TV tip
A high price: “Maria Wern, Kripo Gotland” in the first
Maria Wern (Eva Röse) and her colleague Arvidsson (Peter Perski). photo
© ITVP/Cologne Film/Crille Haag/ ARD Degeto/TV4/2022 Warner Bros./dpa
This is an unusual Swedish crime thriller: the viewer knows the murderer within seconds. Because it’s about completely different things.
The shooter, a young drug addict, escapes during the night. A couple who happened to be nearby desperately tried to save the life of the man who had been shot. Maria Wern (Eva Röse) has to carefully pull the bloodied first aider away from the dead man.
After a short time, viewers and audiences know the identity of the murderer: it is the 24-year-old small-time crook Adde Fahlén (Michel Van Berkum). But it’s only marginally about the killer; the people behind this execution in a castle ruin are much more important. In a recorded phone call, investigator Arvidsson (Peter Perski) recognizes the voice of drug lord Josef Boman (Edvin Bredefeldt).
This isn’t the first time that Bomann has crossed Wern’s path. And the tough investigator throws herself into the case with all her energy. Her partner Sebastian Ståhl (Erik Johansson) doesn’t like this at all – Maria is four months pregnant. The fact that she still jumps from a balcony to chase the murderer makes Sebastian angry. And Boman soon proves to be a dangerous opponent: he doesn’t shy away from approaching Maria’s teenage daughter at the riding stables in order to show power to the inspector and her boyfriend.
Meanwhile, the circumstances are playing into the hands of the police. All you have to do is follow the murder weapon. It’s difficult to get pistols on the remote Baltic Sea island, as the team explains to new boss Annika Fåhréus (Katrin Sundberg). Firearms are a valuable commodity in the underworld. The police are on the trail of the high-strung weapons courier Isak Forss (Kimi El Feky). Little by little the puzzle comes together. The trail leads to a prison on the mainland. In the end, Maria Wern puts herself in great danger during the investigation – and she pays a very high price for it.
Lead actress Eva Röse has known Gotland well since she was a teenager; she worked in a restaurant there back then. “I love my island,” she said in an ARD interview. “It’s an absolutely fantastic place! My childhood memories are of long nights, dancing under the stars.” Today she appreciates Gotland as the perfect crime scene: “Well… it’s an island. You can’t just leave it. And the spectacular nature and the dramatic landscapes are part of the stories. The light, the ocean and the mystery of the place make ours World so alive.”
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