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In a nation seemingly reluctant to bring justice to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, the creators of Cross Season 2 are boldly challenging that narrative. They’re taking a stand with their storytelling, saying “enough is enough.”
**Spoilers for the initial episodes of Cross Season 2, now available on Prime Video**
Right from the outset of Season 2, viewers are thrust into a plot confronting the misdeeds of affluent tycoons, human trafficking, and the enablers who stood by them. This stark reflection of reality left me, a professional TV critic, momentarily stunned, needing a second glance to fully grasp the storyline. While the entertainment industry has previously alluded to Epstein’s transgressions, Cross seems determined to pave the way for more narratives to delve into his shadowy legacy.
The series doesn’t just acknowledge these issues; it seeks to provide a sense of resolution, albeit through fiction. Episode 1 introduces us to Luce, portrayed by Jeanine Mason, a woman on a relentless quest to dismantle the network surrounding Richard Helvig, a character mirroring Epstein, played by Geoffrey Pounsett. Helvig’s heinous acts of trafficking and abuse have affected countless women.
Season 2 opens with a gripping scene where Luce and her partner Donnie, played by Wes Chatham, storm an opulent island estate where Helvig and his associates are detaining women. In a dramatic act of justice, they set the mansion ablaze. Before this, Luce exacts personal retribution by severing Helvig’s fingers, declaring that he deserves no mercy for his crimes. Her vendetta is deeply personal, driven by Helvig’s role in her mother’s death; yet, her broader mission remains to avenge the countless victims who suffered at the hands of Helvig and his cronies.
To anyone not paying attention, it’s just another season of another crime show. There’s a world in which someone who is incredibly ill-informed is even actively rooting for Luce to be arrested for her brutal acts, I guess. But to anyone who is privy to all that has unfolded in the years since Epstein’s arrest and his death — including the ongoing battle to unredact thousands of documents pertaining to his crimes — Cross Season 2’s storyline feels like the justice that has been long deserved. Victims are finally being heard, finally getting to see someone answer for all that has transpired.
“Are you asking because you don’t know what you’ve done to deserve this or because you’ve committed so many evil acts over the course of your life that you can’t figure out which ghost has come back to haunt you,” Luce says softly while holding Helvig’s face in her hand and then slitting his throat.
Slightly hard to watch in the moment, sure, but wildly gratifying upon learning more about Luce’s aims in Episode 2 and Episode 3. The scene hits even harder after several of Epstein’s victims appeared in an ad during Super Bowl LIX, practically begging for the release of the remaining files and pleading that they “deserve the truth” after everything they’ve been through. It’s dystopian to think that it would take a multi-million-dollar ad targeted at those in power just for information to be made available, and it’s exactly the kind of fuel that makes the fire in Cross Season 2 burn even brighter.
On the other hand, there is the element of Season 2 about Alex Cross (Aldis Hodge) working to hunt down Luce in order to stop her from killing Lance Durand (Matthew Lillard), who is on her arm ‘s-length long list of people who need their comeuppance, but even that starts to come into question as Cross learns more about who she is and her motivations. I.E., who can blame a girl for going after what she wants when what she wants is justified?
While I hope and pray every day that those who have done harm and been involved with Epstein are brought to justice one day, until then, you can catch me watching a fictionalized version in Cross Season 2 where karma is a real b**ch.
The first three episodes of Cross Season 2 are now streaming on Prime Video.