An unidentified body is found in the remains left after a fire in a trailer at a run-down caravan park. The owner of the trailer, a young drug-addicted woman, is missing, but is she really the victim? And what role has the so-called neighbourhood watch from the nearby community played? The case is difficult to solve, with everyone involved guarding their secrets, regardless of social class. Furthermore, police supervisor Klas Fredén decides to go over Martin Beck’s head and recruit charismatic, Norwegian homicide investigator, Steinar Hovland. The newly-structured Beck group faces the blight of a power struggle. And Martin struggles to find his way back to his old self.
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One of the difficulties of reviewing multiple episodes of the same series is the need to avoid repetition, or to take the easy way out and retell the plot.This is certainly the case with the first post-Gunvald episode of BECK, where Beck's sidekick has been replaced by Norwegian-born Kristofer Hivju (Steinar Hovland), another thickset police officer with an expansive ginger beard and bushy hair. He comes across as both sympathetic yet efficient - less violent than Gunvald, but someone possessed of similar maverick tendencies. As if slightly unsure of where to go with the episode, director Mårten Klingberg introduces another familiar 'tec story cliché - the obstreperous boss (Jonas Karlsson) trying to take advantage of Hivju's introduction as an excuse to remove Beck, with whom he has a history of verbal conflict.It's best to look instead at the framework of this episode rather than the story. Klingberg has a fine sense of place: setting much of the action in a derelict caravan park outside of Stockholm, he emphasizes just how desperate people's lives can be. Even those professing to help them through acts of Christian charity can turn out to be self-interested. Beck and his fellow-officers might sympathize but can do little to alleviate their plight; such people are doomed to inhabit the margins.This episode also looks at the personal effect of Gunvald's passing on Beck and his team. Although repeatedly professing to be "OK" and able to pursue their work, it's evident that they have suffered a grievous emotional as well as a personal loss, emphasizing thereby just how dangerous police work can be.
This episode opens with the discovery of an unidentified body in a burnt out caravan. It is initially thought to be a young heroin addict who lived there and there are a good number of suspects; the local neighbourhood watch group whose members had a low opinion of those living in the caravan park and her father are early prime suspects. It is later established that the body isn't hers but that of a councillor who had been working with local addicts this adds the still missing girl to the list of possible suspects. While the investigation progresses we are introduced to Steinar Hovland, an experienced Norwegian detective, who has been brought in to replace Gunvald. The new man gets along well with the team but it soon becomes clear that he has been brought in so that Beck could be eased out something Steinar isn't willing to do.This was a solid episode that provided an interesting mystery, with enough suspects to keep the viewer guessing while also serving to introduce a new main character. Kristofer Hivju, better known to English speaking viewers as Tormund Giantsbane in 'Game of Thrones', does a fine job in the role. He makes the character likable without being at all similar to the one he replaced. The scenes between him and Måns Nathanaelson's Oskar are particularly good and the scene where he tells the boss what he thinks of the way he is treating Beck were a lot of fun. There are some exciting scenes throughout the episode and when the killer is finally identified it wasn't too obvious. Away from the police work some laughs are provided by Beck's neighbour as he relates a story about his marriage that he never got around to legally ending. Overall a good episode that fans of the series should enjoy.These comments are based on watching the episode in Swedish with English subtitles.
This wonderful television series has now kept going for years and years. I totally understand why the public can't get enough - This is very good crime mysteries. It's hard to find weak episodes, the quality is always high and everything works. The excitement was extra high after one of the previous episode where Gunvald was killed. One of the most popular characters in this series. The creators of the series have taken a big chance in this film, with a new main character, who even is Norwegian! But Kristofer Hivju as the new investigator Steinar manages to pull it off, and he goes very well with the rest of the gang of investigators. This episode is like that the vast majority of this series, very exciting,, a good plot and a surprising end. Can we ask for more? I already look forward to the next episode.
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