The Killing ‘Off The Reservation’: Focused and Determined

Let me say this first: ‘Off The Reservation’ was the best episode of The Killing since the pilot. By moving away from the soapier elements of the show like fancy hookers and family secrets and focusing on a few direct plot lines, the show actually revealed some important details, and felt much more like a show with a goal, then a show meandering around idiotic story lines we could care less about. There were still some frustrating moments (almost all focused around little Jack), but overall, ‘Off The Reservation’ moved with showrunner Veena Sud behind the camera (a sign from the get-go this was probably an important episode).

So what did we learn? In the macro sense of things, we’re starting to get the feeling that Rosie’s death is more of a ‘wrong place, wrong time’ situation than the ‘premeditated murder’ we’ve been led to believe all along (although this could turn on a moment’s notice). The major advancements in the conspiracy story line lend themselves to this, as well. The connections between the casino and the mayor were finally shown explicitly after much allusion this season (the presence of the mayor and Chief Jackson’s appearance alone being enough to suggest things), and the waterfront agreement which is starting to present itself as the show’s big plan.

We also found out that Rosie isn’t a fancy prostitute (or a sexual deviant, as proposed in season one): she was just working a job that she was telling nobody about (correct me if I’m wrong, but I can’t find anything in my notes from either season that says we knew that).   She wasn’t working on the night of her murder, but was there, and up on the 10th floor for some reason. The key found back in season one we all but forgot about will play an important part in revealing the rest of these details – although getting that key looks to be another way for the show to bide its time (though it’s starting to run out) by keeping Linden, whose no longer a cop, and the recently fucked up Holder from getting to that key sitting in the evidence room.

Now, Lt. Carlson is one character that really bothered me. Not only did all of his scenes leave him feeling like a cardboard mouthpiece  and an unnecessary intermediary between Linden’s investigation and whoever is trying to cover it up. There’s no way one cop would be able to subvert an investigation like that, especially when a sworn detective (no matter her reputation) is screaming out obvious truths to him. There’s obviously some motivating factors for him that we aren’t privy to, and until we find them out, he’s just a screaming asshole who is just a lazily-written roadblock to progressing the case.

The other roadblock story wise, obviously, is Jack. Whine whine whine, Mom you stink, but I still love you, whine whine whine. His character sucks and I don’t really want to talk about it, except that with him away in Chicago (fingers crossed its for the rest of the season) and no romantic interest for Linden, we might finally see her get real unhinged for a bit, and glimpse a little of that crazy woman that keeps holding 2012 Linden back from advancing in her life.

But back to the good stuff, and that’s Sud and company finally giving us some shit to chew on. As the Indian girl whose name I can’t remember told us, Rosie was up on that 10th floor on her off night, and nobody saw her come back down. So now, it’s a matter of finding out what is important about that floor, and how it connects to the waterfront agreement, the mayor, Chief Jackson… oh yeah, and however those Russian gangsters fit into it.

‘Off The Reservation’ also provides some direction to Richmond, even if most of it is angry glances out the window and harsh exchanges with Gwen over information we know about. Richmond’s been a dead hole this season because he’s been completely disconnected from the larger issues at hand. But while it’s completely improbable that one speech brought him from life in prison to 7 points out of the mayoral race, I’m willing to accept it in the possibility of Richmond getting inside a little bit.

His meeting with the Indians – and possible agreement – is only going to shine more on the big plots of the show, and I’m completely willing to accept a bit of convoluted story from this show if it’s going to get us to what we turned into the show last year for, and finally give Richmond something else to do. However, the righteous, redemptive route is not what I want to see with Richmond – it’s too cliched and way too easy of a plot to fall into. For someone painted as weirdly and self-protecting as Richmond, I’d rather him be a little dirty than a clean, shining beacon of hope and truth. Too late, and too many weird sexual preferences for that.

But like I said, tonight’s episode took a strong step in the right direction, even if it did so coming out of a really unbelievable story line (dirty Indian business woman orders severe beating of cop, and sends another to threaten police with a shotgun in her hand? C’mon now.). I’m willing to forgive it when I might not otherwise have been, because its small contrivances are in service of a direly-needed jolt of life to the dead, directionless and over-complicated storylines the show’s been giving us. A really solid episode of the show, and definitely the best so far this season.

Grade: B

Other thoughts/observations:

– fantastic work during the search at the beginning of the episode. It drew creepy parallels to the police search for Rosie’s body, and was also a taughtly-directed dramatic sequence that, for ONCE, didn’t drag on forever. Very well done.

– the shot’s of Holder’s nephew were quite cliched, and way too desperate of a ploy for extra emotion. Didn’t really need it, the weight of the situation spoke for itself, as did the moment where Holder returns one of the coins he stole. A great moment, but didn’t need most of what came before it last week, and early in the episode.

– No Terry, no Mitch, no high schoolers or Russians = a MUCH, MUCH improved The Killing.

– Jack, please don’t come back anytime soon. Just stay away. Please.

– hey little girl, could you ominously and silently point me to where my beaten partner is with nothing but a glance? Those shots were the only lame piece of that whole search sequence.

– note the flash of anger from Richmond. Combine that with the gun in his desk, and it looks like someone else is getting paralyzed in the season finale.

What did you think of  ‘Off The Reservation’? Feel free to leave your thoughts/comments below!