User reviews

I'm already addicted to this thriller after watching two episodes only. Even though there is nothing particularly original about the plot and the back story (don't get me wrong, it's edgy in a Crimson Rivers sort of way, and is very very interesting on all levels but everything's been done before), it's extremely well directed and all the characters are very strong and uncannily lifelike. Part of the appeal resides in the "novelty" of the Icelandic location of course - I read some Icelandic crime fiction before and I found it in exactly the same appealing but rather grim vein in fact - but what really, really makes this, is the incredibly charismatic lead actor playing Andri, the unusual chief of the local police. What an actor. Negatives would be some overuse of atmospheric music but that's about it (eta: only the first 2 episodes really. It's being much better used afterwards. And it's great music) .

Am excellent watch although definitely not recommended for children, whether they can read subtitles or not. It has dead body parts and things.

After episode 3 I'm pushing this to a 9. Wild horses wouldn't drag me out before episode 4 on this Saturday night! This is top class TV by any standards.

Episode 5....still top class stuff .

The series has ended in both a pleasingly conventional and unconventional manner and I feel bereft and orphaned, such as I normally only feel after reading a particularly enthralling book. Well done, I shall miss you all like (dysfunctional altogether) family.

I would also like to add that user ratings are virtually the same across the board, from under 18 (who love it best) to over 45, males and females, US and non US users. It's quite astonishing and not at all usual.

Very much in the dark, foreboding style of Scandinavian police process fiction, Trapped is beautifully produced and acted with realistic characters and enough pot-boiling clues to keep the audience on the edge of its seat. A wonderful setting and the drama of a big storm accentuates the claustrophobic community and gives the crime element a grimness and urgency. The local police chief, Andri, is the focus of the story and his acting is exemplary. Simply enjoyable! Supporting characters, the two other local uniformed police officers, the ferry captain and the Rekyavik cast all contribute to a very watchable and dramatic series. Television at its best, flavoured with an Icelandic blackness provided by the climate and the terrain.

Being a fan of Nordic noir I thought I would give this series a go and I'm glad I did. Trapped is every bit as good as anything Icelands Scandinavian neighbours have given us. Set in a small port on the Icelandic coast a spate of murders take place taking the local police force out of there comfort zone. Not that this stops the local head of police played by the excellent Olafa Olafson. With no help from the mainland due to the freezing weather he single handily attempts to track down the perpetrator. Trapped is well written,acted and beautifully shot so much so it's the first show that's so cold it makes me want to put a jumper on just watching it! Highly recommended 9/10

If you look for one of the most accomplished police drama series search no further. Excellent writing, photography and acting. You'll be immersed in a small Icelandic town where a series of crimes (murders included) need to be solved. Top notch realism. It's awesome how easily you can fall in love with well built/developed characters even if they're not good looking, dysfunctional, exceptionally smart or heroic: just normal. It's even more awesome you can fall in love with a well written police drama even if no child was killed, no supernatural stuff is hinted as possibly present, no worldwide conspiracy menaces mankind, no criminal mastermind always wins. It's a good lesson for all those creators modeling their products on a dumb target audience: you don't need to. There's already youtube and Hollywood and special effects and cartoons for that: if you write series, do it well.

Like a lot of people, I started watching Trapped because of the novelty of seeing a show made in Iceland. But when I finished the series, I had to admit: it's as good as the very best cop/mystery shows out of the UK, or anywhere else.

Trapped has several things going for it:

* The location, and the (icy-cold) atmosphere. What a great concept: a horrible murder, and all the suspects snowed-in in a tiny Icelandic town. (It reminded me of the excellent horror-adventure, 30 Days of Night.)

* The characters. The creators of this show must have used every top actor in Iceland, and even then they had to borrow some. But every role is beautifully played, and intelligently written. Every person depicted in this series has a believable personality, and even the villains remain believable and sympathetic.

* The plot. Unlike so many mysteries, Trapped is resolved in a totally plausible way. There are no lapses in logic, no improbable contrivances. Just human greed and stupidity, playing out in the way you'd expect. This is what really wins that 10/10 rating from me. Very few TV mysteries manage to come up with a really credible plot.

