TV Review: The Killing 2.11, "Bulldog"
After a solid run of episodes that focused more on character than on plot, “Bulldog” spends the majority of its time moving around its narrative threads in anticipation of the finale.
rating: 2.5
After a solid run of episodes that focused more on character than on plot, Bulldog spends the majority of its time moving around its narrative threads in anticipation of the finale. In doing so, its reinforced something Ive found to be the case for quite some time. The Killings central mystery is not the thing that makes the show worthwhile in fact, its the least alluring aspect of the entire series. When the show chooses to peel back the layers of the increasingly complicated backgrounds of characters such as Holder and Linden, it has a sense of purpose and a certain level of intrigue that it never seems to capture when it regroups and turns its focus back toward the central investigation. I began this series of reviews by stating that I didnt mind at all that the show had failed to reveal Rosie Larsens killer at the end of last season, and as we stand mere moments away from that final unveiling, I still couldn't care less. Think back to all of this years highlights: Lindens time in the psych-ward, Mitchs motel stay, the search for Holder. These sequences worked because they were less concerned with finding answers than they were with shedding light on character. The red herrings, the twists and turns, the narrative links that strained or outright destroyed the shows level of believability these were the things that ultimately damned the show last year. And all of it stemmed from the shows insistence that its mystery was the plot element that took precedence over all others. This year, the show has used its investigation as a background motivator for some outstanding character moments, and as such, its been operating at a much higher artistic level. This isnt to say that The Killing would be better off tossing its mystery completely out the door, but as evidenced in Bulldog, it does seriously need to reevaluate how to handle the way it advances it. Gwens out-of-nowhere sexual history with the mayor is used as a tool to get Linden and Holder their search warrant for the casino. Janek forces Stan to commit a hit on the construction worker that revealed the Waterfront conspiracy to Holder. Lt. Carlson, under the mayors influence, orders an arrest on Linden. All of these plot pieces, in varying degrees, scream of the writers pulling strings in order to link all of the primary characters back to the overarching narrative, and as such, the whole thing feels incredibly forced. This says nothing of the episodes worst offender a cliffhanger thats so bad it may very well end up being the worst plot decision the shows ever made. Well get into that next week. For now, weve got two episodes to go, and more than ever, whether or not the show will ultimately succeed or utterly fail is anybodys guess.