Warning! This post contains spoilers for Cross season 1.

Warning! This article contains mentions murder, abuse, and suicide.

After walking through the titular character's personal struggles and gripping crime-solving endeavors, Based on James Patterson's Alex Cross books, Cross is another addition to Amazon Prime Video's catalog of compelling "dad books" adaptations. The show begins on a grim note, where Alex Cross loses his wife after she mysteriously gets murdered by someone.

With what follows, Cross not only struggles to talk about his wife's tragic demise with his children but also finds himself dealing with the case of a dangerous serial killer. While gradually realizing that his wife's killer is still stalking him and his family, Aldis Hodge's Alex Cross races against time to track down a serial killer who is about to end his spree of murders with one last kill. Realizing it is his last opportunity to catch the killer, Cross puts his deductive skills on full display and gradually unravels the tapestry surrounding the killer's motives.

Why The Police Department Burned Ed Ramsey's Scrapbook In Cross' Ending

The Police Refused To Give Ramsey What He Wanted

Although Ed Ramsey seems to have many tricks up his sleeves to complete his mission of killing 12 people, Alex Cross somehow stays one step ahead of him towards the end and catches him before he murders his final victim, Shannon. In Cross season 1's ending moments, Alex Cross and his team of police detectives seem to have all the evidence to convict Ramsey of killing 11 people and attempting to murder Shannon. However, they realize it is exactly what he wants. Even though Ramsey fails to complete his mission of killing 12 people, he celebrates that he will be ed as an iconic serial killer.

He believes he has done enough to be ed as one of the most ruthless serial killers in history and hopes to become as famous as the serial killers he worships through his scrapbook and murders. Realizing that they cannot give him what he wants, the police force tortures him by burning his scrapbook that has evidence of all of his crimes. They even show him the live video in which John Sampson burns his scrapbook to ashes, reminding him how his carefully constructed legacy of violence is being reduced to nothing. With this, they give him the worst punishment he can imagine.

Kayla's Deal With Bobby In Cross' Mid-Credits Scene Explained

Kayla Strikes A Deal That Benefits Her And Bobby

Alex Cross and his team realize that the families of Ed Ramsey's victims would want answers to what happened to their loved ones. Therefore, after burning Ramsey's scrapbook, they send Kayla to convince Bobby Trey to confess to Ramsey's crimes. Bobby Trey, who was previously a DC cop, finds himself cornered because he helped Ed Ramsey and was expected to get a little over a million dollars from the killer. Kayla also assures him that Cross will eventually find proof of all the two murders he committed while working for Ed Ramsey.

James Patterson's Alex Cross received a movie adaptation in 1997, titled Kiss the Girls, which starred Morgan Freeman as Alex Cross. The film also spawned a sequel, Along Came a Spider, and a reboot, Alex Cross, which starred Tyler Perry as the titular character.

She tells him that if he provides them with the information surrounding at least six of Ramsey's victims, they would have enough evidence to frame him as the "Fanboy" killer. In return, he would have to serve a 24-month sentence and also get full immunity. When he accepts the offer, Kayla extends it by reminding him that he might need some financial backing when he comes out of prison. She tells him that if he can get her access to all the dirt Ramsey had on influential people, she could get him paid a hefty sum. Although apprehensive at first, Bobby seems to accept Kayla's final offer.

Why Ed Ramsey Made His Victims Look Like Famous Serial Killers Before Murdering Them

Ed Ramsey Perceived Himself As An Artist

Alex Cross and the police department label the central serial killer as the "Fanboy" killer because he seems to have a strange obsession with making his victims look exactly like renowned serial killers. He not only makes them look like famous serial killers before murdering them but also feeds them the same meals they were served before they died. He tries to recreate the final moments of the killers' lives down to the smallest details, establishing how much he looks up to them.

On the surface, he does this because he sees himself as an artist and appreciates how all the killers he worships embraced the darkness of death instead of shying away from it. However, on a deeper level, his obsession with killing seems to reflect a darker secret from his childhood. As Alex Cross deduces, Ramsey's need for attention stems from his childhood days when his mother gradually became emotionally distant from him after his sister's death. To get his mother's attention, he started by killing birds in his neighborhood.

With time, he not only started seeing himself as a mere follower, but as an artist in his own right — someone who could play god and control life and death in a way that would etch his name in history.

