A year ago, I complained that the first season of Bosch: Legacy failed to take any risks, resulting in a program that felt more like an eighth season of Bosch than something entirely new. Now, having just finished my binge of Legacy’s second ten-episode run, I feel differently – not about the first season, per se, but about the direction of the series as a whole. In season two, our three lead characters – Harry, Honey, and Maddie – are developing from events that occurred in Bosch: Legacy rather than ones that occurred in Bosch, which wasn’t the case with season one. This seemingly small difference between the two seasons pays off in big ways. The biggest being that Bosch: Legacy finally feels like its own show, despite maintaining nearly all of the qualities that garnered its predecessor so many adoring fans over the last decade.

Season two of Bosch: Legacy has a unique structure that I quite enjoyed. Its first two episodes, comprising roughly 90 minutes, focus on Harry (Titus Welliver) and his race to rescue Maddie (Madison Lintz) from the criminal who kidnapped her at the end of season one. Since saying anything more would border on spoiler territory, I’ll simply say that these two episodes are an intense, movie-length roller coaster that allow Welliver to exhibit every skill he has as an actor. Not only that, they feature a plot line that’s perfect for some Bosch cameos, including the return of Jerry Edgar (Jamie Hector), who may be getting a spin-off at some point. Fingers crossed.

While this season kicks off with a bang, I’d actually argue those two episodes are the weakest of the ten. A 90-minute Bosch movie is nice and all, but in the long run, it mainly serves as an inflection point for both the series and certain characters. To me, by the end of Bosch: Legacy season two, those first two episodes felt pretty removed from everything else. That’s mainly because the next eight installments are the actual second season, following Harry and Honey as they investigate the murder of an LA city planner while also fending off an FBI probe into their activities from season one. In other words, the first two episodes are a useful but cursory amuse-bouche before a much more filling main course.

And what a main course it is, as we see Harry get closer and closer to a pair of killers, played by a really intimidating Max Martini and a satisfyingly shifty Guy Wilson. They slot right into the classic Bosch structure, in which we watch the protagonists unravel a mystery(s) while also observing the antagonists’ attempts to stay one step ahead. This works as well as ever. And there’s even a brief but proper shootout replete with blanks, an increasingly rare sight these days that action buffs will lap up. All of this amounts to a gritty, risk-taking main storyline that has Harry do what he does best – solve murders – while in a manner unique to Bosch: Legacy (i.e. being a private eye without police resources). To a lesser extent, I appreciated the subplot involving the FBI and their investigation into Harry and Honey’s involvement with the Bratva and the pipeline explosion from season one. If nothing else, this side-story gives super-hacker Mo Bassi (Stephen Chang), who’s very cool, a bigger role in the proceedings than he had last season. Trust me, mo’ Mo is a good thing.* Unfortunately, this subplot suffers because the FBI goons, led by Special Agent Will Barron (Anthony Michael Hall), are cliched and underwritten. For a series that has often narrowly skirted the edge of garden-variety, these FBI guys are just too humdrum.

As I said in my review of season one, if you liked Bosch, then Bosch: Legacy is all but guaranteed to entertain you. At their cores, the two series are all about their characters, who remain pretty much the same, albeit with a few intriguing developments. Harry is still a hound-dog detective, but his age and overprotectiveness of Maddie are becoming weaknesses. Honey is still a cunning defense lawyer, but she’s growing increasingly dubious of a justice system that’s gunning for her. And Maddie is still a brighter-eyed version of her father, but his shadow is starting to darken every aspect of her life. It’s these developments, along with a much stronger story in season two, that have mitigated my concerns about the direction of Bosch: Legacy. I didn’t see the point of the rebrand after watching season one, but now I do. There’s still plenty of life left in Harry Bosch, a future that was likely impossible if not for his Legacy.

If I had to score season two of Bosch: Legacy, I’d give it an 8/10.

Notes:

* Okay, the exception to the “mo’ Mo is a good thing” rule may be his personal subplot from this season. In summary, he dates, if you can call it that, a woman who hosts a hacker podcast and eventually asks Mo for a risky favor. Ultimately, this subplot feels like filler due its utter predictability and the slapdash way it comes together. I didn’t care for it, but Chang was great in its scenes, so at least there’s that.