Bosch: Legacy - Finale: Episodes 9 and 10

Bosch: Legacy - Season 1: Episodes 9 and 10

Released May 27, 2022

[Disclaimer: Spoilers for the season finale. TW for mentions of sexual assault, but will be flagged before mentioning.]

And here we are. The season finale of Bosch: Legacy. I watched these episodes on the day they came out, but it’s taken me a few days to process and sit on it. I’d been wondering how they were going to wrap up everything in just two final episodes. Of course they were going to leave some loose threads to weave into the next season.

As for the cliffhanger - fret not, friends, for Bosch and gang will be back for a second season of Legacy (renewed, in fact, before season one even premiered).

Okay, so did I or did I not completely hit the nail on the head that Vance was murdered (smothered, no less). What a horrible way to die, first of all. He was a weakened and sickly old man who stood literally no chance of defending himself. Ida started off her tail trying to make us sympathetic towards her situation. However, my sympathy was not won over because ultimately. she chose to smother the man. How coldhearted does one need to be do commit such an act? It’s not as if it was a mercy killing performed while he was asleep. The man was at his desk, for crying out loud. She committed a coldblooded murder. Her only redeeming quality is that she did not alter the will in any way to cut out Vance’s heirs. Of that point, she seemed to remain loyal to Vance’s wishes.

Speaking of being loyal, I feel very bad for Vance’s butler-turned-bodyguard, Sloan. He did not turn out to be the villain that we’d originally thought, but rather a deeply loyal employee whose efforts led directly to his own murder. His killer was the mystery assassin we saw at the end of episode 8. Forget smothering an old man to death, this assassin lady straight up shot Sloan in the head after coercing him into calling Vance’s daughter over intercom. Now that is cold blooded. And it was actions such as those that made her death that much more satisfying. Especially since it was at the hands of Bosch. Seeing Bosch lay his traps is always satisfying, but there was something about this one, with the pre-laid out plastic sheets and planted cameras, that really felt good to watch. His opponents oft underestimate him, for whatever reason, and they very rarely live to regret it. Those who do escape unscathed are too smart to ever face off against him again, and they know to steer clear.

Trigger Warning for below (see disclaimer)

I have been a single woman living alone in a city. I can truthfully say that one of my worst fears is coming home to my apartment not only to find an intruder, but an intruder with intentions to cause me bodily harm. This is the case that Maddie has been dealing with all season, as they hunted for the ‘Thai Town rapist’. I suppose that we the audience were meant to be privy to the fact that the inspector dude was in fact the culprit. This certainly helped build the suspense. The long, lingering shots of Maddie coming home to her empty apartment were meant to unnerve us, as we waited to see if she was in any danger. An earlier fake out had us watch Maddie arrive home and run a shower, only for her doorbell to ring. And who should she find at her door, but Honey, and not a deranged rapist. I imagine that women everywhere let out a collective sigh. “Maddie is safe, we’re just being teased by the writers,” or so we thought.

Flash forward to the end of the finale. We see Maddie come home, much the same way we did before. Except this time, we also see that there is a man hiding in her closet, wearing a luchador mask (the disguise of choice for our rapist). My heart sunk during this moment and I gripped my own arms tightly. Sure, this is a TV show and the characters are fictional. But the situation is very real and it does happen in real life. This isn’t something that is easy to watch. We don’t need to see the assault be carried out to know what will happen.

This is the brilliance of film as a storytelling medium. Visually there is much to show on screen. However, the implied (or imagined by the audience) is often much worse than what could ever be shown. Sometimes what we do not see on screen is what is truly frightening.

“But, Maddie is a trained police officer. Surely she can handle herself?” I wanted this to be true, so badly. I yelled at the TV for Bosch to leave the gallery faster. I yelled at him to run all the red lights to get to Maddie’s place faster. I felt my heart pause while he kicked down her door. I half expected to see Maddie wrestling with her attacker and Bosch intervening upon the sight. Unfortunately, we were met with a more chilling scene - nothing at all. No sign of Maddie save for her bag and keys. And one single slit cut into her bedroom window screen. Fade to black.

Maddie has to be okay, right? Abduction goes against our guy’s MO thus far. He seems to only break in (via screen cutting), commit his assault and then hightail it out of there. Where this differs is the fact that he has been somewhat stalking Maddie before his attack. However, who is to say that he hasn’t stalked his other victims before breaking into their homes? In fact, I’d put good money down on that fact. But, he’s never been so bold as to abduct his victim. Also, he is getting increasingly bold, because he knows for a fact that Maddie is a police officer. Surely he knows that the full force of the LAPD will come after him? I hope we get to see this in season two.

There is bound to be lasting trauma on Maddie after this. She’s been through so much already, and to add this on top of everything? She just can’t catch a break. I feel like the protective older sister and I just want to give her a hug and shield her from all the evils of the world. We’ve basically watched her grow up, from Bosch through to Legacy.

That’s a wrap on season one of Bosch: Legacy. Hopefully we don’t have to wait too long for season two. Until then, friends.