I wanted to have a break between the first and second season of The Killing because of how intense it is to watch. But eventually, having the DVD sitting next to me was too much to bear and I weakened.
At the beginning of series two, I missed centain characters a lot, namely Troels Hartmen and Pernille Larsen. The Killing writers like to run a political thread through each series and the character of Thomas Buch was not nearly as commanding as Troels. In fact, it took until the last few epsidoes for me to be properly hooked into to the political thread.
Not so, the crime investigation. Lund is as brilliant as ever and I can’t get enough of her character. I can’t think of another instance in television where a female is protrayed as so uncompromising and focussed and good at what they do (The Closer is along those lines but not nearly as powerful as this). There is not a moment when you are not in Lund’s corner, helping her unravel the dirty threads, going head to head with the bureacracy, fighting mediocrity, and struggling to keep her emotional life in tact. Yet, at no time does she lose her female essence. I totally applaud the writers and the actor, Sofie Grabol, for creating a heroine with such strength, courage and intelligence.
The plotting in series 2 is probably tighter than series one, and never at any stage was I actually sure who the killer was – that is, until the last epsisode. As a crime writer of sorts, I’m fascinated by how well they constantly confuse the reader with false leads, dead ends and by witholding information. It’s a mesmeric dance, driven by a strong protagonist.
As I said, the character Thomas Buch did not work his way under my skin like Troels Hartmen did, but the political thread was certainly a bleak look at the inner workings of politics.
The thread concerning the accused soldier Jens Peter Raben and his wife, was nicely handled and again it’s impossible not to be on the side of this badly wronged soldier. Until, of coure the final revelations which leaves the viewer a little numb and conflicted. (I can’t talk any more about it, for fear of ruining the story for you).
It was pleasing to see Lund’s boss, Lennart Brix, better developed in series two. He is the man charged with managing Lund’s obsessive brilliance and is constantly torn between trusting her, and reeling her in when she oversteps the line. All this is further coloured by the affair he’s having with one of his female superiors – the woman charged with liaising between him and the government.
I can’t wait for series 3 to become available. Sophie Grabol as Sarah Lund is firmly my number one girl, sliding Holly Hunter as Grace Hannadarko into runner up.
Get the Danish version of the series and enjoy TV storytelling at it’s best.
