Hinterland - General Discussion

[FormerMod-a1]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show. 

[lucindabelle]

Enjoyed this show because it didn't condescend, and went to find a recap because I think I fell asleep in higher middle. highly entertained by comments on the guardian with people sniping back and forth about the welsh language (apparently it was filmed in welsh and English and it's a sore point).

Are there any homes for young people that aren't houses of horror?

Anyone wonder why Mathias has this great insight about where the body is buried when tbhe man who buried her is RIGHT next to him?

So was Catrin NOT a wife and mother? Was that a sham? That's the part I slept through.

And we never do find out who taped her, right?

You'd think int now hours these things could have been cleared up...

[iggysaurus]

I just watched this and enjoyed it a lot. Love the stunning views of the Welsh countryside.

 

I usually have a good ear for understanding British accents (Manchester and Cockney don't throw me off, for example), but the Welsh accents on this show were hard enough to understand that I had to turn the captions on to make sure I didn't miss anything! Interesting that it was originally filmed entirely in Welsh and then they made an English version (but the credits still have the Welsh version of every title underneath the English version). 

 

lucindabelle, not sure how much you missed about Catrin, but she was a mother to a baby (Emma) when she was only 13, having given birth in the home, and then the baby was killed by her friend out of jealousy.  Later in life, she married that guy (Dayfed?) and got pregnant but lost the baby.  She was so desperate to be a mother (obviously an effect of the trauma of losing Emma) that she put a baby doll in the nursery and pretended it was real, right down to changing its nappies etc. So when the detectives came over to visit her early in the episode, and she said the baby was sleeping upstairs, she was lying (or more accurately, delusional).

 

I believe the old films of the kids were done by Helen ... is that what you mean by "who taped her"?

 

Looking forward to watching another episode. 

[iggysaurus]

Just realized that this topic was posted last November and mine is the only reply since then. Guess there's not much chance in having a discussion about this show, but if anyone's lurking out there and wants to chime in, please do! :)

[Clanstarling]

Just realized that this topic was posted last November and mine is the only reply since then. Guess there's not much chance in having a discussion about this show, but if anyone's lurking out there and wants to chime in, please do! :)

I just watched this episode. I thought it was well done and liked that there were multiple twists/surprises. I love the Welsh accent (big Torchwood fan), but had no idea it was filmed in both languages (the titles should have tipped me off though). I'd love to see Wales some day. It is lovely.

 

They never did say who raped the girl. For a while, I was worried it was the minister. Then I thought maybe it was that guy who hid out for awhile.

[Llywela]

 

The first series of Hinterland reached its bloody climax with DCI Tom Mathias's future hanging in the balance. Now, weeks later, our troubled detective is forced to return to the front line after an arson attack on an isolated farmhouse leaves a mother and child fighting for their lives. Drawn into a community of failing farms and long-standing feuds, Mathias and his partner DI Mared Rhys will be pushed to the brink as they try to solve this disturbing case.

Did anyone else out there catch the feature-length Hinterland this week? Possibly not, I'm not sure it aired outside Wales - at least not on BBC1.

 

Well, I watched it, anyway, and enjoyed it as much as the previous series. It's still more procedural than anything, but we did move a few steps forward with Mathias's story, learning that one of his daughters drowned age 8 and he holds himself responsible, plus meeting his wife at the end there (coincidence that she should turn up just after he's bared his soul like that at last). I'd like to see more fleshing out of the other main characters - we know a bit about Mared without ever focusing on her, but Sian and Lloyd we only ever see in their professional capacity. This show has in common with Midsomer Murders, in a sense, that the regular characters serve as our entry into the actual story, which is the murder and the people involved, rather than the story being about the regular characters with the plot merely there to give them something to do. Both are valid storytelling styles and I really enjoy Hinterland. The cinematography is always stunning and gives me hiraeth like whoa even though I am actually already living in Wales! I get all nostalgic for Aberystwyth with every episode and find myself longing to abandon the coast for the mountains!

