Note: This article contains spoilers for “Cross” Season 2, Episode 5.
Luz just dropped a major bomb on Sen. Pete Ashford, whom longtime actor Josh Peck guest stars as in Season 2 of “Cross,” leaving him with what is likely the toughest decision he’ll ever have to make.
“This is a real fork in the road moment when we meet Sen. Ashford, which is: Is he going to do the right thing, or is he going to begin to walk down this path that many people we know in power have done before him?” Peck told TheWrap in an exclusive interview.
Pete is introduced to “Cross” fans as a gentle and seemingly kind-hearted politician who is meeting with Luz (Jeanine Mason), who is disguised as a non-profit organizer looking to launch a scholarship named after Ashford’s parents. After sharing how much she knows about the illustrious career of Pete’s mother — a decorated and celebrated former judge — Luz starts to reveal the dark side of her work with Crestbrook Industries, of which she was an early investor.
“She should have recused herself from the many lawsuits against Crestbrook,” Luz says to Pete as he stares back in confusion. “But instead, she made sure they all came to her courtroom so that she could dismiss them and protect her investment.”
Luz gives Pete the rundown on all 43 lawsuits against Crestbrook that his mother dismissed, many of which involved reported incidents of human trafficking, unsafe work conditions, underage employees and wrongful death.
“Your mother helped Crestbrook Farms become Crestbrook Industries, and she did so at the expense of children,” Luz tells him, adding that all of the “blood money” his mother received as a co-conspirator funded his entire upbringing, including his first car, college tuition, both of his weddings and his political campaigns.
By the end of it, Luz shows Pete a photo of his mother and every person who has taken part in Lance Durand’s company, mentioning that, along with the wealth and notoriety, Pete also carries his family’s “leverage” that enables him to make his mother’s wrongdoings right.
“I think that many people can relate to this: just because you thought it was true once, just because someone might be your family, doesn’t mean that you might not have to completely disconnect yourself from something that no longer aligns with who you are,” Peck said.
Peck’s role in “Cross” Season 2 was one he says he fought for, saying he was eager to play a character unlike any on his resume.
“When there’s a great part that I’m interested in, I got to fight for it,” Peck explained.
He continued: “I was excited to play a senator, because, in general, I just want to do stuff I haven’t before. I love the opportunity as an actor to try things that are against type, and this was very serious. This was a guy who is deeply good, but I think he’s at a crisis in his life, realizing that there were probably a lot of good people before him too, that made enough compromises that they eventually became bad … I thought that issue and that challenge for him was a great thing to explore as a character.”
“Cross” releases new episodes Wednesdays on Prime Video.
