Tjockare än vatten

Story about a dysfunctional family with an abundance of skeletons in the closet. A low key drama, where many topics aren't addressed verbally, in that sense typical for this part of the planet. Characters are believable, and the scenery is beautiful. There is some limited nudity which reflects the continental lifestyle. I liked it, as I recognized the atmosphere from my vacations in northern Sweden.

So it's plain the negative reviews on here are from people who just want 300 series of The Bridge. This is not that. It's got a much calmer pace, no heads hanging on sticks or kooky cops. The casting is perfect for the roles, and some of the scenery is spectacular. Lasse and Oskar have a great dynamic and there daughters really come into there own. From what I know after season 2 there was to be no more, but I think the audience demanded it. Season 3 is very different and some brave decisions where made in the writing, always good. Please make a fourth, please.

When viewing the series, the viewer is left almost constantly with the feeling that the script is rattling on all sides. The main characters are put down unbelievably.

I completely agree with the posituve, eloquently descriptive reviews here. The pacing is so refreshing and the acting so natural. I really enjoyed "getting to know" each character and their dynamic as a dysfunctional yet deeply loving and loyal family. They were all victims of their past and flashbacks were integrated perfectly into the present to illuminate how close they were as children or to reveal a particular event or situation they had witnessed or been privy to. I watched all 10 episodes of season one in an evening and was charmed by the atmosphere, the warmth and complexity of the characters and the settings. The episodes flowed together like one long character driven movie. What a refreshing change from the loud, fast paced, violent and indecent series so prevalent on our screens these days or the plastic, formulaic predictability and cookie-cutter acting of a Hallmark or Lifetime movie.

I was actually surprised and delighted by the rarity of sex scenes, especially for a Nordic production, but I chuckled to myself that if they absolutely needed to check the distributor's gratuitous nudity box, they did so with nude men (specifically from the back) rather than the typical shots of women. But even those were rare. It did make sense for Lasse to emerge nude from his swim but I'm not sure there was any reason to linger on a nude full back view shot of Oskar looking out of the window one morning but I was just delighted it wasn't Liv. Otherwise, the very few lovemaking scenes were exactly that and they carried the plot forward whilst unobtrusively keeping the actors' integrity wrapped in sheets or clothing.

It's true some reveals and plot twists were predictable but it really didn't matter to me if I guessed where they were headed way before they did. I just enjoyed watching it all roll out and their actions and reactions once they figured it out.

I loved the ending of season one which perfectly set us up for further enjoyable adventures with this family.

I would not call this Nordic Noir but more of a Nordic Soap Opera. It moves slowly and as has been mentioned, bits could well be cut out as the scenes add nothing to the story. There are lots of long gazes, periods of silence, flashbacks galore but the plot is really quite predictable. The story is built on a foundation of lies and deceit, practiced by all the characters. It goes beyond showing them as flawed but pushes the viewer to actively dislike them as they all seem to lie and cheat. As with Swedish shows, there is lots of nudity and sex, some of which really does not add much to the plot. It's worth the watch but because it's so slow moving, you wont miss much if you watch it on an intermittent basis.

The second season is a bit disappointing in that the story takes on more fantasy with little thought given to the huge holes in the plot. Events just seem to occur in an impossible manner that just lacks total credibility. If you do watch it, just go with the flow as the plot will not stand up to much analysis and thought.