Maddie survives her first day on CRU in Bosch: Legacy S2E5.
Bosch: Legacy S2E5 ‘Hollywood Forever’
Written by: Chris Wu
Directed by: Leslie Libman
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The dirty cop who shall be referred to as Detective Ellis calls his partner Detective Long in the middle of the night. Long seems to be mixing business with pleasure as he is seen sleeping in bed with sex worker named Ashley who was part of the recent extortion scheme. Ellis insults Ashley and tells Long to meet him for “work” they need to do.
The two cops drive to Bosch’s house. Long gets out and places a tracker beneath Harry’s Jeep. (Oh, how I wish the Jeep could be parked closer to the house because surely Coltrane would sniff out these creeps if it were!)
“Let’s go reduce some crimes.”
That’s what we hear from Officer Reina Vasquez as she directs the CRU (Crime Reduction Unit) on Maddie’s first day with the unit. Maddie was not able to sleep the night before her first day. She arrives early full of nerves but ends up loving the job.
Maddie and Reina pose as tourists visiting Hollywood Boulevard. Other officers are posted up around the area including Officers Kai Morgan and Franco Rodriguez. Maddie and Reina play the part taking in the sights while keeping their eyes peeled for suspicious activity. They spot a man in a black hoodie who appears to have an agenda.
A fight breaks out between two costumed actors, one as Queen of Hearts and the other as White Rabbit. The commotion lasts long enough for them to lose sight of the man in the black hoodie. They agree to watch for him the following day.
Harry on “watch”
Harry shares crime scene photographs from the Lexi Parks murder with Mo. He points out the watch missing from Lexi’s wrist. Mo asks how Bosch knows she had a watch. Harry points out an empty watch case and the corresponding tan line on Lexi’s wrist. Mo is impressed with Harry’s skills of observation.
Bosch wants to get a closer look at the watch case. He poses as a potential buyer at the home of Vince Harrick and the late Lexi Parks that is now up for sale. The realtor escorts Harry around the home. Harry asks for a measuring tape in an effort to get time alone in the house to find the watch case.
Bosch finds the case in another room and takes a photo of the receipt from the store named aptly, “Wanna Buy A Watch?”
Busted by Harrick
Bosch encounters sheriff’s deputy Vince Harrick outside as he leaves the showing. Harrick is not happy that Bosch is there and wants to know why. When Harrick learns that Harry is working for the defense, he claims that Harry is insulting the police badge he used to wear.
Harrick tries to arrest Bosch, but he does not have grounds to do so. Harry refuses Harrick’s demands.
Motel visit
Harry joins Honey to visit the motel where James Allen stayed. The duo asks the front desk clerk if he recognizes a photo of David Foster. The clerk identifies him as James’ boyfriend. Honey and Harry request access to room 116. The clerk insists that access requires a police badge. Honey hands over some cash, but apparently, it’s not enough. The clerk demands $200 for one hour of access to the room.
Inside the room, Harry notices that there is a picture missing from the wall. They wonder if the picture frame wire from that same piece may have been used to strangle Allen. But, more importantly, they need proof that David was there the night of Lexi’s murder. They are hoping they can obtain video surveillance to provide said proof.
Hollywood Forever
The episode’s title comes into play as Harry and Honey visit the famous cemetery that sits adjacent to Paramount Studios. Harry recognizes the security guard on duty as a former LAPD officer. He asks if the cemetery’s surveillance cameras capture the motel where James Allen stayed.
The guard named Oscar reports that their cameras do not reach that far but shares that they have an arrangement with the studio to access footage from the cameras on the Paramount water tower. There is a pause in the conversation and Bosch realizes that Oscar will not share the footage for free. Harry convinces Honey to purchase a headstone to grease the deal.
As the pair leave the cemetery, Honey comments that there was something familiar about the two cops that arrested her. She wonders if she had seen them at Musso and Frank, thinking they may have been watching her. She also believes that they messed with the files in her trunk.
Sure enough, the two dirty cops are in their noisy car watching Harry and Honey leave the cemetery.
Video findings
Mo works on the video footage obtained. Harry and Honey join him to review the video. They are able to identify the Fosters’ van arriving and exiting the hotel at 9:47 pm and 11:39 pm, respectively. The van arrives from and returns to the same direction, never getting anywhere close to Lexi’s home during the time of her murder.
Honey is pleased with their findings but notes that the footage is not clear enough to identify David’s face or the van’s license plate number.
File activity
Matthew brings boxes of all the hard copies from the Carl Rogers case to Honey’s office. He also hands over a thumb drive with digital material confirming that all digital files have been removed from the office and cloud storage, confirming no other copies exist.
Later in the week, Honey calls Matthew to her office. She needs him to deliver a motion. She also asks him to handle the proper disposal of a large bag of paper shreds in the corner.
