So who won the spring television battle?

As far as I'm concerned, this late spring television season has been a battle between AMC and HBO for their own respective new series. Not a one-on-one fight to death, as the two are juxtaposed at slightly different timeslots, with Game of Thrones on at 9 p.m. at HBO, and The Killing placed in the typical AMC slot of 10 p.m. Still, it seems like there's been something of a quarrel between the two shows. Throughout the entire season, I've been slowing switching from show's side to the other's, and I am surprisingly left bashing an AMC show.

When The Killing started off, I was very reluctant to give it a pass, because not only did it lack any hint of the subtlety in Mad Men or Breaking Bad, but it was just plain boring. Then, as the season progressed, it just continued on the same dull slope of absolutely nothing happening. There was one gem late in the season which was pretty much just one-on-one between Holder and Linden. Then the show seemingly started to pick up speed towards the finale, and we got an idea of who we thought was Rosie Larsen's killer? Then what? It was proved false, and the season ended with no real shock, horror, or satisfaction.

Where did this series go so terribly wrong in its depiction of a crime drama? For one thing, I doubt that there'd be only one significant murder in a 13 day period. Somebody dies, and the world just keeps on turning. We didn't get that sort of feeling. Furthermore, it felt like there weren't enough legitimate revelations in the case to make it worth watching beyond six or seven episodes. It wasn't even that much of a tragic loss. And the finale gave us nothing to goad us into continuing on with the series next season. Nothing truly shocking happened. I thought that it might have been a wonderful move to have Mitch drown her remaining children. That would've been awesome and redeeming of this series. It just never happened.

So where does my allegiance go? Right over to HBO which has been really hitting it out of the park with Game of Thrones this season. If you're looking for powerful shock value, look no further than the final few episodes of the season. The tides turn against our main characters, there are betrayals of enormous strength, and the man who many assumed to be the lead was killed off in the penultimate episode. Of course, being based on the book series will give you that sort of thing. People will die, and cruelty will happen a plenty, and you haven't a clue when it will happen.

Some say that it's broken the rules of television, but I simply say that it's improved them. A season is meant to work in perfect context with itself as one extended length feature. The Walking Dead and Fringe were able to do that this season, and Game of Thrones manages the same. The first season was a march to war for many of our characters, an empowering of the female lead across the narrow sea, and the revelation that horrific forces from beyond the wall make all this war and conflict seem like a game. The climax was the penultimate episode, and finale was the finish after the climax. There's always got to be one.

So if you were to ask me who won the battle this spring, I'd say HBO and Game of Thrones, hands down. They have a proven formula for exciting television, and the ratings are no bad thing either. The Killing has proven faulty and repellent. I doubt many will continue with it next season. I know I sure won't.