Rebecka Martinsson

First episode didn't foretell just how interesting this series would become. Very dull first episode with weak cliffhanger ending. BUT, after that, the interest level of the stories really picked up for me. I almost didn't stick with this one, but glad I gave it a chance.

8 episodes are each 2-parters and self-contained stories with ongoing characters and some slight overlap for all 8

Hope to see a season 2, with possibly more suspense and thrills.

Overall, I enjoyed this addition to the Scandi Noir TV cannon. The character of Rebecka Martinsson has so much promise. Sadly, this promise did not seem to be fully embraced by Ida Engvoll. Of course, this may be because Ida Engvoll chose to deliberately hold back her portrayal of Rebecka in order to reveal more about her character in a potential second series. Nevertheless, I would have liked to have seen at least hints of a more rounded Rebecka in the first series.

The true strength in this Scandinavian drama, apart from the lovely scenery, lies with the supporting characters. In particular, the very capable and very human police officer Anna Maria Mella, Rebecka's potential love interest and police dog handler Krister Eriksson and her kindly elderly male neighbour Sivving Fjallborg.

I do hope there will be a second series. The first certainly created enough interest in the characters to care about how they develop.

The atmosphere and ambient of gloomy but astonishing Norther part of Sweden, has been achieved fully. Thats why I watched this show. Also, minimalist, but still very compact police station crew is excellent. The main inspector, Ana-Maria Mella, local with three kids at home, but still with all skills necessary for the police inspector, is a brilliant character. The other supporting characters, who all don't talk much, but say whats necessary, are all well done. The only real misfit, for completely unknown reason, badly written and poorly conceptualized character is the lead character - Rebecka Martinsson, who is wage and unclear from the beginning, but still not a mysterious at all. It seems she is a girl who has everything, a spoiled, educated, rich, who simply despises everything due to some traumas from early life, and finds her fulfillment in solving murders . However, we don't see why and how someone who had lost her parents early in life, and had to struggle heavily to achieve something, would behave like a spoiled careless diva, who wonders around and does what pleases her. Also, nobody understands how all of a sudden a corporate layer age 28 can become a chief criminal prosecutor, and how come she is qualified for that. It seems that her character is simply badly written and badly incorporated in the plot. Also, the acting in itself fails in this cases - no charisma, no chemistry at all between the actress and her role. In general, good show, with a wrong lead character. The authors should think about it.

Just as good and right as season 1 was just as bad and faulty season 2 gets. Everything built up around the characters in season 1 just went lost when replacing actor for main character Rebecka Martinsson. She becomes insecure and all the things you loved with the quirkiness and the magic around all relationships are gone. Since the stories and production is fantastic I really hope for a season 3 but only with Engvoll back as Rebecka

This eight episode series, made up of four two part stories, follows Stockholm lawyer Rebecka Martinsson, who returns to her home town in Sweden's far north after the death of somebody she knew as a child. Initially it looks as though the woman, the local vicar, died in an accident but evidence soon suggests otherwise. Rebecka gets involved in the investigation, sometimes going beyond what is strictly legal. Various suspects arise but when the killer is identified it comes as a surprise and leads to a tragic conclusion to the first story. After the series opener Rebecka is offered a job working as a local prosecutor before her planned move back to Stockholm in the summer. Further stories involve the murder of a woman connected to a local mining company; the death of two divers exploring a Nazi aircraft and the murder of a woman whose family has suffered a number of tragic 'accidents'.

In some ways this is a fairly traditional murder mystery series with its distinct stories that are wrapped up in two hours; however the events of one episode do have effects on characters that last beyond that story. There are also some fairly dark moments that will shock anybody expecting a Swedish 'Midsomer Murders'. Ida Engvoll does a fine job as our eponymous heroine making her believable even when she was breaking rules. Rebecka may be the title character but there are others who are almost as important; most notably police woman Anna Maria Mella and dog handler Krister Eriksson; Eva Melander and Jakob Öhrman impress in these roles. There is plenty of great scenery to be seen without it feeling like it is being shown just to show us how beautiful the area is. Overall I'd recommend this to fans of Scandinavian drama who are looking for shorter stories than most such series that have aired here in the UK. I hope there is a second season.

These comments are based on watching the series in Swedish with English subtitles.