Everybody Counts or Nobody Counts

Jamie Hector understands that whatever will be, will be.

The Brooklyn native and son of two Haitian immigrants has come to expect the unexpected. The actor is best known for his iconic role of drug kingpin Marlo Stanfield on HBO's critically-acclaimed series The Wire, but for the past seven seasons, he has played Detective Jerry Edgar in Amazon's longest-running original television series Bosch.

The procedural is based on Michael Connelly's bestselling novels, and the highly-charged series finale finds Edgar and Detective Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) facing a dilemma of how far they're willing to go to achieve justice.

When describing the emotions on set during the final days of production, Hector explains, "This is Amazon's longest-running show and the most favored. The crew knew that, so while we were working on other jobs, all of them decided to come back once Bosch started up again.

And that goes way beyond just a check, it's also being in an environment that's peaceful, that's respectful, and one that gets the job done. So it's bittersweet because you're happy that it lasted so long, but at the same time, you're really going to miss the guys when you move on."

This final season finds Det. Edgar grappling with the consequences of shooting a suspect while on duty, and how it affects his personal and professional life. Let's unpack some of the challenges he has to overcome.

What we can expect this season is Harry really diving into his motto, which is: Everybody counts or nobody counts. And he's going to really express to the fans in his delivery and the storyline how true that is for him.

And as far as Jerry Edgar goes, it's him grappling with having killed someone, and even though the person might be on the wrong side of the law, how that's affecting him and how he has to now deal with these demons, with the dark side, with what it takes to do something and not deal with the consequences of your actions.

How would you describe Jerry's dynamic with Harry this season?

Well, over the season, how that dynamic evolves is them trusting each other, but at the same time, Harry always feeling as if he has to go rogue in order to accomplish the things that he has to accomplish.

And there was a point I think in season three or four where Jerry said to him, "Listen, no matter what you're doing, I need to know, and I need to be involved. So I don't care if it's good, bad, or indifferent, we have to share with each other because we're partners. And I can't cover for you, or you can't cover for me if I don't know what you're doing."

So that then led into a space where it's just like, "All right, you know what, I'm going to share with you, even though it goes against my character, because Harry's a person that likes to take care of business, no matter what the cost."

And Jerry himself, he's a balanced individual until he starts to see things in the gray leading up to this season. He's a balanced individual. He loves the finer things in life, he loves his clothes, he loves to work hard and get the jobs done as well.

And the two of them coming together, moving forward after they decided, "Listen, we're not going to hide anything from each other," shows them leading into this last season as true partners, even though they've always been true partners.

Now you'll see, based on what Harry does for Jerry, based on what Jerry does for Harry, that dynamic just get them closer together. It strengthens their bond.

Is there a particular episode this season that you're most proud of in terms of your character's evolution?

I can't really pinpoint the episode, but I can say it's when Jerry came to the conclusion that, "I did something wrong, and I've got to come to a healing place," which is so difficult for so many people to accomplish in life. You can go your entire life having done something that affected your soul and you're trapped in the prison of your mind, and you can't get out.

With Jerry through this season, through everything that he's done, through all the forces that have been moving him from one direction to the next, because he cannot get out of that headspace of what he did — that moment when he met with Harry and told him what he did, why he did it, and his intention. And then after that, you see him coming out of that dark place.

That's really special and important to me.

Why do you think Bosch has attracted so many loyal viewers for the past seven seasons?

When I meet fans, they say we get it right. And that motto that Harry lives by, everybody counts or nobody counts, is not just what he lived by. It's what the show is about. It's what the creators live by regarding the creation of the show, the writers, it's what they live by. And you see that fall into the show. You'll even see that on the production, in front of the camera, behind the camera. Everyone counts on set and you'll see it in the material.

Some of the themes explored over the past seven seasons have played on fears that many of us have when it comes to murder, mayhem, and betrayal. Has the series challenged any of your own fears?

I'm playing the seasons back in my head and one unpredictable moment is when Jerry Edgar walked out of his house and was shot by a long-range professional. It just shows you how, especially during this season of Covid and the pandemic, how things can change so rapidly, without you even expecting it. Expect the unexpected.

I realized how unpredictable life is and how it can happen at any moment. It may not be a bullet, it may be something else. It may be a pandemic. But it definitely played on those fears. That life can be unpredictable. You take it step-by-step.

What have you enjoyed most about exploring the world of Detective Jerry Edgar?

I've learned a lot. I've built great relationships. Beyond that, learning how to shoot, learning how to operate in a difficult field. Leaving your home as a detective, you may not come back.

From the first time we meet Detective Edgar in season one to where we see him land in the series finale, were you surprised by his journey?

My parents are from Haiti and I'm so grateful to the writers that they incorporated Haiti into this context. Because the first Black Republic war with France [Haiti] won,; they're paying the price today. But just to shine a light on Haiti, to shine a light on this situation, I never thought Jerry Edgar would go down that path.

Because now he's dealing with all of these struggles towards the end of the season, and he's coming out and poking his head back out and gaining some fresh air because of what he has done. And I would have never thought to see Jerry Edgar go down that route.

You know people who, when you see them, they always have their head on straight, they look clean, they look sharp. You never really catch them on a down day? And when you see Jerry Edgar walk into a scene and his clothes are wrinkled, and his mind isn't right — just to see him come out through the other side, that was great for me. I didn't expect to see that, but I'm happy that that's how it turned out.

The seventh and final season of Bosch is now streaming on Amazon.