Several critics panned Sunday night’s episode of The Killing, “Undertow.” Reviewers for Slate, LA Times, Salon, and The AV Club reamed AMC’s “nordic noir” for its ridiculous plot twists, goofy coincidences (Rosie’s pink Grand Canyon shirt), and red herrings (the terrorism subplot). “It’s all MacGuffins, with no narrative payoff,” one critic sighs.
As I tweeted after watching, I didn’t think “Undertow” was all that bad. Sure, the political storyline was a snooze-fest, but it always is. Incidentally, I’ve never identified with, liked, or cared about any of those characters. Surely I’m not alone here? In fact, the only political person’s whose name I recall from week to week is Darren Richmond (Billy Campbell). The others I refer to as Richmond’s Wannabe Wife Replacement, Richmond’s Weasely Sidekick, The Mayor, and The Mark Cuban Guy (aka, the dude always playing basketball and talking trash). But I digress.
After reading the reviews above, I understand why some would badmouth the show, even going so far as to entitle their column “How The Killing Killed Itself.” For example, the female genital mutilation subplot does seem to come out of left field, and Matt Zoller Seitz is right to point out that it is “a political and cultural powder keg that deserves to be placed at the center of a series, or at least a multi-episode arc within a series, rather than treated as a handy way to strike a character from a list of murder suspects.” I’m hoping the storyline will yield more than this, but with only one episode left this season, I’m not too hopeful. (Update: 5/29/11: I just discovered three more episodes remain.)
The other element of “Undertow” that bunched up the critics’ boxers is the bit about Rosie Larsen’s pink Grand Canyon t-shirt. Todd VanDerWerff describes this “really terrible decision” thusly: “As Stan is driving Bennet to what seems to be his execution, Mitch discovers the shirt she told Linden was missing last week in with some laundry. Really? This is something that’s supposed to pass for realistic plot development?” Honestly, this situation doesn’t bother me and neither does the undeveloped terrorism subplot or Bennet’s now-skeptical wife, which VanDerWerff calls red herrings in his review. Granted, I’ve been anxious about the whole Bennet/Muslim/terrorism subplot, but I’ve also had faith that the show would handle these matters delicately and appropriately and, moreover, that the creators had a specific reason for including such a sensitive storyline. We’ll see…
But mainly I wonder if I’m excusing some of these things because I’m really, really fond of The Killing‘s lead character, Sarah Linden (Mirielle Enos), and the fact that 1) she is not a he and 2) she looks like an actual detective. In other words, I like that a competent, mellow, contemplative, Nicotine gum-chewing woman is running the show here. More importantly, I appreciate that Linden does not perform her job in evening make-up, perfectly coiffed hairdos, low-cut blouses, ridiculous four-inch heels, and tight leather jackets, slacks, or dresses — as do many of television’s other well-known female detectives. The only fictional cop/investigator I can think of who comes close to resembling Linden in this manner is The Wire‘s Kima Greggs — and maybe Dexter‘s Debra Morgan, although her waistlines are always about 2 inches too low for reasonable comfort (above).
Unlike the women in the collage above, Linden wears (mostly unflattering) oversized sweaters, light-colored blue jeans, and functional non-leathery coats (it’s cold and rainy in Seattle, you know!). Four-inch Manolo Blahniks would do her little good as she traipsed through that field in search of Rosie Larson. Second, Linden’s hair is virtually always pulled back in a ponytail, appropriate for someone who’s been called out in the middle of the night to run after bad guys (I’ve only seen her hair down once, after she and her finance have sex, and even then, it just hung there, naturally). Finally, Linden wears hardly any makeup, and her eyebrows are not perfectly tweezed or arched. See images below.
The resounding boos for Sunday night’s “Undertow” indicate that I should be disappointed in The Killing as well as its faltering storylines and silly plot points. But I’m not. I guess my appreciation for and interest in Enos’s Sarah Linden (as well as the show’s noirish mood and lovely cinematography) supersedes that mentality. Is this weird, wrong? Significantly, other female academics in my Twitter feed likewise took no issue with the episode and subsequently wondered why others saw such fault in it. Hmmm, so how much, if anything, does this perspective have to do with gender?
