Characters / The Bridge (2011)

The Police

Saga Norén

Saga Norén

I'm not bossy, I'm effective.

Played by: Sofia Helin
Voiced by: Nathalie Hugo (French), Antje von der Ahe (German), Rachele Paolelli (Italian), Yuko Kaida (Japanese)

“Saga Norén, Länskrim Malmö”

Our protagonist, a stoic policewoman with Asperger's syndrome with a dark but mysterious past. Her No Social Skills add up to some rather funny moments, but also some pretty interesting Character Development.

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• Abusive Parents: It is confirmed in season 3 that Saga's mother is an absolute sociopath who keeps on manipulating her even in adulthood. It is never disclosed how Saga's father was however, as we never hear anyone explicitly talk about him.
• Accidental Murder: In season 3 Saga nearly kills John's daughter during a shootout in the office. Luckily, she survives, and John assures Saga it isn't her fault.
• Action Girl: She has many moments throughout the four series, but she really proves her mettle in the second series when two incredibly creepy, mask-wearing men force their way into her hotel room fully armed, and she overpowers them in seconds.
• Aerith and Bob: "Saga" is an archaic, classically Nordic name, whereas her sister is named "Jennifer", an English (Cornish) name that seems a little mismatched. Downplayed to the Swedish perspective — Jennifer is a perfectly common name in Sweden and has been so for quite some time, while Saga just sounds a bit old-fashioned.
• Big Damn Heroes: Has a moment in the final episode of the series when the accomplice killer, Brian/Kevin, is preparing on killing Astrid, and Saga comes from behind and shoots Kevin in the face.
• Brutal Honesty: She is extremely blunt to the point of tactlessness.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Has some silly moments, but otherwise a very, very skilled cop.
• By-the-Book Cop: Saga might just be the epitome of this trope, as she cares more about being law-abiding than the people around her. Interestingly enough, this is played for drama. Saga doesn't understand why people keep telling her that sometimes she shouldn't be this, and make exceptions when people she care for commit crimes. This leads to a very dramatic situation in season 2 when Martin discretely kills Jens and leaves no proof, but Saga accidentally finds proof of the murder, and ultimately takes him in to get arrested.
• Cannot Tell a Lie: She truly couldn't if her life depended on it, which is frequently Played for Drama as nearly every climax requires her to tell one.
• Catchphrase: As seen above, her greeting to everyone she meets, "Saga Norén, Länskrim, Malmö".
• Cool Car: She loves her beautiful green Porsche very much.
• Child Hater: 'Hater' is strong, but her aversion to children and reluctance to be around them is the reason why she has an abortion after realising she and Henrik will not be together if she does, she avoids the sisters when they stays with Henrik in Season 4, and she appears genuinely surprised that anyone thinks a child's life is more valuable than an adult's in Season 1.
• Defective Detective: Saga is constantly isolated from people because her Asperger's syndrome makes her act rude and cold, but she doesn't get it, she thinks she's just being normal.
• Despair Event Horizon: In season 3 Saga's abusive mother, Marie-Louise comes back and is out for revenge for imprisoning her for her abuse against Jennifer, and to do this Marie convinces Linn, Saga's boss that Saga is too unstable for the job and has threatened to kill her multiple times, and eventually commits suicide, posing it as if Saga did it and putting her in prison. This makes Saga suicidal, and nearly commits suicide at the same train station her sister did.
• Doom Magnet: At the beginning of the fourth season, the tactless Jonas tells her that she's got this reputation in Denmark, after Martin ended up being imprisoned for murder, Hanne got her leg blown off by a bomb, and Henrik got disciplined over his drug abuse.
• Do You Want to Copulate?: Her hook-up line. It often works surprisingly well.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Saga has finally realized that her obsession with being a By-the-Book Cop have been limiting her during the entirety of her adult life, and is now going to branch out to other careers, throwing her badge into the water and now on a search for a new, better career. It is also implied that she and Henrik will have a lasting romantic relationship despite her mental oddities.
• Everyone Has Standards: She seems legitimetely saddened over Anja's death in the first season and says to her that she won't die, as she's dying, just to make sure she won't realize that she is dying.
• Fallen Hero: Downplayed in season 4, where Saga hasn't done anything remotely malicious, but she's become a weak-willed and shy prison inmate.
• Friendless Background: Tells Martin that he was her only friend, and maintains this throughout the series. When she finally comes to accept that she and Hans are close friends, he dies.
• Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Saga aborts she and Henrik's child, but somewhat played with as Henrik believes this unforgivable, because she already told him he could have the baby.
• Hell-Bent for Leather: What she pretty much always wears.
