Detective Sarah Linden is about to leave Seattle to get married. During her last day, the body of a teenage girl is found in the trunk of a car. Linden should leave the case to the newcomer, Stephen Holder, but she can’t bring herself to let it go. In fact, solving a case can become an obsession for her, especially when children are involved. A few years ago, she was even hospitalized following a particularly traumatic case. Holder, a particularly cool guy, agrees to split the case and shows a lot of patience with his partner’s obsessive tendencies.
Very quickly, this case turns out to be complex, with multiple ramifications involving the victim. Amid tensions surrounding the campaign for the election of a new mayor, the two detectives will need a great deal of patience and composure. But there’s no way they’re going to let the killer get away.
A memorable series!
Based on a Danish series, ‘The Killing’ is one of those shows that really gets under your skin. Admittedly, the circumstances surrounding each of the murders in the four seasons are very far removed from the lives of viewers. Yet one cannot help but be deeply moved by these shattered lives—not only those of the victims, but also those of their loved ones. As for the detectives’ lives, they’re in shambles. In the end, they become each other’s only remaining family.
Remarkably—and unusually for me—when I rewatched the series 14 years after its release, I remembered the first murder, the final scenes of Season 2, and the closing scenes of Season 4 perfectly. That’s how much the series had left an impression on me!
The series takes its time solving the cases: two seasons for the first one, and one season each for the next two. Each episode delivers its share of adrenaline and plot twists, but the series is aimed at viewers who enjoy taking the time to read a good book.
The tone is very dark, especially gloomy in Season 2. The death of the most touching character really got me down. Yet The Killing ends on a hopeful note. It’s a powerful series. Don’t miss it.
4 seasons, 44 episodes (45 mn), 2011-2013, on AMC then Disney+
WITH :
- Mireille Enos (The catch) as Sarah Linden, Joel Kinnaman (Altered Carbon), as Stephen Holder, Liam James as Jack, Annie Corley as Regi
- Season 1 & 2 : Billy Campbell as Darren Richmond, Brent Sexton as Stan Larsen, Michelle Forbes as Mitch Larsen, Jamie Anne Allman as Terry Marek, Kristin Lehman (Altered Carbon) as Gwen Eaton, Eric Ladin as Jamie Wright, Tom Butler as Lesley Adams, Claudia Ferri as Nicole Jackson, Katie Findlay as Rosie Larsen, Mark Moses (Desperate housewives) as Lt. Erik Carlson (s. 2)
- Season 3 : Bex Taylor-Klaus as Bullet, Julia Sarak Stone as Lyric, Max Fowler as Twitch, Amy Seimetz as Danette Lutz, Elias Koetas as James Skinner, Peter Sarsgaard as Ray Seward, Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica) as Evan Henderson,
- Season 4 : Greg Henry as Carl Reddick, Tyler Ross as Kyle Stansbury, Joan Allen as Colonel Rayne