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‘BOSCH’: Investigating episode 504 ‘Raise the Dead’

Even with a bum knee Harry get a few steps closer to the pill mill. 

Episode 504: ‘Raise the Dead’ 

Written by: Tom Bernardo 

Directed by: Laura Belsey 

A fun fact about director Laura Belsey: She directed Ryan Hurst in episodes of both Bosch and The Walking Dead in concurrent seasons. Ryan, of course, plays investigator Hector Bonner on Bosch and Beta on The Walking Dead. 

Something sketchy about that confession 

The episode begins with Harry recalling details from Danielle Skyler’s apartment as a crime scene. He remembers the balcony, the knife on the floor, and the picture of Danielle with little sister Dinah. Bosch is reminded of a couple of things that do not add up with Olmer’s “confession”. 

First, Danielle’s balcony was covered in soot. Had Olmer been there and entered from the outside as confessed, there would have been footprints. But there were none. Also, Olmer made no mention of the knife used at the scene. 

Bosch shares these details with his attorney Honey Chandler who finds the details helpful. The pair considers what the motive may have been in making a false confession. Money comes to mind as both Borders and his attorney Cronyn could profit from a large settlement. 

Bosch also reaches out to the corrections officer who witnessed Olmer’s confession. It turns out that the confession was not a verbal one but a written one that he signed. The corrections officer reported that he and Cronyn wore gloves because Olmer had MRSA. 

Hector stalks Rita 

Investigator Hector Bonner is on the trail of Rita Tedesco who has secretly been married to the man convicted of murdering Danielle Skylar. That’s right, Ms. Tedesco also anwers to Mrs. Borders. Hector makes a visit to the courthouse to get a glimpse of Rita working as the court reporter. Rita meets eyes with Hector and seems unnerved. 

There is a break in the trial and Hector waits outside to approach Rita. He calls her by her married name, which she corrects as Tedesco. Hector claims he is a friend of Preston “Pres” Borders from San Quentin. He tells her he has just been released from prison and heard she has money coming in. Rita slips up. She denies there being any money . . . “yet”. She then warns Hector to leave her alone or she will follow up with Pres. 

Hector gives Chandler the news about Rita accidentally referencing some sort of financial conspiracy. 

Chats with the Chief 

The Chief meets with Officer Edgewood about the officer involved shooting of Mr. Vasquez. “Edge” confirms that there did appear to be something in Vasquez’s waistband and he suspected it could be the gun mentioned in the 911 call. He also revealed that he suspected some “bad blood” between Officer Robson and Vasquez like there was some history there. 

Harry also chats with the Chief by phone after speaking with Anthony Servidone. Harry has searched the DFARs (Daily Field Activity Reports) looking for an arrest incident mentioned by Borders in the original hearing. Unable to find a formal arrest, Harry reaches out to retired officer Anthony Servidone who picked up Borders based on a suspect description flyer. 

Bosch berates Servidone for bringing Borders into the station when the flyer explicitly said not to attempt an arrest. Servidone corrects Bosch saying that (then) Lt. Irving called it a detainment and not an arrest. When Bosch asks the Chief about the detainment, Irving explains that he was afraid of losing Borders at that time since they did not yet have probable cause. 

Sidebar: Michael Connelly recently shared a screen capture from Harry’s chat with Servidone. Look who is sitting nearby – author and Executive Producer Michael Connelly himself! 

An alter ego for Harry 

Harry continues to shift gears between two cases, one past and the other present. His current case, of course, is the murder of pharmacist Jose Esquivel, Sr. When Bosch and J. Edgar suspect that an opioid pill mill is directly related to the murder, Harry wants to get a closer look. 

Harry decides to go undercover with fake id credentials provided to him. He will pose as Dominic Reilly but use his actual war history and injuries to seek an oxy prescription from the VA facility. 

Harry (as Dominic Reilly) meets with Dr. Victor Hansen who offers a prescription of extra strength ibuprofen for Reilly’s severe knee pain. Reilly scoffs at the prescription and asks for something stronger. Dr. Hansen suspects a history of drug abuse and recommends a support group on campus.  

Reilly begrudgingly attends a group session and listens to the bickering between fellow veterans Louis Degner and Elizabeth (the woman we recognize from the flashforward in episode 1). He later spies the pair passing drugs outside the facility. Reilly talks to Dr. Hansen after the meeting and tells him he tried the group, but he really needs the oxy instead. Hansen tells him to stick it out for 30 days first. 

Befriending Louis 

Bosch asks J. Edgar to cross-check names on prescriptions from the Garcia clinic and look for one named Louis. Sure enough, J. Edgar uncovers that Degner has been seeking oxy through both the VA and the Garcia Pain Clinic. Harry is hoping Degner can help him access the Garcia clinic. 

Bosch resumes his Dominic Reilly role and visits Louis at his home while Edgar watches and waits down the street. Louis does not come to the door and Harry hears a loud noise. He bursts through the door to find Elizabeth on the kitchen floor having overdosed. Louis administers Narcan and tells Reilly to call 911. The paramedics arrive on scene as well as J. Edgar who comes to check on Harry’s safety. Jerry plays along with Harry posing as Reilly. As J. Edgar enters the kitchen, Reilly swipes a small bag of drugs from the counter and pockets it. 

