Rebecca Luz (Jeanine Mason) in 'Cross' season two's finale. Prime Video Logo text [This story contains MAJOR spoilers from the season two finale of Cross, “Quemar.”]
Cross‘ season two villain Luz learned a couple of heartbreaking lessons by the end of the finale of the Prime Video series starring Aldis Hodge as the titular detective Alex Cross.
In the eighth and final episode, titled “Quemar,” that released on Wednesday, Jeanine Mason’s vengeful Latina serial killer, whose cause has garnered her empathy despite her violent crimes, learned that your ride-or-die cohorts can still twist a knife in your back and that there is a high probability of collateral damage when you carry out revenge. In the finale, those lessons rang painfully true when Luz discovered that her aunt Clare (Michelle C. Bonilla) was complicit in aiding billionaire philanthropist and child trafficker Lance Durand (Matthew Lillard) in the murder of Luz’s mother, Gabriela Porras (Andrea Cabeza), who was a doctor of a Mexican village who treated trafficked children by Durand’s organization. When Cross calls Luz on her burner phone about to escape to Mexico after unsuccessfully failing to kill Durand, it’s revealed through a secret recording that Aunt Clare was paid $50,000 to give up Luz’s mother, as her care for the children posed a risk in exposing Durand’s unethical and deadly deeds. All through the second season, Aunt Clare appeared to be the mastermind in helping her niece train to become a ruthless assassin, but she also turned a blind eye to Durand’s deeds. Along with Luz’s friend, Donnie (Wes Chatham), Aunt Clare helped Luz devise a system to seek vengeance on each person on a kill list who was known to be a part of Durand’s trafficking circle, excluding herself. The system was rooted in a Mexican mythology known as La Nina de las Flores (The Flower Girl), where Luz kills her victims in a ritual order. But in the process, Aunt Clare talks Luz’s into killing a disciple of her cause (who discovers who Luz is through her alias of Rebecca, and they both fall in love with each other).
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Donnie is eventually killed by Clare, who finds the damaging tape of her plotting the demise of her sister. Luz then aborts her escape to Mexico and heads to the Canadian border where she knows Aunt Clare is planning her escape. She confronts her aunt with the taped confession as Alex Cross and his team of agents catch up with them. Aunt Clare then confesses. Luz feels her aunt not only murdered her mother but turned her into a monster who killed innocent people. Aunt Clare declares that Durand and his crew still needed to die for what they have done, and then commits “suicide by cop” when she pulls a gun and is shot by the officers. Luz then jumps on top on the railing of a border bridge, tells Cross to keep his promise and bring Durand to justice, and appears to kill herself by intentionally falling off of the bridge.
But at the very end, it’s revealed that Alex will not be able to keep his promise to Luz. Although the evidence is there to arrest and convict Durand, there are too many high-powered millionaires, politicians, judges and law enforcement officials complicit in his child trafficking operations. So the FBI, with the help of Cross’ love interest Agent Kayla Craig (Alona Tal), decides it is in the country’s best interest to cover up Durand’s misdeeds (the big Cross betrayal that Tal alluded to in recent conversation).
John Sampson (Isaiah Mustafa), Alex Cross (Aldis Hodge) in ‘Cross’ season two’s finale. Prime Video This leads to Cross heading on the run from the FBI, as they try to restrict him from leaking the truth to a U.S. Senator whose mother was part of Durand’s organization. The senator releases the truth in a press conference, however, and calls out Durand for crimes committed by his corporation. But the attempt to cover up was too much for Cross. He turns in his badge to end his career as a highly decorated police detective.
Where does Cross go from here? Cross novelist Patterson recently told The Hollywood Reporter that the third season is already in production, and he was excited about seeing the new twists and turns for next season. “They’ve got about seven scripts, so far,” Patterson said. “So they’re moving, and I’m reading. I read the stuff and they listen to me a little bit, which is good.” The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Mason below to dig into her process of playing a cold-blooded yet likable murderer and why you should not assume that Luz is actually dead as the series is also officially renewed for season three.
*** Jeanine, I think the first question should be about that wedding scene in episode seven (Luz poses as one of a group of Brazilian carnival dancers brought in for Durand’s best friend’s wedding reception. The friend is on Luz’s list for execution). Did you actually get a chance to dance?
(Laughs.) Yes. I actually haven’t seen that scene and it’s maybe the moment in this season I’m most excited and anxious to see. But we rehearsed for a couple of days. We had a wonderful choreographer, Adam Toronto, and a group of dancers who were so enthusiastic. We were so deep into the season at that point that it felt like all of my time was accounted for if it wasn’t on set — wither in stunt rehearsal, a boxing class or some sort of coaching. I remember us struggling to find time to do the dancing rehearsals, but I said, “I’m a little bit retired, but get me back in the ballroom. Let’s go!”
How did you first hear about the Cross series, and what was the process of landing this role?
This season two auditioning happened before season one premiered. So I was familiar with James Patterson, of course, and the property, but I didn’t know [series creator] Ben Watkins. I wasn’t familiar with his Blue Monday [Productions]. I knew they were struggling to find someone for this role, and I know Ben was very excited about staying committed to it being a Latina. He sent out inquiries to a few of his Latina writer friends, including my friend Gloria Calderon Kellett. She sent him my name and said, “We gotta get you in on this.” So I have Gloria to thank for introducing me to Ben.
