So last night was the second season finale (and hopefully, please God the SERIES finale) of AMC’s The Killing, inarguably the worst show they’ve ever produced unless you truly hate zombies. I’d like to quickly lay out what happened, thus solving the long overdue and extremely convoluted mystery of “Who Killed Rosie Larsen?” (me, I’m more in the “Who still gives a shit?” camp) and then lay out a set of reasoning of why AMC MUST cancel this show, to protect not only their ratings but that most precious of things to a cable network: their brand.
What Happened: The killer(s) of Rosie Larsen were Jaime, Richmond’s campaign manager and (accidentally) Rosie’s aunt Terry, but before you worry that The Killing actually made sense for an episode, let me break down exactly what happened. See, Jaime (a mild-mannered guy who doesn’t seem to have an ounce of violence in him) allegedly beat Rosie (who, for other convoluted reasons was working as a maid in an Indian casino despite being so white she still makes artsy home movies on 8mm crank cameras…wtf?) half to death because she overheard some biiiiiiig conspiracy meeting between him, Chief Jackson (who helped cover up the murder but didn’t participate, and didn’t go to jail for her part in it either), and shady real estate mogul Michael Ames (a married man who was having a fling with Rosie’s Aunt, wow, small world huh? Is this Seattle or Bumblefuck Kansas?). Then, when he got her into his trunk and called Michael to help him finish her off, so she couldn’t reveal a political “secret” that seemed no more sordid than daily politics and that she likely didn’t understand when she did hear it, he wouldn’t do it, so her Aunt Terry (who had no idea Rosie was the one in the trunk of the car) drove it into the lake for him.
Jaime’s involvement was revealed at the end of the last episode, so that was a letdown, not to mention he was killed (by Detective Holder, once again picking up Linden’s slack) in the first five minutes of this episode. Then we sat through several sloggy, dreary scenes of characters mumbling beside rain soaked windows (The Killing’s stylistic trademark) to find out 1. Long suffering councilman Richmond won the mayoral race, and decided to play a different kind of politics (i.e. dirtier) than he had all season, because that makes real sense now that the race is over and his dirtiest advisor is in the fucking ground, 2. The Larsens moved into a new house, since I guess the old house where their dead daughter lived and was murdered by their aunt who lived with them after it was kind-of, you know, depressing…finally, a character takes a turn toward the light instead of wallowing in misery, first time that’s happened on this show, 3. Linden still refused to show a personality, a smile, or even a small fist bump of triumph, and she apparently walked away from the job as Holder went to answer another homicide call, supposedly the case the show will follow if there is (please God, no!) a season 3.
Why AMC MUST Cancel This Show:
1. It’s terrible. No really, it has a lead character that is about as interesting as growing grass (Detective Linden not only has the social skills of a wolverine but also only registers emotion when she’s shrieking at how unfair things are). It’s most likable character (Richmond, the most unrealistically honest politician ever) has been tortured by false allegations, an assassin’s bullet paralyzing him, and being viciously put down for the most minor of sins. It has exactly one character (Holder) who looks like he’s having any fun whatsoever. The aimless, ongoing mystery element keeps getting in the way of the equally-aimless character building the show is more interested in (we learn something about a character, then it’s not true as the show is forced to trot out multiple red herrings and ridiculous character “revelations” that feel forced to keep the plot from completion). The question of “Who Killed Rosie Larsen?” was long ago replaced by “Who cares?” as so many innocent people have had their lives ruined in the course of the investigation. And the show never, ever reaches the dark excitement of a Breaking Bad or The Shield. After The Killing, you don’t feel the catharsis of watching potentially bad people discover who they really are, you just feel numb.
2. More specifically, it’s the worst show on the most quality basic cable network currently on Television. See, if it were on VH1 or the E! network, you could make the case for it being the best show on those channels and the only thing they will ever produce that could be nominated for Emmy nominations, but it’s not. It’s on AMC, the only basic cable channel that is even trying to produce quality dramas the networks wouldn’t touch (I used to say the same about FX, but it’s now become clear that they’ve moved away from The Shield/Damages and onto a trash nexus of Sons of Anarchy/American Horror Story/Whatever the hell Charlie Sheen is up to on that network).
And yet, if I look at their roster lately…it’s not looking as hot as it once was. Since the ratings success of The Walking Dead (the worst thing to ever happen to AMC) they’ve cancelled Rubicon (their biggest mistake), cut TWD’s budget and therefore quality, not only made the not-good Hell on Wheels but renewed it for a second season, green lit four reality shows, and renewed The Killing (even back in season 1 their worst show) for an abysmal, even worse second season. The insanity must stop. AMC must protect their brand, and they must not renew a completely pointless third season of their biggest, most frustrating failure to date. The case is over, and the show that dragged it out for 26 episodes and two years should be too.