The two-hour season premiere of The Killing had a lot riding on it. Fans who were ticked off at the way the first season wrapped — with Darren Richmond (aka Orpheus and his drowning fantasies) getting arrested and named as Rosie Larsen’s real killer — only to learn that a key piece of evidence against Richmond was faked, meaning that we were still uncertain as to the identity of Rosie’s murderer. Did the premiere soothe the ruffled feathers of the disgruntled fans? That remains to be seen, but as for me, I was somewhat mollified by the twisty turn of events.
I liked the story about what Richmond was actually doing on the night Rosie was murdered: The heartsick mayoral candidate went to the place where he proposed to his dead wife Lily, on the anniversary of the the proposal, and flung himself off the bridge, crazed with grief. Yet he was saved, unwillingly so, by a fisherman. Richmond’s explanation as to why he held that info from the tenacious homicide detective Sarah Linden was that confessing to a suicide attempt would torpedo his campaign. But doesn’t being charged with murder do more damage to a political campaign than being a devastated, suicidal husband? That didn’t make sense to me because, either way, his mayoral bid was screwed. And even though the charges against Richmond were dropped, he remains politically damaged, and, on top of that, paralyzed following the assassination attempt.
Are we supposed to believe that the true puppet master behind all of this is Richmond’s opponent, incumbent Mayor Lesley Adams? He was somehow responsible? That’s where this episode seemed to lead us. Did Rosie, in her capacity as someone who worked with the Beau Soleil escort service (Aunt Terry will likely have to cop to her involvement after Stan confronts her), work with other, high profile Seattle politicians and have to be silenced? Could this whole case boil down to sex and politics? That seems too easy, doesn’t it?
If Rosie’s murder was about sex and politics, The Killing is also about shoddy police work, the hazards of leaping to conclusions and working on no sleep. When exactly does Linden sleep or eat anything other than junk food? Or Holder for that matter, who looks like he’s a starving, homeless dog? Linden, whose home life is in shambles, is unhealthily obsessed with the Larsen case, to the point where she’s sacrificing the well being of her kid. Linden’s now paranoid, on the run from crooked cops and politicians, and uncertain as to whom she can trust. Holder, who, despite wanting to take shortcuts, seems as though he’s genuinely interested in nabbing the bad guys otherwise he wouldn’t have pulled the switcheroo with Rosie’s bloody backpack to figure out whether his boss Lt. Oakes was on the level. (And what the heck was up with Oakes’ sudden “early retirement” as a punishment for the Richmond arrest and his immediate replacement by another guy who seemingly knows about the faked photo? That was way too abrupt.)
But back to the backpack that that poor Larsen family … the “real” killer, or someone who wants “the truth” to come out, is tormenting them, depositing Rosie’s backpack at their front door, scaring the hell out of Stan, the former mafia man who is being left out to dry by the cops. He thinks that the only option left to him if he wants to protect his family is to appeal to his organized crime buddies. (Lest we forget, Stan is out on bail after nearly beating Rosie’s teacher to death, so if he personally assaults anyone, his boys are left with their aunt, the Beau Soleil escort who’s maneuvering to assume her sister’s place in the family.) Great, that’s just what this show needs, mob involvement. Please, no.
Meanwhile, I keep watching these Larsen boys, who suddenly lost their older sister in a violent murder, whose mother emotionally disintegrated and mysteriously left the home with no explanation, and whose father was just busted and is mentally checked out. Oh and their father’s right-hand man is dead now too after shooting a candidate for mayor in the stomach on live television. No one is really talking to these kids or attending to their anguish, their fears, unless you count Stan going to mobsters.
Aunt Terry is feeding them, sure, as well as shuttling them around and lying about the whereabouts of their mother, and they’re left to piece things together themselves. Does no one care about their emotional well being? They are lost in the shuffle as the adults are caught up in revenge, any revenge, regardless of whether they’re exacting it on the correct person or not.
After this two-hour premiere, my hope is that we don’t spend another season going down the rabbit hole of dead ends. I’d love to delve deeper into these characters and get a better understanding of the aftermath of the murder of a promising teenage girl and how little people sometimes know about those around them. But that mob angle doesn’t seem very promising.
What did you think of the premiere? Did it live up to your expectations?
Clacked by Meredith O'Brien 
on Apr 02, 2012 @ 13:08 EST5EDT
