SERIES REVIEW – We write about the third season of Deadwind, the Finnish thriller series that recently hit Netflix, following the cases of Karppi and Nurmi, two local detectives. In season three, they track down a ruthless killer who leaves a mysterious symbol near his victims. In our review, we now discuss the series as a whole.

Named after the female lead detective Karppi, the Finnish series is at once a typically Eastern European film noir thriller with a dark atmosphere, with the two main characters Karppi Sofia Karppi (Pihla Viitala) and Sakari Nurmi (Lauri Tilkanen) often finding themselves in a hopeless situation, life-threatening or terribly trying situations and action sequences, but each season is also a real “whodunnit” type of detective thriller, in which the pair must track down a murderer or serial killer.

“Nordic Noir”

The Deadwind is the best choice for fans of Nordic noir crime thrillers and those who love the series The Killing, Black Spot, Bordertown and The Bridge.

The Danish crime series A Murder Mystery debuted in 2007 and has been so popular that it has been shown in over 120 countries. Nordic Noir became the defacto benchmark for all crime series that followed. With her dark realism and characters focused on substance rather than style, Inspector Sarah Lund became the role model for the grim, “dark” detective.

More than 15 years later, the Scandinavians can still produce crime series. And that’s what brings us to Deadwind. The Finnish crime thriller, created by Rike Jokela, Kirsi Porkka and Jari Olavi Rantala, is just as gripping, and like so many in the genre, it devotes its entire first season to a single case.

The first season

When Anna Bergdahl’s body turns up on the beach, the case is assigned to homicide detective Sofia Karppi (Pihla Viitala). She rejoins the Helsinki police force after her husband’s death. Now, as a single mother of two children and with her new partner Sakari Nurmi (Lauri Tilkanen), Karppi must balance her duties and find the killer. But it won’t be easy.

Anna Bergdahl apparently had no enemies. She worked as a social counsellor and had two children, and her husband, Usko Bergdahl (Jani Volanen), was as shocked by the case as everyone else. But as the duo delves deeper into the life of the woman and the company she worked for, it turns out that there are many people with a lot to hide.

Who killed Bergdahl, and can Karppi and Nurmi get to the bottom of his secret life?

Season 1 rating: 9.2/10

Second season

Season 2 picks up where season 1 left off. Detective Sofia Karppi still hasn’t quite put her life back together. Her stepdaughter Henna (Mimosa Willamo) has left home and can’t be found. She plays a much more significant role this season as Karppi continues to juggle her personal and professional life.

As for the plot, Karppi and Nurmi are investigating two murders and their possible connection to a construction site. The mayor finds himself in danger and becomes the target of a kidnapper, and all the while, Karppi has to deal with a new boss who doesn’t like him or his methods.

Season 2 rating: 7.8/10

Third season

Helsinki police homicide detective Sofia Karppi gets a new case with her former partner Sakari Nurmi. Together, they work to discover what happened to Tuuli Siren, the woman brutally murdered in an abandoned animal hospital cage. As they began to investigate, more and more bodies began to pile up, and a common thread pointed towards a pharmaceutical company that was developing a new opioid-weaning drug called Rehaxin.

Karppi soon discovers that the killer left a symbol next to each of his victims. In the midst of all this, she also receives an intriguing phone call about her late husband, revealing that his death was no accident.

As Karppi and Nurmi delve deeper into the case, it becomes clear that all the victims are connected to something much bigger and more sinister.

Season 3 rating: 8.2/10

No mercy for our heroes

Deadwind is a great crime series. As with Bordertown (another Finnish detective series) and Cardinal, the focus is as much on the detectives and their lives as the crime they are trying to solve. The story’s main arc is so compelling that the 12 episodes do fly by for the most part as more and more plot unfolds.

There is a lot of tension between the two main characters as they get to grips with working with each other. This isn’t the streets of San Francisco or Derrick, so there’s a lot more conflict between our heroes and a lot more getting tough (often literally, physically) with the cases, and the action parts aren’t absent from the series (even if they aren’t all that frequent.) Twists and turns pepper the series, making it almost impossible to guess the outcome.

On the other hand, the typical Eastern/Northern European corruption – which also pervades the wealthy, ‘respectable’ businessmen who run big companies – is also one of the central motifs of the series, as is the seemingly hopeless struggle at the level.

Who are the characters in Deadwind?

There’s no question that Karppi and Nurmi are the two main characters in Deadwind who set the tone for the series. Their chemistry almost bursts off the screen, and throughout all three seasons, there is a love/hate relationship overwhelmed by strong sexual tension, constantly changing between them, part by part. You have to imagine their relationship a bit like an ‘amped up’ Mulder and Scully couple, who, although basically focused on the cases, also share much more intense experiences with each other because they are sometimes forced to ‘betray’ (in one way or another) the other.

Sofia Karppi is played by Pihla Viitala. The Finnish actress lives in Helsinki and started her acting career in 2007. By 2010, she had won the Shooting Stars Award – a pan-European prize that recognises emerging talent. It has also been awarded to Ruth Negga and Alicia Vikander.

Sakari Nurmi is played by Lauri Tilkanen. He studied at the Helsinki Theatre Academy and graduated in 2012.

Tommi Korpela plays Alex Hoikkala in the first season. Hoikkala is the owner of a company that wants to build a new eco-friendly complex, and the murder victim of the first season used to work for him. In real life, Korpela has won the Jussi Award for Best Actor three times and has been acting in films for nearly 30 years.

All these actors do an outstanding job, but these three stars are definitely worth highlighting as they are notable highlights of the series’ seasons.

Strengths and weaknesses

At first glance, there are not many groundbreaking solutions in Deadwind. It’s a dark, cleverly produced detective drama that draws viewers in with its central mystery and keeps them interested because of its conflicted protagonist. At the same time, the series is often typically dark, with a film noir tone and the characters’ personal dramas, making it a high-quality series, highlighted by excellent performances from the main cast and major characters.

Unfortunately, the series’ quality is often undermined by uninteresting, unrelated side stories and less important characters, such as Karppi’s children and school affairs, which only come into the mainstream later in the second or third season.

Overall, Deadwind is an excellent film noir crime series with two great detectives and other interesting main characters. The plot occasionally slows down due to the sometimes dull or unnecessary side plots, but when it finds itself again, it’s hard to put down this exciting Finnish crime Netflix series. We look forward to the fourth season!

-BadSector-