The Bridge Season 4 finale
BBC iplayer
After four series, the iconic Scandi crime drama The Bridge came to an end last Friday with its last ever episode. Unless the producers decide to revive it in a few years’ time, which, let’s face it, is a distinct possibility because – spoiler alert – they didn’t kill off all the main characters in a tragic conflagration. Of course, there’s really only one person we really care about in this show, and that’s detective Saga Noren (Sofia Helin); or, at a push, two people – if you include Henrik (Thure Lindhardt), her lover, professional partner, and father of her unborn child. But, since she sometimes isn’t quite sure how much she’s bothered about him, I think it’s OK for us to feel the same way, though he is basically a very lovely fellow who has endured the trauma of having his two young daughters kidnapped and his wife murdered. Actually, the ebbing and flowing nature of the relationship between Saga and Henrik has been one of the major triumphs of this final season, as much as the central mystery of the vengeful serial killings. The trouble Saga has grappling with her emotions and her often wildly inappropriate honesty have always been what makes her such an endlessly beguiling character – more so than ever this series. The finale itself pulled a cunning trick on the viewer, seemingly tying up all the loose ends at the halfway point of the episode. The killer was revealed, and Saga had solved the crime that had devastated Henrik’s life. Yet there was more. So much more. Best of all, we were given a perfect goodbye to Saga herself, back on that bridge where it all began. This was one of the great TV drama finales.