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[ThisstorycontainsspoilersfromSeason2Episode5of[ThisstorycontainsspoilersfromseasontwoepisodefiveofHe crosses“hiking.”]
For those who have read James Patterson’s more than 30 books about homicide detective and forensic psychologist Alex Cross, Cross fans will know that one of the protagonist’s best friends—and ultimately his greatest enemy—was an FBI agent named Kyle Craig.
But in the Prime Video series He crosses Starring Aldis Hodge in the titular role of Cross, Kyle Craig’s character has been reimagined. Instead of a male archenemy, Kyle is gender-flipped into a competitive law enforcement agent named Kayla Craig, played by Alona Tal. She’s still an FBI agent, but a lot has changed and for Tal, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“When we first met Kayla in Season 1, she was there as a sidekick in the main story,” Tal says. Hollywood Reporter For this new iteration of Craig (who first appeared in Season 1). “She’s someone that Cross finds to be a good close friend and a good part of the team to help support him on his journey to find out who the killer is in Season 1. She provides invaluable assistance, access to information they don’t have and the ability to help him solve certain things because she has a lot of the same abilities that he has in the world of characterization.
She continues, “Then in Season 2, I have a lot more runway to explore who Kayla was in her past, and a little more into the question of who she is now. She’s very ambitious and very successful in her field. She’s a very driven woman and very aware that in order to achieve what she wants in her career, she has to put herself first. And she talks about that. She’s not in a relationship. She tried and it didn’t work out. She understands the sacrifices and is learning. To understand what the ramifications of choices mean.”
In the first season, Craig didn’t want a relationship. She found her sexual release from being an FBI field agent by sleeping with Cross’ boyfriend, Det. John Sampson (Isaiah Mustafa). But in the third episode of Season 2, “Feed,” Cross and Craig, who have been friends for a long time, begin to see each other differently. In the episode, Cross, Sampson, and Craig discover a truckload of children being trafficked in Texas, while tracking the movements of one of the henchmen of serial killer Luz (Janine Mason). Lincoln Esteban (Rene Morin) traveled there to take pictures at the rendezvous site when he was captured by Cross and his team.
After the arrest, Cross and Craig decided to go out to a local western bar to get some “stress shots.” That’s when the two law enforcement officers drink and dance, and the melody of a slow country song washes away their inhibitions. The two kiss passionately on the dance floor, and end up drunkenly at the door of Craig’s hotel room. She says goodnight to Cross, but leaves the door open. He accepts the unannounced invitation.
If you asked Hodge who gained more emotion, he’d bet on Alex Cross.
“Cross, even if he’s not fully conscious, he’s supposed to be about to lose the love of his life,” Hodge said. THR On breaking up with season 1 love interest Elle (Samantha Walks). “He has to deal with that. He’s in a process of grieving. And with Kayla, there’s obviously some familiarity and history. I think based on the friendship, he felt safe enough to reach out. It was a safe place for him to grieve and deal with what he was going through at the time. But, in the meantime, his true love still lay with Elle.”
He crosses Creator, director and writer Ben Watkins breaks down those heated moments between Cross and Kayla.
“From a writing perspective, we looked at it as if we had intentionally created a chemistry between them, but a chemistry built out of an appreciation for the shared obsession with getting into the minds of killers and hunting down people,” says Watkins, who also plays FBI Assistant Director Roy McElhannon. “They have a shared appreciation for each other’s brilliance. What we did in Season 2 was create a situation where that chemistry turns into something physical, and we were very specific about how that would happen.”
Watkins notes that Cross is struggling to survive on the outside with Elle, and also in the midst of a “high-stakes, very emotional, stressful case, the hunt for a killer,” he says. “In the aftermath of the chase and the shootout and saving some kids, that’s when they actually cross the line and become something physical. We thought that was really important because it asks these questions about what happens when you’re in different emotional states, what do you need and what do you cling to? And when that happens, is it real or is it a momentary thing? It’s like a war zone relationship.”
The new relationship, or fling, between Cross and Craig gets messier as the season progresses. In this week’s fifth episode, viewers learned more about Craig’s backstory. Earlier in the season, Craig was tasked with discovering a person known as a mastermind who holds dark secrets about her that could derail her career and possibly send her to prison. This week, Craig’s serial killer, Bobby Tree (Johnny Ray Gale), discovers video footage from years ago of a laboratory experiment with an American soldier who was drugged and ended up killing himself. When the technician in the lab coat turns to face the camera after the soldier dies, it appears to be Craig. Bobby Tree is about to end Craig’s life over the video footage, but she convinces him that the photo is not hers, and a fake photo has been created to frame it.
“It was so horrific that she even knew about those experiences,” Tal adds. “She was involved, but she wasn’t involved, as the deep fakers try to make it seem. These are the ones trying to frame her. This is what she’s trying to prove. There’s a bigger story here. There’s a bigger reveal later.”
Craig faces a precarious situation trying to uncover who is trying to frame her while new feelings develop between her and Cross. She has the same strong will as Cross and wants to be in control and have a lead on the case they are working on. But she can’t lean on Cross and tell him about her side problems.
In the fifth episode, “The Climb”, when Cross decides to meet Luz alone against Craig’s wishes, Craig has a feeling that her new lover might be putting his life in danger. Her instincts are correct, as Donnie is trying to kill Cross. However, Craig had Bobby Tree track down the detective and ultimately save his life in the episode. But meeting an alleged serial killer alone without her also gets on Craig’s nerves.
“It’s not safe, she doesn’t know enough,” Tal says. “And he goes around taking the initiative, after she warns him not to. He can’t help himself, and she’s upset about it. She’s also conflicted because she trusts Alex, but she doesn’t want to give him complete control because it goes against his ego.”
If Cross gets a third season, Tal believes there will be questions that need to be answered after the upcoming finale.
“One writer told me [initially for this season]You have no idea. “Whatever you think you’re doing, you have no idea,” Tal recalls. “What I hope to see is that there will be a reckoning and repercussions for what happens at the end of our season. When alliances change and choices are made, I would like to see that there is bound to be a series of consequences. I would like to know more about my character, and what that means in the world we live in.”
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He crosses It is now streaming the first five episodes of Season 2 on Prime Video.
