Gråzon (2018)

At the opening scene with the truck, I briefly considered stopping watching. Another script writer who lets police officers perform stupid solo actions and screw up the most simple interventions. However, gradually the level rose slightly, but very slowly. It wasn't until episode 5 that I started to really enjoy it. The last parts were captivating except for the predictable ending; the final destination of the drone. Well, and that nobody's private life runs smoothly is also standard in this type of series; I am also used to that, although the piece of Eva and daughter didn't make sense. Apart from that, overall, quite a good series among all those other good Scandinavian products. Beautiful shots, good acting by familiar faces and occasionally good actions.

Translated from Dutch · View original

The creators of this series have adapted the old genre of the political thriller to the twenty-first century. A topical theme is the threat of a terrorist attack. New technologies include drones and digital forms of communication and espionage.

The plot developments are shown alternately from different perspectives. Victoria is the accidental heroine who is taken hostage by Ilyad, a Swede of Syrian descent. Jesper and Eva represent the Danish and Swedish secret services, with the former being much looser with the rules than the latter.

It is not a simple story of good detectives versus bad terrorists. Various characters face moral dilemmas. Victoria can save her young son's life by allowing many people to die in an attack. She exhibits symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome – which is fitting, as they travel back and forth between Stockholm and Copenhagen.

Stylistically, this is Nordic noir, with nighttime scenes and dark locations. Episodes with a lot of dialogue lead to a climax with plenty of action. It is a welcome reunion with some top actors from other Scandinavian series. Birgitte Hjort Sørensen has many scenes with raw emotions. She plays a woman who discovers that reality is not always black and white, but that a moral grey zone also exists.

Translated from Dutch · View original