Top Dog Season 2, a Swedish series on Walter Presents, begins with Teddy (Alexej Manvelov), the gangster trying to change his life, and Emily (Josefin Asplund), the high-powered lawyer, in bed. It seems like they are a couple, but it’s clear from their conversation that Emily is non-committal. Teddy is working with his old gang boss, Isak (Mahmut Suvakci), on a semi-legitimate shopping mall project. I say semi-legitimate because they have bribed officials to get the land out from under a competitor, Borg Minerals. At the end of last season, Emily left the high-profiled law firm Leijon after making partner because of their unethical behavior. She’s couch-surfing and looking for a job, but she’s known as poison. When she finds out that Borg Minerals had their land permit mysteriously canceled, she volunteers to look into it. Little does she know it’s Teddy’s company that arranged the cancellation. Naturally this puts the lovers on a collision course, because Emily is so desperate for work that she agrees to help Borg bring down Teddy’s company. Meanwhile, Teddy’s old life is still a millstone around his neck. Young gang members are menacing the community, including the school his daughter attends. Isak begs him to let it go, but Teddy never lets anything go.
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Emily and Teddy
Boy, Emily is a tough nut. When Teddy finds out she’s working for Borg, he accuses her of using him. “It’s just business,” she says. “I need this job.” Ouch. Teddy is desperate for Isak not to find out it’s Emily that is exposing their corruption, because he knows Isak will kill her. Also, Emily is representing Niko (Gustav Lindh), Teddy’s beloved nephew, in a murder case where he is a witness. So, Teddy is still attached to Emily despite her treachery. For her part, Emily can’t control her killer instinct. She is a tough lawyer who achieves her bosses’ objectives, but at the cost of losing friends. The other problem she keeps running into is that the men she’s fighting for always let her down with their unethical behavior. Well, what does she expect?? Meanwhile, she tries going on dates with “normal” guys, but she still loves Teddy.
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Our Take on Top Dog Season 2
Top Dog season 2 is heavy. And humorless. Yet, we’ve come to love Teddy, who is trying desperately to be a good man, but always seems to draw trouble to him. He’s certainly not blameless. What saves Emily from being completely unlikable is her relationship with Teddy, who is the only person she can be vulnerable with. The sub-plot with the young gang members leads to expected tragedy, and a stunning betrayal further hardens Teddy’s heart, which is sad to watch. I enjoyed Top Dog season 2, however, and if you liked season 1, you’ll want to see season 2. On a side note, you may remember that Top Dog is based on characters created by Jens Lapidus in a series of novels. I looked up the books, and the plots are completely different than the show. Might be worth a read. You can buy them here.
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