The Killing Adds to the Quality Reputation of AMC
In recent years, AMC has become the home of solid, character-driven dramas that develop at a slower pace than the fare found on network television. AMC has likewise been justly rewarded for such original content with Emmy recognition of shows like Breaking Bad and Mad Men, while the cable channel itself has been elevated from its early inception as a rerun movie channel to a destination for quality programming. The Killing, which premiered on AMC in April 2011, not only follows the blueprint of the dramas that came before it but adds to the channel’s reputation as well.
Based on the Danish television series Forbrydelsen, The Killing follows two Seattle police detectives as they investigate the murder of teenage girl Rosie Larsen. Each of the thirteen episodes takes place over the course of approximately one day in the investigation and slowly build to some sort of significant revelation or event at the end. This is no CSI or Hawaii Five-0, with the case quickly wrapped up within an hour, and many of the twists along the way turn out to be red herrings or false leads. This only adds to a realistic atmosphere for the series, however, and enables the action to advance at its own tempo.
And The Killing is indeed filled with atmosphere. The locale of the northern Washington city is portrayed with gray skies, steady rain and a sense of foreboding that gives the series a classic film noir quality. Metropolitan Seattle, meanwhile—with its Space Needle and skyscraper landscape—takes a backseat to the working-class neighborhoods that serve as the primary setting for The Killing. With mountains, lakes, darkened forests and gravel roads added to the mix, the AMC drama has quite a different aura from the big-city crime dramas found on other channels.
The Killing varies from traditional detective genre shows in ways other than pace and atmosphere, however, as the series focuses just as much—if not more so—on the impact on the lives of the many people connected to the life and death of Rosie Larsen than it does on the crime itself. The investigation into the murder thus shares screen time with the struggles of Rosie’s family to come to terms with the tragedy as well as those caught in the aftermath. All of the main characters likewise have “secrets” from their past that slowly bubble to the surface as the episodes roll along, making The Killing a psychological study on the impact of the internal demons that everyone faces in addition to being a first-rate crime drama.
Take Rosie Larsen’s family—who are a primary focus within the show’s storytelling structure—as an example. Mother Mitch Larsen (Michelle Forbes) and father Stanley Larsen (Brent Sexton) are more than mere caricatures of grieving parents. The pain experienced by the loss of a child is portrayed in dramatic-yet-subtle fashion by Forbes as her character Mitch is traumatized by the event. Bordering on lethargic, she refuses to let go of Rosie while neglecting her surviving two sons in the process. To compensate, Stan Larsen attempts to be both father and mother to the children but also must come to terms with his own lost dreams for his family. His shady background likewise adds to Stanley’s vigilante need for justice, despite the inevitable consequences of his actions.
Seattle city councilman Darren Richmond (Billy Campbell) is drawn into the narrative when Rosie’s body is found in the trunk of a car registered to his campaign for mayor. His incumbent opponent, meanwhile, is not above using the tragedy to his own advantage, leaving Richmond faced time-and-time again with the moral dilemma of standing up for his convictions or doing what is politically necessary to emerge victorious in the coming election. The differing styles of the two politicians are fully brought to the surface when the lead suspect in the Rosie Larsen murder investigation is a Muslim high school teacher and volunteer for an inner city community group that Richmond champions. The city councilman adheres to the principle that one is “innocent until proven guilty” while the current mayor fuels the seeds of racism in his quest to remain in office.
While a fair amount of screen time is given to both family and politics, the bulk of the narrative centers on the two Seattle police detectives assigned to the case, Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) and Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman). The body of Rosie Larsen is discovered on what was supposed to be Linden’s last day in Seattle—she was set to move to California with her own teenage son and fiancé—while Holder had just been assigned to homicide after working undercover in narcotics. When Linden is forced to stay until the murder investigation is resolved, the two form a partnership not entirely built upon trust. Linden, for instance, believes Holder’s tough exterior is inappropriate for the homicide division, while Holder feels reduced to performing thankless tasks as Linden takes the lead in the investigation.
In the eleventh episode of The Killing, entitled “Missing,” it becomes clear that the two have actually formed a bond despite their different backgrounds and life philosophies. It is also a watershed installment of the series as the murder investigation is reduced to mere bookends as the episode exclusively centers on Sarah Linden’s missing son and the budding, albeit reluctant, friendship forming between her and Stephen Holder. “Missing” is a testament to the narrative technique chosen by the creators of using the death of Rosie Larsen to explore human nature and emotions over forensic-style crime solving—despite the lack of progress in the investigation, the episode is gripping nonetheless and one of the best of the series.
As for the actual murder of Rosie Larsen, The Killing is filled with plot leads and potential suspects that turn out to be nothing more than dead-ends. While traditional network crime dramas are likewise filled with such red herrings, they normally dispense with these sub-plots within ten minutes of being introduced. The Killing, meanwhile, contains entire episodes of misdirection, no doubt reflecting the actual time-consuming process of elimination that police forces around the nation utilize in real murder investigations. In the case of Rosie Larsen, Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder are drawn into a world of teenage sex tapes, political intrigue, a suspected terrorist organization, former mob enforcers and a Native American casino resort. Not all of those encounters turn out to be directly related to the crime, but that does not reduce them to meaningless filler either.
According to IGN, series showrunner Veena Sud described The Killing as “slow-burn storytelling in a sense that every moment that we don’t have to prettify or gloss over or make something necessarily easy to digest, that we’re able to go to all sorts of places that are honest, and dark, and beautiful and tragic—in a way that is how a story should be told.” The Killing may not be CSI or Hawaii Five-0, but it is an “honest, dark, beautiful and tragic” piece of television nonetheless. The investigative duo of Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder, meanwhile, may not be Steve McGarrett and Danny “Dano” Williams but they are also flawed heroes worthy of sharing the AMC stage with Don Draper of Mad Men, Walter White of Breaking Bad and Will Travers of Rubicon.
And when it comes to quality television, there is no greater honor than that.
Anthony Letizia (June 9, 2011)
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