With Britain on the verge of its EU referendum, I mmigration emerging as one of the major campaign issues and with memories of the Paris atrocities still fresh, this Swedish political thriller could hardly be more topical. Over ten intense episodes, it starts with the covered-up murder of the senior female chief-of-staff to the Swedish Attorney General after attending a secret meeting of like-minded right-wing sympathisers.
Her replacement, Jenna Coleman lookalike Louise Peterhoff, is the murdered chief-of-staff's predecessor, Elin Hammar, her position previously sacrificed on the grounds of political expediency but now recalled for her safe-hands trustworthiness by the swarthy, granite-hued Attorney General only for her curiosity and idealism to get her drawn into the mysterious disappearance which got her back her old job.
Also in the spider's web of intrigue are the young sister and brother children of a female right-wing spokesman of a minority anti-immigration party who gets knocked down and killed after making a speech at a small-town rally. Approached by senior members of their late mother's minority party who are keen to make political martyrdom of her death, and boost their party's profile, they instead fall in with an extreme right-wing faction called Veritas, ready to highlight their anti-immigration agenda with acts of terrorism. With a general election looming and immigration at the forefront of the political landscape, Veritas embark on an escalating campaign of kidnap, murder and public bombing to force the issue.
The combination of Elin's stealthy investigation which leads all the way up to the Prime Minister and governmental shady dealings with a powerful Swedish oligarch and the youthful duo's immersion in the ruthless doings of Veritas are entwined and play out right up to election night with a slew of more dead bodies along the way.
I'd be lying if I said I followed every plot strand perfectly and the enigmatic ending, where the seemingly incorruptible Elin appears to sacrifice her principles for a promotion offered by her now ascendant but questionable boss, doesn't say much for the screenwriter's opinion of politics in Sweden. I also had to question whether the young sister and brother would let themselves be so easily indoctrinated by the false glamour of terrorism to the extent that the sister fires the bullet that kills a female hostage live on television and them both later participating in a chillingly real terrorist attack at the Swedish Stock Exchange.
A slow-burner of a series in typical Scandanavian style, punctuated with shockingly real episodes like the two mentioned above, this was an excellently acted and tautly directed if possibly over-exaggerated drama which certainly kept me watching. Episode 8, featuring the Stock Exchange atrocity is particularly compelling.
Her replacement, Jenna Coleman lookalike Louise Peterhoff, is the murdered chief-of-staff's predecessor, Elin Hammar, her position previously sacrificed on the grounds of political expediency but now recalled for her safe-hands trustworthiness by the swarthy, granite-hued Attorney General only for her curiosity and idealism to get her drawn into the mysterious disappearance which got her back her old job.
Also in the spider's web of intrigue are the young sister and brother children of a female right-wing spokesman of a minority anti-immigration party who gets knocked down and killed after making a speech at a small-town rally. Approached by senior members of their late mother's minority party who are keen to make political martyrdom of her death, and boost their party's profile, they instead fall in with an extreme right-wing faction called Veritas, ready to highlight their anti-immigration agenda with acts of terrorism. With a general election looming and immigration at the forefront of the political landscape, Veritas embark on an escalating campaign of kidnap, murder and public bombing to force the issue.
The combination of Elin's stealthy investigation which leads all the way up to the Prime Minister and governmental shady dealings with a powerful Swedish oligarch and the youthful duo's immersion in the ruthless doings of Veritas are entwined and play out right up to election night with a slew of more dead bodies along the way.
I'd be lying if I said I followed every plot strand perfectly and the enigmatic ending, where the seemingly incorruptible Elin appears to sacrifice her principles for a promotion offered by her now ascendant but questionable boss, doesn't say much for the screenwriter's opinion of politics in Sweden. I also had to question whether the young sister and brother would let themselves be so easily indoctrinated by the false glamour of terrorism to the extent that the sister fires the bullet that kills a female hostage live on television and them both later participating in a chillingly real terrorist attack at the Swedish Stock Exchange.
A slow-burner of a series in typical Scandanavian style, punctuated with shockingly real episodes like the two mentioned above, this was an excellently acted and tautly directed if possibly over-exaggerated drama which certainly kept me watching. Episode 8, featuring the Stock Exchange atrocity is particularly compelling.