Wallander - General Discussion

[attica]

Editor's Note:

Discuss Wallander Here!

 

Since the US is getting the final Sir-Ken-as-the-Swede season beginning 5/8, it seems a good time to throw up a thread.

I've only seen ads, but based on them, KB looks a bit more fit than in seasons past. 

[M. Darcy]

I need to rewatch the first few seasons to see Hiddles.  Heh, when I'm trying to tell my parents who he is, my description is always "the policeman with the curly hair from the first few seasons of Wallander who just disappeared."  At least I don't think they ever said what happened to Magnus (besides becoming a big movie star).

[Brattinella]

Is Sir Ken being replaced?  I love this show, and am so glad it is coming back to the US.

[attica]

No, it's just the series finale. No more of anybody, not just Sir Ken. Until they reboot it, that is.

[dcalley]

Beware, this has aired in the U.K. already. I don't remember an explanation for Magnus, either, but then season 3 was all the way back in 2012! S1-3 are on Netflix for anyone wanting a rewatch.

[halopub]

On 5/3/2016 at 4:23 PM, dcalley said:

Beware, this has aired in the U.K. already. I don't remember an explanation for Magnus, either, but then season 3 was all the way back in 2012! S1-3 are on Netflix for anyone wanting a rewatch.

I thought series 4 has yet to air in the UK. Germany got it and now PBS is showing it before the BBC.

[dcalley]

You're right! I got my info here and see she's been corrected as well. Imagine that, we're getting something first(ish)!

[attica]

This is why I never like to go to professional conferences. So much sniper fire.

[truther]

7 hours ago, attica said:

This is why I never like to go to professional conferences. So much sniper fire.

I had to laugh at the end when Wallander's giving the talk about "making a difference."  Yeah, you made a difference -

Spoiler

you got the keynote speaker to blow his brains out.

[AuntiePam]

This is on the DVR, and it's listed as season seven.  I haven't seen the show before.  Would it be best to watch earlier seasons, or would I not be missing much if I jumped in now?

[halopub]

On 5/10/2016 at 6:53 PM, AuntiePam said:

This is on the DVR, and it's listed as season seven.  I haven't seen the show before.  Would it be best to watch earlier seasons, or would I not be missing much if I jumped in now?

I'm not sure about the numbering on your DVR, but both PBS and the BBC consider this final season to be the fourth.

The first episode of this season is basically a standalone and takes place during a conference trip to South Africa. You wouldn't need any outside knowledge to watch. I suspect you could probably watch the rest of the season with just some basic background info on Kurt's investigative style and his challenging familial/professional relationships. 

I expect a return to a moody, foggy Ystad, Sweden in episode two. 

[novhappy]

I really enjoyed this episode. It was very true to character. There is really no other way he could handle a multi day conference! Loved that he just went into that sort of ghetto to look for the boy. And that when he found him and the boy pulled a gun on him you could see that wallender realized that he couldn't necessarily talk this kid down. He didn't understand this kids life or motivations. It was a great scene. 

[whatsatool]

 for a lesson in love I couldn't figure out if he was beaten up or just imagined it.

Edited May 16, 2016 by whatsatool

[SusanSunflower]

Episode 2 ended in a but of a thud for me ... I didn't believe that Wallender would not have missed his gun at some point between eating dinner and the following morning ... he might have left his gun on the chair and not missed it until undressing for bed, and panicked, again realizing he was off-his-marked ... but some other contrivance should have been used to place him on leave. (I also had doubts about his ability to catch up with the running girl ... though his 2+2=4 moment at the gas station was brilliant.  A+ for acting, story could use some work. 

[truther]

1 hour ago, SusanSunflower said:

Episode 2 ended in a but of a thud for me ... I didn't believe that Wallender would not have missed his gun at some point between eating dinner and the following morning ... he might have left his gun on the chair and not missed it until undressing for bed, and panicked, again realizing he was off-his-marked ... but some other contrivance should have been used to place him on leave. 

It's silly if you think about it, but I think the purpose of that was to suggest that whatever illness he has is really affecting him more than he realizes.  Mentally he's not all there.  

[SusanSunflower]

But that happened repeatedly ... was there actually arson or did he simply leave the stove on?  was his car tampered with or did he simply leave it wide-open having searched it frantically for something, a search now forgotten?    and about that menacing motorcycle gang?   (note that this sort of memory lapsing often results in paranoia -- with even bizarre behavioral changes including suspicion and terrible anxiety)

Edited May 16, 2016 by SusanSunflower

[mjc570]

I thought that the MRI at the end definitely was an indication that all those lapses - the gun, the fire etc - might be due to a brain problem. 

