Abhiroop Das
Created by Ben Watkins, Prime Video’s ‘Cross’ dives deep into the mind of Alex Cross, as well as those of the killers he intercepts. As a decorated member of the police force, he always finds himself leading the most complicated of cases, but with this season of the crime thriller series, he is forced to question his own sense of good and bad, as well as all the shades in between. What starts out as a hunt for a serial killer targeting powerful people quickly turns into the excavation of a vigilante’s past. This person, Luz, doesn’t turn out to be the monster he hopes her to be, and instead shines a light on the network of child exploitation sustained by a cabal of the elite. By the end of the season, Cross is forced to choose between doing what is right and doing what is by the book, but ultimately finds his answer somewhere unexpected. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Cross Season 2 Finale Recap
‘Cross’ season 2 episode 8, titled ‘Quemar,’ begins with Lance preparing for his grandest showcase yet, with the launch of his supposed miracle seed, which promises to rejuvenate the agro industry. To throw such a party, however, is effectively an invitation for trouble, and as Luz has proven herself to be a deadly foe, Alex and Kayla don’t want to take any chances. Cross also struggles to bring himself to defend Lance, knowing that there is already enough proof to put him behind bars. While this is going on, Nat, Lance’s bodyguard and next-in-line in the kill list, has an allergic reaction and is rushed to the nearest clinic. What’s more, the audio recording Donnie died for is a fake, as Griffith’s brother hid the real one in a different location and is ready to give it up to the police.
The recording confirms that it was Clare, Gabriela’s sister and Luz’s guardian, who was originally in league with Lance. However, after ordering the death of her sister, she seemingly had a change of heart and began training Luz to become a killing machine. While Cross makes this connection and begins planning his next move, Luz kills Nat at the hospital, then goes after Lance, who is on his way there. Cross figures out that she must have taken him to the fields where the bodies are buried, and he is right. The cops reach the scene before she can kill Lance for good, and she is left with no alternative but to leave him in a ditch and escape. Cross manages to save Lance in the nick of time, but the battle isn’t over yet.
Admitting defeat, Luz hopes to escape to Mexico, but is surprised by a phone call from Cross, who reveals the truth about Clare. Blinded with fury, Luz rushes back to confront her guardian, but instead has to watch her die at the hands of the police, who surround them from all corners. Their trap works, but it comes at the cost of Luz jumping off a dam, entrusting her legacy to Cross. Although this is technically a win for the police, Cross is left too shaken by the incident, and especially by the FBI’s attempts to bury the truth about Lance until his green-tech project is greenlit. Realizing that he must work outside the system, Cross goes rogue at last, escaping police in cars and on foot to make his way to the councilman, the only person who can help him.
Cross Season 2 Ending: Did Luz Survive? Whom do We See in the End?
Season 2 of ‘Cross’ ends with the possibility that Luz might have survived the fall and made her way back to Mexico. In the aftermath of Cross unleashing the Crestbrook conspiracy to the world at large, Gabriela emerges as a hero figure who died in pursuit of justice. During one of the processions carried in her name, we see a mysterious woman from behind, and the familiarly distinctive tattoos immediately draw a link with none other than Luz, who seemingly fell to her death not long ago. Although we clearly see her jump down the dam at the US-Mexico border, the fact that we never see her dead body further leans into the likelihood of Luz being alive. However, the idea that she can survive a several-hundred-foot drop without a scratch is still quite unbelievable, and springs doubt into who or what exactly we see at the end.
While there is a chance that Luz survived the fall without any significant injuries and managed to get back on her two feet soon after, an equally likely reading of the scene is that it’s a piece of creative visualization. The fact that we see her at a procession directly plays into this interpretation, as it is possibly referring to the Day of the Dead tradition. It is often believed that spirits and apparitions briefly walk the Earth on that day, which makes it likely that the Luz we see in that scene is meant to be an imaginary entity. To that end, the scene isn’t communicating her physical presence, but rather her spiritual significance to the community and to truth at large. In many ways, she becomes the symbol of resistance against oppression, fulfilling the mythic prophecy etched into her back.
Regardless of whether Luz lives or dies, her will and legacy are essentially passed onto Cross, and we see the effects ripple out not long after. Unlike the first season, this time it is Cross who is deeply impacted by the psychology of the killer he is investigating. While he understands that she has the right cause in mind, he cannot deny that her methods are deeply misguided on some level, and threaten innocent lives just as much as they claim the guilty ones. Beneath the large-scale stratagems and ruthless displays of violence is a girl who has been traumatized since birth, and is perhaps revolting the only way she knows how to. As such, the idea that she planned a grand escape in the face of failure almost undercuts her conclusion on a symbolic level. While there is an undeniable chance that the Luz we see at the end is real, she has essentially reached her goal already.
Why Does Cross Quit the Police?
Seemingly motivated by Luz’s complete rejection of the system, Cross is forced to take a step back and reconsider who and what he has been fighting for this entire time. While he initially seems confident in his stance that Luz is making a mistake by not turning in evidence to the police, he is handily proven wrong when he tries the same. The higher-ups’ eagerness to grab hold of the proof and bury it means that they are almost certainly in on it, even though they aren’t on the list. This reveal flips a major switch in Cross’ head, as he realizes that the kill-list embodied by Luz’s tattoos isn’t necessarily about a few individuals, but rather representatives of a larger system. As hard as it is for him to swallow this bitter pill, every institution, from the lawmakers to law protectors, is involved in the game in some way.
