The Insider.com

The amount of pressure that's been placed on The Killing's second season could shatter a dam. After an instantly beloved start, the first season spun wildly out of control (remember that terrorism detour?) and invoked the kind of wrath rarely seen on TV after the finale episode failed to answer the question, Who Killed Rosie Larsen?

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Star Joel Kinnaman is very upfront about the first season's failings -- he's also quick to point out that many of our collective issues with the show stemmed from a marketing failure, not a storytelling one. But, despite that, Joel does promise that season two of The Killing will tie up all loose ends.

Insider.com: There was a lot of backlash after the season one finale. Did that catch you off-guard?
Joel Kinnaman: Yes. I was a bit taken aback by the criticism to be honest. At first I thought it was funny but then I realized how angry people truly were. But I just knew what was in store for the patient viewer. I knew that they will be richly rewarded. I understand some viewers felt they were tricked into thinking they would get the answer at the end of the first season – maybe it was marketed wrongly in that way, but I do also think that there is a majority of fans who are not on every website writing angry things about us.

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Insider: Aside from marketing, what do you think could have been done differently?
Joel: There were some things in the first season I think were cause for some self-critique. Sometimes the red herrings became too much and a couple of strings of the show that I think fell below the tone and quality we were striving for. It became a little manipulative and I think everyone acknowledged that and decided it wasn't the tone for our show. That's why I've been so pleased with season two – the writing is incredible. Veena [Sud, creator] put it really well – the first season was about questions, the second season is all about answers. That's how the construction of this season has been. It's brilliant.

Insider: Did the response change any of creator Veena's storytelling plans?
Joel: No. They say that in the original Danish series was it one season, but there were 10 one-hour episodes, then they had a break and then another 10. It was two seasons of 20 one-hour shows. We have 26 45-minute episodes, so the timeline is pretty much identical. We always knew it was a two season show and how things would tie together.

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Insider: The first two episodes (both airing April 1) show the fallout from Holder's decision in the finale to betray Linden -- do you think he anticipated just how much the consequences would emotionally affect him?
Joel: Not at all. It really backfires on him. I don't want to spoil anything but one of my favorite things is how the relationship between Linden and Holder goes on this rollercoaster and develops. I think that's one of the real strong points this year. Seeing how these two very different people turn out to be so similar. Their strengths as police officers come from their shared weaknesses.

Insider: The one thing all AMC shows share is a love of secrecy. That said, what are you excited for fans to see in season two?
Joel: How the relationships develop and how the mystery ties together. You know how sometimes Linden and Holder will take a bad turn with the case? Well, this year, even the bad turns have big consequences and play an important role in how the mystery ties together at the end. There's nothing that’s left unanswered in the second season.

Insider: I couldn't chat with you without talking about your role in the upcoming Robocop reboot. Were you a fan of the original?
Joel: I'd seen the first movie like 15 times growing up. I'm a huge fan. I love all of Paul Verhoeven's movies. This is obviously not going to carry his tone into it, but this director [Jose Padilha] is a brilliant guy. His Elite Squad movies are amazing – he's got a political intelligence, a brutal action sensibility and a very real edge. He's really the perfect guy to do this. His father is a scientist and his whole life, he's been intrigued by the mind and body – where the intelligence lies. There's a lot of neuroscience studies about how much the brain is a control tower. Lots of science is coming out now talking about the body having control of its own. It's going to be an action-packed movie but it's also going to be a very smart movie. And those are my favorite movies to watch. It's more like The Dark Knight. I'm really excited by it. And from an acting standpoint, it's a much bigger acting challenge than the original films. My body language is going to influence how the robot moves. The script is smart and exciting.

Insider: How will you prepare?
Joel: I've decided not to take on any other jobs in between finishing The Killing and starting this movie in August. I really want to focus on this. I've been shooting projects back-to-back for almost 3 years. I'm longing for real time to prepare for a project, so that's what I’m going to do with this. I'll give it like 3-months to mentally and physically prepare.

Insider: If you were to go back in time and tell Young Joel that he'd play Robocop one day, what would he say?
Joel: [laughs] He wouldn’t believe me. He'd laugh in my face and then go play soccer.

The Killing premieres Sunday at 8 p.m. on AMC.