[HyacinthBucket]

Just realized that this topic was posted last November and mine is the only reply since then. Guess there's not much chance in having a discussion about this show, but if anyone's lurking out there and wants to chime in, please do! :)

 

I'll chime in!  I started watching this series on Netflix because the scenery looked so spectacular, but never expected to find a forum for it.  I love this place! 

 

I've watched three of the four Netflix offerings so far, and have enjoyed them very much.  Devil's Bridge has been my favorite.  The scene where Mathias goes down into the gorge to look for the body was breathtaking.  He certainly takes a lot of chances without backup, whether it's exploring the hidden areas of the inn with his penlight, or going deeper and deeper into the gorge. 

 

I'm looking forward to learning more about Mathias.  So far, I haven't learned much, and I'm hoping I will learn more in the 4th episode.

[JustLilOlMe]

I would but I think I'd be talking to myself.  I'm happy that person mention the feature film as I wondered about the two girls in the photo.  I assumed Meg was an ex of some sort.  Glad that too was confirmed. 

 

[mansonlamps]

Well that's an hour and a half of my life I can't get back. Despite the beautiful scenery I really didn't like this. The acting was so overwrought IMO. Although, surprisingly, I had less problem with the accents here than I did with Broadchurch, which I adored.

[Llywela]

Series two of Hinterland is showing on BBC Wales at the moment, and I've been enjoying it very much. It's a solid police drama. The cases are intriguing enough and atmospheric enough to hold my interest. The cinematography and scenery are always stunning (my Mum was complaining the other day that it makes Ceredigion look a bit bleak and grey, but I've been to Aberystwyth enough times to know that the sun doesn't ever come out there). I love having a show on TV that attempts to reflect how bilingualism actually works in Wales. It's always fun spotting old Pobol y Cwm actors. And Richard Harrington always puts in a strong performance as DCI Tom Mathias.

 

My one complaint, really, is that I'm kind of bored with brooding heroes tormented by the angst of a tragic past. They're a dime a dozen in this kind of show. I think I'd appreciate the show so much more if it subverted the genre so that instead of focusing on Tom angsting over having to do his job while wallowing in self-pity, it centred instead around Mared and Siân: these two sharp, professional women constantly frustrated in their efforts to solve cases by the emo antics of their superior officer!

Edited January 3, 2016 by Llywela

[Captanne]

It's always lovely to see Wales in all its broody beauty!  I really liked Hinterland, series one, but I never understood what his drah-mah was all about from his past.  Was it ever clear?

 

I'm looking forward to streaming series two or getting it here in the states.

 

Hwyl fawr!

[Llywela]

It's always lovely to see Wales in all its broody beauty!  I really liked Hinterland, series one, but I never understood what his drah-mah was all about from his past.  Was it ever clear?

I know, he likes to brood but doesn't like to talk about his reasons why! It's all about the death of one of his daughters, for which he blames himself, for reasons that remain unclear.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Llywela

[BindsTheTuna]

I've watched the first two episodes (well, the special and then the *official* first episode) and love it. The reason for Tom's angst is made clear -

his daughter drowned while under his care

- and the ramifications are brutal to watch. Richard Harrington really lays it out there. 

 

I'm rationing the later episodes because I want them to last! 

[Captanne]

Oh wow! Thanks for clearing that up!

 

I'm in the middle of another rewatch right now but will get to Hinterland2 in about a week.

[AnnaMayWong]

I like Hinterland, BUT ..really, sometimes, this show and the very very many long unmeaningful looks...

[AnnaMayWong]

Yes, definitely parody--

The characters involve themselves in a case, and instead of the usual verbal exchanges,..the cast conducts the ENTIRE investigation/ show with mostly (a) somewhat brooding, somewhat intense, somewhat placid 'SAMENESS' look(s) .

Dirges will be the basis of speaking and instrumentals. Utterances by the characters will only consist of periodic bursts of keening and some lamentations. And, continuing this atmospheric vein, the 'musical' score will be comprised of the dour, sombre, and depressing.

