Wallander (TV Series) Sorgfågeln (2013) User Reviews

The End of Wallander?

[milton-freddy · 8/10 · 21 December 2013]

I was a bit sad, when I realized that Kurt Wallander was hit by Alzheimers. As I thought this meant the end of him as crime investigator. On top of this the whole unit in Ystad was threatened on its existence. It did survive, however, and Kurt has a daughter, so a continuation of the Wallander series is not quite impossible, but it will not be the same. In England they continued the legendary Morse series with his sidekick Lewis, maintaining the low key British detection tradition, which also was apparent in the Wallander series, much to my liking. Many of the episodes were not outstanding, but the series all together painted a sympathetic picture of the atmosphere from southern Sweden, so it was with pleasure and anticipation I renewed acquaintance with Wallander when new seasons appeared. Henning Mankell has accomplished a fine job putting the initial episodes together from which the rest of the series sprang. If episode 32 is the end, Wallander will be missed.

It's an Insidious Disease

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 13 December 2015]

This is a rather graphic presentation of the horrors of Alzheimer's disease. Kurt Wallander has been slipping away. Most of his colleagues and the people around him are clueless, although they suspect he is ill. The case he is trying to solve the murder of a police officer. The officer's partner has pretty much gone rogue. She accosts one she suspects and locks him up in a large wooden crate. She threatens him because she believes what happened was caused by someone higher up. Wallander is in and out, his memory failing, his resolve slipping. He becomes so frustrated that he alienates Linda, who has done everything she can to cover for him. Hanging over this entire episode is the terror he feels at his loss of control. I have known numerous people who have succumbed to Alzheimer's, including members of my family. It must be so hard to see things disappearing in your brain. Maybe some would rather ignore the human side of this series, but I felt there was a sincerity and reality here that trumps the normal plot line.

The Sad Bird

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 21 June 2014]

So; it is time to bid farewell to Swedish police detective Kurt Wallander; in this final case he and the team investigate the kidnapping of a restaurateur. No ransom has been demanded so the police wonder if he was involved in something illegal himself; he had been investigated by Malmo police before but they couldn't get the evidence to arrest him. That investigation was led by detective Jenny Blom and she is convinced that not only is the kidnapped man guilty but he had been tipped off by another police officer on the night of the raid where her partner was killed. As Kurt investigates the case he must deal with his worsening Alzheimer's as his colleagues wonder what is the matter with him. We know this will be Kurt's last case but it looks like it could be the end for the whole of the Ystad CID as their boss, Mattson, announces that their department is to be merged with the Malmo police and those who remain in the police will have to work from there.

This was a fine send off for Kurt; the ending was much happier than it could have been but there were still some tragic moments. Krister Henriksson did a great job as Kurt Wallander with some scenes of real pathos as he realises he can't stay in the police any longer. The rest of the cast does a fine job too, both the regulars and guest stars. The mystery had some twists although the kidnapper is revealed surprisingly early on; at which point the mystery is 'who is the corrupt police officer he is protecting?'. The final reveal wasn't much of a surprise but it was satisfying. Overall this was a fine conclusion to a series that I really enjoyed… and it isn't quite the end for the character as the BBC's English Language version hasn't finished yet!