Critic Reviews

Young Wallander ticks off its lead’s familiar attributes in checklist fashion, rarely pausing to offer more developed hints at psychological cause and correlation.

There is enough going on in Young Wallander, especially the immigration storyline, that will keep viewers watching. But we just wish Wallander himself was a more interesting character.

After two hours, there’s not much here to engage, and not much reason to plow ahead. For some diehard viewers, of which I am one, it is difficult to produce a Swedish detective show that doesn’t appeal on some level, and Young Wallander isn’t so mediocre that it can be tossed completely aside. But with an underwhelming leading man, a muddled identity, and a cliched story, it’s ultimately insubstantial.

The script treats the viewers like idiots, signposting every plot point and rolling out exposition in inert question-and-answer scenes. Someone literally says “the plot thickens” at one point. They’re not being ironic. Even the incidental dialogue, of which there is copious amounts, is stiff as a board.