Archive

“The Killing” recap (3.7): Hope Kills

This week’s episode of The Killing picks up with Holder and Linden inside Pastor Mike’s office, where the faces of dozens of young girls stare back at them from his bulletin board. Pastor Mike is there, wearing his Warby Parkers and his best benevolent face. When Linden and Holder ask him why there aren’t any boys pictured on his wall, he just says it’s because the girls like getting their picture taken more. Suuuuure. The detectives are unconvinced as the pastor denies seeing Angie, the missing girl. While the camera pans out, we see Rayna, one of the street kids from earlier in the season. She’s eavesdropping, and from the look of distress on her face, she knows that Pastor Mike is hiding something.

Bullet and Lyric are wrapped up in each other’s arms. For a moment, they look like two regular kids, snuggled up against each other, smiling and dreaming of the future. Then you remember they are in a filthy squat, where their next meal and safety are never guaranteed. Twitch comes in, his face still a mess from his beatdown and his mind all scrambled up from drugs. It’s certainly an awkward moment for the three of them, and Twitch doesn’t want to know what happened. He tells Lyric that he’s got pieces of ass all over town, and claims to have just swindled some cougar out of a nice chunk of change. Considering his condition, this is highly unlikely, but he’s trying to save face. Lyric screams at him, her heart still invested a little bit at least, and leaves with Bullet.

At the station, a background check on Pastor Mike comes up clean. Linden and Holder are still suspicious however, and rightfully so. Beacon Home gives Pastor Mike access to all these kids, it’s really the perfect setup for allowing these kids to develop a false sense of security with him, if he indeed is not what he seems. Holder seems to be particularly affected by their meeting with the pastor.

Linden tells him to get some rest, and she heads home herself. The night is shrouded in mist as she pulls up to her home, making the headlights that pull up behind her even more ominous. Cody, Linden’s former fellow, appears. He’s angry and looking for answers, answers that Linden doesn’t want to give. When she does open up, it is only to issue a warning and say this. “I was pretending to be someone that I wasn’t when I was with you.” He grabs her, and she flashes him a look that reminds him, that though she may be small, she carries a weapon and knows how to protect herself.

The next day, Holder comes up to a group of street kids, including Bullet and Lyric. They begin to scatter, including Lyric, but Bullet assured her that Holder is no threat. She steps aside for a moment to talk to him, and he teases her playfully about her lady friend. It’s all kinds of adorable. Holder asks Bullet about Pastor Mike and she tells him that he is barking up the wrong tree. Pastor Mike is about the only decent guy around. Holder tells Bullet to protect that girl of hers.

CO Becker is back on the cellblock, and Seward can’t wait to start cutting him down to size. He starts blaming Becker for Alton’s death, and tries to get Seward to crack with talk of his family. He asks if the Mrs is stepping out of him, and to his delight, Becker’s eyes register something. There is a banging sound in the distance, which Becker tells Seward is the sound of the gallows being made for him. He then goes into graphic detail about how Seward will die by hanging, and that quiets Seward pretty quick. Dale, his cell neighbor tells him, that he has a choice as to how he exits the world.

Back in the CO locker room, Becker tells Henderson that indeed his wife is stepping out on him. Henderson is unsympathetic, as he blames Becker’s absence for Alton’s suicide.

Danette Leed’s is still on the hunt for Kallie, and busts into Beacon Home like a blonde tornado. Pastor Mike tries to calm her and tells her that Kallie is a good kid and used to take cosmetology classes at the center. This hits Danette close to home, since that is how she makes a living. As she climbs into her car, there is a note written on the back of a menu attached to her windshield. It makes a bold statement. “He’s lying.”

Danette runs to the police station to find Linden and show her the note. Linden and Holder think whoever wrote it wants to be found, so they head to the pizza place from the note. There they find Rayna watching them. They meet in a secluded area and Rayna hops into the back of the car to give them some valuable info. Around 4 a.m. the night Angie escaped from the killer, Rayna was smoking on the roof and saw Angie lying in the street. He called Pastor Mike, who was already in his car and close by. When Angie saw the pastor, she started screaming and ran away. He chased after her and when he did return, his shirt was covered with blood.

