Bosch: Legacy Season 3 Needs To Explain This Character's…

Summary

Lance Reddick won't return in Bosch: Legacy season 3 due to his tragic death.
Season 3 must explain Irving's absence, as his character was set for some important upcoming storylines.
The show has key options for writing out Irving: They could kill him off-screen or have the character move cities.

Bosch: Legacy season 3 will air on Amazon Freevee sometime in 2025, and it'll see the return of many fan favorite characters. However, there is one important character who won't be returning due to the tragic death of the actor who portrayed him. Lance Reddick played Chief Irvin Irving in the original Bosch series, and he returned to the role via a cameo in the finale of Bosch: Legacy season 2, to set up a much bigger plot point in Bosch: Legacy season 3.

Lance Reddick sadly died on March 17, 2023, at the age of 60. The versatile character actor died of coronary artery disease and atherosclerotic heart disease shortly after completing filming of his cameo in Bosch: Legacy season 2. His return was part of Honey Chandler's storyline featuring her planned run for DA, and it's highly likely he would've returned in season 3. The upcoming season of Bosch: Legacy will now have to explain Irvin Irving's absence.

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By Callum Murray

What Happened During Lance Reddick's Return As Irvin Irving In Season 2?

Lance Reddick's Bosch: Legacy season 2 cameo saw the long awaited return of his character, Irvin Irving. The spin-off series has featured the return of most characters from the original series, whether that be as series regulars or recurring guest stars. However, up until the finale of season 2, Irvin Irving had yet to appear, so it was a pleasant surprise when he turned up, even if it was only for a short scene.

Every time a legacy character appears in the Bosch spin off, it is always for a logical reason and not an attempt at fan service, so when Irvin Irving re-appeared, it was a potential set-up for a promising storyline involving his character. Irvin turns up towards the end of the final episode of Bosch: Legacy season 2, when he meets up with Honey Chandler in a restaurant for a meeting. It is revealed that Irvin is no longer the chief of police in the LAPD, and is now working in the private sector.

F*****g Bosch

Basically, Chandler wanted Irvin Irving's endorsement in her run for district attorney for the county of Los Angeles, and he heavily implied that he would be willing to back her as DA. It's a brief scene, but an important one that was designed to set up all sorts of possible plot points for Irvin Irving moving forward. Lance Reddick's untimely death has left the need for a pivot to these plot points, and Bosch: Legacy season 3 needs to explain why Irving isn't present during Chandler's campaign.

Season 3 Will Have To Come Up With A Logical Explanation For Irving's Absence

Lance Reddick's sudden death in 2023 meant that his last ever appearance as Irvin Irwing was the key scene alongside Mimi Rogers in Bosch: Legacy season 2. Even though he hadn't been a major part of the spin-off series, Irvin Irving was a vital character in the Bosch-verse, and the wheels had been put in motion for him to play a major role in Bosch: Legacy season 3.

The upcoming season of Bosch: Legacy needs to come up with a logical reason for Irvin Irving's absence. Honey Chandler's run for DA is set to be a major storyline in Bosch: Legacy season 3, and Irving was potentially set to feature heavily. Most fans obviously know the real reason why Irving can't return, but the spin-off needs to address his no show within the story.

One option would be to kill off the character of Irvin Irving off-screen, and explain that he'd either passed away between the end of Bosch: Legacy season 2 and the start of season 3. Alternatively, it could happen in the very first episode of the upcoming season, and the show could use this as an opportunity to pay tribute to the character, as well as the actor. Another option could be to keep the character alive and feature some exposition to explain that he'd left the Los Angeles area to take up a position in the private sector in another city. However, the character can never physically return, so there doesn't seem much point in writing him out in this way.

Irvin Irving was a key character from the original Bosch series, so he deserves a proper send-off in Bosch: Legacy season 3. This isn't the first time the Bosch-verse has experienced the death of one of its actors, as Annie Wersching sadly passed away on January 29, 2023. However, there was no need to explain her character's future absence because she hadn't appeared since season 7 of the original series, and no future plot points were set up for her recurring character. Irving was a major character in Bosch, and he was set for a big role in Bosch: Legacy season 3, so it's not an option to simply not acknowledge his absence.