The Bridge: Episode Nine

"And then you cut / Goes back to the beginning…"

Interesting how the theme tune finishes here; a combination of the standard ending and the oddly different one from episode eight. I have no idea what, if anything, to make of this.

So, it was Jens, after all. It was revenge, all along. Martin is the main target. Jens wants to hurt Martin by killing August. Saga's been shot and isn't looking at all well. I don't think I can handle much more, but I'm counting the hours until I see the finale. I can't help thinking that the element of mystery isn't over, though. We'll see a few plot twists before we're done.

Just as shocking are the tears(!) from Saga at the prospect of Hans leaving. He looks after her, and the two of them are very close. Will his successor understand her and protect her as he has done? As Martin says, he means a lot to her. Whatever her issues with empathy, Saga has the same feelings as anyone else.

Oddly enough, the "twists" are ones I expect most viewers either expected or had thought about; Sebastian Sandstrod and August's online friend are both the killer. The twists are different: firstly that Martin cuckolded the killer, and secondly that August was always the target. Mette and the children are just a particularly cruel piece of misdirection, as are many things in this extraordinary series.

There's time for character stuff too, though. Martin explaining the concept of complements to Saga, and her learning from him, is an example of exactly the sort of endearing interaction between the two of them that is the heart of this series. And I was very moved to see Saga hold the hand of an upset Martin in the car.

Martin, as August says, lets people down. He does the easy thing. He's unfaithful. But he isn't malicious, just instinctive. And he's redemptively brave and loving. I was moved to see him risk his own life save Mette', and that kiss. In spite of everything, he doesn't deserve any of this.

August is interesting, too. He's a lot more likeable than he's been before in the full context. Notably, we’re led to believe he's lying to Mette about having a job interview, but he isn't. He blames himself for causing Anja's death, in an echo of how Martin blames himself for Mikaela's. Just as Jens wants Martin to get closer to his son so that he feels more pain at his death, we've also been made to like him more. This doesn't bode well for his survival.

It's a very tense episode. All the scenes of Jens with Mette just seethe with tension, and the attempt at a trap for him by keeping August's rendezvous is much the same. It's almost as if we've switched genre from action-oriented whodunnit to thriller, but it all feels earned.

Anything can happen now. No individual is certain to live, and that includes the leads. Martin has lied about his involvement. Saga will be losing Hans, who looks after her. Neither of them seems to have a definite future in the police, and that raises the stakes…