We’ve been doing this for 15 years now, but there are always people you’ve not yet gotten the chance to work with, or who haven’t channel surfed something you’ve been in. So it was such a happy accident that it was for an antagonistic role, because that’s not something I have ever done. I think it would have been a harder ask for somebody who was familiar with me to make this leap in believing me in this, but Ben was so sold. He was so jazzed about bringing this color of Luz forward in me. I’m so grateful. It was an awesome audition; one of my favorite chemistry reads of all time.
Let’s talk about Luz. She’s getting revenge on enemies who murdered her mom when she was a child, and who continue to kidnap and kill children from what appears to be Mexican border towns. How did you digest Luz’s methodology in killing? The backstory that Ben and I built is that she has spent 10 years methodically planning this out, and she has all this mythology and spirituality. It’s part Aztec, Curanderismo [traditional Latin American folk healing system] and curanderas [a female practitioner of the methodology], which I’m fascinated by. A lot of the disorder in her life is from losing her mother as a result of the work her mother did on behalf of these children. She’s holding on so dearly to the principles of her mythology she’s built. So it becomes systematic; it’s very meticulous. I found the order in which she wants to do it fascinating — what a wild coping mechanism. This woman has such altruistic interests, but it has become an illness the degree to which she wants to enact this revenge. And the way in which she wants to do it. So I think it’s a fun ride for the audience to watch her. You know where she’s going to aim next. She had a decade planning it. It’s that next notch on her tattoo, that next card that she draws. And it’s satisfying to see it knock off. I know for us as a crew it was satisfying to see elements of the tattoo get to be added. And it was a nightmare when we were doing reshoots throughout the season: How many people has she killed at this point? We have to remove a couple of the symbols of the tattoo. (Laughs.) But it is certainly satisfying and makes the ride fun.
What would you say were some of the challenges in portraying a complex serial killer who in many ways viewers could empathize with, or feel for her plight? One of the objectives Ben had for me — a marching order he gave me — was, “I want you to do the most. I want you to make them fall in love with you and then proceed to do the most horrendous things and see if you can keep them on your side.” As much as it relates to Luz in this season, it certainly is a question that a lot of the characters are posing with — whether it’s in their backstory that is being revealed or in making amends, like with Bobby Trey [Johnny Ray Gill] making amends for awful things he’s done.
Rebecca Luz (Jeanine Mason) in the finale. Prime Video So I honestly was concerned in the real time of doing it that they were not going to love her. This was too hard. I mean, in episode two, Luz intimately meets this woman’s family, and then proceeds to slit her throat. Like, are you familiar with her kids at this point? You spent time with her husband. You’ve been in their kitchen. And now you watch her slit her throat? I’ve been shocked by how all of my messages on social media and texts from friends and family have been like, “When am I going to start not liking her? I’m behind her messaging.” I think a lot of that is that we’re at an inflection point. I think it’s when that beautiful timing happens in creative flow. I don’t know what Ben and those writers tapped into, but I do think there’s something cathartic about the kinds of villains she’s after right now. I mean, season opens with her riding up on this Epstein-esque Island. As the season progresses, we continue to teeter that, but it is fascinating to me to be finding people way more on board with her than I thought, which is wild when you’re like, “This is very much still a serial killer.” Tell me what it was like working with Aldis? And why did Luz agree to meet with Alex after knowing he was on the verge of arresting her? I think ultimately Luz believes in Alex. I think she believes in Black and brown people. She believes he’s like, “I know what our mission is.” As much as he is this incredible mentalist, she knows about him and is fascinated by him. And she believes in him. She sees his dilemma of how he ultimately wants to be of the best service to his people, but that he is in a system where she doesn’t believe he can ultimately achieve that. I think she respects him. And for Aldis, I am genuinely fascinated by working actors who have been at this for so long. You open their IMDb and just go, “Goddamn!” Aldis is one of those actors who has been so consistent. He is so impressive, and I delight in the delightful juxtapositions where he’s this giant, strapping, strong leading man, but he has the most delightful hobbies and intricacies [Aldis is also a watchmaker]. He’s a dancer at his core. He has so much softness and nerdiness, and I mean that with so much love. He was such a fun No. 1 to watch work. So, I do have to ask this. We saw in episode eight that Luz committed suicide. But did she? [Smiles] I agree with you that it’s like, did she? I can tell you that the plan was for her certainly to die. This was a one-year series contract. That gives you the industry definitive that she’s dead, right? (Laughs.) But it’s interesting. I’m just realizing now that maybe the audience is more endeared to her than we anticipated. I think Ben was more endeared to her than he anticipated, too — and the writers, and I certainly was also. The idea of her not surviving felt too bleak. I remember on the day, Ben came up to me and said, “Listen, we’re going to do this extra bit where we’re going to see your tattoo in the crowd. And we’re gonna give them a sense that maybe she continues on.”
And I very much think she does. I was so relieved. I felt like that was the poetic justice she deserved after such a harsh life and being such a lucha — I keep calling her such a warrior for her people. To me, she never had a sweetness in her life.
***
Cross is now streaming all of season two on Prime Video.
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