• How Dare You Die on Me!: This is her reaction when Hans goes into a coma and later dies, as she desperately needs his help and misses him as she is being persecuted by her abusive mother.
• I Can Still Fight!: In season 1 this happens when Sebastian kidnaps August and shoots Saga in the arm, but she still feels like she can fight.
• Iconic Outfit: Leather trousers and her military coat, which she wears constantly.
• If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: Realises this about Jens' plan at the end of Season 1, which leads to her shooting him to prevent Martin from doing the same. Unfortunately, Martin still gives in and kills him, just later.
• I Let Gwen Stacy Die: About her sister, Jennifer, whose suicide Saga couldn't predict.
• Innocently Insensitive: She usually comes across as rude and harsh without actually intending offence, thanks to her bluntness and general lack of social skills. This is especially apparent when she's dealing with people who have recently lost loved ones.
• Insistent Terminology: She always introduces herself as "Saga Norén, Länskrim Malmö", even in casual conversations. And if someone else introduces her by just her name, she'll add the job description herself.
  Henrik: Hello, I'm Henrik Sabroe, København Politi ... And this is my colleague, Saga Norén.
  Saga: [irritated look] Länskrim Malmö.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Her opinions aren't necessarily wrong, even if her ways of expressing them are usually pretty rude and insensitive.
  • She has a point when she appears genuinely confused as to why Martin etc. are more upset about the Truth Terrorist's abduction of children. Martin's insistence that Children Are Innocent doesn't wash with her - as she points out, correctly, that many of the adult victims they see didn't do anything wrong.
  • Saga definitely has a point when she criticizes Kerstin Ekwall for her plan of introducing mandatory library fees. It's just that she really picked the wrong time and place to make her criticism - she was talking to Ekwall's grieving widower at the time.
  • The way she keeps ragging on the Danish police for having failed to solve the case of the missing prostitute Monique in front of Martin, who himself belongs to the Danish police, is tactless to say the least, but she is right in that the way they handled the case was, in fact, a colossal failure.
• Jerkass Woobie: To the point of being invoked in-universe. Saga suffers a lot: she fails to protect August when she's the only person guarding him in Season 1, at the end of Season 2, loses Martin, the only friend she ever had, after he kills the Big Bad of Season 1; and then her new partner gets maimed in front of her after walking into a booby trap. However, Saga's problems mean that she struggles to communicate how any of this has affected her and so she gets frequently accused of being a pure Jerkass.
• Knight in Sour Armour: Fierce, unstoppable, physical strong, badass, but also extremely blunt and, most of the time, totally unsympathetic and impassive to the plight of others.
• Love Makes You Crazy: Crazy is too strong, but again, the only time she breaks her promise is when she has an abortion after previously telling Henrik she wouldn't. It's all because she can't stand to lose him.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: With Henrik. She struggles with his need to talk about his feelings, while she rarely explains how she feels. She also mentions that he's a much better cook than her, and he's much better with children.
• Nerves of Steel: Saga generally, but of particular note has to be when she skillfully fends off two armed men that attack her in her hotel room during the events of Series 2.
• No Place for Me There: Why she has an abortion. She knows that she and Henrik will not be together anymore if he has their baby.
• No Social Skills: Saga can be bluntly insensitive, doesn't "get" humour, and is frankly upfront about sex — all of which is implied to be due to her having some form of autism, though the creators downplayed this after receiving some (mild) criticism for her portrayal.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: She's a By-the-Book Cop to the core, so in those rare cases when she does break the law, you can be certain that there is a very serious reason for it.
• Rude Hero, Nice Sidekick: The "rude hero" (very rude) to Martin and later Henrik, though it's much more pronounced with Martin.
• The Spock: Reconstructed. Saga is very logical and so always thinks before she acts — but this actually makes her more disliked, suspected, and lonely, because her tendency to default to logic makes her come across as cold and aloof, and even merciless at times.
• To Be Lawful or Good: Saga, for all her usual insistence on following the rules, does occasionally choose "good" over "lawful", such as in Season 2, when she breaks into Martin's house to get evidence that the nanny Mette hired has Munchausen syndrome by proxy and make sure that the kids would be safe from her, or in the penultimate episode of the whole show, when she and her pathologist friend steal Hans's head from the mortuary and return it to his grave.
• You Killed My Father: A variant with the Season 3 killer, after Hans' death. Although not Saga's actual father, Hans has become a Parental Substitute to her.

