John Reese

Lore & Background

Born in Puyallup, Washington, John Reese is his real name. According to his military records, John is his first name with a middle initial H, while his last name begins with TAL and ends with S. He was born on May 1. Little else is known about his early life; he describes himself as having no friends and no family. His father served in the Army and died as a war hero after his fourth tour in Vietnam.

In 1993, John joined the U.S. Army after graduating from high school, serving as an infantryman and Green Beret before being discharged as a Sergeant First Class (E-7) after 12 years. While stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington in 2001, he met nurse Jessica Arndt and fell in love. They witnessed the Twin Towers fall on television while at a bar in New York City, and Reese decided his military career was far from over. He broke up with Jessica via letter after joining the CIA, and their final meeting was at a train station, where a newly engaged Jessica asked him to ask her to wait for him; he was unable to do so.

Reader's Guide

After the China incident, Reese returned to the U.S. In February 2011, while his bullet wound was still healing, he went to the hospital where Jessica worked, hoping to see her. Instead, he learned she was killed in a car crash two months earlier. He traveled to her home in New York and broke in, sitting quietly watching videos of Jessica while waiting for Peter to return. He deduced that Jessica and Peter's marriage had been physically abusive and that Peter may have killed her during a violent altercation, then staged the crash.

When Peter arrived, they argued briefly before Reese approached the poker-wielding widower. Peter Arndt disappeared that night; the FBI believed he was killed by Reese, but later events suggest Reese took Peter to a prison in Torreón, Mexico. Reese then returned to New York City and dropped off the grid entirely, living first in a homeless encampment and later a single-room occupancy hotel until he was sought out by Harold Finch. After Jessica's death, Reese lived as an unkempt vagrant, attempting to escape his demons with alcohol and martial arts movies.

In spring 2011, he confronted a group of young men harassing passengers on the subway, resulting in their arrest. Taken to the NYPD 8th Precinct, he was questioned by Detective Joss Carter, who recognized his military skills. A fingerprint check suggested Reese had been at several recent crime scenes, but before Carter could learn more, Reese left with an expensive attorney. They were met by a car and driver, who took him to a park under the Queensboro Bridge, where Reese first met Harold Finch.

Initially suspicious, Reese refused Finch's offer of a job. Later, Finch cable-tied Reese to his bed and played a recording of a woman murdered three years earlier to prove his information was never wrong. Reese accepted Finch's offer and began following Diane Hansen, an assistant district attorney. Finch took Reese to his hidden workplace, a disused library.

Equipped with six cover identities and funds, Reese saw Finch's lengthy list of social security numbers. As they worked together, Reese learned about the Machine, a complex computer that creates relevant and irrelevant lists to find potential criminals. Using a stolen identity based on a badge taken from NYPD Detective Stills (a corrupt cop he killed in action), and with the reluctant assistance of Detective Lionel Fusco, Reese fully committed to working with Finch. Over time, they came to trust one another and gradually became friends.

Military Origins and Personal History

Born on May 1 in Puyallup, Washington, Reese's real name is unknown—"John Reese" is a pseudonym. His military records show John is his first name with middle initial H, and his last name begins with TAL and ends with S. His father served in the Army and died as a war hero after his fourth tour in Vietnam. In 1993, John joined the U.S. Army to avoid a jail sentence, serving as an infantryman and Green Beret before being discharged as a Sergeant after 12 years. While stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington in 2001, he met nurse Jessica Arndt and fell in love. On a vacation to Mexico, they witnessed the Twin Towers fall on television, and Reese decided his military career was far from over. He broke up with Jessica and was later recruited by the CIA. They met by chance at an airport, where a newly engaged Jessica asked him to ask her to wait for him; he was unable to do so.

CIA Operations and Betrayal

Reese joined the CIA in 2005 and was recruited by the elite Special Activities Division, using the last name "Reese." In 2006 he was partnered with Kara Stanton under handler Mark Snow. Although Reese demonstrated the skills necessary for black ops missions, he showed hesitation due to a lack of ruthlessness. He gradually let go of his inhibitions, becoming a cold-blooded killer.

During a mission hiatus, he encountered Jessica's spouse, Peter Arndt, at a clandestine establishment but departed before introductions. Years later, while deployed in the Middle East, Reese received a voicemail from Jessica requesting urgent contact. Promising to return within 24 hours, he sought leave, but his superior Snow redirected him to a clandestine mission in China. There, Reese and Stanton were briefed to recover sensitive computer files from an abandoned city.

Unknown to one another, Snow told each agent the other was compromised and to be killed. After recovering the laptop, Stanton initiated exfiltration, but Reese detected a threat to his safety. He sustained critical injuries during a sudden engagement. Before extraction, Reese identified that retrieval of the data device may have been a secondary objective, with its eradication taking precedence—suggesting a compromise within the agency.

Evacuating the compromised location, Reese observed its destruction via airstrike. Stanton's status remains unconfirmed.