Trapped works perfectly on every level: as adventure, drama and mystery. Bear up with the subtitles (or brush up your Icelandic), and see this show as soon as possible. And join me in hoping that its creators have a lot more like it in store.

Ófærð is an amazing, dark, slow-burning drama, where you feel the tension building from the very first moment. Ólafur Darri Ólafsson depicted a single-father (for the time-being), living with his parents-in-law, working as the chief of police with so much details and such psychological depth that it leaves the watcher in awe. He is strong but easily-hurt, he is tormented by his love to his wife and still naivelly believes that maybe, just maybe everything will be fine. The story - wow, so many paths that it takes us on, such tangled connections between closed-knit society of a small community. The scenery - breath-taking; I'm from Poland so we do have some strong winters, but the creepy atmosphere of being completelly cut-off by the snow fall is something I don't know :) And it worked for me - I was binge-watching the series with 38 degrees Celsius outside and I felt frozen to the bone :) It was a combination of the story and scenery that made the film so thrilling. Overall - great acting, good story and somewhat surprising ending.

I was hesitant at first, as I find myself increasingly reluctant to watch anything where I must rely on unblinking attention to the lower region of the screen to catch subtitles in English, (myself being woefully and completely ignorant of the spoken language of Iceland, in this case) However, after the first episode I was hooked. The acting was excellent, the characters believable, the Icelandic backdrop eerie, melancholy and the mountainous backdrop achingly beautiful. I found myself fully invested in the outcome and, indeed, stayed up well past my bedtime to watch as many episodes as I could. Cheers ! 10 out of 10 in my humble opinion.

If you're not enamored by medieval barbarians and dragons running around, if you're tired of the genius-but-eccentric-detective-with-a-bratty-kid perfunctory trite, if you forgot how real people behave when faced with a crisis (not usually heroically, in case you're wondering), give this one a shot.

The murder drama set is an isolated small town is a well-worn trope, really just an extended version of the locked room mystery, or the country house killing. But when the small town is in northern Iceland, that's an unusually claustrophobic setting and 'Trapped' uses its location perfectly. When the winter storms come in, you feel cold just watching; when the thaw comes, it feels visibly warmer. The stunning scenery is also used to good effect, not least during the chilling opening credits. What I also liked about this story was that, although bad things were done, the motives (and competencies) of those involved are ultimately revealed to be fit to the scale of the world in which they have happened: the story doesn't ultimately depend on some deranged force of pure evil, or inter-galactic conspiracy. The sense of mutual hurt felt in a place where everybody knows everybody else, even if they sure don't all like one another, is also well conveyed. Perhaps there's just a little too much of taciturn people being gloomy in the dark for a perfect drama: it takes time to get to know the protagonists, although perhaps that's just the Icelandic way. Overall, it's very good, and makes one keen to return to Iceland, though probably I'll choose the summer season.

Apparently when the writers of programming can't come up with a engaging idea or a cogent plot, the tendency is to compensate by going full on with artificial and PC nonsense and compensation or substitution for actual thinking.

Sadly this has happened with "Trapped" and the second season is just terrible mess of over-the-top virtue signaling PC .-- and the forced nature of the PC is cringeworthy.

I have NO problem with social issues and messages being integrated in proper measure into a story, either allegorically or directly. Season one had a great story, mystery in an literally historically insular place that is more and more connected to the outside. yes some social issues were a part of the story, arrogant foreign Danes, domestic violence, and views of immigrants or foreigners. Those social issues were well integrated.

But in Season two there is no engaging story, no story at all really. No mystery since we can tell immediately where it is going. and instead it is a full force bludgeoning onslaught of PC messages, and cultural of aggrievement identity politics as a substitute for a story.

One can imagine the initial creative meetings for season two. Apparently instead of bringing the guidelines for storytelling, you know: plot, storytelling, setting, character development, denouement etc; apparently someone instead brought "PC checklist" and they went with that instead of a story: immigrant guy, black guy, gay guy (consolidated into black, immigrant, gay guy, beaten woman, murdered woman, xenophobes, greedy Americans capitalists, etc etc.

