It's pretty obvious from the outset that Philip is hiding something about his past and, boy, do they milk it! I also thought it a great shame that Louise wasn't given more to do. Sadly, her character was rather sidelined and her main purpose seemed to be throwing concerned looks in Philip's direction on a regular basis. As Louise was clearly the smartest person in the room, it is depressing that she was marginalised into the role of female love interest - how uninspired.And, of course, the female reporter was so dim that she jumped into bed with one of the 'relatives' who was quite clearly working for the hostage takers as their fourth man on the outside.Finally, it is revealed how Mark (Alpha) and Philip are connected. However, unless I missed something, it remains unclear how Bravo and Charlie fit into the picture. Who are they? How and why were they recruited by Alpha? What did they hope to get out of taking hostages when the ransom was purely intended to get Jim released? They certainly did not seem to be the altruistic types! At least we found out Sammy's role at the end.On the plus side, I thought the detective duo of SP and Simon had great potential and I also thought Jakob Oftebro did a great job as Mark (Alpha). The actors portraying the hostages were also believable, even if some had rather cliché back stories.The Bridge and The Killing have set the bar extremely high. Below the Surface is not in their league, but it is not terrible either.

This Danish thriller opens with three terrorists seizing a train on the Copenhagen underground; once stopped they remove fifteen passengers and take them to a new station that is under construction. They later demand a ransom. The police are mobilised but the task of saving the hostages won't be easy; the tunnels approaching station have been booby-trapped and the hostage takers appear to be military trained and well-armed. The police are led by Philip Nørgaard, a former soldier with an understanding of hostage situations... he was held hostage after being captured in Afghanistan. Something the lead terrorist says leads Philip to suggest the he is the man who held him even though authorities insist he was killed. With the state refusing to pay the hostages make contact with journalist Naja Toft, who starts a fun raising effort. Over the next eight days tensions rise and tragedies occur before the terrorists are finally identified and the final confrontation takes place.Things start well with the taking of the hostages then continue impressively as we get to know the hostages and police. All we know about the hostage takers is that they speak accented English and have proper military training. Things do get a bit melodramatic towards the end as we learn who the terrorists are and why they are doing it but by then the pace has picked up so it isn't too hard to overlook this. The underground location creates a good claustrophobic atmosphere and provides a good excuse to keep the drama going for eight days. The hostages are a good cross section of society with some interesting characters among them. The cast does an impressive job making the story believable; most obviously Johannes Lassen, who plays Philip Nørgaard. Overall I'd say that while this might not be the best Nordic import it is still well worth watching.These comments are based on watching the episode in Danish with English subtitles.

First up, I've watched the entire series, so I'm not reviewing something I've only half-seen. This is a great slow burn Scandi-drama that ratchets up the tension, occasionally explodes, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The plot centres around the intriguing premise of police facing a seemingly impossible-to-solve hostage situation. Good character development throughout, even for minor characters, that explore motivations and the frailties of the human condition. The cinematography is more akin to a big budget blockbuster than a TV series, looks really great. In some ways, this series reminds me of Spooks during the latter part of the Adam Carter era. Binge-watched in two sittings. Great stuff.

CONTAINS SPOILERS!Too long, mostly full of unnecessary and sometimes even horribly jarring and badly acted back stories of several characters that start to annoy very quickly. Also, as the story progress, more and more stupidities of the script starts to annoy and eats the credibility, eventually making the watching of the story unfold painful. I could list major idiotic things but I value my time more.Last, the political message it gives, or rather pounds it in, I don't like it at all. That giving money to terrorist kidnappers is OK. Shame on the propaganda.Rather poor series, too long and weak script. 3 stars.