After seven seasons, 68 episodes, and about 51 hours of screen time, Amazon’s longest-running original series Bosch has come to an end. The final episode in the eight-episode beloved series, titled “Por Sonia,” was truly one for the fans as viewers got to see Titus Welliver as the titular character, Detective Harry Bosch, finally deliver the criminal he’s been chasing all season. Bosch is an unstoppable rogue force as the series comes to a triumphant close.
In the final episode of the series, Bosch is out for blood after he discovers that Chief Irving (Lance Reddick, The Wire) had cut a deal with the FBI to not charge Mickey Peña (Gino Vento, Sons of Anarchy) with arson and the murder of a ten-year-old girl, Sonia Hernandez. Why would Irving try to cover up something so heinous? Well, he had details about the case that he could use as leverage against the Mayor, therefore winning his second term as Chief. It was a crooked scheme to stay on top that propels Bosch to take matters into his own hands after Irving tells him to stand down.
Bosch knows that if he arrests Peña and presents the proper evidence, the DA legally has to charge him for the murders, so Bosch and his partner Jerry Edgar (Jamie Hector, The Wire) go undercover to sneak into Peña’s restaurant and arrest him. This was an incredible moment for fans to see Bosch and Edgar have one last hoorah together, even if it put both of their careers on the line. For a while, it felt like the fighting and tension between the two that lasted all season was never going to stop, but in the end, it was satisfying to see them make amends by doing what they do best: catching the killer.
However, after they secure Peña, Irving is quick to let him out the LAPD office’s back door and delete the digital copies of the arrest. Good thing Bosch saved hard copies and will bring them to the DA himself. But then things take a terrible turn: while Peña is being escorted out of the LAPD office, he is shot and killed by Sonia Hernandez’s father, and the police kill Hernandez. “Por Sonia,” he whispers as he takes his final breath.
Bosch has had it. This was all Irving’s fault, so he turns in his badge to the Chief and, after twenty-six years, quits the force.
“Bosch, who are you if you don’t have a badge?” asks Irving.
“I’m gonna find out,” says Bosch.
Now, the door is wide open for Bosch. While the reasoning behind him quitting the force was rooted in anger and disgust, there is now an air of hope surrounding Bosch’s future. He’s stepping into the boundless unknown, and for once, is completely vulnerable. Where will he go next? Fortunately, fans of the show can take heart knowing that this isn’t the end of Bosch’s journey. Amazon’s IMDb TV announced an untitled spin-off series where Welliver reprise his role as Bosch, along with Madison Lintz as his daughter Maddie, and Mimi Rogers returning as Bosch’s former enemy and defense attorney Honey Chandler.
In a tweet about the spin-off series, Michael Connelly, the author that penned the novels the series is based-on and a writer for the show, revealed that the new series will remain in the same veins as Bosch.
As the episode came to a close, there’s a moment where Harry and Maddie are just gazing out at the horizon of LA, shimmering in it’s vast expanse as the two discuss what they could possibly do next. It felt like they were looking out over a blank canvas, ready to create a new beginning. So, what can fans expect as Bosch and Maddie continue their adventure in this new spin-off series? Well, episode eight ends with Harry applying to be a private detective, which means he could return to law enforcement but with a new set of rules and new characters supporting him. Maddie told her father that she had applied to be an officer, so it will be interesting to see if she continues down that path, especially after Bosch committed career suicide with the LAPD.
Viewers might see Bosch in a whole new light. Maybe he will become more humanized and we will see him going on dates, listening to jazz, and spending more time with his daughter. Maybe we will see him kicking a*s per usual and paving a new blazing path in law enforcement. Either way, Bosch’s journey continues and we’re grateful for seven seasons with the characters we’ve grown to love.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
All eight episodes of the final season of Bosch are now streaming on Amazon.