Abhiroop Das
Prime Vidoe’s ‘Ballard’ adds another chapter to the world of ‘Bosch’ and ‘Bosch: Legacy,’ this time exploring the world of crime through the eyes of Renée Ballard. The former journalist turned police officer is known for her rebellious, at times reckless nature, which is often key to her ability in solving cases that seemingly no one, even the legendary Bosch, can solve. However, her actions come with consequences; with several powerful figures from all fronts eager to bring her down, the detective must tread with caution. In episodes 1 and 2, titled ‘Library of Lost Souls’ and ‘Haystacks,’ the detective takes on two cold cases, reopening them to provide a voice to the unheard. Her commitment to doing good makes her stand out from her peers but also puts a target on her back. Nonetheless, Ballard’s story continues. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Ballard Struggles to Keep Her Division Afloat
Episode 1 begins right in the middle of the action, as Renée Ballard gives chase to a criminal. He forces his way into a laundromat, engaging in gunfire with the detective before she finally manages to catch up, disarm, and take him down. The man is revealed to be Windel Jones, who escaped the system for almost ten years before finally coming face to face with the newly formed Cold Cases Division. This unit has been made specifically to deal with cases that seem to have fallen through the cracks, which appear to be Ballard’s specialty. However, her hands are tied;provided with essentially no funding. Her team comprises not officers but volunteers and reserve personnel: Ted Rawls, the owner of a security company; Colleen Hatteras, a housewife turned researcher, along with Martina Castro, an intern, and Thomas Laffont, a retired officer, make up the rest of the division.
Windel’s arrest marks Cold Case Division’s first success, following which they begin their work on their next case, one that appears to be far more challenging. The victim is a John Doe, who was found dead deep in the woods. However, the thing that hits Ballard the hardest is the baby he appears to be carrying in his last appearance on camera, a CCTV footage near the bus stand. Her efforts to reach out to the investigating officer end in failure, but before she can take any further steps, she is visited by Jake Pearlman, a member of the LA City Council, who is joined by senior officer Nelson Hastings.
Behind closed doors, the two put pressure on Ballard to accelerate her investigations into the murder of Sarah Pearlman, Jake’s sister. The case ran cold in 2001, with no evidence gathered against the prime suspect, her ex-boyfriend, Brian Richmond. A home video collected in the evidence box shows Jake’s reaction to his sister getting a driver’s license, reflecting a warm, loving dynamic. In the present, he expresses his frustration at coming empty-handed, and Nelson reminds Ballard that the division’s existence hinges on their success in this case. Her request for more funding goes unheard, and as such, she finds herself stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The John Doe Case Threatens to Uncover Some Dark Truths
Ballard manages to locate the investigating officer on the John Doe murder, an ex-cop named Samira Parker, who now works in nightclub security. Ballard confronts Parker about the holes in her report before learning the chilling truth: Parker’s investigative work was stifled. The former officer mentions tracing the victim back to a flophouse called Sunbeam Lodge, recalling a previous altercation between its manager and a woman. However, with calls to 911 mysteriously being erased from the records, an insider manipulation of events becomes a dangerous possibility. Parker’s regrets of not bringing justice to the culprits clash with her hesitance to reassociate with her former profession. Still, she decides to dip her toes back into the investigations, giving the protagonist one day to convince her that it’s worth it.
Meanwhile, Ballard searches for a breakthrough in the Pearlman case, eventually bringing up the possibility of the murderer’s DNA surviving on the fingerprint tape. After a hard day of work, Ballard returns home to Paradise Cove beach, where she lives with her grandmother, Tutu, and her pet dog, Lola. Noticing that she is not at ease, Tutu suggests inviting Aaron, the local lifeguard and Ballard’s friend. While the protagonist scoffs at the suggestion, she acknowledges her body’s growing accumulation of stress. She talks to her grandmother about a certain traumatic incident from last year, which she can’t seem to escape.
Ballard and Parker’s Pasts Catch Up To Them
While Ballard reaches out to the forensics department, Parker pays another visit to Sunbeam Lodge, only to be met with the same hostility as years ago. Though she returns empty-handed, her presence seems to have set things in motion. Consequently, Officer Robert Olivas gets a call from a woman asking for Parker, only for her to cut the call upon learning that Parker no longer works there. Ballard finds success; a confirmed DNA signature on the prints gives them their first clue towards catching the culprit. Her quest to quickly compare the DNA with that of Brian, the suspect, takes her on an off-the-books tour of his tattoo parlor, where she tries to retrieve his gloves. Nonetheless, the tattoo artist ends up catching her in the act. He lashes out, demanding to be left alone after having endured the police for years.
