These are some photos of Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman in Vancouver, filming the second season of The Killing. The second season begins on April 1st. Obviously, April Fool’s Day, at 8 pm on AMC. The second season starts with a big two-hour premiere. Will you be watching? I’m still undecided. I recapped the finale last year, and at that point, I was still ambivalent about whether I would actively seek out the second season.
The show has many good points – great acting, mood, atmosphere, a complicated female lead (Enos) and the wonderful Swedish hottie-turned-dirtbag Joel Kinnaman. But the first season ended up being an unfocused mess, and the writing (especially in the last half of the season) did a great disservice to the characters, and to the fans of the show. At the time, I blamed the show-runner, a woman who seemed to think she was some monumental genius by not delivering on the implicit promise to REVEAL THE KILLER. Back in January, TV Guide’s Matt Roush discussed some of last season’s issues and the issues that remaining fans might have with the new season:
Question: For the legions who went ballistic over the non-ending, no payoff on Who Killed Rosie Larsen in lucky episode 13 of season one of AMC’s The Killing, here’s a pre-emptive Jeer for Veena Sud — who runs the show. I just read an extensive interview in Written By magazine (the monthly of the Writers Guild of America). For all those who were left hanging and vowed not to return, as well as for those who were led to believe that the murderer would be revealed in the first episode or two of next season as an enticement to give the show another chance — don’t hold your breath. According to the article: “For the record, who killed Rosie Larsen will not be revealed until THE END OF SEASON TWO.” The capitals are mine — for emphasis — and to show my anger at being manipulated. I for one will not be watching season two — nor will I be buying the DVD set for season one. So I count on you and TV Guide Magazine to tell me whodunit — while I use my time watching other shows. — Michael
Matt Roush: At least this time they’re being upfront about it. But yes, that admission does seem to have once again raised the hackles of those who felt so poorly treated by the way the first season ended (or didn’t) — which seems to be the prevailing critical opinion, though by no means a universal one. The Killing might have gotten away with extending the Rosie Larsen mystery instead of becoming an industry punchline if we’d been given some dramatic payoff along the way, instead of what now feels in retrospect to be an endlessly frustrating wallow in mood. I still find the show tonally interesting, and will stay with it through the second season, so yes, I promise to tell you whodunit when the time comes. If you still care.
You can read the referenced Written By magazine article here – I could only get halfway through it before I decided that The Killing’s writers simply don’t give a sh-t about balancing character and story development with the reasonable, implied expectations of the audience. I understand that The Killing’s writers are trying to create complex characters living in a realistic, morally ambiguous world. That’s fine. But it’s also a television show with an eight-month hiatus – be realistic about THAT too. Do you really expect the average viewer to remember (or care enough to remember) the nuances of the first season when there was absolutely NO PAYOFF? Some of the writers of The Killing came from Damages, and THAT is how the show should go. One central, complicated mystery/storyline told per season. New season, new mystery. You give your audience a payoff at the end of the season.
Here’s another huge peeve: instead of building the puzzle pieces around the police investigation, the story and the characters went off on so many tangents that the two lead cops – Linden and Holder – look like incompetent idiots. If they were investigating the murder of someone close to me, I would want them off the case. It took them two weeks to search a car and trace the murdered girl’s footsteps on the night she went missing. That kind of ambivalence to how a real investigation is conducted does a disservice to the characters, truly. Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson would have gotten a confession in the first 48 hours.
So, basically… I’m still very undecided whether I want to stick with this. Will you be watching it?
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
I’m not going to be watching the second season. I gave the first season a try, I really did. The first few episodes were great, but then it went steadily downhill from there. I decided to hang on and keep watching, hoping the finale would make it worth it. What I got instead was one of the most disappointing season finales I’ve ever seen on television. So, I’ve had enough.
There are so many wonderful series to follow on cable and I’ve got some great series lined up in my Netflix queue. I’d rather give the time I can spare to the programs I know will knock my socks off.
I agree completely. I really liked the first few, and by the end was very disappointed.