I didn't understand the beginning - was that just a robbery?

[M. Darcy]

At least the girl is ok.  I guess - it doesn't seem like she's going to be charged with murder? I'm not sure what Swedish rules are if you kill someone like that.

I know we didn't know the time frame but when I saw him getting the MRI, my first thought was boy, he got that appointment really fast.  Poor Kurt.

[SusanSunflower]

I wondered why he had gone to the doctor in the first place ... in the middle of the investigation the doctor had called him and wanted to see him in follow up ... and Wallander said he was too busy to talk right then, so being placed on leave freed him up and I assumed the MRI followed...  

He seemed unsteady of balance and to be having some vision issues ... I came in late and was distracted I missed the first doctor's appointment set-up. 

[attica]

I realize it's a little thing, but why does the trope of 'hot former gf show up at work without notice; gets greeted warmly' persist? There are phones and email in the universe, and as I understand it, Latvia's broadband is really quite good! Or maybe it's my own aversion to folks who show up without warning expecting to get laid....

I feel like we got lots of anvils re: Kurt's mental ish. I started worrying the moment he put that pile of magazines on the edge of the stovetop.

Good to see Dickens getting some more work across the Masterpiece universe!

[JudyObscure]

LOL.  Dickens is going to be like all the British actors, seen in show after show. 

Sadly, I don't have Attica's problem of drop-ins expecting to get laid, (they seem to all want food) but I still thought she was sort of over-confident standing there with that coy grin at Kurt's job.  What if he had someone new?  Then we had to see Wallander acting like a besotted sixteen year-old with his big grin and flowers.  Maybe I just don't like the actress because she's so impossibly thin and cute for her age. 

Mainly I'm upset that I was just getting used the series, the stark Swedish scenery, the daughter being married to Lady Edith's copperbottomed Marquess,  Brannagh's lack of lips,  and now it looks like it's going to end, possibly on quite a sad note.

Edited May 16, 2016 by JudyObscure

[M. Darcy]

Quote

I wondered why he had gone to the doctor in the first place

I can't totally remember but it was either because of the beating he had gotten or  he was afraid of the issues he was having - since his Dad had Alzheimers.

[Brattinella]

Good catch!  I had no idea that was Dickens!

I'm thinking there is only ONE episode left??  Gah! 

All this time waiting and that's all we get?

[attica]

Quote

Good catch!  I had no idea that was Dickens!

Oh, I don't think it actually is; there'd be no reason not to hire local for that gig. I was just joking.

[Brattinella]

Ahh.  Of course, that makes perfect sense.  It was a cool thought, though.

[truther]

It's such a cool thought, actually, that I'm going to assume it's true.  Dickens for the win!

[fauntleroy]

Also didn't get the opening scene - why did it happen?

Most of all, annoyed by the cliché/trope/drivel of denial. Drives me right crazy! For once, just once, after some character goes blank or falls over or whatever, and somebody asks are you okay, can't they just say well actually, I was beaten up and am having trouble with my vision and concentraion. Maybe I got a concussion along with broken ribs. I should go to hospital.

But no. Even a supposedly great detective like miserable Wallander is so stupidly self-unaware that he can't even see that his problems may lead to tragedy. You deny that you were beaten up and blanking on things and having vision problems. Why - fear of losing your detective job? Pride? Selfish twat. You are driving at night and carrying a gun around for gods sakes you fucking idiot.

Also great detective solves case by picking up the missing girl who is hitchhiking. That's some genius police work. Then nearly losing her!

[M. Darcy]

I do admit - when Ken was getting beaten up, I did think "that's what you get for cheating on Emma!"

[attica]

I love how motorcycle gangs the wide world over are such rebels that they all of them wear the exact same uniform. What do they suppose would happen if they wore, for instance, not-black leather? Would their Harleys grind to a halt?

[tootsie]

So relentlessly bleak, landscape, skin colors, crimes... which I suppose is why I like W so much. Watched all the seasons and of course, KW fears Alzheimer's because his dad had it and painted the same scene over and over. ( interesting to see he gave one as a bday gift, which will help dwindle the supply.) Could have done w/o the girlfriend but was touched nevertheless when he mouthed 'I love you.' Wasn't there a hooded figure walking away from the fire? So not an accident he caused? Actually I like the ambiguity of it all. Wasn't sure if he knew that hitchhiker was Hannah or not. Have some acquaintance with Early-Onset Alzheimer's and think the mind really does begin to lapse like that, tho less of "Where did I put my gun?" & more of "What is a gun?" Well, perhaps he will be diagnosed with something entirely different. Will watch it to the end and hope for something a touch better than "relentlessly bleak."