Martin Rohde

Martin Rohde

Played by: Kim Bodnia
Voiced by: Frank Röth (German), Pasquale Anselmo (Italian), Naomi Kusumi (Japanese)

The secondary protagonist of the first two seasons, a family man who is less lawful and more impulsive than Saga, and therefore the more charismatic and normal of the two.

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• Action Dad: He's a father of seven and a pretty decent fighter, this proves important at the end of season 1 when Jens is targetting his oldest son August as his final victim, and Martin is willing to protect him at all costs.
• Broken Ace: After Season 1, he has shades of this due to the trauma from his failure to save August. But he fully crosses it after killing Jens at the end of Season 2.
• Children Are Innocent: A believer in this, as he tells the (unconvinced) Saga.
• Cowboy Cop: A very downplayed example at first, as Martin is a pretty good officer, and pretty much anyone would be considered this when compared to Saga. As the series progresses, however, his actions become more extreme.
• Deadpan Snarker: A lot of his jokes show shades of this, which often becomes hilarious as Saga really doesn't understand them and why they're funny.
• Defective Detective: He initially comes across as much less defective than Saga because his social skills are better, but over the course of the series it becomes clear that he has quite a few issues himself. In particular, he seems to be completely incapable of being faithful in relationships, to the point where he ended up becoming an Unwitting Instigator of Doom as a result.
• Deuteragonist: Of the first two seasons before Kim Bodnia decided to step out because he was unsatisfied with how the character was being written.
• Fallen Hero: In season 1 he's arrested for a year after he injures and potentially kills an innocent woman on Jens' orders, but in season 2 he goes even further when he kills Jens after Mette breaks up with him, seeing Jens as the instigator of his recent problems, getting him sent to prison for 10 years.
• The Heart: To Saga, especially as he has to do most of the emotional lifting.
• If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: The issue that Martin faces at the end of Season 1. But he eventually gives in and does it anyway, just in Season 2.
• The McCoy: In clear contrast to Saga, Martin is emotional, hot-headed, and impulsive.
• Only Friend: To Saga. Made even more tragic when she refuses to see him after he goes to prison.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Invoked in-universe. Jens believes he's handing this out when he kills Martin's eldest son, August to punish Martin for the death of his own son. However, Martin wasn't directly responsible for his son's death at all, making it highly lampshaded and criticised.
• Noble Male, Roguish Male: Although they don't overlap in person, Martin is the "roguish male" to Henrik's "noble".
• Papa Wolf: Played with. He is somewhat neglectful of his many children, but all this changes after August's murder, which fully transforms him into one.
• Put on a Bus to Hell: Is written out by going to prison for killing Jens.
• Really Gets Around: His wife Mette isn't the only person he has had sex with during their marriage, to say the least, not to mention that they have seven children together. This is especially impressive when you realize that he's just got a vasectomy, and is still going.
  • I feel like it's worth mentioning that Mette isn't mother to all of his children, he has 7 kids by 3 different women, which just furthers the point.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Although it largely depends on the episode, Martin is for the most part the red to Saga's blue.
• Rude Hero, Nice Sidekick: The "nice sidekick" to Saga's "rude hero". Even when he can be much more emotional and illogical than her, he's still gentler and kinder, especially to victims and their families.
• Start of Darkness: What Jens wished to instigate in him by killing August. It takes a while, but he sadly succeeds, as Martin kills him.
• Stepford Smiler: In Season 2 after August's death, he tries his best to get over it, but fails and ultimately gives in to his despair.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: In season 1 Martin having an affair with Jens' wife before she dies is what caused him to go insane and have a Start of Darkness, meaning that Martin is very indirectly responsible for the killings in that season.
• When You Coming Home, Dad?: His relationship with his children and wife Mette, especially August, as he admits.

Henrik Sabroe

Henrik Sabroe

Played by: Thure Lindhardt
Voiced by: Gerrit Schmidt-Foß (German), Kazuyuki Okitsu (Japanese)

The secondary protagonist of the latter two seasons.

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• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: To Martin. While Martin is personable, charismatic, and has a large family with many children, Henrik is devastated by the disappearance of his young daughters and the death of his wife many years before, and hasn't moved on. While both lose a child, Martin's is organised so he knows exactly how and why he's losing his son, which Henrik doesn't learn for many years. Martin Really Gets Around but never tries it on with Saga, while Henrik doesn't have a relationship with anyone else but Saga, and apparently hasn't since his wife's disappearance.
• Defective Detective: He has a drug problem, which doesn't directly affect his professional performance, but endangers his health and makes him vulnerable to blackmail, and in addition, he is traumatized by the disappearance of his family.
• Deuteragonist: Of seasons 3 and 4, taking over the role from Martin.
• Functional Addict: He takes medication against insomnia, then takes stimulants to counter the effects of the sleep aid during the day. He does not get high, and it does not affect his professional performance negatively. However, his illegally obtaining the stimulants opens him up to blackmail; he can't quit without going through withdrawal; and eventually he overdoses.
• I See Dead People: Played with. He sees his wife, Alice, and his daughters, but he sees them exactly as they were when they disappeared. Played for realistic drama as he cannot see (or imagine) them when he becomes more attached to Saga, which causes him a great deal of grief.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Downplayed, but the "feminine boy" to Saga's "masculine girl". He's much more emotional, perceptive, easily hurt, and wants to talk about his feelings, as opposed to Saga, who is tough, firm, and refuses to talk about anything emotional.
• The McCoy: Downplayed in contrast to Martin, but he cares deeply about several characters, especially Astrid and takes care of Saga.
• My Greatest Failure: His failure to find his wife and daughters, especially his daughters, as he tells them after his wife's body is found.
• Noble Male, Roguish Male: Although they don't overlap In-Universe, Henrik is the "noble male" to Martin's "roguish male".
• Photographic Memory: Henrik appears to have this; in one episode, he scans a crime scene, and, when questioned, says he is making a mental map. He can spontaneously recall details from files he has read, from crime scenes, and license plates he has seen briefly. He is visibly frustrated when a colleague cannot instantly recall a license plate number like he can.
• Porn Stache: Has one.
• Second Love: Saga, after his wife, Alice.
• Survivor's Guilt: Of being the Sole Survivor of his family's disappearance.
• This Is Unforgivable!: His reaction to learning that Saga aborted their child, having promised him she would keep it.

Hans Petterson

Hans Petterson

Played by: Dag Malmberg
Voiced by: Florian Krüger-Shantin (German), Rodolfo Bianchi (Italian), Kinryū Arimoto (Japanese)

The head of the police department in Malmö.

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• A Father to His Men: He cares deeply about his subordinates, especially Saga.
• Kill the Cutie: He is Saga's father figure and Happily Married to Lillian - until he gets brutally killed off in the middle of Season 3.
• The Kirk: He needs to mediate between Saga's issues and the hot-headed Danes.
• Parental Substitute: To Saga. Made clear in Season 3 that he is more of a father to Saga than her real Abusive Parents.
• Relationship Upgrade: Between Season 2 and 3 with Lillian.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Played for Drama. He is extremely understanding of Saga's problems and even went as far to suppress complaints against her, which devastates her when she finds out.
• Sacrificial Lion: To Season 3. We know that the Season 3 killer is extremely dangerous, especially when he abducts Hans. Then Hans eventually dies having been tortured by Emil.
• Second Love: Lillian for him, and he for her.

