Dan's TV Awards 2012 (including a Top 10)

It's December, which means most entertainment blogs and websites will be indulging their readers with extensive Top 10 lists. I've done exactly that myself for most of the seven years Dan's Media Digest has been online. But this year I thought I'd offer something different: an awards ceremony! Of sorts. You can call it the "Danos", or something. It's basically a run-down of television shows that I thought pulled off something particularly good or bad this year. And if you still prefer a more traditional Top 10, I've included one at the very end.

THE KILLING wasn't killed

In shock news, AMC are expected to announce that their remake of Denmark's crime drama The Killing is coming back for a third season, despite being axed in the summer. This is partly because Netflix have decided to help with the licensing costs, but perhaps encouraged by the fact AMC's Hell on Wheels is in limbo because the Western lost its producers.

THE KILLING killed by AMC

After two seasons, AMC have pulled the plug on murder-mystery drama The Killing—the US remake of the internationally successful Danish drama Forbryldsen. The show launched to high ratings (2.72m) and critical acclaim two years ago, but viewers dropped away and critical opinion shifted over the course of its first season. The second season, which concluded the central "Who Killed Rosie Larsen?" mystery, and which many thought had been unwisely dragged out too far, aired to 1.45m subscribers.

In a statement, AMC said that "after much deliberation, we've come to the difficult decision not to renew The Killing for a third season. AMC is incredibly proud of the show and is fortunate to have worked with such a talented team on this project, from showrunner Veena Sud and our terrific partners at Fox Television Studios to the talented, dedicated crew and exceptional cast."

Fox Television Studios, who made the show for AMC, have also release a statement saying they're "... extremely proud of The Killing, the extraordinary writing staff and crew, and what we believe is one of the best casts on television. We will proceed to try to find another home for the show."

It's not yet known if another broadcaster will pick up the show, but it means The Killing isn't dead and buried yet. It may make sense for a lesser channel to buy the show, if they think inheriting the show's average audience of 1.5m audience is possible and acceptable. We could be looking at a Damages-style situation, where FX axed the show but it was bought by DirecTV—who had to cut the budget, but managed to prevent the show losing its marquee actors and distinct look.

I personally don't care what happens. I adored The Killing's pilot and was invested in the show's first five episodes, but the story started to lose me when a red herring undermined the bulk of season 1's plot. I watched the first few episodes of season 2, still curious about who Rosie Larsen's killer is, but then realised I don't actually care enough to sit through so many plodding episodes. I read a recap of the finale, where the mystery was explained and... yeah, it sounded very underwhelming, so I saved myself some hours there.

What about you? Did you like The Killing? Did you stick with it to the bitter end? Would you watch a third season on a different channel? Or should the show just leave the airwaves, because it clearly didn't translate to America—beyond importing the original's style and soundtrack so accurately.

THE KILLING (USA), 2.1 & 2.2 – "Reflections" & "My Lucky Day"

Less a review, more a statement of intent. I won't be covering The Killing season 2 every week, because (a) it never caught the imagination of this blog's readers, and (b) I've lost interest in this series. It's been well-documented how season 1 annoyed many viewers; first with an annoying red herring (that in retrospect made the mid-season largely pointless), and then with a frustrating refusal to answer its question "who killed Rosie Larsen?" in the finale.

This turn of events probably wasn't as irritating for viewers who don't read and trust promotional material (where a season-long story was inferred), but, for knowledgeable critics who'd been led to believe The Killing would tell a complete story ever season, it was the final straw. At least showrunner Veena Sud has guaranteed the murder-mystery will conclude this season, but is there enough of a reason to keep watching beyond curiosity about the identity of Rosie's killer?

I'm not sure, but I'll likely keep watching this stylish AMC drama out of dogged loyalty to something I've already invested a lot of time in. I just won't be keen to watch every episode the week it airs, and certainly won't feel any enthusiasm when it comes to blogging The Killing. I may check-in occasionally, if something memorable happens one week, or for the finale with some retrograde thoughts.

Still, this two-part premiere made improvements to how the show typically plays out: there was a clearer attempt to give Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) meaningful character moments; crooked (or is he?) Detective Holder (Joel Kinnaman) wasn't attached to Sarah's hip for once; a conspiracy surrounding the murder case was gently introduced (someone taking covert photos of Sarah, obstreperous cops); and Darren Richmond (Billy Campbell) was emphatically removed from suspicion after the attempt on his life. (Plus we got a clear answer explaining why he came home soaking wet the night Rosie was drowned, which was very much appreciated.)

But one of the show's key problems remains: do we even care about the Rosie Larsen case at this point? I was sympathetic to begin with, because I'm not a heartless monster and the tangible grief of her parents dealt emotional blows, but we still don't really know Rosie ourselves. We never met her before she was murdered, and the show doesn't deal in flashbacks (which I can totally understand), but it also hasn't done much to make us feel a desire to see her killer/s brought to justice. A few home videos of Rosie's happier times would help, at the very least.

By the by, for fans of the Danish drama The Killing is based on, "My Lucky Day" contains a fun crossover when Danish star Sofie Gråbøl appears in a scene alongside her American counterpart Mireille Enos. It's not even a blink-and-miss nod, either, which was great to see.

So, are you watching The Killing? Or have you given up because of the increasingly tedious games season 1 played? Or did the lack of a closure not bother you last year? Is the show worth sticking with just to see who killed Rosie and why? Is the slick production and decent performances enough to keep you glued? Or will you simply read reviews to keep tabs on the latest news about this investigation? Were there enough improvements in this two-hour premiere to lure you back with fresh optimism?

written by Veena Sud (2.1) & Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin (2.2) / directed by Agnieszka Holland (2.1) & Dan Attias (2.2) / 1 April 2012 / AMC

Dan's 10 Disappointing TV Shows of 2011

Let's get one thing straight: this isn't a list of the Top 10 Worst TV Shows of 2011, although many of the following programmes would definitely appear on one. I just think it's too easy to throw together 10 terrible television shows, but the truth is I don't tend to watch the really awful stuff for longer than a few episodes.

Instead, my list is about the TV shows that were just about good enough to keep you watching, or you felt obliged to stick with out of loyalty to the brand, genre, or talent involved.... but were nevertheless very disappointing. Fact is, I watched all the episodes of everything on this list, so on some level you could say they were a success, but that's not to say I enjoyed most of what I saw.

I hope that explains my thinking behind some of the picks you don't agree with here, or are perhaps surprised by. The same overall rules apply as before, especially regarding how shows that premiered in 2010 can be counted if they broadcast 50% of their episodes in 2011.

And now, here are my most Disappointing TV Shows of this year...

