Dicte

I loved this show. LOVED this show. However, in Season 3 that all changed.

First, the good: There's a lot to like in "Dicte." Iben Hjelje - who was excellent way back in "Hi Fidelity" with John Cusack several years ago (check it out if you haven't) - continues to be a wonderful and versatile actress who lights up the screen with her infectious laugh and beautiful smile. The characters are well drawn; you care about what happens to them, and after two seasons I was definitely invested. The plots are interesting and don't only focus on one murder, although at times there are story lines that drift off, only to be picked up again in later episodes.

Now, the not-so-good: All of this unfortunately changed in Season 3. I won't spoil it for you, but I will say that the show took a drastic turn and went off in a completely different direction - it became stressful and ultimately an unhappy experience for me, so I quit watching halfway through. The show's creators had a wonderful thing going; I understand wanting to try something "new," but in this case, it just didn't work. Without being able to give any context this is difficult to explain, but after one episode you'll see what I mean.

It's too bad; there are so few great shows out right now and "Dicte" was a fun twist on the excellent-but-too-prevalent Scandanavian police drama. That said, if it ain't broke, please don't fix it. Too late on this one. Definitely check out seasons 1 and 2, though!

Dicte is more a soap opera than a detective/crime/journalism series. At least that's how I felt. There is a lot of family and friend drama, lots of cheating, sleeping around, etc. packed into one season. It seems that everything in the town that is worth a big story happens to Dicte, or right where she is, or to someone she knows, etc. Perhaps the town is too small. Or perhaps we are to appreciate that time passes between each story (two episodes each) so other, perhaps important, things have happened but Dicte wasn't there to poke her nose in. Regardless, many of the story lines seem contrived. But perhaps the one thing that really bothered me was the whole season seemed like a pro-life advertisement. Of course, this is done in a Danish, liberal sort of way, but still there is this overwhelming subliminal message (ok, not so subliminal...) that giving away your newborn is bad, that abortion is bad, that mothers who have to make these choices are, well, not good. And of course, all homes for children are bad, full of adults who want to abuse the children... In a way, the series can be interpreted as positive in many aspects regarding these issues (as Dicte is a good mother, despite the fact that she did give away her first born after being forced to by her religious parents) but somehow every time it tried to give some great message about babies and mothers, it seemed judgmental to me. Maybe something got lost in translation, or maybe, as someone suggested, the writing was not great to begin with. The series could have been more brooding and realistic if the chose to show the lives of some of the other characters, like the lonely detective, Wagner, but it seems like they wanted to keep the show more mainstream. Congrats for having a female gay character who actually has a healthy dating life and is not afraid to talk about it, but again, more on that would have been great.

All in all, Dicte is not at the same level with Wallander, for example, mostly due to the contrived stories and some weird thematic choices. The acting is actually descent, sometimes much better than descent, but the writing certainly has a long way to go.

..so many productions appear artificial, or produced for 'effect.' This is a show that feels 'real-life'. These characters do not come off as actors, and that is something so welcome in sitting back and watching things play out. Iben Hjejle is a favorite actor, on either side of the pond... she is just so natural. Have been fortunate to see her in other works... she never disappoints. She is someone you would just like to meet and really get to know. Of course the story lines have to been taken independently, because no one person would have so much happen to them in real-world situations. But there is something truly unique in this production, it has a warmth and closeness, and she and all the other regular cast members make that happen time and again. So glad it does sparingly occur, because it gives hope it will somehow come about again. Special is special... even if it does not happen very frequently.

Loved season 1, 3 strong women characters, good plots, great interactions male detective adds value. Season 2 starts ok then goes off the rails. Dicté becomes a neurotic a$$ , my favorite character gets killed due to Dicte's actions. Season 3 is just stupid people doing stupid men things. Dicté is so hung up on her own problems that she hurts all around her. I rate season 1 a 9, season 2 a 7 and season 3 a 2. So, average 6.

We watched season 3 just for completeness. It was painful. Each character that we liked in season 1 (except Torsten, his wife and Dicte's daughter) did mean things over the course of time so we ended up disliking all of them. With no characters to like the truly simple minded plots became a series of who cares. Don't watch season 3, make up your own endings. They'll be much better.

Thankfully Netflix has added the first season of this to its streaming lineup otherwise I would never have even heard of it. I was hooked from the first episode and even though it was subtitled, soon you get so caught up in it you don't even realize you're still reading. Although Dicte is the main character, there is no shortage of surrounding characters whose stories are just as deep that you find yourself wanting to see more of them. The setting is beautiful, the stories intertwine perfectly from one to the next and the cast is superb.

My only complaint is that they haven't released the second season anywhere that I can view it, so I will have to wait, albeit impatiently, for the next episodes. If only America had more shows like this, I'd never leave the house.