“The Killing” debuted on AMC last spring with one of the better pilot episodes in recent memory: It introduced a investigation, gave us a grisly murder, and provided plenty of potential suspects. Then the police officers — played deftly by Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman — began slowly, meticulously developing the case. It was exciting. Critics began mentioning it in the same sentence as “The Wire,” even if it was to say, “It’s not as good as ‘The Wire,’ but … ”
It was the anti-procedural. One case. 12 episodes. Multiple dead ends. Lots and lots of rain. We had no idea where it would take us, but the one thing we knew for certain was that, by the end of the season, we’d know who killed Rosie Larsen. And we were thankful, because by the 7th episode, we were exhausted: The dead ends were growing tiresome. The glacial pacing began to test our patience. By the 10th episode, watching “The Killing” became a chore, something we endured to get to the prize in the end. We’d invested so much already, what’s two or three more episodes, right? We’d find out who the killer was, and we’d quit.
And then the finale came, and we were like, FINALLY. And then it aired. And then the killer was not revealed. And then the Internet exploded with anger and bile and hatred and frustration. And Veena Sud, the showrunner, was all like, “We never promised you the killer’s identity by the end of the season,” and then she stuck out her tongue and went, “Na na na na.”
The Internet was all like, “F**k you, lady. You strung us along, and then you screwed us over.” And then Sud was all like, “OK. Fine. We’ll reveal the killer early in the second season, and then we’ll start on a new case.” And 60 percent of the viewers were like, “Screw that. I’m out.” And the other 40 percent were like, “OK. Fine. We’ll stick it out for three or four more episodes, because WE HAVE TO KNOW, and then we’re out, too.”
Cut to nine months later, and now Veena Sud is all like, “Remember when I said we’d solve the case early on in the second season? Well, I was kind of talking out of my ass. What I meant to say was: We’ll solve the case by the end of season two. Because we need to take a few more detours and go off in a few more tangents because that’s like life, man.”
And then the Internet was like, “You can go straight to hell, lady. Shove Rosie Larsen’s murder investigation right up your ass.”
Then AMC was all like, “Ummm. No comment. But look over here, Christina Hendricks’ boobs will be back in March! You still love us, right?”
(Source: EW)
![[avatar]](http://p.uproxxcdn.com/photo/4006/thumb)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/pete-150x150.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/MM_608_JA_0205_0034a-150x150.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/a_560x375-150x150.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/378267_509181035812548_2064978860_n-150x150.png)
Glad I never started into this crap.
I checked out around Episode 4, followed the growing hatred online, then checked back in for the finale. Someone oughta punch Veena Sud in the girl-nards.
Girls got nards? GIRLS GOT NARDS!
AMC is slowly killing the reputation they garnered in my household from Mad Men and Breaking Bad (and the first episode of Walking Dead) with The Killing, Hell on Wheels and the rest of Walking Dead.
Back when they still dealt in movies they paid for the rights to air Catwoman. They’re not perfect.
Said this before, but AMC really damaged its brand in 2011. They had a public fight with the creator of its best-known show that resulted in said show (Mad Men) not making it to air in 2011, managed to turn a well-received series (The Killing) into something that hated more than Jerry Sandusky, unceremoniously fired the showrunner of their most popular series (Walking Dead) over money, then decided to take the worst part of Lost (WALLLLLLLT!) and develop a season-long arc around it complete with shitty characters and worse writing.
Outside of Breaking Bad, AMC was a dumpster fire last year.
Two Words: Persons Unknown. Fuck that show.
oh man…that ending sucked.
Christina Hendricks boobs will not make the Killing any easier to watch.
But they are awfully nice to look at.
I’ve never heard of this show.
Well, I happen to like both Hell on Wheels and the Walking Dead. So I do not hate AMC. I did watch the whole season of The Killing however, and yes, she can go straight to hell.
I gave up on “The Killing” halfway then watched the last 10 minutes of the finale to see who did the murder. Jesus titty-fucking Christ. Show had a chance to be good.
That’s what happens when you have a woman writing a show about drama.
There wouldn’t be as much outrage about the show if the producer (I forget which one) didn’t announce BEFORE THE SHOW DEBUTED that this wouldn’t be like Twin Peaks and we would know the identity of the killer by the season finale.
Later I read that the finale hadn’t even been written by the time the premiere debuted. If you really want some justified anger, think about that for a minute.