10. American Horror Story

(Season 1) I grew to strangely enjoy this show, as you "enjoy" picking at a thick scab. From the creative minds of Ryan Murphy and Bryan Falchuk (Nip/Tuck, Glee), this was a "haunted house" movie stretched to 12 episodes, about the dysfunctional Harmon family moving into a Los Angeles home full of frightening ghosts from the building's notorious past. It contained some neat ideas (like how some ghosts are so corporeal they interact with the living as "real people"), and Jessica Lange's performance was brilliant as bonkers neighbour Constance. But the problem with AHS is that it had no sense of self-discipline, the story felt half-improved, some of the actors didn't have the right approach to the material (especially Connie Britton), and a great deal of its better ideas were stolen from movies. (The show even used music from Psycho and Bram Stoker's Dracula!) Okay, it was by design and thus intended to be a loving confection of tropes, but for me it came across as desperate. (random reviews) FX / FX UK

9. The Killing

(Season 1) There are far worse shows around, but The Killing is on this list because of how disappointing it became. What's extraordinary is that it had the best pilot of 2011, by some margin, and I was engrossed for the first five weeks. Based on the Danish original (which is required viewing for Guardian readers here in the UK), all American showrunner Veena Sud had to do was Americanise where appropriate and condense the 20-episode foreign season into half that time Instead, she flushed away many people's goodwill by revealing a "twist" that meant half the season had been a colossal waste of our time, and then gave us a finale that didn't bother answering the "Who Killed Rosie Larsen?" question. That would have been defensible, had we not been led to believe there would be an answer this year, as most people only kept watching past episode 7 for an answer that never came. A crying shame, because the production on The Killing was exemplary, with a brilliant atmosphere (perpetual rain, overcast skies) and thrumming soundtrack. But they should have kept their eyes on the story and were wrong to mislead the audience to this extent. (review archive) AMC / CHANNEL 4

8. Chuck

(Season 4) The little show that would have been cancelled halfway through season 2, at any other time in NBC's history. It's managed to scratch out five seasons, but the fourth is where it started to lose much of its curious appeal. This is primarily because its story arcs didn't work for me, especially the annoying "search for Chuck's long-lost mom" storyline that soaked up so much time. As "Mama Bartowski", Linda Hamilton (Terminator 2) reminded us why her career tanked in the mid-'90s, bringing zero humour and scant charisma to an underwritten role. She was simply there because of her association with a geeky franchise, allowing the writers to do some cute Terminator in-jokes. Ex-007 Timothy Dalton fared better as a scene-chewing Russian super-villain, but even he outstayed his welcome. A poor year of a show that probably deserved the axe this summer, although the current fifth season has been much better... (review archive) NBC / SKY LIVING

7. Glee

(Season 2) If we're honest, Glee started to lose itself as early as mid-season 1 after its winter hiatus, but season 2 is where I lost patience. Overstuffed with (mostly weak) pop songs, it became clear the three writer-producers had little idea what to do with their talented cast. Beyond the storyline with Kurt and his move to the Dalton Academy, it was a case of random romantic match-ups (which were on/off more times than a light switch) and far too many celebrity guest stars. Gwyneth Paltrow had a brilliant first appearance (singing Cee Lo Green's "Forget You"), but bringing her back twice didn't work. The season also gave us too many "themed episodes", from Britney Spears to Rocky Horror. What was once a joyful show that made you giggle and hum along to cheery music became a one-trick pony you wanted to see put down. The most annoying thing is that I'm still watching Glee today, halfway through the even worse third season. I really have no excuse, beyond masochism and an unhealthy fascination with dancer Heather Morris. (random reviews FOX / E4

6. Episodes

(Season 1) A satire on TV production, specifically when hit British comedies get remade into terrible US remakes, Episodes was a leaden and unfunny misfire on most levels. There were performances from Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig (as a British screenwriting couple trying to keep their principles in the face of adversity), with a fairly amusing turn from Friends' Matt Le Blanc playing "himself", but it simply wasn't enjoyable to watch all the way through. It limped along after a poor start, with perhaps two episodes that actually rose to an acceptable quality level, which isn't enough. Given the talent involved and subject-matter that felt like it could have something to say about Anglo-American cultural differences, Episodes was one of this year's bigger disappointments to me. A comedy that had its handful of targets in mind, and bludgeoned them over and over, week after week... (review archive) BBC2 / SHOWTIME

5. Dexter

(Season 6) It's a huge shame to see Dexter appear on this ignoble list, as a few short years ago it was a regular in my Best Shows list, but season 6 was the year when the wheels finally came off Showtime's top-rated series. There have been warning signs for awhile now, notably during the ragged fifth season, but this year was a particularly bad run. Despite the potential of delving into a religious theme, the writers lost sight of what made the show so great in its heyday, and countless mistakes amassed throughout its run. The greatest sin being a twist tardily revealed weeks after most fans had guessed it, and a peculiar decision to have Deb suddenly find her adopted brother sexually attractive. Throw in the show's continuing problems in giving its extended cast anything worthwhile to do (just kill a few already!), and the misjudged casting of Colin Hanks as the season's villain (who's no Jimmy Smits, let alone a John Lithgow), and Dexter simply ran aground under a weight of shit. The only hope is knowing the show now has an end-date of 2013, so the writers can work towards a definite conclusion. Trouble is, can its current writing staff pull something off that fans will enjoy? (review archive) SHOWTIME

4. Primeval

(Series 4 & 5) This year we had a double-dose of Primeval, because digital partner Watch showed series 5 months after ITV finished series 4, as they were filmed back-to-back. It was an unexpected return of a show ITV axed because of costs, with two new regular characters along for the ride, but this was a very inauspicious year. Primeval has rarely been good, but it can be fun if you accept its flaws and formulas. I just don't think it has anything left to offer anyone, because the new characters were a washout (especially tedious Irish "action man" Matt), and the fifth series in particular was a big waste of time until a half-decent finale. It's a show that has moments to enjoy, but it's reached a point where I'm struggling to stay interested on a character or storytelling level—or even in a superficial "ooh, dinosaurs" way, to be frank. (review archive) ITV1 / WATCH / BBC AMERICA

3. Outcasts

It had a familiar yet appealing premise, an ambitious production filming in South Africa, with some good actors involved, but Outcasts failed to live up to expectations. SF nerds took great delight in tearing the show's setup apart, and none of the characters left any impression (apart from the excellent Liam Cunningham). It didn't help that Jamie Bamber's character was killed off in the first episode, or that so much of the story and twists felt analogous to things we've seen done better in Lost, Battlestar Galactica and Solaris recently. I have an appetite for intelligent SF mysteries with a measured pace and emphasis on character, but Outcasts just wasn't any fun and almost crawled through its hours. However, it did inspire this blog's busiest article in many years! (review archive) BBC1 / BBC AMERICA