There’s so many other really great shows out there, I’ll stick with them. When does Breaking Bad return? I’ll need something awesome to fill the Justified void.
Another Justified fan! I won’t lie I have a huge crush on Boyd Crowder 🙂
Me too Tiffany! He’s a pretty terrible person, but does it all in such a charming way I can’t help it. 😀
You totally expressed my view, too. It started off terrific and then became incoherent, and then quite idiotic.
Tom & Lorenzo had some great, irate blog posts and reader comment threads on the first season. They said they’re not even going to bother writing up the second season.
The thing to know about the US version is that it’s ‘written’ by the ‘writer’ of Cold Case, so The Killing is more similar to that show’s lameness than the Danish original.
Definitely will be watching this! I love its atmosphere… Can’t wait.
Just watch the Danish version! The BBC has subtitled copies. It’s incredible, much better than the re-make.
Will do!
The original Danish version, “Forbrydelsen”, was fantastic. The two detectives bungled the investigation here and there just as their American counterparts, but the series itself moved along at a very good pace and the suspense never let up from the first episode till the end. “The Killing”, on the other hand, is just boring. Even though it follows the same exact storyline, it’s badly executed.
I really wanted to like this show but Joel Kinnaman is about the only reason to watch it.
BTW, for anyone interested, there is a third season of the Danish series airing in November of 2012. Not sure how Americans can access it, but there are ways.
Interesting about the Danish version vs. the American version. I will be watching simply because I watched the entire first season and feel too invested not to at this point. However, I did watch the first season On Demand like a week or so before the season 2 premier so I have more patience than those who watched it 8 months ago.
But to the haters of the slow pace– hate to break it to you, but all AMC originals are about slow paced dramas. Granted, some slower than others, but this is their specialty.
Nearly everyone who has seen the Danish version says it is better. I’ve just started the Danish version and I already like it more than the American version. I saw several episodes of The Killing and wasn’t impressed. After reading reviews of how horrible last season ended, I’m glad I didn’t invest any additional time in watching this show. They will lose a ton more viewers if they wait until the end of the second season to reveal the killer. After all the horrible reviews, I would be surprised if the show manages to attract new viewers.
Forbrydelsen is so much better! Not difficult to find online if you know where to look. The pace is better, and there’s a conclusion to the series.
So, who is the killer in the Danish version?
Well, since the killer hasn’t been revealed in the American version yet, it might well be the same killer. The final episode of the American version seems to suggest this- so I’m saying nothing!
Talk about messing with a good formula.
Not going to watch.
Will read about who did it online.
Disappointed hardly covers what I feel.
Nope, just going to start watching the Danish version. The woman who runs this show is so arrogant its off putting, she refuses to take any criticism
I so badly wanted this show to be amazing. And for a hot minute I thought it would be. I can’t decide if I’ll watch Season 2. It’s that time of the year where my other shows are on break so I have an opening but it’s also that time of year where I have better things to do then sit inside and watch TV. I’ll probably catch an episode here and there when I can but I doubt I’ll be glued to it.
Not sure I can take another whole season of running around and getting nowhere on an investigation and murder case that I have forgotten about and stopped caring about.
It’s too bad because it really started off as great, the actors are really good, and the atmosphere credible.
i wont be watching either. i watched all of season of one. week after week i would get more and more annoyed and frustrated. when it started, the show had a lot of potential but they ruined it.
sorry but there are so many shows to watch and honestly i dont have time waste on one that didnt get it right the first time around.
From what I remember, there was no guarantee that the show would get a second series until very late in the first series.
The “not revealing the killer’s identity” seems, to me, to have been a deliberate, last minute ploy to get a second series. It feels rushed because, well, it was.
I’m out. I can’t waste any more time on this trainwreck. The red herring epidemic that defined (especially) the latter half of the first season combined with Veena Sud’s tone deaf arrogance has sealed the deal. It’s just not worth it.
Agree about Veena Sud. Her arrogance brings out a piercing hatred in me….. BUT I would like to know who killed Rosie and even with its terrible moments I’m feel invested in the show. I’ll be watching.
