The second season of the AMC American crime drama television series The Killing premiered on April 1, 2012, concluded on June 17, 2012, and consisted of 13 episodes.

Set in Seattle, Washington, this season follows the continued investigation into the murder of local teenager Rosie Larsen, with each episode covering approximately 24 hours.

Sarah Linden begins the season not trusting Stephen Holder, as she believes he has produced false evidence against Darren Richmond.

That night, Richmond attempted to drown himself due to lingering grief over his wife's death; a fisherman who pulled him out of the water confirmed his story.

[2] Meanwhile, Holder learns he was a pawn in a bigger conspiracy, and his recent promotion to homicide detective had nothing to do with his police merits.

She left Seattle for Washington, D.C. to work for a senator friend of her father's but returned to help Darren distance himself from the murder suspicion.

[3] Stan Larsen copes with raising his sons Tom and Denny alone, while his wife Mitch has taken time away from the family.

[5] Her sister Terry goes through some financial difficulty and, since she has helped tremendously with taking care of the boys since Rosie's death, Stan allows her to stay with them.

[6] Mitch returns home after learning Rosie had discovered Stan was not her biological father and had visited the actual one.

[7] Two people become prime suspects: Gwen, who had used the campaign car the night of the murder and had lost her access card, and Jamie, who has had dealings with Michael Ames, an apparent supporter of the current mayor.

[9] The season ends with Terry being arrested, the Larsens moving to a new house after viewing a video of Rosie happily preparing to leave town, new-Mayor Richmond accepting the support of Ames and Jackson, and the detectives getting a call about a new case, with which Sarah decides not to help.

[11] Series developer Veena Sud confirmed the Rosie Larsen murder investigation would be solved, and a second case would be introduced.

[12] Originally reported as a potential recurring character, Marin Ireland appeared as Holder's sister in an episode of the season.

[13] Mireille Enos (Sarah Linden) spoke about the differences between the series' seasons: "It's been a continuation — we picked up right where we left off.

"[16] Billy Campbell (Darren Richmond) spoke about having to play his character from a hospital bed or a wheelchair this season: "It's actually kind of liberating in a strange way, acting-wise.

There's one book in particular called How to Rig an Election by Allen Raymond — it's a good example of somebody who learned at a young age what it's like behind the scenes of a political campaign.

I took specific stories out of that book and spoke with the author briefly over the phone, and I tried to translate them into Jamie's life and shared a lot of them with Veena [Sud] and the entire writers' room.

[36] Lori Rackl of the Chicago Sun-Times stated: "Few television shows are as addictive as this pensive, wonderfully paced suspenser.

"[37] The Washington Post's Hank Stuever stated: "My own enjoyment of The Killing begins and ends with the gloom so brilliantly conveyed by its pace and performances.

"[38] Brian Lowry of Variety stated the series remained "compelling," adding "the writers... are adept at overcoming the stodgy pace by dangling tantalizing clues near each hour's end, creating a strong pull to see what transpires next.

When you add that to the fine atmosphere... and you view the mystery itself as a kind of necessary evil that allows you to see the parts of the show that do work, then it's not bad.

The second season certainly did a better job of doing what Veena Sud claimed to be doing last year, in that it took advantage of the extra time to sketch in some of the characters...

I wasn't excited," however, after watching it again, was "sucked into the world, mesmerized not by the victory of our hero cops...but by the gut-wrenching moments that unfolded.

After citing Jamie's early revelation as "melodramatic silliness", Bibbiani added: "The rest of the episode gets its job done, with one major, glaring flaw.

Club rated this finale a C−, calling it "so unconvincing", adding "I couldn't believe how little all this resolution affected me after The Killing so thrillingly took my grudging engagement for a ride a few weeks ago.

This is the same show that delivered Richmond's hospital nightmare, the hunt for Holder, the anti-Western standoff "Sayonara, Hiawatha", and the crazy train of the last two weeks?