AMC's The Killing Review

“I should have said goodbye.” -Stan Larsen

AMC debuted their new drama The Killing on Sunday night and it appears they have found another hit. The Killing stars Mirellie Enos (Jodeen Marquart from Big Love) as Sarah Linden who is investigating the murder of 17 year old Rosie Larsen. It takes place in dreary, and very very rainy, Seattle and the backdrop couldn’t be more perfect. The mood, ambience, and atmosphere are essential to shows success. We are taken into the world of the show and are gripped from the beginning. The show smartly debuted with the first two episodes of the series. The pilot was largely introducing us to the family and the characters surrounding the investigation. The first 50 minutes is dedicated to finding out if Rosie is alive or dead. The show is called “The Killing” so it was obvious from the beginning that she would be dead. This is why it was so smart to air the second episode immediately following the first. The pilot, on its own, is not completely compelling until we get to the end of the episode where we are treated to such a heartbreaking scene that I believe will define the show.

The scene where the body is discovered in the trunk of a flooded car was so perfectly captured it moved me to tears. The father is talking to the mother on the phone as he approaches the crime scene and learns of his daughter’s death. All we hear through the phone is the father screaming his daughter’s name while the mother breaks down. Rosie’s brothers are looking on in complete confusion all juxtaposed against Sarah Linden’s stoicism. The scene is truly striking and moving. The parents Stan and Mitch are played by Brent Sexton and Michelle Forbes (most recently Maryann on True Blood). Their performances as the grieving parents is so gripping and real that you feel such deep sympathy for them instantly.

One piece of the story is a bit trite in that this was supposed to be Detective Sarah Linden’s last day of work before she retires and moves to California with her fiance. Naturally, the case sucks her in and she has to keep putting off her move until she solves the case, which will presumably be on the 13th episode of the season. The season takes place over 13 days. One day for each episode. In that respect, The Killing is sort of 24 meets Gone Baby Gone. It’s not as ridiculous and over the top as 24 is, but the convention of real time is similar. In being that it’s her last day, she gets a new partner for the day, Stephen Holder (played so darkly by the Sweedish actor Joel Kinnaman). His character might be my favorite one one the show as he adds some much needed moments of levity to the show. He’s a gunslinger type who flies by the seat of his pants in the investigation. He also has some real darkness to him as evidenced in the scene where he gets two young girls to smoke weed to gain information about the seedy parts of the high school. This is in stark contrast to Linden’s methodical approach. I really think their polarizing styles plays really well on the screen and it will be interesting to see where the show goes with this relationship.

The murder story isn’t so simple. Rosie Larsen was found in the trunk of a car belonging to a Councilman Darren Richmond’s mayoral campaign. Richmond, who is played by Bill Campbell (Carter Buckly from The OC), is running for Mayor and appears to be in line to win the position. This investigation could ruin his chances of winning so he and his campaign managers are forced to try and spin the story. At first, his involvement seems largely coincidental, but I highly doubt that we’d be focusing so much on his campaign if it were to just be a smoke screen. He’s the obvious first choice for being the murderer, so I hope that the payoff isn’t what I expected all along. I know that to keep a story interesting the investigators are going to have be lead down several paths that don’t lead to the murderer, I just hope that every false angle isn’t obvious.

The real worry for a series like this is the payoff. After 13 episodes will be satisfied with the catching and conviction of the killer? The danger is that the killer could be a red herring, someone we don’t even know or care about. But on the other side, it can’t be someone so obvious. Also, the killer has to be believable. We have to fully understand why they would do it. The first two episodes show tremendous promise, I just hope that the payoff is satisfying.