Ballard’s bad luck doesn’t seem to end there, as upon returning to her unit, she finds Olivas, who has come to check up on Parker following the mystery call. From the get-go, the protagonist’s animosity towards him is evident, and their brief interaction ends with her promising to take him down. In a later conversation with Parker, she reveals that the previous year, she fought off a sexual assault attempt by an officer in the Robbery-Homicide Division, of which she was a part. Although she filed a case against him, she found no support in the Police Force and was ultimately isolated and transferred to the Cold Cases Department. However, she perceives her work here as a show of her perseverance and asks Parker to join her team, who agrees, believing this to be her chance to make things right.
However, things soon take a dark turn, as Parker, while visiting the Sunbeam Lodge once again, discovers that a cleaning worker named Yulia Kravetz has been killed on the premises. The former officer remembers seeing the girl on her last visit and soon realizes that she is potentially the girl who called Olivas, a brave decision that caused her death. On the other end, Ballard receives a call from the forensics department and learns that the murderer’s DNA has matched that of a previous crime: the murder of a girl named Laura Wilson. This opens up the possibility of a serial killer. Both cases take a similar turn, revealing a much bigger scale than previously imagined. Upon looking through Laura’s case files, she discovers that the investigating officer is none other than Harry Bosch.
Ballard Takes Matters Into Her Own Hands
Ballard decides to head out to the crime scene and assess the situation, only to clash with Officer Naylin, who oversees the investigation. While the latter lousily believes this to be a robbery gone wrong, Ballard carefully observes the room, realizing that Yulia had already cleaned the washroom before she was murdered, hinting at the murderer’s intent to kill. Avoiding Naylin’s gaze, she quickly checks the CCTV footage and notices a mysterious man entering the lodge right before the murder with what appears to be a gun in his pocket. With a suspect at hand, she decides to work with Parker on the case unofficially. A conversation at the nearby hair salon reveals that he is a homeless local, prompting the team to search nearby camps and public facilities.
Meanwhile, Jack returns to check up on the investigation, eager to put his sister’s murderer behind bars. However, upon learning of the second victim from 2008, his expression quickly changes. He informs Ballard that Brian was in Iraq during that period, ruling him out as a suspect in the murder of Laura Wilson and, consequently, Sarah Pearlman. Following this, the Detective visits Laura’s mother, who expresses her frustration at the lack of care her daughter’s case has received. While no new leads come out of this conversation, a mysterious van can be seen tailing the protagonist on her way out. In the meantime, the team learns that Naylin didn’t bother showing up for Yulia’s autopsy, prompting Laffont to go to the morgue as Colleen tags along.
The Team Reaches New Highs and New Lows
Elsewhere, Rawls and Parker Team up to look for the suspected shooter, eventually finding a tent with items stolen from the motel room. They track the tent to a man named Sean, who spends his time in a local drug house. Ballard and Rawls carry on a raid in the house, soon finding Sean, who dashes for the exit. Upon failing to do so, he boldly jumps out of the window before haphazardly running away, only to be caught by Ballard. That night, she hangs out with Aaron at her house and unburdens herself, and the two soon hook up. Fate seems to turn her side the following morning when Yulia’s case is formally handed over to her. However, it is short-lived, as her interrogation of Sean reveals that he is a person with a cognitive disability, rendering his speech unintelligible, and worse, inadmissible. However, he does mention that someone else gave him the gun.
At the same time, Laffont manages to retrieve the bullet from the morgue, although the experience seems to have shaken Colleen. The bullet is then given to Freddie, a firearms investigator, who is also tasked with comparing it with the ballistics report of John Doe’s case. While Parker and Rawls are tasked with searching for the gun, which Sean claims to have buried under a bed of roses, Ballard deals with the arrival of Harry Bosch, who wishes to know why his age-old case has been reopened. Upon learning that it is connected to the Pearlman case, he provides his insight. He locates two key details: the presence of a suspicious blue van at the time of Laura’s death and the unreliability of the testimonies of her drama teacher, Harman, and her classmate, Lennox.
While Ballard and Bosch reconnect over lunch, Parker and Rawls make a breakthrough, finding the gun near a graffiti painting of roses. Freddy confirms that the gun is the bullet’s origin but shockingly reveals that the bullet in John Doe’s murder was never sent for analysis. Parker assures her team that she did her duty, implying that someone involved in the process covered it up, adding to her suspicion about police involvement. These suspicions are seemingly confirmed when the scene cuts to a young man conversing with someone on the phone, assuring them that Sean’s arrest is a dead end, freeing them of culpability. The man is revealed to be a police officer, and his involvement threatens to bring the entire investigation down.
Read More: Who is Detective Renée Ballard in Bosch Legacy? Who Plays Her?
