The Killing Season 2 - Worth Watching?
- Thread starter Jax
- Start date
I watched the first season and was so turned off by the way it ended stretching it into a second season I didn't even bother with the second.
To me it wasn't a show I could tolerate watching week to week.
If the second season has concluded I may go back and finish it out just for the sake of curiosity.
To me it wasn't a show I could tolerate watching week to week.
If the second season has concluded I may go back and finish it out just for the sake of curiosity.
This. Towards the end of the first season, I couldn't stand the leads--they felt unrelenting dumb, and the yo yo-ing of should I leave, should I stay... I was only watching it to see who killed Rosie. And with that ending... Yeah, I didn't come back.
I watched the whole thing. I enjoyed it; I was moved by it. I had zero expectations of how long it would last. I think it works.
It gets an ending but I'm not sure I liked it. The show jerks you around endlessly, and not for the sake.of making any sense but just for increasing dramatic value. Red herring after red herring. Which might be acceptable if the main characters were more likable, but they aren't.
Then again maybe I just won't bother after all.
I thought everything made sense.
And I thought there was a purpose to it. One of the overriding themes of the show was that most everybody's reaction to the killing was base. That theme was, in one way or another, explored in the so-called red herrings. And with each new suspect came another life either damaged or ruined by the murder.
As a general remark, red herrings abound in, for example, Agatha Christie stories; they just go with the territory. I disagree with the assertion that, in this show, there were any random red herrings.
Can't say any more without getting spoilery.
And I thought there was a purpose to it. One of the overriding themes of the show was that most everybody's reaction to the killing was base. That theme was, in one way or another, explored in the so-called red herrings. And with each new suspect came another life either damaged or ruined by the murder.
As a general remark, red herrings abound in, for example, Agatha Christie stories; they just go with the territory. I disagree with the assertion that, in this show, there were any random red herrings.
Can't say any more without getting spoilery.
The problem wasn't the red herrings or that the case didn't get solved at the end of the first season, the problem was that the writing was shit.
The emdia always talks about how the fas were pissed that they didn't get an answer at the end of the first season, but they are ignoring the point that most people only wanted an answer because they already disliked the show and only stuck with it because they thought it would be over soon. Had the writing been great the audience wouldn't have cared that they extended the case to another season.
Veena Sud is a hack, it's telling that the great episodes that everyone loved were just translated danish scripts, as soon as Sud started writing her own stuff the series started to suck. AMC could have saved the show had they gotten rid of Sud after season one, they had a great premise and a great cast.
The emdia always talks about how the fas were pissed that they didn't get an answer at the end of the first season, but they are ignoring the point that most people only wanted an answer because they already disliked the show and only stuck with it because they thought it would be over soon. Had the writing been great the audience wouldn't have cared that they extended the case to another season.
Veena Sud is a hack, it's telling that the great episodes that everyone loved were just translated danish scripts, as soon as Sud started writing her own stuff the series started to suck. AMC could have saved the show had they gotten rid of Sud after season one, they had a great premise and a great cast.
Season 2 is definitely worth a look. They easily and very logically dealt with the ramifications of the end of season 1 and extending, then moving the story forward in a way that expanded and built on the original crime.
The two leads were the best written and acted male/female cop buddies since Mulder and Scully. Both Mireilles Enos and Billy Campbell are absolutely superb. Their performances alone make the series worth watching.
I really appreciated the layered and intricate story. I'm not a huge fan of murder mysteries especially those written from the cop standpoint, mostly because the ones I've seen on T.V. are so simplistic and predictable. I know that some like it simple but I don't.
Anway, The Killing was anything but predictable and that may be the reason some may have thought they were being jerked around. I loved both seasons of the show and am quite disappointed that we won't see more of Linden and Holder.
BTW, the ending is an ass kicker.
The two leads were the best written and acted male/female cop buddies since Mulder and Scully. Both Mireilles Enos and Billy Campbell are absolutely superb. Their performances alone make the series worth watching.
I really appreciated the layered and intricate story. I'm not a huge fan of murder mysteries especially those written from the cop standpoint, mostly because the ones I've seen on T.V. are so simplistic and predictable. I know that some like it simple but I don't.
