Review of Episode #1.1

Ófærð: Episode #1.1 (2015)
Season 1, Episode 1
8/10
Chaos in Iceland
27 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The opening episode of "Trapped" focuses on a sleepy town of law-abiding people on the coast of Iceland. The narrative is built around Andri, the chief of police, who is juggling family tensions and an apparent murder that has taken place.

As the enormous ferry is about to arrive, Andri is informed of a dismembered course discovered in the sea. All indications are that the murder occurred on the incoming ferry from Denmark with the torso dumped in the sea.

Andri and his small police force are awaiting the arrival of the authorities from Reykjavik, but all the flights are cancelled and their arrival is delayed. Andri must also deal with a sinister Danish sea captain who appears to be hiding something and refuses to cooperate with a thorough search of the vessel. Andri gets a lead on a human trafficker aboard the ferry, but the captain breaks his agreement with Andri and lets the motorists depart. Andri gives chase, but the perpetrator escapes into the snowstorm.

The storm has been building through the episode, and Andri must cope with the arrival of his estranged wife Agnes, who brings in tow her new boyfriend. It is a difficult family situation with Andi apparently having custody of two children while Agnes arrives with her new beau.

The snowstorm is the perfect metaphor for the episode in which Andri and the small town are overwhelmed both by the forces of nature and the depravity of human kind with a murderer apparently on the loose. The image of the snowstorm is contrasted with the opening image of a fire that occurred seven years in the past, when a young couple were burnt to death in a warehouse conflagration. The young woman was apparent a member of the local community. The young man survived the fire and was seem ominously in wielding knives while aboard the ferry. Is there a connection?
5 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed