Review: The Killing - Undertow: Physical graffiti

Justin Hemmings

Perhaps it's unfair to compare the two, but the entire time Mitch was trying to reach Stan to tell him she'd found Rosie's shirt, I kept seeing the end of season 1 of Sons of Anarchy with Clay trying to reach Tig. Somehow though, I don't know that the writers wanted their victim's parents to seem so akin to sociopathic bikers.

May 22, 2011 at 11:03PM EST Reply to Comment

Jim A.

Again Mitch is nothing but a plot driving device, not a real character. Also, if this show cut half of the red herrings out and replaced them with some characterization of Rosie, maybe I'd care that she was even killed. Instead, we get female circumcision.

May 22, 2011 at 11:04PM EST Reply to Comment

Chad Exactly! Her character exists to show up every week to tell Linden that she's not doing her job.

I believe that Mom would still be sad nine days out, but that doesn't make for interesting television. It's frustrating to have weeks dedicated to an obvious red herring (i.e., Ahmed).
May 23, 2011 at 2:05AM EST
I think that Mitch is a well developed character. There's a lot that we know about her and more than can be inferred. Her most important attributes, as they relate to the story; are her instability, her vengeful nature, and her ability to manipulate her less intelligent husband into doing whatever she wants him to do. These aspects of her character have been evident from the very beginning. Were the two of you out in the kitchen getting snacks when she planted the idea in Stan's head that he needed to wreak vengeance on Bennet Ahmed? That was a major plot development set in motion by Mitch.
May 23, 2011 at 4:36PM EST
Mulvey Mitch is a bundle of character traits, not a character. Characters have nuance-Mitch has neurosis, hysteria, and an inability to take true agency. In other words, she's written the way most female characters are, sadly. So, your 'major plot development', the one that you're accusing the above posters of missing? Was carried out by Stan, who originally had the idea a few episodes ago when he took Bennett on that fateful car ride. Nice try, though. This is how Hollywood has fooled us into thinking that women 'set things in motion' for decades.
May 24, 2011 at 1:33AM EST

Jesse

At least it stopped raining.

May 22, 2011 at 11:04PM EST Reply to Comment

cln And Linden changed her sweater.
May 22, 2011 at 11:49PM EST
nycflo88 Jesse, Insightful and funny. AMC renewed this murder mystery series, unlike the way the pulled the plug on Rubicon. The irony is that they accomplished the same temporal scheme and plot devices as in the Rubicon. In the Rubicon, the 1st 2 episodes were interesting, the next five episodes I was watching the paint dry, in spite of the fantastic cinematography, better than the Killing. In all honesty, I look forward to the Game of Thrones on Sunday night and re-runs of Breaking Bad.
May 23, 2011 at 1:33AM EST
hmm2 When did AMC renew? Last I heard it was likely, but not announced.
May 23, 2011 at 2:57AM EST
JR It's not renewed yet, but it's almost a sure bet since it's averaging about the same ratings as Mad Men and Breaking Bad or better.
May 23, 2011 at 5:16AM EST
CLN, my wife noticed the same thing. I think she wore that same sweater since the pilot. I assumed it was a police uniform she wore it so much.
May 24, 2011 at 1:48PM EST
Adam Wasn't that because most of her clothes were packed to move to California?
May 24, 2011 at 3:24PM EST

Crumdawg97

I don't suppose the producers were looking for the reaction I had -- an amused chuckle -- when they cut to a commercial before we could see the result of Richmond's "dramatic" $5 million shot.

I don't think the payoff of the Bennet story was horrible...I actually was pleasantly surprised with the way they tied off that loop. The flip side of it, however, is that they spent sooooooo much time going down the Bennet road that whatever suspect(s) come up next, it will feel like it totally came out of left field and detached from what we've been watching the last several weeks.

May 22, 2011 at 11:08PM EST Reply to Comment

Jim A. I'm not sure whether speculation as to the killer's identity is frowned upon here, but it seems to me that Larsen's coworker is the most obvious choice. Watching him chase down a running Bennet just felt like him catching his scapegoat. He was also way too enthusiastic about beating him seemingly to death. Although, like you said, it'll probably be someone even more out of left field, because people who write shows like this don't like it when fans guess everything before the ending. You can't guess the killer if the character hasn't been on the screen yet.
May 22, 2011 at 11:16PM EST
Crumdawg97 I thought the exact same things and he's my prime suspect, too. He's the person most behaving like a murderer. Now whether that's an intentional red herring...who knows?
May 22, 2011 at 11:27PM EST
brian b. just out of puuuuurrrreee speculation i think its rick, the fiance, im not convinced its the coworker.
May 22, 2011 at 11:34PM EST
Chrissy Belko (the Larsen employee) was also pounding his fist into a big old boulder, out of excitement, frustration, psychotic rage, or some combo. Certainly a realistic suspect.
May 22, 2011 at 11:57PM EST
It could be possible that Belko was having a relationship with Rosie, therefore he has added sense of loss.
May 23, 2011 at 12:17AM EST
My suspicions are going to remain firmly fixed on Belko. There have been far too many disturbing scenes with him these past few weeks.
May 23, 2011 at 3:38AM EST
Jinjee Maybe he told Rosie to meet him outside the school at 3:00, cause she's getting raped.
May 23, 2011 at 10:24AM EST
Jobin I saw Belko punching the rock to try to cover up and/or take the fall in the future for Stan commiting the murder of Ahmed.

But the way the season has gone, I doubt this will ever be explained to us in any manner that provides any satisfaction.
May 23, 2011 at 11:08AM EST
John Calloway If it's Belko is would be lame, for this reason only - at the end of every episode where they promote the "vote on the killer" part of their web site, the two pictures featured since episode 1 are Richmond and Belko. It wouldn't even be cute if their thought was "hiding in plain sight". Having worked in TV promotion, they would never sign off on the killer being so obviously displayed, even in just a silly web promo at the end of the show.
May 23, 2011 at 1:38PM EST
Of course the writers and/or directors intended people to be surprised when they cut the shot of Richmond making his basket. This was intentional. I'm sure they expected some viewers to be amused, some confused, and others pissed. The point was to keep people guessing. What's wrong with that?

This is a show about unintended consequences. Part of the point to the Bennet story is that it affected other people. His involvement with Rosie was a reasonable avenue for investigation. They had a secret relationship. He wrote letters to her, that she hid from her parents, and she hung out where he volunteered. He had access to the Richmond campaign cars. His young wife is a former student, and that suggested that he might be the kind of guy who preys on students.

Once he became an object of suspicion, the ripples started to form. The mosque, Rosie's school, the All Stars and Richmond's campaign were all disturbed by those ripples. As of this week, there are more unintended victims...Bennet's wife, Mohammed, the Somalian girl who was trying to escape sexual mutilation, and Bennet himself. He's severely injured, at best, and maybe dead. If he survives with his mental faculties intact, his career is over. His colleagues and his students hate him and his wife doesn't trust him.

He isn't entirely innocent, but it looks like he isn't guilty of any heinous crime either. He isn't a murderer, a sexual predator or a terrorist. He's a guy who helps kids whose parents don't care about them...and that includes Rosie. Does anyone think, at this point, that the Larsen's deserve any parent of the year awards? I don't. He may get too close, at times, but it doesn't sound like he has ever really crossed any major boundaries.

I would expect new suspects will come from new lines of investigation. They've had no reason to take a closer look at Belko and Larsen, so far, but they do now. Their investigation of those two could lead anywhere. I think there could be a logical connection to the Mayor's waterfront project, probably through Stan and his shady associates, but who knows? In any case, the next phase of the investigation will be a progression from the events of this episode and not from "left field".
May 23, 2011 at 4:05PM EST
nath "Of course the writers and/or directors intended people to be surprised when they cut the shot of Richmond making his basket. This was intentional. I'm sure they expected some viewers to be amused, some confused, and others pissed. The point was to keep people guessing. What's wrong with that?"

What's wrong with it is that there is no guess. Richmond has to make the shot, otherwise his campaign ends, and his entire role in the show ceases to exist before he's done anything to warrant spending time on him.
May 23, 2011 at 5:14PM EST
Desmond Its OBVIOUS the killer has to be either Richmond or one his two lackys! Remember it was a campaign car stolen after all! Its just a matter of fine tuning to who now.. I think this season just got a lot better!!
May 24, 2011 at 8:26AM EST
Michizzy82 @JinJee - That is hilarious. All I can think of when I see Brendan Sexton is that character. Or "Warren Beatty".
May 24, 2011 at 3:38PM EST
Jinjee Thanks @Michizzy. All I needed was one person to get that. Now I can sleep again.
May 24, 2011 at 5:52PM EST

brian b.

I am having a big problem connecting with Mitch, she just seems like she's just there. I find it much more easier to connect Stan. I feel his pain, and its not cause im a man, its cause i feel like he's trying to hold his family togeather and he's struggling hard. The sister/nanny thats there also seems like she's just there. I dont know why she's there, i dont understand why they would have a nanny, cause im not even sure if Mitch has/had a real job, i dont get it. I had a feeling Bennett was heading in that direction, i thought for sure they were doing either a)some terrorist stuff or b) some life saving stuff, i didnt think they had much to do with Rosies death. And as for Darren, im gonna go out there and say if he didnt kill rosie (which i dont think he did, i think its Rick) then he's pointless. Darren is just there for filler and to help the Bennett thing play a little better. Overall though, im intregued and i wanna keep watching to see what happens.

May 22, 2011 at 11:13PM EST Reply to Comment

Ann Burke Nanny???? Terry's her SISTER!
May 23, 2011 at 11:29AM EST
John Calloway If it is Rick it would fit in with Linden being one of the most mediocre detectives in TV history...
May 23, 2011 at 1:40PM EST

xbrooklyngrrl

I have to admit that I'm on the west coast, and read Alan's review before deciding to watch or not, this show just keeps disappointing and boring me. I guess I'll give it a pass tonite...none of the characters have made an impression on me, and Mitch's disconnect got old last week.

Anyone like this episode????

May 22, 2011 at 11:19PM EST Reply to Comment

aforkosh In the SF Bay Area, AMC in HD uses the East Coast feed. I can thus safely read Alan's reviews and comments as soon as they are posted.
May 22, 2011 at 11:48PM EST
Chrissy I thought this was a better episode than the last couple, in terms of the Bennett stuff. the Richmond storyline did not move forward in a compelling way.
May 22, 2011 at 11:58PM EST
I thought it was a better episode than the previous 3-4, which may be feint praise. I'm still blown away at how horrible this investigation has been. What I felt we learned tonight was that Ahmed didn't do it, the FBI and SPD is embarassingly wrong about what was operating out of the meat shop. It looks like they'll finally get pointed back to the evidence they found the first day of the investigation, oh, and back on trying to get a timeline about Rosie's activities and who knew what about it. Did they never talk to Stan about why his credit card was at the park or the aunt about where Rosie was that day? It was compelling to watch but I keep getting tripped up by lunacy.
May 23, 2011 at 1:38AM EST
Son of Mecha Mummy I liked the last ten minutes of the episode or so, but oh god now the last couple weeks feel like even more of a gigantic waste of time.
May 23, 2011 at 3:09AM EST
webdiva There was a certain gruesome parallelism to the way in which both Stan and Richmond are unraveling, and both cases are grim. they've both been talked into doing things they might not customarily do, and they've agreed because of the pressure and circumstances. Richmond already regrets his concessions, and brutal Stan is about to regret his in the next episode, after he gets Mitch's message about the t-shirt. At least that much was interesting. but they really should have devoted at least 10 minutes each episode to flesh out more about who Rosie was and how that led to her death. To give it only in the final episode (if they even do it then) is both unfair and unsatisfying. Besides, if they really wanted to keep us hanging they would have given us more reasons to suspect at least two other people all along besides Bennett. Yet the reason for Rosie's death is still as mysterious as it was in the opener, and there should have been at least some progress on that point by now.
May 25, 2011 at 12:53AM EST

sajid_anwar

Good god, I feel more revulsion toward mitch than rosie's killer at this point. And since when do the police stand just outside the house of a suspect, slowly hashing out the details of a raid. Apparently no one told them about the importance of element of surprise. And I realize family in process of grieving are irrational and look to blame anyone for their trouble, but unless I'm missing something, all that the larsen family knows is that police are looking into bennett as a suspect. But they don't know if that's the only person they have their eyes on, or the exact nature of the suspicion. Based on that one snippet of information, the Larsen's are awfully convinced that Bennett MUST be the killer.

May 22, 2011 at 11:19PM EST Reply to Comment

kinoeye I guess what I don't understand about this is why Linden and Holder didn't think to try to protect Bennett, guilty or not, especially after the incident after Rosie's memorial service. If you know that the Larsens have shady mob connections, or have reason to believe that Stan used to be an enforcer, why wouldn't you put two and two together and realize that between this history and Mitch dropping big hints that she's about to go vigilante, something bad will probably happen to Bennett? And Linden is supposed to be this exceptionally observant investigator? Really??
I really hate that this show has such glaring inconsistencies, it could have been so great.
May 22, 2011 at 11:47PM EST
cln The plot holes in this show are big enough to drive Stan's van through.
May 22, 2011 at 11:53PM EST
Found I don't even watch this show, but I did have to comment on this. Actually, there was a real case in the news not too long ago, Massachusetts or Connecticut I think, where the cops stayed outside the house planning their raid while the women inside were being raped and murdered and the house set on fire. Cops behaving stupidly is not a plot hole!
May 23, 2011 at 1:38AM EST
joel Mitch thought they had Rosie's sweater as evidence and that connected Bennett to her, which is awfully compelling evidence when you're a parent who has gone over the edge grieving their murdered daughter. That was why the dryer scene at the end was so important. What I don't get is why her husband, who seems to have maintained some kernel of his sanity, simply reacts to his crazy wife's accusations by walking out the door to kill the guy he spared like 48 hours before. That was stupid.

And I'm getting really tired of Vancouver randomly standing in for Seattle as well as poorly researched locales they use. There's no escalators in Seattle's Farmer's Market and there's certainly no hospital named "Seattle General" nor a "Hudson Street."

Jesus, at least make a marginal effort.
May 23, 2011 at 1:44AM EST
kinoeye It's not the cops behaving like idiots that are the 'plot hole', it's the inconsistency of the characters. If the Linden character is presented as someone who is methodical to an obsessive degree, it doesn't make sense, in terms of plot, for her to miss simple probable cause like this.
The significance of Mitch catching her 'mistake' was as clear as day, as was her hypothesis that he had something to do with her daughter's murder. What I found thoroughly unconvincing about both Mitch and Stan is the fact that THEY STILL HAVE TWO LIVING CHILDREN-and yet they don't hesitate to resort to actions that could endanger them. Mitch-perhaps, but Stan? Again, incredibly inconsistent with what we've been shown.
May 23, 2011 at 2:17AM EST
Laura I agree that the plot holes are gaping, but I think Joel is expecting a
Ittle much. The specifics of the location are in no ways important here. I mean, palm trees would be out of place, but who would notice and/or care that the street names aren't right? Although I can see how once you start picking out the larger inconsistencies the little ones become more apparent as well. But with a show faltering on so many level, a misplaces escalator seems inconsequential.
May 23, 2011 at 9:37AM EST
JOEL: I'm assuming you're referring to Pike Place Market when you say "Seattle's Farmer's Market," and you're right that there aren't any escalators there. There ARE escalators at the Kress IGA market just a few blocks away though, and if I'm not mistaken, Linden or Holder mentioned that the market they went to was at 5th and Union. Those aren't Kress IGA's cross-streets, but they certainly aren't even close to the cross-streets for Pike Place Market either.

I'm pretty sure the scene in last night's episode wasn't actually filmed at the Seattle Kress IGA market, but it looks very similar.

Either way, just because they don't film every scene in Seattle and aren't completely accurate with addresses or names of places doesn't mean the locales are poorly researched. The Killing is fictional, after all.
May 23, 2011 at 1:12PM EST
I totally agree with Joel about Seattle. First, there is no "downtown market" at Union and Fifth. Second, that fictional market turned out to be the Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver. And finally, although Seattle gets a lot of precipitation, it rarely pours here.

And don't get me started on the 3-4 episode red herring involving Bennett...
May 23, 2011 at 1:19PM EST
I may be wrong. A movie critic for the Seattle Times, Moira MacDonald, pointed out that Granville has no escalators. Could it be the Lonsdale Quay Farmers Market in North Vancouver? At any rate, it sure isn't a farmers market like that one in downtown Seattle.
May 23, 2011 at 3:33PM EST
Comments like these make me wonder whether the people commenting are actually watching the show and, if so, whether you understand the U.S. Constitution and/or how the criminal justice system works here in America.

