The undertow is dragging characters under, pulling them along when they fight back. Once you give yourself over to the current, you can’t easily change your mind.
This was another very fine episode of The Killing. It has not turned out to be the Next Great Show, but it’s very good, and even though the script isn’t always up to par, the beauty of it hasn’t diminished. The Killing remains one of the best things on TV to look at.
I was musing on my ongoing comparison of The Killing to Twin Peaks and realized, the problem with this show is right in a comparison of the titles. Twin Peaks, while it was about a murder investigation, built itself around a town and its residents. The thing that was in the forefront was Twin Peaks itself. The Killing, by contrast, declares itself to be about the murder, and by placing the characters in a secondary position, the show suffers.
AMC seems to be doing this on purpose, apparently never suspecting that the murder mystery by itself could become tedious. After all, their on-site content includes a “Suspect Tracker” and an ability to inspect Rosie’s room for clues. It could as easily contain diaries, photo albums, baby books, and other minutia that was more about people than about following breadcrumbs.
Yet, it’s still a very good show, and tonight’s episode delivered.
SPOILERS AHEAD:Stan’s beating of Bennet at the end was brutal. I was wincing. It’s a perfect an illustration of the title; once Stan is asked to do this, compelled to do this, there’s no stopping him. He’s caught in the undertow of violence. And by the way, look how hopped up Belko is, folks who have him on your suspect list: That guy is loving the beating.
I buy the real story behind Bennet’s suspicious behavior, but it’s remarkably stupid to be in the middle of a murder investigation and not realize that it makes you seem more like a suspect. Still, given the Somali community’s hostile relationship with the law, and Bennet’s self-righteousness, I buy it. I suspect his behavior with Rosie was, ahem, less than honorable, but that’s just more reason to lie and seem suspicious. Bennet, like Stan, was caught by the undertow.
In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think that rescuing a young girl is exactly the sort of thing a self-justifying pervert would do. Bennet didn’t sleep with Amber until she wasn’t his student anymore; he’s one of those “grooming” pedophiles who keeps hands off until some magic line is crossed in his mind, meanwhile making sure his victim is ripe and ready. Being a superhero who saves a girl from female circumcision (which, by the way, destroys a woman’s ability to experience sexual pleasure) is right up his alley. Of course, he may have been beaten to death, which makes this kind of moot.
What happens now, I think, is that the investigation turns back to the school. There’s that convenient clue in the convenient textbooks (deus ex libris, says Arthur)—also not entirely implausible, because Terry isn’t the brightest bulb in the chandelier—and there’s the fact that Terry has a past with Jasper’s father. That dangling bit of business after the funeral isn’t going to remain dangling, which means Jasper gets looked at a second time; probably at least questioned about “Adela,” which reads more like a place than a person to me. Now we’re back to the sexy shoes (which are driving Mo Ryan crazy over at TV Squad) and, ultimately, the campaign connection.
Speaking of the campaign, Richmond is doing everything he can to avoid that undertow. He mudslings a little then backs out. I love his confrontation with Rich Guy, I love the way he calls the guy out. First time I was really interested in Richmond in weeks. But it drives me crazy how tiny this campaign is. It’s 3 weeks before election day and a mayoral candidate can drink alone in a bar with no media following him? He has time for that and privacy? Bullshit. Where did that big staff go? Where’s the press? The police tend to feel like police, and the family feels like a family, but no way does this feel like a political campaign.
Wikipedia tells me there are over 30,000 Somali immigrants in Seattle, many in Rainier Valley which explains why it’s politically expedient for Richmond to get out the vote in that community. That part, at least, does seem rooted in a political reality unique to Seattle, which has often been lacking on this show.
14 Responses to “The Killing: Undertow”
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Deborah, I agree with your comment about Bennet being a self-justifying pervert. Early on, when Holder was insinuating that Bennet would find Rosie hot, he responded with a righteous attitude. But we see that with all of his efforts to save the young Somali girls, there is still the questionable track record with students, the seductive notes to Amber and Rosie, and the cold, detached way he is treating his actual wife/mother of his child. This doesn’t add up to a man who has a healthy ability to relate to women and girls.
We finally got some inkling into what makes Darren tick–his guilt about his wife’s last night and her death. That helps explain his reluctance to use his own or the Larsons’ experience for his campaign.
