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The Autopsy of The Killing: Part 8 – “Stonewalled”

The original main cast of The Killing

New Evidence:

Whilst being held to the ground, Linden looks around the room, focussing on a variety of items that could belong to a young girl, as a music box plays in the background. Linden’s attention is drawn towards a pink T-shirt. By illegally entering the premises, the FBI tells Linden and Holder that they might have just compromised a terrorism investigation. Upon release, Lieutenant Oakes scolds Linden and Holder, though they believe “106 R” could be a place of interest regarding Rosie’s murder. Linden tells Oakes about the T-shirt. After returning to Regi’s boat, Linden calls the station to ask if she could be e-mailed all the files pertaining to the Larsen case, as Jack appears from below. A TV news broadcast reveals the mosque attended by Bennet is been investigated for ties to terrorist groups, which raises the possibility of a connection between the two cases. Upon her arrival at the station, an irate Lieutenant Oakes tells Linden that Rosie’s crime scene photos have leaked to the press.

Principal Meyers calls Bennet to ask him to stay at home, and not return until he’s cleared as a suspect. At a briefing, the FBI tells the SPD that Muhammed H is suspected of providing material support to known radical elements. They found suspicious items at the meat store (106 R) such as maps of border areas, and falsified passports for Muhammed and a number of young girls. Linden tells the FBI that any link between Rosie and the terrorism case is purely coincidental. Mitch happens upon Rosie’s crime scene photos when they are broadcast on the local news. Distraught, she goes to the station and is met by Linden who immediately apologies. Linden sneaks into an FBI van containing evidence and takes a photo of the pink T-shirt. Bennet arrives home, and Amber asks where he’s been. They quickly start to argue about Muhammed. Linden goes to see Mitch and asks about the pink T-shirt, to which Mitch confirms it was Rosie’s.

Linden tells Oakes about the evidence and is told the FBI has taken over the case. Suspicious of Holder’s afterwork activities, Linden discreetly follows him but is surprised to find him at an NA meeting where he shamefully confesses his past failings. Linden receives a call that outs her son, Jack, as the person who leaked Rosie’s crime scene photos. After arguing, Linden takes Jack to Regi’s and is met by Holder who tells her he’s put a wiretap on Bennet’s phone. They agree to not tell Lieutenant Oakes. The episode ends with Bennet shouting over the phone (in Somali), before announcing new passports will be arriving tomorrow (in English), as Amber listens to the conversation from an adjoining room. Holder then receives a call regarding the wiretap, so he and Linden head towards their intended destination.

The Suspects:

After Episode 8, Bennet and his presumed accomplice, Muhammed, are looking more and more likely to be guilty of the crime. Believing Bennet and Muhammed to be the clear suspects, upon her exit from “106 R” Linden theorises, “It could be our crime scene. The room is set up to hold young girls. They could’ve brought Rosie there after Bennet’s apartment.” Then later, after Mitch confirms the pink T-shirt found inside the meat store is indeed Rosie’s, she tells Linden, “He’s still living his life. He’s happy. It’s not right.” Bennet is not doing himself any favours, when we see him announce towards the end of the episode, “The passports will be arriving tomorrow. Call me when they do, and this will all be over. Don’t worry about the police. They don’t know anything.” Bennet is clearly guilty of something, otherwise, why would he be running? Whether it’s Rosie’s murder or his link to Muhammed and the terrorism investigation or potentially something else entirely remains to be seen.

By digging up old dirt, Richmond sets out to go on the offensive against Mayor Adams in Episode 8, but Jamie is less optimistic when he tells Richmond, “You seen the news? They’re linking Bennet Ahmed to the terrorists at the mosque, which means they’re linking you to the terrorists.” Jamie hires a P.I. to snoop on Adams, then later meets Tom Drexler who says he has information that will bury Adams. Jamie brings the evidence back to Richmond and Gwen, which is met with mixed reactions, but is soon after sent to the press. Also, Richmond goes to the parole hearing of his wife’s killer and punches a bathroom mirror in anger. Obviously, the pressure on Richmond’s shoulders is beginning to weigh heavy. Up until this point, the Richmond campaign has been shown to be morally dubious on a number of occasions, but this is the first outright attack on his Mayoral competition.

He leaks information about Adams’ alleged mistress, which causes the woman emotional distress when we see the press hound her for information. As Richmond watches the news unfold, he’s clearly questioning whether or not he’s made the right decision.

What Year Is This?

While I’ve only mentioned her in passing up until this point, I wanted to use this section to talk about Rosie’s aunt, Terry Marek. Essentially, she is The Killing’s version of Maddy Ferguson from Twin Peaks. Terry is there to help her sister, her brother-in-law and their kids with anything necessary. Like Maddy, Terry is shown to be loving, caring and extremely supportive in helping her family cope with the death of Rosie. “Thanks…for everything,” says Stan. In this episode, we see her save her nephews from potential danger, as Mitch accidentally left the engine running when she becomes sidetracked by Rosie’s crime scene photos leaking to the news. Terry reluctantly tells Stan about the incident, which later causes an argument between Mitch and her husband. It starts after Stan begins to clear Rosie’s old room, and sadly ends with them blaming one another for the loss of their daughter.

The Larsen family outside under a tree in The Killing

It’s only been just over one week since Rosie’s death, so naturally, the Larsen family is still struggling to come to terms with their loss. It might have been careless of Stan to start redecorating Rosie’s old room, but at least his hair hasn’t turned white and he hasn’t started to sing “Mairzy Doats.”


The next article in “The Autopsy of The Killing” will focus on the ninth episode of The Killing, written by Dan Nowak and directed by Agnieszka Holland, respectively. And, if you’re enjoying this series, I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment below, and/or give me a follow on Twitter (@JonSheasby), and we’ll continue the conversation over there.

Written by Jon Sheasby

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