What I enjoyed about the first season of Cross, is that we get a powerful, intelligent Black man, Alex Cross (Aldis Hodge), who is competent in every way as a homicide detective but is constantly under duress from not having properly dealt with his grief. There’s an amazing supporting cast around him, including his best friend John (Isaiah Sampson), a whip-smart FBI agent, Kayla (Alona Tai), his grandmother (Juanita Jennings), and a whole cadre of compelling characters. With the first season allowing Alex Cross to face his personal demons while solving and catching a serial killer, we see him close one chapter of his life, including accepting and letting go of his murdered wife, while also hurting and losing a wonderful woman in the process, Elle (Samantha Walkes).
In the first three episodes of the new season, Alex is asked to join Kayla to catch a person who sent a deadly threat to a billionaire, Lance Durand (Matthew Lillard); unaware that the person they are after is connected to a serial killer, whose targets are billionaires who are trafficking immigrant children for illegal child labor. The series shows us both Cross, Kayla, and John hunting down a suspect while simultaneously showing us the true perpetrator, Rebecca and Donnie (Jeanine Mason and Wes Chatham, respectively). Rebecca is on a mission of revenge against these billionaires, and her war is a righteous one. As Cross inches closer and closer to finding out about Rebecca, the show is allowing us to get to know her, her motivations and her backstory.
Very light, ambiguous spoilers follow:
Within the first three episodes, we see John dealing with his biological mother, who gave him up as a child, after she’s arrested for a crime. Elle and Alex are now broken up, but she remains in their lives while Nana Mama is absent. We also get a larger role for my favourite character on the show, Kayla. She’s in deep trouble over an off-the-books operation and is being set up as the fall guy.
There’s a lot of story threads playing out this season, and because Cross has managed to clean up a lot of his loose ends from last season, he feels more like a support character to the other players. We see things from his point of view, which is very interesting. He remains the lead and continues to carry the show, but he’s also there to help the others shine, even as he deals with his lingering issues with Elle.
In fact, the love story between him and Elle is the least interesting storyline at play. Elle’s reason is justified and because of last season’s climactic ending, she remains part of the family and someone Cross’ kids trust. With Nana Mama out of the picture, Elle steps in as the house sitter, which adds to Cross’ confusion. Three episodes in, and it’s the slowest part of the show. Mustafa is a fantastic actor, and he makes John such a solid character that I wish the subplot involving his mother is fully utilized.
My favourite character is Kayla, though, and now that she has a bigger role in season 2, I’m eager to see the full range of her character’s complexity. She’s highly competent and very able but it seems she has often been sidelined in favor of her male counterparts. She’s shown that her morality bends, especially when you take into account how she dealt with Bobby Trey (Johnny Ray Gill) last season. Her connection with Cross runs much deeper than initially hinted at and is touched upon in episode three and I’d really like to see how they flesh out her character more.
The main crime that we’re following though – the one involving Rebecca and Donnie – feels so on point. While the trafficked children are being exploited for child labor, which is both horrible and illegal, one can’t read into it as something similar to the political upheaval that is happening in the United States regarding the Epstein Files. The fact that Rebecca is targeting billionaires makes the links more solid that, as an audience member, you’re kind of on her side. You’re eager to see how Cross is going to navigate this particular dilemma, especially as the show positions Lillard’s Lance Durand as a two-faced spoiled billionaire. A lot of the good stuff from season one is carrying over and none of the baggage, so this is going to be a fun season.
My Rating: 4 Stars
Binge Cross Season 2 now and see why Wanggo gives it 4 out of 5 stars. With gripping twists, complex characters, and a crime plot that keeps you guessing, this is a season you won’t want to miss, stream it now on Prime Video.
