Source
r/BoschTV•
doitstuart

Legacy: a somewhat-confused, mixed bag.

Legacy S1

The premise made good sense: a hard-bitten yet ethical detective becomes disillusioned with LAPD politics and resigns to become a private investigator. Legacy in this context meaning not only Harry's post-police journey but Maddie's new life as a cop, following in he father's footsteps. But what we got was The Honey Chandler Show, especially in the first five or six episodes.

I think Chandler was an excellent addition to the original series providing a nice dose of cynical legalistic acid, acting as foil for Bosch in a nice little respect-loathe relationship. But to expand it into a major part of the new show just doesn't work. Chandler's character is at her best when seen in limited scenes that add impact, not as an ongoing narrative that dilutes that impact.

And Mimi Rogers is just not the type of actor that can carry such a role. She can get away with it during those one-two punch appearances--which is often the case with B actors--but can't carry complex roles.

Harry was conspicuous by his absence for a long time as Chandler's role was re-established. The show felt weak and if not for Maddie's unfolding story I'm not sure if I'd been a new viewer I'd have stuck around.

The situation improved somewhat in the last third as Harry came to the fore, but considering this is really Bosch, Season 8, with an experienced cast and production crew who've been doing this for seven years already, it was quite disappointing considering the promise of the premise.

Tech Guy was a nice addition and thankfully they didn't make him some pimply nerd who rolled his eyes every time Harry looked a little flummoxed. I hope Crate and Barrel continue to make more than guest appearances. J. Edgar's popup looked like empty fan service. The black female RHD cop (name?) was also a nice return.

Saddest moment: >!loss of the house!<.

Posted May 31, 2022, 10:22 PM UTC · edited

324
RunnyBabbit22•

Good summary, though I disagree about Honey Chandler/Mimi Rogers. I really like the character and actress.

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Classic-Bowl-9940•

Well put...I really love the Chandler Bosch team up, they are formidable

which is why I never really got Bosch argument with Chandler in the end. I get that he is protective of Maddie and didn't want her to have a bad rep with the force . But it seemed to go against everything Bosch stood for...getting justice. It was the right call ....did he prefer the corrupt cops get away? Season 7 alone he went against Irvins orders and the FBI to get his guy....even though they could potentially have busted several cartel members...is it just a case of him having blinds on when it comes to Maddie or did he really think Chandler was in the wrong here

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AKAkorm•

The difference is the detectives aren't Bosch's guys, so to speak. He's tireless when he gets invested in a case but he does seem to prioritize the cases (and people) most important to him over others. And he's also highly judgmental of other people - he assumes Honey is still invested in cases purely for the money despite having worked with her personally.

And of course, he likely has some blinders on in the case of Maddie as she is his daughter.

Bosch is a good character because he has flaws like this IMO.

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Classic-Bowl-9940•

Yeah I agree…and I love Bosch with all his bias and flaws…maybe I don’t see the point of his anger with Chandler, in that last episode.

she wasn’t doing anything shady , her client was not in the wrong, it was unfortunate that it was maddies body cam…not Chandlers fault.

And I get that he is blind when it comes to Maddie, I just thought it was a weak reason to be that angry …but who knows really maybe it’s just for added dramatic effect …or a teaser for season 2

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notthatcousingreg•

Mimi Rogers is really good and her story lines are good too. She can def carry a role. I liked this season but the stupid terminator bad actress hit woman part was lame. Other than that, very glad to see everyone again

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doitstuartOP•

Well, we certainly agree on the assassin acting like a T-800 in full attack mode. If they'd flashed up a red digital display I wouldn't have been too surprised.

And besides, if she was such a professional badass, Harry's empty revolver trick would never have fooled her. Why would he drop an empty gun? Why would he have only six rounds? And why the hell would she reveal her position and her knowledge by taunting him at precisely the right moment for Harry to zero her?

A bit lazy like Harry's phone working even though he was underground surrounded by lots of signal-killing machinery, etc.

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notthatcousingreg•

It was just ugh. It would have been so much better if it he had stayed at the house to protect them and a "regular" bad guy came in and he surprised that person. The terminator lady was a low point for a show that otherwise was pretty solid for a new offering.

2
Hoez-n-Oz•

They must’ve put out a casting call for an assassin and grabbed the actress who blinks the least lol. She was very robotic it was a little too goofy.

1
MissionQuestThing•

Yeah think I agree about the Honey Chandler sub-plot (and especially the addition of the magical negro trope ). I understand why a "lawyer" character is needed and why it had to be Chandler but I found her strand of the plot meh. It would be great if there could be some kind of Bosch/Mickey Haller cross-over but i understand this is unlikely to happen.

For me, the more interesting thing was to see Bosch's development as a PI, he's taking more risks (maybe too many), crossing more lines (again, maybe too many) and where this will lead him?

I hope they can introduce Renee Ballard asap. Other than the Honey Chandler sub-plot, my biggest annoyance was the way Bosch is suddenly talking to himself (so the audience knows what is happening). I think they need to give him someone to bounce off of. Like Harry, I see you look at the car that's been following you and frown, I don't need you to add a completely superfluous "who are these guys?" to yourself to explain that yes, you don't know who they are.

