Even though the majority of the plot threads of the final season of Bosch: Legacy get wrapped up in its penultimate episode, from the looks of it, it becomes abundantly clear that the story will continue even after the series ends—making way for the proposed Ballard spin-off. Previously, Bosch and Detective Lopez were able to find out the El Fuerto cartel’s link with Detective Robertson’s murder, and the killer, cartel general Humberto Zorrillo, aka the Pope, almost crossed paths with the mercurial PI before deciding to retreat. Vasquez chose her professional responsibility over family ties and, with Maddie’s help, assisted LAPD to nab her cousin Albert and Victoria, whereas Nestor was shot dead by the police. After learning that formerly McShane took help from Jurgens to escape federal investigation, Bosch approaches his army buddy Gurbizs to nab the crook who murdered the entire Gallagher family. On the other hand, Councilman Patrick Curry, who might be aware of Chandler’s ongoing secretive investigation on him, met with her to propose a truce of sorts.
Spoilers Ahead
Was Humberto caught?
The episode begins with Humberto paying a visit to LA County Deputy Sheriff Garritty’s place, as he believes the veteran cop has ratted him out. However, as revealed in the previous episode, Garritty had put a tracker inside Humberto’s car, which allows him to track his movement and escape to the house opposite to him just before the cartel enforcer arrives and infiltrates his house. Garritty returns to his house after Humberto leaves, only to find Bosch holding him at gunpoint. After all, Bosch had tricked Garritty into sending Humberto to the ambush, thereby revealing himself to be in cahoots with the cartel enforcer. Bosch manages to persuade Garritty to cut a deal with authorities and give up Humberto for his own safety, as otherwise it’s only a matter of time till the cartel tracks him down and kills him for betrayal.
Bosch hands Garrity over to Chandler, and the crooked deputy sheriff agrees to divulge information in exchange for protective custody. Garrity reveals that it was he who sent Robertson to the rendezvous where Humberto murdered him, and Perra was made a patsy for the crime. Following the location of Garrity’s tracker, LAPD collaborates with DEA to capture Humberto with ease. However, despite Bosch and Chandler handling the majority of the investigation and revealing the truth, it appears the shameless LAPD is all about stealing others credit. LAPD, led by Chief Hughes, who clearly holds a grudge against Chandler, has handed over the prosecution responsibilities to the feds by taking the matter to the DEA. Which serves as a clear indication to the public that the LAPD has little to no trust in DA Chandler’s capabilities. Chandler will have to find a way to work with such bent elements of the system, who prioritize evening scores instead of serving the people.
Vasquez Needs To Sort Out Her Family Issues
Meanwhile, following Albert’s incarceration, Reina’s elder sister Mari has been avoiding her constantly, as if it was her fault that her son got caught for follow-home robbery cases. As Vasquez meets her cousin in captivity, she learns that in order to afford a good lawyer for him, Mari might need to put their house on mortgage. Vasquez advises Albert to cut a deal with the cops to lessen his sentence and decides to pay Mari a visit to have a proper conversation with her. However, a guilt-ridden, ashamed Mari isn’t ready to have an honest conversation as she continues to blame Vasquez for what happened, for not sharing the details of the investigation with her, and initiates other baseless arguments in her agonized state of mind. Mari plans to leave the house for good and refuses to reconcile with her sister anytime soon. The family tension takes a toll on Reina, and giving in to her anger, she gets involved in a senseless bar fight with a bunch of brats in Maddie’s presence. It’s sad to see Vasquez, who often appeared as the wise confidante and counsel to Maddie, acting out on her instincts while going through a family crisis. To get out of this situation, Vasquez will need all the help she can get, and Maddie’s presence in her life will be crucial in that context.
Chandler vs. Councilman Takes a Dramatic Turn
Patrick Curry is seen bringing one of his recent flings into one of his apartments, and as usual, his malicious tendencies creep up as the councilman injects his date with drugs and overdoses him. Fearing repercussions, Curry flees from the apartment, not before a woman walking her dog gets a look at his anxious, scared face and calls 911 by assessing possible danger. Incidentally, Maddie and Vasquez apprehend the situation and inform the medic just in time for Curry’s date to live another day.
