“The Bridge” Season 4 – TV series review

“The Bridge: Season 4” is likely the final chapter in this crime drama from Sweden and Denmark. As before, it’s based on a complex crime scenario at their border affecting both countries, providing another round with a new menace for Saga (Sofia Helin) and Henrik (Thure Lindhardt) to confront. That’s hard to get off the ground, since Saga has been in jail for the eight months since Season 3’s events for allegedly killing her allegedly psycho mother. Since her release occurs in the first episode, it’s no spoiler to inform you that she’s cleared and returned to duty, albeit with some difficulties. Even knowing that, the method of getting there is intriguing enough for a good watch.

For the usual eight episodes, the cop combo and their bi-national team deal with what appears to be a serial killer. That’s in doubt because the manner of dispatching each victim differs (most of them have more of a signature style, at least in the realm of fiction), and there’s no discernible pattern of how they’re targeted. As the season progresses, multiple suspects ebb and flow, along with numerous theories about the killer’s or killers’ motivation. The murders are dramatically staged, but mostly occur off-screen, with the gory details shown rather discreetly to keep the faint of heart from turning away.

Along with the main crime plot, the season delves deeper into the natures, backstories and personal lives of several principals than was the case in the first three seasons. That makes the overall tone even more somber than before. Perhaps that’s due to the influence of the few new writers added to the prior staff. I recommend holding off on this season until you’ve seen the others, due to the considerable carryover in all the character-arc subplots. Bingeing is also preferable because of the large number of players and issues swirling around before anyone figures out which of them are relevant to this killing spree. There are also several surprising developments affecting many of the principals. Here’s the link to my review covering seasons 1-3 to refresh your memory, or provide some insight on what to expect:

Since Season 4 aired in 2018, it seems likely to be the finale. Without details, I can advise there are no cliffhangers or loose ends detracting from a sense of closure. It was presumably written to end on that laudable note, expecting it to be the last hurrah for this celebrated, oft-imitated series. The characters and their audience deserve no less.

“The Bridge” Season 4, mostly in Danish and Swedish with English subtitles, is available streaming on MHzChoice starting Tuesday, Jan. 30.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars