SPOILER ALERT AND WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Cross Season 2, Episode 4. It also contains discussion of suicide.

It’s easy to forget that Cross Season 2, Episode 4 is the halfway point of the season. That’s because the Prime Video series slows things way down in “Harden.” While there are some plot reveals, this episode is a showcase for the character of Luz with a side order of further romance between Alex Cross and Kayla Craig.

in some ways, this works. It allows audiences to relate even further to Luz, also known as Rebecca Matthews, because it’s the first time that she’s painted as an ordinary person. Cross viewers have seen three episodes of her being on a single-minded mission of vengeance, but for most of “Harden,” audiences view her as a human being with emphasis on her ability to feel love and compassion. This is the critical distinction between Season 1 and Season 2; there was no emotional wiggle room in the character of Ed Ramsey. But there is with Luz, who is doing terrible things, but this episode shows her having to pay the price that comes with it.

Jeanine Mason is once again aces in her performance, conveying all of Luz’s conflict so beautifully. Cross fans see her struggle because she doesn’t want to kill Lincoln; she’s pushed into it by her confidantes, and even then, not until she realizes that Cross and Kayla are actually on to Lincoln. She looks for every opportunity not to do so. And the feelings between those two characters make sense; Lincoln’s hero worship of Luz is laid on a little thick, yet it’s clear why she would respond to him so easily. It’s spelled out in an early conversation when Luz tells Lincoln that she feels like a weapon; he sees her as a person.

Their final scene together has some serious Knock at the Cabin vibes, albeit without the emotional gravity Jonathan Groff brought in that movie. But it’s an appropriately moving way to end what audiences know has to be a short-lived story. Luz can’t be captured or distracted from her mission, or that would curtail Cross Season 2 as a whole. By having Lincoln tell her he understands his fate, and making him party to it, it preserves the emotional impact of the storyline. Anything less would make Luz seem inauthentic and undercut everything that came before.

And in going this route, “Harden” touches on something that Cross can lose sight of. The moments of humor aren’t always enough to break the show’s bleak worldview. It’s important to have emotional touchstones for the audience to feel something different. What happens between Luz and Lincoln actually works better than the progression of Cross and Kayla, because those scenes want to be more serious than they are just yet. Cross telling Kayla that what they have is “real” feels a bit fast, when he was still trying to win Elle back three episodes ago. Even though he and Kayla have this extensive history, to viewers who just dove back into this world, it takes a bit more time to believe he’s ready to move on. But perhaps that’s something that will get explored as the season continues.

Everything else in “Harden” feels like asides between those dueling relationships. The one thing of note is that Bobby Trey’s team finds incriminating video footage of Kayla during the “Mastermind” days; it’s a cringe-worthy moment that will have viewers never looking at shape blocks the same way again. That’s a prime example of the dark lengths that Cross will go to. Severed fingers and blocks in the eye are common practice on this show, and that’s not abnormal to anyone who’s read the source material.

But that’s why “Harden” is a welcome pause in the literal middle of the action. It’s a chance to breathe for the viewers, and a chance to remind everyone of the emotional stakes, putting more on the table than just good guys and serial killers. Cross Season 2 has a little more of a heart, mostly through Luz and through Jeanine Mason’s performance, and the show is better off for it. Even if she’s almost certainly not going to get a happy ending.

Cross streams Wednesdays on Prime Video. Photo Credit: Ian Watson/Courtesy of Prime Video.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.