Search Weight Loss Topics:




Jun 25

Ask Matt: The Killing Post-Mortem, Bunheads, Longmire, More

How to lose weight quickly Comments Off on Ask Matt: The Killing Post-Mortem, Bunheads, Longmire, More

Mireille Enos

Send questions and comments to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com and follow me on Twitter!

Question: I've been mulling over the ending of The Killing for a week now. Up until the series finale (which is what it should be), I was convinced that the writers hadn't known who the killer would be when they started the series. This was always a pet peeve of mine with soap operas. How can you plot a murder without a murderer? The main problem with this is that the actor playing the murderer doesn't have the background knowledge to act his or her scenes. Though using twice as many episodes as they needed, I could sort of see in the finale how they were setting things up. To truly see if that's the case, I'd have to re-watch the first couple of episodes, which I don't want to do.

But I read this week that Jamie Anne Allman only learned she was the killer before the last episode. How can show runners do this? Is it just that they want to keep the actors guessing as well as the audience? If an actor plays a role and shows some nuances that might be guilt, is that so bad? Maybe that's why Columbo was so much fun years ago. Watching the actor play the role and trying not to show guilt was one of the reasons we watched! I liked The Killing, and watched it all, even though I hated the ending of the first season. The actors were good, but the characters left something to be desired. I think Linden and Holder should be allowed to move on. If they're back, I won't be watching. Just wanted to know your opinion. Myra

Matt Roush: We're definitely on the same page about being willing to let this one move on without us. (If it is renewed, which would surprise me, I'm sure I'd check in out of duty, but the thought doesn't thrill me.) There was some very good acting throughout the run of The Killing although the great Michelle Forbes was thoroughly wasted until the very end of the second season and the moodiness and atmosphere carried me a long way past the numerous red herrings, but I'm not sure this is an experiment I'm eager to see repeated again unless the story picked up in intensity without lapsing into such chronic mopeyness. (This would be a setting ripe for a serial killer, but let's not give them any ideas.)

Regarding Jamie Anne Allman as Poor Aunt Terry, whose motive for sending the car into the drink (regardless of who was in the trunk) seemed a bit of a stretch, she really nailed that scene of confession, didn't she? Thinking back on the series as a whole, her caretaking the family can be interpreted as expiating guilt, but like you, I'm not willing to relive any of this to see if there were embedded clues. Like most of the cast, her work was shrouded in an ambiguity on purpose, I would think that would allow us to both suspect and empathize with her, whichever way the story went. And I was OK with the fact that there were basically two killers: Jamie just being too inept to finish the deed. (The one twist I loathed was seeing now-Mayor Richmond go back to corrupt business as usual, a cheaply cynical and unearned transition; plus even with connections, Ames would have to be implicated by proximity with Rosie's death after Terry's confession, right? But let's not nitpick.) There was no way a finish after this long and polarizing a build-up would please everyone, and I guess I'd put myself in the intrigued but underwhelmed and unmoved column.

Question: I watched The Killing this year, and wasn't too concerned that we didn't know who Rosie's killer was at the end of last season as it appears many were, and the ending was truly a shocker at least for me! When will we know if it's been renewed for next year? The two main characters are extremely talented, and their chemistry has started to work (not that I think they should fall in love!) but their teamwork has fallen into an easy rhythm well worth watching. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for another season? Holly

Matt Roush: I haven't a clue when AMC will decide to pull the trigger one way or the other; could be soon, but since the show is clearly in limbo, with ratings down year to year amid a critical and fan backlash, they don't have to make the call until the contracts expire, which according to a Variety story isn't until later this year. My mail is split pretty much down the middle on this one, but for me, I'm satisfied they finally solved this case and would regard cancellation as something of a mercy Killing.

Question: What are the actual chances that Joel Kinnaman gets an Emmy nomination for The Killing? I think he's fantastic on that show. Chad [from Twitter]

Matt Roush: I agree; he and Mireille Enos (who was nominated last year) often rose above the material, and he was especially strong this season. But to be realistic, the show got such a bad rap in the second year it's hard to imagine even its best assets being considered very strongly. Kinnaman faces a particularly steep challenge, because the supporting actor drama field is so strong, with multiple contenders from shows including Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Good Wife and Justified, to name a very few.

Read the original post:
Ask Matt: The Killing Post-Mortem, Bunheads, Longmire, More

Related Posts

    Your Full Name

    Your Email

    Your Phone Number

    Select your age (30+ only)

    Select Your US State

    Program Choice

    Confirm over 30 years old

    Yes

    Confirm that you resident in USA

    Yes

    This is a Serious Inquiry

    Yes

    Message:



    matomo tracker