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"Tis The Season"
Season 1, Episode 1
Bosch1x01
Release date February 13, 2015
Written by Michael Connelly & Eric Overmyer
Directed by Jim McKay
Episode chronology
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"The Bone Run
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"Lost Light"

"`Tis The Season" is the first episode of the streaming series Bosch.

It premiered on January 14, 2015 on Amazon Instant Video and LOVEFiLM in advance of the first season premiere on February 13, 2015. The episode was written by Michael Connelly and Eric Overmyer, and directed by Jim McKay.

Summary[]

Teaser[]

In October, 2012, Jerry Edgar and Harry Bosch follow a suspect from his home into the streets of Los Angeles. After a lengthy foot pursuit, Bosch confronts the man alone in a dark alley, ordering the man to kneel and show his hands. When the man reaches behind his back, Bosch fires twice, killing the suspect. Later that night, Deputy Chief Irvin Irving arrives at the scene of the death, chastising Bosch for killing "another one."

Act One[]

Some time later, Sunny Chandler and Bosch arrive at the United States District Courthouse to continue the civil trial in which Bosch, and the city of Los Angeles, are being sued by Rosa Flores, the widow of the man that Bosch killed. Bosch encounters Chief Irving and Captain Harvey Pounds outside the courtroom, and Irving assures the detective that he is showing his support. He attempts and fails to persuade Bosch not to testify in the case because the Department has already exonerated him.

In court, Chandler questions Edgar regarding Bosch's handling of the Flores pursuit, but Edgar refuses to acknowledge whether or not Bosch has regularly violated Department policy during their partnership; Bosch's attorney Rodney Belk declines to cross-examine Edgar. Chandler next calls Bosch, and the detective takes the stand; he acknowledges that he doesn't remember how many people he has killed in the line of duty, having served in the Army Special Forces in both the Gulf War and Afghanistan.

Chandler then characterizes Bosch as "an experienced, highly-trained killer with a body count too large to remember" before Belk objects and the judge instructs her to refrain from making ad hominem assertions. Bosch then admits that he has killed five people while serving with the LAPD, and describes the sequence of events that followed his shooting of Roberto Flores. Bosch also admits that he met with fellow detectives at the El Compadre bar the night of the shooting "to blow off steam," and Candler confirms that the event was referred to as a "k-party" – or "kill party" – complete with a mariachi band.

Outside the Courthouse, Bosch encounters Irving again, who encourages the detective to reconsider continuing his testimony, before being approached by Pounds and Internal Affairs Detective Chastain, who express their delight that Bosch is being sued. Bosch surmises that Chandler learned of the "k-party" from Pounds, while Chastain suggests that Bosch should consider looking for a new career.

At the Hollywood Police Station, Bosch throws out a stack of interview requests; Edgar apologizes for making Bosch look bad in court, but Bosch assures his partner that he only told the truth. Bosch then trades a pair of Lakers/Thunder tickets to Detectives "Crate" and "Barrel" in order to work their weekend shift for them. On the roof, Bosch assures Edgar that he'll cover the shift on his own so that Edgar won't have to change his plans to take his children to The Lion King, though he is later sent home by Lt. Grace Billets after she assures him that, though everyone else is eager to second-guess his decisions, only Bosch knows the truth about the night he shot Flores.

That evening, at his home in the Hollywood Hills, Bosch listens to jazz and drinks a beer while recalling the night he shot and killed Flores.

Act Two[]

The next morning, Bosch responds to a call to discover a woman dead in her car near the Hollywood Reservoir, and quickly determines that she committed suicide. While waiting for the coroner to arrive, Bosch receives a call from watch sergeant Mankiewicz, who instructs the detective to interview a citizen who discovered what he believes to be a human bone.

Bosch later arrives at the residence of Dr. Paul Guyot, and dismisses Officers Edgewood and Brasher. Guyot explains that the bone was discovered by his dog and that it belonged to a child, then shows Bosch evidence of a healed spiral fracture.

Outside, Bosch prepares to hike up the mountainside and borrows a flashlight from Brasher before she and her partner leave to respond to a domestic dispute call; he then follows Guyot's dog up the hill until the animal leads him to a remote site where he discovers more bones. Bosch marks off the area with police tape as night falls, then descends the mountainside before slipping and falling and injuring a rib against a tree. Back at Guyot's house, the doctor wraps Bosch's torso as the detective explains that he found more child's bones.

At his home in Hollywood Hills, Bosch reads Missing Persons reports before Lt. Billets arrives to question his investigation, insisting that Bosch must focus on his upcoming court case. Billets threatens to transfer the bone case to the Open-Unsolved Unit, but Bosch convinces her to let him continue the investigation as a hobby-case.

Act Three[]

The next morning, Edgar instructs a team of officers to scour the mountainside scene in search of bones; as Dr. William Golliher oversees the exhumation of a gravesite, Brasher arrives to help with the excavation. Golliher shows Bosch a coin unearthed with the body and dated 1989, as well as a backpack and pieces of clothing, surmising that the victim is a 9- or 10-year-old male. Shortly after, Edgar and Brasher locate a human skull with unhealed blunt-force trauma to the back of the head.

