Thicker Than Water - Season 1

This Swedish family drama (filmed in Finland) kicks off to a very slow start… just when you’re about to give up the saga gets going big time and turns into an almost addictive watch!

Set almost entirely on the idyllic island of Sunnanö in the Swedish archipelago, we are introduced to the Waldemar clan. Mother Anna-Lisa, who runs a B&B together with her son Oskar (Joel Spira) and daughter-in-law Liv (Jessica Grabowsky), sends a postcard to her daughter Jonna (Aliette Opheim) and son Lasse (Björn Bengtsson) and summons them to come to the island. Both Jonna, an ambitious actress, and Lasse, who runs his own restaurant in the capital (albeit with mounting debts) are estranged from mother and haven’t been to the island for a long time. During the family reunion, mother keeps the siblings in the dark as to why she wishes to see them reunited, merely giving each of them a slice of advice which is up to them to interpret. A short while later, she takes her own life and the three siblings learn that their mother suffered from terminal cancer, something she managed to hide for quite some time.

The siblings expect to inherit the B&B and divide the inheritance into three equal parts, but here is where the troubles begin when the will is read: Mother Anna-Lisa is only willing to hand over the B&B to her children if they agree to stay on the island for the entire summer season, which ends in September. No problem for Oscar, who already lives there with wife Liv and teenage daughter Cecilia (Saga Sarkola), but bad news for Jonna who is romantically involved with playwright/director Manne (Torkel Petersson) and has just been offered a major film part abroad. Hell, it’s even worse for Lasse who has his own share of nightmares to deal with… as a divorced dad he’s responsible for his beloved teenage daughter Kim (Molly Nutley) and tries to get on top of this financial dilemmas but instead gets beaten up. A family solicitor handles the affair of the bizarre inheritance conditions and pays sporadic visits to ‘Waldemars B&B’ to make sure the siblings honour their mum’s last will and stay on the tiny island…

This being Season 1 (with ten episodes running almost one hour each), we know that a lot more needs to happen to fill out the plot. Indeed, it gets ever more complex and a lot more does happen: Lasse, who never got on well with brother Oscar, used to be romantically involved with Liv – now married to Oscar – and soon old feelings begin to blossom… Meanwhile Jonna decides to join a local amateur theatre group and by default gets ‘a little involved’ with fellow amateur thespian Mikael Rosén (Tobias Zilliacus) who, unbeknownst to her, is part of the Rosen family who have been at loggerheads with the Waldemars for generations! When Jonna tells him about her plans to extend the guest house he suggests a partnership, something that infuriates Oscar… In fact, when Jonna’s boyfriend Manne unexpectedly visits her on the island he too is less than pleased about her acquaintance with Mikael! Then there is stubborn old Mildred Pahkinen (Johanna Ringborn) who hates the entire Waldemar clan as she holds them responsible for the unexplained death of her husband Gunnar many years ago. Both Gunnar and Anna-Lisa’s husband went out boating one day but Gunnar never returned… Too bad that Mildred’s son Fredrik (Conrad Stenberg) begins a romance with young Kim Waldemar! We then learn that Anna-Lise’s husband was an alcoholic bully who regularly beat up little Oscar, Lasse and even Jonna… until one day, Oscar decided that enough is enough! Is he too blame for the sudden disappearance of their dad many years ago? You bet, but the way in which the dark family secret finally comes to light is so macabre its almost comical! Suddenly there are two ancient corpses to deal with, but is it Gunnar or Dad?
As for Lasse, he’s going to be in serious trouble if he doesn’t pay off the debts for his own restaurant soon, but how can he pay when his looming inheritance is still some months away? Easy, get old mate Timo to commit arson and burn down the restaurant! That way, the insurance will cough up the spondulix. However, insurance investigators and police weren’t born yesterday and soon it becomes crystal clear that foul play was involved… and the fingers point to cash-strapped owner Lasse who is forced to agree to a blackmail deal if Timo is to keep his mouth shut during the hearing…

There are more twists and turns than a double helping of Swedish meatballs in this engaging drama, though it must be said that too many scenic shots of breath-taking fjords and misty forests slow down the pace considerably. Still, we all are curious to find out what Season 2 of Thicker Than Water might hold in store… so stay tuned!