The Bungled Case
Monday 19th October
Episode 4 of The Chestnut Man begins with our officers reeling from Jessie’s death. Le is staying at her grandmother’s for the time being, while Hess is obsessed with finding anything he may have missed. After missing the morning briefing, Thulin heads over to check on him. He’s hunched over his desk, meticulously poring over videos from Kristine’s case. And he’s found something. Next to Kristine’s missing schoolwork just so happens to be a chestnut man. This brings the focus back full-circle to Rosa Hartung and Steen, whom Hess and Thulin interview next. They don’t get very much from Rosa though, although given she’s the social minister, it now becomes clear that she’s the key to all of this. Back to the drawing board; the video Hess has very clearly shows Linus Bekker standing in the crowd. The time of this is set at 6.07pm, which gives him a solid alibi. It also throws into question Detective Jansen’s policing methods, given he’s the one who gained a confession from Linus. Hess heads into prison and decides to question Linus, asking him about what happened that day. Given he originally said he was driving around, Thulin and Hess show him the photo and his demeanor instantly changes. Linus chuckles, singing the chestnut man tune. According to him, he’s been “chosen” to help him. Hess has heard enough though and pounces at the man, demanding to know where Kristine is. In the wake of all this drama, Liv finds a tip regarding who the perpetrators could be. A woman called Benedikte suffered pretty badly from psychosis and in her house are a whole stack of newspaper clippings and letters pinned to the wall (including the word ‘whore’ highlighted.) This seems to hint that she’s the one responsible. Benedikte’s apartment is empty though, which would reinforce that she’s on the run with her boyfriend. And who is this man that’s by her side? Well, none other than Rosa’s driver, Jacob. When Rosa finds out, it’s too late. Gustav is driven out into the woods by Jacob, who skips away with the boy to parts unknown. When Steen catches up and finds the car, it’s completely abandoned.
Tuesday 20th October
Benedikte and Jacob are in a tough spot. They’re in a silver van with Gustav bundled in the back. Given Thulin’s determination to find them, and the sheer number of police hovering in the area, they’re running out of time. Jacob parks up but starts to get cold feet, questioning whether kidnapping Gustav was a good idea after all. Benedikte grabs a knife and tries to pry open the back of the van. Jacob stops her, calming the woman down until a car suddenly shows up. Meanwhile, Hess turns his attention to Rosa and her close associates. Specifically, he questions Federik given how close he is to Rosa. Just as he asks about the man’s whereabouts on October 6th, his phone rings which serves as a distraction to avoid any more difficult questions. Ganz has tracked down the van, which happens to be out in the woods. When Hess arrives, police are already there, with Benedikte and Jacob both pronounced dead. It seems like Benedikte killed Jacob and then slit her own throat, which would make sense given her history. Hess though is not convinced. In fact, given how quickly everything is wrapped up, he implores Jansen and the others to actually look deeper into this, believing there’s more than meets the eye. Hess is adamant they need to speak to Linus Bekker again, but Thulin shows up after investigating Benedikte’s apartment with big news. She’s found something in their freezer. As Hess looks through the files, he – and us – learn that this happens to hold the severed limbs for all the victims thus far. So were Jacob and Benedikte really the killers? Or has this all been planted?
The Episode Review
The Chestnut Man rolls round with another solid episode, one that adds a curve ball in the form of Benedikte and Jacob. Whether the guys are really the killers or not remains too be seen but it does look like it could be someone within the police force responsible. After all, Jessie’s murder and the way these women have been targeted seem to link back to someone with connections. Of course, this is just a theory at this point so we’ll have to wait and see. One thing’s for sure though, this Nordic crime drama has been a really compelling watch and the final two episodes look set to step it up a gear in a big way.
