'The Killing' brings its third season to a close

"You can't put a price on wisdom." — Det. Holder, "The Killing"

"The Killing" is a fascinating show. It's pilot drew effusive praise. It's first season drew effusive criticism. It's second season drew crickets. And it's third season came as a surprise.

But showrunner Veena Sud and her stars, Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman, made the most of a second chance. Without a doubt the third season was the show's best, and it offered the drama, gritty stories, and acting showcases that were promised in the pilot. Like so many shows in the modern era, it also failed to save its best for last.

"Game of Thrones," throughout its three years, has become known for its penultimate episode. It's the game changer that makes you say whoa. "The Killing" followed a similar pattern. Technically Sunday's finale was two episodes, but it was the week before that was the whoa moment for the season. Following through the execution of Ray Seward, embracing the incredible performances from Enos and Peter Sarsgaard was engrossing. The episode said a lot in a beautiful way.

So it's no surprise that the finale was a let down. Sure, we got the answer to who the real killer was. It wasn't that hard to guess that smarmy Lt. Skinner (Elias Koteas) wasn't what he seemed. The two hour finale was still good and engrossing — a bit improvement over either of the previous seasons — but it couldn't match the beautiful drama of the week before.

It did manage to do something the first season couldn't — bring the story to a close while you were still interested in it. It also set up some interesting questions about where it would go. In the closing moments, as Linden (Enos) comes to grips with who Skinner really is she is faced with a decision. She makes that decision as the season drops to black. There are a lot of possible ways it could go from there, which opens up some story opportunities.

But perhaps the best thing the season and season finale did is make you hope there is a next season.