The season finale of The Killing had intense emotional highs and lows. It had a small number of scenes that didn’t work, a larger number that could be complained about for minor reasons, and a number of knock-out scenes. Orpheus Descending may not have been perfect television, but it had my heart pounding.
SPOILERS AHEAD: Because this show has been difficult, let’s talk about the bad scenes first. Linden mocks Holder for checking the maps and doing the math? Isn’t that, y’know, police work? It’s actually insane that she mocks that. I’m okay with her melting down, even behaving inappropriately. She’s a weird person with a weird job and I like her, and I like the way her emotions flow all over her work. But she really should know that, if you’re investigating gas stations, calculating where a fill-up was needed makes sense.
Bad scene #2 was the interrogation of the ex-lover. It just rang false and sounded very scripted-for-TV.
It is hugely disappointing that after twisting the possibilities this way and that, it all comes down to Richmond. Yet the opening scene with Richmond in shade and Linden carefully maneuvering her body around him had my heart in my throat. He works as a “compartmentalized” man of integrity who may very well be a murderer. Despite the fact that pointing to him as the murderer played very well indeed, what never worked was that we were paying attention to the Richmond campaign at all. That sure made it seem like he must be the killer, and then, us being such good TV watchers, we rejected the obvious (Richmond did it) and began looking elsewhere. It seems almost unfair to walk us back to Richmond.
The double-twist ending I loved, but let’s not kid ourselves. A planted photo doesn’t mean the guy didn’t do it. The soon-to-be-late (I guess) Darren Richmond might still be the murderer. There’s no unequivocal proof without the photo, but there’s still plenty of circumstantial evidence.
Another thing that worked incredibly well was the gas station into the park sequence. Sure, there were flaws in getting there, but the visuals were stunning, and the feeling of rejoining Rosie where we first saw her was devastating.
I am frankly bored by the relentless misery of the Larsens. I’m glad Mitch is gone; maybe with some breathing room, this family will again awaken our compassion.
By the way, here are Arthur’s predictions: Holder said “We got him” to an unknown companion. Holder is therefore the leak that has plagued this investigation from the beginning. Holder’s companion is probably his companion from before–his sponsor. Holder is indebted to him both financially (he manages Holder’s salary) and personally–if Sponsor has a relationship with Mayor Adams, that explains the desire to hook Richmond. Arthur also predicts that Belko fails to kill Richmond. Arthur and I agree that the photo will be exposed as a fake.
So, what this episode, what any season finale, comes down to is this: Will I be back for Season 2? I am frankly on the fence. I have an obligation to this blog, of course, and that may decide me. I find so much that is annoying about the show that the visual beauty and interesting acting from about half the principals may not be enough. A lot depends on the changes that are instituted for the new season.
What about you? Will you be back?
UPDATE: The entire critical world appears to be throwing tomatoes at The Killing, with me and me alone on the fence. Part of this may be that I camped for a week, broke camp, drove home in terrible traffic, collapsed, watched it live, and then blogged. Punchy much? Yeah, kind of out of it. But part of it was that this episode wasn’t very different in quality from the entire season: Up and down, good and bad, stupid and smart. The only difference was that the finale implied the promise of resolution. I guess I was less shocked than others that this promise was so much ephemera. However, I’m pretty sure they’ve killed the show–too many people are walking off in a huff, and I’m not really blaming them.
45 Responses to “The Killing: Orpheus Descending”
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No. This reminds me of why I gave up on Lost. I will only be manipulated for so long without reward. This show has crossed that line. I’m done.
Thanks for the recap and analysis. I appreciate you getting it up tonight! I agree with most of your opinions except for the impatience with the Larsen’s grief. My parents’ deaths kept me in tears and miserable for at least two weeks, and they weren’t horribly murdered. But I watch too many crime shows and read too many mysteries to not be constantly shocked at the incompetence. Or might I be shocked at the actual reality of police work?