2. Life's Too Short

(Series 1) The sitcom that appears to prove The Office's Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant are creatively bankrupt, Life's Too Short distilled everything they've done before (a mockumentary format poking fun at a disabled character, with meta-jokes and celebrity cameos) but did nothing new or interesting with those ingredients. For half the seven episodes, it didn't even feel like a Warwick Davis-starring sitcom, as so much was an excuse to shoehorn in Gervais, Merchant and a guest-star-of-the-week. Things improved slightly for the last three episodes, once the storyline with Warwick's divorce became a bigger focus, but my goodwill was exhausted by then. It just wasn't insightful or clever, as everything here had been done better in Extras, and poor Warwick was forced to play himself-doing-a-David-Brent impersonation. A sore disappointment from two writers who used to demand only the best, but are now happy to devise stupid shows for their friends (see also Karl Pilkington's An Idiot Abroad). (review archive) BBC2

1. Torchwood: Miracle Day

While there were concerns about "Americanizing" Torchwood when Russell T. Davies announced those plans, I don't think any fan anticipated the debacle that Miracle Day became. It still had its creator at the helm, who managed to recruit a writing staff of people who'd worked on some impressive shows (Buffy, House, Battlestar Galactica, X Files, Breaking Bad), and it wisely refused to tone down the sex/violence. In fact, quite a few people believed this could be the making of Torchwood because it had more money to play with, had a very ambitious high-concept story (everyone on the planet suddenly stops dying for an unexplained reason), and was reprising its very successful Children Of Earth miniseries format.

Unfortunately, Miracle Day fell flat on its face after a decent start. Once the novelty of its idea had worn off by episode 4, it became clear just how irritating the new American characters were (especially belligerent dickhead Rex Matheson), they made the godawful mistake of trying to make audiences sympathise with a child-killing paedophile (then had no idea what to do with Bill Pullman's slimy character halfway through), dandy hero Jack Harkness had nothing to do until two-thirds into the story, Gwen Cooper was as irksomely forthright as ever, there were no aliens, and the ultimate explanation for the titular "miracle" was extremely silly and vaguely explained. I can't think of any other show that so spectacularly flopped after such a previous high (although Children Of Earth is somewhat overrated). It even made committed fans fall out of love with the show! I don't think anyone would care if Torchwood never came back now, as Miracle Day appeared to kill a promising franchise. How ironic. (review archive) STARZ/ BBC1

TV Ratings: TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY (BBC1)

The UK premiere of Torchwood: Miracle Day lured 4.83m viewers to BBC1 at 9pm last night, down 1m on the premiere of Children Of Earth in 2009. Of course, Children was a world premiere of that particular miniseries, whereas Miracle has been controversially delayed in reaching the UK after Starz aired it in the US last Friday. So it's more than likely the 1m drop-off is partly because of torrent downloads this past week, and the fact this isn't being stripped across the whole week (so the need to watch episode 1 on the day of transmission, or risk falling behind, isn't so strong.)

Over in the US last Friday, Miracle Day's world premiere attracted 819,000 viewers for Starz at 10pm and 687,000 for the 11pm repeat, resulting in a total of 1.51 million viewers. This a fraction below the premiere of Camelot (1.57m), a show that Starz cancelled after one season—but not purely because of ratings and demographics, so this doesn't mean Miracle Day's doomed, too. Anything in the 1.5m range is a big hit for a premium cable channel like Starz.

Incidentally, Channel 4's The Killing was direct competition for Torchwood in the UK last night, and the crime drama remake dropped to 1.5m viewers—losing 670,000 viewers from its two-part premiere. Some of the loss may be attributed to people giving Torchwood preference, with 311k watching The Killing an hour later on Channel 4+1. So the loss of audience for the show probably isn't that bad, when you factor in the presence of a big Thursday night rival.

TV Ratings: THE KILLING (Channel 4)

The US remake of Danish hit The Killing began its UK run on Channel 4 last night at 9pm, with a double-bill that attracted an average of 2.19 million viewers (10.3% of the audience). 231,000 additional viewers were watching on Channel 4+1 from 10pm.

The response to The Killing in the UK is going to be very interesting, seeing as BBC4 broadcast the original show earlier this year. More Brits will be able to compare and contrast than Americans. Of course, the vast majority of people watching this US remake won't have seen the original, but some will also have heard about the American discontent over the season finale. Will any of that impact the show? I don't think so. I think we oversell the power of social media these days, as most "normal" viewers won't be aware of how this remake slowly lost its critical acclaim. My own opinion is well-known here: the show has a fantastic start, a handful of entertaining episodes to follow, but then it runs around in circles for six hours, before ending on an infuriating note.

What do you think? Did you watch The Killing on Channel 4? Have you seen original? If so, how did it measure up? Will you continue to watch this 13-part drama, based on these two episodes, or was it too depressing and relentlessly grim for you?

THE KILLING, 1.13 - "Orpheus Descending"

I know this show is starting on Channel 4 in the UK soon, so there's a chance people will stumble upon this review online. If so, please turn away now. This is a review of the season 1 finale, so there are consequently gigantic spoilers ahead. Only read on if you've seen this episode, or don't care knowing what happened in the finale.

There were pleasing elements of The Killing's finale, but ultimately it was just a marginally cleverer fake-out like the Bennet Ahmed storyline—only twice as exasperating in many ways. There have been whispers the show wouldn't resolve its mystery in 13 episodes (roughly half the time of the Danish original) and instead continue into a second year, and those fears have proven accurate. I hear the Rosie Larsen case won't take up the entirety of season 2, so hopefully the writers will note the animosity this decision has caused and bring the mystery to a quick, definitive end. In some ways I'm actually glad The Killing's been renewed by AMC, as it would have been far worse if "Orpheus Descending" had been the series finale. Or would they have re-cut the ending to lose its last-minute twist?

I'm not going to rake over every events that happened this week, mainly because my enthusiasm's at a low ebb. Suffice to say, after the events of episode 12, Linden (Mireille Enos) is 100% certain that Councilman Darren Richmond (Billy Campbell) killed Rosie Larsen, having paid for the schoolgirl's services as a Beau Soleil escort under the pseudonym "Orpheus", but the finale was all about having to prove his connection to Rosie's murder—as there's apparently not enough evidence, or it's too circumstantial, to arrest Richmond and interrogate him.

There followed an hour of Linden and Holder (Joel Kinnaman) trying to trace the movements of the killer on the night Rosie was abducted, focusing on the campaign car she was found drowned in and the mathematical calculations to determine the mileage it did that night—before the driver would have needed to refill. This eventually led to them requisitioning various gas station security cameras (where would they be without CCTV, eh?), in the hope one of them captured Richmond driving the campaign car. It makes you wonder why this wasn't a line of investigation from the start! If you find a dead body in a car, surely you trace the movements of that car as your number one priority? Why have they waited until the finale to do something so obvious?

