The Killing - Recap: Mistakes Were Made

That puts a real ticking clock on each episode, and makes for a more exciting series overall. Yet while "Eminent Domain" certainly has the same elements, it just felt as if the show was marking time until the end of the episode, when we could be given the next reveal in the investigation: that Pastor Mike (Ben Cotton) might not be who he says he is. This is all well and good, but the episode more or less amounts to an hour of atoning for mistakes, as Linden (Mireille Enos) makes amends for the errors she made in the initial investigation that put Ray Seward (Peter Sarsgaard) behind bars, while Skinner (Elias Koteas), still in denial, seems to slowly come to the realization that the real killer is, in fact, still out on the streets. These are all good character-building moments, but it borders on excessive, at times. However, while the episode wasn't the ideal representation of just how good a show The Killing has often been in its third season, "Eminent Domain" offers several genuinely compelling developments, particularly as it concerns Seward, and Bullet (Bex Taylor-Klaus).

Credit: Carole Segal/AMC

The whole premise of the investigation has shifted, as it now seems that Joe Mills might not be responsible for Kallie's disappearance. At least not according to Angie Gower (Laine MacNeil), the young victim Linden and Holder (Joel Kinnaman) rescued last week. After looking through the photo lineup, Angie insists that the would-be killer isn't among the faces. She remembers his eyes and the way they watched her, as if looking right through her, and the intensity of this description is enough to satisfy Holder that Mills might not be the guy. But Linden is persistent, forcing the girl to look at the photo array again, at which point the duo is asked to leave the victim's hospital room. If it hadn't been apparent before, it's clear now just how unhinged Linden has become. As Holder points out, the only living person to have seen the killer's face just told them Mills isn't their guy. And if Mills isn't their guy, it's back to the drawing board. And with only 12 days left until execution, Seward doesn't exactly have much time left to spare. Nor, for that matter, does Kallie -- she might already be dead, for all anyone knows. Naturally, Linden's guilt over the false imprisonment of Seward is eating her alive, and her confrontation with Skinner over the mistakes they made three years ago illustrates the extent to which the Seward case haunts them both. Skinner doesn't seem 100% sold on Seward's innocence, or on Mills's, but the wheels seem to be turning in his head, to where this is at least a consideration for the lieutenant.

Credit: Carole Segal/AMC

Of course, as it turns out, there may be one other living person who's seen the face of the killer: Seward's son, Adrian. When Adrian's guardians come in to lodge a formal complaint about Linden speaking to Adrian without their permission, they inadvertently reveal that the boy has regressed to his former behavior of sleeping in his closet. Linden extrapolates from this that Adrian must have been sleeping in the closet on the night of the murder, and takes Holder with her to investigate the old house. And it's there that Linden discovers a grate in the closet that provides a clear line of sight directly to where Trisha Seward's body was discovered -- hence, Adrian more than likely saw the killer's face. And one would think he'd have mentioned the killer being his father by now. But he hasn't. And so Linden desperately wants to get another private audience with Adrian to ask him about what he saw the night of his mother's murder. But Skinner is firm in his ruling: that's simply not going to happen. To make matters worse, the only other person who's seen the killer's face is now missing once again, as Angie Gower has bailed from the hospital. A frustrated Skinner demands that she be found today, though the force is already facing a full plate, as they continue to comb the streets for Mills.

Credit: Carole Segal/AMC

Seward, similarly, has only seen his anxieties and troubles increase. Alton (Lil JJ), his only friend among the death row inmates, hangs himself in his cell at the beginning of the episode. It's a harrowing scene that makes tremendous use of Sarsgaard's wonderfully expressive face, as we can't really see Alton dying, we can only hear his final breaths, and see Seward's tortured reactions. Perhaps compelled by Alton's tale last week of a peaceful reconciliation with his siblings, Seward decides to meet with his father, a fellow prison inmate. Their reunion is my favorite scene this season, as Seward's father recounts the day Ray was born. He was scrawny and had to be placed in an incubator, at which point his mother broke down, assuming he would die. But Seward's father declares that he never worried once, because he knew Ray was his child, and was strong. Of course, Ray then responds to his father by recounting how he and his mother fell to pieces after he abandoned them. But Seward's father insists that he helped make a man out of Ray. Tiring of his father's weak apologies, Ray declares, "Dying in an orange jumpsuit doesn't make you a man," and leaves his past behind in the meeting room, recognizing that it was a mistake, on his part, to even bother trying to reconnect. But Seward's trials don't end there. Linden visits with the death row inmate to tell him about her findings, that Adrian likely saw the killer's face, which could exonerate him. After five episodes of build, Seward comes as close to proclaiming his innocence as he's ever come: he flips out on Linden for failing to catch this three years earlier. In essence, nothing she does matters now, since he's going to be dead in twelve days anyway. Sarsgaard is absolutely tremendous here, and the stone-faced way Mireille Enos endures his angry barrage tells you all you need to know about the weight of Linden's guilt. Seward really is one of the best additions to the series, with Sarsgaard's hair-trigger intensity and the internalized pathos of the character.

Credit: Carole Segal/AMC

In the last arc of the evening, Danette (Amy Seimetz) continues to develop as an actual caring parent, as she tours the city with Bullet in an attempt to find Kallie. Danette has been struggling with her culpability in Kallie's disappearance, having protected Mills when Linden had questioned her about him earlier. Linden questions her a second time after Danette is taken into custody for storming into the police station and belligerently demanding to see Linden, as she is convinced that Mills is the killer, after having discovered Kallie's phone among his things in the climax of last week's episode. In the session, Linden remains somewhat hostile with Danette for her evasiveness in the past. However, Linden comes to a sort of motherly understanding with Danette after she tearfully recounts taking Kallie to the river as a baby. It's a wonderful little scene that reveals the hidden depths of Danette's affection for her daughter. Linden doesn't offer any words of understanding, but simply gives silent assent to Danette's assertions about how difficult single motherhood can be. It's a solid story that is all the more effective once Danette joins with Bullet, who makes for a very good vehicle for understanding these kids and their respective plights. When Bullet gives an unenthusiastic assurance to Danette that Kallie will be alright, it's heartbreaking because we can see that the faith and hope have been beaten out of Bullet. That's why it's such an uplifting moment when Lyric (Julia Sarah Stone) confesses that she knows about Bullet's feelings for her, and kisses her after saying she doesn't have to try to be so tough all the time. These kids understand each other in a way no one else could, not even the most tuned-in, street-savvy adult, like Holder. In many respects, all these kids have is each other, which makes Kallie's loss all the more poignantly felt.

Credit: Carole Segal/AMC

"Eminent Domain" isn't perfect, but there's plenty worth recommending about it. I suppose I could have done with a lot less of Linden's guilt tour and more of Holder's fantastic astronomy lectures, or even Reddick's massively inappropriate jokes. I even could have used more of the heartbreaking reflections of Angie, who asks Holder if the loss of the ring finger on her left hand will matter if someone decides they want to marry her. There is a lot of atmosphere with this show, so really, even when the show doesn't get everything right, it hits far more often than it misses. So while "Eminent Domain" was hardly my favorite episode of television this week, it's done nothing to dull my confidence in the series, going forward.