S1E1-2: AMC's latest drama The Killing premiered last night and some will say it looks familiar. That's not too surprising, especially considering the show itself is a remake of the popular Danish series Forbrydelsen. But even more than that, The Killing tells a story that's been told before. Set in drizzly Seattle, it follows Sarah Linden (Mireille Eros), a homicide detective who lives up to all the stereotypes (tomboyish, single mother, tough, and really damn good at her job), as she tries to figure out whodunit. The mystery? A young girl is missing, and well, since the show's title is The Killing and the tag is "Who killed Rosie Larson?" I think it is safe to say, without spoiling anything, the young girl has been murdered.
Even though the show hits all the marks that, on the surface, would make it a cliche, run-of-the-mill crime drama called something like Law and Order: Seattle Style, it doesn't feel that way. Perhaps that's because AMC, whose motto is "story matters here," isn't afraid of letting things develop slowly (sometimes excruciatingly slowly) over the course of an episode. In fact, each episode is presented in "real-time," meaning that they each represent a single day in the investigation. That may seem a little strange at the onset, but after two hours of drama it doesn't. Unlike the other crime dramas out there, we're actually given an opportunity to think along with the police. We don't know what happened, what's happening, or even what will happen, but we're trying to figure it out. All we have to work with is the moment presented in front of us, whether it's a new clue in the mystery or an interview with a potential subject; and because the show isn't afraid to just let us sit there and breathe for a second, we are actually able to, as an audience, comprehend what's happening and have our own thoughts on the situation. I don't want to call The Killing's premiere flawless, but it was some pretty damn good television.
"Do you know any tweakers who get their sweaters dry-cleaned?" -Linden
The entire first hour of the show is dedicated to finding Rachel Larson's body. The Killing handled this pursuit gracefully. Everybody and everything was a mystery: her parents, her friends, her teachers, and more. There was a state of uneasiness with each person and even though I knew I was watching a murder-mystery show, I still felt a little uneasy about each new introduction. Slowly, as each character developed further and I got to know the show's universe more, that uneasiness morphed into curiosity. From a storytelling perspective, this was very effective because we experienced it in the same way that Linden did. We weren't sure what was happening, but we pursued it anyway, and each fake-out reveal of Larsen was all the more infuriating. Then finally, once we do find the body, we're ecstatic. Obviously, not because the girl was dead, but because our instincts -- and Linden's -- were right.
Eros gives a strong performance in a role that other actresses might not play with such subtly. At the beginning of the episode, we're introduced to her current life: she's a single mother, but she's engaged. She plans to move to San Diego with her son Jack and her fiance, but the Larsen case comes up on the day that she is scheduled to leave. She becomes so engrossed that by the end of the episode, it's clear that something about Larsen grabbed her on a more personal level and it looks pretty doubtful that she'll move to San Diego. Her successor, Stephen Holder, is another potential cliche DIY type cop willing to break any rules and Joel Kinnaman plays him the same way: quiet and reserved. But The Killing presents this guy as a twist on the stereotype. Holder is pretty damn creepy. He borders the line of good cop and potential child molester, and even though those
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