I wasn’t one of the people outraged and angered by the end of the first season of “The Killing” (8 tonight, AMC). I agree that the show sometimes meandered, taking viewers places it didn’t need to go or places that weren’t worth exploring.
But I think it’s OK to not solve murder of Rosie Larson in the typical TV show timetable. And the performances, especially of Mireille Enos as Sarah, Joel Kinnaman as her partner Stephen and Michelle Forbes as grieving mom Mitch, made up for much. I’m all for mistakes when the goal is high quality.
So, I also approve that tonight’s two-hour season premiere doesn’t give much ground. In fact, in a letter included with the screener, executive producer Veena Sud writes that while ‘we learned a lot with season one and the reaction generated by the finale,’ they decided to stick with the plan. My translation: Suck it up, haters. I got this!
And I’d say she does. I’m still in. About seven details are introduced in these hours that move the story forward and change it in compelling ways. Some characters get more layers, like Gwen (Kristin Lehman), Richmond’s campaign advisor and Jamie (Eric Laden), his campaign manager. The true nature of others are exposed. And the pressures on Sarah as mother and cop get bigger.
I could see some saying that the mystery is getting to vast and that the Rosie’s death, the thing that started it all, doesn’t matter as much. We’ll see. Yet, even if that’s true I’d say that “The Killing” offers a compelling meditation on the tenuous lives many people live and how easily those lives can unravel.
Assistant Features Editor Adrienne Johnson Martin would like to have her life turned into an animated cartoon.