‘Bosch: Legacy’ Recap – ‘The Wrong Side of Goodbye’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘Bosch: Legacy’.

There is a prevailing belief in our world, that the fresh start is something that is reserved for folks that are younger. Simply because, we are still starting out in our youth, and make mistakes along the way and that is the perfect time to hit the reset button because we haven’t made major life-changing commitments. Such as plunging ourselves into a career or starting a family. But that is… a strangely odd way to look at the fresh start, since it informs anyone of a certain age that starting over is foolish and impossible and that’s just not the case. For we are beings that evolve and change as the years go by and it isn’t fair to assume that someone whose been at the same job for twenty some years can’t hit the reset button and find what they’re really looking for.

If anything, the concept of a later in life fresh start is top of mind today, simply because it serves as the focal theme of the brand-new Amazon Freevee series, Bosch: Legacy. For this sequel/continuation of the wildly popular Prime Video series, Bosch, catches us up with now retired LAPD Detective Harry Bosch… to see how he’s doing after stepping away from the badge and the department at the end of that former series. A move he made so that he could finally enjoy a fresh start in life and practice law and justice on his own terms instead of through politics and nonsense. And when we catch up with Harry in ‘The Wrong Side of Goodbye’, we get to see that process in the earliest of stages. For Harry is taking the time to handle simple cases as a private investigator and working to figure out a way forward.

Which leads to one fascinating series premiere, one that is grounded in helping Harry to understand what he really wants out life in a relaxed and organic manner and that’s wonderful. Because most stories in this vein, rush to the finish line of discovery. But here, we get to see the brooding moments surrounded in silence, the kind where people truly think about what their soul is craving, and that quiet time and a unique case are helpful to Harry. Since he does come to understand what he wants and it is… to truly help people and give them peace and he plans to do just that for an insanely rich gentleman named Whitney Vance, who is eager to solve his past before he passes into the great beyond and it is just wonderful to see Harry evolve in this manner before our eyes and enjoy a story that takes its time in properly growing the character. 

But while it is wonderful to be back alongside Harry and see him find direction at last, he’s not the only one working on new beginnings in this tale. For his daughter Maddie, is finally following in dad’s footsteps, since she is now a rookie police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department and is working to navigate the same struggles her father experienced before her, and there is something quite wonderful about watching her ask him for advice on such matters. Plus, Honey is moving into a new phase of her life and getting back out there as a lawyer to do good once again and use her skill set to a tee, but through public defense this time around and well… all of those elements make this a story grounded in new beginnings and fresh starts and how important they are for us and how it is okay for them to arrive at any time. 

Yet what truly makes this series premiere so impressive… is that it defies convention for a crime drama as well. Because normally by the end of a story such as this, there should be a super-giant case awaiting the PI or his friends. But here, there’s none of that. Just more moments of reflection and understanding and a decision on Bosch’s part to dive as deep as possible into Vance’s wishes to know his family before he dies and that… shockingly compels the viewer to want more of this series. For this is a bold new chapter for Harry Bosch, one that is not a clone or the previous show in the slightest and is clearly eager to just explore the man and his friends and family and what makes them tick and that will make for a vastly unique type of crime drama. One grounded in life and its meaning to us and will be quite interesting to see what Harry, and Maddie, and Honey learn as this new series continues along. Until next time.

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