Last week, Holder used the Patriot Act as justification for a warrantless wiretap. He intended to get the warrant later. Normally, Americans are protected from "unlawful search and seizure" by the Bill of Rights, but the Patriot Act allowed exceptions for suspected terrorists (but not for murder suspects).

The cops waited outside the house, at which there was clearly no crime taking place, because they were waiting for Holder to persuade his hinky judge to sign a wiretap warrant. Without the evidence from the wiretap, they had no legal reason to arrest the suspect.

Holder failed to get the warrant, after the fact. The judge refused because Holder didn't need it to catch a terrorist. That made the wiretap illegal. This meant that there was no basis for an arrest. There was nothing left for them to do but go pack up and go home.

Holder's sloppiness should not come as a surprise to anyone. When has Holder behaved like anything but a bumbling idiot? It was cool and interesting when he seduced the cheerleaders into telling him about the Cave. In this case, his unorthodox methods backfired and compromised the investigation...not so cool.
May 23, 2011 at 5:00PM EST
cduff After this episode, I feel like I can officially say that this show now sucks.
May 23, 2011 at 9:23PM EST

Yellowdog

I haven't seen a misunderstanding cause this much trouble since Three's Company, and that show actually made more sense.

May 22, 2011 at 11:23PM EST Reply to Comment

very well put. This is basically a cop drama version of three's company at this point.
May 22, 2011 at 11:26PM EST
Jesse Well, Linden's oversized sweater is flowy like something out of Mrs. Roper's wardrobe. You might be onto something.
May 22, 2011 at 11:32PM EST
kinoeye It's too bad you haven't seen 'Mystic River'...
May 22, 2011 at 11:39PM EST
MBG Linden's sweaters are oversized b/c Mireille Enos was pregnant during shooting. Via EW:

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/04/17/killing-mireille-enos-second-season/

Q - So were you pregnant while filming the show?

A - I was pregnant in the pilot. By the end of the pilot, I was 5 months pregnant. My whole 5th month we were shooting. And then I had my daughter, and we started shooting again 2 months later.
May 23, 2011 at 12:20PM EST
Good comment, Yellowdog. When I saw the interrogation scene with Mohammed, I flashed on a scene from Season 3 (I think) of The Wire, when Cheese is interrogated. Finally it comes out that the cops misinterpreted the word "dog" (Cheese really meant a canine). The look on both Cheese's face, and the cops' face, is hilarious. That kind of intelligence is missing in The Killing.
May 23, 2011 at 3:38PM EST

theholyavenger

"Oh you thought I was a Terrorist and a Murderer? Nope I'm a good guy who kidnaps young girls to save them from circumcision!!" That is possibly the most ridiculous plot I've ever heard.

May 22, 2011 at 11:34PM EST Reply to Comment

Qualitycontrol I'm not trying to troll, but why? Out of all the red herrings and preposterous machinations that have been on this show thus far, at least this one was somewhat coherent. Unless, of course, you can't fathom that someone's actions could possibly be misinterpreted-in which case, you probably want to stick to sitcoms or 'Wipeout'.
May 22, 2011 at 11:43PM EST
Stacy Yes it is.. Plus many people here were predicting this sort of "twist" weeks ago- so nice try trying to be surprising.
May 22, 2011 at 11:43PM EST
Jim A. QC, it's ridiculous because it just so happened to have the same framework as the Larsen murder. Missing young women, shady meetings in the middle of the night, suspicious phone calls regarding said young women. Only instead of the big murder case, it's an unrelated, but entirely coincidental set of circumstances written intentionally to create confusion and misunderstandings. It's kind of insulting.
May 22, 2011 at 11:52PM EST
Qualitycontrol @Jim A.- well played, sir. I completely agree. I guess I was still giving this show benefit of the doubt because it's on AMC. But that's over and done with. I'll watch the rest of the season, but only for the same reason people slow down when they see a car wreck on the side of the road..
May 23, 2011 at 1:06AM EST
brentalistair "That is possibly the most ridiculous plot I've ever heard."

Bennett Ahmed is being accused of murder. The police are harrassing him and his wife and basically making his life miserable. How does he not just tell the truth about Aisha? At the very least, he tells his wife and she doesn't go behind his back to the police. Instead he meticulously avoids providing anyone with any information that would clarify the situation at all. Its basically insane.
May 23, 2011 at 3:20AM EST
Chrissy I think he's being honorable. He knows he didn't kill Rosie, and believes that the truth will out. He also knows that Aisha is still alive, and relying on him to save her from a pretty horrible fate. It's not the choice everyone would make, but I get it.
May 23, 2011 at 8:37AM EST
joe Chrissy,
That would be plausible if it was just related to law enforcement. But he acted in the most suspicious manner with regards to absolutely everyone involved. Not to mention that if he cared about Rosie he would at least help out with what he could. I get being silent when interrogated, or refusing to let the cops in without a warrant. Most people would just want to clear themselves, but some would indeed stick up for their constitutional rights. But what about:

- If Rosie indeed just returned a few books that Friday, why didn't he say so? Even if he wasn't initially aware that Rosie went there, there were plenty of other opportunities to say "by the way, she stopped by when I wasn't there, as you can see on the video."
- When it was established that she WAS there, why did he make up the book she was returning, or lie about him being there, especially since it was an easily verifiable lie given his presence on video?
- Now, let's say he wasn't just a stickler for the constitution and actually wanted to screw with the cops (no reason to actually lie if not that), why would he not explain things to his wife? The wife knows he wasn't there that night, she knows his friend was, she knows he is lying. Why would he intentionally let his wife think all that of him? Even if he doesn't trust her enough to tell her about the Aisha thing, why wouldn't he at least come up with an excuse for lying to the cops like that in front of her?
- Why would he lie and mislead about meeting Rosie at the all stars program? About the notes he sent her?

All these things only make sense if you believe that beyond sticking up for his rights against unreasonable searches and seizures, Ahmed wanted to be some kind of martir. The guy was about to be suspended, with absolutely everyone suspecting him, and had come pretty close to being killed by Stan just a couple of nights ago, was witnessing his community destroyed and yet kept acting in the most possibly incriminating fashion, above and beyond what was needed to fool the cops about the Aisha case.
May 23, 2011 at 4:13PM EST
Here's the thing...Bennet and Mohammed couldn't move the girl until they had passports (the passports they were talking about on the tapped phone...remember?). They couldn't let anyone else know what they were up to because they were breaking the law. Circumcising a child is not against the law, but kidnapping a child is...even if the child wants to be "kidnapped" and paid for the kidnapping, as happened in this instance. Now that the police know where Aisha is, she'll be returned to her parents who will proceed to slice off her clitoris and labia with a dull knife and no anesthesia, just as they'd planned from the start.

So, Aisha becomes another unintended victim.
May 23, 2011 at 5:30PM EST
I'm pretty sure Child Protective Services will be called in to help when the parents are talking about slicing off a 12 year old's genitals.
May 23, 2011 at 6:07PM EST
Chrissy Joe, I don't have answers for all that, and I don't claim the writing is airtight. But let's say that, at the time he was questioned, he didn't even know Rosie had been by. Prior to her being a murder victim, it's hardly important. As soon as they ask, he realizes Muhammed must have answered the door. He doesn't want to lead the cops to the guy he's plotting a kidnapping with, so he invents a plausible story on the spot. He probably had no idea there was video of him at the dance.
May 23, 2011 at 7:04PM EST
I think that Chrissy's explanation makes sense.

I've been involved with quite a few child abuse investigations, usually as the initial reporter. One thing I can tell you, with absolute certainty, is that they won't intervene unless there has been actual child abuse. They can't remove children from a home because somebody thinks there might be child abuse in the future.

In other words, a typical CPS worker wouldn't help Aisha until after she'd been circumcised. Bennet and Mohammed's concerns were absolutely justified.