This is a great series with intriguing characters and an engrossing (if over-complicated) story line. Unfortunately, by episode 9 things fall apart...badly. One idiotic motivation or action by a character follows another until you realize these people are not just naive but sloppy, stupid and moronic. Icelanders, especially the police, come across with the IQ's and presence of 5-year-olds. But it's not Iceland: it's a lack of imagination, expertise and effort by the writer(s) who manufacture ridiculous situations (ignored phone calls, people fleeing danger but totally unaware of anything around them etc.) that defy reason. It's a lazy way to begin wrapping up an otherwise fine series. I couldn't finish the season because I lost faith in the skills and intelligence of the creators.

I loved season 1 of Trapped . The atmosphere, the setting, the characters and acting were spot on . Tight story too . An 8 or even 9 out of 10 for me .

Season 2 , I think it's still very watchable, but nowhere near as good as the 1st one . That great sense of isolation , due to the weather and the particular circumstances, it just isn't there anymore - maybe it's the snow that's missing .

The story also is more convoluted, and jumping back and forth for no apparant reason - despite the same great cast, it's less tense and not creating much interest for this viewer .

As IMDB doesn't allow for rating individual seasons, for me it's now a 5/10 for the entire show .

S1 Review

In terms of plot, tonality and direction Trapped is not unique, despite that trapped is a remarkable inclusion to the genre of Nordic noir. The series opens in a snowy remote town in Iceland where a deadbody surfaces in the river .The fiercely inclement weather ,and an ensuing storm challenges the understaffed police in the town led by Andri Olafsson to solve the case. The series helmed by Baltasar Kormákur (director of "Everest","Adrift") is an intriguing watch throughout .The snowy cold town of siglufjörður acts as a perfect ally to justify the title of the series. The series builds up on the characters of the small town which seems all okay until the body shows up. Some old memories jogged up where as few persons are driven to the verge of exposing their true self. The incident sends this apparently peaceful town into an unexpected turmoil. The situation worsens as the last hope of any help from the central police department is delayed due to the impending storm. The local police with it's limited resources finds it to difficult to solve the case .The series is a slow burn and the character arcs of the cast suits it enough for this bleak thriller. The town, surrounded by icy mountains and river works as a perfect metaphor to the claustrophobic condition of the residents of the town regarding the incident. Olafur olafsson as an efficient but misplaced cop Andri is brilliant in his role.He has a robust screen presence throughout the series playing the role of a tragic cop with a troubled family life. Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir plays a more affectionate female cop and the most lovable character of the series. She also done a great job in playing her role .As the series progresses, it divulges more and more of this peaceful town i.e political conspiracies, personal vendetta and also some unusual turn in relationships. The writers has done a commendable job in building up the gravity and the atmosphere of the series. The characters will stay with you for some time. The directors also have proved their calibre by not hurrying the climax as some shows with promising beginnings usually fall victim to, although I admit some of reveals are predictable.The spectacular work in cinematography and the magnificent soundtracks by Johan Johannson and Hildur Guðnadóttir is more than perfect. The title montage is beautiful to be said at least. The series although particularly beautiful may not appeal to all,because of it's slow pace. The series is not at it's best in portraying the melodramatic situations,it may seem forced and unnecessary. Vividly atmospheric and purposefully bleak,the series, is surely a must watch who love slow burn crime dramas.

Wow, this series has really knocked my socks off! I was told about it by a colleague who had watched the first one, and at the time hadn't watched the second. I downloaded the first episode from I-player, and on finishing it, immediately downloaded the other 5 available. I've watched all the 6 episodes shown in 4 days.Its brilliant. Very dark, atmospheric, and each episode so far has been a cliffhanger.It constantly twists and turns and I've no idea where it's going to end. I'll try and do the super sleuth like everyone else, but I'll be wrong as it seems everyone has a skeleton somewhere in their past- or present!The characters are very credible and likable and the moodiness of the lead detective is brilliant. An absolute gem hidden away on BBC 4, but I hope the quality continues and if it does it will be the best thing in ages. Think Cracker( for those old enough) come Broadchuch(Season 1-season 2- yuk!) come the killing( season 1. Brilliant.

