The Killing :: First Thoughts :: Night 4

Product (Re)Placement

The Killing has done an excellent job inserting me into the world of Rosie's death—until "Super 8." As much as I hate to see television characters promoting products, I also dislike when fictional brands with clever names distract me from the story. Bits'n'Pieces, the cereal atop the Larsens' refrigerator, first got the Kibbles 'n Bits chant running through my head; I wondered why the writers would use dog food as inspiration for a breakfast item. Then, as Mitch was grocery shopping in the cereal aisle, I thought, "Oh, I get it! The Larsens are in bits and pieces as a result of this family upheaval! Or wait! We are getting clues about the murder in bits and pieces! How clever! Now what clue is 'Fruit Zooms' providing that I'm missing?" Eventually, I realized that Mitch and the councilman—where had he come from?—were having an important conversation full of character insight, and I had to back up the episode to catch it all. I want to stay in the story, not have clever details detour me into my own head.

Stan's Head

I once had a colleague who spent a long vacation riding cross country on a 10-speed. He was hit and killed in New Mexico. When we got news of his death, someone said, "Thank god Bob finished X before he left." Now X was indeed important, and only Bob could have completed it successfully, but the comment indicated that Bob's contribution to X was more important than his life. This experience taught me that death doesn't necessarily inspire noble thoughts in the still-living.

When Stan has his meltdown in the bathroom, we see a father's anguish for his dead daughter. But we don't hear what he is thinking. At first, we imagine that "Oh, my poor Rosie" is reverberating in his head. But we watched Stan's business and finances suffer in this episode, and I can't help wonder if "That girl has ruined everything!" or "The children were Mitch's responsibility. Why didn't she keep Rosie safe?" is spinning around in there too. I'm worried that Papa Bear is about to blow, and I don't want to learn that he smacks his wife or children. Mitch did allude to a temper in the first episode.

Let's Ride It Again!

Professional reviewers have begun commenting on the repetitive nature of a weekly suspect dismissed by night's end, but these red herrings don't bother me at all. A who-done-it is formulaic, as is a haiku or sonnet, a Big Mac or roller coaster. We enjoy gauging how successfully the writer, grill cook, or engineer has worked within the constraints. On a roller coaster, for example, I know that once the steep ascent begins—clack, clack, clack, clack, clack—a long, stomach-flipping fall will follow. When I am watching The Killing, the climb to a new suspect fills me with the same anticipation, and the swift twists and turns to his eventual alibi leave me exhilarated. What happens at the end of a roller coaster ride? The same thing that happens at the end of a Killing episode. I want to get on again.

I do hope that Bennett Ahmed [Brandon Jay McLaren], Rosie's English teacher and the new prime suspect, is a quick ride. I get so tired of the inaccurate depictions of teachers—either selfless saviors or slimy seducers. Bennett has brought a realism to the profession: He's not full of flamboyant stunts. He's not unpocketing his secret cool to impress the Jaspers in the room. He's not a burnout oblivious to the spark of potential that he sees in young people. He had the professionalism to start dating the student he married after she had graduated. If he turns out to be Rosie's murderer—or worse yet, a serial killer who dumps bodies in stolen cars—I am going to be really disappointed.