[Brattinella]

1 hour ago, attica said:

I love how motorcycle gangs the wide world over are such rebels that they all of them wear the exact same uniform. What do they suppose would happen if they wore, for instance, not-black leather? Would their Harleys grind to a halt?

Well, I do agree that motorcycle gangs worldwide DO wear black leather almost exclusively.  I think that, it was born of a necessity for a) protecting the rider's skin with a durable fabric, and b) black because it hides dirt better, maybe?  It is an interesting image search online for those gangs, btw. :)

[FoundTime]

6 minutes ago, Brattinella said:

Well, I do agree that motorcycle gangs worldwide DO wear black leather almost exclusively.  I think that, it was born of a necessity for a) protecting the rider's skin with a durable fabric, and b) black because it hides dirt better, maybe?  It is an interesting image search online for those gangs, btw. :)

I must admit, when episode 2 started and motorcyclists were again featured negatively, my first thought was "Man, I guess motorcycles are just bad news period in this universe!"

This is my first time watching this series, and thanks, dcalley, for noting that seasons 1-3 are on Netflix. I've read one of the Wallander books (don't remember which one, uh-oh) but I like Branagh and The Good Wife trainwreck was over, so I DVRd episode 401 and tuned in last night. I really love the way Branagh is playing the character, so quiet and internal. It's hard to do a lot with those characteristics and this portrayal is just a pleasure to watch. I will also admit some weakness for Gorgeous Scenery Porn; the overhead shots of the roads going on forever out in the middle of nowhere in both the South Africa and Sweden settings were just beautiful.

37 minutes ago, tootsie said:

So relentlessly bleak, landscape, skin colors, crimes... which I suppose is why I like W so much. Watched all the seasons and of course, KW fears Alzheimer's because his dad had it and painted the same scene over and over. ( interesting to see he gave one as a bday gift, which will help dwindle the supply.) Could have done w/o the girlfriend but was touched nevertheless when he mouthed 'I love you.' Wasn't there a hooded figure walking away from the fire? So not an accident he caused? Actually I like the ambiguity of it all. Wasn't sure if he knew that hitchhiker was Hannah or not. Have some acquaintance with Early-Onset Alzheimer's and think the mind really does begin to lapse like that, tho less of "Where did I put my gun?" & more of "What is a gun?" Well, perhaps he will be diagnosed with something entirely different. Will watch it to the end and hope for something a touch better than "relentlessly bleak."

The hooded figure was walking away from Hannah's caravan being set on fire. You could see the greenhouse referenced later to the left of frame.

I read Still Alice recently and some of Wallander's symptoms are consistent with early-onset Alzheimer's -- leaving the papers on the stove, turning on the teakettle, and then getting distracted by something else and forgetting all about it; being right next to someone you should recognize but don't; leaving the gun behind. The blackouts/"lost time" could also be part of that. Not sure how the dizziness figures in to that diagnosis, though.

[whatsatool]

Confederate Flags in Europe? Also did he imagine being beat up?

[attica]

16 hours ago, tootsie said:

Confederate Flags in Europe?

Hey, a good racist symbol is a good racist symbol wherever you go.

[jrlr]

19 hours ago, fauntleroy said:

Also didn't get the opening scene - why did it happen?

Most of all, annoyed by the cliché/trope/drivel of denial. Drives me right crazy! For once, just once, after some character goes blank or falls over or whatever, and somebody asks are you okay, can't they just say well actually, I was beaten up and am having trouble with my vision and concentraion. Maybe I got a concussion along with broken ribs. I should go to hospital.

But no. Even a supposedly great detective like miserable Wallander is so stupidly self-unaware that he can't even see that his problems may lead to tragedy. You deny that you were beaten up and blanking on things and having vision problems. Why - fear of losing your detective job? Pride? Selfish twat. You are driving at night and carrying a gun around for gods sakes you fucking idiot.

Also great detective solves case by picking up the missing girl who is hitchhiking. That's some genius police work. Then nearly losing her!

