Detective Harry Bosch makes his last stand in final season

Based on the Michael Connelly novel The Burning Room, Season 7 of Bosch sees Detective Harry Bosch (People’s Choice Award winner Titus Welliver) making good on his credo that “everybody counts or nobody counts” by finding justice for the death of a young girl who was killed in a fire by arson.

But Harry Bosch is more than an LAPD detective – he’s also father to Maddie, his heastrong daughter, who comes to live with him in Season 3. “The purest part of his evolution over the course of seven seasons has been his relationship with his daughter and how he has been forced to try to evolve because he has a daughter who is not unlike him, who’s stubborn and opinionated, but who also has a really strong moral compass,” said Welliver in an interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet.

All seasons of Bosch are streaming on Showmax, so you can get stuck in right from the beginning if you’re a Bosch rookie.

Here’s a quick explainer before we get into a sneak peek of Season 7 and our favourite moments between Bosch and Maddie.

Is Bosch a police procedural?

The show is often described as a police procedural, but this term has a dual meaning. One, that it shows the many methods of how law enforcement solve crimes – their procedures, in other words.

Two, in television it refers to shows that introduce, investigate and solve crimes all within the same episode. Law & Order: Organised Crime and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit are examples of this kind of cop show, and they can be immensely satisfying because you could dip in and out without necessarily knowing what’s happened in previous episodes.

Bosch, however, is definitively not this kind of cop show. It’s a slow-burn detective series that carries storylines throughout a season and, occasionally, over multiple seasons, such as the case of Daisy Clayton, which was traced through Seasons 5 and 6.

What to expect in Bosch Season 7

If you’re already a fan of the show, you’ll know Bosch is the champion for the victims, especially women and children. The final season opens on New Year’s Eve with an arson attack in which five humans die, including a 10-year-old girl. The press dubs her “Little Tamale Girl” because she was taking a plate up to the neighbours at the time of the fire. “Sonia Hernandez,” Bosch says every time. It’s important to him that everyone knows her name.

Finding the man who ordered the attack and bringing him to justice is the main story arc throughout Season 7.

Another thread is that of J (Jerry) Edgar (Jamie Hector), who is unravelling after shooting Jacques Avrile (a Haitian war criminal turned CIA asset introduced in Season 5) in the Season 6 finale. Only us viewers and Edgar know what really happened that night. While spending most of Season 7 as a volatile mess, he does redeem himself in the end. Lieutenant Billets (Amy Aquino) finds herself embroiled in harassment – by fellow cops – and Internal Affairs. And you have every good reason to strongly dislike Captain Cooper (Mark Herrier), ugh.

Then there is Honey Chandler (Mimi Rogers), nicknamed “Money” because she’s a high-powered defence attorney who charges the big bucks while keeping her conscience tucked firmly away. She’s been part of Bosch’s story since the beginning, and not always in a good way. This time, her client is the mastermind of a Ponzi scheme, but there’s someone higher up who’s not too happy he is planning to cut a deal. Bosch’s daughter, Maddie, is interning for Honey and this may put her life in danger.

Bosch’s greatest parenting moments in each episode of Season 7

Bosch and Maddie have had a tumultuous relationship over the years, and it’s been difficult with her mother not being around. While Season 7 culminates in a shocking turn of events with Bosch storming off into the sunset, it does produce some beautiful, sweet and caring moments between him and Maddie, filled with gentle, mutual love and respect.

Here are some of our favourites.

Episode 1: The unsolved cases that haunt him

Their first interaction of the season takes place on New Year’s Day, the day after Harry’s all-nighter with the East Hollywood fire.

Scene: the deck at Bosch’s house overlooking Los Angeles, night time. (If you’ve ever wondered how he has such a fancy house on a cop’s salary, it came from his work as a technical advisor for a TV mini-series. It is a real house, but it has a fictional address in the books.)

Maddie joins Harry there and he tells her about his desk at work where he keeps pictures of three other women whose cases he’s never been able to solve. He doesn’t even know their names. He explains that he keeps the pictures to remind him that “everybody counts, or nobody counts”.

Episode 2: Talking about the things they can’t talk about

The house, night again. Harry puts on a jazz record; he’s a fan if you didn’t know. Heck, his dog is called Coltrane. (Welliver talks about the dog in this Showbiz Cheat Sheet interview.)

