The Troubled Man

Kenneth Branagh and his supporting cast send off this wonderful series with a dense, troubling, and ultimately satisfying final two- part episode. "Wallander" has brought back the "masterpiece" in Masterpiece Theater.

For those who don't understand the moments of both lucidity and the moments of pure confusion in Branagh's portrayal of early outset Alzheimer's disease, you evidently haven't been around anyone who has suffered from this horrible disorder. I have had a close friend who suffered from the disease, and I found his portrayal to be painfully accurate.

I would have liked for this series to continue, but the death of Henning Mankell in 2015 evidently put an end to any hopes of future episodes.

In this, the final episode of the British dramatization of the Swedish detective series of novels, Wallander (Kenneth Branagh) investigates another complicated case involving Hakan von Enke (Terrence Hardiman). Hakan is the father-in-law of Wallander's daughter Linda (Jeany Spark), so there is a distinctly personal aspect to this case.

The plot hinges on an incident taking place during the mid-Eighties when Hakan was involved in an incident where Soviet submarines encroached into Swedish waters. Nothing is quite what it seems: loyalties are brought into question, and Hakan's wife Louise (Ann Bell) is revealed to have been involved, despite outward appearances. In the end Wallander unravels the plot and confronts Hakan in a climactic sequence taking place in a deserted tunnel.

Of more interest in this episode, perhaps, is Wallander's gradually deteriorating state of mind. Although gamely pursuing his chosen career, it's clear that he is subject to moments where he quite literally does not know where he is or what he is doing. In his son-in-law Hans's (Harry Haddon-Paton's) office, for example, he loses the power to communicate, much to everyone's consternation. Later on he is discovered outside his house tearing off his shirt and jacket - reminiscent of King Lear on the heath - and is only prevented from causing further self-harm by his daughter's sympathetic ministrations. Branagh is very good at such moments, as he shows how Wallander's mind oscillates between extreme rationalism and wild imagining.

In the end the story is transformed into a race against time: will Wallander be able to solve the case before he finally succumbs to his illness? The ending is predictable, but engaging nonetheless; and is followed by a denouement in which Wallander empties his office desk and communicates with his deceased father (David Warner).

As with the other episodes in this short series, the action unfolds at a leisurely pace, with attention paid as much to the gray Swedish landscape as to the characters operating within it. "The Troubled Man" is a melancholy piece, but fascinating nonetheless.

The first season of this show didn't really work for me, although the second and third engaged me more; the cases were better, the tone was better judged, and the grim atmosphere had something behind it in terms of narrative and character. The fourth season doesn't return to the superficial feeling of the first season, but there is something that doesn't quite work about it.

The cases do not seem to flow quite as well; in particular the first episode set in South Africa didn't really work in terms of being dramatically engaging, and the second episode seemed a bit messy in what it was doing. The third and final episode works much better because it has a lot of focus on Wallander himself, while also producing a case that is intriguing and has personal stakes. In this case I also liked the destructive nature of 'success' in the context of the investigation – this returned to the feeling of Wallander being a destructive force, spreading the grimness beyond himself. This element gives Branagh something to work with, and he rewards the episode for it. By contrast the other episodes he is more functional in his delivery, which is perhaps why they did not work as well for me.

Production values remain high, and everything has a great atmosphere, although I didn't think the South African episode worked with its location combined with the atmosphere they tried to deliver. The fourth season doesn't return to the weakness of the first season, but for me it was not as good as the middle two seasons – although the final episode does do a lot to help it go out in a good way.

Wallander's health has deteriorated rapidly, but he still has one last case to solve, the disappearance of his daughter's father in law, Hakan von Enke.

It's taken me some time to warn to the show, but I really have grown to enjoy it, what a shame it's only four series long.

If I'm totally honest, I struggled with the early part of the episode, I couldn't quite get it, but as it progresses, it knits together very nicely, the story builds well, and concluded very, very strongly.

There is definitely an air of sadness about the whole thing, you cannot helped but be moved as you watch it. It's like we're taken back to the first series, where David Warner played the part of his dad so well.

It's quite a complex plot to follow, you have to concentrate, you also have to focus on where Kurt is at, Branagh puts in an exceptional performance here, you really do watch and feel the turmoil the great Detective is experiencing.

Beautifully produced, those opening scenes looked and sounded sublime, I could listen to that voice all day.

I loved two performances in particular, firstly that of Michael Byrne, and secondly the one by the late great Colette O'Neil, two veteran actors showing how it should be done.

8/10.

Having seen the Swedish version of this final episode, I have to talk about a spark. As Kurt begins to succumb to Alzheimers, he becomes even more morose than he normally is. He finds himself trying to find his daughter's father-in-law, who has some connection to spying. As he does this, he becomes more and more confused. He at times is almost zombie-like. Granted, this insidious disease takes the soul out of a person, but early onset isn't presented with much reality. Wallander is awfully lucid most of the time but occasionally drops off the face of the earth. The performance is dull and that is the problem. One of our greatest actors interprets the role with a single dimension and gets by on pure luck. Branagh is so stoic as to appear catatonic. A bit of a disappointment to end this series.