Two Sides of the Abyss

The series raises the question of who the real victim is. From a legal point of view, the issue is probably clear, but there is another way of looking at it. However, I am not personally in favour of revenge in this sense.

The basic idea behind the series was quite good. The problem was the weakness of the script and the execution. Especially in the last few episodes, there were so many implausibilities that interest was quickly lost. I will not go into further detail here. It should be obvious to anyone who has watched the series. Something should be written here to fill the character count. Wee, that's it.

This series is an insider tip. It is of international standard, visually, in terms of acting, direction and also for large parts of the script. It has a lot of twists and turns, but at the end it misses the decisive twist that great authors can do.

It is dark and profound, looks excellent and is tightly and precisely directed - all the actors are sensational. Anton Dreger in particular oscillates between perpetrator and victim and brings an outstanding Lea van Acken with him. Anne-Ratte Polle carries the story skilfully, is unpretentious and weird, sometimes a bit annoying, but it is part of the role - fantastic. Josephine Thiesen is also a force as the evil daughter. Then Martens, Kramer, Brauer, Huskic aso. - excellent. The ending lacks a bit of impact.

Nevertheless, the last episode is visually so special that it is definitely worth watching to the end. Top series, highly underrated.

The voice actors hired to dub this into English are so bad it's almost a dark comedy at various points. The voices don't fit the characters.. the deadpan delivery, when excitement fits the scene, or overly excited during a calm scene, on and on, throughout the series, it's a constant, recurring distraction. Do they even see the show while dubbing it? Or just read it from a weak translation of the script? All that said, once you get used to the crap dubbing, it's almost watchable without cracking up, but underneath the terrible technical execution, is a decent plot and story arc.

I came to this not knowing anything about it. Imagine my surprise when I realised it was set in the Ruhr, an area I used often to visit, and even more, the action took place in Wuppertal whose wonderful Schwebebahn or Suspension Railway was a unifying image of the story. I've been on that line and it's fabulous.

So, in an odd number of episodes, seven rather than the usual eight, we see a story of perversion and revenge solved by a cop who's personally involved. Worse, no one believes a word she says, she's a Cassandra figure while the villain wreaks havoc both generally and in her private life.

I have to say the actor playing Dennis did a fantastic job, with the help of prostheses, metamorphosising from a traumatised, fat youth into a hunky, attractive man. His beauty was part of the plot.

There was no real cliffhanger, but I can see how a second season might come about. The very last two scenes hinted at it.

Stick with it and one won't be disappointed.

You will not regret watching this series under any circumstances. Incredibly thrilling, fantastic cast, without clichés! An exciting perspective on guilt and complicity. Sharp and uncompromising, the series maintains a balance between two sides. You will not regret watching this series under any circumstances. Incredibly thrilling, fantastic cast, without clichés! An exciting perspective on guilt and complicity. Sharp and uncompromising, the series maintains a balance between two sides. I don't need to hide this miniseries from international competition in any way when it comes to its execution. So, definitely watch it.