Spoilers are ahead for Bosch: Legacy season 2's ending.

Summary

  • Bosch: Legacy season 2 ends with a shocking twist: Bosch may have orchestrated the death of his daughter's kidnapper, setting up a much darker season 3.
  • The abduction of Bosch's daughter and his quest to rescue her leads to a partnership with defense attorney Chandler, and together they uncover the identity of the kidnapper.
  • The implications of Bosch's actions and the unanswered questions surrounding Dockweiler's death will make season 3 of Bosch: Legacy even more personal and unsettling.

There's no doubt about it: Bosch: Legacy season 2's ending tease sets up a much darker season 3 for its titular character. A sequel to the Amazon Prime Video series Bosch, the beloved police procedural adapts one of Michael Connelly's best-known novel series. In addition to penning works about Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch, a renowned detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, Connelly also created criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller — the lead in Netflix's The Lincoln Lawyer. In the Bosch sequel series, Legacy, Titus Welliver reprises his role as the eponymous character. Prior to its second-season premiere on Amazon Freevee, Bosch: Legacy was renewed for a third outing.

Based on the eighteenth and nineteenth books in Connelly's series, Bosch: Legacy season 2's cast of characters returns to solve Maddie Bosch's (Madison Lintz) season-one cliffhanger kidnapping. The abduction of his daughter, who's a rookie cop with the LAPD, prompts Bosch to yet again forces with high-powered defense attorney Honey "Money" Chandler (Mimi Rogers). In season 2's first episode, a flashback reveals that Maddie was attacked and taken by the Screen Cutter — who is none other than city inspector Kurt Dockweiler (Will Chase). In the present, a frustrated Bosch takes matters into his own hands when the officers in Maddie's case don't provide any promising leads.

Bosch: Legacy Season 3 Will Be Darker After Season 2's Dockweiler Death

Will Chase looks upset as Kurt Dockweiler in Bosch: Legacy

In Bosch: Legacy season 2's premiere episode, "The Lady Vanishes," Dockweiler drugs Maddie and buries her alive in a coffin in the California desert. By the end of the episode, Bosch and the other detectives have figured out that Dockweiler is the Screen Cutter, and Maddie's abductor. Once he's captured, Dockweiler refuses to tell them where Maddie is without a lawyer present, hoping he can trade information on the rookie cop for immunity. After interrogating Dockweiler for information, and doing some top-notch sleuthing, the team discover Maddie's location and rescue her from a would-be tomb. Asked to give a statement at Dockweiler's sentencing, Maddie grapples with what happened.

While Bosch: Legacy is essentially Bosch season 8, its titular character is no longer a cop, which changes up the formula.

At Dockweiler's sentencing, Maddie condemns her kidnapper (and almost-killer). Clearly still unnerved, Maddie is even more shocked to hear that Dockweiler won't be brought to justice, as he's been murdered in prison. Interestingly, Bosch tells his daughter to let it go and move on from whatever outcome she'd expected. Later, Maddie answers her father's phone and an inmate from Dockweiler's former prison tells her that he has, "taken care of it." The implication, of course, is that Bosch arranged for the caller, Preston Borders, to kill Dockweiler. Even Maddie seems pretty convinced that her father would put Dockweiler's murder into motion ahead of Bosch: Legacy season 3.

Why A Darker Story Will Work For Bosch: Legacy Season 3

Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch aims a gun in Bosch: Legacy.

Bosch: Legacy season 2's ending concludes with Maddie asking Bosch what he's done. No matter how the chips fall, the implication that Bosch orchestrated Dockweiler's death sets up a much darker Bosch: Legacy season 3. There are two possible outcomes: Harry Bosch arranged for the murder of his daughter's kidnapper — or he's being framed by someone. Either way, it's an incredibly dark twist that makes the third season even more personal — and unsettling — than the last. Bosch: Legacy would actually benefit from putting its grumpy detective at the center of a conspiracy. After all, the long-running procedural franchise needs to keep its stories novel and engrossing.