I have a hell of a lot more empathy for what Wallander is going through - in fact, it made me incredibly uncomfortable watching him suffer the early signs of dementia or Alzheimers because the show did a brilliant job of seeing it through his eyes and showing the confusion and terror creeping in.  Yes, it's horrifying that he left his gun in a diner where anyone could have picked it up, but who wouldn't be in some denial if that was happening to them?  I don't think he's either selfish or proud, I think he's just frightened beyond belief (but reasonably) that he is losing his mind and, worst of all, his identity.  I'm not even sure I can watch the next (last) episode.  If you've ever had dealings with people suffering from these conditions, you know how permanent and terrible it is - the person you know disappears like a ghost, and what's left is a shell.  As for him being "stupidly unaware", I'd argue the opposite: because of his father, Wallander is so hyper-aware that he's gong to eventually (soon) collapse under the weight of his new reality.  I just don't want to watch this brilliant, taciturn man (Branagh is brilliant in this) turn into a blank, confused, helpless person.   

[fauntleroy]

Maybe artistic license, but typically these symptoms appear more gradually. There would be smaller signs that something was amiss, before he begins hallucinating (I guess we can say the beating did not happen?) and spacing out, and having blurred vision, and nearly burning his house down, and forgetting his gun, all in the course of a few days.

If he himself is suddenly too demented, or in denial due to panic, to realize what is happening to him, you'd think his coworkers, who detect for a living, and are aware that he carries a gun, would have noticed.

My prediction is the MRI will reveal a brain tumor. Which is relatively upbeat, for this show. And which they'll remove and then he can retire and take up being gloomy and miserable full-time.

[tootsie]

I was going with the idea that the initial attack did happen because didn't the doc tell W not to worry because W had a stressful job and he recently got beat up (& something else...was remembering his father maybe?) & not to worry because he was only 55? Although why W didn't say something to authorities beats me. Maybe he fell and hurt himself and then imagined the beating? He certainly had bruises.

O fauntleroy, you've got me hoping for a brain tumor...which is really a contradiction in terms!... because I don't think I can handle watching KW lost to Alzheimer's.

I too find Branagh's portrayal excellent, just the right mix of personal terror and struggle for normalcy and dread and avoidance of the obvious.

And thanks to FoundTime for the reminder of Hannah's burning caravan. I think I made a quick trip to the kitchen and missed that part entirely. I should know better.

[SusanSunflower]

Didn't the foster brother explain that the original attack on the woman was not meant to be fatal, but she just lost it ... iirc, because that woman (who adopted the girl) had never passed along letters the foster brother (? and foster mother) had written her ... who had assumed they didn't care ...  

eta: I think the girl and her foster brother somehow ran into each other after several years and her adopted mom's concealment was revealed at that time... the girl then confronted her mother and  bad.things.happened. (I missed the opening but I'm pretty sure that was revealed in the police station by the foster brother ... who was contacted because she had possession of the box of his letters ... idk)

Edited May 18, 2016 by SusanSunflower
remembered something.

[Driad]

Quote

motorcycle gangs worldwide DO wear black leather almost exclusively.

Pink chiffon wrinkles easily.

[truther]

On 5/16/2016 at 6:20 PM, Brattinella said:

Well, I do agree that motorcycle gangs worldwide DO wear black leather almost exclusively.  I think that, it was born of a necessity for a) protecting the rider's skin with a durable fabric, and b) black because it hides dirt better, maybe?  It is an interesting image search online for those gangs, btw. :)

I actually ran into a Swedish motorcycle gang once.  All black leather, with the occasional Swedish flag embroidered somewhere.  They were middle-aged men and women riding around the desert Southwest and we saw them at the Grand Canyon.  I'd bet that between the lot of them their records might have included two or three parking tickets, a teenage drug misdemeanor, and maybe a double dip in the salsa bowl.  

Edited May 20, 2016 by truther

[jrlr]

truther, I think you were lucky running into them in the U.S.  In Sweden there are some extremely violent kinda-white supremacist, kinda drug lords, kinda Nazi gangs like the Bandidos who are supposed to be very dangerous.  The ones you ran into sound more like the boomer bikers we see all over here in the desert Southwest.  

[Brattinella]

20 hours ago, truther said:

I actually ran into a Swedish motorcycle gang once.  All black leather, with the occasional Swedish flag embroidered somewhere.  They were middle-aged men and women riding around the desert Southwest and we saw them at the Grand Canyon.  I'd bet that between the lot of them their records might have included two or three parking tickets, a teenage drug misdemeanor, and maybe a double dip in the salsa bowl.  

