The problem with Those Who Kill is that it’s actually two shows, neither one of which would be appointment television. First, there’s Those Who Kill starring Chloe Sevigny as Catherine Jensen, a dedicated if impulsive detective with the Pittsburgh Police Department, determined to catch a killer who has long eluded justice: her stepfather. Next, there’s Those Who Kill starring James D’Arcy as Thomas Schaeffer, a brilliant if troubled forensic psychologist, who helps the PPD catch the monsters prowling our streets. And for those of you playing a drinking game to this first paragraph: Those Who Kill.
Neither one of the shows I described would be particluarly innovative or groundbreaking; the Sevigny show is basically a dark version of The Closer, and the D’Arcy show would be a half-assed clone of Hannibal or Elementary. Trying to combine the two, though, makes for very confusing watching. To wit: one scene features Catherine more or less forcing Thomas to let her in to his study. Over the course of maybe three minutes, they discuss a new case she wants his help on, his upcoming deposition with the DA, and her investigation into her stepfather, Howard Burgess. Conversations meander in real life, yes, but the dialogue here is stilted and unoriginal, with little in the way of segues. And on a somewhat related note, it doesn’t help that Thomas is already treating his working relationship with Catherine like an affair – how long before his pregnant wife kicks him out of the house? I’d say by episode six.
I don’t buy the DA investigation into Catherine’s shooting of Eric Krowe (last week‘s killer). I understand that it’s protocol, but there’s no suspsense involved; does the show really expect us to believe that it would suspend or fire the main character in episode two?
This week involves yet another case that is less interesting than the one we want to see. Someone has killed a girl and left her body in a dumpster, and…that’s about it. Two things are illustrated by this case: one, Those Who Kill isn’t afraid to serialize it’s B-plots, as the killer isn’t found by the end of the episode; and two, this show loves violence towards women. I’m not accusing TWK of sexism, because I doubt Chloe Sevigny would sign on to such a show. I think it’s going more for buzz words like “gritty” and “unflinching,” which all too often get translated into “lurid” and “gruesome.”
I’m going to give Those Who Kill one more episode before I call it a day. There’s a halfway decent show in here somewhere, and I hope we see it soon.
About Author
