The truth about Whitney Vance's death finally comes to light. Maddie helps with a major break in the Screen Cutter case. Chandler builds her best case against the LAPD.
Many characters in this world have been threatened on numerous occasions. Their lives are put in danger similarly every season. That's a hallmark that's continued on the spinoff focusing on the same characters. It can be a bit tedious and reductive to watch. It's certainly one way to escalate the danger as the season reaches its climax. All the various threads are coming together. Each development has meaningful progress here. Bosch solves Whitney Vance's murder. Maddie collects a crucial piece of evidence in the Screen Cutter case. Mo surveils the most likely suspect who killed the beloved doctor. Chandler builds her case against the LAPD. And yet, Bosch and Maddie are being monitored. That's nothing new for Bosch. He has already endured a season of people following him. He knew exactly who ordered it as well. David Creighton made the call. He did so to secure his business interests. He needed to keep a client happy. This penultimate episode shows he is willing to do whatever it takes. He will hire an assassin to ensure nothing compromises this financial windfall. That immediately creates danger. It's scary as Vance's living heirs are forced to run for their lives. Bosch's presence may save them. He's a bystander to these events. He's not the one dictating the terms or forcing things into happening. He was hired to do a job. Vance kept adding more to his plate. Part of that came from respect for the way Bosch conducted himself. Part of it was also Bosch's determination to do what's right. He knows the danger people are in. He will drop everything to save them from the most dire outcome. It's all left up-in-the-air though. Bosch may get there in time to stop the woman hired to eliminate these threats. It's still an experience that proves how cynical and controlling the people of this business can be. Bosch operates with power as the executor of Vance's estate. And yet, that document has now been tainted with the revelation that Ida forged it to secure her own financial future. She needed to do so in order to be rewarded for her four decades of service. She believed Vance always appreciated her. That mentality only extended so far. To earn what she believed she deserved, she had to kill. Nothing can stand in the way of receiving this life-changing amount of money. It simply also compromised what Vance wanted to happen after his death. He spent this season preparing for that inevitability. His choice was taken away from him. Instead, he too became nothing but a pawn for those seeking to control the interests that dominated his world. That's all that this has amounted to. People vying for control. Meanwhile, that choice is even being taken away from Bosch - as evidenced in him deciding whether or not to sell his astonishing house in the hills.
Change is inevitable. However, so many echoes from the past dominate as well. Chandler tells her therapist about the dreams she's having. They amplify her guilt. She is still telling a story. She doesn't know what happened to Carl Rogers. She wants to be the one to kill him. Her quest for vengeance went unfulfilled. Other powerful players had different ideas in mind. And so, the outcome was different than what she expected. She witnessed it firsthand. And now, she has to pretend not to know the truth. It weighs on her psyche. She can only ever discuss it with Bosch. Even then, the two are mostly about business. They each have the cases they are working on. Chandler's pursuit against the LAPD has valid concerns. It isn't a perfect case. She has been down this road many times before. She even once saw Bosch as a rogue cop who was dangerous on the job. They now rely on each other so much. Whenever Bosch needs a representative of the law, he involves Chandler. That can't help him in every scenario. It's enough to get a confession from Ida. It's enough to hunt down the true killer of the beloved doctor. Bosch and Chandler are solving the cases that should be a priority for the local police. They aren't even appreciated for their work. Instead, they simply have to find personal satisfaction in what they did. It has been fulfilling for a long time. And yet, they have to evolve as well. The world isn't always going to function the way it always has or how they expect it to. They try their best to maintain that control. Maddie may still be on the receiving end of danger simply because she does her job. She has earned the respect of her partner over the course of the season. Maddie still yearns to do more. That amounts to asking questions of her father about how the Screen Cutter case should be investigated. Maddie follows her instincts. She also keeps in touch with the victims. She may get their hopes up when she knows the evidence collected may not be enough to link the various crimes. Maddie can see more of the big picture. However, she's just a cog in a system. One that wanted to punish her and Vasquez for asking pertinent questions. It's not glamorous to dig through trash. It leads to a meaningful discovery. Maddie also just happened to call the man who has committed these rapes. He has now become obsessed with her. That threat lingers even though it hasn't been a huge priority across the narrative. That proves how everything must be seen with importance. Every single action taken is demonstrative of someone's behavior and worldview. It's always evolving. That's to the benefit of all usually. It also creates plenty of danger heading into the finale.