To cover up his dirty secrets, Curry had employed a detective/PI, who meets with him later to inform him that the situation will be handled appropriately. Also, Curry used an alias, which means even if his date reveals his dastardly actions to the authorities, it will not pose any danger to the councilman. Also, the PI shares a file with Curry, which contains private, intimate details of Chandler’s conversation with her psychiatrist, which gives Curry a leg up in the upcoming conflict with the DA. Sooner or later, Chandler will learn about this particular incident of forcible overdose, and given the fact that she is aware of Curry’s MO, she will be able to connect the dots. But the threat of having her own secrets exposed will definitely put the ace lawyer in a tough spot—which makes this upcoming clash a pretty interesting one.
Did Bosch Kill McShane?
Meanwhile, Bosch and Gurbizs manage to pressurize Jurgens to reveal that he has sent McShane to be transported to Tecate, Mexico, in order to escape from the authorities. As Mo, Bosch, and Gurbizs plan on extracting McShane, Maddie learns about the situation and pleads with Bosch to bring McShane alive and hand him over to the authorities for proper legal proceedings. Knowing her father’s past actions of using extrajudicial methods with criminals whom he deemed to be deserving of death, and also the fact that Bosch is desperate to avenge the Gallagher family, Maddie doesn’t want Bosch to go down the dark, violent path ever again. Bosch doesn’t promise anything to Maddie, and she approaches Gurbizs to plead not to let Bosch act on his instincts.
Reaching Tecate in a private plane, Bosch and Gurbizs visit a local gambling bar to learn the possible whereabouts of McShane. Although the bartender refuses to divulge any intel, one of the teenagers working at the bar informs Bosch about McShane’s location in exchange for cash. The teenager was helping McShane by delivering supplies and vehicles and held a grudge against him for paying low. Funnily enough, McShane got caught simply for being a petty miser.
Things go dicey as Bosch and Gurbizs take McShane captive and drive to the airstrip, as the authorities, in cahoots with local gangs, pour in near McShane’s hideout and airstrip after being informed by the teenager who has decided to double-cross Bosch and co. The pilot of the private plane calls Bosch to remind him that if they arrive with McShane, all of them will be detained by Mexican police on abduction charges, and if that’s the case, he will bail on them right about now. Gurbizs is all for helping his war buddy out, even if it means secretively crossing borders to extract a target, but the chance of being thrown in a foreign prison is where he draws the line. Gurbiz swerves the car and makes a stop to drag McShane outside, as they need to decide his fate to ensure their return trip to the States goes smoothly. McShane tries to trigger Bosch’s negative instincts by taunting him with Siobhan’s relation with him, with harrowing details of how he killed the Gallagher kids, as he wants Bosch to kill him in order to escape lifetime imprisonment for the crimes he has committed. However, till the end, Bosch doesn’t give in to his provocations and refuses to take his life. Bosch will not get his hands dirty to keep his promise to his daughter, but Gurbizs has no such qualms, and he is not the titular protagonist of the show who needs to keep a moral image intact—so he puts an end to McShane by putting a bullet in his head. Needless to say, the team returns to the States safely, but Bosch feels defeated for having let McShane go with ease.
Back at his LA residence, Bosch informs Siobhan about the situation, which finally offers a sense of closure to her. There is a possible connection growing between the two, as before hanging up, Bosch asks her to meet up in case she ever returns to the States. Maddie arrives, and fearing that her father has crossed the line, she questions Bosch about what happened with McShane. Bosch regretfully informs that McShane has been taken down, but for what it’s worth, the murderer didn’t meet his end at Bosch’s hand. Maddie perhaps feels a sense of relief that her father’s moral compass didn’t waver even when it had all the reason to, but in her heart she too knows that McShane, who could have easily dodged legal predicaments of his actions, didn’t deserve to be spared.
