It’s no slow burn for the start of Bosch season 6.
Bosch Season 6 Episode 1: ‘The Overlook’
Written by: Tom Bernardo and Eric Overmyer
Directed by: Daisy von Scherler Mayer
Bosch will need to treat this investigation like a homicide to see where it really goes. #BoschAmazon pic.twitter.com/b4cqxgomsX
— Bosch (@BoschAmazon) April 14, 2020
The story jumps quickly out of the gate in episode 1 of Bosch season 6. There is a new homicide story involving the theft of highly dangerous radioactive material. Maddie is interning with Honey Chandler.
Continuing stories pick up quickly as well. J. Edgar is hot on the trail of dirty cops Marcos and Arias. Harry is digging deep into the past on the Daisy Clayton murder. Chief Irving proceeds with his run for mayor.
Finally, there is a shocking turn of events for more than one character.
Read on for my full investigation of Bosch season 6 episode 1 ‘The Overlook’.
Homicide Victim: Stanley Kent, Medical Physicist
Medical physicist Stanley Kent has been murdered execution style on the Hollywood overlook. Prior to his demise he takes the entire stock of cesium from St. Agatha’s Hospital. Cesium is a radioactive material used in the treatment of cancer patients.
Stanley replies to a text message from his wife’s phone asking if he has obtained the material. He replies that he has it and the text response is for him to “hurry”. Kent wheels the material out in a lead carrier that we later learn is called a “pig”.
Stanley arrives on the overlook awaiting the exchange of his wife for the cesium. A masked gunman arrives in the car of Stanley’s wife Alicia. He walks up to Stanley and looks into the car trunk., but he pig is not there.
Kent insists that the cesium is nearby. He just wants to see first that his wife is safe. The gunman refuses the request and points a gun to the back of his head.
Lead Detectives: Harry Bosch and Jerry Edgar
Bosch is surprised to hear that he and Jerry are being called to the scene. Pierce and Vega are next in the rotation but may have to go to court for their “body parts” case from season 5. As you probably recall, the pair discovered body parts in a suitcase and a wall vent in season 5.
Bosch meets Pierce and Vega at the scene. Edgar gets word of the assignment during his surveillance operation of Marcos and Arias. Medical Examiner Potts estimates the time of death to have been around midnight. Bosch examines Kent’s ID badge and sees a swipe strip on the back. He sends Pierce and Vega to St. Agatha’s to investigate further. Bosch will do the emergency welfare check on Stanley’s wife.
Just one more week until the new season of @BoschAmazon is streaming on @PrimeVideo. pic.twitter.com/pgMrMnHqLz
— Michael Connelly (@Connellybooks) April 10, 2020
The Wife: Alicia Kent
Bosch and two uniformed officers approach the Kent home. They find the door unlocked, but no one responds to their call. The three men begin clearing the house when they find Alicia Kent in her nightgown gagged and tied at her wrists and ankles. Bosch unties Mrs. Kent and retrieves her robe from the closet.
Edgar arrives to join Bosch in talking to Alicia Kent. Alicia is shaken as she describes her ordeal. She explains that two masked assailants held a knife to her throat and demanded her cell phone and pass code as well as her car keys. She says they took a photo of her in the restraints and then left.
Jerry found Alicia’s phone in the garage earlier. She wants to have it back, but the detectives explain that it is evidence. Alicia describes one of her assailants as white with the number 308 tattooed on his wrist. They used her phone to take a photo of her tied up to send to Stanley.
The detectives ask Alicia about her husband’s job and the radioactive material that was taken. They wonder if it is valuable, but Alicia dismisses that notion and tells them that the material is very dangerous, toxic, in fact. The material is capable of contributing to bioterrorism.
Alicia becomes even more emotional when she recognizes Stanley’s hands when Bosch asks about the plastic rings he is wearing in the photo. The wife explains that the rings determine the amount of radiation exposure.
Bosch is up against the biggest case of his career when the city he loves comes under attack. The new season of #BoschAmazon arrives April 17 on @PrimeVideo. pic.twitter.com/S6xaPbuMgk
— Bosch (@BoschAmazon) March 17, 2020
The Feds: Brenner, Maxwell and Reece
As J. Edgar and Harry leave the Kent house, they spy the Feds rolling up in their black SUVs. Special Agent in Charge Jack Brenner introduces himself and his fellow agents, Maxwell and Reece.
Agent Maxwell reveals that Stanley Kent has been on a watch list. He also says that the cesium cannot be sniffed out if it is still in the pig.
The two groups pledge to collaborate with one another, but we get the feeling it is easier said than done. Bosch chooses not to tell the agents about the “308” tattoo.
Agent Reece brings up Harry’s “checkered past” with the FBI when he got involved with solving Eleanor’s murder. Bosch stands by his actions.
Later, Bosch is displeased when Agent Maxwell fails to inform him that Mrs. Kent has since been taken to a safe house. Agent Maxwell also comments favorably on Eleanor and tells Bosch he had worked with her.
Undercover: Detective “Barrel” Johnson
Bosch and J. Edgar tie the “308” tattoo to a sovereign citizens group with the help of Capt. McCurdy from Major Crimes. Harry sends Barrel to a local barbecue where the sovereigns may be recruiting.
A gentleman approaches Barrel with literature about the 308 group. The man asks Barrel a few questions to authenticate his interest in the group. Bosch has prepared Barrel with the name of a sovereign citizen who is now incarcerated. Barrel passes the test and accepts the literature along with the name of a tavern the man shares.
Barrel gives the literature to Bosch when he pulls up alongside Barrel as he leaves the park.
