Finale Watch: The Killing “Orpheus Descending” 

We weigh in on The Killing’s Season 1 finale.

Heather M.’s Take

Oh, hell no. It was about 15 minutes into the episode when I realized they were taking too long and it dawned on me that we were getting a cliffhanger. GAH. If it hadn’t been renewed, I’d have been more exponentially pissed, especially since I was in the camp after the closing minutes of last week that it could only be Richmond and on Sunday I was looking forward to getting the how and the why, and then we just didn’t.

I’m disappointed. I thought, and expected, that the (whole point of the) series was a fixed 13-episode story, and that was part of the reason I followed where it led. As y’all know, I came in late, but I really thought it would lead to a resolution so I was on board. Now I feel sort of duped. Especially with the tacked-on setup for a follow-on crime, and the red herring about whatever it was that Holder was up to with the photo. Was that just to get Linden on a plane finally, or was he working with someone all along?

I may be less pissed later on, but for now, I feel annoyed that we didn’t get a definitive answer on “Who Killed Rosie Larsen,” when that was the entire premise. What the hell have we been doing since March? No disrespect to the impeccable storytelling and acting, I just wanted to put the book down and be satisfied with an actual conclusion, you know? Fool me once.

Tina’s Take

I didn’t dislike the finale — I just feel like the show I was watching was different from the show that unfolded so I guess, like Heather, you can also consider me disappointed. My mindset was prepared to watch the resolution of the “Who Killed Rosie Larsen” murder mystery, even though I was hoping and praying that Billy Campbell’s character — Darren Richmond — wasn’t really the culprit. I kept waiting for something else to happen, for the true murderer to be revealed.

The Richmond set-up fell within my expectations. What didn’t fall within my expectations was the mammoth-sized cliffhanger we received as well as the eleventh hour twist of Holder being in on the conspiracy to set Darren up. Even the Larsen’s story doesn’t seem to be ending. Mitch left her family so we’ll probably end up seeing the fallout of that next season. So nothing’s wrapped up; not a single thing. Richmond may not even be alive which blows this Rosie Larsen case up even further and means there’s no end to this thing in sight.

I get that the original Danish version of The Killing has 20 episode-seasons and all we’ve gotten from the first season of this American version is 13 of them. I kind of wish that AMC had given the show 20 one-hour installments right off the bat so we could get the same thing: one case per season. That’s what I was in it for — that’s why I stuck with it. The very thing that made this show different and appealing has now been abandoned. Now we have to wait — who knows how long — for Season 2 to come along. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that.

Kara’s Take

I have to admit something. Right after I watched the finale last night I was pissed. Actually, I think I was angry but not in the way you think. For the entire season I’ve been hoping and praying Richmond wasn’t the killer. I like that he’s not the boy scout we all thought he might be but despite his many flaws I never thought he was a killer. For everyone who feels like they’ve been duped or betrayed, I get it but here’s what calmed me down: We’ve spent months with this show, this case, these characters but it’s only been 13 days for them. Some murders get solved quickly and some turn into cold cases. I think the police were under an intense amount of pressure to put someone in jail and for whatever reason (which I’m sure we’ll discover next season), Holder just helped that along.

Talk about betrayal. I really ended up loving the Linden/Holder pairing. I absolutely thought they forged a great bond and became true partners if not friends. Now, I just want Linden to rip into Holder and expose his lies and corruption. I mean, we all know Sarah won’t be able to walk away. So, while I feel your pain (if you’re unhappy), I think this is a pretty great set up for next season.

[Updated: The entire series is now streaming on Hulu and for free on IMDb TV.]