Guest Star Goodness: The Killing “Beau Soleil” 

I can’t believe we’ve already arrived at the penultimate episode of The Killing. I wouldn’t say there were too many red herrings (especially since we don’t actually know who the killer is yet) but I do think we (meaning the cops) got a little too sidetracked for my taste. I love where Linden and Holder are right now though. Their partnership finally seems to be working; Sarah is finally letting Stephen into her life. And I like that Rick’s no longer in the picture (even though I really enjoy Callum Keith Rennie); it makes things more interesting. So do you think Billy Campbell‘s Darren Richmond is the killer? I hope not. I like that he’s not as squeaky clean as we thought but I really want it to be someone else. But that’s not what we’re here to talk about. I want to talk about two great guest stars in this episode: Tahmoh Penikett and Alona Tal.

I’ve loved Tahmoh Penikett since Battlestar Galactica (now airing on BBC America but I have the series on DVD) and it’s possible I’ll love him until the day I die. I had no idea he was going to be in this episode so it was a very pleasant surprise to see him – for me but not for Sarah. He’s her ex, Greg, and now he’s got a nice little family that he wants Jack to be a part of back in Chicago. Sarah’s got some justifiable anger/resentment towards him. He’s been an absentee father for most of Jack’s life – no contact, no child support, nothing. So Sarah isn’t too happy Greg wants to be a father now. In fact, she tells Greg she’ll have him arrested if she finds him with her son. He’s got no rights.

I hope this isn’t the last we see of Greg. I think there can be a lot of interesting conflict here and considering how wrapped up Sarah can become in her job maybe it would be nice to have another parent figure around. Greg does ask a very good question: Did Sarah even want him around when he was there? Either way, Sarah’s got some resentment. And I’m not sure Greg has any right to be a part of his son’s life assuming he’s actually a good influence.

Now that The Killing has been renewed, I wonder where they’ll take this relationship. If you need a Tahmoh fix in the meantime, you can rent Dollhouse or Battlestar Galactica to get your fill. You may also have seen him on Human Target. I hope he gets another steady gig soon. I’ve missed seeing him on the small screen.

Alona Tal plays Aleena Drizocki, one of the Beau Soleil girls. Not only does she help Holder discover the identity of Orpheus, but she may be the person who helps bring Richmond down. Again, I hope he’s not the murderer but he’s been doing some pretty shady things that I’m sure a lot of people would want to know about. I hope she lives long enough to help expose his corruption and duplicity.

If you’re a TV geek like me you probably recognize Alona from Veronica Mars or Supernatural. More recently she’s been in Pretty Little Liars, The Defenders, and Leverage. I’m glad to see she’s getting steady work because I’m a fan.

Until next week. I’m very anxious to discover the identity of Rosie Larsen’s killer. Who do you think it is?

[Updated: The entire series is now streaming on Hulu.]