Unfortunately, it's because The Killing wants to be seen as a realistic crime drama, but beyond evocative scenes of a grieving family (kudos to Brent Sexton and Michelle Forbes), the show isn't particularly logical. Suspects come and go according to the whim of the writers, the investigation goes down avenues chosen because they can devour 2-6 hours of screen time, rather than follow what the police would actually do. I understand this is foremost a TV show, so artistic license is necessary to fill time, but it's become infuriating to see how the show manipulates its audience so blatantly. Take how Richmond was portrayed throughout this episode: a creepy-sounding silhouette that screamed KILLER, until the moment the story doesn't want you to think that any more.

Thing is, The Killing could very easily make ANYONE a suspect if the writers set their mind to it. Hell, there's a way to pin the deed on Mitch Larsen and blame it on a mental breakdown! There's no sense that the killer's being hunted down over a fortnight's investigation that's teased an murky mystery apart. It just feels like the show chases down various characters they make look guilty... until such time as they prove their innocence and the game can restart.

Season 1's ending, then. This is where opinion will split, harshly. Having been given a toll-bridge camera shot of Richmond driving the campaign car Rosie was found in, together with all the other evidence collected, Richmond was arrested and Linden finally got on her plane with son Jack to start a new life in sunnier climes. But then came the twist: the toll-bridge cameras weren't operational, so the key evidence was faked by Holder, who's then seen getting into a black sedan and telling an unseen driver "photo worked—he's going down."

So has Holder been working for an enemy of Richmond's all along, paid to ensure the Councilman gets blamed for Rosie's death? That would put Mayor Adams as the most likely sedan driver, although that doesn't automatically mean Adams killed Rosie, because he could just be using events to his advantage. But is Adams the type of person to get revenge? Maybe the driver's a new character? Or millionaire playboy Drexler?

Or, to cut Holder some slack, maybe he was just so convinced Richmond killed Rosie that he falsified evidence to ensure an arrest, knowing he'd walk free otherwise? We'll have to wait until next year to find out—but if the Larsen case isn't going to last another season, as it's been suggested, then I'm not sure there's time to prove Richmond's innocence and find the real culprit within, say, 3 or 4 episodes. Or is there? And how's that going to work, exactly? Will season 2 feel like season 1.5 until the story suddenly lurches into a new case?

Overall, The Killing's finale will be seen as totally infuriating to everyone who expected the mystery to end and a fresh start next year. I'm not against the presence of red herrings and dead-ends in a murder-mystery, but too often this show feels like it's not playing fair with its audience. These aren't clever diversions and fake-outs they're dishing up, they're overly-manipulative stalling techniques. The ending of this episode was actually weirdly enjoyable, as I didn't expect the show to pull the rug in the dying moments (especially with Belko apparently about to shoot the possibly-innocent Richmond)—but given the lack of emotional impact when Richmond was arrested and how the Larsen's were informed off-camera, I maybe should guessed something wasn't right. It would have been the mother of all damp squibs if Richmond was simply jailed and Linden jetted off to California, too.

I have very mixed feelings, but ultimately this finale was too frustrating to be viewed positively. I also didn't like how every character's reaction to being told Richmond was the killer was so subdued, given his participation in the investigation and celebrity status. You wanted some catharsis after 12 weeks of patience, particularly after that unforgivable six-week cul-de-sac with Bennet Ahmed, and we just didn't get it—not even briefly.

In the beginning, the show posed a simple, compelling question: who killed Rosie Larsen? But by the end the question has become: who cares who killed Rosie Larsen?

Asides

• Love the scene with Stan meeting Amber (Ashley Johnson) at the hospital, unaware she's the girlfriend of Bennet, the man whose life-threatening injuries he caused. A particularly nice angle in how pregnant Amber's on the cusp of delivering new life to the world, whereas Stan's dealing with the loss of life. It's a shame The Killing's skill with small human moments isn't echoed in its strength to tell a serialized story.
• Why was Richmond soaking wet on the morning Rosie died, according to girlfriend Gwen (Kristen Lehman)? If he didn't have anything to do with Rosie's death, what happened? A particularly strong, brief downpour of rain? Did he fall or get pushed into a swimming pool—maybe the one belonging to financier Drexler?

written by Veena Sud & Nic Pizzolatto / directed by Brad Anderson / 19 June 2011 / AMC

THE KILLING, 1.12 - "Beau Soleil"

Did anyone else get the feeling this hour could have been moved forward to, say, episode 5 and worked almost as well? It would have meant a few shortcuts and a surprisingly efficient investigation, but it would have been possible. While I understand the need to flesh out a story and investigate dead-ends and red herrings (that's par for the course in this genre), I think The Killing's made a meal out of it. It would have helped if dead-ends still managed to throw up a vital clue, or if there were parallel lines of inquiry going on, but the writing just seems to dive headfirst into one prime suspect, shake them around for multiple episodes, then drop them and move onto the next suspicious character. Still, at least the last batch of episodes have been more purposeful, and in "Beau Soleil" we finally discovered who killed Rosie Larsen. Or did we...?

Overview:

• Mayor Adams's (Tom Butler) waterfront development was abandoned after workers found a human skull on the site. The discovery of a Native Indian burial ground put an end to his scheme and, in the process, the basis of his re-election campaign.
• Linden (Mireille Enos) met with her son's father Greg (Tahmoh Penikett), angry that he's back in their lives.
• Holder (Joel Kinnaman) briefed Linden that Rosie has been seen on the casino ATM footage depositing large amounts of money over a period of six months into an unknown account.
• Mitch (Michelle Forbes) overheard a message on her husband's answering machine from mobster Janek Kovarsky and asked Belko if Stan's (Brent Sexton) working for him again. Belko avoided the question and was fired.
• Adams officially threw in the towel, but out of affection for Gwen (Kristen Lehman)—whom he watched her grow up as a friend of her father's—he gave her an envelope of incriminating evidence on Richmond.
• Jamie went to Tom Drexler's (Patrick Gilmore) apartment under the orders of Richmond (Billy Campbell), who no longer needs to pander to his financier in person because Adams has dropped out of the election. Jamie noted the young women swimming in a pool above the ceiling, and Drexler identified them as Beau Soleil girls.
• Stan was visited in jail by his wife, who questioned him over their family's missing savings and gave that as the reason she hasn't posted his bail.
• Rosie's laptop was re-examined and a police tech discovered a secret redirection page to the Beau Soleil website, which was accessed multiple times around the time Rosie disappeared. Linden recognized one of the girl's profile photos as Rosie's aunt Terry (Jamie Anne Allman). Terry was interviewed and admitted to being an escort for the site, and the owner of the account Rosie was depositing money into. She also recounted a story about a girl called Celine who warned them about a weirdo known as "Orpheus" who took her to the waterfront and discussed drowning—an echo of what happened to Rosie.
• Linden and Holder visited the storefront that secretly houses Beau Soleil's servers and got access from the webmaster to Orpheus's account—which was closed the night Rosie was killed. However, there's still an active webmail address, and Linden e-mails Orpheus with the message "I KNOW WHAT YOU DID".
• Holder met with Celine, real name Aleena (Alona Tal), by posing as a Beau Soleil client in a hotel and pressures her to reveal more about Orpheus. Aleena leaves, frightened, but calls back moments later and tells Holder to meet her at the corner of Fifth and Jackson if he wants to know who Orpheus is.
• Stan was released from jail after Terry posted bail, having learned that her sister wouldn't do so.
• Linden had the police tech monitor her computer's e-mail as she went to visit Richmond and tell him to distance himself from Drexler—who's their new prime suspect, given his association with Beau Soleil escorts. At Richmond's apartment, Linden heard a computer chiming in another room, and realized it was occurring whenever her e-mail was resent. Investigating a small room containing a computer, Linden discovers a PC with four "I KNOW WHAT YOU DID" e-mails. At that moment, Richmond appears at the door in silhouette, asking what she's doing.
• Holder arrived at the rendezvous but Aleena isn't there. Instead, he notices the area is plastered with Darren Richmond campaign posters.
• Gwen opened Mayor Adams's enveloped and found photos of Richmond meeting a variety of women, presumably escorts.

