A Soundless Echo
Episode four of The Killing, airing April 17, 2011.
In the fourth episode of AMC’s *The Killing*, “A Soundless Echo,” the Larsen family begins making funeral arrangements for their daughter, Rosie. Detectives Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder shift their focus to Bennet Ahmed, Rosie’s literature teacher, who has a murky past and a pregnant young wife. The episode’s title comes from a line in Beryl Markham’s *West with the Night*, which appears in a letter written to Rosie.
The episode opens with Kris Echols in an interrogation room. Linden shows him video of Rosie at a Halloween dance, but he denies killing her. Holder tells Lieutenant Oakes that Kris, desperate for meth, will likely break soon; Oakes tells Holder to clean himself up. Linden tricks Kris into seeing Jasper and his lawyer across the hall, and Holder hints that Jasper is cutting a deal. Linden plays cell-phone footage from a place called The Cage for Jasper, who says it’s not what it looks like. Kris explains he wouldn’t hurt Rosie because she was kind to him, and when shown the same footage, he dismisses it.
Darren Richmond learns Mayor Adams leads by eight points. Gwen Eaton suggests he ask wealthy entrepreneur Tom Drexler, who hates Adams, to fund a media package; Richmond refuses. Adams meets Jamie Wright at a bar and invites him to join his team. After donors reject Richmond, Gwen secretly calls her father, Senator Eaton, to arrange a meeting with Drexler. He admires her creativity but criticizes her for sleeping with Richmond.
At the high school, Sterling admits she’s the girl in the cell-phone video. She says she was tired of being overlooked when Rosie was around, went to The Cage with Jasper because she was drunk and he was nice, and wore Rosie’s costume because Rosie had left the dance. She claims the blood there came from her nosebleeds. Sterling thinks Rosie sometimes met someone after school. Holder offers to follow up with the Larsens, but Linden insists on handling it, annoying him. Linden later questions the Larsens about a possible affair; Mitch dismisses the idea. The Larsens visit a priest to plan Rosie’s funeral. Mitch fixates on a crucifix and asks where God was when her daughter needed Him.
Gwen and Richmond attend a party at Drexler’s penthouse, also attended by Adams. Drexler gives Richmond a $50,000 check, saying he wants Adams to know he helped him lose. Richmond then secretly meets Jamie, who updates him on Adams. Ri
- Series
- The Killing
- Episode number
- 4
- Air date
- April 17, 2011
- Network
- AMC
- Writer
- Soo Hugh
- Director
- Jennifer Getzinger
- Viewership
- 2.51 million
Lore & Background
The episode's title is a quote from West with the Night by Beryl Markham, and the quote is found in a letter to Rosie. The plot follows detectives Linden and Holder as they question Kris Echols and Jasper, while the Larsens arrange Rosie's funeral. Mitch Larsen struggles with grief, asking a priest where God was when her daughter needed Him. Stan Larsen seeks financial help from Janek Kovarsky, a man he says was never family, and later stashes money in his office. At the end of the episode, Holder discovers that Bennet Ahmed coached a basketball team at the end of a bus line, and Linden finds handwritten letters in Rosie's room signed "Bennet."
Reader's Guide
"A Soundless Echo" received favorable reviews. The A.V. Club's Meredith Blake rated this episode a B+, saying it focused on establishing character and fleshing out backstory. Teresa L. of TV Fanatic gave the episode 3.5 out of 5 stars, noting it provided some idea of Linden's motivation but might need more excitement. The episode was watched by 2.51 million viewers, a slight decline from the previous episode. The letter discovered at the end contains an excerpt from West with the Night by Beryl Markham, addressed to Rosie, encouraging her to go beyond limits and feel everything.
Did You Know?
- The episode title is a quote from West with the Night by Beryl Markham.
- Patrick Gilmore modeled his character Tom Drexler on Mark Cuban.
- The episode was watched by 2.51 million viewers.
- The letter found in Rosie's room is signed 'Bennet' and includes an excerpt from West with the Night.
More in The Killing episodes 1-24
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