Wisting, the Norwegian series on Sundance Now (or AMC+) is based on the novels by Jørn Lier Horst (affiliate link). In season 3, a resident of Larvik makes a gruesome discovery: the severed head of a teenage girl on a pike in the main square. It seems that the girl is an immigrant, possibly a refugee, as there are no missing person reports. Almost immediately, the FBI reaches out, sending Special Agent Maggie Griffin (Carrie-Ann Moss) to investigate. Chief inspector William Wisting (Sven Nordin) and his partner Nils (Mads Ousdal), together with Maggie and Wisting’s daughter Line (Thea Green Lundberg), uncover a cruel network that takes advantage of unaccompanied minor refugees in several countries.
“Who does this?”
While Wisting and team are still reeling from the discovery, Line heads to the local refugee asylum which is run by an estranged friend of the family, Suzanne Bjerke (Ingeborg Raustøl). Sure enough, the victim was one of theirs, who had snuck out to meet “The Night Man”. Nobody reported her missing because the other kids were covering for her, figuring she was meeting a boyfriend. Meanwhile, Maggie shows up with files of other heads on pikes in different countries. Wisting suspects she knows more than she is letting on. Maggie and Wisting work the clues, while Line works on the teen refugees. She finally gets one to talk, which opens up the case.
Personal Drama
At the end of season 2, Line was living with her boyfriend, the long-suffering Tommy (Mads Sjøgård Pettersen), in Oslo. As Wisting season 3 opens, she and Tommy are moving to Larvik so they can settle down and start a family. It’s clear that Line is ambivalent about this. Maggie and Wisting have some chemistry, but each time they get close to connecting, either a case development or a disagreement about the case get in the way. Will they or won’t they? Nils hopes they won’t. For his part, Nils is trying to coax his girlfriend, who is hoping to get custody of her daughter back, to follow the proper channels. For both Line and Wisting, reconnecting with Susanne is opening old wounds and causing tension between them.
Our take on Wisting Season 3
As I mentioned in our season 2 review the adaptations of the books are have gotten much better since a shaky season 1. This case is really interesting and a sad examination of how opportunistic scumbags prey on the most vulnerable. If you’ve read my other reviews, you know I’m not a fan of Line, but this time she makes some legitimately helpful contributions. Hopefully after the events of this season, she will be less of a pill. My only beef is that the Suzanne storyline wraps too neatly into the case. Other than that, I believe Wisting season 3 is a compelling contribution to the series.
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