5/10
Good premise ruined by unlikable lead and clunky story-telling
10 November 2018
I now get why this show was cancelled after just 1 season. The lead character is insufferable, and the mysteries easy to solve.

The show has a tendency to tell, not show. We are repeatedly told Katrine is "the brightest" cop, but she never does anything remarkable. Any break she gets on a case is directly due to a male colleague's efforts; never her own. She CONSTANTLY makes bad decisions - costing innocent people's lives - yet her boss only gives her a slap on the wrist. In reality, cops like her would be fired.

That isn't a character people will want to root for. I understand the aim of the creators is to write a complicated, screwed-up character. But Katrine can barely function in some scenes. And when she isn't having a mental breakdown, she's acting horribly towards her friends.

We're supposed to empathise with her trauma, even when it is jeopardising her work and the people around her. She is defiant and arrogant towards anyone against her (often flawed, inexperienced) opinion or anyone who genuinely advises her to go to therapy. In her personal life, she is selfish (displayed in the final episode when a workmate decides to quit for valid, personal reasons).

It doesn't help that the actress is not good during vulnerable or nuanced scenes. The mysteries every episode also tend to go out of the bounds of logic - such as when the lead's partner uses a child to trap a serial killer or how said partner appears out of nowhere at the house of a murdered victim (just for the shock effect of him being there during an opening scene). As said, the mysteries themselves tend to be paper-thin, though told enthrallingly for 1 hour episodes. You can often deduce the murderer's identity within the first 15 minutes. There's also much to be said for the cheesy, usually inappropriately timed background music.

Overall, a mediocre show to help pass the time. Seasoned crime show fans will probably be disappointed, while casual fans may be more entertained.

It has been revealed that this show will be renewed with a whole new cast and story. Let's hope the writers actually get it right this time.
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