Cross season 1 ending explained: Who killed Alex's wife?

There was a lot going on in the eight episodes of Cross season 1. None of the episodes disappointed, and neither did the outcomes of the storylines.

Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for Cross season 1.

The first season brought us two murders/cases to get to the bottom of. The first was the murder of Alex Cross’s wife. The second was figuring out who the Fanboy Killer was.

Getting to the bottom of the Fanboy Killer in Cross season 1

By the halfway mark, Alex had already worked out who the Fanboy Killer was. He knew it was Ryan Eggold’s Ramsey, but he couldn’t prove it. As he would get closer, Ramsey would be steps ahead of it. Because of Ramsey, Cross lost his badge and reputation. That didn’t stop him from searching, though.

Within episodes, he and Sampson got to the bottom of the second mole in the police department. It was (shockingly) Lieutenant Massey, who had managed to be bought by Ramsey, and while she knew it was wrong, she would do what she could to get her child the best start in life. Well, it wasn’t the great start she wanted, but there was still a killer out there.

It seemed to be one of those endings without justice, though. As Cross got to Ramsey finally, Ramsey killed himself. That’s the way it seemed, but we all know that Ramsey was constantly a step ahead. He faked his death so that he could get to the hospital where Shannon was being kept. He needed to finish off his masterpiece.

Only, it didn’t go to plan. Cross figured it out in time and got to the hospital just before Ramsey was able to inject Shannon with potassium chloride.

Cross was even able to make Ramsey look completely crazy. While he was going to be tried for the murder of Mayor Goodwin and the kidnapping of Shannon, he wasn’t going to be charged with the other murders. It didn’t matter that Ramsey was willing to confess to them. Cross arranged for Ramsey’s bible to be burned, getting rid of all the evidence. Without all of that, Ramsey would come across as a crazy man who just wanted recognition.

That is what Ramsey wanted. He wanted his name to go down in history, and as the Fanboy Killer, it would have done. Eggold was wonderful as he played the infuriated crazy man wanting to get his name out there. All that hard work was for nothing.

By the way, some of the victims’ families will get some answers. Bobby agreed to take the blame for some of them and even give up information on where at least six of the victims’ remains are in exchange for immunity with 24 months served. Kayla had another thing she wanted, though. She wanted the dirt that Ramsey had collected on people, and she would pay him for that once he got out of prison.

Alex Cross got answers he didn’t expect about his wife

Throughout Cross season 1, Alex was getting threats from someone. People wanted to hurt his children, and they knew something about the murder of his wife. So, naturally, he went down the rabbit holes to get answers.

It wouldn’t be until the last episode that everything fell into place. He knew it was linked to Deirdre, but now? At first, it seemed to be her boyfriend Pete who was involved in it all. While he did want Alex dead for Deidre killing herself, it wasn’t him.

It turned out to be Miss. Nancy! She had orchestrated it all, and she was there to get Cross’s children in her cabin away from everyone. Alex had to turn to Bobby for help to get his children and Elle back safely, but it didn’t quite work out to plan at first. It did mean answers, though.

You see, Nancy wanted Alex to choose between his children. It turned out that she encouraged Deirdre to confess to crimes she didn’t commit to protect Pete so he wouldn’t go back to prison. This was why Pete felt so guilty; he thought that she did it for him. It was because of Nancy, and Nancy felt like she had to choose between two people she loved. That was why Nancy wanted Alex to choose between his kids—he needed to feel the pain that she felt.

A fight broke out, but this whole thing ended in quite an anticlimactic way. Nancy burned herself alive as Pete was arrested. Alex and everyone else (including Bobby, since he was needed for later) got away safely.

The best thing about this storyline was that Alex finally got the help that he needed. He was able to close the chapter on that life because he got the answers that he needed.

He didn’t get the justice he thought should have been due to him, though. Chief Anderson made a point that she was running for Mayor. Alex knew that meant she needed him not to be disciplined for the attack on the suspect earlier in the season. Alex tried to get the guy to file an official complaint, but the guy didn’t even want that. He wanted Black cops to be and do better when it came to Black suspects. That is something Alex can agree to do.

With all of this closed, we have to wonder where Cross season 2 will go. What’s the case that Alex and Sampson will need to deal with next? And can we trust Kayla?

Cross is available to stream on Prime Video.