While it isn’t like Cross to concede to Luz’s point and give in to all-out vigilanteism, he does understand now that the only way he manages to get evidence to the public is by bending the law to his will. Instead of making this a habit, however, he does something Luz didn’t, or rather, couldn’t: he walks out of the system as a whole. Putting down the badge means giving up on the very thing he has trained his mind, body, and soul for, but this season teaches Cross that it’s not the institution that he desires to be a constituent of, but rather its spirit. At the very start, we see Cross fail to see much value in promotions and decorations as an officer, and we now finally see this philosophy bloom further. Faced with a lifetime of battle with the higher-ups, or a complete suppression at their hands, he chooses to carve out his own middle path, bound to shake things up in a way no one has yet.
Having quit the force, Cross is now officially out of a job, but that doesn’t mean his hunt for the truth is over. The most likely future for him is to open up a private detective agency, or perhaps amass an underground rebel system with the same people who helped him escape custody in the finale. While the latter is a radical solution, this is perhaps the only way he can beat the system, knowing how deep the corruption goes. In essence, Cross becomes the true successor of Luz, not necessarily in his actions, but in the changed way he now approaches notions of right and wrong.
Are Cross and Kayla Enemies Now?
Apart from Cross giving up on his badge, the biggest shift in his life turns out to be Kayla’s decision to go her separate way. While the two have always been on the same wavelength thus far, something changes when Cross is declared the leader of the Luz investigation. Kayla may not have shown it in that moment, but she is dejected by how Cross gets all the spotlight for what is often a shared investigative effort. This, combined with the fact that she is offered a powerful position in the FBI, forces her to make a choice: be with Cross and the team, and solve cases like she always has, or dip her toes in the world of covert operations, secret surveillance, and mind control programs, and a host of other secrets that rest in the shadows. The finale confirms that she chooses the latter path, and also that its effects on her are immediate.
While there isn’t necessarily any malice in Kayla’s decision to push for Alex’s arrest, it is clear that she values her job more than him at this point. Even Sampson has the choice of following the book of law and getting his best friend behind bars, but he chooses not to. Kayla, on the other hand, feels both her subconscious resentment and the pressure from higher-ups to get to Cross before their secrets are leaked. As such, while it isn’t her real desire to be at odds with Cross, their paths are likely never to coincide ever again. This also holds true on a romantic level, as neither of the two moves past the sexual stage of their relationship. With the finale constructing new walls between the two, the ship is almost certainly on a sinking course.
Is Lance Arrested? Are the Children Found?
Despite facing police and legal opposition, Cross manages to do the unthinkable and gets the message across to the councilman. Earlier, we were left to wonder if the man would bury the truth about his mother or come clean to the press, and this time, we get an answer. When Cross hands him the pendrive with all the evidence about Lane and Crestbrook, the councilman chooses to hide it from the police, and later goes public with it during a press conference. Earlier, Luz gave him a similar proposition, and while he was about to act out of fear back then, this time he is driven by a genuine sense of moral urgency. As the pen drive directly incriminates Lance of murder, child exploitation, and abuse, it is almost certain that he goes to jail, even though we are never shown that on-screen.
The reveal of Lance’s crimes to the entire world also comes with another, more unsettling development: the discovery of bodies buried underneath Crestbrook farms. An excavation reveals as many as dozens of dead bodies, mostly children, who were abused by Lance and his friends in the name of employment. While Cross and company aren’t able to save these lives, they do, however, rescue the hundreds of children working in Crestbrook farms. One of them is Berto’s sister, who was separated from him a long time ago. Their reunion means that the family is whole once again, and might just move back to Mexico. This is far from the end of Cross’s relationship with his adopted kid, however, as this is what inspires new energy in him to work for their protection, even if it means fighting the entire system.
Will John Meet His Father?
Not unlike Cross, John reaches the end of season 2 with a crossroad of his own. After trying and failing to reconcile with his mother, he prefers to move on from the subject altogether, but that’s not before the air between him and Nana Mama is cleared. In the end, she drops yet another massive twist into the story, revealing that John’s father, named Earp, is very much alive. Although he abandoned his family several decades ago, he now wishes to meet his son and perhaps reconnect, just as John’s mother tried. However, given how that latter exercise went, chances are that John will not only reject the offer but probably even take matters into his own hands, and all of that depends on what kind of person his father truly is.
Having been raised alongside Cross for almost all of his childhood, John has no recollection of his father, which means any choice going forward will yield a blank choice. Based on what the old man told him before he had a crisis, John desperately needs someone whom he can unload all his secrets and regrets onto. While Cross can technically fit into that mold, the best friends’ relationship isn’t exactly suited for this. On the other hand, John’s father represents either a chance to repeat fate as it happened with his mother, or take on a fresh start. The fact that he now has a loving family and a rewarding job is in large part possible because of the support he has received thus far, and potentially retracing his past and meeting his father can disrupt everything, for better or for worse.
Read More: Cross: Is Crestbrook Industries Based on a Real Company?
