Final Episode of ‘Bosch: Legacy’ Season 3: Ballard Joins the Team

Watching Episode 10 of Bosch: Legacy – the Season 3 and series finale – had us contemplating beginnings rather than endings. DA Honey Chandler’s journey is far from over. Despite having Jimmy Robertson’s true killer in sight, Chief Hughes intervened, passing the case against Zorrillo and Garrity to the feds, undermining the DA’s authority. Chandler’s question to the chief hinted at a prolonged battle spanning potential future seasons. Meanwhile, the city councilman, with ulterior motives, seeks to exploit Chandler’s past for leverage. However, with the show’s sudden cancellation, these storylines are left unresolved.

Or maybe they’ll be a part of a Bosch Universe beginning. 

The climax of Legacy‘s Season 3 finale introduces Harry to Robbery Homicide detective Renée Ballard, portrayed flawlessly by Maggie Q. Despite skepticism from LAPD hardliners like Captain Seals, Harry and Ballard discover a compatible investigative partnership. Flashing back to Bosch’s earlier years, viewers are reminded of his pursuit of the infamous Flower Girls killer. The renewed investigation, triggered by a recent matching murder, initiates Ballard’s collaboration with Bosch. Their synchronized approach unveils a seamless teamwork dynamic, emphasizing their shared dedication to solving cases.

Amidst challenges from bureaucratic figures and Harry’s unique tactics, Ballard and Bosch establish a compelling professional bond that could have thrived in future seasons of Legacy. Their mutual dedication to uncovering truth is evident in their harmonious teamwork. Despite the hurdles they face, including opposition from superiors and Bosch’s unconventional methods, their collaboration promises a fruitful continuation that was unfortunately cut short with the show’s unexpected end.

The Ballard-focused Bosch Universe spinoff is casting up, and will itself focus on LA cold cases, just like the Flower Girl murders. So this Legacy finale could just roll events right into the new series. That’s how it was when Bosch ended. But in the meantime, Bosch and Ballard still have to catch the current cold case killer. And they catch a big break courtesy of Maddie, who notices in the files the repeating name of an LAFD paramedic, Jeremy McKee (Owain Yeoman). (This scene is also the last notable time we see Maddie in Legacy, so make sure to savor it, Madison Lintz heads.) McKee had access to the murder books at Hollywood Station. He had access to the crime scenes. He moved away from LA for 10 years, and the murders stopped. He is their guy, and Ballard and Bosch and Bosch’s team move in for the grab. 

They catch him in the act. A woman, his latest victim, barrierized by McKee in her home, after he used his official position to gain access. And while Ballard frees her from her bonds, Bosch pulls McKee down from the window where he tried to escape. This would be the ideal place for Harry to go Other Mode on a mass-murderer. He feels the rage, the retribution, boiling up inside. But within himself, and with respect to a word from Ballard, Bosch chooses not to then-and-there kill the killer. Perhaps it’s part of the same restraint he showed in episode 9 when, remembering his promise to Maddie, he paused on the cusp of being Finbar McShane’s judge, jury, and executioner.

With McKee, the Flower Girl killer, apprehended, Ballard and Bosch appear for a debrief before Honey Chandler. With the murderer named and his weapon in hand, she will prosecute the case. Well, we assume. Because we won’t see it, at least not in this series. Walking in the plaza outside LA County Courthouse, Renée and Harry share a nice moment of mutual acknowledgement. Their mantras aligned, and justice was done. They dug down. And in the end, they made everybody count. There is still that residue within him, though, which a veteran detective like Renée recognizes. “This work,” she says, “you go into the darkness. And I think some of that darkness has gotten into you.” 

Will darkness continue to be their old friend? Any major dude will tell you that as much as Hieronymous “Harry” Bosch loves old records, he loves ruminating on the dark and the grey and the spaces in between even more. As Bosch: Legacy ends, we like to think he’ll be up there in his cool cantilever spot in the Hills, overlooking Los Angeles and its people, who he swore to protect and do right by. And who knows, maybe he shows up in the Ballard-branded spinoff, the next iteration of the Bosch Universe. After all, that’s how it is in Michael Connelly’s books. “You do good work, Renée,” Bosch says as the camera pulls back. “Maybe somewhere down the line we’ll get to work together again.”

Johnny Loftus (@johnnyloftus.bsky.social) is a Chicago-based writer. A veteran of the alternative weekly trenches, his work has also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, The All Music Guide, and The Village Voice.