The first responders take Elizabeth to the hospital despite her protests. Before they take her away Reilly notices the “RIP Daisy” tattoo on her arm. 

Reilly and Degner talk over dinner. Louis explains that he served as a medic in Iraq in response to Reilly’s inquiry about the Narcan. Degner agrees to vouch for Reilly at Garcia’s clinic. He also answers Reilly’s questions about Daisy. Louis explains that Elizabeth’s daughter was murdered at age 14 and Elizabeth has never recovered from the tragic loss. Upon further inquiry from Reilly, Degner reveals that the murder has never been solved. 

Maddie making a name for herself 

Christina Henry introduces herself to Maddie in one of the file rooms at the District Attorney’s office. The CIU investigator knows who Maddie is, but Maddie does not know of Christina. Christina makes small talk about how Maddie came to live with Harry and (in my opinion) creepily mentions the fabulous view from Harry’s house. She explains herself by telling Maddie that she and Harry were colleagues. Maddie later brings up the conversation with her dad and warns him to be careful around Christina saying she has a “hunch” about Christina. You and me both, Maddie!

There is someone else trying to get to know Maddie better. Tom leaves a white rose and a clever request for a date on Maddie’s desk. He creatively asks her out via subpoena. Harry tells Maddie that Eleanor taught him about the meanings associated with the color of roses and that white can have multiple meanings.

Maddie is also approached by an attorney at the office to take notes during a witness prep meeting.

Edgar digs deeper into Gary’s murder

J. Edgar meets with Detectives Arias and Marcos about what happened with Gary. He wants to find out why the meeting was so public. They say that it was per Gary’s request.

Marcos and Arias ask Edgar who in RHD is working Gary’s murder because maybe they can get some intel from them that will help them solve the drive-by shooting at the church. Jerry shares that Detectives Conniff and Espinosa are working Gary’s murder.

Later, J. Edgar picks the lock and searches Gary’s residence. He opens a drawer and finds a church flyer and a gun. He then visits Gary’s dad (and retired detective) Dwight. Dwight says he doesn’t know why Gary would need a gun. As far as his murder, Dwight fears that someone saw Gary talking to the detectives initially and retaliated. 

Crate and Barrel enCAPSulate a strained partnership 

Crate and Barrel are doing their best to suffer through their assignment in CAPS, but eventually their feelings about the accident come to the surface.

The detectives are meeting with two gentlemen who got into a brawl over their territory as panhandlers. One guy defends himself by saying repeatedly to Barrel, “It’s my spot!” The other guy meets with Crate and claims that he arrived their first and that the first guy initiated the fight.

A resolution is going nowhere fast.

Later, Crate is having trouble making copies. Barrel steps in to find that the problem is a staple Crate failed to remove. That’s the last straw! Barrel makes a jab about Crate’s sight and Crate follows up with words about Barrel’s hearing. Things escalate to the point that Lt. Billets exits her office to see what’s going on.

Man, it’s tough seeing these guys at each other’s throats!

Not such a tough peaNUT to crack 

The fingerprints come back on the Gold Buick Century that was abandoned by the pharmacy bad guys and then stripped. A parole office takes Jimmy Robertson to meet a parolee who goes by the nickname Peanut. Peanut’s prints are all over the car.

When Peanut sees the parole officer he makes a run for it. They stop him and ask why he ran. Peanut gives a hilarious but probably accurate response saying it was “muscle memory”. Robertson takes Peanut in for questioning. Peanut swears he did not murder anyone and claims he was just “leaning” on the car. When Jimmy reveals that his prints were inside the car as well, Peanut is forced to come clean about seeing the two guys abandon the car.

Peanut first describes the two men as “white guys” but then goes on to give more details including the description of one of them having the build of a UFC fighter. Jimmy will get composite drawings.

Sidebar: Did you know that Jeremiah Burkett who plays Peanut also played the international marathon runner Jean-Paul on Seinfeld? Let’s just say, If you have fears about oversleeping, this may not be the Seinfeld episode for you, ha!

“Instagram, dawg” 

Pierce and Vega continue their search for Jose Jr. The surviving Esquivel has turned off his phone but not eliminated his presence from social media. The detectives find a recent Instagram post with Junior and his cousin Oscar at the Dodgers game.

The new partners pay a visit to Oscar at the garage where he works. He first denies knowing Junior’s whereabouts. Then Vega reminds him of the Dodgers game photo. Pierce clarifies by saying, “Instagram, dawg”.

Oscar has no choice but to fill them in on Junior’s visit and tells them he suggested Junior go stay with Oscar’s sister Rosie in Bakersfield. They also learn that Oscar has not been able to reach Rosie, which is concerning.

The detectives leave and Pierce admits he hopes they do not have to make the long trip to Bakersfield. Vega then tries to change his mind by talking about the honky-tonk music scene in Bakersfield, but Pierce is not convinced.

Can he be certain?

The episode closes as Harry sits in his car in front of the Skylar family home. He recalls the memory of telling the family that they had found Danielle’s killer. Dinah, the little sister, asks Bosch if he is certain that they have the killer in custody. He says, “I am sure.” But is he still sure?

Be sure to tune in each week for the latest episode of the Everybody Counts Podcast to dig deeper into each episode and hear interviews with Bosch cast members and more!

Next up will be the investigation into Bosch episode 504. #HoldFast

 

 

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