We’re back for season three of this dark – very dark – Finnish thriller. Did I mention that it was dark? In the opening episode of the third season, we negotiate kidnapping, rape, murder, suicide by train and terminal illness. Honestly, don’t watch this if you’re feeling a bit low, because it’s not going to help.
If you want to avoid all spoilers, stop reading this article now.
So, with that warning in place, is it any good? Well, yes – it really is an excellent series. The main protagonist is Detective Kari Sorjonen (Ville Virtanen), a thoughtful and hugely talented investigator. We first see him as his wife learns that she is dying in a hospital bed – the scenes with the pair of them, sometimes with their daughter, are very moving. A special shout-out to Matleena Kuusniemi who portrays Sorjonen’s wife, Pauliina, beautifully. Whilst reeling from the news of her diagnosis, he receives a phone call asking him to help the Finnish authorities with a curious murder and kidnapping case.
We witness the harrowing scene of a young woman tied to a bed in a basement. She has tape over her mouth and headphones over her ears, basically isolating her senses from the surroundings. How long she’s been held captive and by whom we do not know – her captor wears a mask. Later, we see that she’s pregnant and her captor releases her.
Some years later – after she’s given birth – she returns to the place where she was held captive and, using a crowbar, breaks into the basement. There she finds another woman also being held prisoner, so she helps untie her, only to be disturbed by a noise upstairs in the house. She waits in hiding and attacks a man as he comes down the stairs, beating him to death with the crowbar. But is he the women’s kidnapper, or an innocent man?
Running alongside this storyline is the trial of a young woman, Katia Jaakkola, for the killing of man from the previous season. Katia is the daughter of Kari’s former colleague, Lena, who is currently living in exile. Katia is also a close friend of Kari’s daughter, Janina. Given this part of the storyline, I really think that this is a case of having to view all the seasons to really appreciate the nuances of what’s occurring. Otherwise, you lose half the plot.
In conclusion, this is a complex, but well written – and very well acted – series that focuses on the darker side of human nature. It’s not for the faint-hearted, though – it ought to come with a health warning, because this really is Nordic Noir at its noir-est. But if you can cope with that, this is a powerful and gripping thriller. Watch all the previous seasons first, though, to get the full benefit.
Walter Presents: ‘Bordertown' Season 3 is available as a full boxset on C4 Streaming now.
