Ballard Season 1, Episode 1, introduces us to the team of volunteers from the Cold Case Unit.
Ballard: Debrief for Season 1 Episode 1 “Library of Lost Souls”
Written By: Michael Alaimo and Kendall Sherwood
Directed By: Jet Wilkinson
After capturing one murderer, Renée Ballard and her team investigate several other long-standing unsolved cases.
Refresh Your Memory:
- The Bosch Legacy writers and showrunners had the opportunity to introduce Renée Ballard’s character in the series finale of Bosch Legacy.
- Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch tracked down a serial killer who had been operating for a long time. And they had a rocky start to their collaboration.
- The last time we saw Renée, she was part of RHD, but now she is heading up the cold case unit due to a rift with another detective in RHD.
- The reason City Councilman Jake Pearlman reopened the cold case unit was for Ballard’s team to look into who killed Jake’s sister, Sarah. Someone murdered her twenty-four years ago.
Season 1, Episode 1:
Ballard: The premiere episode starts with a bang:
The episode begins with Renée Ballard chasing a man down a street near Los Angeles International Airport. The man runs into a dry cleaning business and aims his gun at Ballard. Renée shoots out the store’s front window and proceeds to follow him into the store. The two of them exchange gunfire, and the man drops his gun and tries to run out the back of the store. Ballard tracks him and knocks him to the ground with her shotgun. Renée’s partner shows up a moment later to handcuff the man.
Her partner, Thomas Laffont, is winded from the chase and mentions that he thought working cold cases would be safer. John Carroll Lynch plays Laffont.
One bad guy off the board:
Ballard tells Laffont that the preliminary statement indicates her actions were within policy, but she will have to undergo a psychological evaluation. The man Ballard chased down and captured is named Windel Jones, whom Renée is happy they have dead to rights. However, Laffont gives Ballard a heads-up that the people interviewing him seemed to be digging for dirt on her.
Windel Jones was responsible for the death of Paloma Gutierrez, whom Jones killed on May 24th, 2015. Renée wished Windel had not gotten away with it for ten years.
Ballard looks into a John Doe Case:
Renée takes a couple of boxes from property to investigate a John Doe case. Why? Because a surveillance camera spotted him at a bus stop carrying a baby. There is also another reason. She wants to solve the case that one of the original detectives could not. Who was one of those original detectives? Robert Olivas, with whom Ballard had a situation, which led to her being booted from RHD to head up the Cold Case Unit.
Ballard approaches one of the initial investigators on the case, Samira Parker. Who is now working security at a dance club. They get a chance to discuss the case, and Samira says that she felt like the LAPD was trying to cover up the John Doe murder. Samira comes in to offer some assistance in the case, and she does a good job, considering she is no longer part of LAPD.
The City Councilman Expects Fast Results from Ballard:
Ballard receives a visit from Jake Pearlman and Nelson Hastings, and Jake is not happy that, after two weeks, the Cold Case Unit has not solved his sister’s murder yet. Instead, there are controversial headlines surrounding the arrest of Windel Jones. Both Jake and Nelson want Ballard’s team to focus on Jake’s sister. Renée points out that without more funding, the unit consists of volunteers and unpaid reserve officers. There is only so much work people will do for free.
Nelson Hastings, later in the episode, calls Ballard and asks why he heard of a development in the case from the grapevine instead of from her. The grapevine indicates that Ted Rawls, a long-time friend of Pearlman and Hastings, has been passing along the information to them. Ballard is not happy about the phone call and slams her SUV door shut. She then apologized to her ride.
Home Video:
Ballard shows Colleen a video taken by Jake when his sister was still alive. Sarah had just gotten her license, and Jake was giving her a hard time about it. It was touching seeing Sarah when she was still alive and full of life. Renée points out that Jake only remembers Sarah as a murder victim because he was the one to find her dead. Jake has forgotten the memories of Sarah’s life. The video touched Colleen, reminding her of her kids when they were younger.
Tutu and Lola:
We meet not only Ballard’s grandma, Tutu, in this opening episode, but we also get to see her dog, Lola, a couple of times. Tutu is a quirky character, and Lola is an adorable puppy. Tutu and Ballard share a couple of moments in this series premiere episode, and I look forward to seeing more of Grandma and Pup throughout the season. One of my favorite moments with Tutu is when she tells Ballard that she needs to get in touch with her lifeguard friend because Ballard’s mood is always better after a night with Aaron. Tutu adds that a roll in the hay constantly improves her mood, and it still does.
