The Michael Connelly character Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch first premiered in a series of books in 1992. In the summer of 2022, the character has led to 24 distinct books and two distinct television shows. We focus here on the first season of the series Bosch (2014-2021), starring Titus Welliver in the title role for the series.
Harry Bosch is a homicide detective in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California for the Los Angeles Police Department. Beyond his past service with the United States Army in the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991 and Afghanistan, part of the discovery of the first season is learning about how Harry Bosch‘s past impacts the case presented with this season. The underlying story for this season of ten episodes was adapted from the Michael Connelly books The Concrete Blonde of 1994, City of Bones of 2002 and Echo Park of 2006.
The story of the season deals primarily with the discovery of buried skeleton in the woods. The deceased is a boy that had been horribly beaten, with evidence of abuse that had occurred for a prolonged period before this. Jerome (Jerry) Edgar, as portrayed by Jamie Hector, catches the case with Harry Bosch, who is standing trial in federal court. Amy Aquino portrayed Grace Billets, a lieutenant, supervisor and friend to Harry.
While quarreling with deputy chief Irvin Irving over the federal case, Raynard Waits, a serial killer pulled over for a traffic violation, confesses to the child murder being investigated by Jerry Edgar and Harry Bosch. The case leads from here leads to Jerry and Harry getting into the details of the dead boy’s past. Jason Gedrick portrayed Raynard Waits as Lance Reddick portrayed Irvin Irving.
Harry takes an escalating romantic interest in Julia Brasher, a rookie police officer assigned to the same station. Tensions escalate following the trial and with changing circumstances with Raynard Waits, which leads to further action towards Harry from Irvin Irving. The escalating circumstances leads Harry to buckle down on the current case in front of him. Traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada to see his ex-wife Eleanor Wish, as portrayed by Sarah Clarke, professional assistance from his ex-wife is requested. Annie Wersching portrayed Julia Brasher.
Harry takes the time to additionally see the daughter Eleanor and he share while in Las Vegas. Maddie, the daughter to Eleanor and Harry, is portrayed by Madison Lintz. Things escalate and change interpersonally on many levels at this point, taking a mature, sophisticated and engaging path through much of the background of characters introduced through the above background. The emotional intensity grows with each episode and change of circumstances.
The conclusion of season one addresses many questions. Many unresolved issues setup intrigue that it seems clear will present fodder heading into future seasons that are on the way. The show itself is meant for a mature audience, with my recommendation to consider this point. I grant the first season of Bosch, presented as an Amazon original series, 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.
Matt – Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Matt Lynn Digital 