The long wait is over! It’s time to review the new season of Young Wallander 2022 series on Netflix and see just how good it is. I think we’re going to have an epic run this year.
Young Wallander: Killer’s Shadow (2022) Review
Wallander has found adrift and uncertain of the future following his exit from the police force when an opportunity to rejoin the Major Crimes unit arises with a new Superintendent taking on the leadership.
Wallander accepts the offer and is tasked with what seems to be a straightforward case a hit and run outside a nightclub.
All right, so I only kind of liked the first season of this origin story. I love both the original Swedish series as well as the remake with Kenneth Brown, and I like the potential that this series has to dive into Wall under his past so that it can show how he became the grizzled and downtrodden guy that we meet later in life.
This mystery starts out with a gruesome sequence and then the investigation begins and I like that this season picks up pretty much where the last left off. I mean, at least as far as the mental states and the emotions of several of the characters are concerned.
Something I had trouble with in the first season is present here again. I found it hard to really connect with Wallander. I do know that he is meant to be kind of at arm’s length and not all soft and cuddly, but there’s a detachment that I feel when I look at the character.
I think some of it might be because despite this being a Swedish show taking place in Sweden with Swedish actors, the production is done in English.
There are times when it looks like the characters are struggling just a bit with getting their words out or that acting in English really just takes away from the ability to emote more effectively.
The characters just come across a bit more stiff and lackluster. Except for Yasen Atour, who plays Reza, he emotes really well and I found it easiest to connect with him.
I enjoyed Kurt and Reza’s relationship in this. I mean, they’re like brothers, but they can still tussle and get ticked off with each other.
I just wish that we would have had more emotion coming from Adam Pålsson’s character. Their interactions were rife with passion and the responses are unbalanced between the two.
I do expect Wallander to be just a little less emotive because in the later years we see him semi-detached, but this younger Kurt is a little more stoic than I really would expect in many of his relationships.
As far as some of the side characters are concerned, I wanted more from their relationships, past are hinted at and then lightly addressed, but for the weighty looks and then the seeming drama that surrounds a few of them, I really did expect to have more depth there, which then works to add so much complication to the storylines.
And when there’s good complexity it can enhance the overall narrative, making it more engaging and causing the characters to be utterly intriguing.
And that also means that when there is a conflict between characters, their motivations make more sense and then create more story tension.
And that just wasn’t the case here. The background characters, while having a big influence over the story, remained in the back, which I think is unfortunate for this storytelling.
And from the mystery aspect, this was just okay. The moment one of the characters was introduced, I knew they were involved and then I spent the rest of the show just hoping that I was wrong and how I was wrong about who they were in relation to other characters, but still, their involvement, I thought was just broadcast too easily because of some camera movements.
It’s also only a semi interesting case. The manner in which the victim is killed is brutal and I did enjoy how it began to play out, but once we get to the end, the climax and the resolution feel sort of uneventful.
I mean in real life, sure, that makes a bunch of sense, but for a dramatic mystery show, I expected just a bit more punch to the outcome, especially since what is revealed could really have some large effects.
There are six episodes in this season and each of them is only about 40 minutes long. Now, this is more of a subdued mystery, even though there are portions that work to amp up my anxiety.
This happened when a chase was on and the danger just felt imminent. I can think of two specific times and they were intense. I was on the edge of my seat even yelling at a character at one point because the decisions were dumb and just could be costly.
Now the pace is patient, but even though the mystery itself was more subdued, the story still progressed along at a steady rate. It didn’t feel too long to me and it didn’t even feel too short for that matter.
The filmmaking of the series is wonderful to look at. It’s very European and I love how a lot of the shots are framed. The characters don’t always take up the entire frame, but sometimes they’re positioned so that they are only present in the lower corner of the screen with just the setting around them.
I think it looks beautiful and it is used sparingly enough that it feels fresh every time that it’s utilized. So overall, younger season two Killer Shadow is a half-decent mystery with mostly okay performances.
I want to like the series more, especially because I love the originals this is based on, but some of the stoic performances, the missed opportunities for development on some key background characters, And a storyline that is sort of intriguing, it’s hard to get excited about this.
The pacing is adequate and there are portions that can be very exciting, but even with beautiful cinematography. It can’t save this from just being a middle of the road mysterious drama series.
Now if they do a season three I’m going to be there hoping as I did with this one that we’ll get a meaty and intriguing case that then is supported by passion and conflict with our characters.
There’s no sex or nudity, a lot of profanity, and some very brutal violence.
I am going to give Young Wallander: Killer’s Shadow Season two 3/5.
Guys that was my review of Young Wallander Killer’s Shadow Season 2. See you next time.
Young Wallander: Killer’s Shadow Season 2 Trailer
Here is the trailer of the Netflix Series Young Wallander: Killer’s Shadow Season 2.
