The 2011 AMC drama The Killing – based on the Danish television series Forbrydelsen – follows two Seattle police detectives as they investigate the murder of a teenage girl named Rosie Larsen. Each episode takes place over the course of approximately one day in the investigation and slowly builds to some sort of revelation in the end.
The Killing is no CSI or Hawaii Five-0 where the case is wrapped up within an hour, and many of the twists along the way turn out to be red herrings or false leads. This inevitably adds a realistic atmosphere to the series, enabling the action to advance at its own tempo.
And The Killing is indeed filled with atmosphere. The Pacific Northwest is portrayed with gray skies, steady rain, and a sense of foreboding that gives the series a classic film noir quality. Metropolitan Seattle – with its famed Space Needle and skyscraper landscape – takes a backseat to the working-class neighborhoods that serve as the primary setting for The Killing. With mountains, lakes, darkened forests, and gravel roads added into the mix, the AMC drama has a quite different aura from the big-city crime dramas found on other networks.
The Killing varies from traditional detective shows in ways other than pace and atmosphere as the series focuses just as much – if not more so – on the impact on the lives of the people connected to Rosie Larsen as it does on the crime itself. The investigation into the murder shares screentime with Rosie’s family struggling to come to terms with the tragedy as well as those caught in the aftermath.
All the main characters likewise have “secrets” from their past that slowly bubble to the surface as the episodes roll along, making The Killing a psychological study on the internal demons that everyone faces in their daily lives.
Rosie Larsen’s family are a prime example. Mother Mitch and father Stanley are more than mere caricatures of grieving parents. The pain experienced by the loss of a child is portrayed in dramatic-yet-subtle fashion by Mitch as she becomes traumatized by the death. Bordering on lethargic, she refuses to let go of Rosie while neglecting her two surviving sons in the process. To compensate, Stan Larsen attempts to be both father and mother to the children but must also come to terms with his own lost dreams. His shady background likewise adds to Stanley’s vigilante need for justice, despite the inevitable consequences of his actions.
Seattle city councilman Darren Richmond is drawn into the investigation when Rosie’s body is found in the trunk of a car registered to his campaign for mayor. His incumbent opponent is not above using the tragedy to his own advantage, leaving Richmond to continually face the moral dilemma of standing up for his convictions or doing what is politically necessary to emerge victorious in the coming election.
The differing styles of the two politicians are fully on display when an early suspect in the Rosie Larsen murder investigation is a Muslim high school teacher and volunteer for an inner-city community group that Richmond champions. The city councilman adheres to the principle of “innocent until proven guilty” while the current mayor fuels the seeds of racism in his own quest to remain in office.
While a fair amount of screen time is given to both family and politics, the bulk of the narrative centers on the two Seattle police detectives assigned to the case, Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder. The body of Rosie Larsen is discovered on what was supposed to be Linden’s last day in Seattle – she was set to move to California with her teenage son and fiancé – while Holder has just been assigned to homicide after working undercover in narcotics.
When Linden is forced to stay until the murder investigation is resolved, the two form a partnership that is lacking in trust. Linden, for instance, believes Holder’s tough exterior is inappropriate for the homicide division, while Holder feels reduced to performing thankless tasks as Linden takes the lead in the investigation.
As for the actual murder of Rosie Larsen, The Killing is filled with plot leads and potential suspects that turn out to be nothing more than dead ends. While traditional network crime dramas likewise contain red herrings, they normally dispense with such subplots within ten minutes of being introduced. The Killing, on the other hand, contains entire episodes of misdirection, no doubt reflecting the actual time-consuming process of real-world murder investigations.
In the case of Rosie Larsen, Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder are drawn into a world of teenage sex tapes, political intrigue, a suspected terrorist organization, former mob enforcers, and a Native American casino resort. Not all of those encounters turn out to be directly related to the crime, but that does not reduce them to meaningless filler either.
“I knew this guy, worked at the Boeing plant for 35 years,” campaign aide Jamie Wright tells Councilman Darren Richmond. “I’m talking about my grandfather, Ted. I was in the third grade when the accident at the plant happened. I watched him lose everything. His wife, house. His job. He was dying, right there in front of me, until he started to fight back. He fought like the son of a bitch he was, and he got it all back. Used to always say, ‘Bad luck either destroys you or it makes you the man you really are.’”
With few exceptions, network police dramas follow the forensics of crime solving and place the emphasis on the investigation and resolution of its weekly narratives. The Killing takes a different approach by regulating its initial mystery to the backburner over the course of two seasons.
Although at times frustrating to viewers, the decision allowed the series to evolve from the question of “Who killed Rosie Larsen?” into a study of the emotional traumas, struggles, and inner demons of the various characters.
Jamie Wright may have been talking about his grandfather but the words also serve as the thread that holds The Killing together. While The Killing may not contain the same story structure as traditional crime dramas, its unique style proves to be even more enticing – an investigation into the hearts and minds of each of us, whether we want to admit it or not.
Anthony Letizia