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The Bridge Season 3 has had higher expectations than the first two, not only because you’re wondering beforehand not only just how they can tie the bridge in again, but also how will they address the fact Saga (Sofia Helin) put Martin away last season? Yes, he did wrong in bumping Jens off and no-one should be above the law, but the man killed his son in a horrible way in the first season, and Martin’s a cool dude and they need to get the band back together! However, would you partner up with someone who put you in the jail, and was rather obtuse the rest of the time anyway? Probably not.
As always, the homicide department have to investigate a murder and seemingly Saga is the only cop there able to investigate. Normally, police stations tend to have a team of people who can go into the field, but with Malmo County Police, there is only Saga. The victim this time is Helle Anker, founder of a fertility clinic in 1988, before selling it on in 2000. She’s a divisive figure, given she was outspoken on LGBT issues and was in the process of setting up gender-neutral pre-school in Denmark. She was a Danish citizen, but was assumed murdered while in Sweden before she had returned back across the bridge. Hence, Saga needs a Danish colleague to work with her, given from where the woman hailed. Martin’s unavailable due to being in the clink, so Hanne Thomsen (Kirsten Olesen – The Legacy‘s Veronika Grønnegaard) is reluctantly assigned.
And since it’s The Bridge, the drama is dark and as well as being killed somewhere else and moved there, Ms Anker has had her heart cut out, leading to speculation that she was ‘heartless’. In addition, the crime scene was set up to look like a bizarre children’s tea party with her dressed as a doll with a ‘smiley’ emoticon on her face.
No.1 suspect is her eldest son Morten (Asbjørn Krogh Nisse), who lives in a run-down shack off the beaten track after returning from three tours of duty in Afghanistan and is suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Even more so when Saga and Hanne make a second visit to his humble abode and find it’s rigged with explosives, leaving Hanne requiring an operation that may require the removal of her right leg, and Saga requiring a new partner.
Also in the frame is Sweden’s answer to Katie Hopkins, Lise Friis Andersen (Sonja Richter), wife of Lars Andersen, who owns the transport company where Helle’s body was found. On the face of it, Lise is a mother of a young daughter who’s trying to ensure her child’s school stops her getting hassled and attacked by bullies. However, she also makes regular vlogs including one about Helle, glad she’s dead because she wanted no distinction in schools between boys and girls, and it was affecting the children.
Another vlog took a stance against same-sex mariage. She seems to have it in for Fabian Christensen (Anders Hove), a priest who staunchly defends it. As the second episode began, he was also bumped off, again with the ‘smiley’ emoticon, yet nothing was taken from the body, so is it the same killer?
Saga’s replacement Danish partner is Henrik Sabroe (Thure Lindhardt), a cop who we first see partaking in a singles club where they have to wear stickers and if you see someone you like, you approach them. So, basically, these are ‘shag tags’, which I’ve seen used in at least one Manchester club many moons ago. Nice idea, but totally useless. However, this club is clearly one where you pay a lot of money to get your end away, so it’s the Match.com of ‘shag tags’.
Go to page 2 for more thoughts on this opening two-parter.
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.