Bullet and Lyric are hanging out, exchanging sweet nothings. Lyric asks what’s on her mind, and Bullet confesses, “I’ve been totally in love with you.” Lyric seems truly pleased by this, and Bullet promises to find them a safe place. Lyric runs her fingers across Bullet’s wrist tattoo and tells her she has complete faith. Bullet goes to Pastor Mike for help, making up a story about Lyric’s crazy stepfather. She’s desperate to get them off the streets, and Pastor Mike says he will try to help. Bullet is grateful and tells him that the police are definitely on the wrong track about him. And with that, Pastor Mike knows his cover is pretty much blown.

CO Henderson and Seward are alone in the prison’s medical office. Seward needs to be weighed so the counter weight can be accurate for his execution. Seward is having trouble steeling himself, and is practically trembling. Henderson demands that he get on the scale, and when Seward does, Henderson’s humanity kicks in. He tells Seward that they will do it right, and there will be no pain. Seward breaks down. Later on, Becker stops by Seward’s cell to ask what he wants for a last meal. Seward flips out and demands to see his lawyer, as he tears his cell apart. Becker just watches without emotion.

After the detectives get permission from Skinner to run a deeper background check on Pastor Mike, they find out that he supposedly died four years ago. Pastor Mike is not really who he says he is. Linden and Holder are casing Pastor Mike’s house. He arrives home and they check out his car, which is a rental. Pastor Mike sees them and they approach to ask him some more questions. Holder takes note of his biblical tattoos and asks the station to run a check on it. The tattoo comes back with a identification. Pastor Mike is actually Mark Wood, who was arrested a few years back for kidnapping a 16- year-old girl. She OD’d so the charges were dropped. It’s enough to get a warrant. Back inside the house, we see that Mark Wood is allowing Bullet and Lyric to stay with him.

Later that night, Lyric is eating ice cream when Mark appears in the kitchen. He starts talking about feeling alone and not having anywhere to go before. Lyric starts to get nervous, and says that Bullet will be there in a few minutes but her eyelids start to droop, her speaking slows, and it appears that she has been drugged. By the time the police raid the house, both of them are gone.

At the station, Danette finds herself sitting with a mother of a missing girl. This woman has been showing up at police stations for years, hoping that one of these times she will find her daughter’s body so there can at least be a sense of closure to her pain. For her, having hope is the most painful thing. Danette looks like she’s been shot through the heart.

Seward is upset and asks why Dale would put the idea into his head that he could do anything to change his outcome. It’s too late to change the method now. Dale tells him, he has the choice to choose forgiveness and salvation. The tangible is no longer in his control. With that, work on the gallows finishes. Becker, in a bid to win father of the year, brings his son to the gallows to check them out.

Skinner and Linden are alone in his office, discussing Seward. Linden is convinced he’s innocent, and they need to stop the execution. Out of nowhere, the two of them nuzzle each other and come close to kissing. They are blessedly interrupted by a phone call. It is the only moment I can recall in this show that has rung false to me. I know they have a past, but there is no connection, no chemistry between these two, and I’m still trying to process it. The call was to let them know that the pastor’s car was found.

The detectives arrive at the scene and inspect the car, which is parked in a train station lot. The back seat is covered with blood. Mark Wood is in the wind. Bullet runs to the scene looking for Lyric and is held back by a police barricade. Holder is angry and upset, thinking of all the girls they let down by letting Mark Wood get away. Dejected, Linden heads to her car alone. Ask she settles into her seat, the cold steel of a knife is pressed against her neck. Mark Wood, now in control, tells her to drive.

Lesbian Apparel and Accessories Gay All Day sweatshirt -- AE exclusive

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button