Jordskott

I was very pleasantly surprised when I watched this. I was expecting a Swedish crime drama like The Killing, but got so much more. This is a type of science fiction and I love science fiction. In some ways it resembles Pan's Labyrinth (from Spain I think), and if you love Earth Spirit Mythology then this show will please you. It has plenty of characters up to no good, for noble or selfish reasons, is full of surprises that eventually make sense and, though not big on special effects, what is needed is done well. There are tense moments and a beautiful tension throughout that keep the viewer interested. The story is sufficiently plausible to keep this work at an A-plus rather than a B-movie standard. The photography and place is very beautiful and creates atmosphere. This is a work that has done a lot with very little. Other reviewers have called this clever and they are very correct. The acting is easily good enough for mono speakers like me to forget the subtitles. I loved it.

I gotta say this little Swedish gem worked for me on so many levels. The acting was really good as well as the directing. The show had a really cool creepy vibe to it (especially on season 1) that really built on top of the uniquely intriguing plot. The mystery surrounding the town and its inhabitants is expertly delivered throughout the first season. The twists and reveals blew my mind, there's no way you can get 3 episodes in and give up. This show makes true blood and Grim look like garbage. Jordskott's modern take on fairy tales is like nothing I've ever seen... It's dark and mysterious and I was as hooked on this show as some of the characters in jordskott are on their black sludge they drink to survive.

It seems like most "professional" reviewers are trying to hype Jordskott as being the next Bron, particularly in Swedish newspapers. I started watching it with a very positive mindset with these opinions in mind. However I don't feel that the quality of the plot even comes close to it. Jordskott feels like a thinly veiled environmental propaganda piece about the dangers of corporate greed and the exploitation of natural resources. This would be fine if the writers had bothered to create a more immersive experience. There are too many loose threads that are never resolved, and on the contrary from Bron where you're kept guessing and wondering where the story will take you next the reveals of this story are mediocre and illogical. The police aren't clever, their reactions as events unfold aren't credible, the protagonist takes way longer than the audience to understand what's happening and the corporate greed angle is crude and illogical for anyone with even a tangential understanding of how a company works and how people think. It attempts to be a modern take on Äppelkriget without the humour. I'll watch it to the end to see how they manage to tie everything together as I've already reached episode 8, but I don't feel particularly optimistic. Such a wasted opportunity to do something really cool with the deep, mysterious forests of Sweden.

Just when you thought Nordic Noir had peaked along comes Jordskott - very dark and very much of its location and the Swedes do it best! Anyone who is vaguely familiar with folk tales (from pretty much anywhere in the world) will appreciate the brooding threat, the universal fears that permeate the early episodes. But this is no outlandish 'TrollHunter', this is a full blown 'who dun it' with the supra / supernatural an integral part. Having watched the first half of the first series, for me, it plays as a cross between The Killing, Fargo and Twin Peak (series 1 obviously). I don't like particularly enjoy 'supernatural' films and I don't have any belief in spiritual worlds but I appreciate the folk lore created by of cultures to explain their natural world. And, this is where Jordskott fits.The production slowly seduces the unbeliever into a realm where you not only accept the conceits you end an episode wanting more. Level headed I may be but Jordskott has made me think twice about my impending visit to the Swedish interior. This is very much box set binge materials but I must control the urge to splurge. Watch - believe - enjoy.

Anyone who has walked in Swedish forests get the feeling of the raw power of nature. Wild wolves, Moose (bigger than horses), Bears, but also the sheer dimensions. You can find forests where there is no road for 40km.... deadly, mysterious and beautiful... seas of trees.

In other words, walk though a fores in the brecon beacons or Scotland, and you know you can find your way out. Try that in Sweden and you will probably die. Swedish forests can be scarily big; and mysterious.

I was told about this show by the gf, to keep my Swedish going. I am so glad I started watching this. Starts off as a police drama, but pretty soon, things get strange. You have to pay attention to it.

Clues are littered from the start pointing at the dark under-plot.

Excellent work. och tack att jag kunde ova min svenska!