Three Up, Three Down: The Killing

Not sure how well this concept is going to work for this show, which so rarely has three characters you could define as "up." But I'll do the best I can.

Three Up

3. Jamie Wright. In the wake of Richmond's shooting he manages to keep the campaign going and even gets to take a swing at one of the mayor's aides. He's doing his best to keep everything together. Still, he's not very up given how things are working out.

2. Stephen Holder. As cocky as he is for making the Richmond collar and getting promoted to homicide, he quickly figures out that things don't add up in the Larsen case, especially when the sudden appearance of Rosie's backpack outside of the Larsen house doesn't prompt significant inquiry. He then reasserts his badass self by taking the backpack, though what he'll do with it is up to question as he's been told that he was basically set up to steer the case towards Richmond.

1. Sarah Linden. She's the first to twig on to the idea that there's some sort of conspiracy at play, and makes quick connections to Holder's former boss in Narcotics and a representative of the mayor. She also pieces together some information from Gwen to check out Richmond's favored kayaking area. Still, for the new progress she has no idea who to trust or even if she and Jack are safe. Her personal life is certainly not at the top of the positive scale.

Three Down


3. The Larsen family. You could probably populate this entire section with Larsens. Stan has seen Mitch walk and his right hand man kill himself. The boys are feeling the absence of their mother keenly, and don't even feel safe in their own home. And Terry has to move in after whoever was paying her rent cuts her off, though she covers by taking a maternal role.


2, Belko Royce. He's got one dead (his mom) and one gravely injured (Richmond), and when he tells Stan that he shot Richmond for Stan and Rosie, Stan's sad, pitying looks tells Belko he's lost the trust of the man he looks up to the most. That, coupled with the fact that he's not going home soon, despite Holder's comments to the contrary, leads Belko to grab a cop's gun and kill himself.

1. Darren Richmond. He's been shot, paralyzed, will have a colostomy bag for the rest of his life, and to top it all off, Linden has figured out what Richmond was doing the night of Rosie's murder - trying to kill himself due to the guilt he feels over his wife's death. So while he's been cleared, he now has to live with the aftermath of his shooting and the potential of his suicide attempt going public.