I’d like to see a link to that, because the only thing the entire Internet has been going on this whole time is the tagline ‘Who killed Rosie Larson?’ I don’t see any promises in there about anything.
Even so, TV has lied to us before. So who cares?
Maybe the angriest I’ve ever been at a tv show was the final episode of The Killing, and not even for the non-reveal of the killer. The Holder character was being set up as such a likable anti-hero and in one stupid scene, they ruined his entire character arc and turned the best guy on the show into a villain. F this show.
This. Oh, so much this.
I don’t recall the specifics of it (he tampered with toll-booth eye-witness accounts or something), but I don’t believe his twist can even be explained away as a “I’m going undercover to find the real killer, yo” double-twist next season.
I think it’s certainly possible that we find out he’s not a villain and was either being lied to or blackmailed into doing what we saw at the end of the season. Don’t be so quick to jump to conclusions on this one.
Holder actually was a creep, not an anti-hero. There was a lot more under the surface. That scene where he was getting info from those two teenage girls, talkin’ about partying and whatnot. You think he didn’t have practice doing that?
I think Holder was the best character on the show, too, but I he’s still a weasel.
I like so many of the actors on The Killing and thought they all did really well, I didn’t mind the pacing and especially liked how the grief of the family was portrayed, but that finale made me want to punch a puppy.
I ended up not even mad at the final episode. It felt so much like all of the other recent episodes that it didn’t even feel like a finale.
By the end of this article I was hoping to be able to tell my wife when The Killing’s second season started. But I kept reading and you kept not telling me. Still, I kept reading. By the end? No premiere date for The Killing Season 2.
You’re the Veena Sud of bloggers.
What Tim said, I’ve been trying to figure out the date for my girlfriend ever since your post about premiers a few weeks ago!
Admittedly, I’ll keep watching this show. Unless they keep up this weekly red herring bullshit and pointless B story about Mireille Enos’ wiener son. Then I’m just going to start writing “Big Love” crime drama fan-fiction where polygamist Kathy totes a gun and hunts down sinners.
The only way I’d watch the Killing is if it were projected onto Christina Hendricks’ boobs.
If you want to watch a show that investigates the death of an attractive teenage girl, just watch Twin Peaks on Netflix instant.
They even stole the “Who killed ______?” tag line from Twin Peaks. What a fucking bunch of douchesuckers.
Why yes. I heart boobs. I can’t stay made at you, AMC. C’mere and put ‘em on the glass.
Fuck this show and fuck AMC. Watched every episode of last season and will watch ZERO episodes of next season. How is it that this bitch gets a check from AMC and they fired Frank Darabont? Fuck you AMC.
I liked a good amount of the show but hated how most weeks it was “This guy totally look like he’s the killer” and then the next episode would start off with “This is why the guy isn’t the killer” and then you’d move onto another random suspect.
The show would have possibly benefited from doing one case per season. Next season another brutal murder. I mean, how long can this show really last with them chasing one killer?
Yes, I think they shot themselves in the foot with not solving the murder the first season because now it’s either gonna be “we reveal him after 2 seaons” or “we keep this shit up as long we get renewed” and both is stupid cause with the former you’re gonna wonder if every crime is gonna last 2 seasons now and the latter simply no one will watch.
fuck “The Killing”, give me back my “Rubicon” god dammit.
All the people that watched AMC in 2011
- the handful of nerds on the Internet that can’t handle a drama that doesn’t follow the rules of every other crime show on TV
= still huge ratings for AMC. They don’t care about you, clearly, so go watch SVU. Perhaps TVLand has some Dragnet reruns you can get into.
The Killing wasn’t perfect but I was on the edge of my seat each week specifically because I didn’t know what to expect or where it was going and it didn’t do what my my TV-programmed mind expected it to do. It’s a drama with a crime at the center. At this point I don’t give two shits about who killed Rosie. In fact, once they solve that there will be no reason to keep Brent Sexton around, which is a shame.
If you don’t mind subtitles (or if you speak Danish) check out the original Danish version – “Forbrydelsen”. It wraps up nicely at the end of the season.
i live in the UK & I cannot stress this enough i have just watched the end of the season of what they call the killing, but after watching the first episode I realised it had nothing but a few titbits on the unbelievably hugely enjoyed original. they took a storyline & then made things up as they went along. it was almost laughable. I do not wish the writer of american version ill. but Dear god please stop writing period! why do people persist in bad remakes Girl with dragon tattoo anyone. its like the audience cant read subtitles so lets do it our way. please.