Abhiroop Das
Created by Ben Watkins, Prime Video’s ‘Cross’ returns with a second season to pit Alex Cross against yet another serial killer, this time both cleverer and more complex than before. When the CEO of Crestbrook Industries is gifted a parcel containing chopped fingers, he seeks help from the best D.C. has to offer. However, Alex soon realizes that the killer is not just moving at random, but picking off elites involved in child abuse, one after the other. Based on the acclaimed novel ‘Alex Cross’ series by James Patterson, this crime thriller series juggles both the inner contradictions of Alex’s mind and past, as well as the horrors that he has to confront on a daily basis. Episode 7 of this season, titled ‘Winnow,’ brings us a step closer to the climax, with many unknown variables taking root in quick succession. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Kayla Figures Out the Mastermind’s Identity
‘Cross’ season 2 episode 7 begins with Kayla being ambushed at her home yet again, only this time it isn’t Bobby, but FBI agent Roy, who is here with good news. Thanks to Kayla’s help, the FBI finally has access to all the lost documents concerning Operation Bad Religion and is now safe for the foreseeable future. Except the FBI always knew where the files were, and Roy reveals that this entire thing was designed as a test for Kayla, specifically, to see if she is worthy of the position of assistant director of the project. Flabbergasted at first, Kayla quickly realizes that the lie runs much deeper than expected, in that Margaret’s suicide earlier this season is also confirmed to be a fake-out. Worse, it appears that the mythical antagonist known as the Mastermind is none other than Margaret, and that she has just about everyone at the FBI in her pocket.
The offer made to Kayla distinctly reads as Margaret’s attempts at consolidating her strength for good, and while Kayla accepts the promotion on the surface, her immediate next move is to ring up Bobby, giving him the information he has been dying to hear all along. From there, the story returns to the main investigation, with Donnie snooping around the house and the neighborhood to look for any signs of trouble. He finds it soon enough when he realizes that his truck has given him away, and the crew barely has any time before the police strike this place down. By the time Alex and his team make it to their doorsteps, though, Donnie, Luz, and Clare are long gone, and the only things left behind are Jolani’s severed fingers, a photograph of the entire cabal together, and a card that says that this is all for Nuri.
Luz Mocks the System With Her Most Ingenious Kill Yet
Nuri Mohindra is one of the people named in Luz’s list, and by all means, the person fated to die next. With that in mind, the police set up her, Griffith, Lance, and Nat at an army safehouse, barricaded to its limit with military and police personnel. With essentially an iron wall built up around them, the three elites finally breathe a sigh of relief, but more trouble follows. As it turns out, Luz made a phone call to each one of them prior to this setup, demanding 20 million dollars in cash in return for sparing them. While Nuri readily wants to hand in the cash, she is also the least wealthy of the three and begs Lance and Griffith for help. However, it appears that both characters are adamant about not bending the knee, which further pushes Nuri into a corner.
With Jolani’s death causing havoc in the media sphere, the FBI opts to step out as the leaders of the investigation, and that mantle is instead handed over to Cross. Kayla is reasonably upset by this decision, as from the very first episode, she has essentially led the case to every major juncture, and even saved Cross’s life after his misjudgement at one point. However, before the duo can unpack any of this, they first have to prepare for Luz’s phone call, which is her final chance to the three people left to make a deal, or play with fire. Once again, Nuri picks the short end of the stick when she is told that the decision to pay the ransom must be unanimous. It is clear that Luz plans to show no mercy, as evidenced by how she takes over Nuri’s remotely controlled pacemaker after killing the nurse and botches the device to trigger a heart attack, ending Nuri’s life as well.
Lance and Margaret Show Their True Colors
With one more person in the list dead, the illusion of security is completely shattered. Griffith cracks first and, behind everyone’s backs, cuts a deal with Luz to get her the 20 million dollars. The catch, however, is that he must convince Lance to do the same, and when the latter refuses to budge, Griffith pulls out his trump card. As it turns out, the photo Luz left for Nuri earlier is from the day the cabal met and decided to kill Gabriela. However, what Lance doesn’t know is that Griffith recorded the audio of that entire exchange and has his brother safekeeping it in case something happens to him. Unbeknownst to both of them, Luz is listening in to the entire conversation through a secret device, and now knows that there is undeniable evidence that can get Lance and company behind bars.
While Griffith hopes that the threat of a tape is enough to convince Lance, that plan backfires when Lance instead kills him and chops off his fingers, framing this as one of Luz’s murders. Then, he gets an entire entourage prepped to locate the recording, not knowing that Luz already has a head start in this game. It is decided that Donnie and Clare should retrieve the tape, as Luz now has a target on her back. Meanwhile, Cross and Kayla take one look at Griffith’s body and realize that it’s the work of a copycat, most likely to cover up some information. It doesn’t take them long to pinpoint the whereabouts of Griffith’s brother, either, but unfortunately, Donnie is much quicker. Sneaking his way in, he tortures the old man into revealing where the audio tape.
Even with the way out being blocked by Cross, Donnie manages to escape yet again with only a few injuries. There is one more surprise that awaits him by his car; however, Clare shoots him in the head before storming away with the tape. While she may not be working for Lance or with the police, it is now clear that Clare is not really Luz’s ally, and might be carrying the worst secrets of them all. Back at the station, John faces a predicament of his own: TK, the killer in his case, is revealed to be his mother’s lover, and she is willing to falsely confess to the crime to let him go. The episode ends with Margaret being paid a surprise visit by Bobby, who appears to be ready to shoot before the scene turns to black. In all likelihood, Margaret is dead, but we still know too little for the Mastermind for the plot to be over this quickly, meaning that there is likely much more that Kayla doesn’t know yet.
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