Deborah, I agree with you on the political front..Wouldn’t the press know that the woman was coming up for a parole hearing and wouldn’t they keep asking about his wife?? I noticed that immediatley..Otherwise I really like the show. Thanks for the review.
I just feel like this could be a great character study with the actors that are assembled. Yet, we are just starting to find out just very small bits about SOME characters.
Swastikas? Really? In one of the most liberal cities in the US? Against a group of people who are very vigilant in protecting their people (Somalian Americans) and their place of worship? Let us make a hero (and possibly a martyr) out of a guy that puts almost everything ahead of his pregnant wife and has done almost nothing to help in the murder investigation. Yea-Bennet!
I feel like I am getting cheated out of a story, instead of yearning for more each week like with Mad Men. There has to be character development. Show me more about Rosie, Linden, etc. I feel like I am watching “As the Red Herring Turns” instead of “The Killing”.
fatphil, your criticisms are well taken. I’m still on board, but this is not great television.
I just caught up with all the episodes to date. The show is a mixed bag. High production values, but paced like a dirge, and as much fun as a funeral. Less fun, actually; in my experience, people are more fun at funerals than in this show.
Tom, it bothers me that Mitch never laughs. I’ve sat with parents who’ve lost kids; humor doesn’t leave entirely.
The murderer girl’s mom I would expect to be grief-stricken, but everyone from the lead character on down is seriously anhedonic.
“anhedonic’ is a great word.
Humor is definitely something holding this back from being a great show. I mean, a guy gets his foot cut off in Mad Men and one scene later is one of the funniest jokes I’ve seen on the show. Six Feet Under also comes to mind as a more direct relation, that show never missed a chance to make a very sick joke about death.
The plotting is also problematic, in that it lacks a lot of subtlety we’ve come to expect from AMC. Bennett not only had to be innocent, he had to be super-duper innocent, helping a young girl escape a terrible fate, so that his death had that much more of an impact, but it worked the opposite way for me.
Maybe it’s just that I’m watching right after Game of Thrones and Treme, two of the finest hours on television right now, but I just find myself consistently underwhelmed by every episode since the pilot. It’s not an awful show in the same realm as Criminal Minds or any of the Real Housewives shows, and when I think of it in that light I feel bad about being so down on the show, but I’ve just come to expect much better from AMC.
I was just discussing this with Arthur, Andrew. I don’t think Bennet was “super-duper innocent.” I think his interest in the genitalia of young girls is anything but innocent, and I think he is very, very good at using a veneer of self-righteousness to justify his interest in girls. Just as he “groomed” his wife, Amber, when she was a student, with romantic notes, and seemed to do the same with Rosie, he maintains a fake nobility about his interest in Somali girls. In this way, I think he’s one of the best-realized characters on the show.
We’ll have to wait until the end of the season to find out, but you may be giving the show too much credit. It really seemed to me like the show was insisting he was innocent, writing him off as a suspect so that his death at the hands of Stan would be a tragic event. Even if he does have an unhealthy interest in young girls (as it appears he did), the show doesn’t seem terribly interested in exploring that as anything other than a way to increase the possibility that we’ll think he’s the killer for a few episodes. I hope I turn out to be wrong,
Fellow Basketcases, have you yet enjoyed the privilege of the Danish original, FORBRYDELSEN, on which THE KILLING is closely based? Being so impressed with AMC’s initial stretch of episodes I and sought out the Danish original, and two episodes in I was hooked. Now after flying through two seasons worth, I can’t help but be utterly unconvinced and disappointed in the inferior American interpretation. The similarities between both productions are so striking, so fiercely controlled they can’t help but invite comparison. So while it may frustrate your enjoyment of The Killing beyond its gripping performances (Michelle Enos and Michelle Forbes are reason enough to tune in), I can’t recommend Forbrydelsen enough. Whether you see it now or wait until The Killing’s conclusion, it is not to be missed. Like Mad Men, Forbrydelsen is one of those rare shows that creates its own world, one so lulling and invititing and intensely stirring, it becomes a place and a show you won’t ever want to leave. Check it out!
*Mireille Enos. Who is amazing.
On the other hand, a little Nina Simone makes up for a lot…