I was wrong in my previous post. Circumcision of male children is legal in the U.S.. Circumcision of girls up to age 18 is illegal in the U.S., but the law has been challenged because it doesn't apply to all children. The penalty is a fine, or up to five years in prison.
May 23, 2011 at 9:20PM EST
webdiva At least there are a few sound medical reasons for male circumcision (i.e., circumcised men are drastically less likely to get penile cancer -- and yes, there really is such a thing), but there are absolutely NO sound medical reasons for female circumcision and several against it. The latter is solely mutilation in the eyes of both medicine and the law. that's a big difference there, and I predict the challenge to the law will fail for that reason. But that said, Bennett could easily have sought assistance from a children's advocate or the State Department to help Aisha, but he didn't -- which makes him really stupid. So much for his supposed intelligence, or, for that matter, the intelligence of the plot. Forget about plot holes big enough for Stan's van -- they're big enough for a double-semi.
May 25, 2011 at 1:15AM EST
There is no agency that will intervene on behalf of children who might be abused some time in the future. Child welfare agencies deal with child abuse that has already happened. You can't hold a parent accountable for child abuse unless child abuse has taken place, just as you can't prosecute someone for a crime unless a crime has been committed.

In this society, parental rights are sacred and it takes a lot for the government and the courts to oppose the wishes or parents. This may not seem right if you look at it in terms of the risk to a child like Aisha, but it may feel a lot more right of you look at it in terms of your own families. If suspicion of future acts was enough, then we'd all be at risk of losing our children.

Another consideration is that a twelve year old Somalian child would have little, if any, legal standing in the U.S.. She's a minor, so she wouldn't be able to advocate for herself, and she's not a citizen. I can't see the U.S. State Department intervening to protect a Somalian refugee. Maybe a twelve year old foreign national could persuade a judge to appoint a guardian to protect her interests, but it seems like a long shot to me. The INS would have deported her parents if they'd been convicted of child abuse for circumcising her, but not before.

This is not a hole in the plot. It's a realistic reflection of the way the system works and the necessity for circumventing the system. Bennet was probably doing the only thing he could do in order to protect the child.
May 25, 2011 at 9:30PM EST

I guess I'm alone in thinking the show has been getting better. I thought last weeks and this weeks episodes were engrossing and very strong.

Maybe we're not suppose to care as much about the death of Rosie, but how her death has lead to far reaching consequences for a mayoral campaign, a Muslim community, especially her Muslim teacher, and the personal life of the detective working her case. Which, really, I think the show has done a pretty good job of showcasing so far.

What happened to Ahmed's character is brutal, and I am interested in seeing what happens next for the characters once they discover what happened to him.

May 22, 2011 at 11:35PM EST Reply to Comment

I'm with you. I think the last couple of episodes were very good. I also have felt that the show was less about solving the mystery as it is about tracing the effects of the event.

It's not great, but it has gotten good and I'm enjoying it.
May 23, 2011 at 12:42AM EST
MBG Thank you. I continue to be interested in the developments & love Holder, he's a great character. I also think the rich dude is very Seattle/West Coast.

I said last week that my friend in politics (who's worked on national campaigns) thought the Richmond thread was very real about pols selling their souls.

The one character I do have an issue with is the Detective Captain, who seems not to want to solve the case. Now, of course, there's another murder to solve, hmmm...

- MBG
May 23, 2011 at 12:25PM EST
I like it, too. I like the characters, the performers, and the way the story is developing. I like the ambiguity, the atmosphere and the pace. The cinematography is great, and that includes the use of rain almost as a prop. It's every bit as effective as the use of darkness and light in a show like Dexter or Lost. We've had enough lush, sunny tropical paradises on TV. Rain slicked city streets, gloom, and unrelenting drizzle are a refreshing change.

What I could really do without is the chorus of haters who clearly can't follow the plot or comprehend the significance of the action and who should do themselves, and everyone else, a favor and stop watching. Don't just threaten to change the channel or erase the VCR or whatever...DO IT. Pull the plug on The Killing and then delete all links to this blog while you're at it. Return to your Law and Orders and your CSIs and don't look back.
May 23, 2011 at 5:58PM EST
Nancy have you ever seen Breaking Bad(the best show on tv)? Have you seen Mad Men? Those are amazing shows, with real characters, great writing, Emmy winning performances, etc. I can tell you very few people on this blog watch Csi or law and Order. That's why so many people hate this crap. It's on the same level as those 2 shows but dragged out over 13 hours. Also, who can't follow the plot? What exactly is the plot? What's happened over 9 hours of television? What do we know about any of the characters?
May 23, 2011 at 6:12PM EST
Ryan, most of the complaints on this comments section seem to be that it ISNâ€™T the type of show youâ€™re complaining about (CSI, etc.) They want it to be 24 (with an abduction not a killing!), they want it to be about plot and clever detecting. They miss the point about what it is â€“ a study in the corrosive effect of a killing. And throwing out the names of better shows (which most of us watch, too) is not an argument. I like the way itâ€™s going. That doesnâ€™t mean I think itâ€™s the Sopranos.
May 23, 2011 at 6:26PM EST
@Tony, I don't believe any of the 115 comments are people asking for this show to be CSI, LaO, etc. 2 people I believe said an abduction would improve it. A study in the effect of a killing? What does female genital mutilation have to do with Rosie's murder? The rich basketball douche? The councilman and his dead wife? Him sleeping with his assistant chick? The evil mayor? Remember the boyfriend, best friend, and childhood friend turned street urchin? If this really was a study in the effect of a murder shouldn't we maybe see how they react to it? Instead they've been forgotten and we got a 4 episode terrorism red herring that again shows no effect if the murder. Also can we really understand how the murder changes the people around Rosie if we know nothing about her? She was a tortured soul who made a home movie? We don't know anything about her, her family, her friends, etc. If they cut all the political and terrorism trash and interspersed flashbacks that showed us this girl's life than maybe the show rises above just another procedural. Listing better shows wasn't an argument for why this show is terrible, it's the reason why so many people are dissapointed with it. Those are AMC level shows and this is not.
May 23, 2011 at 6:42PM EST
nicole I hate the "oh you don't like it...go watch CSI" crap It's the same as the "go watch Two & a Half Men" thing for comedies. Just because someone disagrees with you about one show doesn't mean all they like is procedurals and bad comedies.
May 23, 2011 at 9:17PM EST
Enough @Nancy Hall

Your posts seem to get increasingly hostile and condescending, and there's really no reason for it at all. It's an internet discussion board. For...discussion. This doesn't mean a chorus of boos, or even of praise-it means that people are presenting various understandings, points of view, etc.
Just because people disagree with some aspects of the show does NOT mean that they don't like it. It doesn't mean that they don't have the right to their opinion. It doesn't mean that they're not intelligent enough to offer valid criticism. And it certainly doesn't add anything to accuse people of 'getting up to get snacks', 'not understand the U.S. Constitution, etc when they don't see things the way you do.
Nicole is right-to disagree doesn't make you stupid, but to dismiss what is, at least to me, some thought-provoking opinions and discussions seems to miss the point of boards like this entirely.
May 24, 2011 at 1:49AM EST
This is from Nancy Hall...for some reason, none of my posts seem to be attributed to me any more. Everybody's avatars have disappeared and some names are gone as well.

@ Enough...My frustration is not with the people who are posting thoughtful observations. It's with those who have clearly not watched the episode and who are just venting. I think my suggestions that they watch something else or find another place to rant are reasonable.

@ Ryan...I've watched Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and a whole bunch of other series too numerous to list here. The Killing isn't any of those shows. It's different. It's better than some and not as good as others. It does some things extremely well. These include the cinematography and the acting. I think it's weaknesses include the long format, the often truncated dialog, and the fact that Rosie remains a shadowy character. I've read that the writers kept Rosie in the background on purpose. I think that was a mistake, but not a fatal mistake.

I think it's interesting that ratings remain high despite the lukewarm critical response and the proliferation of Internet haters. What do you suppose that means?
May 24, 2011 at 6:41PM EST
leor i, too, have been enjoying the show. reading the comments here, i can understand the criticism ie. plot holes and people doing stupid things. but at the same time, isn't that what creates the drama? i don't think the red herring of Bennet over the past few weeks was a "waste of time". i didn't believe he was guilty, but could certainly see why he would be a suspect and investigated. the whole point of the series is to show the depth of the investigation, and having the right suspect right away wouldn't necessarily be authentic. it's interesting how people were complaining earlier that suspects were being cleared too FAST, and now Bennet was cleared too SLOW!
May 26, 2011 at 1:46PM EST

Bryan

God it just keeps getting worse and worse - it's the Energizer Bunny of horrible cop shows.