PS. I will return for season two, since I really really want to know who did it!
Karen, I am not impatient with the fact that the Larsens still grieve, just that it’s all they do.
I wasn’t worried at all about Linden at the start. She’s smart and tough, and she can tell that Richmond isn’t going to try something–psychopaths always know they can manipulate their way out of anything, until they can’t. And she’s packing heat. Some middle-aged preppie bballer is going to subdue a 10-years-his-junior street cop/detective? Please.
If you look at this as a police drama, I can see the frustration–it’s not hitting the marks so wittily parodied in the Netflicks “See something you haven’t seen” ads. Police dramas don’t show stages of grief, epic inept mistakes and miscues, real cops. This is a drama about a dead girl. In real life the Larsens will grieve until they die.
Linden has her phone and does nothing; she’s flying off, in full knowledge that a guilty man has been framed. I think that look on her face is anxiety that the frame won’t hold up and little else.
Considering that it has been less than two weeks, it is their first child and only daughter, and that they cannot move on at all until the killer of their child is identified I think the grief is amazingly realistic. People take time off work, need medication, have nervous breakdowns and see therapists to deal with their grief. Some never do, they just don’t recover. Also, Mitch and Stan have to deal with guilt over leaving Rosie alone and not calling her as well as finding out she kept secrets from them. All this at once is a great deal to absorb. I’m surprised Mitch can even get out of bed in the morning.
What were the knock out scenes?
Here are some stupid ones:
Ahmet’s wife not knowing who Stan, REALLY? Has she not seen the news, no one told her who nearly killed her husband?
Faking evidence that can so easily fall apart?
The only political campaign on the planet that hides info that can sink your opponent. I love how affairs are suddenly to sacred to share.
This is the DUMBEST show I have stuck with in my life.
I already watched about 5 episodes beyond where my interest waned just to give them a chance to redeem themselves with a good resolution, and now at the end of the season, there is none. I’m done.
I’ve been quietly one of the defenders of this show. Tonight made me question my taste level, but I probably will return for Season 2, just to see how (if?) they wrap up this particular case. Because, sadly, I just can’t stand absence of resolution. In music theory, there’s something called an unresolved chord–when people hear one, they instinctively hang on because the need to hear the chord resolve is so strong. I noodled around on-lline and found this pithy quote: “They do the same trick Wagner was infamous for … the unresolved chord. They tease you throughout the entire song and don’t resolve it until the last note. “ The Killing started out with promise and then failed by not delivering a final, resolved chord.
But I think my shark-jumping moment came (as others have mentioned) in the scene where Stan visits Bennet’s bedside. In what parallel universe would the man accused of grievous bodily assault be able to walk into the hospital room of his victim and mournfully contemplate the mess he’s made of his life now that it turns out he assaulted the wrong person? At that point, I shifted from avid viewer to someone who will stay tuned for the chord to resolve, but only because it irritates me to be left hanging, not because I’m really invested anymore.
The hospital visit was a horrible idea, poorly executed.
Gwen’s arc cannot be comprehended.
The entire story arc of Bennet saving the Somali girl was very very weak, the Moslem angle feels kind of force-fed.
Stan never telling about the other house, therefore letting Mitch think they’re broke when in fact they’re not, grates.
If Gwen lied about Darren’s whereabouts that night, is she in on the plot? Did she shift after seeing Adams’s pictures?
Linden trying to get Darren to confess was pathetic. All they got is confirmation that the car was in the gas station 4 miles from final destination. That’s a big DUH because the car was found on the scene, and we knew this from the PILOT for cryingoutloud.
What new element was actually connecting Darren at that point (i.e. all the way to Holder producing the fake toll photo)? Nothing.
The only moments of grace revolve around Stan after he leaves the hospital.
I don’t know if Darren is dead. But Belko is sooo dead.
