Review of Skytten

Wallander: Skytten (2009)
Season 2, Episode 8
8/10
Pontus' secret
28 May 2011
Warning: Spoilers
A man, inside a car, is seen preparing a gun to commit a crime. Unknown to him, a hooded figure is watching him through a powerful rifle with a telescope. He has no chance to survive the perfect shot from the rooftop of an adjacent building. When the police arrive, Wallander and his team, are baffled as to where the shot came from. Pontus, acting on a hunch, and risking being shot himself, goes to the building where the sniper was, finding a white ribbon tied to a post that seems to indicate the rifleman knew what he was doing and was targeting the victim. Wallander is surprised by Pontus' finding, but he resents the way the rookie cop acted against his orders.

Pontus' is a man carrying a dark secret. When his father makes an unexpected appearance, he brings a baby who happens to be the son of Pontus. The father, a successful lawyer from Stockholm has come to Ystad to try to convince Pontus to return with him and resume his career as a lawyer, something the younger man does not have any intention of doing. In Pontus mind, his police work is more important to him than his former life in the capital.

The murdered man, the police discovers, was the one responsible for a heist to a jewelry store where about two million kroner was stolen. As the police investigates, Pontus keeps doing the wrong things upsetting his working relationship with Wallander. When the girlfriend of the slain bandit and a policemen friend are killed by the sniper, Wallander and his team seek help from sources that might lead them to the apprehension of the man responsible and bring him to justice. As it turns out, the sniper has a hidden agenda to seek justice from Assir, the head of the local mafia. Pontus is the one that solves the mystery.

Directed by Agnetta Fagerstrom-Olsson, and written by Stefan Thunberg, the episode proved to be something the creator of the novels and stories, Henning Mankiell could be proud of. There is a lot of action in the chapter. It showcased Pontus, a police apprentice who shows intelligence, but not much common sense for getting into hot water with his superior for the way he is perceived as not being a team member. The usual good acting makes the series worth a look by serious fans.
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