And obviously for Joel Kinnaman 🙂
Veena Sud is currently one of the most hated people in television (at least on the internet). I didn’t know much about her; but, she’s so unpopular these days . . . it’s hard to not have her name pop up (accompanied by some scathing comments) when I’m reading something about any of AMC’s hit hows. She basically just flips the bird at the show’s fans.
Watching just for Joel Kinnaman! That is it….that is all…
oh honey, PREACH, that man is fine.
I read on Celebitchy (I believe) that he and ASkars are big buddies. It makes me pause just thinking about the two of them.
ASkars/Kinnaman sandwich, anyone? 🙂
Yes, please!
Wait, what do you mean they didn’t reval the identity of the killer? I thought the killer was the wealthy businessman with the complicity of one of the cop? I thought it was a clever and shocking ending: the rich bad guy go away with it. And the idealistic politician is trapped in a frame-up. Much more realistic than most of other TV show’s ending.
No, they didn’t say that guy was the killer. They just revealed that Holder had planted evidence to get the politican arrested.
The dingo killed Rosie.
Sasquatch
Two words: Twin Peaks.
So what I am to understand. Is that AMC has allowed the same show runner (Veena Sud) drag out the “big reveal” for another 13 episodes?
How is that possible. It is one murder. That they spent 13 episodes dragging it out a year ago.
Geez, the real question should be… “Who is Veena Sud blowing.” (sorry I know its tacky) But seriously. Who is she blowing?
Because I can not fathom sitting through another 13 painfully slow… constantly raining episodes.
To be told in the last 30 seconds of episode 13. Who killed poor dead Rosie.
Hey, maybe that is the way to watch the show. Watch the last 3 minutes of the last episode and find out the one answer you wanted.
Amen, sister.
All those baleful stares and pointless digressions… signifying nothing.
Like me, I think, people were furious because the first episode was amazing, so we just couldn’t believe that the show was truly going nowhere slowly. Hideous wasted potential (and actor talent & viewers’ time).
They had the guess who killed Rosie Larson game on the AMC site and after the last episode they asked “did you find out who killed Rosie Larson?”. No , I didn’t. You know why? Because you didn’t freakin tell us. Having to watch another 12episodes of this show to find out the answer to the question that was highly implied would answered in the season finale is total balls.
I love Celebitchy, but we part ways here.
First things first: Kinnaman, hell yes he is hot!!!! And a really good actor too. Even if the show sucks this season, at least we got to know him.
I’ll be watching. I liked this quietly tense thoughtful show–a lot. AMC does its own thing with slow-paced dramas geared to grown-ups, and I like long complex novels. So for me anything on AMC beats the many pop culture bloggers’ “officially sanctioned” trendy shows.
The Danish series first season ran 20 episodes, AMC’s parallel season ran only 13. Anyone who truly paid attention to this show knows this and was probably not that surprised at the season ending. Both shows are good, but even the popular Danish show is running just three seasons. So I’d expect AMC’s controversial version to stop at two seasons now anyway, more like a miniseries. I am going to enjoy the rest of the ride.
As to Sud, as a female I have become frustrated at the too-easy hate heaped upon her, esp. since terms like ‘blow job’, ‘cunt’ and ‘bitch’ are so often used in comments, most frequently by young men on geek TV sites, but sadly often by other women. Right now my main lesson taken from The Killing is that there can be nothing ‘worse’ than to be an ‘arrogant subborn woman’. So I’d watch the show anyway just to show some solidarity.
I too love the slowness of the show. I love that an entire episode is only one day (I think people forget sometimes the show was only really 2 weeks).
As far as Sud, I agree that most of her hatred is sexist based. I, however, dislike the arrogant tone she exudes not because she’s a woman, but because she’s an arrogant person. Anyone who compares the first season of their semi successful show to the series finale of The Sopranos needs to take a seat. Man or woman.
Zero disagreement re the irritating arrogant demeanor and over-inflated opinion of herself, I am not saying I personally like her. But even the least talented in showbiz always make sweeping generalizations as to their genius and artistic impact, and such deep anger is never directed at them about their ‘arrogance’.
