Legacy’s Series Finale Is So Divisive

Warning: This article includes SPOILERS for Bosch: Legacy season 3, episode 10, “Dig Down”!

Prime Video’s Bosch: Legacy comes to a close with a series finale that has divided fans, with most feeling disappointed by the episode. Across the past eleven years, Titus Welliver has brought the character Harry Bosch to life in the shows Bosch (2014-2021) and Bosch: Legacy (2022-2025), based on the Harry Bosch books by Michael Connelly. Unfortunately, his story has finally come to an onscreen end with Bosch: Legacy season 3, episode 10, “Dig Down.” The episode focuses on Harry Bosch working with LAPD Detective Renee Ballard to solve the Flower Girls cold case.

Despite the large fanbase, Amazon unceremoniously canceled the crime TV show, shocking both the creative team behind Bosch: Legacy and the audience. Bosch will appear in a few episodes of the spinoff show Ballard, as shown in the trailer, but then the character will be done. Unfortunately, the salt in the wound for fans is the fact that Bosch: Legacy didn’t even end on a high note. Fans have taken to social media to discuss their disappointment with the finale, with most of them disliking the ending.

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Bosch: Legacy’s Finale Felt Rushed

The Crime Show’s Finale Packed Too Much In To Too Little Time

The most common complaint about the Bosch: Legacy series finale from fans is the fact that it felt extremely rushed. Bosch and Bosch: Legacy are slow-paced TV shows, but the stories in the finale go by so fast that their emotional impact is diminished. In a single episode, they manage to solve the Flower Girls cold cases, end the life of Finbar McShane, and capture Humberto Zorrillo.

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Each of these storylines needed at least a single episode of their own if not a multi-episode arc. It feels like the writers hacked multiple episodes and stories to pieces and packed the remains into the Bosch: Legacy finale, rushing to finish up the storylines after the show got canceled – though that’s just my impression and not a fact.

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Bosch: Legacy’s Finale Is Just A Backdoor Pilot For Ballard

Ballard’s Backdoor Pilot Should Have Come In The Middle Of The Season Instead Of At The End

When it comes to spinoffs, backdoor pilots are a prime way to introduce existing fans to new characters and storylines. However, they typically drop in the middle of a season, which is where the major issue with Bosch: Legacy’s finale comes into play.

Fans who have invested in Prime Video’s version of Harry Bosch over the past eleven years lost out on a proper ending for the character in lieu of a backdoor pilot for a character they may not know or care about. The entire episode is written to sell people on Renee Ballard instead of centering on Harry Bosch. Considering the show is named after him, Bosch should have been the star of any series finale.

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The Flower Girls Cases Deserved More Time, Not A Single Episode

The Flower Girls’ Case Was Too Important To Get Wrapped Up In One Episode

The decision to bring back the Flower Girls cases has been divisive among fans of Bosch: Legacy. On the one hand, the case has had an impact on Harry Bosch for years, serving as his white whale. It connects all the way back to his job as a detective in the original show, so it feels appropriate for it to get wrapped up before the end. On the other hand, the story didn’t really connect to the rest of the season, so the subject of the finale felt extremely random.

Moreover, the flower girls’ case was too important to wrap up in a single episode. The narrowing in on McKee should have been its own episode. The group following him and finding evidence should have been an episode or two. The takedown of McKee could have been its own episode. Throughout all the episodes, they needed to focus more on Bosch’s emotional arc as the Flower Girls case is finally closed. Ultimately, the story could have been its own season. Frankly, it would’ve been better for them to leave the cold cases unsolved instead of finishing them in a sloppy way.

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The Serial Killer Getting Caught Wasn’t Satisfying

Jeremy McKee Was Found & Caught Too Easily

As mentioned, the serial killer has played a role in Harry Bosch for years, though they had no clue the cold cases were connected for most of Bosch. Within the narrative, he managed to evade the police for over 12 years. Unfortunately, the way they wrapped up the case went against everything for which the shows are known. Firstly, the characters determine their identity in a matter of hours (in the show’s timeline, about five to ten minutes onscreen). Bosch wasn’t even the person to solve the mystery that had haunted him.

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The fact that rookie cop Maddie manages to connect the dots of the case, even though Bosch has been working on it for most of his career, feels unrealistic. Plus, the case is only solved because the murderer suddenly gets sloppy. On top of that, Bosch is known for its realism. However, this episode has them get the DNA evidence back far too quickly. Ultimately, the serial killer getting caught in this way is unsatisfying.

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Ballard & Bosch Didn’t Really Click

Many Fans Disliked Ballard And Bosch’s Lack Of Chemistry

Renee Ballard is the main character of the Bosch: Legacy spinoff Ballard, but she has only been around for one episode, making it hard to invest in her. If Bosch had good friendly chemistry with Ballard, the audience would likely be more forgiving of the fact that they didn’t know the onscreen version of her. However, many fans have said that Ballard and Bosch don’t actually click. They’re not different in the “buddy cops” kind of way, but the “these two shouldn’t be working together” type of way. The duo’s lack of chemistry distracts from the story.

They obviously end with them mentioning working together again to tease his appearances in Ballard, as Titus Welliver is already confirmed for the spinoff. However, the idea of Bosch appearing in Ballard’s show feels odd at this point because there’s no reason they should work together.

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Few Bosch and Bosch: Legacy Characters Showed Up In The Finale

Bosch: Legacy’s Ending Didn’t Bring Back Important Characters

In TV series finales, shows tend to bring back cameos from major characters from past seasons. Bosch: Legacy had double the group to choose from since it’s a sequel to Bosch. However, the last episode of Bosch: Legacy doesn’t include many of the best characters from Bosch and Bosch: Legacy. This diversion from expectations made Bosch: Legacy’s last episode feel much more like a general episode than a finale.

Notable omissions are Lieutenant Grace Billets and Detective Jerry Edgar (aka J Edgar) from the original Bosch show. Perhaps it’s better they didn’t bring people back, though, based on what they did with Crate and Barrell. The duo’s return feels extremely disappointing, as Crate and Barrell barely play a role in moving the Flower Girls case forward.

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Bosch: Legacy Didn’t Tie Up Loose Ends In The Finale

Bosch: Legacy Left Many Storylines Open Ended

Another massive complaint from fans about Bosch: Legacy’s finale is the fact that it focused on a story that didn’t need to be resolved while leaving a ton of loose ends. Fans have given examples, such as Patrick Currey getting Honey Chandler’s psychiatric files as blackmail material. Additionally, they take issue with the fact that Bosch: Legacy ended Zorillo’s storyline without revealing who he was working for. Some fans also wanted more closure when it came to Maddie and Reina. These are just the ones repeatedly mentioned, but there are more.

In all fairness, though, Titus Welliver teased in mid-April that the finale wouldn’t have “any closure or any sense of goodbye to it” (via TV Insider). The creative team behind Bosch: Legacy was preparing for season 4 when Amazon canceled the show. As such, they couldn’t have planned a proper ending that tied up everything in a neat little bow. That being said, fans still have a right to feel frustrated with the Bosch: Legacy series finale.

Bosch: Legacy

Release Date

2022 – 2025

Network

Prime Video, Amazon Freevee

Showrunner

Eric Overmyer

Directors

Patrick Cady, Alex Zakrzewski, Sharat Raju, Ernest R. Dickerson, Adam Davidson, Kate Woods, Leslie Libman, Tawnia McKiernan, Hagar Ben-Asher, Haifaa al-Mansour

Writers

Chris Wu, Osokwe Vasquez, Benjamin Pitts, Chris Downey, Barbara Curry