Lillian Larsen

Lillian Larsen

Played by: Sarah Boberg
Voiced by: Arianne Borbach (German), Alessandra Korompay (Italian), Fumie Hôjô (Japanese)

The head of the police department in Copenhagen.

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• Power Hair: She has Boyish Short Hair and is in charge of the Copenhagen police department.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Especially when she returns to work after Hans' death in Season 4, when she has to help Henrik with the case.
• Second Love: Hans for her, and she for him.

Other members of the Swedish police

John Lundqvist

Played by: Rafael Pettersson

Voiced by: Viktor Neumann (German), Alessandro Budroni (Italian), Hideto Nitta (Japanese)

The IT expert of the Malmö police department.

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• Nice Guy: John is remarkably patient and always does whatever Saga or Hans ask him to do. He doesn't bear a grudge when his daughter gets shot and assures Saga it's not her fault.
• Office Romance: With Barbara, to which Saga is oblivious.
• Relationship Upgrade: In season four, John and Barbara end up dating.

Rasmus Larsson

Played by: Henrik Lundström

Voiced by: Nico Mamone (German), Alessio Cigliano (Italian)

A Swedish junior police detective, first introduced in Season 2. He is eager to prove his worth as a policeman, but unfortunately for both himself and his colleagues, he isn't quite as competent as he thinks he is.

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• Leeroy Jenkins: He's prone to acting rashly and without fully thinking his plans through, which often causes trouble for himself and his colleagues.

Linn Bjorkman

Played by: Maria Kull

Hans' replacement after his death.

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• Bait-and-Switch Tyrant: She's a bit cold and intolerant of Saga's eccentricities, thinking that Hans was too soft on her, but it becomes clear over time that Linn does care about Saga's personal well-being and respects her skills as an investigator.
• Contrasting Replacement Character: Hans had nothing but respect for Saga and loved her almost like a daughter, constantly thinking about her well-being and protecting her from complaints. Linn scorns this favouritism, views Saga as little more than an annoyance, and makes sure she knows it.
• Kick the Dog: Might cross over with Jerkass Has a Point. We know that Saga is very insensitive and it often causes genuine problems with witnesses, family, and suspects alike - but her bringing up how Hans protected Saga's reputation feels like this when Hans is in a coma and will soon die.
• Pet the Dog: Despite refusing to intervene when the police interview Saga over her mother's death, when they discover that she's going to be charged, Linn immediately tries to reassure Saga that they'll fight it and she believes she didn't do it. Saga disagrees, and is ultimately proven right.
• The Spock: Like Saga, strangely enough. Linn is extremely meticulous and straight-edged, which means that she clashes a great deal with Saga who can cause a lot of her trouble with her tactlessness, and she disapproved of Hans' protection of Saga.

Other members of the Danish police

Henning Tholstrup

Played by: Ole Boisen

A member of the Copenhagen police who was involved in a police brutality incident before the events of Season 1.

Pernille Lindegaard

Played by: Vickie Bak Laursen
Voiced by: Petra Konradi (German)

A member of the Copenhagen police, introduced in Season 2.

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• Better to Die than Be Killed: Why she commits suicide having seen Victoria's painful death by the plague.
• Boom, Headshot!: Kills herself with one in the Season 2 finale.
• Disposable Love Interest: She and Martin have a great deal of Unresolved Sexual Tension, and as they edge towards resolving it, she gets infected by Victoria's plague and commits suicide.
• Driven to Suicide: After being infected with poison in the Season 2 finale.
• Will They or Won't They?: With Martin throughout Season 2, and a Romantic False Lead as he only really wants Mette back.

Hanne Thomsen

Played by: Kirsten Olesen

Saga's first partner for the Season 3 case.

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• Brutal Honesty: To Saga. Tells her that they're not going to be friends.
• Disposable Woman: For a minute it appears as if she might be Saga's new partner. Then she gets blown up by the suspect. Although she doesn't actually die, she never appears again.
• The Smurfette Principle: Somewhat. While there are other female characters in the police, Saga's partner is Always Male. Hanne takes over for one episode, then gets brutally attacked by a suspect.

Jonas Mandrup

Played by: Mikael Birkkjær

A member of the Copenhagen police, introduced in Season 4 and Henrik's new partner while Saga is in prison. He is rather rude and heavily prejudiced.

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• Brutal Honesty: Like Saga, except that Jonas just doesn't care; he's kind of right about Saga being a Doom Magnet.
• Facepalm: Subtle but clear when Saga reveals in Season 4 who the baby's real father is right in front of the assumed parents.
• Foil: To Saga. Both usually come across as tactless; however, while Saga is Innocently Insensitive and doesn't intend to hurt or offend others, Jonas knows full well how hurtful his behaviour is — he just doesn't care.
• Heteronormative Crusader: He's extremely prejudiced against LGBT people, as evidenced by him constantly making homophobic remarks and referring to gay people (most notably the refugee Taariq Shirazi) by derogatory nicknames instead of using their actual names.
• Jerkass: He's constantly rude to just about everyone, especially Saga and Taariq Shirazi.

Criminals

The Truth Terrorist

The Truth Terrorist / Jens Hansen / Sebastian Sandstrod

The Truth...