In the same vein, then the TV critics and bloggers ‘could’ also quit citing the ambiguous SERIES-ending episodes of multi-season great classics like the Sopranos when they fault an unexpected SEASON cliffhanger of a new First-Year show.
I agree. Kurt Sutter is another on my hate list. Apparently if you didn’t like an episode of one of his shows it’s because you’re a “f*cking cunt”. I enjoyed The Killing (good and bad episodes) and I’ll be back April 1.
PS- you seem really cool. Thanks for the mini discussion 🙂
Just to clarify a couple of things.
I am a female. I watched the entire first season as it aired.
There were exactly 4 episodes that I truly enjoyed. The rest were just slow paced, forever raining… filler.
As diehard fan of Mad Men. I can grasp the odd pacing of TV shows that want to build “mood”. And develop “characters”.
What I can not abide, is a show that never got around to really telling their allege story.
Which is exactly what “The Killing” did for me.
It never told the story it set out to do. “Who killed Rosie?”
It told me all about moody rainy days in fake Seattle.
It showed me entirely too much of the Mother of Rosie… and her angst.
It showed me too much random nonsense, that in the end had NOTHING to do with the main story. Which was “Who killed Rosie”.
So will I watch this train wreck again weekly. Nope.
But I will be tuning in to that last episode… for the last 3 minutes… to see the setup, of the reveal, of who killed Rosie.
Which will be told in the last 30 seconds.
And the only way I would be remotely stunned with the reveal.
Is if it was her Mother.
At least that would explain why so much of season 1… was spent watching her angst emoting.
I understand your frustration if all you were interested in is knowing who killed Rosie. I thought the show was more on all the consequences a terrible event like that could have on families, couple, friends, policemen, etc… If you take it that way, the show is well written, well played and pretty different from what you can see elsewhere. Because frankly, murder which can be resolve in less than one hour can be seen in every channel at evry hour of the day, can’t they?
Totes agree. The show developed Lost disorder. They just wanted to drag it out when they saw they could probably get a couple of seasons out of it.
It’s BS that the slowness was “mood” and “character development”. The level of those was on par with a high school play.
The plot went nowhere, and there was no other well-developed content. Compared to the psychological sophistication of Mad Men, or heck, 30 Rock, the characters on The Killing were entirely emotionally/intellectually predictable and superficial.
And the lame red herring at the end of every episode is pure hackery.
And to add insult to incredibly-stupid injury, has anyone noticed the ads for Season 1 on DVD?
“Who Killed Rosie Larson?” in giant letters across a picture of Rosie’s face?
Are you f–king kidding me? Talk about implying the course of the first season – imagine being the innocent who spends actual money on season 1 only to find that the tagline is meaningless!
All hail Justified (to those up top!) Unfortunately, since they’re both on AMC, Breaking Bad won’t air until after season 2 of “The Killing (of imaginative and coherent storytelling)” finishes up.
I’ll give it another try, but it’s up against Game of Thrones, so it’s definitely DVR material. If it isn’t interesting, I won’t watch. I wasn’t that peeved at the non-ending ending. I more interested in the journey than the destination. And I had already figured out that there wasn’t going to be a big “reveal”. Otherwise, where does the show go? But they shouldn’t have promised that.
I don’t plan to watch it. I gave up. Long before last season awful finale. I only thought that finally in finale they will reveal who the killer is and our detectives would move on to another case. That didn’t happened and I have zero desire to watch Killing.
I would watch the show if they would have new case every 3-4 episodes. But not 13 episodes!!! I would never start watch it if I would knew that they will have one case for entire season. There is great british TV show called Case Histories. With Jason Issacs. About detective who solves crimes. And they give two episodes for every case. And then Jason solves them and moves on to another.
But here… Only Twin Peaks can get away with it. Because Twin Peaks had like 20 other interesting characters and they all had their own issues. While Killing only have boring relationships of female detective with her stupid teenage son. And also there is boring politician. And boring grieving parents.
I’ll cut to the chase and watch the LAST episode of the second season.