The Killing - Série 3

Amazing. The greatest fluctuations of sweaters, the scheme of the first series stretched to a larger domestic political scale and made in half the area with a much greater escalation (with the exception the 6th and 7th part, it keeps moving forward). With a bit of exaggeration, the creators managed to combine the civilian political thriller Borgen and a visually beefy dark detective story a la The Bridge. The ending is explicitly brilliant, overwhelming, perhaps borderline, but all of its elements are perfectly in line with the logic of the characters and the established motifs. Nikolaj Lie Kaas was a great choice as a partner, kind of like Lund with a lot of testosterone. So far, the best I've seen in the Nordic series, all taken together. (10/11/2013)

Borgenov-like behind the scenes plotting enriched by the thriller and crime movie frame (or is it vice versa?) so target-oriented and escalated. And on top of that, wearing a shabby washed-in Nordic sweater... Yes, Sarah is back. The first season diluted the unprecedented and stimulating personal approach by stretching the season into twenty episodes with repetitive sub episodes, while the second season is more dynamic, has less episodes, greater filmmaking and the approach of "everything should be more tense and everything must be bigger". As a result it lost its unique concept and thus became an exciting and high-quality, but somewhat overplayed genre variation of other movies. However, the third season takes the best from the two previous ones and at the same time it did its homework and avoids their drawbacks. Thus it is far the best, the most dynamic and the most exciting. This is largely due to the fact that only in the third season the consistent adherence to the trio of story lines (criminal, political and personal) has finally worked. In previous seasons, their interconnection has not always worked, but this time they appear hand in hand as one integral whole. (15/02/2015)

The Killing already had an excellent reputation, but watching - as usually happens when you have high expectations - did not live up to my expectations. I disliked a certain fatigue of the series with its multitude of characters, motives, settings, detours, and dead ends. Twenty episodes of investigating one case were simply too much for my taste. Alignment did not come with the second season either, but the third season hit the spot for me. I appreciated its significantly more intense pace. Unlike its older siblings, the third season did not tire me but instead kept me on the edge. In this season, it is worth paying attention to the dialogues, relationships, and facial expressions; everything is well thought out and has its (temporarily hidden) meaning. The script evenly divides attention among several environments and realistically depicts the growing conflict between Danish business and political elites, facing a shocking crime, as well as the rivalry and maneuvering within stumbling security forces. The individual storylines do not mix aimlessly as in the first season. The twists in the investigation do not look like a divine intervention from above, the action elements are portrayed realistically, and the characters do not act in black and white, quite the opposite in fact. Each carries a scar, whether it is a partial or fundamental professional or human failure. Even the emotionally intense scenes of searching for a kidnapped girl whose time is running out do not lead to cheap sentimentality or manipulation of the viewer. As a warning that even the wealthiest societies are not without flaws, season 3 works excellently, and it also represents evidence that even small European productions can achieve great things. Overall impression: 85%. (10/06/2015)