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Fortitude Season 2 Episode 3 felt like rather a filler episode where not an awful lot happened, even if what did happen was very weird.
After seeing PC Ingrid’s taking Rene Lennox (okay, he’s called Rune, but I’m renaming him Rene after the late, great Gordon Kaye’s character in Allo Allo) into the clink because “You’re under suspicion for murder… and *fuck* your rights!”, her arrest is interrupted as Tavrani is on the run from Eric after the events of the last episode, but he’s on a snow-ski… but then he comes off the snow-ski… ends up unconscious, drops the severed head… and then Rene’s escaped! D’oh! D’oh! D’oh! Will PC Ingrid get demoted? Who knows! (and who cares)
As for the belt issue, Rene claims he lost his it, hence why it ended up in an unfortunate place.
Governorless Sofie still hadn’t left her office, and was being forced out by Ken Stott with a humiliating way to leave – address the press with a statement… They have press on Fortitude? They barely have any residents! Still Douglas Quaid gets something to do this week, as she needs him to take her on his boat to meet the Mayor. However, that plot thread seemed to die a death after he then went off with Major Potemkin (who she also met behind Ken Stott’s back), as the Russians then head to a guarded site and it’s all hush-hush as they burn the carcasses that lie within a crater.
This week’s Eldorado acting moment came in the hospital, when Erik went to Dan’s room, and then collared an orderly after something was amiss:
- Eric: “Where’s Dan Anderson?”
Doc: “Dunno”
Eric: “You told us he was sort-of… dead.”
Doc: “….He is… arisen!”
Oddly, despite admitting to trying to kill Elena, Dr Neela still allows Dan to visit her in the cocoon and touch her hand. Even then, he has the temerity to question the extent of the security there… well, how about your mur -der threat, eh?!
PC Ingrid investigates the taxidermist’s hideout but… leaves the fridge open! And while stepping outside leads to his holdall and big hunting knife going AWOL, what about the bigger issue – now his milk will go off!
Into part 2, and Dan tells Erik he senses that Elena doesn’t want to be in hospital. SHOCK! Who ever does?! In addition, Dan’s also gone completely mental. So we can’t quite take anything he says at face value.
Anyhoo, is Tavrani the taxidermist the murderer? Well, he certainly knows how to get ‘a head’ in the business (eh? eh? Is this thing on?) But why did he do it? Because his soul was in torment?!! Huh??
Petra: “You took his head as a souvenir?”
Tavrani: “He didn’t need it.”
Er… yeah, right.
In trying to get to to the bottom of who took the holdall with the knife, the response emphatically comes that nothing can save them and that the demon is amongst them and they’ll all die. OH MY GODDDDDDD!!!
Dan goes home, stares lovingly at a picture of Elena while she lies motionles in the hospital, giving Dr Neela a uninterrupted chance to slice her open. Beyond that, Ken Stott appointed Erik as the new Sheriff in Dan’s place, with the man completely lacking the knowledge that his own wife was no longer running the show around here. And as part 2 came to an end, the mysterious figure lurks mysteriously…. and taxidermy man knows it’s coming….
Into part 3, and Douglas Quaid and Governorless Sofie reappear to shoot the breeze in the bar over who has the worst life, their earlier dalliance as a couple, and I only realised in a recent Metro interview that Mr Quaid revealed his character was still in series 1 but… “in the background”… we just didn’t notice him. Hmmm… but that allows him to be a regular.
Before the end, there’s still time for another Eldorado moment when another headless body is found… to which Eric observes: “Where’s her head?” and PC Ingrid replies: “It’s gone”.
The mystery man somehow accesses the taxi man’s cell and it sounds like he’s bumping him off in gruesome style (offscreen, sadly) but it’s just the cutting out of his tongue but the man walks off into the sunset with a bag chock full of heady goodness….
And earlier, after Vincent learned the scared way that the wasps were never wiped out… oh, hang on, panic stations over – it’s a bluebottle! REALLY? In the Arctic?! Still, after spending almost the entire episode in a tent with Natalie, he was still in a panic, even moreso because he’s gone blind! Is it temporary? Is it permanent? You’ll have to find out next week…
Fortitude Season 2 is available to pre-order on DVD, but the release date is yet to be confirmed (I doubt it’s December 31st, as Amazon currently claims – that’s just a placeholder)
Score: 3/10
Director: Hettie Macdonald
Producer: Trevor Hopkins
Screenplay: Simon Donald
Music: Ben Frost
Cast:
Hildur Odegard: Sofie Gråbøl
Michael Lennox: Dennis Quaid
Natalie Yelburton: Sienna Guillory
Vincent Rattrey: Luke Treadaway
Eric Odegard: Björn Hlynur Haraldsson
PC Ingrid Witry: Mia Jexen
Elena Ledesma: Verónica Echegui
Petra: Alexandra Moen
Freya Lennox: Michelle Fairley
Rune Lennox: Edvin Endre
Dan Anderssen: Richard Dormer
Tavrani: Luke Treadaway
Vladek Klimov: Robert Sheehan
The Fiend: Mark Field
Bianca: Jessica Henwick
Dr. Sarinda Khatri: Parminder Nagra
Axel Fersen: Joi Johannsson
Yeva: Eloise Smyth
Erling Munk: Ken Stott
Lars Ulvinaune: Rune Temte
Dr Adebimpe: Jude Akuwudike
Lamont Bailey: Steve Toussaint
Lars Ulvinaune: Rune Temte
Tomak Bowzyk: Gershwyn Eustach Jnr
Yeva Podnikov: Eloise Smith
Peggy Nan: India Brown
Harald: Jaiden Keen
Dag Tannar: Gilly Gilchrist
Dimitri Podnikov: Daniel Cerqueira
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.