There is a very large group of bikers that I used to see in my little resort town all the time.  They were not bad guys at all.  They were mostly business men who liked to ride.  H.O.G.  Harley Owners Group.  They are world-wide. Their standard garb was black leather and levis.  There are plenty of pictures available, I guess I picked the wrong one to upload, it is too big.  Sorry.

[truther]

6 hours ago, jrlr said:

truther, I think you were lucky running into them in the U.S.  In Sweden there are some extremely violent kinda-white supremacist, kinda drug lords, kinda Nazi gangs like the Bandidos who are supposed to be very dangerous.  The ones you ran into sound more like the boomer bikers we see all over here in the desert Southwest.  

You're absolutely right on both counts.  

[whatsatool]

Final episode he decides not to share the truth with granddaughter about other grandfather. Dickens at the beach.

[photo fox]

Wow, that was dreary even by Wallander standards. Such an incredibly heartbreaking performance by KB. I haven't been that gripped by something on television in a long time.

I did have to chuckle at the typical American baddie/spy. We Americans are often such a nefarious lot on British telly. Lol

A fitting end to a great series. I'll miss Kurt, and Linda, and the beautiful scenery. But most of all I think I'll miss the design porn. The Swedish-ness of the architecture and furnishings made the show visually so different from everything else on television. 

[truther]

I liked it but yeah, it was tough.  Not much of a happy ending.  Though I actually thought the sub story was a neat twist.

One big distraction for me, however, was the changing foliage.  Green leaves in some shots, bare branches in others.  The beautiful scenery shots were all filmed in the summer.  The closeups in town or at the beach were in the spring.  But whenever they showed the mansion or the grounds around it, there wasn't a leaf to be seen.  

[JudyObscure]

I noticed the bare branches/ leafy branches thing, too, truther.  Even so, I'm with Photo  Fox about the stark beauty and rich atmosphere of this show, It's just too bad that his illness means we definitely won't get any more.  Maybe Helen Mirren will go solve crimes in Sweden and we can get a double dose of bleakness. 

[jrlr]

Wow, that was a phenomenal performance by KB, and I was actually relieved that Wallander's son in law softened and broke a bit, because it means that there is more of a family united to care for W in his bleak future in that bleak landscape (to me it's not beautiful, it's depressing as hell, but I'm a desert rat).  When Wallander asked the fisherman if Hakon had been depressed and the fisherman said "Like 60 percent of this country?" I was surprised the figure wasn't higher than that.

[tootsie]

Hard to find bright spots in that episode, either cinematic or emotional. Maybe Linda saying that she"chooses" to care for her dad or W telling his sil that the sil doesn't need W's advice about being a father & both of them softening toward the other. I appreciated W's (weak) attempt at humor about his illness: that he'd be happy to forget the girl setting herself ablaze in a field (I'm with him on that...quite a shocking start to an episode, that and the murdered swans...gosh, those were so dreadful occurrences but without being gruesome. Very Wallander) The mystery was really the subplot but liked that throwback to 30 years ago and all the gray areas there were to spy-hood then. I THOUGHT I paid continuous and close attention throughout but must have lapsed. What was the back story to the brain damaged daughter and what did she add to either plot line? (Or was she harbinger to W's future...? Don't much care for that idea) Also did not find much (read: any) comfort in the closing line from his phantom painter father: "Someone else will remember for you." Kudos to KB for his portrayal and to the actor playing Linda. Her face when he was careening about the field and cried at her "Are you my daughter?" was incredibly moving. Will miss this show with its langorous, lingering camera work and all the convoluted plots and often confusing characters. 

[cakes1975]

Quote

Maybe artistic license, but typically these symptoms appear more gradually. There would be smaller signs that something was amiss, before he begins hallucinating (I guess we can say the beating did not happen?) and spacing out, and having blurred vision, and nearly burning his house down, and forgetting his gun, all in the course of a few days.

New to this forum and I feel I need to comment.

I am sure some artistic license was taken but there is a bit more truth than some may realize with various forms on early-onset Alzheimer's. A good friend of mine died a few months ago and it was ten years to the day of initial diagnosis. We all thought that a form of depression was happening because she had recently been downsized from her job. Her husband did not think her agoraphobia was anything more than a symptom of that depression. She had good recollection for a year to 18 months, then her cognitive decline became rapid and within five years she had forgotten everyone and could no longer speak. The only thing that she recognized at the end was music (she had been a classical musician as a younger woman) Her last five years were difficult for her family and friends.