If I could talk directly to the characters, I'd have some things to say:
For Detective Linden:
I know Bennet is looking guilty [of something], and I know an eyeball witness will give you your all-important probable cause for a search warrant. But really, girlfriend, you cannot trust Mr. Astronomer—who, if you had pressed, would have admitted alien abduction next. FYI, you can't track ultraviolet emissions and radio waves with a telescope, and "gamma-rads" don't exist! This means everything he claims to have seen from his second-story perch is suspect, including two people removing a body from the Ahmeds' apartment.
Did you not notice the big belly on Amber? Do you really think Bennet would have let his very pregnant wife help carry a dead body? Doesn't he seem capable of doing heavy lifting himself?
The audience has eavesdropped on the Ahmeds' lives, and we've watched them happily preparing for their baby girl, not agonizing over their bad decisions last Friday night, not paranoid about when the cops are going to break down the door and haul them off to jail.
We did get to see Amber crouched in a corner, a hammar in hand, while you banged outside on the apartment door. I don't think that hammer is the weapon used to subdue Rosie; I think we just have a scared pregnant girl trying to protect her dreams of a happy future—the one she had before you cops started jumping to conclusions after listening to the wacky, racist neighbor.
We need to see some more of your long, thoughtful pauses. We all know you're not going to Sonoma. Stop letting your departure flight rush your decision making!
For Councilman Richmond:
Your campaign seems to have imploded. I know everyone is going to blame your loyalty to Bennet, which, let's face it, was politically naive. But I was really proud of you. You know first-hand how forces outside of your control can ruin happiness. I'm glad that you didn't unleash the power of your position on poor Bennet.
I can't believe the campaign storyline is over. To resurrect your chances of winning, we need to learn that the mayor [or someone in his camp] killed Rosie.
Mr. Astronomer claimed to have seen someone "kind of like" Linden dump a body into a car. Let's say the body dump did happen. Linden assumed someone "kind of like" her meant a woman, so she jumped to Bennet's wife. But Mr. Astronomer might have meant someone light haired. Gwen is blond, isn't she? You have been resisting a full commitment to her all season. Obviously, you have trust issues with the woman. Did the cops ever confirm that she was with you on Friday night, or did they just take her word for it as proof of your alibi? Of course, Jamie is blond too. And Nathan has light hair. That Nathan, I still don't like him.
Someone "kind of like" Linden might have meant someone not yet probed aboard an alien spaceship, in which case every sane person is back on the suspect list.
To Papa Bear Stan
Have you seen a doctor lately? You're a big guy. I think I can safely assume that salads and steamed vegetables don't make up the majority of your diet. Did the doc prescribe cholesterol-lowering medicine? Are you good about taking it? I can't watch you throw around any more heavy metal boxes. I was so worried that you were going to stroke out or collapse, your hands clutching your heart. Be careful about that.
Now, let's talk about the teacher. Think for a minute! You're going to off someone based on hearsay from a groundskeeper? A friend of Belko, who has already demonstrated his own racial prejudices? You have indicated that you don't harbor the same bad feelings about the Somalis in the city. Please! Pull off the road! Tell the teacher that you got lost in your own head for a moment and missed the exit. He'll believe you, considering the circumstances. Take him home. Living with the guilt of killing an innocent man will make you miserable; you'll have committed the same crime that took Rosie away from your family. If the teacher is guilty, let the cops and court mete out the punishment.
To Bennet Ahmed
Are you aware that you're just a character on a television show? That fact gives you an advantage. As you are the only significant character of color on The Killing, I can't imagine that the writers will make you Rosie's murderer. It would be too politically incorrect. I want you to be innocent because you've impressed me in the classroom and with the Seattle All-Stars. But I think your biggest advantage is that we're going to need a Caucasian to have committed the crime.
I love good music closing a television episode, and I found Neko Case's "
Hold On, Hold On" an especially moving song for last week's episode. Of course the even bigger question is why Jasper's father sent Terry into that drunken tailspin.
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