[limecoke]

After watching season one I wasn't too sure how I felt about this show...too dark, too broody, too much unexplained angst from the star. However, I'm loving season two. We know more about Tom's past and the heartbreaking reason for his inner struggle. I also like the dynamics between the principle characters and think the cases are better in general. Richard Harrington frustrated me in season one but this season, knowing more, he breaks my heart. I love seeing Wales, though we seem to get more of the bleak. I remember being there and finding it wildly beautiful. I have deep ancestral roots in Wales and love that it's featured in this excellent drama.

Edited April 17, 2016 by limecoke

[Captanne]

Good God but Wales is beautiful.  

 

I am so distracted by the wardrobe, though.  Those Canada Goose coats they are wearing?  About $750 a piece.  They've been all the rage where I live this winter.  (You can tell by the shoulder patches.)  So, not only am I distracted by the tell-tale commercial sponsorship, but I keep wondering how the regular Heddlu can afford such swag.  Add to it, since when does DCI Mared Rhys have a daughter who is 3/4 her age, drive a Land Rover, and live in a swank, upscale house?

 

I don't remember them being so conspicuously rich.

Edited April 18, 2016 by Captanne

[Llywela]

Mared always had a teenage daughter, she mentioned her first in the very first episode, we just don't see or hear of her all that often - Mali Harries is in her 40s, plenty old enough to be mother to a teenager, she's just lucky enough to look young!

 

People on TV always have nicer homes and clothes than their real-life counterparts could afford. I believe it was established in season one, however, that Mared and her daughter (Elin, iirc) live with Mared's parents, who did the bulk of the childcare while Mared worked - hence her difficult relationship with the girl. Also, I don't think her house is really all that swank or upscale - it looked like a fairly typical Aberystwyth townhouse to me. More than I could afford, certainly, but not out of the common for a family of reasonable means in that area.

Edited April 18, 2016 by Llywela

[Captanne]

Even the $750 designer coats and the Land Rover?  It just seems ... intentional.

 

I had forgotten the older daughter.  It struck me as strange casting.  (Mathias' daughters are more what I expected in age.)

Edited April 18, 2016 by Captanne

[Llywela]

We met Mared's daughter in season one, she's always been mid-teens and stroppy - and not an unexpected age for an early-40s mother. Mared started her family younger than Tom did, that's all -  it's not out of the common for a woman to marry and have children young, then focus on her career later, while the man focuses on career first and family later.

 

I can't comment on the designer coats - I wouldn't have known they were designer if you hadn't said! They just look like coats to me. Like I said, people on TV always have really nice clothes way beyond their income! But the Land Rover doesn't seem so unexpected to me, lots of country people drive them, and Aberystwyth might be a university town, but it's also very rural. Lots of winding, muddy, hilly country lanes to navigate. Mainly, though, I suspect that both coats and Land Rover are more about the production team's desired aesthetic than any particular statement about Mared's finances.

Edited April 18, 2016 by Llywela

[Captanne]

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of.  It's not-careful wardrobe and prop selection.  To me, it screams "banker" or "lawyer", not "homicide detective".  Especially given that Mathais drives a Volvo.  A nice one, to be sure, but not something that screams conspicuous consumption.  Her Land Rover is impeccably clean so it's not like she's herding sheep with it.

 

It would be like someone showing up in a Chanel suit driving a Maserati.  It makes a statement.

[Llywela]

I reckon Mared probably gets good child support from her ex for Elin, and as a senior detective she'd be making decent money - not rich, but decently off. Plus, she no doubt saves a lot by living with her parents - no rent, no mortgage, just her share of the bills. No, it doesn't bother me that she runs a Land Rover, I can see how she'd afford it. Like I said, you see a lot of them in those parts, and the people driving them aren't rich, but they have a reasonable income (more than me, for instance!) and have made a choice about how to spend it.

[Captanne]

I think it's as simple as product placement -- it's just jarring and kind of out of place for me.  (By the way, I have a very good friend named Llywela except she spells it the Americanized way, Luella!)

[Llywela]

I think it's as simple as product placement -- it's just jarring and kind of out of place for me.  (By the way, I have a very good friend named Llywela except she spells it the Americanized way, Luella!)