We see Matthew carrying the bag of shreds outside. He enters the backseat of a vehicle. It’s FBI Agents James and Jones. Matthew hands over the shredded material and what appears to be a second copy of the Carl Rogers’ digital material. Matthew is hoping he is finished reporting to them, but the agents tell him he is not done cooperating with them and that he should just be glad he is not currently in prison.
Mo in the wild?
We get to see Mo outside of work but not too far from it. He attends the “CySec Risk Management Summit 2022”. He encounters a friend who will be hosting an event that evening after the conference. Mo is curious about a woman he sees there. He asks his friend about her. The friend does not know much, but he knows she has a podcast.
Later that evening, we see Mo playing poker and the mystery woman is part of the game. She teases Mo calling him “SloMo”, but he does win the hand. They end up on the balcony and talk some more. The woman wants to know why Mo is so well-known at the conference. He finally divulges his handle, Rico Spider, thinking that would explain his notoriety. But she is not familiar with Rico Spider, ouch!
Mo subtly asks if she is dating anyone. Her response is vague. He asks for her digits. She teases him saying he should be able to get her number if he is such a good hacker. The mystery continues.
Introducing “Wanna Buy A Watch?”
Dirty detectives Ellis and Long pay a visit to the two sex workers involved in their extortion business. Ellis insults them and gives them new phones for their business. Meanwhile, Long checks the video feed and finds another customer to extort. Ellis asks about any loot the ladies have collected as part of the plan. Ellis picks up a bracelet to sell.
We meet two brothers that own the Wanna Buy A Watch store. One brother adds some cash to the safe in the floor. The other brother comments that his brother seems to be very tense. The first brother comments that working with “these guys” stresses him out and that he regrets getting involved with them.
Shortly, Ellis walks in (even though they are closed) and tries to get cash for the bracelet. The owner tells him the safe has timed out for the night and he cannot open it again until tomorrow. Ellis will have to return the next day.
Grand Jury
Honey exits the United States Courthouse and passes Bosch, who then heads toward the courthouse entrance. Later, upon leaving the courthouse, Bosch is confronted by dogged L.A. Times reporter Scot Anderson. Anderson asks if he was called to testify for the grand jury. Bosch uses Barrel’s line, “in a pickle, take the nickel” and gives Anderson no permission to quote him.
Anderson reveals that he has a source in RHD that confirmed the FBI took over one of RHD’s investigations. Harry learns that it is the Simon Wakefield murder.
Later that night, Harry meets Honey on the rooftop garage and tells her that the Feds are on the Wakefield case now. Harry needs her to recount all the details of her finding Wakefield dead, stealing his phone and so on. Harry needs to ensure that they are not vulnerable to the FBI’s inquiry.
Maddie makes a CRU arrest
Maddie and Reina are back on CRU duty on Hollywood Boulevard. Once again, they clock the suspicious guy in the black hoodie. They see him brandishing a firearm and taking a signal from a guy across the street who hands out flyers. All this happens as a tourist family walks toward an ATM.
Maddie runs after the man in the hoodie all the way through a parking garage where he ditches his weapon, finally pulling him to the ground as he attempts to go over a fence. Maddie kicks him, restrains him with handcuffs and slaps him across the ear. Reina observes Maddie’s excessive force.
Reina cautions Maddie
After work, the CRU team plans to go out to celebrate the arrest. Reina, however, is obligated to attend her family dinner. She invites Maddie to join her. Maddie enjoys meeting Reina’s family and learning about her bustling household growing up. She also learns that Vasquez is the youngest of five kids.
Vasquez takes this opportunity to question Maddie’s actions earlier in the day. Maddie admits that she felt rage. Reina cautions her to not lose control.
Aslan makes an ID
Agents James and Johns meet with Aslan, the owner of the trucking business used to infiltrate the gas pipeline that Harry and Mo blew up. The agents point out that charges have not been filed but that Aslan’s actions are subject to a RICO charge. They offer him an opportunity to finger someone other than the Russians.
Aslan reviews four lineup sheets. The first one includes Crate, but Aslan does not recognize him. The second one includes Barrel, but no recognition. The third lineup includes Mo, again no recognition. Then they present a lineup that includes Bosch. Aslan points to Harry and reports that he is the guy that said “boom” before setting off the blast at the pipeline.
In other news:
- Maddie and Harry share a drink and she tells him about CRU. She reports that she likes it. He wonders why she didn’t tell him earlier. He was not thrilled finding out from Mank. She mentions how she has learned to act first and apologize later like he does. He cannot really argue with that, but he does ask if she feels ready for the change.
- The two detectives assigned to Lexi’s murder, Duran and Santana, approach Harry outside his office. They warn him not to step out of bounds again like the way he accessed Lexi’s home the other day. Bosch tells them that Honey’s client is innocent, and that the real murderer is at large.
- Maddie is seen trying to work on her victim impact statement again.
Is there any way Honey and Harry can steer clear of the FBI’s investigation into Simon Wakefield’s murder? It sure looks dicey. How will Maddie deal with the rage she felt during the CRU arrest?
Come back for our next debrief for Bosch: Legacy S2E6.
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