Abhiroop Das
Co-developed by Ed Whitmore and Tracey Malone, Fox’s ‘Memory of a Killer’ pits Angelo against a mysterious kingpin who is only known as the Ferryman. Having been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, Angelo struggles to balance his two lives, but even then, it is clear that the Ferryman is connected to something from his past. As the psychological thriller show unfolds, he returns to various familiar scenes, clients, and targets, only to realize that the villain is none other than Linda Grant, the FBI agent who lost her son to Angelo, and has been concocting a revenge plan since. In the season one finale, both Angelo and Linda decide to go all out, realizing that everything they have built over the years is at stake. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Linda Dies as a Mother Who Got Blinded by Her Desire For Vengeance
While Linda’s death at the hands of Angelo marks the end of the Ferryman saga, her role in the story isn’t over. In her dying breath, she declares that Angelo’s nightmares are only getting started, and we see exactly what she means at the end of the season, when Maria sees Angelo’s kill list. Given that Linda shipped it to Maria prior to the entire final argument, it is likely that this has been more than a backup plan from the start. Beginning with the death of Angelo’s wife, all of Linda’s actions have been building up to destabilizing Angelo’s life and giving him a slow, painful death. The fact that she fails to finish what she started ironically ends up working in her favor, as Angelo has to live and face the consequences of his own choices.
Though Linda manages to stay one step ahead of Angelo for most of the show, where she messes up is in underestimating the people around him. We see this happen first with Maria, who shoots down Earl Hancock. Later, it is Joe who proves himself by one-upping the FBI agent. When she sets up a hitman to defend her during gunfire, Joe volunteers to act as bait, giving Angelo enough time to neutralize the threats and hit both Linda and her car. After Linda’s ominous last words, Angelo ends things with a bullet to her head, not knowing that his doom is only getting started. Though Linda might be an unambiguous antagonist by the end of the season, it remains undeniable that she is also a bereaved mother, having experienced first-hand the horrors Angelo can perpetrate.
Gina Torres’ Time With Memory of a Killer Has Most Likely Come to an End
With Linda dying in the ‘Memory of a Killer’ season finale, Gina Torres is most probably bidding the show goodbye. Though she retains a spiritual presence in the narrative through the document sent to Maria, there aren’t many reasons for the actor to rejoin the show for season 2. For the writers of the show, this was mostly a decision set in stone from the very start of the show, as indicated by co-showrunner Aaron Zelman in a conversation with TV Insider. He confirmed that Linda always intended to send the kill list to Angelo’s family, but that doesn’t necessarily limit the meaning of her final words. There is a possibility of her sending some information to the FBI, which is guaranteed to put Dutch’s entire operation in the spotlight.
While the FBI’s time with Angelo and his criminal enterprise might not be over just yet, that doesn’t mean that Linda, as a character, has a lot of narrative potential left in the tank. In a way, she represents the many people who have been hurt by Angelo’s self-indulgent way of life, and to that end, her story ends with punishing him in the most twisted ways imaginable. While there is a small chance of the character returning in the form of a dream sequence or through a flashback, her overall journey has already been concluded. Torres’ performance is a major reason this arc resonates with the audience, and Zelman praised the actor for her ability to balance her powerful screen presence with her character’s vulnerabilities.
Read More: Is Fox’s Memory of a Killer Based on a True Story?
