Abhiroop Das
Created by Ben Watkins, Prime Video’s ‘Cross’ traces the titular detective’s thrilling attempts to rein in killers before a fate like his own can be repeated anywhere else in the world. It has been some time since his wife’s demise, and while Cross continues excelling as a police officer, he finds himself increasingly disillusioned by the force. The serial killing antagonist of season 2, Luz Perez, brings his doubts to the surface, forcing him to think back on who his true enemies are. After tracking down the exact order of her killings, he manages to smoke out her location at the last minute, but the fate that ultimately awaits both characters is far from what can be predicted. Luz’s conclusion, as such, ushers in a new and far more ambiguous era for this crime thriller series. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Luz’s Final Appearance in Cross Might Just be a Dream Sequence
While we see Luz seemingly jump to her death in ‘Cross’ season 2 finale, the very final moments of the episode tease that she might have survived. Specifically, we see her tattooed back as she appears to walk alongside a procession in Mexico, alive and well. While it is possible that she actually made it out of the fall in one piece, the chances of that happening are realistically very low. From the looks of it, the dam she jumps off of is at least several hundred meters tall, and she is bound to have sustained extreme injuries, if not outright met her end. The fact that we see Luz seemingly walk along without a scratch suggests that the scene is more likely imaginary in nature and meant to convey a symbolic point in the final moments of the season.
Although Luz is clearly an antagonist in the season, the more Cross learns about her, the more sympathetic her point becomes. Lance, the person the police are supposed to protect, is in fact the real villain of the narrative, and despite Luz’s best attempts to kill him, the plan fails. However, her decision to jump off the bridge isn’t about her admitting defeat in this battle but about her passing on the torch to Cross. It is fitting that he spends the rest of the finale tracking down all the evidence and bringing Lance to justice, even if it means jeopardizing his whole career in the process. As such, Luz’s conclusion rests on the defeat of Lance, and any prospects of her being alive are merely supplementary to the narrative. An equally viable interpretation is that we are simply seeing her spirit walk on the Day of the Dead, satisfied with Cross’ work towards her cause.
Jeanine Mason is Unlikely to Reappear in the Third Season
With Luz most likely meeting her end in the season finale, the chances of Jeanine Mason returning to ‘Cross’ for the third season are exceedingly low. Even in the scenario where Luz miraculously survives, her arc is essentially over, which means that there is not a lot of room for Mason to take the character any further. As each season of the show takes on a new antagonist and storyline, Luz isn’t outright necessary to the plot, but there is still a possibility of her status being brought up again, perhaps in the form of Cross looking for her body or her present whereabouts. This not only brings some additional closure to her arc, but also ties together Cross’ arc on some level. That said, the ambiguity of her conclusion is likely an intentional move by the creators, and they might not want to add to or detract from it at all.
‘Cross’ is no stranger to bringing back past antagonists to fresh storylines, as we see this happen in the case of Bobby Trey, who comes back as a supporting character. However, the difference between Bobby and Luz is the fact that she exists to tell a very specific story, which has now concluded. Furthermore, there is no ambiguity about Trey’s fate in season 1, and it leaves ample room for his wild self to return and create chaos. Neither idea holds true for Luz, and while Jeanine Mason might potentially make a cameo appearance sometime in the future of the show, that is still unlikely to happen. In a conversation with Muses of Media, Mason expressed gratitude to the creators for designing a story thread around her culture and history, and while she might have to bid goodbye to ‘Cross,’ the impact left behind by her character will always be there.
