Amazon Prime Video UK TV review: Bosch Season 2 (Episodes 1 to 5)
Review Overview
Bish
8Bash
6Bosch
10Neil Brazier | On 09, Mar 2016
Read our interview with lead actor Titus Welliver.
Six months after the events of Season 1 and Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) is back at the LAPD with more murder to solve. Amazon’s detective show hasn’t lost any of its gritty realism; it drips in neo-noir flavours, dancing along to its jazz-inspired soundtrack. Flowing seamlessly together, the episodes don’t restrict the storytelling, but develop a narrative that thrives upon video on-demand: Bosch is best binged.
Season 2 draws from three of Michael Connelly’s novels, with the first five episodes focusing mostly on Trunk Music and The Drop, and one thread from The Last Coyote surely to be tugged at in the latter half of the season. When the body of a Hollywood producer with ties to the mob surfaces in the trunk of an abandoned car, Harry’s investigation takes him to Las Vegas, which gives him an opportunity to reconnect with his family. Bosch’s post-traumatic stress and rule-breaking personality were explored deeply in the first season; in this second outing, we get to see a different side of Harry and the relationships he forges.
With Eleanor Wish’s (Sarah Clarke) second husband, Reggie, out of town, Harry finds himself slotting back in as the dominant male figure in his family. Although his daughter, Maddie (Madison Lintz), is keen to spend more time with him, their scenes together are short or shared over Skype. It’s evident, however, that Harry’s love for his estranged family hasn’t waned and it’s put to the test when they become embroiled in one of his cases. The incident is over almost as quickly as it begins, but the determination and aggression exerted by Bosch make up for it.
Family themes continue in the season’s other plot. Deputy Chief Inspector Irvin Irving (Lance Reddick) is being sought for his endorsement by the next mayoral candidates, yet he is far more concerned for his son, George (Robbie Jones), who, after making a mistake on the beat and thought to be in a desk job by his mother, is really helping Internal Affairs crack down on some of the department’s crooked cops. While Bosch has a healthy relationship with his family, the Irving’s use each other to help better their positions with George, desperate to escape the pressure of living in his father’s shadow, at any cost.
Bosch doesn’t rely on high-octane action to draw attention, even though Harry’s first case back on the job does see him chase a man through the LA suburbs. Instead, it is the beautiful, realistic feel of LA drama and the tight storytelling that intrigues and that can be attributed to the books’ author. Connelly has won many awards for his novels, The Last Coyote bagging the Dilys Award in 1996 from the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. Michael returns in Season 2 alongside Eric Overmyer as executive producer, the pair continuing their partnership and using the streaming format to their advantage. When one episode ends, it isn’t with a cliffhanger, the music doesn’t blast in; instead, each episode subtly uses the closing credits for us to reflect, before flowing into the next.
The narrative’s slow burn caused Season 1 to dip in its second half, but Season 2 has so far struck the right balance; this opening batch is a welcome return into Harry’s world and the LAPD, weaving the tapestry so that by Episode 5, the picture is coming together, yet doesn’t give so much information that further episodes would wane. With Season 1 of Bosch becoming the top-watched title within its first four weeks of airing, expect an announcement of a third season in the near future.
All episodes of Bosch: Season 2 are available to watch exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, as part of a £5.99 monthly subscription. For more on the show, read our reviews of Season 1 here.