Greyston Holt

  Detective Hudson Riley

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  Maria Sten

  Frances Neagley