Movies & TV

The Killing Recap: Bulldog (Season 2, Episode 11)

Published on September 14, 2023

YouTube Sensation: Darren “Mic Drop” Richmond

Photo Credit: Carole Segal/AMC

Before I get in the bulk of this week’s recap of The Killing, there was a sequence tonight that really bothered me insofar as it might be the silliest, most divorced-from-reality thing that this show has ever done. And that’s saying a lot. As Day 24 of the investigation into Rosie Larsen’s murder begins, the latest daily poll regarding the Seattle Mayoral Election reveals that Richmond got a bump in his numbers, and many on his staff gives credit to the YouTube video of him playing basketball. Jaime is so ecstatic that he says, “If 2% of the people who saw that video online show up at the polls, that’s your deficit right there.”

For starters, YouTube is a global site so for all he knows, the majority of viewers could be from outside the country, let alone the city. The odds of all of them being from Seattle are slim. Secondly, if you’re looking at videos of Darren Richmond, you’re probably already going to vote for him. And thirdly, would a guy in a wheelchair playing basketball sway your vote? The popularity of this YouTube video sends Mayor Adams into such a tizzy that he threatens Richmond that he’ll reveal Richmond’s suicide attempt if he doesn’t back out of the race. The amount of views on this game changing event? Slightly over 10,000. Now that’s viralness of epic proportions!

With that out of the way, I might as well finish up with Richmond. After debating whether to drop out of the race, he goes on stage at a press conference and reveals the truth about his whereabouts on the night Rosie Larsen was murdered in a move that shocks both Jaime and Gwen. I’m unclear if the writers expected it to surprise us since his decision was fairly obvious- they’re not going to end the election/Richmond plotline this close to the finale. Richmond gives a speech about how all of us have been on Suicide Bridge at one point or another, but we find the will to keep fighting, and he closes by dropping the microphone to the ground. Richmond, out. The move lacks impact when the mic falls from waist-high, but it would be funny regardless of how far up he was. The audience seems more flabbergasted than anything as we head into Election Night Eve.

Sarah Linden Picks A Card

Photo Credit: Carole Segal/AMC

On the investigation side, Linden and Holder are back on the case despite Linden no longer being a detective and Holder still being on leave, I think. They plead with Gwen to convince her father to get them a federal warrant to search the Indian casino. She threatens Senator Dad that she’ll tell the press about The Kiss with Mayor Adams, which actually does turn out to be only a kiss and thus takes away a lot of the power and the deviancy from the event. In fear for his career, he calls in a favor, gets the warrant, and an entire FBI team is rounded up to search the Indian casino. This entire process takes place in only a couple of hours- if I’m being generous.

The group searches the 10th floor to find “nothing,” and when Security Chief Drays gives them a 10-minute warning, they all leave. I would have really liked to known the time frame on that warrant and who was leading the FBI team since Linden was only an observer and no one actually tells the team to walk out. The entire sequence seemed unrealistic and ill thought out, but by this point it’s expected from this show. At the very least, they could have used those final 10 minutes.

Nevertheless, Linden finds the blood covered key card, hides it from the FBI, and smugly shows it to the elevator’s security camera as she and Holder ride down. Her self-satisfied smile was one of Linden’s best moments this season, maybe even of the series, even if she should know not to show the ace up her sleeve to the person who has the Mayor and probably the police in her back pocket. A surveillance team even follows her and Holder, but this development amounts to nothing. Though, Chief Jackson crushing Dray’s fingers in the door was an intense move on her part.

At the end, Holder and Linden attempt to corner the mayor in his office as he’s watching the Richmond press conference on television with his staff. Even though the Mayor’s office is made entirely of glass, no one notices the two disheveled, angry cops standing right outside the door. However, the key card doesn’t work, but it works on the door to the Richmond campaign offices.

Pondering Life As A Dog

Photo Credit: Carole Segal/AMC

Finally, we have Stan Larsen. Stan wants to go after Janek so he makes Terry the godmother to his children and extols the wonderful life of being a dog. Alexi, the guy whose father Stan killed to escape the mob, ends up killing Janek “for his father” by hiding in his backseat and shooting him when he starts the car. So for those playing The Killing drinking game, toss one back for the “back seat reveal.” Also, Mitch returns home by sitting in darkness and looking depressed, which is so unlike her!

And that’s what we have with two weeks left to close out the season, or more likely, the series. There was movement on the Richmond and investigation storylines, but the Stan moments felt primarily like filler and a way to wrap up loose ends that don’t really seem that important anyway. Regardless, we’re in the homestretch now.

Additional Thoughts:

• I’m glad I watch Mad Men and Game of Thrones on Monday, because 72 Hours could not compete with The Other Woman and Blackwater in the slightest.
• This show gets compared to Twin Peaks a lot, but the score when Gwen is consoling Richmond after learning that he tried to kill himself sounded very Angelo Badalamenti/Peaks-y to me.
• I thought the scene where Linden and Holder are doing a badass walk to freak out the mayor by using his bloodstained keycard only to have it denied was pretty funny. Speaking of which, when Holder asks why they aren’t giving it to the police/FBI to have the blood tested, Linden says something like “we know the blood is Rosie’s.” Which probably means the blood isn’t Rosie’s. Also, wouldn’t the keycard be deactivated by now assuming the person whose it was got a new one?
• The FBI guys had the letters “FBI” in tiny white letters on the back of their black shirts/jackets. Maybe television has lied to me, but I’m used to seeing “FBI” in big gold letters on the back of a blue shirt/jacket. Which is the actual FBI Task Force uniform? With the feds involved, I’m surprised we didn’t see a return of Linden’s former flame, the one Holder likened to Tom Waits even though he had nothing Tom Waits-y about him.
• Between the walk, the mic drop, the back seat reveal, and the YouTube sequence this was a humorous episode. However, my biggest laugh of the evening came during the promo for next week. The announcer actually says “Next week, on Part 1 of the Two Night Season Finale On Which Rosie Larsen’s Killer Will Be Revealed.” It sounded like such a sad plea. I’ve heard season finale promos where the announcer says something like “all questions will be answered,” but I can’t remember one that sounded so desperate and specific. “We promise! We seriously, truly promise that this time you’ll get the answer to who killed Rosie Larsen! Don’t hate us! Please watch! We swear! You will find out who killed Rosie Larsen! And it’s a two night event! Two