AMC’s ‘The Killing’ season 3, episode 7 review: Pastor Mike’s holy war

Well, “The Killing” certainly is not afraid to go in a new direction, are they? This week, the focus was almost all about a Pastor who turned out to not exactly be the example of a good Christian. The more we found out about his past (which including quite a few sketchy dealings in Arizona), the more and more it started to look like this guy was a bad dude. When he put a knife up to Linden’s throat at the end of the hour, we really knew just what kind of a man he was.

Unfortunately, finding out so much more about Pastor Mike really did not solve everything. For one, Ray Seward is still behind bars awaiting his fate, and there is not necessarily any proof that one man’s arrest could directly mean that he is innocent. We saw for the first time some real fear in Seward’s eyes, and Peter Sarsgaard was absolutely brilliant in these scenes. What makes “The Killing” stand out is that they really show you ramifications, consequences, and feelings. This isn’t just a cop show where you move on to the next case right away.

As for the Lyric / Bullet storyline, this episode contained some of the strongest moments of the season for them as Bullet tried yet again to protect her … and failing at it. This complicated love story is not something that we fully understood or really cared about earlier in the season, but it’s really starting to grow on us thanks to the heart underneath these hardened exteriors.

In our mind, there is no real doubt that this was the strongest episode of “The Killing” so far this year: It was well-acted, well-directed, and truly heartbreaking. Plus, it is easy to say that the story has moved forward in a big way.

What did you think about this week’s episode of “The Killing”? If you want to read more news about this show, and even check out a preview in minutes for this upcoming episode, all you have to do is click here.

Photo: AMC