Dude, Luella is really not how Llywela is pronounced! :D

 

Mared's Land Rover might be product placement, but it really isn't an unlikely car for a professional woman in West Wales to be driving, especially one with reduced living expenses who may well have acquired it secondhand - although if she really was bombing down those country lanes in it all day, it wouldn't be quite so clean! There's a Land Rover sitting outside my house right now, and my neighbours aren't rich, they are professional people of middle income. The houses in my street are about the same size as Mared's, as well - old Victorian town houses, in reasonable nick, Cardiff rather than Aberystwyth, but the comparison applies. It's a nice area, but not hugely upmarket. Now, I rent a ground floor flat, so most of my neighbours who own the actual houses are an income bracket or two up from me, but that doesn't make them rich, merely reasonably well off. Someone like Mared would be well within that professional income bracket, especially given her circumstances - saving money by living with parents post-divorce.

[Captanne]

I just finished  watching on Netflix -- did it end on a cliffhanger?

 

Also, as an aside, those coats showed up in another series I watch (Canadian) so the UK must have a contract with the company.  LOL  It makes me want one even though it's Spring here in the States (and no need for arctic gear) and they are almost 1000USD a pop.  (Next series, Mared gets a Louis Vuitton backpack and Jimmy Choo camping boots!  LOL)

 

Seriously, I tease because I love.  I really enjoyed this show and will continue to watch it.  I think the acting is top notch, the writing is great, and the stories are wonderful.  I like it MUCH better than "Murder She Wrote in England" of Broadchurch which bored me silly.  I really enjoy these types of shows -- Forbrydelsen, The Killing, Top of the Lake, Y Gwyll -- and they have to be smart to keep my attention.  I also enjoy "Vera", tbh.  I think it's the lead actress on that show who sells me.

 

Also, like the Lord of the Rings series which brought New Zealand in as a character in its own right, this show is amazing with Wales.  What a glorious, glorious country.  There is another show we had here in the US that helped Wales and that was Torchwood.  Not as much Russell T. Davies' Doctor Who (2005-present).  Torchwood did a terrible miniseries called "Miracle Day" but Wales was the real star if only for an episode or two.  

Edited April 23, 2016 by Captanne

[Llywela]

I'm glad you've enjoyed the series, Captanne - the end of season two made me want to re-watch season one to pick up on all the little hints and clues I'd missed! Must get back to that re-watch, actually...

 

Ah, Torchwood, filmed right here in my hometown. We still have that bloody stupid Ianto shrine down the Bay as a permanent reminder! Fabulous location-spotting - shame about the show. I fall over Doctor Who location shoots on a regular basis. I've never watched Vera, but Brenda Blethyn is always marvellous.

 

I still can't comment on the supposedly designer coats, since to me they just look like bog-standard Primark puffer jackets! I have no eye for these things whatsoever.

Edited April 23, 2016 by Llywela

[Captanne]

I was/am very fond of Ianto Jones (as a fictional character) so I'm amused to see that the shrine is still around.  

 

Here in Washington, DC (my hometown) we still have the Exorcist Stairs as a bit of a tourist destination.

 

(PS:  My Mother was a Griffiths so Wales is in the blood.)

Edited April 23, 2016 by Captanne

[Llywela]

I was/am very fond of Ianto Jones (as a fictional character) so I'm amused to see that the shrine is still around

I long to sneak down by cover of dark and attack that shrine with a pair of bolt cutters! I remember being down the Bay a few days after that episode aired and being surprised to see that a few tributes had been left - little did I know what it would turn into! The council leaves it because tourism - we still get hardcore fans making pilgrimages all the time.

 

Ahem. Hinterland. Right. Yes. Cliffhanger ending all right - I don't recall hearing anything about another series, but it's made by S4C, which tends to fly under the radar a bit. I'll keep my eyes and ears open for it - too much unresolved story to leave it there, surely.

[Captanne]

Please don't cut it down.

Edited April 23, 2016 by Captanne

[Llywela]

Please don't cut it down.

:D Don't worry, I don't mean it really - but as a local who walks past it regularly, it's embarrassing! It's been years already! I want the bare wall back - and the window into the teeny location dressed as the Torchwood hub, no longer visible 'cause of all the stuff stuck all over it.

