The opening credits set forth the theme of Jeppe Gjervig Gram, Jannik Tai Mosholt, and Anders Frithiof August's thriller. The protagonists are photographed in washed-out colors, in front of a filter showing water rising slowly from the bottom to the top of the frame. This suggests that they are somehow drowning; not physically drowning, perhaps, but unable to cope with a world riddled with corruption.
This image is reinforced during the ten-part thriller through a tripartite plot. The chief executive of a Danish energy firm, Energreen (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) has ambitions to monopolize the market and is prepared to go to any lengths to achieve his aims - murder, corruption, manipulation. He enlists the services of idealistic lawyer Claudia (Natalie Madueño), and leads her on a series of increasingly violent adventures across Europe - Copenhagen, London, Paris, Rome. Deputed to investigate the case, police officer Mads (Thomas Bo Larsen) has his own domestic problems, as his wife Kristina (Line Kruse) dumps him for a doctor. The third plot focuses on car mechanic Nicky (Esben Smed Jensen) who finds a bag full of loot belonging to Energreen and tries his best to profit as a result, even if that results in blackmail.
The plot twists and turns throughout the ten episodes, providing sufficient cliff-hangers for viewers to continue watching. In truth, however, its pace is often painfully slow; little attention has been paid to either character-development or examining how the claustrophobic environment of the urban office can often restrict people's emotions, as well as their behavior. As a result the plot often seems rather contrived: each episode has to have its hook at the end, but frequently viewers see what that hook is going to be, even before the episode has concluded.
The series does possess its saving graces, including atmospheric cinematography from a variety of camera people, creating a gray world in which very little happiness seems to exist, other than the happiness provided by money. It seems that capitalist values have been left to flourish unrestricted, with the result that everyone, from the highest to the lowest social classes, is out to profit at others' expense. A profoundly depressing view of Western European life, to be sure.
This image is reinforced during the ten-part thriller through a tripartite plot. The chief executive of a Danish energy firm, Energreen (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) has ambitions to monopolize the market and is prepared to go to any lengths to achieve his aims - murder, corruption, manipulation. He enlists the services of idealistic lawyer Claudia (Natalie Madueño), and leads her on a series of increasingly violent adventures across Europe - Copenhagen, London, Paris, Rome. Deputed to investigate the case, police officer Mads (Thomas Bo Larsen) has his own domestic problems, as his wife Kristina (Line Kruse) dumps him for a doctor. The third plot focuses on car mechanic Nicky (Esben Smed Jensen) who finds a bag full of loot belonging to Energreen and tries his best to profit as a result, even if that results in blackmail.
The plot twists and turns throughout the ten episodes, providing sufficient cliff-hangers for viewers to continue watching. In truth, however, its pace is often painfully slow; little attention has been paid to either character-development or examining how the claustrophobic environment of the urban office can often restrict people's emotions, as well as their behavior. As a result the plot often seems rather contrived: each episode has to have its hook at the end, but frequently viewers see what that hook is going to be, even before the episode has concluded.
The series does possess its saving graces, including atmospheric cinematography from a variety of camera people, creating a gray world in which very little happiness seems to exist, other than the happiness provided by money. It seems that capitalist values have been left to flourish unrestricted, with the result that everyone, from the highest to the lowest social classes, is out to profit at others' expense. A profoundly depressing view of Western European life, to be sure.