I stand at a precipice.

This morning, I watched three-and-a-half episodes of Amazon’s “Bosch” original series and now have but one episode left. For those not in the know, the police drama stars Titus Welliver as Michael Connelly’s creation, Detective Hieronymus Bosch of the LAPD.

As happens with streaming series, the entire season went live all at once (in February), and prior to a vacation I managed to watch the first five episodes. The sixth one I tried to watch while away only to be sorely disappointed by my hotel’s wifi. It had been my intent to watch one a day while out of town so that I could finish it up in short order.

Why would I want that? Because “Bosch” is great.

It isn’t perfect, there are a few moments when you know what’s going to happen simply because this is a police drama and certain things tend to take place, but those tend to be few and far between. On the whole, it is moody and atmospheric and Welliver and the rest of the cast are excellent.

One of the things I really like about the show is that they opted to not start the series where the novels start. Bosch is much darker where the novels begin and I like the fact that they avoided that. I very much hope for another season—several more if they can keep up the quality of the storytelling—and I don’t want the show to have to follow the softening of the too-close-to-the-edge detective arc. Right now, Bosch makes mistakes, does things he shouldn’t, but he’s not as close to the darkness here as he was in the early books. The change allows the show to avoid the trope, and I love that.

The other thing I love, really love, is being able to binge watch it.

I don’t think that releasing series in this way will ever wholly supplant the more traditional method, and I wonder if sometimes a show would be better if you couldn’t binge it. For “Bosch,” they’re able to tell this one long story and watching it feels like watching a movie… a really long, but great, movie.

I watch “House of Cards,” binged seasons one and two as they were made available, and am working my way through season three, but there I think the show might benefit from now everything available instantly. It is too over the top, too much scenery chewing and ridiculous shenanigans for my money, and I have to put it down after a while rather than continue. I think it’s okay, but I also think it would be better if it reveled in its own silliness rather than offering a feel that it’s aiming for better. I constantly hope that it will turn the corner and make me feel the greatness that so many others feel about it, but I’m not there. Maybe the rest of this season will convince me.

But, I return to my opening, here I stand at a precipice and I’m not sure what to do next. I could dive back in and watch the final episode, learn the end of the story and wait until there’s a new season. Or, I could wait. I could hold off on that climactic episode, and let the knowledge that there’s still more “Bosch” I can watch at anytime just waiting for me.

It is actually something of a tough call. There is a lot of TV I want to watch, a lot that I don’t get the chance to see. I love completing a show, checking it off my list, but along with the sense of accomplishment I get from such a thing, there’s a pang of regret. Sometimes I wonder if it’s better to hold off on that last episode, to not know. After all, the show Is nearly checked off my list, it wouldn’t take more than another 45 minutes of my time to close it out. That is virtually completed, and it’s virtually completed without that regret.

Nah, who am I kidding, I’m finishing “Bosch” and I’m doing it as soon as I can.

Like now.

photo credit: Amazon

Categories: Random Thoughts

Tags: Amazon, Bosch, Michael Connelly, Titus Welliver