In nearly every great cop drama, there is a moment in the big case when the detective and the suspect meet.
In Cross season 2, we got that meeting this week. Alex Cross (Aldis Hodge) and Rebecca Matthews (Jeanie Mason) finally had their meeting. That was the heart of this week’s episode, “Climb,” and it didn’t go as Cross would have hoped. Let’s dive in.
Spoilers are ahead from Cross season 2 episode 5!
The aftermath of Lincoln’s death
After Lincoln shot himself, our main players are thrown into disarray. Rebecca finds herself sad and questioning everything. She takes a cleansing bath, and she gets a new tattoo. But it doesn’t cover over the pain. Lincoln’s death might have been necessary for the mission, but it stings. And it isn’t long before Donnie (Wes Chatham) gives her a pep talk about why they’re doing it and why it’s necessary.
Cross and Craig (Alona Tal), meanwhile, are back to square one. They don’t believe that Lincoln would kill himself. They think their mystery woman is involved. But it’s not clear how they go about finding her. That is until a lead takes them to a file on Rebecca’s mother, and her suspicious death. They follow the breadcrumbs and uncover Rebecca’s identity, which takes them all the way back to Florida.
Craig’s personal issue
But before they head to Florida, Craig has time to run into Bobby Trey (Johnny Ray Gill) at her apartment. He’s none too pleased with what he found on the video. He shows the video to Craig, who appears to be seeing it for the first time. She calls it a deep fake being used to help frame her for everything. Craig confesses her role in the mission, which didn’t include the trials or what happened to the soldiers involved. Bobby believes her, for now, and agrees to keep helping.
Task 1 is to find out who is really on the video beneath Craig’s face. She sets Bobby to find his contact. The problem is Bobby’s contact has been raided. Someone really wants to thwart Craig. So, in desperation, she sends Bobby to an FBI Agent who owes her a favor, Bruce Folsom (David Tomlinson). But that blows up in her face.
Craig is called back to Washington D.C., while Cross remains in Florida. Her boss Roy (Ben Watkins) is about to suspend her after she tried to use bureau resources. But Craig has an ace up her sleeve. She has enough leverage to get what she needs. So, Bruce Folsom is sent to her house and helps uncover the truth. Now, it’s a matter of putting it to use.
Face-to-face meeting
Cross, meanwhile, has to stay in Florida because he got that face-to-face meeting with Rebecca. He’s wearing a wire, so Rebecca is careful not to incriminate herself. But in an effort to gain a favorable outcome, Cross pulls the wire. He lays out his own story to try and convince Rebecca to turn herself in—and turn over her evidence—so they can get Lance Durand (Matthew Lillard) the right way. She agrees, asking for 24 hours.
Craig doesn’t trust it. But Cross believes he knows Rebecca and has reached her. He waits in Florida for the meeting and heads out alone, but not before dropping a pin. Craig calls him and again warns him not to trust it. Cross again affirms he believes it will work, just as Donnie hits his car with a truck. Flipped over, strapped in, and seemingly in trouble, Cross scrambles for an answer. As it appears Donnie will take him out, a car races up. Out pops Bobby Trey, who wounds Donnie and sends him on his way.
Turns out, Craig didn’t trust Rebecca and wasn’t willing to leave it to chance. Since she was unavailable, she sent Bobby in her place, who saved the day.
Rebecca, meanwhile, is on to her next target. This new target is Senator Ashford (Josh Peck), whose mother was a judge that helped Crestbrook Industries stay out of trouble. Rebecca lays out the truth and asks him to help her, using the blackmail file that Ashford’s mother left as insurance. Will she find him a willing co-conspirator?
Thoughts on this week’s episode
We have a lot going on with the main case and Sampson’s (John Mustafa) mother's case, which is still on the back burner a bit. But there are other stories going on, too. There seems to be a need to keep Cross’s kids and ex-girlfriend in the background. Maybe it will all come together in some compelling way. For now, it feels like a distraction that I don’t need to see much more of this season.
A new episode of Cross season 2 streams every Wednesday on Prime Video. Check back next week as we recap all the action of the sixth episode of the second season!