Nyrkki

I liked this, I agree with the reviewer who said it could be confusing, it might help to watch the two seasons closer together in time than I did, I waited about a year between the two and struggled to keep up somewhat. It is very, very well acted, there is little to complain about there, EXCEPT perhaps for the American CIA (OSS?) agent whose cover is a musician. I found him a little unbelievable. But the story is pretty good, there are double and triple crosses and allegiances switched back and forth, at least apparently.....I'll leave it to you to try to pry the connections apart, might take a wrecking bar to do it, though.... There are some really stunning performances from female actors in this, the roles of Helena, Aune and the "Finn fatale" Tabe are really well done. Remind me not to cross Finnish women!!

It's a great idea. The production is a bit reminiscent of the surrealistic European films of the early '60s; and it becomes increasingly (literally) theatrical with studio shots and lighting. But potentially most confusing is the illogical action. One example: what seems likely to be a 99% certain death somehow becomes a 1% survival. Another, an killing is interrupted by the "timely" arrival of a distraction. The broad plot remains but details have to be simply ignored. The most obvious is how a mysterious person can obtain and sell a huge quantity of arms.

If we ignore this, we have a drama with endless twists, turns, and action.

And maybe, just maybe, they know something not in our history books!

I enjoyed this, but you have to concentrate. If you are not familiar with Finnish/Russian history and politics it is difficult to understand a lot of what is going on, so I would recommend a binge watch. The best Cold War thriller I have seen for many a year.

Absolutely stunning visually! As a vintage fan, I loved the authentic feel of the early 1900's in the show. The outfits, the style, the hair, the suits, the furtinute, the settings, the cigarettes, the music... Beautiful!

The performance of Uusivirta, Grabowsky, Vauramo and Petersson were very enjoyable. Parviainen in the lead I found to be a bit too restrained and aloof. Great at moments though, especially in the final episode! I would have loved to see what Kosonen would have done with her character, since her fight scene was a breath of fresh air!

Sure this show had some stumbles, but all in all it created a very intriguing fictional world of espionage and betrayal. I've never seen this type of storyline and energy in Finnish productions. Great pace and twists!

If you're not a Finland history literate person and/or a follower of '50s West vs. East (e.g. Mostly U.s. & USSR) cold war goin'ons then take notes early on as to who's who. A lot of characters; a lot of scene jumps; a lot of not knowing allegiances.