Suspects:

Is this a moot point now? It's Darren Richmond, right? The likeable councilman who wasn't ever much of a suspect because (a) he was a main character and (b) he appeared to have been professionally affected by Rosie's murder in such a way that he was painted as a victim. But the evidence is damning: he owns the computer that's receiving Orpheus' mail, "Orpheus" itself is a character in Greek mythology that lost his wife (as did Richmond), Aleena has pointed the finger at him as the man who scared her talking about drowning, and Gwen's got photographic proof he solicits prostitutes.

Is there any possible way Richmond's not to blame? I can't quite see how he can wriggle off the hook, but maybe he didn't actually kill Rosie in person? Was he in cahoots with fellow Beau Soleil client Drexler—a man who seemingly has a fascination with teenage girls and water? There must be something else yet to be revealed, as we still have a whole episode left to watch. Will the finale focus on Richmond as a fugitive trying to flee the city? Will he somehow prove he's innocent to Linden, or only partly involved in what happened? Or will the finale be an extensive flashback? The latter feels like a great way to end the season, if you ask me...

In summation:

"Beau Soleil" can't be faulted in terms of advancing the plot and delivering a big development, but that's to be expected at this late stage of a whodunnit. I just think it's unfortunate so much of this season has, in retrospect been a total waste of time. I'm again astonished the Danish version was twice the length of AMC's remake, and talked about as the superior show, as it's hard to imagine this story warranting more than a half-dozen episodes. And why introduce Linden's ex-husband in the penultimate episode? I think the writers have severely overestimated how much we care about Linden and her family. In fact, a big problem with The Killing is that none of the characters are actually very compelling in their own right—they're just chess pieces the plot's using to play its game.

The finale airs this Sunday. As I said, I'm hoping for a flashback-heavy hour that reveals Rosie's final days, visualizing Richmond's confession. If he's indeed the culprit. The Killing yanked us around so much with Ahmed that I'm still not 100% certain the councilman killed Rosie. Maybe Jamie used his home computer to log-on as Orpheus, or something? Then again, Linden's first e-mail was definitely read and Jamie's as Drexler's home. Any final thoughts as we march towards the finish-line? The floor's yours...

Aside

• Just a quick question: the date given here for Rosie's murder was 5 October. So why was her school having a Halloween party almost a month before Halloween on 31 October? Is that common practice in the US, or did they mess up the dates in this episode?

written by Jeremy Doner & Soo Hugh / directed by Keith Gordon / 12 June 2011 / AMC

AMC want more of THE KILLING

AMC's remake of Danish murder-mystery drama The Killing has been renewed for a second season, in light of solid ratings (a 2.2 million average) and acclaim—although the critical buzz has softened, and in some cases soured, since the first batch of episodes aired.

It's unknown if season 2 will follow a storyline from the Danish show again, or if showrunner Veena Sud and her writers will instead carve their own path. After the events of the penultimate episode, "Beau Soleil", it seems that fears about the show continuing the Rosie Larsen murder case into another year have proven unfounded, so what will happen? A different murder case set in Seattle seems the obvious way to go, but will the US writers learn some valuable lessons from season 1? If I had to change one thing, it would be ditching the "one episode equals one day of the investigation" format, which has severely limited the storytelling.

Are you happy to see The Killing get another season (unlike Rubicon last year), or has this remake been nothing but a big disappointment to you? Popular opinion is that it started off brilliantly, but made a fatal mistake in following a dead-end for half its season. Do you agree? Maybe The Killing should be allowed a second chance, but this time with the creative freedom of a story that takes advantage of its particular strengths in front and behind the camera?

THE KILLING, 1.11 - "Missing"

I'm going to abandon my usual review format this week, echoing what The Killing itself decided to do with the antepenultimate episode "Missing". This was a very strange episode considering what's come before and how the show has fed its audience their weekly dosage, but I'm in two-minds about it. Taken as part of the season as a whole, it was nothing but a ridiculous detour featuring only two of the regular characters—Linden (Mireille Enos) and Holder (Joel Kinnaman) —in a character-led storyline that had almost nothing to do with the show's usual concerns. For that reason, it felt slightly redundant and pointless, and could easily be skipped without damaging too much of the show's larger storyline. However, taken as a singular episode, it was actually The Killing's best episode in many weeks, and certainly a very belated way to make us care more about the two lead investigators we've been following around for over two months already...

Linden found the Wapi Eagle Casino she believed Rosie Larsen visited on the night she went missing, but found herself stonewalled by the casino manager Nicole Jackson (Claudia Ferri), who wasn't too happy about Linden's intention to interview her customers. And unfortunately for Linden, the casino being built on Indian territory meant only a federal warrant (that would take a week to come through) could force the casino to open its door to the Seattle P.D. However, Linden instead decided to get a warrant on the casino's many ATM machines, which are owned by the banks, and may have recorded Rosie using one to confirm her movements.

But while Linden and Holder waited for the ATM warrant to come through, which may take a day, a distraction was provided in the sudden disappearance of her own son Jack (Liam James). From there, the whole episode dropped the Rosie Larsen mystery and instead focused on Linden and Holder using their free time to search for Jack. And, along the way, they got to know each other a little better, too. In particular, we learned that Linden was abandoned by her mother at the age of five and grew up as a foster kid (passed around to various families growing up), how "mother figure" Regi is actually her probation worker, and that the case that obsessed Linden involved a boy who was taken into child protection when his father killed his mother and never got out of the system. We also learned that Holder has a sister called Liz, but isn't so dependable as an uncle, and heard more about his past addiction to crystal meth.

