The Killing – A son seeking revenge for his father’s death?

This is what happens when you’ve led your viewers down one too many dead ends. We stop believing that what we’re seeing is meaningful to the central question — who killed Rosie Larsen — or just assume that the material we’re being shown right now will turn out to be a non-starter, kind of like when Dr. House makes his first diagnosis of a patient only 15 minutes into an episode. You know that the diagnosis has to be wrong or else what would they do for the rest of the episode?

So Linden and Holder — back together again in one of the oddest cop couplings on TV — currently suspect that the son of the guy Stan murdered for Janek some 17 years ago, that kid with the Manga tattoo, was seeking to avenge his father’s death by offing Rosie, or at least is mixed up with Rosie somehow. (My guess is that he’s the one who dumped Rosie’s backpack on the Larsens’ doorstep but wasn’t involved in her death.) And that same kid works for Janek, who spent this episode alternately taunting Stan for not remaining in his employ and protecting his family, and telling him to forget about Rosie.

However there’s the Janek-Beau Soleil connection to Rosie that’s still outstanding. Plus there’s the whole use of the Richmond campaign car in Rosie’s death that has yet to be revolved, plus Richmond and Beau Soleil. There’s Mayor Adams setting up Richmond as the fall guy for Rosie’s murder and then showing up bedside in Rosie’s hospital room acting all empathetic. Plus there’s Aunt Terry’s own Beau Soleil stuff … No way it’ll be wrapped up with some kid with a Manga tattoo. There’s too much that needs to be waded through before the killer will be found.

In the meantime, The Killing’s scribes are trying to flesh out Linden’s character a bit more, having her give lingering looks at balloon-toting foster children who’ve just been adopted and Holder inquiring about her past as a foster kid. Simultaneously, this former foster kid’s competency as a mother is being brought into question by Jack’s father’s lawyer who’s planning to sue for custody. What, you mean meals from a vending machine isn’t okay 24/7, nor is leaving your kid alone in a motel room for hours and hours upon end?

Speaking of bad parenting, Stan is completely off the rails. He’s completely disconnected from his sons as they’re mourning their sister, wondering where the heck their mom is at and know that something’s up with Dad’s friend and colleague Belko. Stan’s oldest son Tommy, in a sick trick which cries out for help, locked his younger brother Denny in the trunk of a car only weeks after their sister Rosie was found dead inside a car trunk, that’s when Tommy’s not dodging bullies at school who are making fun of his dead sister. Advising his son to punch the biggest bully on the bridge of the nose in order to ward off attacks at school, wow Stan, what great advice to give to a grieving kid. That’s exactly what he needs. Brutality has always worked for him, right?

Then there’s Richmond, who literally jumped off a bridge a month or so ago, who is in dire need of psychological counseling. He’s paralyzed, pissed off and has been abandoned by his lover who ditched him for a D.C. job, and by his sister who’s AWOL. He’s left with his campaign aide Jamie who was brought to the ground by the weight of his boss’ body when he tried to help Richmond  into a wheelchair. An analogy of sorts? Foreshadowing?

And what are we supposed to take away from that punk kid Jasper Ames glowering at Linden and Holder at school, then the uber-screwed up Aunt Terry calling Jasper’s house and hanging up? Is Aunt Terry’s grab bag of tricks entangled in this or just a sordid sideshow?

It’s all one big, fat thicket of a hot mess isn’t it?

Clacked by Meredith O'Brien
on Apr 16, 2012 @ 11:54 EST5EDT