The Killing, Season One

Why didn’t anyone warn me about this show?

Don’t start watching The Killing unless you’re willing to put in the time to finish the entire thing in one sitting. Because it’s really addicting.

And in case you’re thinking you can get away with just watching one season at a time: The murder is not resolved at the end of the first season. The story just keeps right on going into the second season.

I’m writing this paragraph to avoid spoilers, but my full thoughts are way down below: I had an idea of who the murderer might be after four or five episodes, based on my award-winning strategy of “picking the least plausible person it could possibly be.” Through the whole first season I was more and more convinced I was going to be right, because they never showed anything that directly refuted my theory. Once, it was close, but I can think of a way to explain it. At least until they arrested that dude in the last episode of season one. But then some evidence surfaced that made me think my theory could still be plausible, so I’m sticking with it as I start watching season two.

In many ways, The Killing is a stereotypical cop show. It’s got the cop obsessed with finding the murderer at the expense of her family. It’s got the victim’s family coping with the loss of their daughter and the morbid depictions of how a victim’s body gets back to the family after the crime. It’s got the cop who went too far undercover and got hooked on drugs. It’s got the crusty police lieutenants. It’s got the city hall with their political agendas that are more important than the truth.

But somehow it’s still a compelling show.

Possible spoiler coming up below! Or at least, a spoiler for who I think the murderer is.

[spoiler]I thought it was Rosie’s mom. Because she didn’t call her daughter for the entire weekend. And she was acting extremely guilty all season. But when she found that pink shirt in the wash late in the season, it seemed like proof that I was wrong. But it could be that she was surprised because her plan to conveniently get her husband to take care of Ahmed fell apart. Then everything pointed to Richmond. But when it turned out that the toll bridge photo was fake, my theory about the mom was resurrected. And she left, which is odd. At the very least, I think she’s involved somehow. She must have known that Rosie was dead and that calling her would be pointless.[/spoiler]