In the episode, police detective Sarah Linden plans to retire but is asked to investigate the disappearance of Rosie Larsen, a young girl.
At the police station, Sarah packs her personal items and meets her replacement, Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman).
At the crime scene, they are shown what evidence that has been discovered thus far: a bloody pink sweater and Stanley Larsen's ATM card.
Sarah and Holder later arrive at the Larsen home, where Mitch says that she and her husband spent the weekend camping out of cell-phone range.
Later, upon arriving at City Hall, he announces to campaign manager Jamie Wright (Eric Ladin) and lead advisor Gwen Eaton (Kristin Lehman) that Councilwoman Ruth Yitanes will endorse him, which could seal an election victory.
At Fort Washington High, Richmond and his rival, mayor Lesley Adams (Tom Butler), are about to address a student assembly.
After hearing that Adams knew about Yitanes' endorsement, Richmond asks Jamie and Gwen if a staff member is leaking information.
While preparing to leave the crime scene, Sarah sees three people with fishing poles walking along a fire road and wonders where they're headed.
Jasper (Richard Harmon) protests, but Stan charges into the bedroom, only to find a middle-aged woman (Leanna Merrett) in the bed.
Stan calls Mitch to tell her that Rosie wasn't at Jasper's house and that he's now heading to Discovery Park, where the pink sweater was found.
[2] Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter gave the series a very positive review, calling it "excellent, absorbing and addictive.
"[3] Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker gave it a B+, saying "The acting is strikingly good" and that "Some viewers may find The Killing a little too cold and deliberate, but give it time.
"[4] Alex Strachan of The Vancouver Sun says the series "is soaked in atmosphere and steeped in the stark realism of Scandinavian crime novelists Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson" and that it "is not as much about a young girl's murder as it is a psychological study of what happens afterward, how a tight-knit community tries to recover and how a dead child's mother, father and siblings learn to deal with their pain in their own private ways.
"[5] Matt Roush of TV Guide applauded the series, calling the acting "tremendous" and that he "was instantly hooked by the moody atmosphere of this season-long murder mystery set in Seattle."
He went on to say "What really stands out for me, in this age of cookie-cutter procedurals, is how The Killing dramatizes the devastation a violent death has on a family, a community, on the people involved in the investigation.