Streaming series review - Piece of My Heart

Piece of My Heart (Pala sydamesta) *** (out of 5) (NR) The title reads like it belongs on a romantic tear-jerker. Regular readers will know it’s not, simply because I’m the one doing this review. It’s an eight-episode Finnish miniseries dramatizing the work of child welfare workers in Helsinki. Rita (Lotta Lehtikari), the veteran of a two-woman team, is severely traumatized and disgraced from a recent high-profile failure. A young girl under her supervision disappeared under circumstances that raise questions of Rita’s misconduct. She’d always been something of a rogue in the department, but her handling of this family may have gone tragically over the line. She’s returning to duty, but replaced as head of the unit.

Enter Laura (Niina Koponen) as her partner. She’s a young mother, new to the agency, and soon overwhelmed by the severity and urgency of their clients’ needs. In the early episodes, we meet a swirl of children and teens with a full spectrum of personal and familial issues. We watch the women do their best to respond, despite limited resources, lack of essential police support, Rita’s actions being overly scrutinized by a new boss in the wake of that recent episode, and overriding political pressures arising from the push for funding of a large new facility and expanded agency for housing and healing troubled minors.

The series covers a lot of emotional and cultural ground in just over six suspenseful hours. The individuals’ arcs overlap, with those we meet early on continuing for much of the season. Besides the array of troubled families, they explore the toll this work takes on case workers and their families, including factors in their past that pointed them towards such a demanding and draining career choice. The latter is highlighted by a barrage of flashbacks and nagging dreams - especially Rita’s. The mystery of what happened to that girl before the series starts weaves through the entire series, impacting much of their handling of current cases.

The series is ideal for a binge, since several cases progress within each episode, alternating among the victims, their families, the workers and high-level machinations concerning approval and control over the Big Project. The toll the job takes on the social workers and their own families is also presented compellingly, without descending into soap opera.

The first three episodes begin streaming on Topic on 2/17, with the rest issued weekly thereafter. Those who start immediately should not be put off by the slow pace and possibly confusing mix of flashbacks and nightmares in the early going. All the elements come together over time, and progress in a relatively realistic, emotionally engaging manner towards a believable, lifelike set of outcomes. The problems their young clients face may be hard for some to watch, but the presentation seems about as honest as such dramas can get. Unlike most domestic analogs, these protagonists are relatable humans, flaws and all, trying their best without martial arts skills or other extraordinary resources. Viewers are not spoon-fed tidy Hollywood endings for all parties, but should be satisfied when the dust settles.

(In Finnish with subtitles. Episodes 1-3 begin streaming on Topic 2/17; 4-8 following weekly)