The theme song and opening credits are a definite 10 STARS but it is all down hill from there. This is the worst Nordic Noir or detective/crime series I have ever watched. It sucks you in with the style from the opening and you think I must be missing something because this doesn't make much sense. I even re-watched part of the first episode and started to realize how bad this show really is when you do pay attention.
These are the most inept detectives ever.
Fredrika Bergman is not a likable character as an investigator, spouse/lover or mother. She is not a good human being in any way. She is dishonest, disingenuous, self-serving, callous and not even a good detective although she gets credit all the time for pointing out things that seem rather obvious. She evokes no empathy and the character as flawed as she is still doesn't make me care about her at all. She has no ethics or moral compass of any kind. In fact, by the last couple of episodes I was hoping she and Alex would be taken out by the criminals. Yes, a character so awful you hope she is killed off.
Alex Recht (should have been called Whiner) is an even worse character. He's supposed to be the DCI equivalent but is the most leaderless person you will ever see in this role. He doesn't seem to have any idea where the investigations are going. He commands almost no respect and gives his "team" little direction. I have never seen a more disorganized investigative unit. They just stand around an electronic white board sliding pics around while doing little else. They do not work as a team and most of his instructions are disregarded by Fredrika most of all and Peder too. He is the most bland character in this type of series I have ever seen and NO it cannot be explained away just because this is Dark Nordic Noir. I've watched quite a lot of these and this is nothing like a character from Darkness, Wisting or Rebekka Martinson to name a few good ones. He is beyond callous to suspects and victims, does not communicate with anyone in his personal life or work, is always in crisis mode and so depressed I was hoping he would throw himself out a window.
Not only is the character dull but. Jonas Karlsson the actor brings absolutely nothing to the role. He just takes his glasses off about 6 times an episode and rubs his head in frustration and that sums up the extent of his acting. Liv Mjones is not better. Her character's flatness is not helped by her lack of acting.
The writer(s) have made this so confusing but think they can use a gimmick to make these two characters seem deep and philosophical. Through all the episodes there is this drawn out overused series of scenes where Alex is driving a cab and picks up Fredrika. We have to endure this unpleasing view from a CabCam. They drive around whining about how bad and sick the world is but they are hypocrites who are a much bigger part of the problem than solution. They are failures in their jobs. All of their scenes in the cab, not unlike many of the other conversations in this series, are like watching some really bad existential dry play go on and on and on whilte saying nothing.
Alexej Manvelov gives a good performance as usual and his character Peder is the only one that evokes any sympathy or seems the least bit real.
I was fine with the 2 -episode plots but after the writers show they can't handle this model they try to tie several plots together after the fact in the last 2 episodes which doesn't work. They try to engineer this grand finale based on a storyline they nor the viewer was even aware of. It's comes out of left field and comes off as laughable at best. Two of the three investigator's relationship partners are involved in the plot and third one decides to date a victim's mother. Coincidence to the ridiculous. One detective basically goes into gangland killing mode and I couldn't believe he was not charged with murder. I actually laughed during this scene because it was so over the top and the criminal deserved it, but he was only suspended from duty. Not believable at all.
Every character complains about how people get away with crimes and BOOHOO's about how nothing is being done but these detectives are nothing but stylish hypocrites. They are typical whiner generation characters who could be doing something to change things but instead they throw up their hands, take care of their own needs and stay depressed say the world is beating them down when they are just laying down.
Please don't waste your time. Just pull up the theme song on line, watch the terrific credits, listen to the music. I promise disappointment if you watch anything beyond this. Every bit of the potential of this series is squandered by idiotic writing. I consider Maria Wern and Detective Maria Kallio to be mediocre because the leads both have similar flaws as these characers but on a much smaller scale, but after watching STHLM REQUIEM those two Maria's seem much better somehow in comparison. If you make it to the end you will be PISAPPOINTED!
These are the most inept detectives ever.
Fredrika Bergman is not a likable character as an investigator, spouse/lover or mother. She is not a good human being in any way. She is dishonest, disingenuous, self-serving, callous and not even a good detective although she gets credit all the time for pointing out things that seem rather obvious. She evokes no empathy and the character as flawed as she is still doesn't make me care about her at all. She has no ethics or moral compass of any kind. In fact, by the last couple of episodes I was hoping she and Alex would be taken out by the criminals. Yes, a character so awful you hope she is killed off.
Alex Recht (should have been called Whiner) is an even worse character. He's supposed to be the DCI equivalent but is the most leaderless person you will ever see in this role. He doesn't seem to have any idea where the investigations are going. He commands almost no respect and gives his "team" little direction. I have never seen a more disorganized investigative unit. They just stand around an electronic white board sliding pics around while doing little else. They do not work as a team and most of his instructions are disregarded by Fredrika most of all and Peder too. He is the most bland character in this type of series I have ever seen and NO it cannot be explained away just because this is Dark Nordic Noir. I've watched quite a lot of these and this is nothing like a character from Darkness, Wisting or Rebekka Martinson to name a few good ones. He is beyond callous to suspects and victims, does not communicate with anyone in his personal life or work, is always in crisis mode and so depressed I was hoping he would throw himself out a window.
Not only is the character dull but. Jonas Karlsson the actor brings absolutely nothing to the role. He just takes his glasses off about 6 times an episode and rubs his head in frustration and that sums up the extent of his acting. Liv Mjones is not better. Her character's flatness is not helped by her lack of acting.
The writer(s) have made this so confusing but think they can use a gimmick to make these two characters seem deep and philosophical. Through all the episodes there is this drawn out overused series of scenes where Alex is driving a cab and picks up Fredrika. We have to endure this unpleasing view from a CabCam. They drive around whining about how bad and sick the world is but they are hypocrites who are a much bigger part of the problem than solution. They are failures in their jobs. All of their scenes in the cab, not unlike many of the other conversations in this series, are like watching some really bad existential dry play go on and on and on whilte saying nothing.
Alexej Manvelov gives a good performance as usual and his character Peder is the only one that evokes any sympathy or seems the least bit real.
I was fine with the 2 -episode plots but after the writers show they can't handle this model they try to tie several plots together after the fact in the last 2 episodes which doesn't work. They try to engineer this grand finale based on a storyline they nor the viewer was even aware of. It's comes out of left field and comes off as laughable at best. Two of the three investigator's relationship partners are involved in the plot and third one decides to date a victim's mother. Coincidence to the ridiculous. One detective basically goes into gangland killing mode and I couldn't believe he was not charged with murder. I actually laughed during this scene because it was so over the top and the criminal deserved it, but he was only suspended from duty. Not believable at all.
Every character complains about how people get away with crimes and BOOHOO's about how nothing is being done but these detectives are nothing but stylish hypocrites. They are typical whiner generation characters who could be doing something to change things but instead they throw up their hands, take care of their own needs and stay depressed say the world is beating them down when they are just laying down.
Please don't waste your time. Just pull up the theme song on line, watch the terrific credits, listen to the music. I promise disappointment if you watch anything beyond this. Every bit of the potential of this series is squandered by idiotic writing. I consider Maria Wern and Detective Maria Kallio to be mediocre because the leads both have similar flaws as these characers but on a much smaller scale, but after watching STHLM REQUIEM those two Maria's seem much better somehow in comparison. If you make it to the end you will be PISAPPOINTED!