Catch and Release

People do not want you to watch this. They will throw up bad reviews. Thousands of children go missing every year. Rich and powerful forces exist in every town. Secrets are there. Promises made and kept. The pacing is slow because this stuff really needs time to be taken in, digested, processed. The scenery, music, lighting, photography are all top notch and the directors have talent to spare. If you seek action, gunfights, traffic, slapstick, humor, and want to be thrilled, well then a northern fishing village is not the place to look. This is a crime drama for the ages. Evil exists. See it in the news daily.

I'm surprised there isn't more positive response to this series. We've been watching woman detective shows for a few years now, starting with Hellen Mirren in Prime Suspect, and what we can find from all around the world, and the way I look at it, this one is first-class. For me the genre isn't literally about police work, or even societal order like in David Milch, but about skepticism and evidence in a dangerous world of wild speculation and convenient beliefs. This one was hard to find, partly hidden behind the Jennifer Garner movie, and even searching by name I had to hunt for it. I didn't find it slow, I thought the writing is the high-class kind that lets the actors convey a lot that isn't said, and they rose to it. I thought it was very deft, and moved quick. The casting itself seems very thoughtful and nuanced, and the cast, from the most sympathetic characters to the least, are just so good, in an understated, life-size way. There are a lot of really great scenes in this thing. Wow, that's basically my review. In places it captures a very vivid sense of trying to do a job in good faith in disingenuous institutional culture, and I suppose that's a common thing in detective stories, but it feels like the people crafting this story really know it from lived experience. My sweetie used to do a bit from As I Lay Dying as an acting audition piece and it would just stun the room - and there's stuff like that in this tv series. I don't know how people are finding it dull. The writing is sharp, spare, and generous, the actors are so striking, such effortlessly beautiful people, and such accomplished legitimate artists, omg I hate you all. So for what it's worth I for one really appreciated this project, like the style, and kept thinking Who did this? Every time it surprised me again. I hope it gradually finds its audience, or at least maybe a future project by some of the people involved may hit, and bring back a second look at it, then people will see they were missing out.

Slowly unfolding but beautiful story where the crime as well as the character of the investigators comes slowly into focus. The dark side of a small , isolated village is interpreted through the perspectives of several characters, but the viewer is left to piece together the narrative as there are no police procedural scenes to do the work for you. Highly atmospheric against the panorama of Northern Norway. I loved the two main characters, especially the young policewoman whose calm and stillness anchored the plot. Don't bother if you are looking for an action packed adventure because you will be frustrated with the pace.

I deleted the whole series after episode one. I really don't like this "there is evil here" type of story. Give me a police investigation without the religious strand please.

I found the elderly policewoman angle not plausible. Come on! She supposedly has a month to live or maybe as long as two weeks. She wouldn't be able to move, let alone be able to return to her desk at the cop shop. And what doctor would have signed her in as fit to work, especially as the local GP had gone missing?

Why did I give three stars? Just for the landscapes and the local cops who acted their roles well.

I hate leaving short reviews but this is utterly not recommended.

A very good story, well filmed and acted, but the pace was just too slow. The scenery is stunning well captured. The slow pace had style, but I think they over did the slowness. Worth a watch.