‘The Killing’ 2.13 Recap: “I Didn’t K-n-n-n-ow!”

For all the grief I’ve given ‘The Killing’, I must admit that the finale episode where all gets revealed is one of the better episodes of the season.

I’m not sure if I was just so beleaguered by the constant back and forth in the investigation, the endless pinballing of suspects, and so many red herrings that Veena Sud could’ve opened a fish hatchery, but it’s finally nice to get some answers. Are the answers satisfactory? I would say so. I didn’t see the very end coming, but I knew that someone more than Jamie had to be involved, especially when Jamie gets gunned down not ten minutes into the episode.

Speaking of Jamie, did I call it or did I call it? “Everything I did, I did for you!” That’s what Jamie yells at Richmond when he tries to explain why he beat a defenseless girl and then stuck her in a car trunk. And that’s exactly what I predicted he’d say. I feel vindicated.

Like so many finales, this one is full of long stretches of contemplative music as characters stare off into the distance thinking and feeling., I must admit that I’m kind of a sucker for those scenes. I know they’re staged in such a way to elicit emotion, but they usually work for me. Yeah, I’m a softie, I know.

I appreciate the flashbacks, but I would’ve liked to see Rosie visit Bennett to give him the book. I still have a hard time correlating that part with the rest of the events of the night. At least little Katie Findlay actually gets some time to play her character instead of just lying dead in a car trunk.

As for the big bombshell, Teri being the real killer, I buy it. She’s been crazy from the get-go, and it’s feasible that she might be crazy enough to off some unknown girl for a chance at a life full of wealth and recognition. I knew that the writers were keeping her around for something, since her character didn’t do much else other than help with the kids when Mitch skipped town.

So, what did we learn? We learned that once all the fires are put out, politicians will go back to being politicians – as evidenced by Richmond openly welcoming Chief Jackson and Michael Ames back into his good graces after becoming mayor. We learned that the office of mayor, especially in the city of Seattle, is worth killing for. (The mayor of my town takes time out of his day to pin prize ribbons on county fair pigs, so not all mayoral positions are created equally.) We learned that persistence pays off as Linden and Holder sacrificed time, a kid, a marriage and their lives to find Rosie’s killer. We learned that it’s better to be lucky than good (“Oh, a broken tail light! Ah ha! Teri must be the killer.”) We learned that no matter how belligerent you are to a police investigation, or how much you try to obstruct the proceedings, nothing will happen to you in the end. We learned that grief isn’t good for the human complexion. We learned that police work never ceases; a new body is discovered at the end of the episode. (Was Jamie a spree killer?) Finally, we learned that Linden doesn’t want this life any more. That is unless the series is renewed for another season with Linden and Holder teaming up to solve another unsolvable murder.

The final episode has quite a bit of ham-fisted dramatics, but it’s a decent way to send off the first two seasons of a show that seemed to lose its way a few dozen times. Capping it off with Rosie’s film was a nice, albeit predictable, touch. Scenes like those I can’t help but like, even though they’re meant to manipulate my feelings every step of the way.

We’ve reached the end of the Rosie Larsen case. Was it worth sticking it out for the last two seasons?

Was 'The Killing' Worth Watching?

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6 comments

  1. I found the finale pretty anticlimactic. I doubt that the final twist will entirely hold up to scrutiny if we were to rewatch the show from the beginning. There’s also the matter of Linden and Holder conveniently stumbling upon the crucial clue of the broken tail light right at the last minute, which was ridiculous.

    The scene where Richmond calls a meeting with Chief Jackson and everyone corrupt he swore he’d never deal with on the very next morning after being elected was far too on-the-nose.

    I don’t regret watching the show, but I think it’s less than the sum of its parts.

    • Aaron Peck
      Author

      It’s hard to be climactic when everything before the finale was so slow to start out with. The finale was destined to be anticlimactic just because the show itself never really built to a big climax in the first place.

    • Aaron Peck
      Author

      The show hasn’t been officially renewed as of yet, but there have been peeps that the show is already prepped (story wise) to do a third season if the word comes down that they’ve been renewed.

  2. Mike Attebery

    I love how the phones are old ancient flip phones because Veena Sud is so slow adopting new technology. That lady is a piece of work.

    “I still have a flip phone,” Sud tells the Hollywood Reporter in a drama showrunners roundtable. “I really do! Everyone’s mad at me that I don’t have a real phone,” she says. “I’m really slow with technology.”

  3. Jim

    I am still confused about the whole Tacoma trapper witnessing Richmonds suicide attempt. Tacoma is a urban city that has no forests or rivers to trap in. Only thing here to trap is raccoons and opposum’s

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