The Cage

"The Cage"
Season 1, Episode 2

Air date	April 3, 2011
Written by	Veena Sud
Directed by	Ed Bianchi
Episode Guide
previous "Pilot"	next "El Diablo"

"The Cage" is the second episode of the first season of The Killing.

Synopsis[]

Linden and Holder question Rosie's parents and discover from Rosie's friend some disturbing evidence at the high-school.

Plot[]

A medical examiner prepares Rosie’s body, in order for her parents to view her. As Stan silently identifies his daughter’s body, Mitch turns away and cries. At the police station, Sarah and Holder interview the Larsens about the case. Mitch, still in shock, speaks of Rosie's broken fingernails, and Stan describes Rosie as a quiet, family-oriented girl who recently broke up with Jasper Ames. Lieutenant Oakes presents evidence: Rosie's butterfly necklace and a key chain with a bird emblem. Oakes tells Sarah that he needs her for only one more day, asking her to look into the Richmond campaign, adding that campaign car keys were found in the ignition. Sarah urges the Larsens to keep news of Rosie's death to themselves. Stan asks if the detectives will find the killer. Against Sarah’s wishes, Holder assures the father.

At Richmond's office, Holder asks direct questions about alibis, in contrast to Sarah’s restraint. She requests that Richmond not go public with the campaign’s involvement in the case. If mentioned, the killer would realize that Rosie’s body had been found. Gwen and Jamie later encourage Richmond to issue an immediate statement, linking the Larsen tragedy to his own wife's death to generate voter sympathy. Richmond refuses. Alone with Gwen, he confides that someone in the campaign office tipped off a reporter about the Yitanes endorsement via e-mail. He orders an internal investigation.

Holder tells Sarah that the Richmond campaign reported the car stolen on Saturday morning. Since multiple campaign workers used the vehicle, the keys were left in the ignition for convenience. He later questions Sterling, who says she lost track of Rosie at the dance and assumed she was with Jasper. Meanwhile, Jasper brags to Sarah about picking up "some old lady" at a bar on Friday night. He then takes out his cell phone, which Sarah confiscates. He tells her that he and Rosie’s relationship was brief. Michael Ames, Jasper's father, enters and declares the interview over. Alone with his son, Michael smacks him in the face. Back at the station, Holder considers Jasper as the prime suspect, since Jasper could afford to buy Rosie the expensive designer shoes that Rosie wore to the dance. Oakes adds that Jasper was previously arrested for auto theft.

At City Hall, Gwen informs Richmond that nothing suspicious was found in staff e-mails, and Jamie reports that no staff members are suspects in Rosie's murder. Yitanes enters, demanding to know the secret she's been asked to hear. Sarah arrives, takes Richmond aside, and promises to make him look good, if he stays quiet until midnight, or to look as though he’s obstructing a child-murder investigation, if he doesn’t. Richmond agrees, then tells Yitanes about smoking marijuana in college. She laughs and leaves. As they campaign door-to-door, Jamie asks Richmond to tell Yitanes about the Larsen situation, but he considers the issue closed. Richmond secretly meets with Nathan to ask if he investigated Gwen’s and Jamie’s e-mail accounts. Told no, Richmond orders him to do so. While driving to the Yitanes endorsement, Richmond receives a call from a reporter requesting confirmation about Rosie and the campaign car.

In a girls' bathroom at the high school, Sarah discovers Rosie’s name scratched in a mirror with a line of Xs across it. Smoking outside the school, Holder is approached by two girls who ask if it's marijuana. He offers them a smoke. After he asks about campus party places, one girl mentions a hideaway known as "The Cage." Holder locates the secret room in an abandoned boarded-off area of the school basement. Back at the station, Lieutenant Oakes gives Sarah highlights from the coroner's report. The time of death is unclear, however Rosie was alive when the car hit the water because she ripped off her fingernails trying to claw out. Sarah reminds her boss that she’s not staying, but later arrives at The Cage. Holder states that it’s where the “real” Halloween party occurred. Sarah surveys the scene, seeing a blood-soaked mattress, a witch's hat like Rosie's, and bloody handprints on the wall.

Evidence[]

Rosie's fingernails were broken at some point during the night she was murdered; most likely trying to escape the trunk of campaign car.
A key with a large, sharply-drawn bird was found on Rosie's corpse.
The campaign car still had its key in the ignition when found at the bottom of the lake.
The campaign car was reported stolen Saturday morning.
Part of Rosie's halloween outfit for the school was a pair of very expensive heels, as identified by Detective Holder.
According to the coroner, Rosie did not die until the trunk of the campaign car had filled with water and drowned her.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Supporting Cast[]

Guest Stars

Co-Stars

Richard Harmon as Jasper Ames
Kerry Sandomirsky as Principal Meyers
Barclay Hope as Thomas Ames
Evan Bird as Tom Larsen
Seth Isaac Johnson as Denny Larsen
Lindsay Collins as Mrs. Parsons
Peter Benson as Nathan Patrick
Genevieve Buechner as Mean Girl #1
Brittany Hobson as Mean Girl #2
Chris Nowland as Detective #1

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