Deadwind Season 3: Non-Spoiler Review

Reading Time: 4 minutes
Poster of Deadwind (season 3) showing Karppi left and Nurmi right

🇫🇮 DEADWIND SEASON 3 🇫🇮

Deadwind (aka Karppi) Season 3 is a Finnish crime drama on Netflix. 8 episodes of 42-49 minutes in length. Rated 15 UK. In Finnish with English subtitles.

Premise Season 3:

“In series three, Sofia Karppi (Pihla Viitala) and Sakari Nurmi (Lauri Tilkanen) once again work together in chasing a brutal murderer, whose victims are adorned with strange symbols. The case forces them both to face parts of their pasts they can no longer escape.” The Killing Times

Cast:

As in previous seasons, the two lead characters of Sofia Karppi and Sakari Nurmi are played by Pihla Viitala and Lauri Tilkanen. Mimosa Willamo reprises her role as Henna Honkasuo as do Ville Myllyrinne as JP and Vera Piiskinen as Peltola.

Crew:

Creators: Rike Jokela, Kirsi Porkka, Jari Olavi Rantala
Writers: Rike Jokela, Kirsi Porkka, Jari Olavi Rantala, Harri Virtanen
Director: Rike Jokela
Composer: Juri Seppä
Editors: Jussi Lehto, Pekka Lehtikangas
Costume Designer: Marjo Federley
Makeup Designer: Marjo Federley
Stunt Coordinator: Oula Kitti
Special Effects Coordinator: Konsta Mannerheimo
Visual Effects Supervisor: Pasi Jakkula

Notes:

In seasons 1 and 2 Nurmi drives an 8-series BMW coupe but in season 3 he has a new car, a Porsche Taycan 4S electric sedan.

Review:

It’s been a long wait for season 3 of Deadwind to appear on Netflix (a year since it aired in Finland). As a fan of the first two seasons, I was very keen to see what this, the final season, would bring.

One of the big attractions of Deadwind since the very first season is the dynamic and chemistry between Karppi and Nurmi and season 3 certainly didn’t disappoint. The good, the bad and the (sometimes) ugly relationship between these two characters were well-explored again this season. The female and male lead always have great onscreen chemistry.

Karppi is still a bit of a mess (her external appearance always mirrors her internal struggles) and Nurmi is not a beacon of shining light either. Gosh they can be a really grumpy pair can’t they (even for Finns!) As an aside, I loved Nurmi’s car this season and could listen to that sound it makes all day! I did think that it would have had a tracker though… if it was mine.

Minor characters too get their moments of glory in season 3 and I particularly enjoyed the lighter-hearted asides from JP. The inclusion of comedic asides, such as the tattoo joke, worked well to balance what is, overall, a dark, disturbing storyline.

Although Henne’s story this season was occasionally a bit of a stretch at points I didn’t find it irrelevant and had we had nothing much regarding her everyone would have wondered what had happened to her. She certainly isn’t going to come out of prison the same person as when she went in. It also showed how hard it is for ex-jailbirds to get a job and how easy it is for those in power to abuse that.

Likewise, I found (as a town kid who used to love going to my grandfather’s farm on holidays) that Erik and his grandfather’s connection was realistic, especially given the role of social services in child welfare (not just in Finland).

There are a lot of red herrings in this story, and a few plot holes but, honestly they didn’t hinder the story as it unfolded. I was screaming at the screen saying “Put on your vests!” at times. Using Nurmi as a device to express the scepticism some viewers might have for the story was very clever, I thought. I did find the Nurmi phone “thing” a bit unlikely.

I loved that the story arced back to the very start so that by the end everything made sense. At this point, I would say that Jussi was just a terrible, terrible person!

The colours, lighting, direction and cinematography were great this season. I love the way that this series looks on screen. The music worked very well to help build atmosphere and tension but the way the camera was used and the scenes were lit did a lot of this already. Drone shots were so effective too. If I had to pick out favourites for these aspects it would be the nightclub scenes with the neon lighting and sound design and that marvellously atmospheric convent. Great scouting for all the locations from the abandoned factory to the harbourside.

I love the music and visuals of the opening credits of this show!

How hard is it for two people to have a kiss in peace in this show? I do love it when a kiss is interrupted on screen because we anticipate so much and then…

I thought the action scenes in season 3 were very good. Again, they often used lighting and location to good effect and the special effects were excellent.

All in all, I very much enjoyed season 3. Yes, there are parts where you have to suspend disbelief a bit but it made up for that with the characters, especially but not solely Karppi and Nurmi, and some genuinely exciting and tense sections.

Awards (previous seasons): 1 Win, 2 Nominations

Win:
Kultainen Venla (2019) Best Actress ~ Pihla Viitala

Nominations:
Kultainen Venla (2019) Writer of the Year ~ Rike Jokela, Kirsi Porkka, Jari Olavi Rantala
Drama Program

Trailer Season 3:

More Finnish TV Shows:

https://reel2reeltalk.com/category/tv/finnish-tv-shows/

For those who are fans of Nordic/Scandi TV shows and films there is a great affiliated Facebook Page:

https://m.facebook.com/manvelovTheofficialfanpage/

This online publication also has its own Facebook Page with a wide variety of content: 

https://m.facebook.com/reel2reeltalk/

Also on Facebook is the group More Than Only Walter Presents which has its focus firmly on non-English language TV shows, films, dramas and documentaries: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/218639287110920/

More TV Reviews: 

https://reel2reeltalk.com/category/tv/

More Non-Spoiler Reviews: 

https://reel2reeltalk.com/category/non-spoiler-reviews/

More Spoiler Reviews: 

https://reel2reeltalk.com/category/spoiler-reviews/

More Film Reviews: 

https://reel2reeltalk.com/category/film/

1 Comment

  1. I hope there is a 4th series. It’s a very good drama and I’ve been waiting for Karpi and Nurmi to get together.

Thanks for reading this article, please feel free to comment