 

ETA - back on topic, the Beeb has a little feature on the website, offering us the chance to 'sculpt our own soundtrack' for Hinterland! (Disclaimer: not sure if it'll work outside the UK)

Edited April 23, 2016 by Llywela

[MacSanDiego]

Totally hooked on Hinterland from the very beginning. The dazzling cinematography first grabbed me: love the use of tight closeup then snapping to refocus (as with rust-encrusted ring) in opening credits. Music is wonderfully atmospheric and enjoyably creepy. But what really hooked me was the SILENCE. Somehow I find it enormously soothing. Mathias has the saddest eyes I've ever seen.

Edited June 8, 2016 by MacSanDiego

[Applegirl]

I have watched 2 episodes so far and I am enjoying it, although it's a bit formulaic with the detective with an unknown past that he's running from. I also hope that the series develops Mathias' character as it goes along so that we can understand him a bit. The accent seems to become a problem sporadically - most of the time I have no problem with it, but all of a sudden there's a conversation that I can't follow.

[abbyzenn]

My PBS station just started showing this.  Really enjoyed the first episode.  Lovely scenery - especially the waterfalls.

[abbyzenn]

Just finished watching the second part of the first story.  What a sad and depressing childhood those children had.  Still liking the show.

[Tasha]

Well I just watched devils bridge.  I'm a bit confused who killed the old lady, or is this going to be revealed in later episodes?  And who raped the young girl.  I reckon that old policeman looks very suspicious.

[spaceghostess]

On June 8, 2016 at 2:47 AM, MacSanDiego said:

Mathias has the saddest eyes I've ever seen.

He's got the most hardcore case of worried-puppy forehead I've ever seen on television. And I love it.

[Driad]

I couldn't understand a lot of it either, but if there is just one more hour/episode to finish the story, I'll watch it.

The devil's bridge story was familiar because I heard essentially the same story about a place in Switzerland.  Turns out there are dozens of devil's bridges all over Europe.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil's_Bridge 

[DHDancer]

My PBS station is getting ready to start airing this but I hate the editing that goes on so I watched both series on Netflix.

Now, I love angst and sparse exposition as much as the next thinking person but seriously this program really was "lean and mean" on explaining the details of the stories.  In the beginning I didn't mind, assuming we'd learn more as we went along but I'd sussed Mathias's story before the end of episode 2 (seen it, got the T shirt).  Where I 'lost it' so to speak was Series 2, Episode 3: I couldn't for the life of me connect dots.   Why did the old guy hate "Daniel" so much (and don't give me the born in another time bit -- it was completely irrational unless I missed the clue at some point).  AND did Norah steal the kid to replace dead Daniel?  And frankly I hated the whole, let's give Daniel back to his real Mum and they'll live happily ever after ending.  Sigh.

Towards the end, the brooding looks and lack of dialogue just smacked to me of lazy writing: a "knowing look" does NOT translate into clear communication in my experience.

Did I enjoy it overall, definitely a Yes.  Do I want to know how they are going to resolve Prosser's story and who shot Mathias?  Yes!

BTW, check out The Indian Doctor if you want to see Mared Rhys in a very different role!

[Llywela]

I'm probably the only person on this forum who cares about this, but the third season of of Y Gwyll is currently airing on S4C - this is the all Welsh version of Hinterland, which means the bilingual version can be expected on the BBC4 probably sometime after Christmas.

So far, things are really hotting up in the aftermath of the firebombing of Mathias's trailer - not gonna post any spoilers, just noting for the record that there was a pretty MAJOR plot twist at the end of what on S4C was the end of episode two, but on BBC4 (which combines each two-part story into a single feature length episode) will probably be episode one.

[DHDancer]

Cool, thanks for the heads up!

[Llywela]

So Y Gwyll came to an end last night - I believe this third series is the last they are going to make, seeing a three-year slow burn background story thread come to a dramatic and shocking conclusion, and MY GOODNESS!!! I now need to go back and re-watch from the start.