If Maddie has learned one thing from Bosch, it's to look for what's not there. #BoschAmazon pic.twitter.com/gOw5TryCVc
— Bosch (@BoschAmazon) March 31, 2020
The Boyfriend: Antonio, pediatric nurse at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles
Maddie is working as an intern with Honey Chandler. You may recall that Honey proposed this very arrangement at dinner with Harry last season. Honey gives Maddie an assignment reviewing a wrongful incarceration case.
Maddie later leaves to meet up with her boyfriend Antonio who is a nurse at Los Angeles Children’s Hospital. Antonio cannot get away from work to have dinner with Maddie. He gladly accepts the latte she brings him, though. Antonio explains that he has had an intense day. He currently has a young patient recovering from a skull fracture.
Antonio also shares that the entire hospital staff is on call. He’s heard the same thing is also happening at Cedars-Sinai where a friend works.
Dirty Cops: Marcos and Arias
In Bosch season 6, Edgar is hot on the trail of dirty cops Marcos and Arias who he believes were involved with the death of Jerry’s CI Gary Wise in season 5. Jerry has learned that the detectives have an association with Jacques Avril who has a violent past in his native Haiti. Avril admitted last season that his father killed Jerry’s uncle Antoine Hector.
Marcos and Arias appear to be involved in illegal gun trade using their access as police. J. Edgar is working with Lochner from Internal Affairs to keep the two detectives under surveillance. They are trying to catch them seizing guns without booking them into police custody. They think they are close when they see Marcos and Arias handcuff two guys and take the guns and cash the men are carrying.
When it is safe, Jerry leaves to join Bosch on the Kent case. He later learns that Marcos and Arias did book the guns and the cash. Jerry worries that the dirty detectives are privy to the surveillance. Marcos appeared to be eyeing the surveillance vehicle earlier in the day.
Irving's first concern is for his citizens, not his campaign. #BoschAmazon pic.twitter.com/nLeMReYe4J
— Bosch (@BoschAmazon) April 6, 2020
Mayoral Candidate: Police Chief Irvin Irving
Chief Irving continues to pursue his run for Mayor of Los Angeles. He and Jen Kowski go to the Pacific Dining Car restaurant where Jen introduces Irving to campaign fundraiser Ray Thacker. Thacker worked on Mayor Ramos’ campaigns.
Irving suggests he does not need a fundraiser on staff. Thacker and Ms. Kowski both disagree. Thacker tells him about a local car dealer Jack Killoran who is self-funded and joining the race with a strong presence in the Valley. He also mentions candidate Susanna Lopez who appears to have East L.A. covered. Thacker believes Irving and Lopez will split the votes in South L.A., which leaves the West side as the key demographic for winning the mayoral race.
Thacker insists that funding is crucial to winning the race. He also reminds Irving that Lopez and Killoran both have more money backing them. Irving points out that the other two candidates also have lighter skin tones.
Jen and Irving leave the restaurant. Ms. Kowski implores Irving to hire Thacker before someone else does. Irving agrees but insists that Thacker be paid well. He does not want to be “beholden” to anyone.
Murdered Cops: Marcos and Arias
Marcos and Arias meet with two Jamaican men and explain that they need to hold off on their arrangement for a little while “until things cool down”. When the men ask how much exposure there is, Arias insists that there is zero exposure. The two men doubt him and walk out of the restaurant. We see Gary Wise’s dad, Dwight, doing his own surveillance of the detectives.
Later that night, Arias waits for Marcos outside a convenience market. Marcos returns saying “the count was off”. As they try to drive off, the two Jamaican men they met with earlier walk up alongside the car and shoot the detectives point blank.
Detectives are called to the scene. J. Edgar arrives with RHD detective Joan Bennett. Lochner from Internal Affairs is also there. Jerry asks about witnesses. Lochner tells him there were many witnesses but they will not talk.
In other news:
- The episode opens with Bosch reviewing old field interview cards from the Daisy Clayton case.
- Interestingly, a neighbor tells Bosch and Edgar that she saw a parked car with a strange paper license plate in the Kent’s neighborhood the night of Stanley’s murder. Sovereigns have been known to make their own car tags defying the laws regarding vehicle registration, taxation and drivers licenses among others. Bosch tells J. Edgar that the “308” sovereigns “believe invoking section 308 of the UCC exempts them from local, state and federal law . . . Anything that’s not English common law, they reject. They’re exempt.”
- We recall that the overlook is the first place we saw Pierce and Bosch together in season 1. Bosch remembers the victim’s name, Linda Foster, another reminder that every victim counts.
- Pierce is telling Vega about the original encounter with Bosch at the overlook and how, surprisingly, Harry moved Linda Foster’s body. Lt. Billets encounters them in the break room. Grace praises them for the work on their body parts case before they go to court. Billets straightens Pierce’s collar and compliments Vega while touching her arm. Grace leaves and Vega expresses her displeasure with Billets being so “touchy feely” as well as Pierce calling her Billet’s favorite. The captain walks in and asks who is “touchy feely”. Vega reacts quickly and says she’s talking about her cousin.
- We are introduced to three men and a female who are marking locations on a map. The woman, named Heather, tells the pinner not to forget Riverside. Heather then throws some shade at the man named Craver. We get the feeling these people are associated with the sovereigns.
- Jun tells Irvin that she is pregnant and it’s a boy. The chief is caught off guard and talks about his age, but he is clearly touched when he learns it’s a boy. He immediately tells Jun she should leave town for her and the baby’s safety since there is a potential biohazard threat in Los Angeles.
- Wait, are J. Edgar and RHD detective Joan Bennett on a date? I’m not sure, but we all know I’m still hoping for Jerry and LaTonya to reunite permanently.
Come back after Bosch season 6 episode 2 for more investigation!