Cross - Hero Complex

I really want to like this new Amazon series starring Leverage's Aldis Hodge as James Patterson's super-sleuth Alex Cross but I'm finding it quite hard to become emotionally invested in the story of a great detective getting the runaround by not one but two uncatchable serial killers in separate storylines that only somewhat overlap. My issues have more to do with Patterson and the structure of his work, always focusing on making the killers as genius and unstoppable as possible (and here throwing in two!) than Hodge or any member of the cast which also includes short appearances from Alona Tal who I would happily watch more of.

The episode sets the stage for the series in two scenes that have nothing to do with the search for the new serial killer. First, we see Alex's wife killed at a football game. The killer was never found and we jump ahead to current times with Alex raising his children with the help of his mother (Juanita Jennings). The other scene is one at the police department where effortlessly Cross gets a confession out of an overconfident criminal the rest of the department has been spinning their heels with for hours.

So, what do we know? Alex is haunted by a murder he can't solve and, despite that, he's the best detective on the force. He's so good in fact that Alona Tal's character keeps popping up hoping to poach him from the department that doesn't really appreciate him. All of that works well enough on its own. There's also a dust up at a dinner party, and the fallout, where Alex's "hero complex" is rather clumsily laid out for the audience. It's not handled all that well, but it does provide another piece to the Alex Cross puzzle. The trouble Cross gets into is moving forward with two serial killer cases which also involve police cover ups, snipers shooting witnesses with information, bizarre taunting by the killers, and a bunch of bluster from Cross' superiors while at the same time giving him all the room he needs to solve the case his way.

For Alex, it starts with getting a case that no one wants involving the death of a gangbanger who everyone believes is a suicide. Despite knowing he won't tow the company line, Alex is given the case and quickly confirms the murder was committed by an odd serial killer needing to recreate victims in a specific manner to fulfill some dark desire within him. At the same time, the murderer of Alex's wife (whose weird lair we see in one scene) shows up fucking with his family splitting the focus of the show in too many directions at once and giving us at least one too many super-villains for Alex to take down.

• Title: Cross - Hero Complex
• IMDb: link