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doitstuartOP•

Well said.

Your point about Bosch not only bending the law but actually breaking it several times to gather information, etc. left me feeling a little squidgy. It simply doesn't fit with Harry as we know him, and frankly, he's too good an investigator to need to do it. The argument might be that cops can get warrants if they have good cause but PIs can't no matter how much they think they know, but illegal surveillance, breaking and entering, etc. that's a hell of a lot different than regular subterfuge, a little trespassing and even outright lying to gain an advantage. It's as if Harry is being portrayed as a renegade cop.

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[removed]

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TheSavageDonut•

I like Mimi Rogers/Honey Chandler, and I don't think she hogged the season.

It was strange that she isn't a high profile attorney anymore with her name on the masthead.

It seems her partners gave her the heaveho when her recovery took a long time?

She showed up in a small time boutique firm, but I got the sense she wasn't ready to outright retire.

For me, the biggest head scratcher was the re-casting of Carl Rogers. The first actor had a more "psychotic tech bro" feel, but they really aged up the role in the re-casting, and I didn't really like that choice. He wasn't menacing to me.

I'll have to re-watch the season to better understand why a supposed Billionaire Hedge Fund guy couldn't scrape together $40 mil to pay off the Russian mob? I don't even understand why he bothered to deal with the Russian mob in the first place?

Anyway, I really liked Bosch Legacy overall -- and I do like Honey Chandler even if she becomes more of a top story person.

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doitstuartOP•

why a supposed Billionaire Hedge Fund guy couldn't scrape together $40 mil to pay off the Russian mob?

Chandler aside, the plotting was not up to regular Bosch standards. Many small annoyances but yeah, the whole evil yet feckless billionaire thing and Russian mafia trope seemed pretty lazy.

Overall, as per my thread title, I found the storytelling confused.

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CANewDaddy2019•

Why do you assume her partners gave her the heave ho? Maybe she left after reevaluating her life? You have no idea.

1
Lileks•

Halfway through, and it feels like a mercy watch. Chandler's new office, Bosch's new house - it's like a student film where they shoot in someone's parents' home.

The Super-Tech Solution to blowing up the pipeline was utterly uncharacteristic for the Bosch series.

The smart route would have dumped the Carl Rogers plotline entirely, and focused on the Whitney Vance plot. If you're going to start with an old rich man in a wheelchair who hires a PI, you're deep in Marlowe territory. Put Harry in the office with a bottle in the bottom drawer and his name painted on the window on the door. Make J. Edgar his Lt. Ybarra.

Still enjoy it, and have hopes season 2 will find its legs.

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doitstuartOP•

Yes, the production did look a little cheap and hmm, small, especially in the early episodes but seemed to expand and improve greatly towards the end. I wonder if COVID restrictions had much to do with the production values and character screen time.

The pipeline takedown was indeed poor. I've commented elsewhere that Harry's phone working despite being underground and surrounded by lots of signal-killing machinery, etc. seemed a little convenient. But the whole enterprise and rationale was wrong. So it's safe (as they contended) to blow up a gas transfer pipe simply because the feed has been turned off? No way. Also, how much money is in siphoning off gas using tankers? Maybe a lot for a small time operator but in this context? Seems like small potatoes for a big player.

I agree about Vance if what you mean is that once he was dead it was up to Bosch to track down his killer. That's pure PI territory and would have also been intimately tied up with finding his rightful heir. Instead we get a deduction that the secretary did it followed by her tidy confession. It's like they skipped an entire main thread.

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EuphoricMidnight3304•

Absolutely respect this opinion but significantly disagree on the points. Overall I’m loving the new show!

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dempomShootin' Houghton•

I don't agree with your take, especially regarding Chandler. But I think it's okay to disagree on art and have discussions on why we did or did not like things.

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[removed]

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DollarBillYall86•

I find it also odd that the crimes Bosch and Honey know of (the killing of Carl Rogers, the Killing of Slone) they don't report to the police?? Would a "do the right thing by any means necessary" experienced detective & a supposed "truth seaking" lawyer do that?

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doitstuartOP•

Indeed. Hence my "renegade cop" comment above.

Chandler is present at Rogers' murder and as an officer of the court (let alone as an ordinary citizen) she is duty bound to report it. Not only would she face charges but be disbarred. Yet apparently she's OK with it.

And the pretty serious breaches of the law Bosch has done or been complicit in would see his PI licence revoked.

As I said in my title, somewhat confused, in both the storytelling and the character development.

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cstraveler1986•

Well this could explain why I always find it odd while watching legacy especially Chandler’s storyline. Maybe the resources of production is limited so no more “shaping” for this character or there is no more story for her in books? Not read them yet and have to find out.

1
lucymx16•

Whoa. Sincere thanks for the summary. Was on the fence about viewing, especially since it's on one of the most annoying platforms known, will try a Bosch book instead.

0
TheLetterOfTheLaw•

I think you’d be surprised at how many adverts there are, during the whole series I only had two thirty second adverts right at the beginning, I’m seriously wondering if they decided that it didn’t need adverts after the first batch of episodes.

1