When Will We Learn?
How often has The Killing fooled us because we so willingly embrace stereotypes? Last season, we jumped on Jasper as Rosie's killer because, well, all wealthy young people are sexually depraved. Doesn't everyone remember the Paris Hilton sex tape? Then we jumped on Bennet, the high school English teacher, because, hey, all public school employees are perverts preying on our children. Didn't an LA teacher just get arrested for feeding semen-glazed cookies to his elementary students? Next, we jumped on Councilman Richmond because, you know, all politicians are promiscuous sleazebags who operate above the law. We can just ignore the thousands of elected officials who do their jobs without becoming household names for inappropriate acts. And at the end of the first season, when we overheard Holder thanking the mysterious stranger for the photo, we jumped to the wrong conclusion about our lovable detective because, gosh, all junkies are untrustworthy—that's why we don't want that rehab facility built in our neighborhood.
But then the writers cleared all these men of the suspicions we harbored. We learned, after that vicious slap from Mr. Ames, that Jasper was himself a victim, not the victimizer. And we discovered that Bennet was operating from high moral [if not legal] principles as he hustled a living girl out of his apartment the night Rosie died. Councilman Richmond might have bought himself a hooker, but he is, we remember, unmarried, and when the news breaks, he won't have to ask a wife to make that stand-by-her-man appearance beside the confessional podium as he apologizes to his constituents for the indiscretion. And Holder, we find out, was just an unsuspecting go-between, not entrenched in the conspiracy to discredit the councilman.
So in this new season, the writers are going after the girls. We are still convinced that Rosie is a prostitute because, c'mon, all teenage girls are sluts. And now we've watched mother Mitch bed a textbook rep to reinforce the idea that apple Rosie hasn't fallen far from the family tree. [Well, we didn't actually watch the sex happen, and we should have learned from previous episodes not to trust what we don't see, but there was the more relaxed drag on the cigarette as she stares out at the motel pool ...]
Are we going to fall for these stereotypes too? I am absolutely convinced that Rosie was not a prostitute. Did we see her profile getting erased at the end of "Numb"? No. I also don't think that Kovarsky lied to Stan. I do believe that Kovarsky burned down the shoe store and destroyed the evidence of Beau Soleil's existence. You hire the mob for that kind of job! I'm sure that the councilman wasn't the only high-profile member of Seattle society who would have frequented the service but wouldn't want that fact revealed—and would have the money to disappear the business. But I am also sure that Kovarsky shared the truth with Stan and didn't, despite his high ranking this week on the Suspect Tracker, kill Rosie.
Veena Sud identifies with Rosie! So Ms. Sud is not going to have had our murder victim sneaking off to earn extra cash hooking so that the girl could buy more butterfly stickers! Something else got Rosie in trouble.
Off the Path
Since this episode began with Mitch's first glance of Little Red Riding Pants hitchhiking on the side of the road [way off the route her mother would have advised], let's take a detour ourselves from some common assumptions.
We assume that the box Mitch has brought with her is Rosie's, but is it? Rosie liked her possessions pink and emblazoned with butterflies. Could that box belong to Terry instead? Does its travel motif have any connection to the shirt Terry was wearing in "Numb," the one sporting the names of major world cities? Did Mitch discover why Rosie was depositing money into Terry's account?
Or does the box belong to Mitch herself? Has Rosie's death reawakened a life that Mitch could have had if she hadn't gotten pregnant with Rosie? Does Little Red Riding Pants remind Mitch not of Rosie but of herself at that age?
And what about that tattoo? We're not getting another pink Grand Canyon T-shirt confusion, are we? Apparently, Ogi Jun is a Killing creation. So how popular is the character in this fictionalized Seattle? Is he the tattoo to have? Is Stan's beefy moving guy [Rosie's type?] just one of many men getting inked with this character?
Special Message to Gwen
We expect you to board a plane to DC about as much as we expected Linden ever to make her flight to California. You now know that Darren didn't kill Rosie. Maybe he can explain the Beau Soleil account. Give him a chance! You had five pictures in the Season 2 cast gallery, so we know that we're not going to lose you this soon into the new season!
Special Message to Det. Holder
Look, your partner is going to need your help to solve this crime. You're a smart guy. We all cheered when you handed off the wrong book bag to the evidence lab. But as you and Linden get closer to the truth, the enemy will want to take you out, and there's no better way than to have you arrested for drug possession. So please throw out the meth you stashed in the car astray! I'm begging you!
Special Message to Councilman Richmond
I just discovered a new photo of you in the cast gallery. And in this one you're standing! Look, I don't want anyone to remain paralyzed. But I loved the realistic way the writers handled your denial of your condition in "Numb": how a hot nurse handling your penis during the catheter change didn't register, how you "felt" the doctor's touch when he didn't have a hand on you, how you began to accept after sticking yourself with the campaign button pin. All of those scenes did an amazing job communicating the horror of your paralysis. If, however, you miraculously regain feeling, then I'm going to feel betrayed because I don't think that's the reality for most people whose spines get severed. I can't imagine how a real paralyzed viewer will feel by this flight of fantasy. Here's hoping that we get another explanation for why you're upright in the new photo.
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