SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Cross Season 2, Episode 5.

As Cross enters the back half of Season 2, the Prime Video drama’s plot is obviously coming together. Season 2, Episode 5, “Climb” has several major reveals in it, including the truth about Kayla Craig’s secret past and a cliffhanger involving a well-known guest star. But for all of that, the most interesting parts of the episode are the ones that are character-driven.

Cross, like the James Patterson novels on which it’s based, can sometimes get caught up in its own labyrinthine story. But that was not the case in Season 2, Episode 4, and this episode smartly builds on the emotions in that story. Luz continues to be tormented by having to kill Lincoln, and she’s allowed to play that out across the whole episode; it’s not just one scene of grief tossed aside to further the plot. In fact, it influences much of her decision-making and becomes a point of contention.

It’s worth repeating how wonderful Jeanine Mason has been in the role of Luz. It’s not a part that anyone would ever expect for her and yet the way she plays off both Aldis Hodge and Wes Chatham here is nothing short of fantastic. The villains of Cross have actually been the show’s strongest assets. Between Mason and Ryan Eggold (whose Season 1 serial killer Ed Ramsey gets a mention in “Climb”) they’ve been taking the audience on these incredible rides. Luz is grieving, angry, cool and predatory all in one episode. She’s questioning herself, she’s feeling for others and then at the end she’s threatening a Senator played by Josh Peck. Who is also a treat, since in that one scene he’s miles away from iCarly or Turner and Hooch. Fans will have to wait to see if he gets any more screen time or not.

But there are a lot of acting highlights here. Matthew Lillard goes back to his horror movie roots as his character Lance Durand turns a tearful TV confession into a condemnation of other people on a dime. That and Durand’s smugness when talking to Cross and Kayla afterward make him the kind of antagonist fans love to hate. He’s smarmy while looking completely punchable. Speaking of popular kids’ properties, if Five Nights at Freddy’s didn’t ruin the live-action Scooby-Doo movies for people, then Lillard’s performance in Cross definitely will. It’s going to be a joy when Durand is finally brought to justice.

That’s because the one thing Cross Season 2, Episode 5 emphasizes is how everyone is kind of on the same page of hating Durand and all that he’s done; the moral quandary is how to deal with it. The audience has all this information to hate him with. Luz’s personal story is spelled out in more detail here, since the cops now know who she is. Wes Chatham gets his moment in the sun when Luz’s accomplice Donnie delivers a self-loathing monologue about how he discovered that Durand’s farm was using child labor. Cross even opens up to Luz about his wife’s murder and how that negatively affected him. Everyone in “Climb” is in pain, for deeply personal reasons, and that’s what makes the episode memorable.

There are some pieces that don’t entirely fit. John Sampson’s further investigation into his mother’s case only gets one scene, and there are two scenes between Elle Monteiro and Cross’s daughter Jani that also feel out of place. They’re great moments (particularly when Elle opens up to Jani about the end of her relationship with Cross), but they are asides. Cross Season 2 seems like it’s still finding a place for Elle, now that she and Cross are dating other people, and that struggle is not a bad thing necessarily. It means Ben Watkins and company know that they have an asset in actor Samantha Walkes and want to continue using her. But it kind of seems like Elle is on an island, as are Cross’s kids now that they’re no longer directly involved in the story.

That aside, “Climb” has so many good scenes for the actors. Even Watkins has a fun moment when Kayla confronts her boss with some incriminating information. All of the major players get a moment to show who they really are—not just in terms of plot but emotionally. And that resonates even more than the car crash ending. That may create a burst of excitement, but character development is priceless.

Cross streams Wednesdays on Prime Video. Photo Credit: 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.