‘The Killing’ 3.08 Recap: “Where Do You Want to Go?”

Another red herring bites the dust. Boy, the writers of ‘The Killing’ are really trying their damnedest to stretch this season out until the last episode.

So, all those creepy shots of Pastor Mike staring at young girls, all his disturbing glances just over the brim of his hipster glasses, and his strange way of talking like he’s been murdering dozens of teenagers, was all for naught. He even saw fit to kidnap a police officer and threaten to kill her, because he decided that was a better way to deal with what was happening in his life. No, he couldn’t just tell everyone the truth that he was the one who took the injured girl to the vet, because he assumed no one would believe him anyway.

How do you feel about this turn of events? To be honest, I saw it coming pretty far off since there are still a couple more episodes left in the season. I thought that, at the very least, Pastor Mike might have known something, or knew who was doing it, and was trying to protect them. Nope.

Intentional red herring aside, I felt that this is a stronger episode than usual (although it has something troubling about it that I’ll get to in a moment). If Linden’s car ride from hell accomplished anything, it was letting us into her deepest, darkest fears. She leaves it all out there, right? Everything. This is one of the first times that she’s actually looked frightened and tried anything to prolong whatever life she thought she had left.

I thought that the silhouetted drive through Seattle was done well. I might complain about the overly intentional whispering, but I’ve gotten so used to every scene sounding like the actors are trying to out-whisper one another that I just don’t think about it much anymore.

Now, the part of the show that’s bothering me.

Cue the prison guards. What is up with that enormously awkward scene with Frank’s wife and poor Eddie? I can tell you my suspicions, which I hope are false.

The writers really seem to be forcing Frank’s mysterious disappearances at night into the storyline – even going so far as to have his grieving wife confide in his co-worker. I kept wondering how this makes any sense. Why do we care if Frank is cheating on his wife? This whole plot and these characters have been forced into this show anyway. What’s the point of this scene? Then it hit me. They’re trying to set it up so Frank can be the killer in the end. Tell me that’s not what they’re doing. Tell me I’m completely off with this idea. I really hope that I am, but I can’t think of another reason for the show to keep reminding us that Frank and Eddie actually exist outside of the prison. Up until now, there hasn’t been a point to it.

I’m curious as to what other people think about the prison guard subplot. It’s there for an obvious reason, but that reason hasn’t been made clear through eight episodes. We don’t have much more time to tie it all together, unless the big reveal is that Frank is the killer. Ugh. That would be so terrible.

It’s too bad that Bullet and Holder had such a tumultuous break-up in the police station. We’d know who the killer is by now. Instead, the killer (who could be Frank!) is stalking her outside the diner. Tick-tock, Bullet. Tick-tock.

7 comments

  1. T.J. Kats

    Some think Frank just gets away because he is so troubled by being an execution and Eddie is the killer which is why he acts so meek around everyone else.

      • I thought it was him from Episode 1 – it’s the ‘law of unnecessary characters’ – if you’ve got an actor that noticeable in a small, seemingly meaningless role, he’s probably the killer. 😉

      • Aaron Peck
        Author

        If it’s Eddie then it’ll be even worse. At least ‘The Killing’ had 2 seasons to build a believable motive for Richmond being the one. If it’s Eddie, who has hardly been in the show at all, then they’ll have to force a motive for him that’s never going to be believable.

          • Aaron Peck
            Author

            Good grief. You’re right. Although, we did get to spend more than enough time with Rosie’s aunt also. Although her murder was more of a culmination of things rather than a psycho out murdering girls.

            Either way. If Eddie is the killer I’m going to throw something at my TV. Something soft like a hoodie or a badly knitted sweater.

  2. fab4

    As in the previous two seasons, the show loses it’s luster towards the end. I feel like even the writers don’t know how it’s going to end and they’re scrambling to wrap it up. This season would have been really great if there was no prison story line at all. It’s completely unnecessary. There is a lot going on without adding that distraction which has no interest or any character that warrants any sympathy. I could watch a whole season of just Holder and Linden solving crimes.

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