Oxen

My husband and I watched three episodes and still had no clue what we were watching. Although a lot happens in little time, it's not really exciting to watch. There are many characters introduced in a short time but you don't really get to know them. Then they all die but you don't really mind either, because you didn't know them anyway. Also, it seems like there are many storylines that are tangled up and none of them are clearly followed up on. It's a shame because it all started really interesting and we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the main character was kind of sympathetic. But we de decided to call it quits halfway because we felt like we had no clue on where the plot was going.

What a complete and utter mess this show is, from the almost entirely incoherent plot lines (such as they are) to the lame, inconsequential dialogue to bafflingly inept direction. Scenes are built up to a big, thrilling moment only to dissolve into head-scratching confusion. Twice I jumped to the start of the next episode thinking the directorial blancmange at the end of the previous one MUST have been artist intentional only to find that, well, it wasn't. The characters are ludicrously crude cartoon stereotypes, the action scenes are hilariously awkward and poorly edited, and the dogs that are the only saving grace of a show where the humans are instantly forgettable all seem to get hanged by the intimidating 'bad guys' that haunt the margins of this plotless quicksand. Not bearable, even as a joke. Why would anyone make something as dumb. The actors must have been mortified to see themselves on screen.

First of all this is not a thriller. It may have a thrillerplot, but the tension is more similar to a christmascaroll. It's not even a drama. It's like watching a show with identityproblems. It doesn't know what it is.

The same goes for the plot. I'm 4 episodes in and I still don't know what it's really about. The problem is, that I'm not really interested in knowing it. The show doesn't offer any exciting dialogues. They talk like they read from a book. This will probably not have any influence on the non-danish speaking viewers, but for danes It seems cold, odd anf stiff which affects the acting in a bad way. I can't recommend it to anyone.

Really enjoyed the character dynamics, particularly the triangle of Oxen, Margrethe and the Intelligence Chief. Great performance from the latter and Borgen's Birgitte Hjort Sørenson is irresistible as the unpredictable villain. Oxen himself plays it low key but you can tell there's a lot going on under the surface as he struggles with his trauma while trying to mend fences with his son..

It's basically a solid thriller series with intrigue and some nice set pieces, although the main antagonists feel a bit weak at times. Also the locations are beautiful. Hope they make a season 2 as I believe there's plenty more in the book series.

Something is rotten in the State of Denmark, and there's a secret society called 'Danehof' that wants to control everything. This is the premise of the first couple of episodes, before it forgets all about this, and the plot turns into a small scale revenge story.

A fine cast of tier one danish actors can't really save 'Oxen' from being somewhat of a mess. Why build up characters only to have them offed in the next episode? When watching a show that runs for many episodes we invest in the characters and 'Oxen' has people getting killed left and right, without us knowing exactly what is going on. Often there's no real character motivation and most of the characters somehow seem to know each other from somewhere in the past. Hey, Denmark is small, but not THAT small.

'Oxen' could have been suspenseful if they just settled for one clear narrative and fewer anatagonists that had larger parts. But they didn't.