^{Click here for spoilers} 

He doesn't exist anymore. You'll never know the pain he felt. If he was scared. If he cried. If it was a slow and cruel death. You'll have no body to bury, no grave to go to. You'll live in obliviousness.

Played by: Lars Simonsen
Voiced by: Peter Reinhardt (German), Stefano Benassi (Italian), Rintarô Nishi (Japanese)

The main antagonist of Season 1. A Serial Killer who wants to turn attention to social problems and eventually revealed to have a personal agenda against Martin. His real name is Jens Hansen, a police officer who faked his death after his family died, and Martin cheated on his wife before they died, which is why he wants revenge on Martin.

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• Antagonist in Mourning: Claims to be this, eventually, over August's death. Martin correctly points out that it doesn't change anything.
• Alas, Poor Villain: In season 2 he has a rather heart-wrenching moment where he starts crying and calmly discusses how, if he could go back in time, he wouldn't have killed August. This is a day before his death.
• Ax-Crazy: A rather disturbing example as he's very cold and sociopathic, but it's clear that it's there. Alot of his facial expressions show just how insane he is, such as when he just glares at Mette while talking to her before she knows he is the killer.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: Once we see his true identity, he has some pretty nice business suits and woolcoats.
• Badass Longcoat: He wears one during his and Martin's first combat and also when his true identity is revealed.
• Big Bad: Of season 1.
• The Chessmaster: It's truly astonishing what he manages to accomplish using his intelligence and police knowledge.
• Consulting a Convicted Killer: Martin does this with him throughout Season 2.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: It seems like Sebastian has gotten a better job after he faked his death, considering he's now a wealthy consultant.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: There's little doubt he cared about his son, even if he disliked his wife.
• Evil Counterpart: To Martin. Both are married police officers with loved kids, but eventually go insane and fall down due to the death of a loved one. The ending of season 2 implies Martin is going down the same path as Sebastian as well, further signifying this.
• Evil Former Friend: To Martin.
• Evil Is Petty: Zig-zagged. Once his true motivation is revealed, it's hard to really sympathize with it as Martin hardly did much wrong intentionally, but as time goes by it truly seems like Jens was hurt and felt betrayed by Martin doing it.
• Fallen Hero: He used to be Jens Hansen, the best policeman around, but was broken by the death of his family and fell into depression.
• Faux Affably Evil: He always speaks in an eerily calm tone, even when he's threatening to kill six completely innocent children, or telling Martin that August is dead, said completely without any emotion other than happiness.
• Genius Bruiser: The Truth Terrorist is both a sharply dressed badass and a brilliant schemer who runs rings around the police.
• Hannibal Lecture: In the final episode of Season 1 and throughout Season 2.
• Insane Troll Logic: He wants to bring attention to homeless people, by brutally murdering them in the most gruesome ways possible. Subverted when it's revealed that his whole "raising social awareness" thing was a facade all along and that his actual motivation was personal revenge.
• Magic Plastic Surgery: Despite the shady circumstances it happened in, Jens' plastic surgery is so thorough that apparently nobody recognises him
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: While he starts out as almost fanatically devoted to pointing out society's problems, his true motivation on getting vengeance on Martin overshadows his previous cause and quickly becomes way more important to him.
• Revenge Before Reason: His real motivation is to avenge his family, and it was for that purpose that he became a Serial Killer.
• Straw Nihilist: He doesn't seem to have a very high opinion on life after what happened to his son.
• Talking the Monster to Death: Martin's stated goal with him for Season 2. It actually succeeds, as Jens is shown sobbing with what appears to be genuine despair close to the end of his mission. Then it becomes very literal as Martin killed him.
• We Used to Be Friends: With Martin. On Jens' end, Martin slept with his wife. On Martin's end, Jens faked his own suicide.
• Would You Like to Hear How They Died?: How he torments Martin after August's death.
• Worthy Opponent: He seems very impressed by Saga's policework and casually compliments her when the police take Ferbé's phone and he tries calling him, with Saga responding instead.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Does this to Daniel Ferbé in the middle of the first season.

The Animal Rights Group

Join Us...

A group of vicious animal and eco activists who always dress in the costumes seen above.

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• Affably Evil: Niklas is rather friendly and genuinely cares for his brother.
• Anti-Villain: Niklas is just a guy who wants to support his bullied younger brother and seems to actually care about animal rights.
• Animal Wrongs Group: They commit terrorism in the name of animal rights and the envioment.
• Ax-Crazy: Mad Mads.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: Subverted. Everyone in the group (except for Niklas) are unlikeable idiots or at the very least cowards.
• Catchphrase: All of their video messages end with "The world is bigger than us."
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The leader of the group genuinely cares for her relatives.
  • Niklas, as should be obvious from the other tropes, clearly is very protective over his younger brother Linus.
• Hate Sink: Mads. Even the other, more vicious activist group seem disgusted by his extreme sadism.
• Malevolent Masked Men: They are aggressive extremists who always wear masks when appearing in public.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Gertrud eventually has them all killed.

The True Season 2 Killer (spoilers)

Gertrud Kofoed ('Mikkel Höst')

The summit has been cancelled and a big part of the EU's Ministers of Environment are dead. We killed them. Why? Because we cannot wait any longer. The time is running out. We can't let our politicians have summit after summit year after year with no results. We all know we are slowly coming to a massive environmental catastrophe. And yet, with the power and resources they have, they do nothing. Every important climate question is procrastinated with, that's why we made sure every old politician died - so that now, we can let new ministers in. Please don't make the same mistake as your past generation, we have our eyes at you.

