Borderliner

I was hooked from the start. Nordic series and movies are my favorite. Binge watched all 8 episodes and was expecting some kind of 'happy ending' or conclusion. I could stop myself from throwing the TV out of the window. I have never felt so angry because so many questions were not answered.

If they stick to that ending and not shoot a second season I will get massively angry.

Nordic crime dramas are always complex, dark, sophisticated and they drag you into their slow-pacing and excruciating world, where you think there will be no salvation (hint: normally, there's no salvation...)

BUT, Borderliner really can't end with season one. There too many questions to answer, too many characters to explore.

Overall, I was hooked by the way the plot was unfolded throughout the episodes, the impeccable acting from the entire cast and the magical norwegian scenery.

It would have been an 8 or even 9, if the ending did not leave me wondering if there was an episode 9 and netflix has missed it.

On a side note, it was the first series I've seen where a gay character is the protagonist, and is NOT defined by his sexuality. Good job!

Nikolai Andreassen is an Oslo police officer who is given leave after he gives evidence against a popular senior officer accused of murder. He goes to his home town and stays with his brother, also a policeman, and his children. The next day he accompanies his brother when a body is found. It looks like a suicide but he isn't so sure. Before the first episode is out he learns the identity of the killer; it is his own brother and he gives a plausible explanation as to how it was self-defence. Once Nikolai has accepted this and helped cover up certain details he can't easily get out from the lie. Fellow officer Anniken Høygaard-Larsen gets more and more suspicious that things aren't as people claim and more secrets are revealed.

I thought this was a solid series. Early on it seemed obvious which way it was going but as it progressed there are some good twists and turns as well as a sense of danger. The pace might be considered slow by some but I didn't find that to be a problem; some things don't need to be rushed. The cast is solid; most obviously Tobias Santelmann as Nikolai. The ending wraps up many questions but left things open for a second season... although after five years I can't see that happening. Overall a good series that I'd recommend to fans of Scandinavian crime dramas.

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

I was really enjoying this series, right up until the end. And, then, it was apparent that the show runner had no idea how to end the season - and so he or she just ended it.

First few episodes were great. Loved that the lead character was gay. Great actors. But half-way through, the plot-lines kept changing and moving around so much it got annoying and confusing but mostly boring and repetitive. After investing in 8 episodes, the ending of the last episode 8 just totally pissed me off. Did no-one say "we have to give the viewers some degree of resolution." No. Just a "cliff hanger" to keep us guessing and wondering - ripped off viewers big-time. You can't end an 8 part series with the last scene - as if it has a next episode, next week. There are very few endings of any tv series/movie that made me so angry as this did. Viewers invest so much time in a series - they deserve some partial resolution to a story.