20. Dec, 2020

'Valhalla Murders'

Does anyone else have the same difficulty in distinguishing between the end of the atmospheric car advert preceding these Scandilous noirs and the start of the actual programme?  I keep feeling the moody character stalking about in the advert is key to the drama and get suckered into watching Volvo instead of Valhalla on a regular basis.  It's pretty hard to work out what's going on most of the time anyway, due to the days being so short it's dusk in the lighting department whatever the hour of the action.  This snow scene was set in Iceland, but as ever, there was barely a twinkle from the northern lights throughout the unremitting gloom.  It's de rigeur since 'the Bridge' for the heroine police officer to be blonde, difficult, a touch autistic perhaps, and be working with a mystery partner who appears from somewhere else and after an awkward start, develops an awkward working relationship with them.  The plot wasn't  hard to unravel but it went on a long time and when eventually the extra twist came, I'd been convinced the previous week had to be the last episode.  Another two hour drama later, it hadn't been, but equally, everyone was so distant and a bit odd that did we really care?  Boys had been abused by their social workers in a boys' home years before.  A top man was the torture master.  Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' was explained in the angst of the austere faced lead male detective, who was a dead ringer for the painting.   This was due to some sect like religious upbringing which had led to him severing all ties with place and family.  I never could fathom out, if it did ever become clear, why he came back to this place of Calvinistic horrors.  He did get the chance to gloat coldly over his father on his deathbed, though, another heartwarming moment.   If hell is other people, at least in the Valhalla Murders they couldn't see much of them through the grey blizzard of their surroundings. It was no wonder so many murders happened uninterrupted.  Even in the middle of the city there never seemed to be anyone around for miles.   What they could have done with was some proper entertainment.  Where's Bjork when you need her?