Streaming series review - Arctic Circle: Season 2

Arctic Circle - Season 2 ***½ (out of 5) (TV-MA) The first season of this Finnish crime procedural has been streaming in the US for a while, but I only watched it now as prep for covering Season 2. That’s fortunate. The first year introduced us to a fine protagonist in small-town cop Nina (Lina Kuustonen) who finds the body of a hooker in her snow-covered Lapland area near Finland’s Russian border. The victim’s corpse leads to discovery of a sex trafficking ring, further complicated by a lethal, sexually-transmitted virus that threatens to become a pandemic. Many elements of intrigue ebb and flow for 10 episodes, embracing a number of issues that seem more relevant post-Covid than when originally aired in 2018, including an all-too-analogous conflict between governmental and medical priorities.

The show’s execution, alas, is not as compelling as this recap reads. The entire plot, including all needed personal relationship arcs, could have made a taut, suspenseful binge, if trimmed to 6 or 7 installments. Despite Nina’s evoking all the empathy one hopes for, following her through all 10 felt like a slog on snowshoes. But since a number of the cast and story arcs carry over into the vastly superior second season, the time wound up being justified. It was helpful, though not essential, to being fully engaged in Nina’s newly-released Round Two. This season is shortened to six more tightly-scripted episodes for a much better viewing experience.

Again, the season covers one major crime. Nina has been promoted to a higher-level police unit, more befitting her previously-underutilized skills. This one starts with an old, high-profile murder that resurfaces in the public eye, leading to a much broader criminal enterprise. That premise puts more considerably more action and suspense than contained in the first. In both seasons, Nina’s complicated relationships with her mother, daughter and sister (plus a few others) deepen the viewers’ emotional connection to the proceedings.

Those who have already seen Season One, and found it similarly tedious, shouldn’t assume more of the same lies ahead. Your patience will be rewarded by a shorter, more satisfying journey with Officer Nina that bodes well for the possibility of her further adventures, if the Gods of Renewal smile upon her.

(Mostly Finnish, with subtitles. Original title Ivalo. Streaming on Topic as of 3/17/22)