As the excavation team packs up for the day, Bosch and Edgar confront Nate Tyler posing as a food truck worker; Bosch recognizes him as having attended the Flores civil trial, and learns that Tyler is "doing a hit-piece on" Bosch for the Times. They attempt and fail to convince Tyler not to write about the bone case, and the reporter takes a photo of Bosch with his cellphone before leaving. Bosch then learns that Brasher is a rookie, and invites her to get a drink.

That night, Bosch and Brasher visit Musso & Frank Grill for martinis, and discuss Brasher's late entry into policework, having attended law-school and worked for a time as a lawyer with her father's law firm. Bosch confesses his concerns over how the jury will interpret the Flores shooting, and avoids answering Brasher's questions about the scars on Bosch's knuckles. She then admits that she regards homicide as "one of the last noble callings," claiming that what Bosch does "counts."

Driving home, Bosch detours back to Guyot's house and climbs up the mountainside to the gravesite once more, briefly encountering a wild coyote.

Act Four[]

Outside the District Courthouse on Monday morning, Bosch gives the last of his pack of cigarettes and his newspaper to a man, claiming that he's quitting; the man recognizes Bosch from an article on the front page of the Times LATExtra section.

Inside the Courthouse, the judge resumes the trial, and Chandler continues questioning Bosch about Roberto Flores, who was one of roughly a dozen individuals suspected of killing several women, though Bosch admits that Flores had no criminal record. Chandler then implies that Bosch planted the gun on Flores that was later found at the scene, to which Belk quickly objects. Chandler questions Bosch on the murder victims, who Bosch admits were unidentified and likely illegal immigrants working as prostitutes; Chandler then questions Bosch regarding his mother, who Bosch admits worked as a prostitute before she was murdered, at which time Bosch went into foster care. Chandler accuses Bosch of killing Flores to avenge his mother's unsolved murder, to which Bosch responds heatedly, before both are rebuked by the judge.

After court, Bosch encounters Edgar outside, and learns that Golliher has completed his initial examination of the unearthed bones. At the Department of the Coroner, Bosch and Edgar meet with Golliher, who explains that the victim was twelve or thirteen at the time of his death, and that he had suffered extreme, repeated physical abuse before being killed. The descriptions of the victim's injuries evoke traumatic memories of the abuse that Bosch suffered in his own childhood. Bosch leaves to visit the bathroom and recover his composure, while his rage over his own mistreatment hardens his resolve to catch the boy's killer.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest-Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

Crew[]

Notes[]

  • The opening scene occurs on October 2, 2012, while the remainder of the episode takes place two years later, in December, 2014.
  • The license plate of Edgar's car is 2BAI222.
  • The introductory credit sequence features the song "Can't Let Go" by Caught a Ghost
  • Scars are visible on the knuckles of Bosch's left hand at 12:10, and on the knuckles of his right hand at 35:53 (at which point Julia Brasher comments on them).
  • Bosch keeps the photographs of several unidentified murder victims on his desk, including Chin Ching Yu, "Divina Rosa," and "Cielo Azul".
  • The front page of the Los Angeles Times LATExtra section features four articles, titled:
    • "The Trial of a 'RECKLESS' Detective: Harry Bosch"
    • "FDA approves new antidepressant drug: Welloft."
    • "Grisly discovery in hillside canyon"
    • "Local church witnesses vet's miracle"

Changes from the Original Pilot[]

  • Then roles of Honey "Money" Chandler (known as Sunny Chandler in the pilot), Nate Tyler and Capt. Harvey Pounds were recast.
  • The trial sequences were expanded to include testimony by Harry and Edgar, and the exteriors partially re-shot, following the recasting of Honey Chandler. The scene where Chandler tells Harry what she plans to do to him in court was cut, as were Chandler and Harry's attorney, Rodney Belk's opening remarks.
  • The scene where Harry gives Crate and Barrel basketball tickets was changed, so that the tickets were for the Lakers, rather than the Celtics, as in the pilot. Later, the scene where Billets confronts Harry was partially reshot to change the team's name in dialogue.
  • The sequence where the bones are excavated was expanded and Harry's first encounter with Nate Tyler changed. The reshoot also changed how Harry invites Julia to dinner at Musso and Frank's.
  • A scene where Harry takes the bone he found to a pathologist was cut.

Locations[]

  • Trial scene exteriors were filmed at the Los Angeles District Courthouse on Spring Street in downtown LA.
  • The Los Angeles County Coroner's office is located at 1104 N. Mission Ave, Los Angeles, adjacent to Los Angeles County General Hospital.

Reception[]

The episode has received 508 ten-out-of-ten ratings and 313 nine-out-of-ten ratings (out of 1096 total ratings) on IMDb for an average rating of 8.7 out of 10.

2014 version[]

Prior to the first season of the series being commissioned by Amazon, an earlier version of the pilot was released on 6 February 2014 as part of the Amazon pilot season with several differences from the later version, including the casting of Amy Price-Francis as prosecutor Sunny Chandler, Jamie McShane as Lt. Harvey Pounds, and Eric Ladin as Times reporter Nate Tyler.

Episode[]

Bosch Season One episodes(S2)
"The Bone Run" (original pilot)
"`Tis the Season" "Lost Light" "Blue Religion" "Fugazi" "Mama's Boy"
"Donkey's Years" "Lost Boys" "High Low" "The Magic Castle" "Us and Them"
Behind-the-Scenes Podcast
"Origins" "Writers" "Authenticity" "Inspiration" "Troubled Hero" "Suspect"
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