Alfa

I watched all 8 episodes today!

It was thrilling, it was entertaining, it was not "too bad" - as some of us express it in Denmark - when we really like something. Fiction is fiction but it feeds on reality - and the reality is not lost in this Narco-drama.

Large parts of Alfa's action takes place in North Zealand, Denmark, specifically around the city of Helsinge. I live there, and you not only recognize several places, but the series even uses the actual names of several of the locations. As a local, it contributes to authenticity.

There has been some criticism concerning the End.., which perhaps could have deserved an elaboration, but nevertheless it is Okay!. On the other hand, there is a good basis for a continuation (?).

Anyway - in terms of dramaturgy and film language, there are actually scenes in Alfa that are of both national and international class. Enjoy!

This series has a strong start and a good benchmark, the plot is full of twists, especially for the main characters. Most of them are believable, although some are a little too soft for their roles (e.g. Tommy's wife); the brothers, Jakob and Adam, are depicted by real brothers Sebastian and Andreas Jessen, but they do not belong to the TOP20 or so of the Danish actors...

The main story is about power struggles between different people - men and women, friends, and the police. The plot is set up well in terms of the number of episodes and it's not hard to follow. It's easy to get into and enjoyable, especially if you've watched other Nordic crime shows. However, there are some problems. There are too many slow, close-up shots and long pauses that don't add anything to the story.

The script could be sharper, and the characters often struggle to answer simple questions, which becomes frustrating after a while.

The second half of the Series isn't as strong. After a solid first few episodes, the plot becomes confusing and hard to follow. The ending feels somewhat unclear and disappointing. It might be left open on purpose, possibly to set up the Season 2, which has not been accomplished.

All in all, definitely no waste of time, but Denmark has created dozens of more fascinating crime series.

The storyline was well conceived and there were plenty of twists and turns, particularly for the protagonist, Adam. The characters were all believable, although I thought Tommy's wife would have been much harder.

But... there were two many long close up shots and slow panning shots that added nothing to the plot and just made the pace of the story falter. There were also a lot of pregnant pauses and nearly every character had a problem answering simple questions, which was very frustrating. The screenplay therefore also meant the story kept losing pace and at times was boring.

A shaper script and less prolonged shots would be a must for a second series.

I've watched dozens of similar style series on Walter Presents, Netflix etc so think I generally have a good idea of what to expect and find it easy to follow the plot, but I have to say that after a really promising first 4 episodes this series loses its way through episodes 5-8 with the ending being frankly incomprehensible to me.

A shame really, but perhaps the lack of a clear ending is down to the fact that they may be planning a second series.

Have to agree with an earlier comment which said that the main character (the trader brother, not the cop brother) makes some very stupid decisions throughout.

Lars Mikkelsson's character was underused as well.

This is just a awesome show. Realy love the caracters, hope it get's renewed because i would love to see this story evolve.