Played by: Camilla Bendix

The top scientist at a medical company who is now an ecoterrorist ringleader.

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• Always a Bigger Fish: She is initially shown to be the ringleader of a huge worldwide ecoterrorist group, and the one leading their operations, including Oliver, but it's later shown that there is someone above her.
• Ambiguous Situation: Oliver assisted her in some of her crimes, but it's never made explicit how much she knew about his plans or vice versa.
• Anti-Villain: Go on, admit it, you don't really disagree with her motivations. See the quote.
• Asshole Victim: She is coldly gunned down by the real ringleader after she fails to spread the plague like he wanted her to do it, but there's not much pity considering how many people that died because of her actions.
• Big Bad: Of season 2.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: She contrasts with the "Truth Terrorist" in that his Well-Intentioned Extremist persona ultimately turns out to be a ruse masking his actual motive, while Gertrud is genuinely devoted to her cause.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Leading scientist at a big medical company worth billions. That's how she manages to create the plague.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Despite appearances, Gertrud never seemed to care much about Oliver's obsession with Viktoria. He was just a convenient patsy and accomplice for her wider crimes, which was bringing attention to environmental crises.
• Motive Rant: The long quote is a subdued, calm one, with Gertrud never raising her voice ever, but it's very effective to say the least.
• Near-Villain Victory: She very nearly succeeds with spreading the plague and causing a mass murder of millions, but she fails. This gets her killed by her unnamed master.
• Pragmatic Villainy: She saves Viktoria's life because she needs her for her plan.
• The Man Behind the Man: Is this to Oliver, who she kills in order to frame him for everything and draw all attention away from herself. And yet, it is shown that even she has a superior.
• Totalitarian Utilitarian: She wants to stop the destruction of the environment ... by engineering a series of ecoterrorist attacks and spreading an extremely aggressive synthetic plague, which she has previously tested on low-level associates of her group who aren't useful to her any more, that could kill millions.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Well duh. She wants to save the world by killing the old Environment Ministers and getting new, better ministers, while spreading The Plague in order to teach a lesson. In a way, she's right.
• What Does She See in Him?: Plot-relevant. Why does brilliant scientist Gertrud put up with creepy, incestuous Oliver, who is obsessed with Viktoria, his own sister, who treats Gertrud like dirt? Because she needs both of them for her plan.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Minor example, but Gertrud willingly subjects herself to the Humiliation Conga of Oliver's fetishes coming out in the press after she kills him, just to throw suspicion off their huge plan.
• You Have Failed Me: In the final episode of the second season, Gertrud is cold-bloodedly gunned down by a shadowy Greater-Scope Villain after her plan to infect Europe's environment ministers with a virus fails.

Lukas Stenstrup

Lukas Stenstrup

Played by: Christopher Læssø

A charitable worker using his position to run a crime empire.

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• Affably Evil: He's surprisingly easy to negotiate with, as shown when he lets Marc and his girlfriend Jeanette go when they cannot pay any more cash to him.
• Asshole Victim: Kind of subverted. While he certainly had it coming, he really didn't do that much villainy and Henrik nonetheless seems rather sad of his death.
• For the Evulz: He had no reason to mentally torture Marc like he did, and he seems very fond of doing it.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Despite their problems and how much they messed up, Lukas lets Marc and Jeanette go, when he could have easily killed them instead.
  • While in his office, he cheerfully greets the teens hanging out there and seems to genuinely care for them despite using the charity as a facade.
• Sadist: He's a bit too cheerful with playing Russian Roulette with his own debtor.

The Season 3 Killer (spoilers!)

Emil Larsson

Why do I have to suffer when the responsible for my suffering don't?

Played by: Adam Pålsson

A Serial Killer committing extremely gruesome murders, seemingly motivated by homophobia, but later revealed to be killing those who are responsible for his existence, considering the amount of suffering he was forced to go through.

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• Alas, Poor Villain: Seeing him describe his motive one final time and how he has been suffering his entire life is very saddening.
• Big Bad: Of season 3.
• Driven to Suicide: His planned fate was to hang himself with Freddie Holst, which would mimic a specific artwork. And when that fails, Saga accidentally leaves something in his cell which Larsson uses to commit suicide.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: The only person he describes feeling actual affection for is his dead mother.
• Faux Affably Evil: He's very good at keeping a friendly facade, but behind it, he's pretty much empty and has the emotional capacity of a brick.
• Kick the Dog: Him trying to kill his own newborn brother is downright terrible and way less sympathetic than his other murders.
• The Lost Lenore: His mother for him.
• Serial Killer: He kills the people responsible for his own existence.
• Straw Nihilist: The epitome of this. When Saga says to him that he wanted to die, he says that's not the case; he never wanted to be born to begin with.
• They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: This young man doesn't look like he could hurt a fly even if he tried. In reality, he's done far worse than that...
• Tragic Villain: Larsson's early life was truly horrible. His talent and biggest interest, however, has always been art and paintings, which made him feel unique... until he learned that it was hereditary, meaning that it was nothing special, he snapped. This is just one tenth of what he has been forced to go through.
• Where I Was Born and Razed: His whole motive is to do this intentionally to everyone who ever had a hand in his life.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: He pretends to be a surviving victim of the killer during the middle of the season in order to distract the authorities.

The Season 4 Killers (spoilers!)