Hey I bet you 5 million dollars and a basketball Bennet's not dead even though by the force of all the hitting his skull should be caved in.

May 22, 2011 at 11:42PM EST Reply to Comment

RJ

I do like this show but I understand the complaints. Mitch is an annoying character and anybody could have seen Stan doing that to Bennett episodes ago, so it wasn't very shocking. Tho his co-workers reaction to it all was something possibly to take. Essentially they now have no leads on anyone for the killer, which is a problem in a show that is only 13 episodes and only 4 remaining, they should have reduced the red-herrings and actually have had something to do with the killer arise. Will definitely watch thru the end because I still think it's a good show, but its taken a step back from how good I thought it was going to be after the first few.

May 22, 2011 at 11:56PM EST Reply to Comment

Jim

Earlier I was trying to think of another show that had a bigger drop-off from pilot to the run of the show. I can't think of one. I really liked the pilot a lot and had some high expectations, but this has become borderline unwatchable for me. Any thoughts on other shows with great pilots that didn't live up to the promise? And don't say LOST. The pilot was amazing, but the show itself was good to great for most of three seasons.

May 22, 2011 at 11:59PM EST Reply to Comment

KR I'll submit 'Heroes' and arguably, 'Glee'.
May 23, 2011 at 1:09AM EST
Vlad Heroes indeed. The first episode was somewhat interesting but after that it was all downhill.
May 23, 2011 at 2:30AM EST
Jim Good call re Heroes. I think that's the one. We'll see how The Killing ends up the season, but I'd say they're neck and neck right now.
May 23, 2011 at 2:31PM EST
Jesse Also, I'd say the entirety of Heroes season 1 was very good. It dropped off of a cliff after that. The Killing has 2 solid episodes in an otherwise uneven season.
May 23, 2011 at 3:32PM EST

Chrissy

I was thinking the other day that this show would work a lot better if they were looking for an abducted girl rather than a murderer. One of my two big complaints about Sud's precious show, Cold Case, is the lack of urgency built into the premise, and I have that same feeling here. However, putting Bennett in danger alleviated that a bit for an episode, and I thought this was an improvement on the middle section of this show.

I'm not sure how, at this pace, they'll have time to build a compelling case against a suspect unconnected to Ahmed, though. That's a bit worrisome.

May 23, 2011 at 12:06AM EST Reply to Comment

Jobin An abducted girl might have been a better premise, but in these writer's hands I think they would have botched it just as they are with this storyline.

They would have gone to even more 24-sytle cliffhanger episodes, cleaned up nicely in 10-15 of next episode and close with another cliffhanger of some sort.

I never watched Cold Case, but the biggest problem with this show is that the characters have in no way been developed in any way, which is a shame.
May 23, 2011 at 11:20AM EST
Tmr53 Well, if it was an abduction,then it would have been a show called Kidnapped, instead of The Killing, and that has already been done, and much better. So, the only real suspense is the ultimate reveal of the killer, and based on what has happened so far, it appears the killer is currently playing left field, since that is where he/she is coming from.
May 23, 2011 at 4:33PM EST

Chad

Well, tonight's episode was horrible. I've been hanging on with the show, but I told my wife from the outset that there is no way a muslim will be the bad guy. Not in a million years. It's not PC.

So, after three weeks of set up we finally get the big white guilt payoff and we are no closer to anything having to do with the death of Rosie. Was there anyone that thought the Muslims had anything to do with it? I could go on, because there is a lot more wrong here, but this episode really stunk.

May 23, 2011 at 1:52AM EST Reply to Comment

Patti Amen. Can we just get the original Danish version somehow? I think I can handle subtitles if the story is great. Maybe I will just try to find it on the internet. YouTube will have it soon...
May 27, 2011 at 8:12PM EST

Yup

Nine weeks of red herrings and misleading distractions and there is still no suspect for the murder.. which means the killer is either going to be introduced in the final weeks or some existing character is suddenly going to confess out of the blue. We know as much about rosie's murder now as we did after episode four. Nine episodes wasted on misleading filler that had absolutely nothing to do with the murder and in the final episode some random character like the nanny/aunt will be identified as the killer. great. I hate the Richmond campaign. And I hate Mitch.

May 23, 2011 at 2:28AM EST Reply to Comment

Remy I just had a thought. The killer will be the nanny/aunt/sister. She introduces Rosie to Jasper's father at some point (clearly they had a relationship of some kind as noticed already). Dad lusts after young Rosie. Nanny/aunt/sister kills her out of jealousy. The pilot shows Rosie running in the woods--the Jasper estate? Now I just have to figure how nanny/aunt/sister would get access to Richmond campaign car.
May 23, 2011 at 3:41AM EST
Jesse Exactly. There will be some smoking gun piece of evidence that points to the killer with neon lights. I'll be annoyed at that, but I guess it's plausible.

What I don't see happening is a smooth connection between the Rosie plot and the political one. I don't foresee that happening either, which means we'll have wasted roughly half of 13 hours on a mayoral race with no real connection to the actual killing.
May 23, 2011 at 11:18AM EST
You're just figuring out that this is a thirteen episode show, YUP? Why, one earth, would the writers disclose the identity of the killer now? You may not like the way the show is evolving, but you should have expected slow plot development from the beginning.

I think the connection with the campaign will lie with Stan and his shady past, but that's just a hunch. It's based on the frequent mention of Mayor Adams' waterfront project, which is or will be a huge and very lucrative construction project, and Stan's shady past in construction trades.

He brought Bennet to the waterfront the first time he abducted him. There must have been some significance to that. The location of the final beatdown looked more rural.

Rosie could have gotten herself caught up with Dad's business associates or there could be a revenge motive. Ames could certainly be part of the equation.

I think it's almost a given the people like Adams, Ames, Eaton and Drexler have not been entirely honest and aboveboard in their individual paths to wealth and power. There could be all kinds of connections and unsavory deeds among this group, with Stan's friend Kovarsky part of the mix.
May 23, 2011 at 6:20PM EST
webdiva We still have NO idea about why Rosie would have been running in the woods with a car chasing after her -- no clues at all, and there should be at least some effort to have checked for CC video from street cameras anywhere in the vicinity of the park entrance, searching for that car that ended up in the water with Rosie in the trunk. If you can't follow the girl's whereabouts hour to hour after she left the prom, **follow the car**, idiots! I'm not a cop, yet even I know that much. Yet they seem to have given up on the car and how it got where it was found once it was established that any number of people had access to it. Stupid.

I don't want The Killing to be Law & Order (US or UK) or another CSI, but I do want even an impressionistic, atmospheric police procedural to at least get the procedures right and not make the cops look stupid -- particularly if the protagonist is supposed to be a scrupulously methodical, even obsessive but very good and experienced homicide detective. Instead, the writers have made Linden look like a stoic rookie with no method to her method. Is it asking too much to at least have her make sense from a procedural point of view?? I think not.

This is just the writers being stupid enough to think that atmosphere and the initial mystery alone can carry this through 10 episodes. The number of complaints here and elsewhere should tell them otherwise.
May 25, 2011 at 1:30AM EST

CapPick

http://tvrot.com/2011/05/the-killing-stonewalled/

Some racial thoughts on tonight's episode.

May 23, 2011 at 2:35AM EST Reply to Comment

CapPick http://tvrot.com/2011/05/the-killing-undertow/

Whoops, wrong review.
May 23, 2011 at 2:36AM EST

Remy

This was by far one of the worse episodes. Â I got drawn in to the show by the two part pilot and the El Diablo episode. What ever happened to Jasper and Chris? Â Didn't the boys think they had been picked up for something big? Â From then on, the show has just gone steadily down hill. At least Linden isn't trying to make it to Sonoma anymore.

No one has yet mentioned the cringe inducing scenes with Richmond trying to take the moral high ground with his staff and the saccharine discussion in the bar between Richmond and Gwen, as the song that plays on the jukebox turns out to be his dead wife's favorite. The whole thing felt so stilted and corny! Â Richmond is an empty suit. Why should we even care about him and the outcome of the campaign? Â I don't even feel sad that his wife died. Â Â The man elicits no feeling in me. Â Is it the writing? The acting? The political part of the show is the weakest by far because the characters involved are simplistic caricatures. 1. The rich new media asshole whom Richmond visits for money--is this supposed to be a knock off of Mark Zuckerberg? 2. The lying mayor who is working to cover up his affair and pay off the mistress--couldn't they have come up with something more provocative at least? Cross dressing? Â Wife with secret illness such as HIV? Â 3. Bland blonde Gwen as the relatively uncreative political advisor with the politician father--the actress is so uninspiring and barely able to muster up any real empathy for Richmond. Even their sex was mechanical! I could go on and on. Â

What bugs me is I will watch until the very end for some resolution! Â Only 4 more to go, right?