The frustrating thing about this episode is that, to be perfectly honest, this was the kind of character-building hour we needed much earlier in the season. I can see how difficult it is to find time away from the murder case (especially given The Killing's episode-to-day format and serialized focus), but perhaps that goes to show that the format itself is flawed. I'm glad we got some firm insights into Linden and Holder, and the episode was entertaining in its own right, but it was unfortunately reliant on the audience caring about Jack and Linden's relationship with her son. Unfortunately, we don't really. The previous 10 episodes haven't done a very good job developing Linden from the character she was introduced as in the pilot, with only a few moments scattered around that existed to shed light on certain family areas.

Overall, "Missing" was both irritating (so close to the end and we're given a character-building, mostly extraneous diversion?) and very enjoyable (the show actually found room to breathe and develop the two central character who have previously just been plot-devices to keep the mystery rolling along). I enjoyed it, but I wish this had been episode 4.

Aside

• The ATM machine footage amused me, as we'd previously discussed how US cop shows don't rely as much on CCTV as their British equivalents—so more often investigations use nosey neighbours and ATM cameras. And now this episode proves it!

written by Veena Sud / directed by Nicole Kassell / 5 June 2011 / AMC

THE KILLING, 1.10 – "I'll Let You Know When I Get There"

I think I'd have liked "I'll Let You Know When I Get There" if it had come earlier in the season, but considering the fact it's essentially an alternate-episode 4 (now the Bennet Ahmed dead-end has come to an end after a ridiculous half-season spent on it), I can't shake my frustrations with The Killing's narrative structure. It's also becoming more noticeable just how much DNA this show shares with Twin Peaks. The surface level similarities were obvious (small town in Washington state, dead teenager, ominous musical score), but this episode even ended with Linden (Mireille Enos) discovering the existence of a casino that immediately reminded me of One Eyed Jack's from Twin Peaks. Maybe it's just another coincidence, but I can't shake the feeling that this show is in many ways a remake of Twin Peaks--minus the overt strangeness.

Overview:

• Bennet's (Brandon Jay McLaren) beaten body was discovered and taken to hospital, where he's touch and go. Stan (Brent Sexton), realizing his mistake when he returned home to see wife Mitch (Michelle Forbes), turned himself into the police and was jailed.
• Linden and Holder turn their attention away from Bennet now he's been proven innocent, with Linden making a special effort to see Richmond (Billy Campbell) and tell him personally that Bennet's been exonerated.
• Richmond's political campaign received a much-needed jolt, as they can now promote the fact Richmond stuck to his guns and refused to believe an innocent man was guilty until proven so. A press conference was called, with Richmond denouncing the vigilante justice meted out to Bennet and resolving to reinstate the All-Star program that Mayor Adams shutdown. Later, Richmond made plans to reduce budgets in the City Council.
• Linden returned to Regi's (Annie Corley) houseboat and heard that her son Jack (Liam James) has been misbehaving with friends, putting Regi in an awkward position. Angry and disappointed, Linden moves out of Regi's boat with Jack and into a motel.
• Stan is interviewed in jail by Linden, who is now pursuing the theory his mobster past was somehow involved in Rosie's murder. Stan denies the possibility.
• Holder goes to see Stan's best friend, Belko (Brendan Sexton III), who was also involved with the Kovarsky mobsters. Belko denies all knowledge of Stan's actions in attacking Bennet
• Linden was called by a cab driver who has video-evidence of Rosie travelling from the Bennet house just after 10pm on the night she disappeared. Linden and Holder reviewed the cab's tape and saw Rosie arrive home at 10.37pm, before noticing a light in her assumedly empty house was turned off as she arrived—meaning someone was in the house when she came home.
• Mitch's sister Terry (Jamie Anne Allman) revealed that Belko has keys to the Larsen home, so he became the new prime suspect. Linden and Holder investigated Belko's alibi that he was home with his mother by going to meet with her at his apartment. Inside they discover numerous photos of Rosie taped to Belko's bedroom ceiling and notice that Belko's mother dresses provocatively for someone of her age.
• Belko is taken in for questioning and eventually admits that he helped Stan beat-up Bennet, and that he in the Larsen house when Rosie came home, but only hid because he was breaking Mitch's house rules by being upstairs. Belko doesn't confess to killing her, but instead reveals he heard her talking on the phone to someone, saying "Adela, I'll be there", before leaving again.
• A City Hall intern found a video-clip of Richmond shaking hands with Rosie during his campaign, which Jamie (Eric Ladin) decides to bury in case it's used to link Richmond to her murder again in the eyes of the electorate.
• Mitch received a phone call at the family business telling her a cheque has bounced and there's no money in their savings account to cover it.
• The next morning, Linden is out jogging when she noticed a ferry called "ADELA", which has a departure time of 11.45pm which fits with the last movements of Rosie. She boards the ferry and soon notices a sign for the Wapi Eagle Casino with a logo that matches the key chain they found on Rosie's body.

Suspects:

• I was getting worried we were going to spend another few episodes investigating Belko, before dropping him as a suspect, so I was glad they quickly moved past him. Mind you, it struck me as odd they just accepted his story. The guy's clearly got a fixation on Rosie, a childish bedroom (check out the wallpaper), and weird connection with the Larsen's. If this was a real investigation, I'm not convinced they'd have ditched Belko so quickly and moved into finding "Adela."
• The Kovarsky mob were mentioned quite a few times, so it's still very possible they're involved here somehow. Was Rosie involved with the mob somehow? Did she learn something about them that meant she had to be killed? Do the gangsters run the Wapi Eagle Casino?

Summation:

This was a good episode, reminding me of what I was enjoying about The Killing when it first started. It had some actual movement and momentum to it, and it was just a relief to move on from the interminable Bennet storyline—finally! I'm not particularly moved by Stan's imprisonment, mainly because that character hasn't been very sympathetic for a very long time. And it still really confused me that so many major clues are arriving very late in the game. Why has the cab driver waited over a week

It's also slightly annoying that the avenues of investigation here (Belko, Kovarsky) are suspects the viewers at home were allowed to consider weeks ago, meaning Linden and Holder feel like they're playing catchup with the viewers at home. They should be the ones leading us through this story, but I actually feel more informed than Linden--probably because I am, given how the TV show can let us see people and things she can't. I think there's a way to tell this story much better, basically—but I'm pleased we're close to the finish, as I can't deny being very excited to discover who killed Rosie. If we are going to be told this season, of course...

written by Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin / directed by Ed Bianchi / 29 May 2011 / AMC

THE KILLING, 1.9 - "Undertow"

In "Undertow" there was a major development in the murder case, but it wound up setting the investigation back by several days/episodes. That's even more frustrating when you realize the removal of Bennet Ahmed's subplot means The Killing could probably have been told in a tighter six hours. Beyond that, my usual complaints and praise largely apply, regarding performances and , but it's fascinating watching The Killing slowly throttle itself...

