Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole (TV Series REVIEW) — A Brilliant Detective Battles His Inner—and Outer—Demons in Oslo

A troubled cop—who battles his demons in spectacularly-destructive ways.

A host of coworkers—superiors, equals, and underlings—who unfailingly believe in him...up until the point he slips. Again.

And one coworker-slash-rival who harbors a monumental grudge.

All brought together by a murder that has some strangely-symbolic overtones. And then another... with the same symbolisms.

Meanwhile, a major controversy is brewing over whether or not the police should be armed, as Oslo faces a scary upswing in gang activity... and homicides.

And then, there’s also the question of corruption, within the force. Enough signs are pointing to it for Harry not to notice.

This is the powder keg we step into, in Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole, on Netflix.

 

 

Anyone who’s worked with Detective Harry Hole generally has one of two opinions about him—he’s a brilliant cop, somehow able to get into a killer’s mind—including the terrifying headspace of a serial killer, or, that he can be a good cop... but also a headstrong, hard-to-handle alcoholic.

The truth is actually somewhere in the middle—or maybe, that Hole exists mainly in the extremes, the brilliant highs and the rock-bottom lows.

And this time out finds Harry initially operating at the bottom end—seeing the dregs on the bottom of way too many bottles... and trying to keep it together while on the clock.

Because there are a pair of doozies that need figuring out... and stopping.

When one horrible murder is followed a mere five days later by another, with similar patterns, Hole knows it’s something. (Not that any of the other cops want to hear that—who in their right mind would wish for a case with multiple murders?)

But Hole, being who he is—an incredibly insightful detective, when he’s “on”—stands fast in his analysis: they’re dealing with a serial killer... and the person may just be getting started.

Of course, there’s also that whole movement to arm the cops (or not), as rival gangs—with serious weaponry—battle it out on the streets... and the possibility of a rat within the police ranks gains traction.

As Hole ingloriously falls off the wagon, yet again—then struggles to get back on—everything is quickly coming to a head. 

The big question is: can he keep it together long enough to find and stop whoever is murdering young women across the city... and will those same canny instincts sniff out the rot from within his team—or will he flame out yet again?

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I’ve read several other works by Nesbø, over the years (and reviewed some of them, here, here, here, and here), as well as two movies based on his works (here and here). 

So, I was already quite familiar with Harry Hole—his history, his problems, and his world. It's classic Nordic Noir, and I dig it.

He’s a complicated character, and with that penchant for self-destruction, a frequently frustrating one.

But if you’ve ever known someone who was really effed up—be it an addiction, or some trauma that they couldn’t shake—then Hole will likely ring painfully true... and you’ll root for him, no matter what.

I hadn’t read the book that most of Detective Hole is based on—The Devil’s Star—which made this an even more suspenseful watch, for me.

In short, it’s a fantastic adaptation. 

Tobias Santelmann is absolutely magnetic as the intense—and intensely scarred—Harry Hole, creating a character that’s more mood and barely-contained pain than typical cop machismo. (Yet whatever he does, you feel it in your gut.)

Joel Kinnaman is likewise mesmerizing as Hole’s colleague and rival, Tom Waaler. He is, by turns, sleek and sexy, and sly and scheming—and he dominates any scene he’s in. 

The rest of the cast—too many to single out—are similarly impressive, each delivering a performance it would be hard to forget.

As for mood, well... Oslo. Such a gorgeous setting for such ugliness, and that sharp contrast plays out perfectly in this nine-episode series (first season? Here’s hoping...). The camera loves her, when we’re out and about, or when we visit Rakel’s house, just beyond the city proper, where Harry’s on-again, off-again life tries so hard to resemble something stable and good... but paints her grungy and desperate when we’re in Harry’s shabby apartment or under a bridge, doing deals.

Nesbø is a talented, prolific author—with many Harry Hole books under his belt—so if this fabulously-well-done production does well, chances are we’ll be seeing more stories from Hole’s Oslo.

I’ll just be right over here, waiting... 

~GlamKitty