Anway, The Killing was anything but predictable and that may be the reason some may have thought they were being jerked around. I loved both seasons of the show and am quite disappointed that we won't see more of Linden and Holder.
BTW, the ending is an ass kicker.
I agree, I really enjoyed the two main cop characters and the show itself. I thought it always left you guessing and it didn't bother me that nothing got solved in the first season. I honestly didn't expect the ending in season 2 either.
Exactly. And the ratings drop proved that. No one would mind if the show didnt have horrible writing. The actors were amazing, the scripts were shit.
I figured the show would have a case a season but when the first season ended the way it did I threw down the remote in discuss and said I'm done with this show.
Yeah, so did at least one person I know personally. Why anyone would think, without being told, that all the show's cases would be wrapped up at the end of each season is a mystery to me.
The hostile reaction to this by fans, when the Larsen case didn't get wrapped up at the end of season one, made me think of a reaction fans of the 1970's detective shows, Mannix or Barnaby Jones, might have had if one of those episodes had dared to not get wrapped up at the end of one hour.
Fans' disillusionment with not having things tied in a neat little package at the end of season one is certainly reflected in the ratings drop.
I thought today's television audience was a lot more sophisticated than my mother's generation. I am shocked to realize I was wrong about that.
Because the advertisement sold me on. That's what it felt like. Here is the question: Who killed her? Play the game online! And to be honest, there wasn't much of a story that I felt this murder would go on and on and on... It wasn't like Twin Peaks... which ALSO fizzled out.
But, I assumed the same thing: a mystery per season.
Why? It could've been a Barnaby Jones two parter. I don't know.
But, I slogged though how many hours, how many scenes in the rain, for the "twist" ending? Bleh. That's why I was upset.
I was already disillusioned, to be honest, before the season finale. The twist was just the icing on the cake. I was already bored with the characters. While great actors, the writing just... it... the whole thing felt depressed and lacking. Everyone MOPED. It was so unrelentingly singular in tone... I just... UGH.
No. You weren't wrong. It IS more sophisticated than your mother's generation. THIS just wasn't all that sophisticated of a show. Bad writing, bored tone, not enough story to push things a long. Seriously, how many times did she go to the airport and decide at the last moment, no... I have one more case to solve. It got BORING.
Check out Breaking Bad. Now THAT'S a show.
An online game made you think the murder mystery would be wrapped up at the end of season 1?
This show was all about subtlety. I know; one man's subtlety is another's "boring", but the slow burn was what the show was really about. I think this was something fans of today's cop shows, like NCCI (or whatever it is) and the other CBS shows may not have liked (present company not necessarily included). If it is a cop show it is supposed to move at a certain pace -- this one didn't. The slow deliberate way they built the non-existant (nealry hostile) relationship between Holder and Linden was a thing of beauty. The only show that did this as well was the X-Files.
The story also was about the family and the aftermath of a child's murder and the effect on the family -- this was something that most cop shows give very little time -- but this was not your everyday cop show.
I loved that the detectives got caught up in following what appeared to be plausible leads only to find out that as plausible as they seemed, they were not. This happens in real life, except in real life too often the cops just stay on the wrong path -- another discussion for another time.
The Killing was the anti-cop show, stylistically more related to Mad Men than the CSI's.
Do you have any idea of how pissed people were back then when one of these shows turned out to be a two parter? Just as pissed as folks were when the Killing didn't get solved at the end of season 1.
I LOVE BB. Have since it's premiere and have followed it obsessively.
The Killing is a totally different show. It is SUBTLE, like Mad Men. It wasn't supposed to be action oriented but more of a character study using a murder and cops as a back drop. But people got totally hung up on the murder mystery -- like watching Monk to see a hard boiled crime story.
Zoom, I have seen your posts around and I have respect for your taste -- I don't think you saw this show for what it actually was.
Thanks for the compliment, but, again, I'm gonna have to disagree with you. I saw it for what it was. Or more specifically, I saw it for what I think it was, and you saw it for what you think it was. You think it was subtle story telling, I think it was directionless and dull.
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