The Killing – ‘Whatever you had is gone’

So we’ve ruled out “Rat Boy,” as Holder liked to refer to Stan’s slimy sidekick, he of the strange Larsen family collage above his bed in the odd, arrested development bedroom of his.

Bennet has been ruled out as Rosie Larsen’s killer as well. But the stakes were raised in this recent episode of The Killing, drawing the circle of suspicion more tightly around the Richmond campaign.

What to make of the unearthed video of Darren Richmond warmly greeting Rosie Larsen at a campaign event? It could be nothing, a mere dead end like Bennet’s connection to both Rosie and Richmond. Or it could be something, which clearly the writers want us to think as they showed Darren’s chief campaign advisor and lover, Gwen Eaton, was intensely staring at the screenshot, an image which she and another campaign staffer tried to convince the intern who found it that it didn’t really depict Rosie Larsen, when they know it did. Was Gwen examining the video because she was worried that he was connected to Rosie, perhaps shared something intimate with her? Or was she looking at it because Gwen was somehow involved in the teen’s disappearance? Does the fact that her father is a senator have any bearing on any of this? (Either way, it kind of reminded me of the infamous video of President Clinton greeting Monica Lewinsky on the rope line and hugging her.)

The most direct link to the campaign since Rosie’s body was found in the trunk of a Richmond campaign vehicle, this discovery could go any number of ways, conspiring to make the newly christened “integrity candidate” — who refused to publicly separate himself from Bennet, even when he was widely believed to be Rosie’s killer — look like he did something wrong, or to make him look suspicious because he did indeed do something inappropriate, perhaps even criminal. With only three episodes left, there’s not a lot of time remaining here and I just hope the killer won’t be someone who comes out of nowhere. That’ll be a disappointment.

My question is how is Linden, who doesn’t look like she’s officially engaged any longer (big surprise, I know), is going to connect the dots between the casino and the Richmond campaign. (Was Darren’s willingness to engage in a high stakes basketball shot with Tom Drexler an indication that he likes to gamble?) Having a fresh trail open up on Rosie’s case, after the uncomfortable reveal of the collage in Belko’s room, was refreshing as last week the case seemed stuck in the omnipresent Seattle mud.

Meanwhile, seeing Stan in a bright orange jumpsuit, staring out the window of a jail cell was downright depressing. Not only did Stan immediately feel guilty about nearly beating Bennet to death, but he called 9-1-1, turned himself in and admitted in open court that he was responsible. He looked like a thoroughly broken man. He couldn’t protect his daughter from a killer. He couldn’t escape the brutality of his past, no matter how hard he tried to transform himself into an upstanding citizen and family man. And he has potentially robbed his very young sons of a father by beating up an innocent man and landing in prison.

To make matters worse, it now appears as though — emphasis on the word “appears” — we’re supposed to believe that Stan might’ve been playing fast and loose with the family’s bank accounts. But then again, this could be another pink T-shirt. It might not have been Stan who cleaned out the family’s savings. It could’ve been another member of the family, like Rosie who needed money to gamble perhaps, and Mitch’s sister, she gives off this sketchy vibe. Like poor Mitch needs anything more to worry about.

Clacked by Meredith O'Brien
on May 31, 2011 @ 16:00 EST5EDT