Djävulens advokat

I am a fan of Beck but I hated this last episode so I am not sorry that the series ended for the time being. The plot is annoying Martin Beck is hardly present. Steinar character is good but Alex does not do. A pity because as I said I loved the series.

This was the worst season so far of this great Swedish crime series, based on the characters, created Sjowall and Wahloo, the ''godfathers'' of Scandinavian crime fiction. Beck is semi-retired and still exists as part of the team but only in order to act as intermediary between Steinar and the new addition to the team, Alexandra Beijer. The stories are mediocre with the exception of the last episode (''Djävulens advokat''), having Roland Møller (''R'', ''Northwest'') in the role of the villain. I believe that the show went downhill from the moment that Gunvald died in the first episode of season 6. From that point the protagonist seem to be out of his depth and almost disconnected from his surroundings. Even though Peter Haber continues to do a solid job in his portrayal as the grumpy and old-fashioned Inspector of Homicide, the flaw lies in the script of the series and more specifically to the character(s) (non)development. Steinar is a nicely crafted character but not equal to the one of Gunvald, while the secondary characters (Oskar, Jenny) and their sub-plots are tedious to say at least. I think that it would be better for the producers to wrap-up the project and i hope that we won't have to see another season analogous to this one. ''Beck'' is an emblematic series, one of the first Nordic Noir series which found its way outside Scandinavia and it should be remembered for the greatness that we, as viewers, witnessed in the previous six seasons. The hardcore fans of the series would be disappointed at season 7, but those who are not familiar with ''Beck'' universe will be able to find some enjoyable moments in it.

As this episode opens a man is confronted and shot dead in a restaurant. Afterwards all of those questioned claim to have seen mothering; apart from one man who thought the killer was a woman... it was a man... with a beard. Checking up on this witness it quickly emerges that he has a criminal record and that his lawyer was police woman Alex's brother, Paul. While the police don't know it we see how the killer is deliberately getting Paul into his debt so he can be pressured into finding out what is going on in the police investigation. Back with the police there are more tensions between Alex and Steiner; the latter is also having problems with his marriage and is considering taking a new position away from the team.

This episode was a solid enough conclusion to the current season. There was no mystery as we saw the killer committing the murder then saw how he pressured Paul to get information from his sister. This doesn't mean there was no tension; we see that Paul is mixed up with really dangerous people and there is the question of whether the police will be able to safeguard a witness who has yet to come forward before the killer gets to her. The tensions between Steiner and new boss Alex have dragged on a little too long; hopefully it will all be resolved by the time the next season starts. Beck's role seems to be ever decreasing which is a pity; at least we got a very funny scene with him and his neighbour. Overall a solid enough story; I don't think the series is quite as good as it used to be but it is good enough for me to hope for another season.

These comments are based on watching the episode in Swedish with English subtitles.

I really hope this is nowhere near real life professional police work in Sweden. Criminals and police competing in sheer stupidity. No suspense, no surprises in plot, all actors clearly feeling embarrassed. Had to give this episode up halfway through. What a sad end to my longtime romance with Beck.

This normally excellent series lost the plot with this episode. Several points of implausibility but you be the judge.