Okay, I'm only two episodes in, but it's good enough to keep watching. It's clearly trying for a larger audience (via HBO and taking cues from recent Nordic police shows) but remains very provincial. Also, they ain't breaking into America with an overabundance of tobacco use!
There's some plot holes and obvious plot points throughout that keep it from being anything but original. Still, the "exotic" setting of the Polish border makes it slightly more appealing for me (American born with Polish grandparents).
The lead character, Viktor, who looks like Bobcat Goldthwaite to me, is kinda slow and not a crack detective on any level. He's clearly motivated to solve this crime, but I'm never sure if he's actually the central character in this mystery or not. I guess we'll see as it unfolds.
The DA is cold, calculated and focused on finding out if Viktor is innocent or not. She's not really doing much onscreen so far; so I'm not sure if I should stop thinking about her or not. The rest of his new team is also nothing special, so I'm never sure where I should be focusing.
Definitely engaging, but also dull at times. I will definitely give it another episode or two in hopes it picks up a bit. Even if it doesn't, I could see myself finishing it-even at this pace!
Edit: Okay, now I'm halfway through season 2! It's still engaging as heck! But it's also confusing at times, as people's motives are unclear and actions related even more unfathomable. I often tell myself that it must be some cultural difference that I just can't quite grok from my sofa in America. But, then I think it just might not be written so great. Who knows?
The story this time is more focused on Prosecutor Dobosz. Yes, she still chain smokes as does everyone. It's quite amazing, actually! She also gets a topless sex scene for no reason at all!
This season is equally convoluted, but moves along just fine and is keeping my attention. Victor is living out in the woods trying to solve the mysteries of the first season; so he's more interesting this time around. The characters as a whole, however, come across as not the brightest out there in TV land. So that's either my entitled American perspective, or the show's creators are giving us an authentic view of border criminals. Who knows?
