Sarah Linden is a fearless female detective in the Seattle Police department in the TV show called "The Killing" which is based on the Danish crime series "Forbrydelsen". She may not be the first female police officer portrayed in a TV show, but she definitely happens to be one of those very few who has been breaking the stereotypes of how women are delineated.
Usually, regardless of the profession, female characters are shown glamorous, trendy with outfits to die for. Amidst all the chaos of work, they will manage to carve out their curves. Sarah Linden, on the other hand, has no makeup on throughout the entire show, she ties her hair in same ponytail everyday and her wardrobe does not have variety either.
In an interview, Mireille Enos, the actor who plays Sarah Linden, said, "I think they have two versions of each sweater, but there's the 'favourite one' I wore for, like, four episodes --- I hated that sweater by the end!"
This backdated fashionista was living with her fiancé and son in the beginning of the show, trying to juggle between her personal and professional life. Sarah Linden is not shown as a supermom and a super human who is quintessential in all spheres of life.
Her wedding was called off when all her time was consumed by the murder investigation case of a local high school girl called Rosie Larsen. Two whole seasons were taken to solve the murder case in spite of Sarah Linden giving her all. She even had to give up the custody of her son Jack. Such is the way the character Sarah Linden gives us a glimpse of real life, where not everything goes as smoothly as shown in television.
The tension, the pressure of finding the killer took Sarah to a psychiatric hospital but she managed to rise and heal every single time. Sarah Linden does not take no for an answer and goes to the bottom of story. To do that, she has to overcome a lot of obstacles but she does not win instantly.
She makes mistakes and learns from those mistakes of her. Her devotion towards her work has damaged her personal life severely. She fails and makes mistakes not because she does not take her job seriously but because she is a normal human being.
Another interesting thing about Linden is her love interest in the show. The show has not romanticized two detectives' friendship in a direct way. Linden's partner Stephen Holder with a difficult childhood has stood by her side during all the difficult times. Linden has always prioritized her work over romantic link-ups. Holder and Linden both are workaholic police officers who deeply care for the welfare of people. Their shared interest made them end up with each other though meanwhile Holder got married and had a daughter.
Holder and Sarah's son Jack get along very well. Sarah is miserable at being a mother sometimes but like every other mother she loves her son.
This is the beauty of the character. Sarah Linden surely does break the stereotype of portrayal of female character being a glamorous angel, all-rounder and a perfect role-model.
"I only watched first two seasons of 'The Killing'. There were times when I blamed Sarah for arresting the wrong person but later on I figured this was only realistic. No one catches the culprit at a first attempt."
Yusra Ruhi, student,
BRAC University
"The show is not a very popular one but overall I liked the show. In fact, the first two seasons got me hooked although Sarah's character grew stronger in the last two seasons. She showed resistance and endurance unlike the first case where she broke down and ended up in a hospital."
Tanvir Shams,
student, ULAB
"Mireille Enos is a natural beauty. She has her own style in the show which I adored. Sometimes it looked like she barely combed her hair, but I think it compliments her character."
Maliha Naz Zarrin, student,
BRAC University