Not a perfect show, by any means - I do wish the characters were allowed to bond more, in place of some of the moody staring, but that was the aesthetic chosen: the story was always at the heart of this show, rather than character dynamics, which always remained a little spiky and ill-defined. No BFFs in this group. And yet how satisfying it was to see Tom gathering his team around him when the investigation blew up, to see them choosing to trust him and pull together to unravel the web of corruption they'd unearthed (and that's as much as I'm going to say about the story, because I don't want to spoil anyone)

Great stuff. The English language version Hinterland should air on BBC4 sometime in the new year.

[DHDancer]

Cool, thanks.  I'll be on the lookout to find the streamed version on BBC (I'm so fed up of PBS editing these shows, plus for some reason it's broadcast in the old 4:3 ratio and so the horizontal gets chopped off).

I love that this is set in and around "Aber".  I have fond memories of visiting the town back in the 70s, and Wales I've always loved having done quite a bit of hiking and climbing there.

[DHDancer]

Series 3 on BBC started this past Wednesday.  Interesting format: 30 mins before "the news" and 30 minutes afterwards.  I like that they've kept welsh conversations in welsh and just sub-titled them.

[Llywela]

1 hour ago, DHDancer said:

Series 3 on BBC started this past Wednesday.  Interesting format: 30 mins before "the news" and 30 minutes afterwards.  I like that they've kept welsh conversations in welsh and just sub-titled them.

That's the same format the show has always used on its BBC airing - the S4C version (which is 100% Welsh) shows the whole episode as a single entity. I've no idea why the Beeb insists in splitting them in half!

I watched the S4C version of S3 so I've already seen it, but I'm watching again for the bilingual BBC version anyway. It's the first time a show has ever attempted to represent how bilingualism actually works in Wales, and I really love that about it - I love the simplicity of how they turned a 100% Welsh show into a mixed Welsh and English show just by having Mathias in the English version not be a Welsh speaker. Everyone else continues to speak Welsh when he isn't around, but when he's present they switch to English, and since he's the lead that gives enough English scenes to satisfy the BBC version of the show.

[DHDancer]

I'm finding the stories, as regards the killers, a bit too predictable.  I hope they "clever" this up for the rest of the season...

[Llywela]

If nothing else, the series has a strong ending. I think this season is more about the ongoing arc than it is the individual cases-of-the-week, really, which may be why those individual cases aren't as intricate as they could be.

Edited April 13, 2017 by Llywela

[DJG1122]

On ‎4‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 1:36 AM, Llywela said:

 

I watched the S4C version of S3 so I've already seen it, but I'm watching again for the bilingual BBC version anyway. It's the first time a show has ever attempted to represent how bilingualism actually works in Wales, and I really love that about it - I love the simplicity of how they turned a 100% Welsh show into a mixed Welsh and English show just by having Mathias in the English version not be a Welsh speaker. Everyone else continues to speak Welsh when he isn't around, but when he's present they switch to English, and since he's the lead that gives enough English scenes to satisfy the BBC version of the show.

There must be 3 productions then. I'm watching S1 and S2 on Netflix in the US and it is completely in English.

[Llywela]

1 hour ago, DJG1122 said:

There must be 3 productions then. I'm watching S1 and S2 on Netflix in the US and it is completely in English.

No, they definitely only made two versions - one Welsh and one bilingual. The bilingual version is very English-heavy, because Mathias is in nearly every scene and he only speaks English in that version, but there are a good number of scenes that are Welsh subtitled in English. Unless Netflix edited them out on the assumption that US viewers wouldn't cope with the subtitles? But you'd lose bits of plot that way...although there's nothing new there.

[DJG1122]

17 hours ago, Llywela said:

No, they definitely only made two versions - one Welsh and one bilingual. The bilingual version is very English-heavy, because Mathias is in nearly every scene and he only speaks English in that version, but there are a good number of scenes that are Welsh subtitled in English. Unless Netflix edited them out on the assumption that US viewers wouldn't cope with the subtitles? But you'd lose bits of plot that way...although there's nothing new there.

You are right. There are no subtitles. Netflix must have edited them out. I would have enjoyed the bilingual one. For all you UK folks, Wales is breathtakingly beautiful.