May 23, 2011 at 3:26AM EST Reply to Comment

Chrissy I won't defend the Richmond stuff, but the song wasn't coincidental. He plays it on the jukebox before getting his drink.
May 23, 2011 at 8:40AM EST
Kenya Yes, The Killing introduces characters for them to disappear after a few episodes. I think the political thread has the potential to be interesting if they focused on it rather than using it as an apparent afterthought. It isn't just the characters in the political thread that are underdeveloped. That applies to everyone except perhaps the lead detectives. I don't need the plot to rush forward at lightning speed to like a show. Yet, when one adds the lack of character development or interesting dialogue, it just becomes the sum of its red herrings.
May 23, 2011 at 1:45PM EST
John Calloway Maybe the Adams campaign used an intermediary to pay the skater to do it - hoping it would engulf Richmond's campaign via the afterschool program and campaign car used. Its ridiculous but so is the show.

And this is silly a point but I have to make regarding "Zuckerberg". Didn't he say he wanted a football stadium earlier? They recently got a new one in Seattle. What they need, and it caused them to lose their team, was a replacement for their decrepit basketball arena. And Zuckerberg has a basketball hoop in his loft. Stupid point but why not pile one, its a little thing that tells me the writers have hardly been to Seattle (monsoon every day is another thing).
May 23, 2011 at 2:30PM EST
MBG Maybe no one mentioned it b/c you posted @ 3:28 a.m. Not everyone stays up to blog right after the show.

Good point, Chrissy, about Richmond deliberately playing it again. I've said two weeks running that my friend in DC who has worked on national campaigns finds the politics/politicians VERY plausible, with pols selling out their souls out, etc. (Though Richmond is obviously trying not to.)

Good point about Stadium, though, JCall -- hey, you can't always get "Mad Men" quality writing: They couldn't reach contract & are on hiatus this year. AMC has to put something on the air Sunday nites @ 10. I like both Linden and (especially) Holder a lot.
May 23, 2011 at 3:57PM EST
Remy @MGB -- Mentioned it?? Confusing. I'm up at 3:28 am because of my work schedule.
May 23, 2011 at 4:10PM EST

docjtilla

I thought it was a good episode. Granted, I've permanently lowered my expectations for the show, and recalibrating helps a ton in enjoying it again.

Stan's friend is probably too obvious a suspect at this point; dude went Cro-Magnon in the beatdown of Ahmed, and anybody that unhinged has to be another red herring. (And, of course, nice police work scapegoating the young black man right into the ICU. David Simon would be proud.) If I were a betting man, I'd guess the murder ultimately falls on the street punks from the early eps. Oh, and I'm almost giddy thinking about how absurd the plot twist will be to finally tie the Richmond campaign back to the murder. Writers should serve up a doozy on that.

Excellent point @Chrissy, an abduction would've given the investigation some much-needed urgency, and by consequence, I think, given the show as a whole more gravity. Since we don't have strong characterization, or a meaningful victim, I'm looking at the remainder of the season as pure whodunit. Fun stuff.

May 23, 2011 at 3:48AM EST Reply to Comment

John Calloway "Is that all you got?" said the street punk when they showed him the video. If its not relevant it should be.
May 23, 2011 at 2:15PM EST

josiah

The sweetest ending would be the ghosts of Rosie and Bennet (finally together in heaven) watching Linden tie the knot.

May 23, 2011 at 4:24AM EST Reply to Comment

Antoniooo That would be so ridiculous...but so darn sweet. I love it.
May 23, 2011 at 8:41AM EST

Joel

The grieving angry mother is just so done and it's played the same way here as everywhere else. Everything Mitch gets her anger on demanding that Linden arrest Bennett, I just don't understand why Linden doesn't ever respond. She just stands/listens with the same expression she has in every scene. She knows Stan is rash and potentially violent and is very capable of making snap judgments. Just tell Mitch, "Look, I know this is frustrating for you, and we are investigating Bennett, but the evidence so far is circumstantial and there's a reason we don't haul suspects like this into a cell. We need to confirm or eliminate him as a suspect, because frankly, there's a chance he didn't do it, and you need to understand that. Either way, we are focusing on him so just sit tight and I'll let you know." The only thing she says is that "let you know" part. It's killing me!
Also, every time anything with the campaign came up I surfed the web so I've no idea what happened there.

May 23, 2011 at 7:11AM EST Reply to Comment

Sharon Exactly! I don't understand why Linden won't give the family this explanation. Instead, she promises that Bennett is going to be arrested that night - what cop would do that? Given how unstable Mitch is, wouldn't she at least be concerned that she might show up at Bennett's house and jeopardize the arrest? And I have been willing to give Mitch a great deal of latitude in her grieving - in the world of the show, it's only been a little over a week, and I think any parent would be a basket case, but when she attacked Stan for letting Bennett go, I lost all sympathy at that point. How could she goad her husband into committing, at a minimum, assault and quite likely could be attempted homicide or even murder? I get she is grieving but I don't buy that she is that irrational. I even had the fleeting thought that SHE is somehow involved in Rosie's murder and is exaggerating her grief to avoid suspicion. I don't seriously believe that, but that's how unbelievable her character has become for me.
May 23, 2011 at 10:04AM EST
AR Right? Why don't these people communicate like normal human beings? Why can't Linden explain the investigation to the mother in the way you've outlined? Because then we wouldn't have this plot turn where Bennett gets beaten up. Every character and their motives are in the service of the ridiculous plot. So frustrating!
May 23, 2011 at 12:16PM EST
Why would the police share details of the case with a potential suspect? Linden did more that she should have done in telling Mitch that it would end that evening and look how well that went.
May 23, 2011 at 6:25PM EST

Bhadroosh

I think we have to go back to the fact that the body was found in a campaign car. Not quite sure how Belko would have managed that.

May 23, 2011 at 8:31AM EST Reply to Comment

Jinjee He had help. Right? Isn't their theory that at least two perps were involved in disposing of her? Though, if it's Belko, I suspect Mitch's sister, and we don't know anything about her that would get us back to the campaign car.
May 23, 2011 at 10:30AM EST
He follows Rosie and Bennet to some Richmond-related affair, grabs Rosie and steals the car in a jealous rage, kills her. Bennet doesn't report the car stolen because he took it without permission and now Rosie's been found dead in it. Or maybe Rosie took it herself, picked up Belko for some reason, he kills her. Just theories, probably more plausible than the one the writers will come up with.

I'm just glad to see people are starting to realize that this isn't a very good show at all. The investigators are incompetent, Richmond is the definition of bland who enjoys employing total idiots, the mayor is a vicious scumbag who also happens to be a total idiot...let me stop this rant by saying that Brent Sexton has been outstanding, really a great acting job. But seriously, how many times has a character on this show done or said something brilliant, inspired, memorable? I can't remember a single line of dialogue.

And the show grows more and more ridiculous. It was raining AGAIN at night when Linden got into her car. And it's always a torrential downpour--I know that Seattle gets a fair bit of rain, but is it monsoon season?

People keep praising Enos for her "restrained" performance--to me it's just a flatline. The only time she shows any emotion is when Mitch is confronting her about yet another mistake made by the police--she bounces on the balls of her feet like a kid who wants Mom to stop scolding her so she can run outside and play.

And the idea that a major metropolitan police force would employ someone like Holder as a homicide detective is ludicrous. His questioning of suspects (and even potential witnesses) are needlessly belligerent and stupid (there's that word again). Don't even get me started on their boss, who is your stereotypical police chief who gets in the way of his smarter subordinates rule-bending investigation. He's gonna let someone get away with a high-profile murder in his town because of some B.S. FBI terrorism investigation? That's a guy I want on the force!

The fact that both missing girls had the some pink Grand Canyon T-shirt...you gotta be kidding me. And the scene where Richmond has to make the free throw for $5 million and it cuts to commercial as he takes the shot--that is some real garbage right there. That whole scene was garbage.

