Deadwind

This series is centred on Sofia Karppi, a detective working in Helsinki. She lives with her school-aged son and her step-daughter. Her husband was killed in a hit and run accident in Hamburg. Partnered with Sakari Nurmi, her first case involves the investigation of the murder of a woman whose body is discovered at the site of a somewhat controversial new development. Their investigation will uncover several suspects; some personal some involved in the development. The second season sees the two detectives investigating the deaths of people who were aboard a ship as a secret meeting took place; the meeting concerned a new tunnel planned to link Helsinki with Estonia. Sofia also has to deal with problems involving her children.

I enjoyed this Finnish series with its season long stories. Each case provides plenty of suspects and motives to keep the viewer guessing. While there isn't a lot of action there are quite a few tense scenes where key characters are in danger. The characters are interesting, even if Sofia might be a candidate for Finland's most neglectful mother! The cast is impressive, particularly Pihla Viitala and Lauri Tilkanen as Karppi and Nurmi. The series makes good use of impressive locations without ever feeling like it is sponsored by the tourist board. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of the genre.

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

Nice look into modern day Finland using a murder mystery plot. Gender equality, brainy eco entrepreneurs, sports, sex, drugs, religion, winter, Germans, families. All mixed into a 12 episodes plot. OK maybe some eye rolls, I mean c'mon a 20 year old E31 V12 BMW coupe used as a winter daily driver? Finns curse a a lot in creative ways, bull baska is a new one. And the panoramic wide shots of waterfronts and sunsets are an artistic touch.

As others have eloquently pointed out, Season 3 was a bit of a disappointment. They threw in so many plot twists that directly involved the characters personal lives that it stretched the limits of credulity. This took away from the main plot of the psycho murderer. By the end of the show, I had a hard time remembering why the bad guy decided to murder all these folks in the first place.

Still, it beats most of the stuff out there on Netflix so I'm still giving it an 7. I know, it doesn't make sense but I like this show even when they goof it up a bit. Looking forward to Season 4 and the next cool car that Nurmi will be driving!

I really enjoyed this series and cannot understand the negative responses on here. Pihla Vitala and Lauri Tilkanen were excellent and the narrative was suitably complex. I loved the Finnish backdrops and I am really looking forward to Season 2.

Many reviewers are unfavorably comparing this show to The Bridge (SE). Except for its being a Scandinavian thriller with a strong female lead, I don't see it. The Bridge's protagonists and villains are broken, while this show's characters are simply odd. Also, The Bridge is severe and intense, while Deadwind is puzzling and rambling. Still, I liked this Finnish procedural. The show's central mystery kept me guessing. Its story goes down many detours, but the detours are intriguing. The show's leads could easily be underwear models, but they nevertheless bring their characters to life. The Helsinki of Deadwind is stark, but also beautiful. In short, Deadwind is not exceptional like The Bridge, but it is certainly better than average. If you like the Scan Noir subgenre- not just the one or two shows that transcend it- then you'll probably also enjoy Deadwind.