Every once in a while I enjoy a great murder mystery. Usually not in the style of books (for such an avid book fan, go wonder) but definitely for a film. Hardly ever to I watch a TV Series devoted to catching a murderer such as The Killing, except perhaps, the occasional hour long CSI episode. I will be honest, I get bored quickly. Too much drama, sadness, and such a large puzzle makes shows such as The Killing hard to watch. It takes a real good one to keep my intrigue, and The Killing definitely did over all 4 seasons.

The Killing takes place in Seattle, WA, following the Detection Linden as the lead investigator in a homicide. She and her new partner Holder team up in search of Rosie Larson’s killer. Rosie was a 16 year old high school student who went missing, her family reported her missing, and she was found in the trunk of a car. The first two seasons only concern Rosie Larson’s death as well as the toll it brings upon her family. Moreover, it drags into the murder mystery a mayoral candidate, his political team, an Indian casino, and Rosie’s school teacher.

These two seasons were filled with twists and turns, as well as some key players really getting injured along the journey to find the murderer. In all honesty, it did get tedious after some time. You think to yourself “how do the writers dream this stuff up?” But, in the end it makes for really great TV episodes. Fair warning, The Killing gets very dark at times, and I usually don’t cringe at gruesome/disgusting scenes/information, and even I did at times. Interestingly enough, Rosie was no saint and led a life that was a bit surprising to her family, but never deserved to die. If anything, some of the people that Holder and Linden uncovered should have been killed off, but no.

Now, in discussing the first two seasons I will come right out and say that the first two seasons were amazingly better than the last two. The twists, turns, secrets you find out about the neighbors and others is astounding. However, the last two seasons really looked into the characters’ personal issues and lives. So, I guess you could think of it as such: what the first seasons lacked in character discussion, the last two developed those aspects fully.

The third season plot concerned the disappearances of many of Seattle’s girls who lived on the streets and were prostitutes. The murderer would get them in his car, bribing them with food, then murder them. Linden was brought back onto the force to help Holder find the killer. There was this secondary plot also that the investigators thought they found the killer and he was scheduled to be executed in 48 hours. Honestly, that whole subplot was a waste of time, because the convicted man was insane (literally, whacked). The ending to this season, in my humble opinion, was actually much more shocking than the first season (and that was a shocker). The scumbag that it ended up being who killed all those girls, deserved what he got. Ha! No spoilers!

The fourth season that just aired 6 episodes on Netflix was a great story, not as good as the previous two, but definitely had some bits of shock to it, classic components of the series. This season, however, really allowed the viewer to see Linden as a human being with flaws and imperfections. She has a mother who gave her away for adoption, and we got a glimpse as to why Linden is the cold person she is. Also, Holder has a personal life and that is developed in this season too. It’s as if the murder mystery of the show is on even playing field with the characters’ personal lives. Now, the mystery really wasn’t that interesting. I did however, like how they ended the series. Linden looked happy (that’s a shock in and of itself) and Holder too. Spoiler: both leave being a detective for other more gratifying work.

I know I didn’t go through and give great synopses of the show and each season, but if you want to watch a great show that keeps you watching on Netflix, DO IT! Be warned, it’s dark and a bit gruesome at times, but has great characters who aren’t perfect and you get a glimpse of them throughout the series. Plus just try solving who is the murderer. I will bet you money you won’t figure it out until the very end.