Bosch reaches a dangerous end game in the Vance case. Chandler courts an unlikely ally in her wrongful death suit. Maddie pays the cost of getting too involved with her work.
Bosch is an interesting character because he holds others to higher standards than himself. It's weird because the action so frequently features him calling out the failings of others even though he too engages in questionable behavior. He will close lines if it means closing his cases. That was true when he was a detective. And now, he will do anything to keep his clients safe. It simply becomes strange when the narrative actually points out this dichotomy. Halfway through this finale, the story goes back to 2003 when Bosch is serving in Afghanistan. He questions his superior's willingness to torture because it will likely only produce false intelligence. When the narrative returns to the present, Bosch is threatening to torture Creighton for information about the assassin he hired. All the points Bosch raised in the past about not being able to trust anything said under duress were accurate. Two decades later, he has become the man in charge doing what he wants and refusing to listen to anyone's concerns. Bosch and Maddie have always had a policy of checking in with one another. It's importance is underlined here once more. Maddie tells her father how worried she gets about him when he doesn't return her calls. These two have dangerous jobs. They can never think about that for too long. Otherwise, it will only send them spiraling into anxiety. They try their best to keep each other in the loop. When Bosch embarks on a dangerous mission that could get him killed, he calls Chandler to let someone know something could go wrong in the immediate future. He lets people know vaguely about the situations he's entering. He doesn't pass along detailed information. He tries his best to keep others safe. He carries the personal risk himself. That also has the unfortunate consequence of making the show all about Bosch as the central figure making consequential decisions. Again, that too is continued from the previous show. Here, the focus has been adamantly split between Bosch, Chandler and Maddie. They each have their own storytelling agency. Bosch starts the finale thinking quickly and creatively to save the lives of the Vance heirs. It then pivots to the elaborate stunt he must pull to kill the assassin. As such, it's an action sequence meant to display his prowess in handling a threat. Meanwhile, the resolution that comes afterwards is relatively easy. Old habits die hard. Yet life is transformed for those he helped. He sees the good in what he has done. He is also furious at others for threatening to make life more difficult for the people he cares about.
All of this plays as a return to form with Bosch and Chandler having more animosity towards each other. Bosch is furious that Maddie may be dragged into Chandler's lawsuit against the LAPD. He's not upset with anything Maddie did during the shootout. He wasn't worried about her safety. He trusts the department to take care of her. He wants to protect her the best he can. Chandler targeting her in this way is in direct opposition to what she has always said about her affection for Maddie. Chandler is right back to being the lawyer looking to destroy careers. That's what everyone in the LAPD wants to see her as. She is much more complicated than that. She wants to hold the system accountable when it fails. So many procedures and protocols have been created to ensure the public's civil liberties are protected. Chandler has the evidence to prove a gun was planted. The presence of a weapon was used to open fire into this vehicle and kill the assailant. His girlfriend was a hostage and became collateral damage. The police knew to act carefully. They went in guns blazing nevertheless. That's the mentality that always permeates throughout this organization. And so, Chandler is righteous in defending the rights of those killed by the system. She only needs Maddie for the body cam footage she secured. It's all about the vantage point of the officers. Cameras cover so much ground. It paints damning evidence against the people in charge. Even people within the department want more sweeping changes to occur. They want to hold themselves to a much higher standard. Bosch fought for that for years. He couldn't take it after awhile. He wanted the institution to do better even though he was frequently breaking the ways. He did whatever he wanted. And now, he wants the LAPD to do good police work. He can hand them a case all neatly wrapped up not expecting any glory. It's all in the pursuit of justice. That needs to matter more than anything. His ego can't stand in the way of achieving that. Bosch has a code. He has more freedom as a private investigator. He feels less constrained by the law. He was already a rogue figure though. He never has to be held accountable for his actions either. He simply knows how to work the system and does enough good to counterbalance all the destruction he causes. This is all meant to be seen in a positive light. He's a man of convictions who can't understand Chandler's new tactics. He notices when his daughter goes missing. That's a major cliffhanger. It means not everything is resolved by the close of the season. That's a startling development too. This show loves presenting complexities only to have them all come together by the finale. That's not the case here. Instead, the grind continues. Moreover, Bosch has to quickly move into action to save his daughter as she becomes the Screen Cutter's latest victim. She was simply doing her job by canvassing the neighborhood. That was enough to lure the rapist's attention. He breaks his pattern. Yet everyone has plenty of reasons to be scared for her well being - even though it's mostly about Bosch's reaction upon breaking into her empty apartment.
