The Killing II

[Mahlerei]

Except the terrible, ranting, dirty, dishevelled FAT, shambling Wallander of the last three weeks. Total disaster.
Almost as big a disaster as Branagh's Wallander, and that takes a bit of beating.

Agreed. Must confess I went off Wallander after a while. I tried some of the books but they seem to lose something in translation.

[aeolium]

It was always going to be difficult for the second series to match the quality of the first, but I confess to being rather underwhelmed by the opening episodes last night. The political machinations which accompanied the criminal investigation did not seem as compelling as in the first series, and the characters were generally less engaging. It is I suppose understandable that after the Prophet Cartoons controversy the Islamic terror threat would have a greater resonance in Denmark now, although here it has been long superseded by the economic crisis. Lund's new colleague is not as interesting as Meyer was in the first series, and Brix has a rather inhuman - almost android - quality about him.

Still, it's a slow burner and may improve as the plot develops.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

... well i found it quite enthralling i am afraid i have lost my critical faculties [paltry as they are] when it come to the sweater .... hypnotic .... and yep danish politics .... so refreshingly different ... do not believe a thing yet .... even though the Special Branch are being well and truly lined up ...

[Mahlerei]

I nodded off a bit, which I would never have done before. Let's hope it improves.

[DracoM]

Cracker of a start - slowly filling in the multi-plot layering. And plenty of rain too!
AND that hypnotic music!!

[gurnemanz]

Cracker of a start - slowly filling in the multi-plot layering. And plenty of rain too!
AND that hypnotic music!!

I agree .. and we haven't yet got very much into the effect of the killings on the victims' friends and family - which was a major element in series 1. You do have to concentrate to keep up with the subtitles which zip by. I'm sure I missed some input by staying looking at the pictures too long. I wish I had Danish. I thought that understanding German I would at least get something of it, but not a lot got through to me. They speak with quite a drawl, eliding consonants. We once visited Roskilde and noticed they pronounce it "roskiller"

[Mr Pee]

The Arts Desk give it a great review, and I'm pretty much in agreement.

http://www.theartsdesk.com/tv/killing-ii-bbc-four

[PatrickOD]

I'm with aeolium on this one. The first series set a very high standard for a cop thriller, and every sub plot had it's own fascination. Too soon to say, but I feel more manipulated by the characters and story lines this time - of course I will be proved way off beam, I hope. Even Lund seems to be set up, dramatically, for a glorious final coup - perhaps she will get to change jumpers - the one she's wearing is in keeping with her present low key status.

[Norfolk Born]

Rest assured ... the 'snowflake' jumper will reappear before too long.

[Nick Armstrong]

Cracker of a start - slowly filling in the multi-plot layering. And plenty of rain too!
AND that hypnotic music!!

Totally with you there, DracoM! Just caught up with the first episode, second to come after a spot of supper. I love the 'state of affairs' tableaux right at the end, deftly and silently taking each layer a small step further or deeper....

Only regret is that it's only 10 episodes long....

[johnb]

I'm probably being slow on the uptake but I can't see how the opening sequence in what appeared to be a graveyard and the distraught phone call to the emergency services fits into the plot. It doesn't seem to be connected to the death of the woman that the police then investigate (or am I missing something).

[Nick Armstrong]

I'm probably being slow on the uptake but I can't see how the opening sequence in what appeared to be a graveyard and the distraught phone call to the emergency services fits into the plot. It doesn't seem to be connected to the death of the woman that the police then investigate (or am I missing something).

Remember we were told the husband had gone to the house (a little drunk) to 'talk sense' to his wife (from whom he was separated), and found blood everywhere but the body gone... it was his call...

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

...yes and where has the husband been for the last two hours? ... his absence from the screen is yet another elephant in the room

telegraph is of the view that I > II; does it really matter? .... there is nowt that comes near II on the screen schedules

[aeolium]

telegraph is of the view that I > II; does it really matter? .... there is nowt that comes near II on the screen schedules

Did they say that? I couldn't see it in the review I read, though the start of that review says clearly that the reviewer feels that "The Killing II is not as good as The Killing 1".

[Mahlerei]

Calum's right; even if II isn't as gripping as I (yet) there's nothing on the box that comes clsoe to this series.