Overview:

• A translator interpreted Bennet's wiretapped phone call to Muhammed, confirming he knows about the meat market room and how it was used as a holding pen for a young girl. Unfortunately, Holder (Joel Kinnaman) couldn't get an arrest warrant signed by his old friend Judge Elliot (Jay Brazeau), owing to the way the wiretap is a gross misuse of the Patriot Act's anti-terrorism provisions.
• Mayor Adams (Tom Butler) responded to allegations he's the father of his pregnant intern's unborn child by holding a televised press conference and claiming it's all a smear campaign from Richmond's (Billy Campbell) camp. He even offered proof by revealing he's had a vasectomy, but is actually planning to have his medical records falsified and payments to his intern doubled to keep her quiet.
• Mitch (Michelle Forbes) was assured by Linden (Mireille Enos) that the investigation will be over within the day, but after Bennet's arrest warrant is denied the school teacher goes back to school and faced walkouts from his class (who also wrote 'KILLER' on his whiteboard.) When Mitch saw Bennet was still walking free, she broke down and chastised her husband Stan (Brent Sexton) for letting the man who killed their daughter go.
• Richmond was put in an awkward position, having to pretend he didn't leak news of Adams' pregnant intern, while Jamie resolved to prove Adams is lying about his innocence. All dirty tactics were called off by Richmond after hearing the Green Street Mosque has been defaced.
• Bennet's wife Amber (Ashley Johnson) was still suspicious of her husband and wrote down Muhammed's phone number from Bennet's cell phone, passing the information to Linden and Holder. The phone's number was traced to a Muhammed Hamid (Jarod Joseph), with the GPS pinpointing him to a Seattle marketplace. Linden and Holder arrived on the scene, calling Muhammed's phone to see which of the stallholders responded, and eventually found their prime suspect--who decided to run when he realizes he's been identified, but was apprehended.
• Gwen (Kristen Lehman) tried to convince Richmond to open up to the people about his wife Lilly's death, as it's a tragic story that comes from the heart and could be their last chance to turn the tide of public opinion now Adams looks like a victim. Richmond declined, but went to see multi-millionaire Drexler (Patrick Gilmore) to ask for more money. Drexler gave Richmond a basketball challenge: sink a basket in one free shot and receive $5m to rebuild the Somali community, or miss and resign from the mayoral election race. Richmond accepted the challenge and won.
• Muhammed was interrogated by Holder and Linden over the abduction of Rosie Larsen, but it soon becomes clear they have their wires crossed: Muhammed and Bennet were actually involved with protecting a young girl called Aisha (Odessa Rojen Miriam) from female circumcision--a controversial tradition in their culture--and have been trying to smuggle her across the border to safety. Bennet and Muhammed are innocent.
• An outraged Stan, feeling emasculated by his wife's comments, kidnapped Bennet with help from Belko and savagely beat him up on the outskirts of town. Simultaneously, Mitch found Rosie's "GRAND CANYON" T-shirt in the laundry, proving the one found at the meat market wasn't her daughter's.

Suspects:

• You can mark a line through Bennet and Muhammed's names after this episode. They're both in the clear--although I hope they explain the sighting of a small woman helping Bennet and Muhammed smuggle Aisha away. Who was that?
• Are there any more suspects to consider? We're back to square one after this episode--so my mind's wandering back to characters who felt significant before Bennet's story became a focus. Those being Rosie's best friend, her ex-boyfriend, and the mobsters her father used to work for. I'm also still suspicious of Stan's buddy Belko, frankly--but I'm suspicious of everyone because the story could throw a spotlight on any random character and somehow make them the murderer, let's face it.

Summation:

"Undertow" was a frustrating episode. I know this partly its intention (so audiences felt just as exasperated as Linden when the Bennet/Muhammed line of investigation became largely insignificant), but I question the need to have spent the majority of six episodes investigating a dead-end. I can only hope Aisha knows something about Rosie that could help Linden and Holder crack the case.

It's also becoming more noticeable that The Killing's ignoring the one thing that traditionally fuels whodunnits: motive. Why would anyone want to kill sweet Rosie Larsen? That obvious question has hardly been asked since the two-part premiere, and the show's mostly dropped the idea of investigating Rosie's background and getting inside her head. A particular shame because Linden was at her most fascinating when she was observing minutiae and making deductions from bedroom evidence and old videos.

"Super 8" was probably the last episode where Rosie felt like a tangible part of the story, even in death, before everything shifted and The Killing started spending an inordinate amount of time prying into Bennet's life. Isn't the one thing people love about murder-mysteries the way characters each have possible motives for killing the victim? Hopefully The Killing will get back to that for the remaining batch of episodes, perhaps returning to Rosie's circle of friends for some answers. But even if it does, so much time has been wasted mid-season. And will the Richmond/Adams story reveal a tangible connection to the murder, or is that as disconnected from events as it's now come to feel?

I appreciate what The Killing's aspiring to be, I really do, but it's a handsome production that's giving us too many reasons why this protracted method of procedural storytelling isn't the norm. It's too reliant on formula to pull it through each episode, and has just undone a huge swathe of the ongoing storyline. Real police investigations undoubtedly encounter issues like a prime suspect being vindicated, but perhaps the slow pace of The Killing is what made it sting as a viewer. All that invested time rendered largely pointless? Wow. Credit to the writers for managing to logically explain Bennet's suspicious behaviour while keeping him innocent, but it's shame we don't appear to have learned anything from this storyline that'll be useful in finding Rosie's killer. And the coincidence that both Rosie and Aisha visited the Ahmed residence on the same night of their abductions is hard to swallow.

Has The Killing lost its patient audience thanks to a misguided storytelling tactic, or can it be rescued as the show approaches the finish-line? And knowing that AMC have renewed their remake for season 2 (owing to the early critical buzz and good ratings), is that going to look like a poor judgment of The Killing ends its inaugural run in the midst of an audience backlash?

written by Dan Nowak / directed by Agnieska Holland / 22 May 2011 / AMC

'THE KILLING' 1.8 - "Stonewalled"

The finale's a dot on the horizon, so I was very pleased with "Stonewalled", which was a more satisfying hour of The Killing than we've had in weeks. The investigation was beginning to turn stale but this refreshed things with the FBI's introduction and unforeseen terrorism angle. Meanwhile, characters like Richmond (Billy Campbell) and Linden (Mireille Enos) finally started to look passionate about their situations as the gloves came off. Linden's demeanor is still too glacial for my taste, but "Stonewalled" definitely forced Enos to show different facets to her introverted sleuth.

