Scandi-Noir: The Killing III

Right, that's it, I need to get me a Sarah Lund Faroe Island sweater.

This, the third season of The Killing - or Forbrydelsen in the native Danish - is the final in the Scandi-noir series that follows Detective Inspector Sarah Lund (Sofie Gråbøl) as she solves murder mysteries in and around Copenhagen. This latest installment sees Lund continuing to investigate crime the only way she knows how - with minimal emotional investment, but with a drive to get to the bottom of it.

In this season, Lund investigates the kidnapping of the daughter of a wealthy businessman, which leads to a series of murders and is somehow linked to the alleged suicide of an orphaned teenage girl sometime earlier. In the meantime, the government is in a state of meltdown and Lund is dealing with an unexpected pregnancy - not hers.

Although not to the strength of the original or second seasons, The Killing III is still compelling watching, and continues the tradition of revealing only bites of information from which the audience may hypothesise the killer. This season presents multiple perspectives on the same event, or series thereof, only to leave the audience questioning what they saw, who the killer might be; and when they're revealed to have been mislead, wondering which character is not quite telling the truth.

What you learn from the original season of The Killing is that there is, in fact, enough information in the opening episode(s) to tell you whodunit, but it isn't until the end that the pieces fall into place. What you also learn from the preceding two series is that when it comes to Lund, no one is safe and no one is above suspicion.

This series also sees the return of everyone's favourite Detective Chief Inspector Lennart Brix. Portrayed by Morten Suuballe, I am convinced of his brilliance as an actor as he somehow manages to convey a great deal with only the slightest adjustment of his face. Gråbøl is consistent in her portrayal of Lund who is, as always, a withdrawn yet fascinating, strong and driven character. However, some cracks are beginning to appear in her stony-face with an old flame, Mathias Borch (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) - her partner on this case, stirring some deep and long repressed emotions.

SBS screened The Killing III on free-to-air earlier this year, which was an intensely frustrating affair because it takes ten weeks to get to the point! It's really no wonder people download these things! Thankfully it is now available on DVD through Madman, which is how I recommend you view it - in sequence, and preferably in one or two sittings. That way the mood is established and the momentum of the mystery, although lacking slightly with this final season, is maintained.

The Killing III is available through Madman.

-Stevie O'C