OK, gotta stop ranting. And I gotta stop watching this show, especially as it seems like the tide has turned and people have stopped cooing about how "patient" it is and how Linden isn't like any other female TV character and blah blah blah. It had the potential to be a good show, but it isn't. Not even close.
May 23, 2011 at 10:30AM EST

More than anything I'm amazed AMC managed to create a show which has worse parents than Betty Draper...

I think we expect more of it because we all want to like it as a show. It's well shot and well acted, and instead of really doing things with all they have we don't get movement on the plot, and we don't get any characterization of the victim. If Bennett isn't the killer (which looks unlikely) then the real killer we will barely know at all, it would be a better show with parallel tracks of looking for the killer (police focused on one, someone else focused on the other) so that there would actually be drama as to who it will be. I feel like I'm watching just because my DVR is already set to it.

May 23, 2011 at 10:00AM EST Reply to Comment

Jobin

Best line of the night paraphrasing "If I make the shot, I'm going to keep this ball too."

It is a good thing that they immediately cut to commercial, because I couldn't stop laughing at that line.

Poor job by the writers, with how Mitch orders Stan to kill Bennet. So in the span of 2 days, he went from being a person who could never do that, do one argument with his crazy wife away beating a guy to death with his bare hands.

May 23, 2011 at 10:13AM EST Reply to Comment

Except that Stan hasn't been a "person who could never do that" since the first time his crazy wife goaded him into kidnapping Ahmed.
May 23, 2011 at 6:30PM EST

Jobin

Hey remember when Holder did something illegal and didn't get thrown off the HIGH PROFILE case?

Yeah...that made sense.

Remember when Linden said that you shouldn't promise anything ever to the grieving parents?

Well she broke her rule, which led to Mitch flipping out, which led to Bennets death.

Ugh this show is frustrating.

It's a shame that Rubicon is being brought up in the Killing discussions. Rubicon while flawed was still of much higher quality, and had much richer developed characters involved.

May 23, 2011 at 10:24AM EST Reply to Comment

kevin I agree about Rubicon. Yes, the ending was terrible, but everything else was just so delicious, and the sun even came out once in a while.
May 23, 2011 at 10:52AM EST
Jobin How sad is it that, Katherine Rhumor had more character development than anyone in this show.
May 23, 2011 at 2:15PM EST
cduff Yea, Rubicon was leagues above The Killing, it's not even close. The Killing is borderline brutal right now. The only thing I appreciated about this terrible episode was that I didn't have to see the Larsen boys at all...their scenes have been cringe worthy. Oh hey, it's Linden's boss, I wonder if he's gonna say something to make the investigation difficult for Linden and Holder? Yep, he did! What a surprise! And it's too bad we didn't hear from Ray or Linden's son about their move to Sonoma...oh wait, no it's not, no one cares lol.
May 23, 2011 at 9:40PM EST

thebgt

I so have guessed the Aisha story from the moment they had first entered the mosque and they told them a Somali girls was missing. Honestly I knew they were helping a young girl escape that brutal tradition.
I am amazed how all these Police and FBI people hadn't thought about it..they ALL seem like don't be able to look beyond their own nose. Especially FBI who are supposed to investigate all these people for quite a long time.

I was willing to ignore the ENORMOUS plot holes because I liked the directing and the actors.
But in this episode it finally got me..

You dont have someone to watch over/follow your prime suspect ???
You give promises to victim's family?? Thats a the first NO-NO in police's books.
You don't protect your citizens for being named suspects from the press? or the Mayor? The Mayor? really?
Is it customary in USA for Mayors to name suspects people who haven't even being procecuted?
And these people don't make a public statement of their innocence? or sue the Mayor's bum for pointing at them in the first place?

Plus making Stan going back to re-try and kill Bennet was a really weak repeat.

I still like the main characters, the mood, the cinematography, the directing but please if there is a 2nd season have a better writing team.

May 23, 2011 at 12:09PM EST Reply to Comment

JAW

Wasn't this show done much better 15+ years ago, on network TV, when it was called Murder One? The first season of Murder One puts The Killing to shame.

May 23, 2011 at 12:10PM EST Reply to Comment

Laura

The craziest thing is the total lack of depth of any character. Isn't that the point of spreading one investigation out over the course of a season? I know more about any random victim of the week on Castle or Bones than I do about Rosie. How is that possible?

Every crime show has it's schtick. Sadly, The Killing's is being hilariously bad.

May 23, 2011 at 1:12PM EST Reply to Comment

cduff "Every crime show has it's schtick. Sadly, The Killing's is being hilariously bad."

LOL! Well said.
May 23, 2011 at 9:43PM EST

bin

I'll probably keep tabs on this show until the end simply because I've already slogged through this far. It started out well; it was atmospheric and intimate with the potential to show us those piercing human moments and qualities that would be unleashed in something as shattering as a killing and its aftermath. Somehow though the promise of the first few episodes faded fast and instead of nuanced and intimate it became ponderous and oppressive. They definitely nailed the downer part of the aftermath, it's the rest of it that seems to be missing.

This reminds me of the same reaction I seemed to have to pretty much anything by Ingmar Bergman. I knew I was supposed to see it as a finely tuned, deeply intimate exploration of humanity but I never could. I was aware of aesthetic delicacies but the overall innervation it produced in me pretty much eclipsed all that.

I felt some of that same sense of the "portentous voids" being used in the Masterpiece interpretations of the Swedish Wallander series and had some of the same reactions. It just loses me. It seems too self-aware; if something can be hollow and heavy simultaneously, then that would characterize it for me. I'm willing to accept it as a lack of some kind of appreciation in me, but it is what it is.

I feel the same way here. I don't see restrained and elliptical, I see muddy and flat. If I had to point to one part in particular I'd say the whole political campaign is a real mill-stone around its neck. It has no sense of primacy or even of connection, and I truly could not care less about it if I tried. Given that it has occupied at least a generous third of the show, that's a lot of empty weight to drag along.

I can roll more with the parent's grief but Mitch's suffering feels a lot like dead weight too. She's doing this living dead thing; heavy and blank with pain. It my be a realistic reaction, but for the purposes of drama it makes her a heavy load. Intellectually I can understand where she is, but emotionally she's so inaccessible I just find her to be heavy lifting. I can roll with Stan more. He's being stoic rather than blank and his suffering is something I can connect with. The scene with the little girl and the bike was just heartbreaking.

Of all the characters I can only seem to connect with Stan and Holder. Initially I found him unlikable but now I can feel for his clumsy ham-fisted abrasiveness even while I'm annoyed by it because it feels motivated and attached to something particular to him - some kind of churning mass of need and rage and hope. I don't feel anything from anyone else really. I can see that the acting is good but somehow everyone else just seems wooden and inaccessible.

Honestly, I don't really care who killed Rosie. The actual whodunit part seems pretty weak overall and I think the reveal will prove anti-climactic.

May 23, 2011 at 1:30PM EST Reply to Comment

You've connected this with Bergman, which I find interesting. There are similarities in tone as well as in the approach to storytelling. The economy of dialog and resulting ambiguity are also reminiscent of Bergman. The rain, cold and fog are very Scandinavian as well.

Many of the characters, especially Linden, could be taken from a Bergman movie or TV series for that matter. Now that you've mentioned it, I can see a little Liv Ullmann in Mireille Enos. I wonder what The Killing's detractors would have thought of Scenes from a Marriage.

I like Bergman a lot...maybe I like The Killing for the same reasons. I'm not bothered by the pace because it's familiar. Bergman is heavy and depressing, certainly, but I would never describe his work as muddy, flat or hollow.

I think I mentioned the Wallander series in a comment I made last week. I think there are similarities, although I like The Killing better.

I ended up watching a couple of Wallander episodes, and then decided to read the books which I like more. The Killing is structured very much like a Wallander mystery (or almost any novel length murder mystery, for that matter).

They all consist of series of blind alleys, red herrings, missed clues and assorted hypotheses that ultimately fall away to reveal the truth. It's a formula, to be sure, but not one often found in a TV series.

I don't see Mitch as a blank. When she isn't consumed by grief, she seems surly and vengeful, to me. I don't know that I identify with any of the characters. Are we meant to see ourselves in them? There are some that I like more than others, but they're all flawed.
May 23, 2011 at 8:37PM EST

John Calloway

I gave it 9 episodes. This show is terrible. Again, the campaign is a joke. I can't take it anymore - it is too cliche for words. They have their big bombshell smear, Adams holds a press conference to fight back, and Richmond and his team give up the next day. So lame.