Deborah: I think the show wants us to be very clear that Darren was not the killer, but rather the victim of a conspiracy. That conspiracy might have been an attempt to get Darren charged with the murder, but also (and my money is on this) they know who the killer actually is, and maybe the conspiracy had Rosie killed in the first place.
IMHO there is something “girly” about the writing, especially the timeline management, in this series, which is real bad.
Gloom, despair, and agony on me. I told my lovely bride about the actor interviews I had read before the finale and how they all had said it ended in a very charged way. It looked to me like the writers sat down and said, “OK, how can we end this with multiple explosions (reveals), that total to one big final BOOM, that gets us a 2nd season?”
In any great mystery (Who killed Rosie?) clues are given. Some red herrings, OK, but not so many where guessing the killer is like pinning the tail on a donkey, blind folded. Clues, smartly given, with CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, can make for great television. See “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad”.”The Killing” had neither.
The 1st places a defense lawyer looks is to get interviews with people who live or work where evidence is obtained. A rookie cop would not have fixed the photo of Richmond’s car at the toll booth.Veena Sud should know this.
There is an interview with Sud by Alan Sepinwall, after he viewed the finale. I would like to see the board’s rxns. If inappropriate Deb, I apologize.
What on earth is rxns?
Likewise, I can’t believe I stuck with this show through 13 episodes despite so many flaws…all of which have been noted by others. Can it be saved for S2? Maybe, with some major changes, like:
1. First of all lose the repetitive Hollywood buckets of rain, thunderous sound effects, and predictable overhead shots of the same venues framing virtually every scene change. Anyone who lives here, like me and others on this board, knows that weather is just not Seattle.
2. Lose the Napa sub-plot completely…there was zero chemistry between Rennie and Enos. It was totally unbelievable that Sarah would dash off with Jack to Napa given the last time these two were together. Also, Sarah working late night after late night with her son hanging out in a motel – I’d have more respect for her if she let him move back in with his father and accepted the fact she’s a workaholic – the story line with Jack doesn’t have anywhere to go at this point but further downhill.
3. Kinnaman is the best thing in the show – more of him and less Enos alternating between blank stares and wincing would be welcome.
3. Shorter, crisper arcs with less red herrings and more resolution. If the show is going to focus on grieving and emotion, vs. standard procedurals, at least involve different characters and different victims over the course of a season.
4. Consistent direction style. Last week’s episode directed by Keith Gordon was nicely paced and held attention. Not so last evening. It seemed there was a different director for almost every episode (I haven’t fact checked this). MadMen, Dexter and other successful cable series tend to use the same group of folks over the course of a season and it shows when they go astray.
5. Add stronger supporting regulars around the leads that we can care about. Shows like MM and Breaking Bad have this in spades. Hard to get into the entire Richmond crowd and any of the other peripheral characters introduced didn’t have enough shelf life to help us build interest over the long haul.
I don’t know if I agree with the “girly” comment above. This series had a lot of promise when it premiered but it feels like it needs a more experienced showrunner (of either gender) to get to the next level of quality we expect from AMC. Way too many rookie mistakes for the first season.
13 hours is enough… I’m gone!
rxns=reactions
I believe “rxns” is an abbreviation for reactions.
I followed this show intently and would have been a loyal viewer next season until last night. Though not as angry as Alan Sepinwall or Mo Ryan, I agree with their characterizations of the season finale. My immediate reaction was, “I can’t believe they did this to us.” Mo’s litany of all the things we don’t know after this episode resonates for me. I am astonished that the episode was promoted as offering a “satisfying” ending. It was anything but. I really do want to know who killed Rosie, but I don’t think the show deserves my viewing next year.
I thought about this in comparison with the outrage over Gretchen winning Project Runway, and all the fans who said they won’t watch again. I think the problem with The Killing is fundamentally different. The outrage over Gretchen can be laid at the feet of two judges on the (reality) show, not at the nature of the show itself. The way the writers handled The Killing was deliberate. From Sepinwall’s interview of Veena Sud, it sounds like the writers were high on their own egos and “creativity”, not caring at all about how viewers would react. They deserve to be taught a lesson by not having the audience return for more.