I’ll close with this: in his review of “Undertow,” Hollywood.com‘s Eric Sundermann claims that there’s nothing compelling about any of the characters on The Killing. “Everyone just feels like a cliche,” he writes. “You’ve got your cops, politicians and religious folks; and, well, there are no individual characters within those worlds that are very engrossing.” The politicians, yeah, they’re cliches. But Sarah Linden? I politely beg to differ.
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Professor of film and Shakespeare. Advocate of social media. Lover of popular culture,
Great post! I agree that while some of the criticism about the pacing and red herrings/plot holes is justified, I am still liking this show for similar reasons. But I hadn't thought about her as a different (and more realistic) representation of a female detective before you brought it up. I just love Enos (was a big fan of her on Big Love) and want to see more of her.
I don't watch many procedurals/detective shows, so don't have as many points of reference. But I think Katherine Erbe's Alex Eames on Law and Order: Criminal Intent avoids the "sexy lady detective" trope. Eames' style is not as laid back as Linden's, but she looks more realistic than some of the others you mentioned. And I also appreciate that she isn't super glammed up when her partner, Bobby Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio), is definitely not turning out in designer labels and doing the hot cop routine. They both seem like actual cops.
Anyway, I came to The Killing for Enos, and she has not disappointed.
Thanks, Erin! Did you notice that I linked your tweet up there? =)
I only saw the first four episodes of Big Love, and I don't remember seeing Enos. Maybe she hadn't appeared yet? In fact, I don't recall seeing her before, in anything, ever. So to me, hers was a fresh, normal, and natural-looking face. I dug all that from the start.
Like you, I don't watch many detective shows, so I'm not familiar with Alex Eames either. Leaving now to look her up though! Thanks.
I did notice my linked tweet!
Enos isn't on Big Love until season 4…I don't want to give any spoilers in case you are planning to watch the full series. But will say she plays twins. Makes you want to watch now, right?!
I'm still on board with The Killing! But I must admit I only saw the last 15 minutes on Sunday. I totally agree with you about the Linden character – very refreshing – and I'm even enjoying Holder's scuzzy halfway-to-redemption charms. Although the "stumbled onto his AA meeting" device felt clumsy. I hope he has other shoes to drop. I think that's what some of us are worried about…a few of those major points haven't handled in a very convincing way and we only have 4 eps to go! I'll keep watching, though, if only to see what inventive way they've found to portray the Northwest rain this week.
Hi, Christopher. Yeah, you, @jmittell, and @noelrk are the only guys I know on Twitter who weren't bashing "Undertow" relentlessly. So hmmm, perhaps gender does NOT have anything to do with it?!
Yes, the rain! I always look forward to how they'll deal with the rain. I've been to Seattle; it doesn't rain THAT much. Sheesh. Still, it makes for such a nice, dreary, noirish mood. =)
I would add Melissa Leo's Kay Howard on HOMICIDE as another female detective who does not fit conventional TV representations of women police (she is interestingly contrasted to Isabella Hoffman's Megan Russert on the show, who better matches the women in your collage, but who is also a more politically-minded character who ends up, for a period, in an administrative position).
The one aspect of Linden's character that feels familiar is the professional woman who cannot hold onto a man/partner or maintain a steady relationship with her kid. It would be nice to see the series take a chance on making the fiance a supportive character, especially since Linden is presented as someone for whom police work may be as much a calling as a job. A supportive partner would go a long way towards making her relationship with her child more positive as well, assuming that he was shown to be domestically inclined.
Cop shows frequently explore domestic tensions from police work, with its long, unpredictable hours and attendant dangers, but I think there are as many suffering but supportive spouses as there are broken marriages and partnerships in cases where the cop is male and the partner is female. Seeing that relationship differently gendered would be interesting.
Hi, Shaun — I don't know Homicide, but if Kay Howard is anything like Leo's character in The Fighter, then we've got ourselves a winner — as far a "looking like a real person" is concerned, that is. =)
I'm glad you brought up Linden's fiance. That whole storyline has kinda irked me from the start as I was never a fan of pitting "the satisfying job" against "a new married life." Why not have both? In fact, I like that the show has mostly dropped the fiance from the narrative. But yeah, you're right: it would be interesting to see Linden with "a supportive partner." I guess we can't have it all, can we? Sigh.
