Springfloden

I binge watched season 2 (10 episodes) in just one sitting (!), something that I've never done before. The second season of ''Springfloden'' is based on the second novel in the Rönning/Stilton series, written by the Swedish duo of Cilla and Rolf Börjlind with the title ''The Third Voice''. The two Swedish authors are well-known for their scriptwriting for a number of Nordic Noir television series such as ''Beck'', ''Wallander'' (the Swedish edition with K. Henrikssen), ''Arne Dahl'' and ''Graven''. I've already read the book so I knew what to expect in terms of story and plot but nevertheless the series had a profound effect on me, thus I found myself unable to stop watching it. Julia Ragnarsson and Kjell Bergqvist both deliver strong performances in the primary roles and the same is true for the actors in the secondary ones, especially Dar Salim (Abbas), Cecilia Nilsson (Mette) and Johan Widerberg in the role of wayward police informant Minken. The episodes are short in terms of length (around 40 minutes each) and the plot moves forward in a rather fast pace leading to the final two episodes where the whole truth about the two cases, one in Marseilles and one in Stockholm, is revealed to the viewer. I found the final twists rather satisfying, something rare for every seasoned crime fiction fanatic, and overall I can say that the second season of ''Springfloden'' is worthy of the attention of all Nordic Noir enthusiasts around the globe.

My wife and I just finished Season 1. It was wonderful: well-acted with a gradual unfolding of information and clues that finally allow the police to solve the murders in Episode 10. Unlike many series where there is obvious padding to fill up some of the episodes, every episode is important. This is one of the best series we've watched recently.

While not as polished and gripping as the best police dramas out there (with the first series of True Detective as the category benchmark), Springfloden does a good job in most of the departments.

The very beautiful Olivia is a Swedish police academy student who stumbles by chance on an old unsolved murder case that obsessed her father - the detective investigating on it - up until his death. Of course she can't resist the lure of this mystery and embarks herself on an unofficial investigation that will bring a lot of surprises and messes all around Sweden.

The writing and the side stories are well crafted and interestingly enough deal with social issues in developed countries (homeless, children without an economically stable/culturally evolved family). There's also some room for slightly humorous moments that in my opinion just add up points to the realistic tone of the drama.

As a whole I could find very few holes in how the pieces got connected together, yet for some reason or another I couldn't suspend the disbelief: most of the time everything was clearly part of an acted TV fiction. This might be due to the depth of the backstories of the characters we get to know which barely comes to the surface when these characters act. However It's hard to say this is any specific actor's fault (at least the leads showed a proper range): I would instead point the finger to the writing (which may have tried too hard to include cool stuff) or to the direction (which possibly wasn't able to capture the complexity of the characters in an expressive way).

This said Springfloden is a series you can't miss if you are into detective stories because it's more realistic and better executed than the 90% of the genre's other incarnations.

I don't know why programs like this are so rare over here in the U. S. All the Scandinavian countries - Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Denmark - produce impressive dramas frequently enough that "Nordic noir" has become a distinct, recognizable genre. For that matter, the French, Belgians, and Dutch do some pretty darned good shows, as well. Rarely do you see a car chase, thank goodness.

Springfloden ("Spring Tide") is one of Sweden's better offerings in the past several years. It began slowly, and built at a snail's pace, but every moment was important to the plot. For my money, season 2 was much better than the first, though I give both very high marks. Knowing there were only 10 episodes for each meant I knew there would be story resolution and not some endless cliffhanger arc with no conclusion. There were some mildly frustrating moments for me that I can only attribute to cultural differences between American and North European societies. Characters' attitudes toward homelessness, drug use, the sex trade, and other issues surprised me in some instances. I think what makes these programs so interesting to me is when the action goes in a slightly different direction than I expect. Keeps me on my toes. Anyway, this is a great series, and I hope to see a third season. But as with all good things in life, we may only get this little bit and no more.

Along with Denmark, Sweden is a leading representative of fine crime series and Nordic Noir, and after Millennium or The Bridge sagas one might wonder is there any room for more of the same or close quality and thrill, when you can do without constant shootings and chases, without fancy policemen... And yet, the Swedes continue surprising.

As many others, the events in Springfloden started working from the very beginning. True, the pace is calmer than in most US and many UK series, but this is one of their special characteristics. There are different cases to be solved, from past and present, and their sophistication and intertwining let fill the 10 episodes nicely, without undue tardiness or inclusion of "filling" characters or scenes. The solution of the major crime might seem trivial, but is realistic, and an unexpected twist in the very end rounds the series up in a fine manner.

But the gem of this series is undoubtedly Kjell Bergqvist as Tom Stilton (for this, above all, my total 9 points). I have seen some of his performances before, they were decent, but not so special to start to follow films or series based on his acting. But here in Springfloden, he is really something, his performance worth of Emmy of even Golden Globe, if the language of the series was different... But he obtained Kristallen for his role, a big honour in Sweden.

Thus, a highly recommended series, even for audiences outside Scandinavia.

PS Series 2 is a bit weaker, including Berqqvist less on screen, but still at least 8 points worth.