Let's talk Scandinavian Thrillers

I wanted to talk about Scandinavian shows today. I admit I am biased, as I am half Swedish and I love watching shows where I might get a chance to listen to spoken Swedish as I don’t actually have much of a chance to listen to it (living in Toronto and all). However, the shows I will be discussing today are not all Swedish, only one is, and that one it’s actually a collaboration between Sweden and Denmark.

You might have heard of this show, called The Bridge (original title Bron || Broen). It hooked me from the start with the great actors and the smart plot.

It’s dark, suspenseful and the acting is superb. With just the right amount of drama, it focuses on a lead detective, Saga (played by Sofia Helin), who I believe has Asperger Syndrome or some type of anti-social condition (I’m not a psychologist, so I am only guessing here), and is highly intelligent and effective in her job. The first season starts with a murder where the body has been found on the bridge that unites Sweden to Denmark, right on the border of both countries. Therefore, Saga (who is Swedish) begins her investigation working along with Martin, a Danish detective who is basically the opposite of her (friendly, diplomatic, family-oriented, and empathetic). However, he learns to work with her eccentricities as he realizes she is a brilliant detective, and an unspoken bond is created between them. The interesting thing about Saga is that, though it might be hard to relate to her, she is very likable. At least, I really connected with her character. It was strong, complex, and with flaws and baggage that she sometimes had a struggle dealing with. When she gets attached to someone, she becomes very loyal, but never to the point of breaking the law. The law is her first priority, people are second.

I’d always laugh when she’d get horny and wanted to get laid. She’d go out to a club and when she spotted someone she found attractive, she’d just go up to him and ask him without preamble if he wanted to fuck.

Sofia Helin does a brilliant job at bringing Saga to life and creating a protagonist that the viewer will cheer for, share her emotional turmoil, and be unable but feel awe and amazement about how her mind goes to work when solving the crimes she’s presented with.

It’s definitely at the top of my list of cop shows (Scandinavian or otherwise). If the name of the show sounds familiar, that’s because the Americans did a remake that had two seasons, but I just couldn’t get into that one. It might have been good on its own, but the original is way, way better.

The original Bridge had four very solid seasons. I loved that they didn’t continue, as I sometimes feel that they just stretch successful shows to the point that the original idea becomes diluted in a sea of seasons that no longer seem interesting and are more repetitive than anything else. Lastly, I need to mention the opening song. It is such a perfect choice to open the door to what is to come with each episode.

If you have watched it (or if you plan on watching it), a good show to watch that follows that same recipe of murders with a somewhat eccentric detective (but highly brilliant) is Bordertown (original title Sorjonen). This show takes place in a small town in Finland. Unlike Saga, detective Kari Sorjonen has a family —a wife and daughter who love him and he adores—, but his work sometimes gets in the way of his life, as he obsessively works cases and uses the basement to set up shop to work from home and use his quirky methods to solve murders. The show creates a great balance between the private life of the lead detective and the other detectives in his team, and the crimes that they need to solve. The characters are complex and interesting and, personally, I found them very relatable, even Sorjonen with his eccentricities. So far there have been three seasons of Bordertown, with a possible release of season four coming this year (though due to COVID-19 its release might be delayed, according to winkerport.com).

Another Finnish show that follows the same type of plot, with another female lead detective, is Deadwind (original title Karrpi). Although Sofia Karrpi (the main character) doesn’t present the eccentricities of the lead characters previously discussed, she is also a less than perfect human, with her flaws, her intelligence, and strength that make her a great detective. Though it’s still a pretty good show, I’d say the first two I discussed are definitely two of my favorite ones. Deadwind has so far released two seasons, hoping there will be more to follow.

Speaking of Scandinavian crime/thriller shows, I would also like to recommend a couple of Icelandic productions that I found just as gripping and interesting. The first is Trapped (original title Ófærð — don’t ask me how to pronounce that because I have no clue!). Here we have Andri Ólafsson (played by talented actor Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) who investigates a crime involving a dismembered body that is found on the same day as a ferry dock on the harbor of the small town where he lives. The investigation will lead to a number of revelations about the town and its inhabitants. With only two seasons so far, for those of us who enjoyed the show will get another season coming, hopefully, this year?

Finally, another Icelandic show worth watching which falls in the same category as all other shows discussed thus far is The Valhalla Murders (original title Brot), with our main detective being a strong, female character (who incidentally is the same actor who plays the ex-wife of the detective in Trapped). To help her investigate a gruesome murder at the harbor, the commissioner requests the help of an ex-pat detective living in Norway. So far there’s only one season, but I’m hoping there will be more to come.

Some of the common elements in these shows are that they all are all noir, brilliant, there’s a camaraderie between the detectives investigating the cases, the acting is fantastic, and there’s enough tension to cut the air. I also loved how raw the characters are. None of the lead characters are pretending to be something they are not, and we see them as they are. People who struggle with their private lives while doing a job that takes a toll on them and sometimes pushes them farther than they thought they’d be willing to go.