To me, this episode really proves that the most important things are not red herrings (or lack thereof) but a quality storyline and emphasis on the characters about whom we care.

Yeah, couldn't possibly be.  While I still don't know that I understand exactly how a beaten-down Deb got out of the storage locker, got another gun, caught up to him and killed him (what did I miss here?), they telegraphed the thing throughout.

Also - something needs to be said about that atrocious product placement for Activate.  They at least tried to save it when Deb called back to it later on, but the drink is just too gimmicky to go unnoticed in a TV show - and Elway's lame shill job about electrolytes was ridiculous.

As far as the episode itself went, I didn't think it was much weaker than the season average.  It didn't have the special acting moments or awesome Holder dialogue that have made a few of the episodes stand out, but it wasn't bad by any means.

In fact, seeing as I wasn't yet sold on The Killing's resurgence at the time, I took it as a given that Donkey Lips was going to sleep with Becker's wife.  So I applaud them for calling back to that situation in a less cheesy way.

It's an interesting suggestion, but as for (c), I thought this episode worked really hard to make the viewer suspect Vogel as some sort of villain.  In particular, it seemed they really wanted us to think the break-in was staged, almost to the extent that I think they'll have to reveal it was legit to avoid being so…

Much better episode.

I'm far from one of those "Jersey Shore's success is a sign of the apocalypse" people who holds a grudge against successful, low-brow entertainment, but the notion that this show could solidify itself as a hit brings me close to joining that camp.

Given the existence of that season one character, I think the show HAS to reveal that the Pastor is, in some way, a bad guy.  Even if he's not the actual killer.

While it *IS* The Killing and thus cannot be trusted, I do feel like there is an important distinction between creating a series of incompatible red herrings for the sake of having a twist of the week and focusing on the organic questions and red flags associated with 'whodunnit' cases.

Logical or not, I did focus on that "eyes" comment throughout the episode, and thus saw it as very deliberate that the current prime suspect wears glasses.  Of course, one would assume that any teenage prostitute in that area KNOWS the pastor and would thus recognize his eyes.

If I understood it correctly, the not-so-bad guard got there a little late, but because Becker (his boss) was on leave, the third guard noted that there wouldn't be ramifications.

Exactly.

If I follow you correctly, you're saying that the guy who had the girl in the car — and said he was going to "save her" — was not, in fact, the serial killer who has been offing all the prostitutes?

Ambyr Childers is really hot, so that's a plus (although they almost ruined her with that ludicrous, male fantasy "I want to taste you" dialogue).

@avclub-ce7da3812ed2a993e2194cd75e94b18b:disqus You're right.  When I replied, I wasn't fully appreciating the implications of catfish-first casting.  Beyond potentially rendering the discovery insincere, it also calls into question WHY the catfish is so willing to meet the victim in person.  Thus far, Max and Nev…

But without even considering the extent to which the producers reverse engineer the storyline, wouldn't you have to assume the show "knew" there was an answer in order to broadcast the episode?

Based on how it was promoted, I thought the exact same thing.  Of course, looking back, it was totally ludicrous that I figured a supposedly 100% authentic documentary would involve the central character getting tortured or killed by a psychopath — the twist was obviously not going to be akin to something from a…

*As far as the hosts go, I actually have far more of a problem with Max than I do Nev.  I mean, I can totally understand all of Myles' issues with Nev, but at least he WAS the guy who made this into a thing and can certainly be sincere in empathizing with the "victims."  Max is the ultimate hanger-on, yet with each…

The connection between the death of Trisha Seward and the recent murders has been on the table from the get-go, and it's obviously going to figure into the second half of the season.