TV Review: The Killing 2.6, 'Openings'
A strange thing happened as I watched “Openings” sift through a heavy amount of plot and a sizable amount of characters.
rating: 3.5
A strange thing happened as I watched Openings sift through a heavy amount of plot and a sizable amount of characters. For the first time since the shows pilot, I found myself fully engaged with all of it never once distracted by a moment of shoddy writing or an embarrassingly ham-fisted plot twist. The entire hour of Openings contained all of the vital elements to making a great show the pacing was strong, the plot development was organic, the writing stayed true to the characters, and there was genuine, honest-to-god emotion running through all of it. Unbelievable, right? If theres one thing that becomes increasingly apparent as one follows The Killing from week to week, its that while the show has proven itself more than capable of doing all of the things listed above effectively, it almost never seems to do so within a single episode. In one week, itll throw character development out the window, but itll have some strong story development. Another week, the entire plot will fall apart, but itll feature some standout character moments. Its a never ending cycle thats been with the show since its beginnings: as soon as one problem is fixed, another crops up, and once that gets solved, an older problem returns. Given this, Openings strength predominately hinges on its promise. Here, season twos instances of improvement are realized across the board as opposed to in pieces a sign that the writers may have finally figured out how to address more than one of the shows issues at once. Its not an unfair assumption to credit some of this skillful plot and character juggling to the episodes writer, Damages alum Aaron Zelman. Much like the strongest moments in Damages, Openings has a lot of ground to cover in an hour, yet somehow manages to do so without ever tripping over itself. We spend a sizable amount of time with everyone, and everything, from Mitchs bleak moments of fantasy fulfillment to Linden and Holders increasingly feverish police work, functions to capture where these characters currently stand both from a plot and emotional standpoint with a precision that is often lost on the show. Take, for instance, the aforementioned scenes with Mitch. Its amazing what a few well-written scenes can accomplish dramatically for a character, and the moments Mitch shares with a runaway shes taken into her motel room manage to convey the substantial sense of loss Mitch has been suffering from more so than the entirety of her scenes in season one ever did. Openings is an episode that moves incredibly rapidly, but it when it turns its focus toward Mitch, it slows to a crawl. This contrast makes her scenes stick with the viewer all the more effectively theres such a strong sense of disconnect and fogginess running through them that they cant help but come across as slightly surreal, as if Mitchs time away from Seattle has placed her in a sort of dreamlike purgatory. The decision to put Linden and Jack in a motel room this year has also served the show quite well. I cant definitively say that weve spent more time with the pair this season, but it sure feels like it, and by moving Linden and Jack away from any sort of familial care, (Lindens fiancé Rick and her social worker Regi have all but disappeared this year) the writers have worked wonders in being able to effectively portray just how unstable Lindens home life and her ability to care for her son has become. Lindens paranoia is also at an all time high, and while most of it has been justified, a part of me wonders if the writers will take the opportunity to play with Lindens oft-hinted-at past a little bit. Weve been told since day one that she went off the deep end during her involvement with a prior case, but aside from a few small moments this year, theres been very little evidence to show that Linden is capable of becoming dangerously unhinged. This is something that could work very well if handled correctly, and given where Linden currently stands, theres more opportunity than ever to implement it into the show. On more of a big-picture note, Openings places us right around the halfway mark of the season, and its important to note that the writers have stuck with the same primary investigative angle for almost the entirety of it. It was right around here last time around that the show was deep into the Bennet investigation a plot thread that ended up going nowhere despite taking up a huge chunk of season ones story. Ive already said that sticking with the mob angle was a good call, predominately because it allows Linden and Holder to investigate multiple suspects while still containing their focus within one overarching criminal enterprise. But its a small miracle it has yet to be abandoned, particularly when you look at how schizophrenic season ones plot turned out to be. This is yet another indication that this season of The Killing is one that deserves a fair amount of cautious optimism from its viewers. Once again, this could all fall apart as early as next week, but for now, the improvements that have been made to the show are enough to justify staying on this ride for a little while longer. Lets see if it can keep it up.