I thought Holder was such a unique character at the start, unconventional, but now he is just freaking incompetent. Little command of the english language doesn't help.

The lieutenant is the least helpful in history. Even Linden could be characterized as incompetent at this point. Gee, I never saw it coming that the muslim girl might be involved. Wow, Mich is pulling a pink sweater out of the dryer, let's do a slow reveal to the Grand Canyon, like it was in doubt as soon as we saw her notice. This show is WORSE than Cold Case Veena Sud? How the hell do AMC execs sign off on this?

Belko beating the crap out of a rock in the background - I wonder if that mental midget is involved???

OK, enough. I'll watch the last 4. Whatever.

May 23, 2011 at 1:31PM EST Reply to Comment

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Review: 'The Killing' - 'Undertow': Physical graffiti

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Comments

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Jim A. Again Mitch is nothing but a plot driving device, not a real character. Also, if this show cut half of the red herrings out and replaced them with some characterization of Rosie, maybe I'd care that she was even killed. Instead, we get female circumcision.

Chad Exactly! Her character exists to show up every week to tell Linden that she's not doing her job.I believe that Mom would still be sad nine days out, but that doesn't make for interesting television. It's frustrating to have weeks dedicated to an obvious red herring (i.e., Ahmed).

Jesse At least it stopped raining.

cln And Linden changed her sweater.

hmm2 When did AMC renew? Last I heard it was likely, but not announced.

JR It's not renewed yet, but it's almost a sure bet since it's averaging about the same ratings as Mad Men and Breaking Bad or better.

CLN, my wife noticed the same thing. I think she wore that same sweater since the pilot. I assumed it was a police uniform she wore it so much.

Adam Wasn't that because most of her clothes were packed to move to California?

Crumdawg97 I thought the exact same things and he's my prime suspect, too. He's the person most behaving like a murderer. Now whether that's an intentional red herring...who knows?

brian b. just out of puuuuurrrreee speculation i think its rick, the fiance, im not convinced its the coworker.

Chrissy Belko (the Larsen employee) was also pounding his fist into a big old boulder, out of excitement, frustration, psychotic rage, or some combo. Certainly a realistic suspect.

It could be possible that Belko was having a relationship with Rosie, therefore he has added sense of loss.

My suspicions are going to remain firmly fixed on Belko. There have been far too many disturbing scenes with him these past few weeks.

Jinjee Maybe he told Rosie to meet him outside the school at 3:00, cause she's getting raped.

Jobin I saw Belko punching the rock to try to cover up and/or take the fall in the future for Stan commiting the murder of Ahmed. But the way the season has gone, I doubt this will ever be explained to us in any manner that provides any satisfaction.

Desmond Its OBVIOUS the killer has to be either Richmond or one his two lackys! Remember it was a campaign car stolen after all! Its just a matter of fine tuning to who now.. I think this season just got a lot better!!

Michizzy82 @JinJee - That is hilarious. All I can think of when I see Brendan Sexton is that character. Or "Warren Beatty".

Jinjee Thanks @Michizzy. All I needed was one person to get that. Now I can sleep again.

Ann Burke Nanny???? Terry's her SISTER!

John Calloway If it is Rick it would fit in with Linden being one of the most mediocre detectives in TV history...

aforkosh In the SF Bay Area, AMC in HD uses the East Coast feed. I can thus safely read Alan's reviews and comments as soon as they are posted.

Chrissy I thought this was a better episode than the last couple, in terms of the Bennett stuff. the Richmond storyline did not move forward in a compelling way.

Son of Mecha Mummy I liked the last ten minutes of the episode or so, but oh god now the last couple weeks feel like even more of a gigantic waste of time.

cln The plot holes in this show are big enough to drive Stan's van through.

I may be wrong. A movie critic for the Seattle Times, Moira MacDonald, pointed out that Granville has no escalators. Could it be the Lonsdale Quay Farmers Market in North Vancouver? At any rate, it sure isn't a farmers market like that one in downtown Seattle.

cduff After this episode, I feel like I can officially say that this show now sucks.

Yellowdog I haven't seen a misunderstanding cause this much trouble since Three's Company, and that show actually made more sense.

very well put. This is basically a cop drama version of three's company at this point.

Jesse Well, Linden's oversized sweater is flowy like something out of Mrs. Roper's wardrobe. You might be onto something.

kinoeye It's too bad you haven't seen 'Mystic River'...

theholyavenger "Oh you thought I was a Terrorist and a Murderer? Nope I'm a good guy who kidnaps young girls to save them from circumcision!!" That is possibly the most ridiculous plot I've ever heard.

Stacy Yes it is.. Plus many people here were predicting this sort of "twist" weeks ago- so nice try trying to be surprising.

Chrissy I think he's being honorable. He knows he didn't kill Rosie, and believes that the truth will out. He also knows that Aisha is still alive, and relying on him to save her from a pretty horrible fate. It's not the choice everyone would make, but I get it.

I'm pretty sure Child Protective Services will be called in to help when the parents are talking about slicing off a 12 year old's genitals.

I'm with you. I think the last couple of episodes were very good. I also have felt that the show was less about solving the mystery as it is about tracing the effects of the event. It's not great, but it has gotten good and I'm enjoying it.

nicole I hate the "oh you don't like it...go watch CSI" crap It's the same as the "go watch Two & a Half Men" thing for comedies. Just because someone disagrees with you about one show doesn't mean all they like is procedurals and bad comedies.

Bryan God it just keeps getting worse and worse - it's the Energizer Bunny of horrible cop shows.Hey I bet you 5 million dollars and a basketball Bennet's not dead even though by the force of all the hitting his skull should be caved in.

KR I'll submit 'Heroes' and arguably, 'Glee'.

Vlad Heroes indeed. The first episode was somewhat interesting but after that it was all downhill.

Jim Good call re Heroes. I think that's the one. We'll see how The Killing ends up the season, but I'd say they're neck and neck right now.

Jesse Also, I'd say the entirety of Heroes season 1 was very good. It dropped off of a cliff after that. The Killing has 2 solid episodes in an otherwise uneven season.

Patti Amen. Can we just get the original Danish version somehow? I think I can handle subtitles if the story is great. Maybe I will just try to find it on the internet. YouTube will have it soon...

CapPick http://tvrot.com/2011/05/the-killing-stonewalled/Some racial thoughts on tonight's episode.

CapPick http://tvrot.com/2011/05/the-killing-undertow/Whoops, wrong review.

Chrissy I won't defend the Richmond stuff, but the song wasn't coincidental. He plays it on the jukebox before getting his drink.

Remy @MGB -- Mentioned it?? Confusing. I'm up at 3:28 am because of my work schedule.

John Calloway "Is that all you got?" said the street punk when they showed him the video. If its not relevant it should be.

josiah The sweetest ending would be the ghosts of Rosie and Bennet (finally together in heaven) watching Linden tie the knot.

Antoniooo That would be so ridiculous...but so darn sweet. I love it.

Why would the police share details of the case with a potential suspect? Linden did more that she should have done in telling Mitch that it would end that evening and look how well that went.

Bhadroosh I think we have to go back to the fact that the body was found in a campaign car. Not quite sure how Belko would have managed that.

Jinjee He had help. Right? Isn't their theory that at least two perps were involved in disposing of her? Though, if it's Belko, I suspect Mitch's sister, and we don't know anything about her that would get us back to the campaign car.

Except that Stan hasn't been a "person who could never do that" since the first time his crazy wife goaded him into kidnapping Ahmed.

kevin I agree about Rubicon. Yes, the ending was terrible, but everything else was just so delicious, and the sun even came out once in a while.

Jobin How sad is it that, Katherine Rhumor had more character development than anyone in this show.

Jim A.

Again Mitch is nothing but a plot driving device, not a real character. Also, if this show cut half of the red herrings out and replaced them with some characterization of Rosie, maybe I'd care that she was even killed. Instead, we get female circumcision.

Chad Exactly! Her character exists to show up every week to tell Linden that she's not doing her job.

I believe that Mom would still be sad nine days out, but that doesn't make for interesting television. It's frustrating to have weeks dedicated to an obvious red herring (i.e., Ahmed).