Ballard Shoots A Long Shot:
Ballard receives a package of fingerprints from the Sarah Pearlman murder scene. With the fingerprints is a palm print of the suspect when they had fled out the window of Sarah’s room. Renée has an idea that perhaps they can obtain the DNA from the palm print to match it to a suspect on their board. Renée brings the palm print to Darcy, who is a forensic technician. Darcy says it is most likely a long shot that the DNA would not have degraded so much that the LAPD can use it to compare with possible suspects.
However, the long shot pays off. The DNA is connected to another murder, meaning they are most likely tracking a serial killer. The other murder victim is Laura Wilson, who died in 2008.
Original Suspect:
The original suspect in Sarah Pearlman’s murder is a man named Brian Richmond. Ballard attempts to take a DNA sample from his workplace, a tattoo shop in Venice. It seemed like a good plan. She goes into the shop posing as a customer. Brian is busy tattooing a customer and says his co-worker could help her. She texts Tutu for help. Tutu calls the shop and asks for Brian personally. Brian stops working on his customer to take the call, throwing one of his gloves in the trash. Ballard retrieves his glove from the garbage and states that she is double-parked and goes to check on her vehicle. However, Brian confronts her outside and sees that she has retrieved his glove from the trash.
With the attempt failed, Ballard will have to find another way to get his DNA for a match.
Ballard Recruits Parker:
Renée wants someone with experience on her team. Samira Parker is the person that Ballard is looking for. Ballard has a stack of resumes on her desk, but they all lack investigative skills. They are “people who think it would be neat to solve a crime, but they are tourists”. Samira, without even being a part of the team, had already done some digging into the case on her own. Parker went to the Sunbeam Lodge and asked the owner/manager, Spencer, if he remembered anyone coming around asking about John Doe. Even after Parker told Ballard she was not interested in knocking on any doors.
The visit to the motel paid off, sort of. A cleaning lady overheard the conversation between Parker and the manager and later attempted to contact Parker at RHD. Of course, since she was already retired, the call went to Robert Olivas, whom the woman then hung up on.
Ballard’s persistence pays off, and Samira agrees to join the team.
An Unwanted Visitor for Ballard:
Robert Olivas pays a visit to the Cold Case Unit location. Located at the Ahmanson Recruit Training Center, Olivas met most of the team. Ballard sees him there and asks what he wants. Olivas says that a woman from the Sunbeam Lodge tried to reach Parker, and he was passing along the message. Renée wants him to leave, and when he goes to leave, she tells him that he can call next time. Olivas says that he wants to bury the hatchet between the two of them, and Ballard says that she will bury it into his back if she ever gets a chance.
Ballard shows the Lighter Side of LA:
During this opening episode of the series, there are quite a few scenes from around Malibu and Venice Beach. We get to see a lighter side of the city, with the ocean and Ballard’s surfing scenes. It is a nice change of pace, in my opinion, and I hope the rest of the season features more ocean and sunny backgrounds.
A Heartbreaking End:
After Samira agrees to join the unit, she goes to the Sunbeam Lodge to speak with the woman who had called RHD to talk to Parker. However, someone has killed her just outside one of the rooms. Near the police tape, Parker talks with another cleaning woman, who tells Parker that the woman killed was named Yulia.
Laura Wilson Case:
The team retrieves the Laura Wilson case files from the “Library of Lost Souls” racking system. Ballard comments on how clean the murder book is, and they see that the original detective on the case was none other than Harry Bosch.
Meet Ballard’s Cold Case Team:
Based solely on what we learned from this opening episode, we gain a glimpse of the volunteer squad.
Thomas Laffont:
A retired LAPD officer who was partnered with Renée when she made the detective rank. Robert Olivas refers to him as Mr. RHD.
Colleen Hatteras:
A part-time helper who is an empty nester. She assisted Ballard with a case that Renée was working on during her time at RHD. Unfortunately, she also claims to be an empath who can sense things in items and people.
Martina Castro:
An intern seeking college credits. Her goal is to pursue a career in corporate or finance Law.
Ted Rawls:
A plant to keep an eye on, Ballard, by his friends, City Councilman Jake Pearlman, and Nelson Hastings. However, he has also been a reserve officer for around twelve years.
Samira Parker:
Retired RHD, however, unlike Laffont, Parker only lasted 6 months in RHD before retiring early. In RHD, she was partnered with Robert Olivas.
What were your thoughts on the episode? Let us know at feedback@somanyshows.com
Keep checking So Many Shows for ongoing coverage of Ballard with recap articles and the Dig Down Podcast
ICYMI: Bosch: Legacy Season 3, Episode 10 ‘Debrief’
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