“Arctic Circle” Season 3 – TV Series Review

When I covered the previous two seasons of the Finnish police procedural “Arctic Circle,” I was down on the first for stretching 6-7 episodes worth of a season-long crime story out to 10. I accordingly praised the second for trimming its single mystery to a tight 6 episodes. They’ve kept that in mind (assuredly not due to my opinion; they surely got the same feedback from more influential sources), again presenting a worthy tale with plenty of subplots in the same number of episodes.

Since that previous review was 22 months ago, below is a link my review of the first two for a memory refresher:

As Season 3 opens, we watch the jacking of a sleek experimental car with a handful of killings in the process. Cut to Nina (Iina Kuustonen), who is on the verge of promotion to police chief due to her boss’ imminent retirement. Shortly after this opening crime, and seemingly unrelated, a local pharmacist is found fatally shot in an apparent robbery of his cash and street-valued drugs. Nina senses a connection, but no one up the ladder agrees.

The stolen car belonged to a nearby cutting-edge car manufacturer, Pharada, with a huge test facility with plenty of armed security forces, and political clout to cover up their actions and obstruct any investigations. They can’t let anyone know their electric, self-driving game-changer is missing just before its scheduled roll-out, relying on their own personnel to track it down before a public embarrassment that would cause its stock value to plummet.

Pharada is also planning a major expansion of the premises that will create many jobs but requires approval by the town council. Of course, there’s controversy because of its environmental impact – especially affecting the reindeer that are important to the community. An imminent vote will decide that hot-button issue, generating machinations of all sorts.

Besides the main plot, Nina is having relationship problems, trying to dump her beau Toni (Mikko Mousiainen) because he wants kids and she doesn’t. That’s partly due to the demands of her job, but also influenced by fears that her teenage daughter’s Downs Syndrome will recur in any other progeny. A number of other character arcs and plot-lines are adroitly woven into the main thread, creating a slew of suspense elements. Bingeing is advisable.

Compared to the prior seasons, personal issues take up a higher percentage of the running time even as the action scenes are ramped up. Some of the supporting roles add considerably to the suspense elements and our emotional investments in their characters. Several are from the U.S., so more of the dialog is in English than before. That should appeal to subtitle-averse fans of imported crime dramas. And for those of us who crave closure, the season ends without cliffhangers, so viewers can feel satisfied if it’s not renewed, while leaving the door left ajar for a fourth season.

“Arctic Circle: Season 3,” mostly in Finnish with English subtitles, is available streaming starting Thursday, Jan. 11, on Topic.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars