Valkyrien

On the heels of the Swedes and the Danes, the Norwegians have vigorously stepped into the world of Scandi Noir, usually successfully. The synopsis of Valkyrien was intriguing as well, but as the events progressed I began to realise that it was too much a medical drama (which I tend to avoid) and much less crime-and-noir. The pace appeared to be slow and some characters did not provide additional value to the series (e.g. Teo´s and Leif´s families), but both Teo and Leif (Pål Sverre Hagen is the most versatile type in this series) produce lots of giggling and wtf! moments, breaking otherwise mostly static run of events. Sven Nordin as Ravn Eikanger is good, but nothing special, and the rest did not impress me too much. The moral ideas remained somewhat wishy-washy and the ending was too trivial as well.

So, Valkyrien is more like Det Tredje Øyet or Mammon, rather than Okkupert or Frikjent, for example. No, it is not a bad work, but additional smoothness and less scientific character could have made this series more interesting to me.

This is a great series. OK, the medical stuff isn't in the least bit realistic and the developments happen much too quickly - but, hey, it's a thriller. It rattles along and it's thrilling.

Best of all, though, is the fact that there are such good characters and such good acting. A standout is Pal Sverre Hagen, who is excellent as the very unusual Leif. The comic relief from the disaster-prone Teo, also very well acted, really made me laugh.

Beyond thrilling and dramatic with superb acting, very very interesting plots and awesome realism, but going downhill by episode 6 until the end, losing its wonderful dramatic tightness and adding many not-credible and "soap-opera" sub-plots.

Valkyrien had definitively potential and driving force for a second season. My main feeling is sadness after the joy, thrill and entertainment that it brought me.

Wish it had 4-5 episodes more, tying some loose ends and bringing real closure for a one-season series.

• Screenplay/story: 9
• Development: 8.5
• Realism: 9
• Entertainment: 9.5
• Acting: 9
• Filming/cinematography: 8.8
• Visuals/special effects: 8.5
• Music/score: 9
• Depth: 9
• Logic: 7
• Flow: 9.5
• Thrill/drama: 8.5
• Ending/closure: 7.

I was hesitant about starting this series because the teaser didn't make it sound interesting. But I got hooked and found it was entertaining. If you're a stickler for believability you will probably have some issues with the story. But the characters are likeable and plot twists will keep your attention.

I added the «comedy» tag to this series. Originally the description read «drama», but it's so much more than that: if you watch this series, you'll (hopefully) notice how funny, smart and unpredictably original its dialogue is. Generally, I'm not a fan of any actor, I rather believe in good casting. Yet I need to mention that Pal Sverre Hagen does (again) a magnificent job. He appeared on my radar while watching «Kraftidioten» (English: «In order of disappearance»), a movie in which he plays a psychopathic drug dealer in an incredibly humoristic fashion. The story of Valkyrien may be a little farfetched, personally I think it's exceptionally original in its writing. It is very off beat, unpredictable, even philosophical. In short: very smart and funny. All actors are very well cast and do a marvelous job. Superb writing and a must see if you're in for something original.