'The Killing' Finale Reveals Killer, Still Manages Wild Cliffhanger

"The Killing" revealed the killer in the season finale -- so fans don't have to lose their minds like they did at the end of Season 1! As usual, there were plenty of twists and turns along the way, as well as the occasional red herring. Even the final two hours had Detectives Linden and Holder following the wrong lead for a while.

Thanks to an eye for detail, Linden spotted the ring of one of the victims on the finger of her boss' daughter. Complicating matters, she and Lt. Skinner had just recently consummated their own relationship. The moment had been so powerful for her, she actually felt happiness -- and smiled -- for once. And then it was dashed with truth. The head of the Special Investigations Unit was a serial killer who murdered dozes of young girls. He told Linden that they would never all be found. She certainly made sure of it.

Despite being tied up with Internal Affairs for much of the finale, thanks to Skinner, Holder figured out where Skinner and Linden might be heading. Linden thought Skinner was taking her to Adrian -- the little boy witness at the heart of the whole thing. Instead, he was hoping she would execute him. Holder's old partner found Adrian alive and well near his mother's gravestone, nowhere near the lake Skinner took Linden to.

Holder found Linden and Skinner after she took one shot at him. With Holder protesting, and telling her that this is what Skinner wanted, Linden hesitated. But then, as TVLine's Michael Slezak described it, “Linden gave Skinner the Old Yeller treatment, putting a bullet into him — much to the shock of her just-on-the-scene partner Holder. And just like that, we cut to black.”

That's one way to satisfy the fans' needs for resolution of the case while still giving them quite a cliffhanger to think about. But, as Caroline Siede of The AV Club pointed out, "The Killing has yet to be renewed for another season, so this could well be its "final hurrah."

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