Bosch returns for a fourth season, April 13th on Amazon Prime Video.
By Matthew Stanford
The first three episodes were provided for review.
Bosch is based on the series of novels by Michael Connelly, and season 4 is based on “Angels Flight.” I have always found Bosch interesting because there are strong characters across the board and they are all people that you enjoy spending time with. It is a strange comp, but the supporting cast reminds me a bit of the cast of Nurse Jackie. The characters have fun interplay with each other and they feel like real people.
Bosch is also a who’s who of “that guy” actors led by Mr. Comcast Business himself, Titus Welliver. His ex-wife is played by Sarah Clarke who was one of the greatest TV villains of all time: Nina Myers on 24. The daughter Madison Bosch is played by Madison Lintz who was responsible for the worst plotline in the history of The Walking Dead, she was Sophia. (WHERE IS SOPHIA, WHERE IS SHE!? Let’s look for her for 8 episodes.)
If you have seen season 1-3 of Bosch you should know what to expect here. There is a new case that involves a murdered lawyer who was investigating/suing the LAPD in a civil case for mistreating a citizen. The biggest surprise is that Bosch is NOT a suspect and that he is asked to lead the investigation into who may have committed the crime. Given the nature of the murdered, public perception is very important here and they want this case solved as quickly as possible. Bosch has a new partner who is from IA and has reported him in the past, which leads to a rocky partnership.
Bosch is still keeping up his side hustle of trying to solve his mother’s murder and just like every other season, you will not care. I have not read any of the source novels, but in the show, I view this as a McGuffin that will forever be used to help drive Bosch. Thus far it seems far less prevalent this year, which is nice. Bosch’s ex-wife and daughter are being setup to have larger roles this year and that is welcome. The daughter character could easily fall into the literal and figurative “bear trap” like Kim Bauer did on 24, but she makes intelligent choices and isn’t there just to help drive plot.
One piece I have a hard time understanding is why a lot of cops and former partners of Bosch don’t like him. All he does is work hard, care about results and solve cases. I am not sure why he rubs so many folks the wrong way. Speaking of former partners, J Edgar is still alive post being shot in season 3. This is handled extremely well. His character is not a complainer about his situation and works to get back in the game. One character I continue to miss is Hoon Lee’s Reggie who I hope makes his return in the latter half of the season.
All of the actors cast to play the possibly dirty cops are well cast and fit in well with the Bosch universe. My favorite of the bunch is Detective Francis Sheehan played by another “that guy” Jamie McShane who was most recently Eric O’Bannon on Bloodline. He commands the camera whenever he is on it and he really is a terrific actor.
Season 4 is very good and once the rest of the episodes are available publicly, I will be jumping right into episode four to see what happens next! This is my favorite season so far, it has the strongest case, the cast are all hitting their stride and Amazon agrees, as it has already been greenlit for season 5.
I give Bosch Season 4 a B+.
TV and City 