Cold Courage

Yes, another show in which the villain is a Trump-like right wing politician. This one, played by the usually excellent John Simm, seeks to "Make Britain Great Again." He is, unfortunately, not a very well-written character. He varies from smart to stupid from scene to scene, as do most of the other characters, especially the two crime-fighting heroines.

Lia is especially lacking in credibility. The politician's blindness to what she is up to is almost comical. At least a few times in every episode, characters act in ways that completely defy logic. The cliches don't help, e.g. a rich bad guy who wears a shiny suit and sports a man-bun, a poor Muslim family sorely mistreated.

There was suspense, but part of that came from wondering when the series would improve. I did watch to the end but gave up expecting coherence by episode 3.

Cold Courage could have been a nice thriller if the writers & producers bothered to keep the story and plots clean and tie the various sub-plots in an arranged and neat way. They didn't do that and as a result we have messy plots and sub-plots all over, contributing only to a sense of dizziness episode after episode.

• (+-) Good acting overall by the cast, especially the British one; though Sofia Pekkari was unremarkable in her role. She was dry, lifeless and feeling old.
• (+) Good filming and cinematography on its own level.
• (+-) Mumbo jumbo plots and sub-plots fighting for the first prize.
• (-) Messy and jumbled English speaking by the Foreigners, especially Pihla Viitala. She spoke well, but in a quiet mumbled way. Maybe the English characters should have learned to speak Finnish and Swedish.
• (-) Too few episodes. Accounting the story, 10-12 episodes in the first season would have been much better.

They counted on a second season to tie the loose ends and bring fresh twists to the story, which unfortunately may never happen. Their biggest mistake was poor planning and counting too much on a green light for a next season.

... not yet sure about this series... going to take another season to maybe come to a firmer conclusion... ending of this first season was a bit of a letdown after all the buildup... acting was fine.. cameras at times lingering a bit too long, placing undue stress on facial expressions that came off sometimes as odd... nothing though that couldn't be worked out... looking forward to S2.

A sex, crime and political thriller set in London. You expect pomp, ceremony, uplifting views of the famous landmarks, the sense of common decency and fair play and the dry British sense of humour and the great British stiff upper lip seeing you through every situation. If this is what you want or come to expect then this isn't the series for you. John Simm's Farage-esque character seems to be the only British person in London and one of the few aged over 40. There is no humour, no warmth towards the characters, no British intensity and an international cast that only seem to be able to speak English in whispers and can't decide when to speak English or their own tongues to one another. This is an EU production, funded by various tax schemes so they are obviously upset at Britain's departure from the club. Without any British financial assistance, Britain is shown in a negative light with the flag-waving being used to show the Brits to be the bad guys and out of touch. Such a shame that what could have been a good drama allowed politics to get in the way. Slow, plodding and pointless. Should there be a series 2 then at least The Studio won't be in London. Not a bad finish to this Finnish drama though.

Story line was excellent but the acting didn't do it justice, Soffia Pekkari as not a good choice for the roll she may have Shakspearine credentials but came across as weak and could not hold the scene. So many comments in the movie about how attractive she was but was far to old for the role, many scenes where she just seams to freeze. The rest of the cast were good but it seem to lack a sense of direction for me, as if they didn't know when to speak or what to say. I will leave it up to you but personally I wouldn't waste my time. the things you watch during Covid 19.