Thanks to all of the previous commenters who have done a very good job in describing how I feel and why. I’m finished with this show and so no, I won’t watch it again. (P.S. I wish AMC had renewed Rubicon instead!)
I am done. Not sure I was coming back for S2 anyway due to many of the aforementioned issues but I stuck around to see the resolution. Since that was not provided, I am completely done with this show. The arrogance of these writers is beyond belief. Forget them and forget this stupid show!
I am no longer sure what I meant by “girly”. My gist would be, a lot of time was devoted to Linden and Holder talking and sharing non-verbal communication, so that viewers were expected to understand that from there flowed “bonding”.
There was no moment when their lives depended having one another’s back (the FBI raid on the warehouse came closest), because after that, in a “manly” police-series universe, the link would need no more build-up. But here it was talk talk talk, and the last goodbye words by Linden were especially stupid (and she is a very bad detective indeed if all of her earlier suspicions about Holder have been simply put to sleep after the AA meeting).
Even then, having Holder embrace the dark side leaves a sour taste, because he and Stan were the only people who gave us some return on our emotional investment.
After reading the Sepinwall interview with Ms. Sud, all I can say is, the blinders this woman is wearing are big and wide. In entertainment or in business, those who don’t care about or listen to what their customers think usually get their due. Compare this with how Matt Weiner and the cast of MM approach their fan community.
No way this gets fixed without a new showrunner.
You know how you feel when you’re caring for a cranky little kid, and she keeps changing the rules of whatever game you’re playing, or “kills” the one doll you really liked? (I loved my dollies. SUE ME.)
That’s what watching this show became for me. Especially last night. The thing with Holder? He was the only person on this show that I honestly loved. And to do that to him … it turned my stomach.
There was not a shred of character continuity, or any kind of organic development, in that at all. It was a blunt blindside move. In that second, I knew The Killing had broken up with me: not the other way around.
Veena Sud is the opposite of Matt Weiner. She has active contempt for her viewers. Her lectures to us (through the paid press, always) let us know that anything we bring to the show — our faith, belief that because it’s on AMC (“Story Matters Here”) it will get better, expectations, emotional attachment to characters — will always be meaningless in comparison to Her Vision.
Ms. Sud. Know what’s not meaningless? Our dollars. The ads that run during the show tell us a lot about who your network knows we are. We may not be numerous, but we have a certain … heft. And whether we did or not, you live and die by your ability to attract us. Please refer to the recent fate of The United States Of Tara for more on this subject.
I’d tell AMC to kick her to the curb, if I still cared about the show. I don’t. Veena Sud made damn sure of that.
I am done with this. Enough is enough and it was not nearly enough. and the on and off rain, with people working, drenched, day after day with nary a sniffle. Come one, no one has weather like that and is so poorly dressed to combat it. They always look dry when the rain stops. The teasers and the false ending have ended it for me. I wasted 13 hours on this (plus some shows I watched twice). They can go on for me next year, without me.
I want to state that I am deeply regretting convincing my family to finally tune in to an AMC show only to have it be this disastrous turd. I now fear they will never get around to watching Mad Men or Breaking Bad with me, based on this terrible experience.
I highly agree with the critics who have torn this finale apart and cursed the future of this show, and I really agreed with what Sepinwall said about how this show proves AMC is not infallible. With what HBO has done in the last year, they have definitely re-gained the top network crown from AMC, especially with this stinker of a show. Mad Men is going to be their only strong competitor for the Emmys this year, and they’ll be up against GOT and BE-this could be the year AMC loses the top drama winner, although I still think MM has a good shot at the prize.
