[Spoilers ahead for episode 1 “The Lady Vanishes”]
Episode 1 of season 2 picks up where season 1 left off, with Bosch (Titus Welliver) discovering that his daughter Maddie (Madison Lintz) has disappeared. Bosch learns that the perpetrator is most likely a criminal nicknamed the “screen cutter” and he decides to search for her on his own while Detective Jerry Edgar (Jamie Hector) and Officer Reyna Vasquez (Denise G. Sanchez) conduct their own investigations. As the episode progresses, Bosch gets a call from the coroner’s office, letting him know that they found a body that matches his daughter’s physical description. Bosch heads down and is relieved to find out that the body isn’t his daughter’s.
Bosch then goes to see Honey (Mimi Rogers), who reveals that she saw a suspicious man near Maddie’s house the night before she was kidnapped. Bosch contacts Jerry and tells him to set up a meeting between Honey and a composite sketch artist. Jerry agrees to do so. Soon after, Jerry and another officer investigate the house of a potential suspect, a city inspector named Dockweiler (David Denman), and discover cigarette buds near the house, which Jerry seems suspicious of given that the “screen cutter” was known for smelling like cigarette smoke.
Bosch hears that Dockweiler is the main suspect and convinces Jerry to send him Dockweiler’s address. Bosch breaks into Dockweiler’s home but Dockweiler is able to slip out undetected. Bosch manages to sneak out before the police arrive, though he’s no closer to finding Maddie.
The episode moves at a quick pace and creates a sense of overarching tension due to Bosch’s desperation to find his daughter. Titus Welliver also delivers a strong performance in particular, as he’s able to convincingly showcase the pain and terror that a parent of a kidnapped child would suffer from. Despite these positive aspects, the episode is unable to create a true sense of satisfaction for the viewer as Bosch doesn’t get closer to his goal through his own actions. Rather, it’s mostly the work of secondary characters, namely Jerry and Maurice (Stephen A. Chang), that Bosch is able to move closer to finding Maddie.
Rating: 6/10