If last week's double instalment of The Killing kicked us in the guts and demanded our attention, last night's part three - titled 'El Diablo' - took a more gentle approach, wooing us with titbits and clues and slowly unravelling the many characters, their back-stories and their dynamics.
The burning question of 'who killed Rosie?' made plenty of progress as details about what went on in the gruesome 'Cage' were discovered. The despicable school kid and Rosie's ex-lover Jasper and his equally cretinous pal Kris made a sex tape in the dingy den. The girl involved? It appears to be Rosie. It's only ep three, so probably not best to call off the search for the real killer just yet, though.
Back in the Larsen household, things are getting pretty dark. Stan is doing lots of brooding. Brooding at work. Brooding over dinner. Brooding over chocolate chip pancakes. He looks like he's going to burst out of his dungarees at any moment and it's all going to kick off. Meanwhile, Mitch is dealing with things even more badly, re-listening to Rosie's answer machine message on loop and attempting to drown herself in the bath. Bleak doesn't even start to cover it.
Another family (of sorts) in a state of turmoil is the political trio of Richmond, his bit on the side Gwen and his sneaky PR man Jamie. Richmond's campaign has gone to the dogs due to his connections with the murder investigation. He's also been forced to play dirty and do backhand deals to win back the support of the unions. Although, suspiciously, he didn't take much persuasion to enter the world of gutter politics.
By the end of the episode, Jamie has been thrown off the campaign. Richmond's investigations have revealed him to be the mole in their camp, leaking info left, right and centre. Jamie has flat out denied the accusations and the smug look on Gwen's face during their big bust up would suggest that he may not be lying. He's a little sewer rat spin doctor is Jamie, but he strikes us a loyal sewer rat.
Linden and Holder's smouldering good cop and twitchy bad cop double act remains the most enthralling part of the show. Linden's disregard for Holder's talents and methods, and Holder's disregard for everything Linden sounds like a pretty stereotypical TV police partnership arrangement on paper. But both actors bring something fresh and original to the show, shifting it way beyond your bog-standard procedural. Whenever they're on screen together, the dialogue is whiplashed into shape and the whole programme ratchets up a few gears. So let's hope their investigations haven't finished just yet.
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Favourite Quotes
- Linden: "Let go of the idea that you have some sort of BS detector." Holder: "How do you know I don't have one of those?" Linden: "Because you dress like Justin Bieber and eat pork rinds for dinner."
- Holder: "Who do you think is getting hooked on crack these days? Housewives and cheerleaders."
- Richmond: "No flowers. Flowers die."
Did you notice?
- The dropped glass. Was Mitch just shaken by her daughter's death or did Linden's questions remind her something?
- The looks between Gwen and Jamie. Jamie's rant at Richmond and Gwen ("You're letting sex cloud your judgement. Screw you. Screw both of you.") encapsulated the feelings his dagger eyes had been giving.
- We know it was from the "And next time...", but what has Stan got lurking in his past? His "I don't do that anymore" line has us hooked.
