THE KILLING, 1.10 – "I'll Let You Know When I Get There"

I think I'd have liked "I'll Let You Know When I Get There" if it had come earlier in the season, but considering the fact it's essentially an alternate-episode 4 (now the Bennet Ahmed dead-end has come to an end after a ridiculous half-season spent on it), I can't shake my frustrations with The Killing's narrative structure. It's also becoming more noticeable just how much DNA this show shares with Twin Peaks. The surface level similarities were obvious (small town in Washington state, dead teenager, ominous musical score), but this episode even ended with Linden (Mireille Enos) discovering the existence of a casino that immediately reminded me of One Eyed Jack's from Twin Peaks. Maybe it's just another coincidence, but I can't shake the feeling that this show is in many ways a remake of Twin Peaks--minus the overt strangeness.

Overview:

• Bennet's (Brandon Jay McLaren) beaten body was discovered and taken to hospital, where he's touch and go. Stan (Brent Sexton), realizing his mistake when he returned home to see wife Mitch (Michelle Forbes), turned himself into the police and was jailed.
• Linden and Holder turn their attention away from Bennet now he's been proven innocent, with Linden making a special effort to see Richmond (Billy Campbell) and tell him personally that Bennet's been exonerated.
• Richmond's political campaign received a much-needed jolt, as they can now promote the fact Richmond stuck to his guns and refused to believe an innocent man was guilty until proven so. A press conference was called, with Richmond denouncing the vigilante justice meted out to Bennet and resolving to reinstate the All-Star program that Mayor Adams shutdown. Later, Richmond made plans to reduce budgets in the City Council.
• Linden returned to Regi's (Annie Corley) houseboat and heard that her son Jack (Liam James) has been misbehaving with friends, putting Regi in an awkward position. Angry and disappointed, Linden moves out of Regi's boat with Jack and into a motel.
• Stan is interviewed in jail by Linden, who is now pursuing the theory his mobster past was somehow involved in Rosie's murder. Stan denies the possibility.
• Holder goes to see Stan's best friend, Belko (Brendan Sexton III), who was also involved with the Kovarsky mobsters. Belko denies all knowledge of Stan's actions in attacking Bennet
• Linden was called by a cab driver who has video-evidence of Rosie travelling from the Bennet house just after 10pm on the night she disappeared. Linden and Holder reviewed the cab's tape and saw Rosie arrive home at 10.37pm, before noticing a light in her assumedly empty house was turned off as she arrived—meaning someone was in the house when she came home.
• Mitch's sister Terry (Jamie Anne Allman) revealed that Belko has keys to the Larsen home, so he became the new prime suspect. Linden and Holder investigated Belko's alibi that he was home with his mother by going to meet with her at his apartment. Inside they discover numerous photos of Rosie taped to Belko's bedroom ceiling and notice that Belko's mother dresses provocatively for someone of her age.
• Belko is taken in for questioning and eventually admits that he helped Stan beat-up Bennet, and that he in the Larsen house when Rosie came home, but only hid because he was breaking Mitch's house rules by being upstairs. Belko doesn't confess to killing her, but instead reveals he heard her talking on the phone to someone, saying "Adela, I'll be there", before leaving again.
• A City Hall intern found a video-clip of Richmond shaking hands with Rosie during his campaign, which Jamie (Eric Ladin) decides to bury in case it's used to link Richmond to her murder again in the eyes of the electorate.
• Mitch received a phone call at the family business telling her a cheque has bounced and there's no money in their savings account to cover it.
• The next morning, Linden is out jogging when she noticed a ferry called "ADELA", which has a departure time of 11.45pm which fits with the last movements of Rosie. She boards the ferry and soon notices a sign for the Wapi Eagle Casino with a logo that matches the key chain they found on Rosie's body.

Suspects:

• I was getting worried we were going to spend another few episodes investigating Belko, before dropping him as a suspect, so I was glad they quickly moved past him. Mind you, it struck me as odd they just accepted his story. The guy's clearly got a fixation on Rosie, a childish bedroom (check out the wallpaper), and weird connection with the Larsen's. If this was a real investigation, I'm not convinced they'd have ditched Belko so quickly and moved into finding "Adela."
• The Kovarsky mob were mentioned quite a few times, so it's still very possible they're involved here somehow. Was Rosie involved with the mob somehow? Did she learn something about them that meant she had to be killed? Do the gangsters run the Wapi Eagle Casino?

Summation:

This was a good episode, reminding me of what I was enjoying about The Killing when it first started. It had some actual movement and momentum to it, and it was just a relief to move on from the interminable Bennet storyline—finally! I'm not particularly moved by Stan's imprisonment, mainly because that character hasn't been very sympathetic for a very long time. And it still really confused me that so many major clues are arriving very late in the game. Why has the cab driver waited over a week

It's also slightly annoying that the avenues of investigation here (Belko, Kovarsky) are suspects the viewers at home were allowed to consider weeks ago, meaning Linden and Holder feel like they're playing catchup with the viewers at home. They should be the ones leading us through this story, but I actually feel more informed than Linden--probably because I am, given how the TV show can let us see people and things she can't. I think there's a way to tell this story much better, basically—but I'm pleased we're close to the finish, as I can't deny being very excited to discover who killed Rosie. If we are going to be told this season, of course...

written by Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin / directed by Ed Bianchi / 29 May 2011 / AMC