'The Killing' Recap: The Plot Thickens With Joe Mills

This week's episode of "The Killing" brought more rain, a frantic search for a seriously wounded girl we all hoped would be Kallie, some major displays of bad parenting and the return of an old friend: Holder's hoodie.
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Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 3, Episode 5 of AMC's "The Killing," titled "Scared and Running."

This week's episode of "The Killing" brought more rain, a frantic search for a seriously wounded girl we all hoped would be Kallie, some major displays of bad parenting and the return of an old friend: Holder's hoodie. So let's get started, shall we?

In an opening sequence that should forever reinforce the idea that it's never advisable to drive down a dark road by yourself, a teenage boy gets the scare of his life when he accidentally hits a girl that ran out in front of his car. He goes to check on her, but despite all her injuries, she runs away. If that's not disturbing enough, the poor kid is pretty sure there's someone else in the shadows. Yeah, I'm betting he's traumatized for life, but at least he has enough sense to call the cops.

In our first display of bad parenting for the evening, we find out that cabbie/pervert extraordinaire Joe Mills is actually Mama Dips' son. According to Mama, "Joey" is a young soul, which is why the kids love being around him. Right. Once the police find out that Mama's been calling Danette's house for Joe, Linden and Holder show up with a search warrant and Linden makes sure to tell Danette that it's Joe's voice on the video with Kallie, a fact that Danette seemingly chooses to ignore. She ends up telling the detectives that she missed a call from Kallie in the middle of the night which prompts Linden to tell her, "People like you shouldn't have kids." Really, Linden? Holder doesn't let her get away with that statement, and in the next scene, he basically calls her out for not speaking to Jack more often.

When the detectives arrive to investigate the missing hit-and-run victim, Linden follows her instincts through the woods, where she stumbles upon an empty red bio-hazard bag. The detectives take that as their cue that the girl -- whose description matches Kallie -- is still alive, and they drive up and down Seattle's seedy alleys looking for her. A cluster of boys up to no good alert the detectives to a gruesome discovery: a severed finger, which also happens to be across the block from Beacon.

After an unhelpful visit with Pastor Mark, Bullet joins Holder and Linden, directing them to one of Kallie's usual sleeping spots. Currently occupied by Tank and his group of thugs, Holder slips into his hoodie and becomes a dog whisperer to question the punks. A statement from a homeless man leads him to drainage pipes by the river, but unfortunately, the detectives only find blood. While Holder and Linden are starting to lose faith that they'll find Kallie alive, a defiant Bullet punches Holder in the gut and runs away to do her own investigating.

Bullet's source tells her that he saw a man drag a girl into an alley by a vet's office, which leads to Holder and Linden entering the building. There, they find a vet tech patching up an injured girl who is NOT Kallie. However, the victim is alive and might be able to provide evidence about the killer.

Revisiting the theme of bad parenting, we find out that Seward is supposed to be hanged in two weeks, which prompts a visit from Tess, Adrian's foster mother. She informs Seward that she and her husband want to adopt Adrian and she uses the excuse of wanting Seward to sign paperwork as the reason for her visit. Seward doesn't buy it, and that's when Tess tells him that Adrian wants to see him, and that he's forgiven his dad. Seward walks away, seemingly unfazed by this revelation.

So in the night's surprising turn of events, we find out that Danette is actually worried about her daughter, driving up and down the streets of Seattle looking for her. When she stops for the night and meets up with Joe, he insists on taking a shower. While loverboy cleans up, she attempts to call Kallie again, only to find the phone ringing amongst his things. The episode abruptly ends with Joe catching Danette with the phone in her hands.

Random notes and observations:

  • That Holder-Bullet hug at the end of the episode really tugged at my heartstrings.
  • Despite Reddick's warning, Holder forgot Valentine's Day. He almost landed in the dog house, but I think he managed to charm his way out of it.
  • Speaking of Reddick, where was he this episode? Could he have been chasing teenage prostitutes through the woods so that he could chop them up and then bio-hazard bag them?
  • I'm officially jumping on the Pastor-Mark-is-the-killer bandwagon, because what better way to get across how broken the system is than by killing the kids you're supposed to be protecting?

Do you guys think Kallie is still alive? Let us know in the comments below!

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