Brian Petersen and Susanne Winter

Played by: Elliott Crosset Hove and Sandra Yi Sencindiver

The son and girlfriend of the late Tommy Petersen, a mob informant who was tortured and murdered after several people he trusted with his safety let him down. Brian and Susanne set out to kill a close loved one of each of the people they blame for Tommy’s death, using methods inspired by various forms of capital punishment.

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• Big Bad Duumvirate: They appear to have worked as equal partners rather than as mastermind and accomplice.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Both of them, but especially Brian, whose apparent harmlessness allows him to get close to Henrik and other people who might otherwise be suspicious of him.
• Evil Cripple: Brian/"Kevin".
• False Friend: Brian to Henrik in the guise of "Kevin."
• Forced to Watch: It’s especially important to Brian that their targets see their loved ones die, so much so that he won’t kill Astrid as long as Henrik has his eyes shut.
• Monster Clown: They use a clown mask when attacking Leonora.
• Moral Myopia: They think that their grief over one person’s death warrants killing several innocent people, including children.
• Revenge by Proxy: The purpose of their killings is to inflict pain on a person who loved each of their true targets.
• Taking the Heat: Susanne confesses to committing all of the killings on her own in order to buy Brian time to finish their plan.
• Two Aliases, One Character: The detectives spend several episodes trying to track down someone named Stephanie, who turns out to have been Susanne using a different name.
• Would Hurt a Child: Both of them would.

The Kidnapper (major spoilers)

Frank Thorwald

Played by: Anders Mossling

The person responsible for the disappearance of Henrik’s wife and daughters. A therapist who became fixated on Alice while treating her and decided to ‘rescue’ her and the girls from Henrik. Eight years later, he becomes similarly fixated on Sofie, a single mother on the run from her abusive ex-husband, and worms his way into her life.

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• Bad Samaritan: Becomes obsessed with "helping" Alice and Sofie...which is only ever a ploy to get them under his control and unable to leave him.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Seems genuinely mild-mannered and helpful but is actually controlling, dishonest, and volatile.
• Evil Counterpart: To Stefan in season one. Both are social workers who go to unprofessional and illegal extremes in order to rescue women from unhappy relationships. However, Stefan is genuinely well-intentioned, while Frank is an abusive control freak who's looking for vulnerable people to prey on himself.
• Failure-to-Save Murder: To Anna, Astrid's sister and Henrik's daughter; she had appendicitis and he let her die from it rather than go to hospital.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Whenever he gets told no.
• Hate Sink: Once his true nature is revealed, he's a volatile, emotionally abusive Control Freak who was even willing to kill Astrid once the police started closing in on him.
• Entitled to Have You: He expects the women he helps to fall in love with him and gets very angry when they don’t.
• The Kindnapper: Deconstructed. He thinks he's this, and acts as though he is to Anna and Astrid (and possibly Alice), but he's just a regular monstrous kidnapper.
• Never My Fault: Never acknowledges that he did anything wrong, even though he’s broken multiple laws, lied to Astrid for years, and was responsible for the deaths of Alice and Anna.
• Parental Substitute: To Anna and Astrid Sabroe, after convincing them that their parents had died in a plane crash.
• Psycho Psychologist: Became obsessed with Alice when she was his patient.

Other Characters

Mette Rohde

Mette Rohde

Played by: Puk Scharbau
Voiced by: Sabine Arnhold (German), Mayumi Asano (Japanese)

Martin's wife.

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• Targeted to Hurt the Hero: Regardless of the tension between her and Martin that is caused by the latter's infidelity, Mette is still targeted by Jens as part of his plans to get revenge.
• Woman Scorned: She is furious when she finds out that Martin cheated on her with Charlotte Söringer, and proceeds to kick him out of the house in the middle of the night.
• Woobie: Goes through the wringer in Season 1 when Martin decides to cheat on her for a one night stand, and the emotional fallout leaves her vulnerable to Jens' manipulations, who then decides to use her as a distraction for his goal of finding and killing August by trapping her and her children in a cottage and leaving her holding an unpinned grenade for dear life. Things get even more painful for her when she eventually finds out that she was targeted by Jens because her husband also slept with his estranged wife Mikaela and it led to her and their son Rasmus' deaths in a traffic accident. Additional events in Season 2, like Martin refusing to consummate their reconciliation due to his trauma from Jens' revenge, and the caretaker taking care of her children turning out to be a nutcase who continuously poisoned her son, finally (and quite understandably) cause her to fall out of love with Martin and break up with him.

Season 1

Daniel Ferbé

Daniel Ferbé

Played by: Christian Hillborg

A journalist from Malmö with a rather overinflated ego. He receives information directly from the "Truth Terrorist".

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• The Atoner: He stops being so egotistical after his overdose, and decides to finally do something good, which gets him killed.
• Jerkass: He is very self-centred, constantly mocks his colleague for no good reason, and generally tends to be rude and condescending towards others.
• Killed Off for Real: He's gassed to death by Sandstrod in his car midway through season 1.

Season 2

Viktoria Nordgren

Viktoria Nordgren

Played by: Tova Magnusson

The head of the pharmaceutical company Medisonus.