The older he grew, the more his obsession with seeking attention and killing got worse. Therefore, in a final pursuit to be ed as a renowned killer, he created an intricate process that involved carefully selecting his victims through dating apps based on their similarities to the infamous killers he idolized. With time, he not only started seeing himself as a mere follower but as an artist in his own right — someone who could play god and control life and death in a way that would etch his name in history.

Why Peter & Miss Nancy Targeted Alex Cross And His Family

Peter & Miss Nancy Wanted Revenge

In its opening moments, Cross season 1's episode 4 features a flashback in which a young woman, Dierdre, was accused of ruthlessly murdering a man. Alex Cross was also called to the witness chair, where he said that the defendant showed all signs of a "psychopathic personality," making her incapable of reentering society. Owing to Cross' statements in court, Dierdre was sentenced to life in prison even though she had a clean record before the murder. Soon after being imprisoned, Dierdre died by suicide because she was abused behind bars.

Cross season 1's ending arc reveals that a man named Peter loved Dierdre and even visited her in prison. When Cross meets Peter's case manager, he learns that Peter and Dierdre often visited her with their "street mother." Towards the end of the season, Cross learns that his son's new piano teacher, Miss Nancy, is Peter and Dierdre's "street mother" and has been visiting his home to formulate her revenge plan. After tricking Alex into making his children stay at her secluded cabin, Miss Nancy sets out to execute her final revenge plan which involves giving Alex a dire choice.

After Peter murdered a man, Nancy convinced Dierdre to take the blame, believing that a young white woman with a clean record would be tried less severely compared to someone like Peter.

Since she believes her "daughter" Dierdre died because of Cross' testimony in court, she asks Cross to kill one of his own children. However, Cross exposes her by telling Peter that Dierdre was arrested because of her. After Peter murdered a man, Nancy convinced Dierdre to take the blame, believing that a young white woman with a clean record would be tried less severely compared to someone like Peter. But when Cross' confession got her a life sentence, and she died by suicide in prison, Peter and Miss Nancy started blaming Cross and even killed his wife.

Why Miss Nancy Died By Suicide In Cross' Finale

Miss Nancy Realized Where She Went Wrong

After failing to execute her plan, Miss Nancy dies by suicide in Cross season 1's final moments. She seemingly does this because, deep inside, she realizes Dierdre's imprisonment was her fault. As much as she wanted to blame Cross for Dierdre's demise, she always knew that she had convinced Dierdre to take the fall for Peter's crimes. Even when she asked Peter to murder Cross' wife and tried to harm his children, her actions were driven more by guilt than anger. Therefore, she decided to die by suicide after finally accepting what she had done.

The Real Reason Why Cross Assaulted An Innocent Man Explained

Cross' Grief & Guilt Got The Best Of Him

Although Cross proves to be a brilliant investigator, he, too, makes a grave mistake in season 1. He assaults a man in broad daylight after his wife's murder at the Union Market because the man was the only employee there with a violent crime on his record. Before killing Alex's wife, the killer, Peter, even used the employee's badge. This further convinced Cross that the employee, who was absent from work that day and had reported his badge missing, killed his wife or knew something about her murder.

Out of sheer anger towards his inability to protect his wife, Cross assaulted the employee. However, he gradually learned that the employee had nothing to do with the crime. In Cross season 1's final moments, the titular character meets the employee and apologizes for his behavior. The employee, too, forgives him and drops all charges against him.

How Cross Season 1's Ending Sets Up Season 2

Cross Season 2 Has Already Been Renewed

Cross was renewed for season 2 before its season 1 landed on Amazon Prime Video. This is not surprising since season 1 sets up another installment in more ways than one. For instance, it features a scene where Alex Cross worries about how many of Ed Ramsey's followers, who helped him get away with his crimes, might still be out there. In the show's second installment, Cross could find himself in the crosshairs of many other influential people after getting Ramsey arrested.

Cross series' creator, Ben Watkins, has revealed that the show's season 2 has already been filmed.

The thrilling detective series on Amazon also features a mid-credits scene which confirms that Bobby Trey has dirt on many influential people after working under Ed Ramsey. Bobby will end up in prison, but as the scene suggests, he might share the information he has with Kayla Craig. Since Cross season 1 hints that Kayla Craig might be related to the original novels' iconic villain, Kyle Craig, she could use the newfound information to manipulate powerful people and harm Alex Cross in season 2.