The Lady Vanishes – The season 2 premiere kicks off with Maddie Bosch (Madison Lintz) returning home to be surprised by the “screen cutter rapist”. Although outmatched and surprised in her bedroom, she doesn’t go easy. With Maddie chloroformed, Kurt Dockweiler (David Denman) uses the opportunity to remove the mask and marvel at her. Seconds later he’s shown loading a body-sized suitcase in the back of his truck.
Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) reels in Maddie’s living room as the investigators bag evidence, photo the scene, and collect fingerprints. Regaining his composure, he realizes he’s being questioned by Detective Bennett (Cynthia Kaye McWilliams). He can’t provide much, claiming that Maddie kept her personal life very personal. Detective Jerry Edgar (Jamie Hector) returns from questioning the neighbor but doesn’t have much to offer. Pulling Harry to the side, Edgar assures him they are utilizing every resource available while also confirming that RHD Captain Rick Seals (James Read) has agreed to keep him in the loop.
Meeting with Seals in the mobile unit stationed outside Maddie’s complex, Harry becomes hostile when Seals is reluctant to let him get involved in the case for fear that it could lead to a missed conviction. Harry is urged to go home and wait by the phone in the event of a ransom call.
He does leave in his Jeep but calls Maurice “Mo” Bassi (Stephan A. Chang) to see if he can get into Maddie’s bank account and track her debit card. When Mo asks for her account information and tells Harry it might take a while, Harry also asks him to scour her social media and phone activity as well. After they hang up, a distracted Harry runs a red light and barely avoids getting T-boned.
While searching Maddie’s locker for clues, Edgar and Sergeant John Mankiewicz “Mank” (Scott Klace) come across her patrol book. Using the book, Edgar learns that Maddie and Reina Vasquez (Denise G. Sanchez) had been putting in a lot of extra leg work on the screen cutter case. He calls Vasquez in to rehash some of the interviews.
Elsewhere, Harry uses his own little black book to reach out to contacts. The only luck he seems to have is with Sergeant Mank, who promises to relay updates. Just as he’s wrapping up, Harry receives a call from Coroner Ernie Munger (Jared Shipley), informing him they just received a body with blunt force trauma matching Maddie’s description. When Harry learns that the body was found on an exit ramp on the 5 in East LA, he makes Ernie promise to give him the first look. Ernie assures him he hasn’t even notified RHD yet.
At detective headquarters, Edgar checks on Detectives Brad Conniff (David Marciano) and Julie Espinosa’s (Jacqueline Pinol) progress with the complex’s surveillance footage. Julie explains that most of the tenants had Ring door cams, but they only targeted the porches, not the street. When asked to expand their canvassing to a 3-block radius, Brad expresses his frustration over not having a proper description of the attacker or vehicle. Edar encourages them to note anything suspicious before leaving.
Harry is an emotional wreck before and after visiting the morgue, although the body isn’t Maddie. Using the opportunity to check on Mo’s progress, Harry learns of several calls from a burner and Honey Chandler (Mimi Rogers), all within the last week. Visiting Chandler, he uncovers that she didn’t just call Maddie, she visited her. During that visit, she did take note of a suspicious man smoking in the courtyard, although she wrote him off as a tenant at the time. Harry relays the information to Edgar and suggests setting up a visit with a sketch artist.
Along a deserted stretch of desert highway, Kurt the screen cutter is shown pulling off and giving Maddie a syringe full of sedative.
Elsewhere, Vasquez walks Harry through the alley where Maddie found Kurt’s mask in season 1. There are cameras all around, but none of them work. Vasquez also tells Harry that she all but begged Maddie to drop the case. Harry says Maddie just couldn’t let it go that easy while assuring Vasquez she isn’t responsible. Continuing to canvass, Harry discovers a city inspector’s citation zip-tied to a chain-linked fence. Vasquez says Maddie noticed it as well.
Chandler meets with the artist while Edagar digs into footage from Maddie’s shifts. Most appear to be random traffic stops and routine foot patrols.
From a desert carwash, Kurt reaches out to his cop buddy, Pete Fusco (Mark Atteberry) to learn that no witnesses have come forward. After ending the call, Kurt is shown using his debit/credit card to wash out the back of his truck which is now empty of the suitcase Maddie was being held in.
Edgar pays another visit to Espinosa and Conniff who have found three suspicious vehicles that popped multiple times within the last week near the area where the mask was found (Thai Town). They’ve already managed to track down the registration information that revealed two were residents and one was a visitor. Espinosa also mentions a truck registered to the city, but the footage didn’t provide enough details to ID the employee. Edgar and Bennett end up linking the truck to Kurt and visit his house. Although he’s not home, Edgar procures a cigarette butt from the ashtray on the front porch. When asked, he tells Bennett that the victims all reported smelling smoke on the attacker. At Maddie’s apartment, Harry studies the left behind evidence from the struggle while possibly seeking comfort or answers in some of her photos and belongings. Kurt is shown seemingly preparing for some event as he irons a suit and takes a shower. Bennett delivers the newly finished sketch to Edgar. He immediately recognizes the man from Maddie’s body cam footage. Seconds later at Chandler’s home, she confirms Kurt’s identity as the man in Maddie’s courtyard. Although Edgar wants to wait for a search warrant that should only take an hour, Harry pries Kurt’s address out of him.
Harry arrives at Kurt’s just as he’s putting the finishing touches on his ensemble. Kurt goes for a gun stored in a bedside safe but uses a boot in a dryer to make a clean escape. Harry’s search of Kurt’s personal belongings doesn’t appear to reveal anything useful. There is one photo of Kurt as a toddler, however, that does draw his interest. He later also finds a thorn or debris embedded in the bathroom mat before being warned away from the scene by Edgar. Kurt pays a visit to the Hollywood section of the Los Angeles Police Department and confesses to knowing where Maddie is. He won’t reveal anything further until speaking with his attorney who is supposed to be on his way.
Having learned about Kurt’s confession from Edgar, Harry arrives at the station looking for answers but is headed off by Mank in the parking lot. Edgar soon joins and updates them about Kurt’s claims.
As she regains consciousness, Maddie is revealed to be handcuffed and buried somewhere in the desert. The episode wraps with her banging and pleading for help.
Bosch Legacy Review
First off, I have never read any of the Connelly novels or watched the first season of Legacy. I have, however, watched 4 or 5 seasons of Bosch when he was a homicide detective. Harry working as a private investigator and Maddie an officer is completely new. Although it’s not surprising. Despite my absence, getting reacquainted wasn’t a problem.
This isn’t necessarily a negative and I’m sure that will change. There are far too many characters for it to not. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t even give the rate the acting as subpar but there is something about the series that just works. Even though the plot is as unoriginal as it can get and everything seems really simplistic, I feel that it all works somehow. I still enjoyed the episode and am intrigued to see how it plays out. As far as ratings go, I’d give the episode a 5.8 out of 10.
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