The fifty-eighth TV show: #880 Bron/Broen
We've taken some time to get through this series. A murder drama in Danish and Swedish that tends to have quite a few conspiracy theories in it, meaning that we have to pay a lot of attention, which is exhausting enough. But it was so worth it. We watched the first two seasons, and the third is in our queue to catch up with at some point.
The murder mystery is one part of that, which in both versions has had several layers, some social commentary and enjoyable misdirection. The start of the second season was a bit weaker, but that was in part to set up later episodes. On the whole it works well.
Where it shines, where I get more of my enjoyment and where most shows tend to rise or fall, are the relationships between the characters. Like any crime show with two leads, you have the straight laced and the relaxed one. Here, however, Saga issues with social interactions - she's possibly on the autistic spectrum - which makes her blunt and straight forward, good and putting connections together but not endearing people to her. It makes for a more interesting dynamic and it means that when you feel for her, you really do. It impacts her life in the story in a meaningful way without being denigrating and it's been really interesting to see.
Beyond that, the story takes a personal turn, especially once we reach the second season, and the development of Martin is just as engaging. They make for a decent double act and the end of season two hits all the harder for it.
We'll be watching season 3 and are generally taking some time to catch up on our TV viewing. We need more of this.