Well, there you go. ‘The Killing’ is over. Did we find out who Rosie’s killer was? Did we get closure? Nope, just another cliffhanger to entice us to watch next season. I’m not sure I’ll be tuning in.
‘The Killing’ felt like it lost steam halfway through the season and just never recovered. One of my favorite sports writers, Bill Simmons (who is also an avid TV junkie), wrote a scathing recap of the season finale. Did I hate is as much as he did? I don’t think so, but the finale of seemed to lack the luster that the first half of the show built up.
The show seems lost. At first, it wanted to focus deeply on the characters. Then the writers realized that they needed to give us some headway on the case, so there were a few episodes devoted to that. Then we had the Holder and Linden episode, and now this one. It seems a little too disjointed. However, the Holder/Linden episode takes on a bit more significance now. Was Holder using that time to gain Linden’s trust, just so he could screw her in the end? Most likely.
So, we knew that Richmond was the killer. At least that’s what we think. There’s a semi-cliffhanger at the end that may put a damper on that case. But he’s got to have something to do with the murder, or why would he give that pathetically stupid monologue about Orpheus with a straight face – like a Bond villain hiding in the shadows, cackling at his genius plans? That part was extremely silly and made him look very guilty.
Things are still awry at the Larsen household. Mitch has taken off – because that makes so much sense to do when you have two other little kids. Somehow, the cool aunt, who works as a waitress and an escort, has enough money to bail Stan out of jail for attempted murder. Not much seems to be made of Stan’s impending prison sentence, of which he’s got to be serving ten or more years in prison. That’s assuming that Bennett lives. If he dies, Stan goes away for murder. With Mitch gone too, who will take care of their kids?
The detective work in this episode is exciting, but it’s a little strange that the detectives are just now cross-referencing the mileage with the car’s gas usage. Either way, it’s pretty neat how they were able to piece it all together.
Now, about those cliffhangers. Belko is poised to assassinate Richmond, and Holder is in league with a faceless person who provided him with doctored tollbooth photos that show Richmond in the crime vehicle. How does Holder think that no one will find out that he never actually got the photos from the tollbooth? That’s pretty ridiculous. What is Linden going to do now? Jump on the next plane back to Seattle and start up Day 14 unraveling the case she helped build?
I just don’t know if I can stay with this same case for another 13 days. I like some of the characters, but the show’s tone and pacing are starting to weigh on me. How do you make another whole season out of this one case? Obviously, it hasn’t ended, so now we’re going to get days 14-26 in the next season? Sigh.
Other Random Thoughts:
- It would seem to me that if Belko misses or just injures Richmond in his assassination attempt, that would be a major cop-out for the show. But, you know it will happen.
- Where did Mitch go? Is she planning on leaving forever? You have other kids, lady!
- Will I have enough stamina for Season Two of ‘The Killing’? Only time will tell.
- Who is Holder really working for? My guess is Mayor Adams.
- Why did they have to make the most likeable character (Holder) a bad guy?
- The one really endearing scene in this episode was when Stan met up with Bennett’s wife without either knowing who each other was. That was a poignant scene. Too bad it’s really the only one in the episode.
Josh Zyber
There’s a lot of outrage on the ‘net right now about this episode. Mrs. Z is infuriated and has sworn off ever watching the show again.
Personally, I have no problem with it. It wasn’t the way I would have preferred the season to end, but I don’t see what the big deal is about the season ending on a cliffhanger like literally thousands of other TV shows have done before it.
With that said, the one scene Aaron cites as his favorite is the one that I DID have a problem with. There’s simply no way that Bennet’s wife wouldn’t know the man who confessed to nearly beating her husband to death. Especially since his face has been all over the news as the father of the girl her husband was accused of killing. That scene was ridiculous.
Aaron Peck
AuthorShe’s pregnant, her husband is lying there in a coma. She isn’t thinking clearly. Same as two people having an argument. Standard rules don’t apply here. 😉
Pregnancy does weird things to women.
Dail Whiteley
this is a great show . is it perfect?. no. but there is a lot of enjoyment with how they tell the story. i never find it slow just intriguing. i think belko misses. it is belko for god sakes. lol. holder is setting someone up to get into who really killed rosie. people do odd things when people die especially when it’s a child. i love that they have dealt with that side of the murder. i read the simmons piece the other day. he never liked the show . he only watched it cause it was on AMC. people treat AMC like its the next HBO and that what they said about showtime then FX. just because one show is great and wins emeys like mad men doesnt mean that everything is going to be great. this was the first show ive watched on amc. never got into mad men. maybe next month when it pops up on netflix. let hbo be hbo , showtime be showtime and so on.
Mike
Nothing in this show has made any sense when you really think back on it. Bunch of amateurs at the helm.
Aaron Peck
AuthorAgreed. Like when Bennett’s wife was sitting in the stairwell holding a hammer. What was that all about?
Truthfully, it seems like a case that the detectives from ‘SVU’ would’ve solved way sooner.
Dan Paradis
And that’s where a huge problem comes in. These two detectives were pretty incompetent at their jobs, and when Linden told Holder in the finale that he’ll “make a fine detective” (or something like that), I had to laugh. They spent thirteen days chasing hunches and notes in boots. I feel like the sergeant (was he a sergeant?) was supposed to be the authority-figure-who-hinders-the-investigation type character, but really I just wondered why he even let these two stay on the case. Holder had a few good moments (early on when he tricks the high school girls into telling him where the kids go to “party”), but other than that…oh yeah, he was just framing Richmond…whatever.
Gabriel
The original Danish show’s 1st season took 20 episodes to solve the one case. AMC only does 12-13 episode seasons. I don’t think they wanted to rush it and cut out large sections of the source material. I can respect that. My family and I enjoyed the show and are looking forward to next season.
Mike
Benette’s wife is a very, very stupid individual. Not much happening upstairs. My biggest question: Why would Richmond have done all this nonsense anyway? Did his wife even drown? None of it makes any sense at all. Stupid plotting.
Josh Zyber
Richmond’s wife was killed by a drunk driver. There is undoubtedly more to the drowning story that we haven’t heard yet.
As to why he would do any of this (meaning the Orpheus stuff, since it seems pretty clear that he’s being framed for the murder), why do any politicians do stupid things? Why did Anthony Weiner tweet photos of his junk to the world? Sometimes, there aren’t answers for how politicians think. 🙂
Dail Whiteley
money is on that at the end , they are all in purgatory . 🙂
Mike
Usually mysteries at least try to give the murderer, however crazy, a plausible motivative or psychological trigger. I just don’t see that here.
“Have you ever wondered what it’s like to drown?” ooooooooh, scary. What does that have to do with anything else you’ve ha to deal with in the past Richmond?
I won’t even get into how lazy the Seattle research for this show has been. The only explanation is that they had the map for the city tuned upside-down.
Josh Zyber
But Richmond ISN’T the murderer. Am I the only one who finds that to be perfectly clear? He’s been set up. All this complaining about motive is irrelevant until we know who the real murderer is.
I’m sure that the show’s depiction of Seattle is no more or less accurate than any other TV show that’s been set in a specific city. The depticition of Boston on Fringe is hilarious. “We’re in high-speed pursuit on Fenway Street.” It’s a riot.
Aaron Peck
AuthorHis stupid Orpheus history lesson sure made him sound at least a little bit guilty. He may not have actually done the deed, but he had something to do with it. Whether directly or indirectly.