The love of jazz weaves its way through the series too, and Harry has passed on his knowledge to Maddie over the years. They banter about their respective cases, with Harry feeding back Maddie’s line: “You know I can’t talk about it.” The conversation ends with love-yous.

Episode 3: Harry talks with Maddie and her boyfriend

House, night. Maddie and her boyfriend Antonio (Jonny Rios) are around for dinner, jazz playing softly in the background. They’re talking about Sonia, the drug addict Harry helped back in 2010, and how hard it is to lose a child (Antonio is a paediatric nurse). This is more of a monologue than dialogue but it gives Harry the opportunity to reveal his softer side as Maddie and Antonio listen to him.

Episode 4: Helping Maddie through trauma

After a double shooting, Harry realises Maddie might be in danger. She’s on her way to fetch Honey for the deposition of the Ponzi guy. Harry instructs her to stay in the car, not to go in the house, but of course this is TV and no one ever listens to things like that. Maddie encounters a traumatic scene and when Harry arrives, instead of berating her for doing what he said she shouldn’t, he embraces and comforts her. He later sits in to support her while she’s being questioned by another cop.

Later that night, back at the house, Harry and Maddie talk about Honey and how good she is at her job. They drink a toast to her.

Change of scene! Maddie is at the station, at Harry’s desk. They talk about Honey again, and how tough she is. The mood is subdued. Maddie asks Harry not to lie to her, and he doesn’t. Then he warns her not to talk to anyone about what happened. Knowing what she knows could get her killed, and her identity – her mere existence – must be kept a secret.

Episode 5: Calm but firm

Edgar messes up big time and that secret is out. Harry calls Maddie and tells her to go home, do not pass go, do not collect $200, and she has to text or call him every hour. He’s calm but firm. Later that night, back at the house, Harry admits to Maddie that she is in danger. Once Maddie has testified before the Grand Jury, she’ll be safe, because it will be on the record. Again, Harry is calm, firm and reassuring. “It’s going to be fine, honey,” he says, putting his hand on her arm.

The episode closes with Maddie’s identity being revealed to the Bad Guys.

Episode 6: “Let’s get you a carry permit”

The Bad Guys’ assassin is on his way, and every precaution must be taken to get Maddie in front of the Grand Jury. The assassin has an elaborate plan that results in some very sad collateral damage for Bosch. Maddie shows Harry the gun she found in the record cabinet.

“Don’t be mad,” she begs him. “I’m not mad. When this is done let’s see if we can get you a carry permit, if that’s what you want,” he answers. By this point of the story, Harry is Dad Of The Year. It’s very attractive. 

There’s massive drama in this episode. Harry and Maddie post-mortem it at the house, at night, jazz in the background. Harry promises Maddie they’ll get the Bad Guy.

Maddie comments on the music. “Your mom’s favourite,” says Harry.

This is the longest scene between the two, and it shows how close they have become.

Episode 7: Role reversal

House, morning. Maddie is buffing Harry’s boots. She tells him he looks good in his black suit. He’s had to wear it too many times, he muses. They’re going to a funeral. It should be cold, wet and raining, but it’s a beautiful day. At the wake, Maddie fixes him a plate but Harry’s not hungry. “You’ve got to eat some time, Dad,” she admonishes him, reversing the typical parent/child roles. 

Later, house, night, jazz. Maddie is packing boxes because she’s going to move in with Antonio.

They discuss Maddie’s future; she needs to take time off to think. A near-death experience will do that to a person. He uses her full name at one point, usually a sign you’re in trouble, but ultimately he remains understanding.

Episode 8: The moment that everything changes

Maddie makes a radical career choice. When she tells Harry, it catches him off guard, and you know deep down this is not what he wants for her but at the same time he can’t help but be proud, surely. But “my life, my choice” wins this conversation.

The finale changes everything so I suspect this is something that will be picked up in upcoming spin-off Bosch: Legacy.

What we know so far about the spin-off Bosch: Legacy

For the record: until it reaches our shores, I refuse to be appeased for the way the final season of the greatest cop show of the decade has played out.

The spin-off also stars Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch, and Madison Lintz as his daughter Maddie. Other Bosch cast members make guest appearances in Bosch: Legacy, characters from previous seasons are there too but to tell you who they are would mean spoilers for Season 7; and Michael Connelly is part of the development team.

Plus, it was renewed for a second season before it even aired. So there’s that to look forward to. In the meantime, stream Seasons 1-7 of Bosch on Showmax.