The Killing: Season 3, Episodes 1 and 2 “The Jungle” and “That You Fear the Most” (B+)
I’ll be honest – when I heard that this show had been resurrected by AMC after being cancelled following the end of season two, I wasn’t all that excited. I think there are a handful of other shows that deserve that fate after a bout of false hope much more than this series, which I felt was highly overrated in season one. That said, I did like season two more, and I admire the notion of starting from scratch, picking up the show later on with only the two leads still there and everything else completely now. Among the new faces are some reliable TV faces: Gregg Henry (“The Riches”) as Holder’s new partner, Hugh Dillon (“Flashpoint”) as the chief prison guard, and Aaron Douglas (“Battlestar Galactica”) as a prison guard. Most notably, Peter Sarsgaard is a perfect choice to play the deeply disturbing and infinitely compelling death row inmate who may in fact be responsible for a whole lot more murders than Linden initially helped get him convicted for. I’m sure an Emmy nomination is in his future, if not a win. It’s great to see Holder continuing his healthy lifestyle, giving speeches about why he doesn’t eat donuts because they’re processed, and to see Linden initially so happy in her new life, only to have that ripped away as she self-destructively buried herself in another case. Bullet is an interesting new character as well, and this slow-moving show is definitely covering a lot of territory, likely to create what I am confident will be its most watchable season yet.
