Previously on AMC‘s The Killing, as we are told at the beginning of every episode, we found out what could be a massive revelation in the case of the murder of Rosie Larsen. It was discovered that her teacher, Bennet Ahmed, was involved in a romantic relationship with the deceased and constantly wrote love letters. They also met up during school hours in a real crummy part of Seattle, the last stop on the bus journey she took, ironically. The plot does indeed thicken this week and things begin to come together, as Linden and Holder attempt to bring up a case against the philandering Bennet in this consistently gripping drama.
This is no doubt the weakest of the episodes so far, it is very middling and nothing actually happens, however the details of what you see in the episode will have massive repercussions further down the line. The teacher by the end remains the main suspect, the investigative work done turns up a bunch of information that could seriously indict him later on. The fact he’s married to one of his former students is the leading piece. As well as the fact that the chemicals found in Rosie’s body are matched with those found in Bennet’s house. There is clearly something wrong with this guy, and next week we’ll hopefully know more.
Linden and Holder uncover a Super 8 film from Bennet which belongs to Rosie but is photographed by someone else. Suddenly Holder becomes committed to pinning the crime on Bennet but his twitchy and rather threatening behaviour is nothing compared to the obsessiveness of Linden. She believes she is missing something within the film and her husband warns her again of getting too involved. Clearly there is something that has caught up with her before and her workaholic tendencies are already beginning to show a corrosive effect on her family life.
This week also manages to tie in the Darren Richmond/election storyline with the murder and does so fairly well. Of course there is also something suspicious behind the motivations of Richmond himself, but this week however it is his campaign managers and behind the scenes PR people who become more suspect than the candidate himself. In this episode, Richmond becomes more of a puppet for Gwen who demands he gets closer to the Larsen family in order to build bridges with the public to make him look less guilty. But in the end is this only fulfilling something Gwen wants?
This episode also reveals who leaked the information to the press, undercover Jamie tells us the leak is the director of communications Ruth Yitanes. The ballsy, press agent who is trying to build up Richmond’s image. However relationships fray as Ruth in a moment of confrontation reveals that Gwen was also being investigated by Richmond. Interesting if he can’t trust the woman he’s sleeping with, who can he trust? Could it be me or is there conspiracy brewing in the corridors of power?
The scene in question comes towards the end of the episode, where Richmond just so happens to be in the same supermarket store as Mitch Larsen. In a very tender scene the two find something in common, the feeling having lost someone they hold dear to them. Bill Campbell, who plays Richmond, is terrific in the role. The guy looks to be holding the weight of the world on his shoulders, rather than a suspect. However the plot does indeed thicken when the closing montage reveals that Richmond does know Bennet and Bennet’s basketball team is publicly endorsed by the mayoral candidate, as revealed in a very friendly TV spot shoot.
As the funeral date comes closer, the Larsen’s grief reaches to a tipping point. Mitch and Stan have almost rejected their responsibilities as parents, they have ignored the two young boys and are treating them oddly. They are left ultimately to fend for themselves. Mitch’s emotional state makes her unfit a carer or child minder is brought in, while Stan is being pushed by his closest friend Belko to do some off the record meddling, which he succumbs too.
Having seen the original series, I like how closed they’re being about revealing the killer, they have left many subtle hints towards the perpetrator but not flagged it up. That in itself is to be commended, this week they have made it a tad more obvious but that is bound to happen when a character is brought into the story more prominently. However if you have no prior knowledge, I could imagine this is still a gripping and powerful piece of television.