Kay Howard is a lot like Sarah Linden in that she is dressed and adorned for work and not to be gazed at. The series takes gender seriously, but does so in ways that are more nuanced than amplified. Neither Russert nor Howard are, for example, subject to forms of violence that their male colleagues don't also face. Their relationship is complicated, and cannot be reduced to tensions from their different performances of gender. Above all, they relate to each other as professionals. (In the last two seasons, after most of the original cast has been replaced, the series becomes more conventional in its casting and approach to female detectives).
Kay, even though she has a more masculine or androgynous appearance and affect, is still allowed a healthy romantic life, but in no way, either positive or negative, does that become her priority or shown as some kind of lack for her.
Oooo, sounds very interesting — I'll definitely check out Homicide then. Thanks for the summary!
Kelli,
Linden and Holden are the main reasons I'm still around (I've given up defending the political thread), though I admit that the actual mystery of the series has become largely insufferable due to the dead ends the show has given.
I pegged Bennett as the primary suspect pretty early on ("He's the only minority OF COURSE IT'S HIM!" type of logic), but didn't think that the show's plot will go to such lengths.
The minute terrorism came into play, I largely checked out of the mystery as it shoved the mystery into a position that was, for me, far too big for the show's close focus on this one murder. While the general investigation is still limited to locals, terrorism is a larger issues than that, and it feels like an unnecessary digression (To be fair: almost at any point when cop shows does this sort of thing, I get annoyed.)
While the terrorism plot potentially could've expanded the show's view of Seattle, I don't feel like it has done that, really, and instead played fast and loose with lots of issues that surround it (the female mutilation story, for instance). Everything narratively has suffered because of the terrorism aspect.
But Linden continues to be a bright spot. I love that the show has allowed her upcoming (no doubt never going to happen now) wedding to recede into the background, because it's totally receded from her mind. It's careful character work, as we don't see her stare longingly at photos of her would-be husband, or even stuck in many moments of contemplation about leaving Seattle.
And while it may not make her a terrific wife and mother (though I did love her showing her son how to properly win at paintball), as Shaun notes, these are the breaks with police work, even when you've got one foot out the door.
Hey, Noel — thanks for the comments!
– And I love that you point this out! Thanks. I too enjoyed watching Linden teach her son how to win at paintball; she's so soft-spoken, low-key, and matter-of-fact with everyone, including him. (Hmmm, how many more hyphenated words can I come up with to describe her?!)
Well, I'm glad to know others can also "check out" of certain weird, contrived, etc., narrative elements and still enjoy the show. Thanks again for stopping by!
I'd completely forgotten about her weddings stuffs! they didn't really talk about it this past episode =/ and I do miss seeing Callum Keith Rennie's face…
nice post. I agree with most of what you say… a LOT of why I love this show is the mood, the cinematography, the music… and yes, Linden. and while the constant rain is depressing, it creates a great backdrop for the show.
I will say the terrorism sub-plot made me nervous – I hoped they wouldn't go there, and they didn't. well kinda. I do hope that the female circumcision plot doesn't just go away after this episode – but I do like that it was brought up in the show. surprisingly, there are a lot of people who are not aware of this and this is at least one way of bringing it to semi-mainstream consciousness? I try to see the positives =)
I keep feeling like we need a more concrete suspect. I never thought Bennet was it, and I'm tired of the show doing "it's Bennet!", "no it's not!", "oops, yes it is!". given how much of a build-up this is, I worry that it will be some accidental thing that was being covered up =/
I have a feeling that there is a political connect (besides the one currently established) which is the only reason we're still getting that story.
I'm in – for more than just Linden, but she definitely adds to it.
(also, I heart goren and eames.)
– That's a good point. While it is a subject that deserves more than 3 minutes of airtime (as MZS argued in his review), at least it was brought up. Glad you saw a positive. Thanks!
Having just watched the episode, I'm a bit torn. I would like to think the show's writers and producers understand the responsibility they've taken on by introducing a story about the Muslim "other." The hysteria, panic, and bigotry that this story has aroused could be a useful commentary on our comfort in assigning particular members of society as more likely to commit violent crimes. Should it be used solely as a red herring, then I'm a bit less contented.
But I totally hear you on Sarah Linden. This show is about characters. It is not quite succeeding on the level of the murder plot, but of course, we don't yet know the answers to most of those questions. I'm withholding judgment until we get to the end. And my money is on the little snitch who works with Rosie's dad.
The husband also called out "Stan's co-worker" several weeks ago! We'll see… Thanks for commenting!