Overview:

• Linden and Holder (Joel Kinnaman) found themselves caught in the middle of a counter-terrorism operation with the FBI, after breaking into the meat market's locked room. Both were hauled away when their identities were confirmed, but only after Linden noticed a makeshift sleeping area containing a pink top marked "Grand Canyon". Despite the need to investigate further, as this could be the place Rosie Larsen was kept for a few days before being killed, Linden's boss Oakes (Garry Chalk) bowed to federal authority.
• On Regi's houseboat, Linden was e-mailed case files of the Larsen case, which were later found and distributed by her son Jack (Liam James), our of anger for his mother's apparent reluctance to leave Seattle for California. Unfortunately, the graphic crime scene photos found their way to the media and a TV news report aired that disturbed Mitch Larsen (Michelle Forbes.)
• Mitch showed signs of mental stress, after she volunteered to help Stan (Brent Sexton) by taking their sons to school, only to become distracted and accidentally leave them alone inside a car parked in their garage that's filling with exhaust fumes. Fortunately, her sister Terry arrived and prevented another tragedy, before warning Stan that his wife's behaviour is becoming erratic.
• Richmond decided to fight Mayor Adams over the closure of the All-Star programme, with Jamie suggesting they hire a P.I to dig up dirt on their rival. Richmond agreed, but refused to condone personal attacks. However, after Jamie went to see millionaire supporter Tom Drexler (Patrick Gilmore) at a MMA cage-fight, he was given damaging personal information to use against Adams.
• Linden became suspicious of Holder after noticing him passing an envelope to a man in a car, so followed him to a rundown part of town--only to realize he's attending a Narcotic's Anonymous and the mysterious man is just his sponsor, Gil.
• Bennet Ahmed (Brandon Jay McLaren) was suspended from school by Principal Meyers (Kerry Sandomirsky) who doesn't think it's in the school's best interest if he comes to work.
• The cagey FBI confirmed that their terrorist suspect, "Muhammad H", has been making multiple border crossings. They also found maps and fake passports at the meat market hideout, but aren't keen to open the investigation up to the Seattle P.D.
• Linden managed to take a photo of the pink top the FBI have taken into evidence, and later confirmed with Mitch that it belonged to Rosie--thus proving she was taken to the meat market by her kidnapper.
• Richmond attended the parole hearing of Debbie Cantwell, the woman who killed his wife Lily. Debbie begged to be forgiven. Richmond vented his frustrations by punching a mirror in the men's toilet, then rang Gwen to give her permission to use Drexler's dirt on Adams. A story about Adams paying rent for his pregnant 19-year-old intern Janelle Stevens (Leanna Lapp) hit the airwaves soon after.
• Mitch discovered that Stan has cleared out Rosie's room, claiming they need to "focus on the future". They argued, blaming each other for Rosie's grisly fate (Stan let their daughter stay home on the weekend she was taken, Mitch was so strict that Rosie hid things from them.)
• Holder revealed to Linden that he's placed a wire-tap on Bennet's phone, moments before Bennet made an anxious call to Muhammad (mostly in Somali, but including the English words "the passports will be arriving tomorrow, then this will all be over")--overheard by pregnant wife Amber (Ashley Johnson.)

Suspects:

• "Muhammad H" is definitely the new prime suspect at this point. We already know he invited Rosie into the Ahmed residence on the Friday she disappeared, but now it's almost certain she spent a few days in the meat market the FBI are focused on as a terrorist lair. This new terrorism angle is interesting, though. Is it a separate issue with coincidental overlap with the murder case, or was Rosie in the process of being radicalized by Muhammad and Bennet? If so, did she have second thoughts which resulted in her having to be killed in case she told the authorities? And what's with Muhammad's border crossings? Do you think that's terrorism related, or is the issue perhaps about child trafficking?
• Bennet Ahmed. It's less likely he was directly responsible for killing Rosie, but is he involved with terrorism? Or is his friend Muhammad just someone he's trying to protect? If so, why? And what isn't he telling the police? Does he know Rosie was kept in the meat market over that weekend?
• Still no sign of the mysterious woman seen loading a body into a black car with, assumedly, Muhammad, from the Ahmed residence. Is she known by Bennet?
• I'm going to throw Tom Drexler's name into the ting. C'mon, a playboy multi-millionaire who has everyone dancing to his tune, with a surname of Drexler? That's a villain right there. Why show him enjoying a brutal cage-fight in this episode? Mind you, I can't think of a motive yet--especially as he's helping Richmond become mayor and Rosie was killed inside a Richmond campaign car. Am I barking up the wrong tree here? Is Drexler simply a character who exists to push the story forward because he has money and influence?

Summation:

"Stonewalled" was a very good episode because the plots thickened nicely, and it was great to see Linden resolve her suspicions of Holder and finally appear determined to solve this case. By introducing the FBI, it gives Linden and Holder a new obstacle to overcome, which only adds to the investigative drama itself. I'm a little worried about the terrorism angle, however, because preying on that fear is a common and obvious direction to take with Muslim characters. I'm also more interested to see the direction Richmond goes in now, as this was the first time he sacrificed his principles to win a battle in the mayoral election. Is the political boy scout on a downward slope now, becoming no better than the man wants to replace, or was that an unfortunate blip because he was looking for a way to vent his anger over his wife's killer's parole? Speaking of whom, I wasn't expecting that character to be so disarming and, frankly, someone who seems to deserve forgiveness!

This was an episode that replenished my enthusiasm for The Killing, to some extent. If nothing else, we're so close to the finish I can't deny I'm really keen to find out who killed Rosie Larsen. I only hope the case does reach a conclusion in season 1, without asking audiences to come back next year for a second half. I have a suspicion that may be too much to ask for most people who are only just hanging in because of the deliberate pace.

Asides:

• How long have the FBI known about the meat market? And who gave Linden the anonymous note with the meat market's address? That person surely knows there's a link between the building's use as a terrorist den and Rosie's murder. Do you think the note-giver is the woman who was seen helping move Rosie's body, and is now suffering a crisis of conscience?
• Without giving anything away, did a terrorism angle play a part in the Danish original? Was the equivalent character for Bennet Ahmed a Muslim? Or is all this the invention of the US remake, to play on post-9/11 fears?
• I quite liked the scene where Holder recounts to the N.A group his story of using his nephew's prized gold coin to sell for drug money, but it was also very clichéd. The fact Holder's subsidiary mystery has been removed in a rather low-key way was also a slight disappointment. That said, hopefully it means Linden and Holder's tension will relax and they'll become a more compelling duo.
• I think it's worth remembering that Rosie was kidnapped, kept alive for a few days, then murdered by locking her in a car to drown. That's a particularly cruel way to kill someone, when there are much easier alternatives. Doesn't that suggest someone who has a deep hatred of young girls? Or someone who wanted to send a message to Richmond, whose stolen campaign car was used?
• The serial killer theory hasn't amounted to much since it was suggested, but I'm surprised Linden hasn't linked anything to a similar case from the city's past. Someone who kidnaps young girls, possibly a Muslim, and likes to drown them alive--worth a database search?
• Rosie's butterfly collage was seen again, rebuilt by Mitch on her daughter's wall. I'd forgotten about the butterfly connection (they also featured in Rosie's super 8 student video, remember?) Does anyone else suspect a key part of the mystery is contained in that collage?

written by Dan Nowak / directed by Agnieska Holland / 15 May 2011 / AMC