The lead character is engaging and you'll feel for him. Right from his hair to the way he walks to the way he dresses is all so real. And so is his life. The world created is so lovely you'd want to keep going back. Thoroughly enjoying it.

Loved the first season, the setting, the characters and the great story that was believable all the way through. Season 2 was so so. Liked the characters but the depth of the characters was not like season 1. The 15 year old daughter in season 2 is totally 1 dimensional and annoying. It was slow. Too many episodes, and i was disapointed by the last 2 episodes

So, series 1 is very watchable. Not stellar, but good characters, dramatic scenery, just about believable. I rated it an 8. For series 2 people have complained about the far right, the gays, and the muslim angle being in it. For me that was gratuitous and unnecessary but it wasn't a complete disaster. What definitely ruined it for series 2 was the completely unbelievable and incompetent police - who seemed to have lost all their brain cells since series 1. Turning characters into something that they weren't before, just to satisfy a contrived plot, was unforgivable. Rating it a 4 seems about right. I was glad when it finished...

Great story, strong performances by the actors and didn't get boring at any stage. Much better than the usual American series we get to watch.

'Trapped' (2015) is a well written, acted, energetic and creatively projected dramatization of Icelandic island life, drafted from the perspective of a rurally situated police chief under considerable pressure. Casting has produced character portrayals which reflect considerable intensity and interest, leaving the audience quickly vested in the welfare and wellbeing of central characters. Overall, actors deliver consistently compelling and believable performances which further draws the audience into both the story and its likely oucome, demanding the viewer's attention.

Operatively, a body is discovered, a large interisland ferry is seconded, people traffickers, corrupt or unethical government officials, innocent and guilty parties, and a legacy of tragedy; all this forms the anchoring fabric of both the storyline and this island's social community spectrum. Unscripted, and absent of dialogue, the island's weather and climate also play a prominent role is situating characters in an locale of immediate threat and ever-present danger. At times, merely venturing outside, unprepared and unprotected, could be a life ended error.

Characters are presented and represented as entirely human, accessible and believable in their response and strategies for coping with the anxieties and urgencies of Icelandic island life and its inherent isolation and socio-economic precarity. Thus, within this community of intense need, privilege and under privilege, coping behaviours vary from the proactively positively promotive, to anti-social criminality, invoked by greed, selfishness and likely psychopathology - mental illness. Thereby, multiple stories are represented in the discourse of this production. Consequently, the dramatic social symbology of this community is quite compelling; and thus, arguably, realistically situated.

As with any well-crafted storylines; importantly, the audience is not taken for granted. To that end, we, the audience, are lead through a legacy of tragedy which originates with the unexplained death of a young teenage women, survived by her beloved boyfriend who escaped his partner's fate, who, unable to escape the building, was consumed by fire.

Questions and suspicion persist concerning how one of two in the same building survived when the other did not. Situationally, a mutilated body is dredged up by a trawler from within the harbour as the ferry arrives. Thus, the scene is set for the formal investigation of a non-accidental death of an unidentified individual of unexplained cause of death. Geographically, an intense Nordic storm isolates the island from outside police authority and support.

Atmospheric and strongly acted, but without much style, "Trapped" requires more patience than it rewards; which is another way of saying, it should have been cut down from 10 to around 5 or 6 episodes. As it is, there are a couple of episodes with barely any plot progression. But at least it resolves everything at the end and doesn't leave any major loose ends. Although there are better choices out there for fans of the genre, this show is at the very least a must for winter lovers: the snow-covered locations and cold cinematography will be eye-massaging for them! *** out of 4.

If you've ever wanted to know what life is like in a small town in Northern Iceland, this is the show for you. It's ostensibly a murder mystery, and a well plotted one, but more interesting than that is the evocative way the show presents the environment: the cold, the emptiness, the loneliness -- as well as the need for the town's people to work together when they can. There are flaws -- the leading man is a terrific actor but he seems awfully obese to be running a police department; the pacing is slow; the direction often feels a bit pretentious and arty. But all in all, it's really quite good.

Apparently, according to reviews, season 2 is not nearly as good.