God, am I sorry I wasted time on this show. AMC’s marketing seems to not know what is actually going on with their shows-they pushed this one falsely, and do not really advertise BB at all, which has the best drama actor on tv as the star for the last three years running. Ridiculous-although, with how badly they f’ed up the Mad Men negotiations it shouldn’t really be a surprise that this show was such a massive mistake-they seem to making a lot of those lately as a network.
My fingers are crossed for an impressive new season of Breaking Bad, coming up in just a few short weeks-is there going to be a weekly review of that show, just like with this and TWD?
Skimming all these ticked off comments, I guess I am glad I bailed around Episode Four or Five. I’m happy watching my DVDs of the PBS Wallender series again.
Sorry for everyone’s collective sense of having been ripped off, though.
Disappointment in the show and its network is an understatement. AMC is well advised to replace Veena Sud immediately.
Deborah, will you join Sepinwall and boycott any coverage of AMC’s second season of The Killing next year? If so I promise to personally buy you and Roberta the complete series of the exhilarating, Danish original. You won’t be disappointed. What do you think?
Lyle, that’s an interesting offer. I wonder if Basketcases would be interested in reading episode-by-episode reviews of the Danish original. Anyone?
I do feel an obligation to the content of the blog, but if Hell on Wheels is good, I suppose that fills that hole in my schedule.
I think what the ending tells us is that the murder of Rosie Larsen is the MacGuffin. It’s irrelevant. Its purpose was only to end Richmond’s political career Could Rosie have been any escort? Holder knows the photo is a fake (The photo worked. He’s going down.) and must know it won’t stand up. So what if the case against Richmond falls apart on manufactured evidence? (Who’s going to believe anything once the photo has been proven false?) The damage will have been done. I can’t imagine how Holder can possibly explain away how he acquired it. Leaving me to think that the reason Holder was promoted to Homicide from Narcotics was to steer the investigation toward this finale and that the person Holder met was the powerbroker who got him the job. The Mayor, the Senator, the billionaire? Who cares?
I’ll be back even though the show was a disappointment, but I’m only coming back if they keep Holder. I enjoyed Joel Kinnaman very much, he kept me coming back every week. I’m also a bit intrigued to see if they are going to do about Mitch’s sister and her unintentional involvement in Rosie’s death.
Expanding upon my previous post, numerous critics are making a very clear statement to AMC – you’ve violated your bond of trust with your audience by airing this crap and we’re not going to help you publicize it anymore. They are saying to AMC, just because you brought us Mad Men and Breaking Bad, that doesn’t mean we’re going to accept any junk you try to force down our throats.
Basket of Kisses should join these critics by sending the same message and not covering this show next year, unless there is a critic there who truly believes The Killing has some merit and is worth a serious review. But reviewing it each week just to crap all over it – which is what it will likely deserve – seems pretty pointless. Just give this show the attention it deserves – none at all.
And I will personally send you the Danish original on DVD to enjoy in our countdown to Mad Men in 2012. Thoughts?
#28 Lyle: All you say is fine.
We got hooked by the pilot because the cinematography was very good, the atmospherics worked, Mitch and Stan were new to us, Linden’s thousand-yard stare was supposed to be the front for a competent detective, and the herrings were not all red. By the time that double episode ended, we were walking in the light of great TV.
Some of us remained blind for longer than advisable. And then inertia carried us forward, in the expectation if seeing resolution, or a return to form.
Alas.
Brilliant.
Thank you Karen and MJ for the clarifications. #20 seagirl, your last statement said it all, however, from the interview, Sud doesn’t see anything wrong with the series. Thank you all for your comments on the interview.
If Richmond’s lawyer is any good (Richmond has money, so he will be), he will ride it out until the trial and then call the witness who Linden spoke with thus getting the case dismissed, the Seattle police department shamed, and get Holder fired and damn likely jailed. Sud claims to have hung out with police detectives and street cops for extended periods of time and she should know this. Harry, very interesting thoughts.
