I am a huge fan of Scandinavian mysteries.
Thanks to MHz and a membership to their streaming service, I have an enormous number of series available to me. These police/detective/whatever shows have a wide range from dark and disturbing to almost light-hearted. While most are about bad events happening, they can be quite beautiful and "airy."
This series, though, is neither beautiful nor airy. It is gritty and at times shockingly unpleasant.
The Swedes and Danes and Norwegians (and yes the Finns) have no compunction to showing awful things like the murder of children. So as a viewer you need to be prepared for that.
Moreover, terrible things can happen to major characters. And this, unfortunately, is something that happens in this series. In the final episode.
I wasn't expecting it and maybe by now I should know that it is always a possibility. But I was taken by surprise and to be perfectly honest, disturbed mightily by it.
So that's one reason that maybe I kind of wish I hadn't watched this series, although it has some favorite actors in it (Mikkelsen and Cedergren), and I was enjoying it (as much as one can enjoy a depressing show like this) until that awful scene in the final episode.
The show is mainly about a female detective and her forensic psychologist partner. Cedergren plays the psychologist and as usual he's really good. He is a fine actor and his physicality is mesmerizing. Laura Bach plays his Police Detective partner and I'll just come out and say it that she (the character) does some insanely stupid things in this series. I won't go into details but I would find myself screaming at the TV: "what is the matter with you?!" at her. She's an idiot. But she is a dedicated, dogged idiot. That being said, why her boss (played by Mikkelsen) keeps her around is beyond me.
Oh yeah... lets talk Lars Mikkelsen -- one of the two amazing Mikkelsen brothers who we are so lucky to have -- is good in this series. But then he's always good.
So I give this eight starts because, geez, the Scandinavians know how to produce good shows like this, and it kept me at the edge of my seat (and gave me nightmares), but do I recommend it? I'm not sure. There are much better series like Beck or Unit One (I could make that list go on and on but I won't -- take a look at what MHz has to offer). Cedergren is great. Mikkelsen is really very good. Bach does an okay job with what she's given (a flawed Detective who does REALLY stupid things).
I just wish I hadn't seen that final episode.
Thanks to MHz and a membership to their streaming service, I have an enormous number of series available to me. These police/detective/whatever shows have a wide range from dark and disturbing to almost light-hearted. While most are about bad events happening, they can be quite beautiful and "airy."
This series, though, is neither beautiful nor airy. It is gritty and at times shockingly unpleasant.
The Swedes and Danes and Norwegians (and yes the Finns) have no compunction to showing awful things like the murder of children. So as a viewer you need to be prepared for that.
Moreover, terrible things can happen to major characters. And this, unfortunately, is something that happens in this series. In the final episode.
I wasn't expecting it and maybe by now I should know that it is always a possibility. But I was taken by surprise and to be perfectly honest, disturbed mightily by it.
So that's one reason that maybe I kind of wish I hadn't watched this series, although it has some favorite actors in it (Mikkelsen and Cedergren), and I was enjoying it (as much as one can enjoy a depressing show like this) until that awful scene in the final episode.
The show is mainly about a female detective and her forensic psychologist partner. Cedergren plays the psychologist and as usual he's really good. He is a fine actor and his physicality is mesmerizing. Laura Bach plays his Police Detective partner and I'll just come out and say it that she (the character) does some insanely stupid things in this series. I won't go into details but I would find myself screaming at the TV: "what is the matter with you?!" at her. She's an idiot. But she is a dedicated, dogged idiot. That being said, why her boss (played by Mikkelsen) keeps her around is beyond me.
Oh yeah... lets talk Lars Mikkelsen -- one of the two amazing Mikkelsen brothers who we are so lucky to have -- is good in this series. But then he's always good.
So I give this eight starts because, geez, the Scandinavians know how to produce good shows like this, and it kept me at the edge of my seat (and gave me nightmares), but do I recommend it? I'm not sure. There are much better series like Beck or Unit One (I could make that list go on and on but I won't -- take a look at what MHz has to offer). Cedergren is great. Mikkelsen is really very good. Bach does an okay job with what she's given (a flawed Detective who does REALLY stupid things).
I just wish I hadn't seen that final episode.