[...] As you know, I didn’t experience intense vitriol against the season finale of The Killing. I found it middling, and disappointing, and I thought it had good moments. [...]
Please take Lyle up on his offer as I’m going to purchase the DVD of the Danish original to actually enjoy this storyline. I echo rowan’s sentiment. I finally convinced my family to watch an AMC show only to discover a turd in the punch bowl.
No more The Killing . . . ever
I want to chime in in favor of reviewing the Danish series this stinker was based upon, in order to follow a good story and get good, insightful criticism and review on the original, compared to the US version. I guess The Killing is gonna enter the infamous realm of quality European entertainment that we Americans screw up with our own versions, and its a shame.
I’m quite interested in tracking down the origianl to watch somehow, and reviews of it here would be great-it could help fill our Mad Men hole for the summer.
I understand that the Danish version is not available for the united states DVD players yet. Oh Man, I am dying to see the real thing. Yeah, they should renew Rubicon instead of this weak wet mess. Rubicon really grew on me, this just makes me feel like I’ve been raped. And I really really really wanted to love it, I so enjoyed the Linden and Holder comedy hour several weeks ago, one of the best episodes of the lot!
I was really furious at the end of the finale. I was silly enough to believe they might answer some of the bigger questions to give us some sense of completion. But no–they’re still playing silly games with their viewers. No feeling of satisfaction allowed. Shame on them! I’m done.
Would love to see either of two great HBO shows on this blog: Boardwalk Empire or Game of Thrones—–great characters to dissect. Possible??
“I do feel an obligation to the content of the blog, but if Hell on Wheels is good, I suppose that fills that hole in my schedule”
Breaking Bad is fantastic and starts in about three weeks, but since respectable critics have said that it`s as good or better than Mad Men, I supposed you`ll continue to give it the cold shoulder and pretend that it doesn`t even exist.
Oceanic, that was snotty.
What might be fitting for this series is for AMC to wait until the Rosie story line is finally resolved in episode 2 or 3 next season and then cut the show from the channel. That’s more how big networks operate , though, not cable channels, who usually let the full season play out even after deciding not to renew for a following season. (E.g. Rubicon, alas.)
Where am I wrong in my assessment of why Breaking Bad isn`t covered here? You certainly don`t seem to have any problems covering the two AMC shows which are plainly, markedly inferior to Mad Men. I might have been willing to believe that gloom and darkness aren`t really your bag, but The Walking Dead and The Killing have much higher dosages of those things than Breaking Bad.
Why are you so reluctant to cover Mad Men`s closest competition (according to these same critics who consistently praise MM) for best ongoing drama on TV? Are you afraid of upsetting Matt Weiner? As far as I know, he and Jon Hamm are also huge fans of Breaking Bad.
Oceanic, the owners of this blog have day jobs. I watch shows I like and I review shows I feel like reviewing, in the limited time I have available. Your conspiracy theories are not welcome here. You want to review Breaking Bad for this blog, shut your accusatory trap and write some fucking reviews instead. I’ll treat them just as if you didn’t accuse me of being a sycophant and publish them, or not, based on merit.
Oh, for heaven’s sake!
I am astounded at how personally some of us are taking all this.
It’s just a tv show. It’s just a blog. Neither exists (I’m assuming) to satisfy the artistic (or other) expectations of every Tom, Harry or Janet with a laptop.
Get a grip!
Just watched the finale. Belko Royce shadowed Jack Ruby, but the real Jack Ruby was Holder, who apparently didn’t want to be a detective after all, since he did the professional equivalent. No way he wasn’t getting caught planting the photo.
Am I confused, or is each season a new case? In which case, maybe we will never hear more of ‘Rosie Palmer’.
I thought the last few eps had a bit more energy than the rest, but this denouement is just too delirious for my taste. I didn’t know we were watching another Rubicon!
Tom, we were led to believe that each season would be a new case, and now Veena Sud is laughing at us for having expectations.