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• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Despite being weeks from death throughout all of Season 2, she is always well-dressed, not visibly ill most of the time, and attractive.
• Break the Haughty: Viktoria is not a nice person, but the entirety of Season 2 becomes this for her. Her company is under attack from terrorists, she's dying, her brother and caretaker reveals that he's in love with her, exposes himself as the terrorist, and tries to kill her. She's clearly broken when she tries to go ahead with the EU speech, where she dies slowly and painfully after realising that her sister-in-law poisoned her to make her into a living weapon.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Unintentionally so after her brother's villainy is revealed.
• Ice Queen: She has a very haughty and aloof demeanour.
• Incest-ant Admirer: Downplayed, but she definitely seems aware of Oliver's creepy attraction to her, and fully swings into this after he reveals himself to her.
• Incurable Cough of Death: Her mysterious illness only presents itself as this. But ironically, her final cough isn't caused by her illness, but the virus she's tricked into injecting herself with by Gertrud.
• Unwitting Pawn: Unbeknownst to her, Gertrud has been manipulating her the whole time, with the ultimate goal of turning her into, essentially, a human biological weapon.
• Your Days Are Numbered: She's terminally ill and doesn't have much longer to live.

Oliver Nordgren

Oliver Nordgren

Played by: Sven Alhstrom

Viktoria's elder brother and Gertrud's husband.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: To Viktoria, his sister.
• Ambiguous Situation: He assisted Gertrud with some of her crimes, but how much did he actually know about her plans? We'll never know, because Gertrud killed him as soon as his obsession with Viktoria got out of control.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: With Gertrud.
• Big Brother Attraction: And how. He's Viktoria's older brother and has got it bad for her; it's his sole motivation for all the terrible things he does.
• Big Brother Instinct: Crosses over with the above trope; he punishes anyone for hurting Viktoria, but this is thoroughly deconstructed as his motives aren't brotherly.
• Butt-Monkey: In-universe. He and Gertrud call out Viktoria for treating him like this, although she has her reasons, too.
• The Caretaker: To the unwilling Viktoria.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Especially in that he uses his power to punish everyone he believes can get in the way of his sister's career and success.
• Covert Pervert: Has cameras installed in Viktoria's house.
• Evil Is Petty: Sure, he's married to Gertrud, a brilliant scientist who is plotting to cause a new plague. Oliver's motivation? Making sure he gets rid of anybody who can hurt or threaten Viktoria.
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Wears glasses and is not a good person.
• Love Makes You Evil / Love Makes You Crazy: Although not good love; he's obsessed with his sister. To the point where he's willing to kill her with his own hands, in order to turn her into a martyr, so others can finally love her 'the same way he does'.
• Motive Rant: To Viktoria, just before he tries to kill her.
• The Peeping Tom: To Viktoria.
• Villainous Incest: Although he and Viktoria don't have a sexual relationship, he is solely motivated by his feelings for her.

Caroline Brandstrup

Caroline Brandstrup

Played by: Lotte Munk
Voiced by: Sabine Falkenberg (German), Aya Nakamura (Japanese)

The head organiser of the EU environmental summit in Copenhagen.

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• Sibling Yin-Yang: She and her sister Bodil are polar opposites. Caroline is rather introverted, diligent, and strongly believes in monogamy, whereas Bodil is outgoing, hedonistic, and enjoys casual sex.

Season 3

Lise Friis Andersen

Lise Friis Andersen

Played by: Sonja Richter

A socially conservative vlogger.

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• Blonde Republican Sex Kitten: She's a younger, blonde conservative who forms the face of their movement.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones / Pet the Dog: Although Lise is pretty horrible, she genuinely cares for her daughter and passionately defends her when she's being bullied.
• Jerkass: She's arrogant, narrow-minded, and incredibly spiteful.
• Speak Ill of the Dead: Shortly after Helle Anker is murdered, Lise posts a video that harshly criticizes her.

Freddie Holst

Freddie Holst

Played by: Nicholas Bro

An art gallery owner and collector.

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• Crazy Jealous Guy: Justified. He gets angry after finding out that Marc has endangered Jeanette again. Although he and Jeanette are not romantically involved, he seems to be attracted to her and want more from their relationship. However, Marc is a complete idiot and Jeanette is pregnant with his child.
• Crimefighting with Cash / Every Man Has His Price: Freddie succeeds in paying off Marc and Jeanette's ruthless gangster creditors many times.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Attempted. Emil promises him to spare his newborn son if he commits suicide. He does, but Emil seems willing to let the baby die anyway. Luckily, Saga and Henrik are there to intervene.
• Like Father, Like Son: Played for Drama. Emil totally snapped when he discovered his talent for art was inherited from Freddie.
• Papa Wolf: To his newborn son. Shame he never knew about his other son, Emil.
• Protectorate: To Jeanette and, naturally, his son.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: At least a somewhat heroic version. He keeps Jeanette in absolute luxury and pays her under the table so that she will allow Freddie and his wife, Åsa, to adopt her child off the record.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Jeanette. It's solely a business arrangement, but it slowly becomes clear to both Freddie and Åsa that his interest in her goes way beyond that.

Jeanette Nielsen

Jeanette Nielsen

Played by: Sarah-Sofie Boussnina

A hired surrogate for Freddie and Åsa. The baby is her and Freddie's biological child, but she feels no connection to it.

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• I Have No Son!: Refuses to have anything to do with her son after Marc's death.
• Pregnant Badass: Although noticeably not a Mama Bear as this trope usually is, Jeanette feels little for her baby but is still very strong, resourceful, and smart.
• Pregnant Hostage: The Season 3 killer kidnaps her after killing Marc in their home. Luckily, she survives and Emil seemed not to have intended to kill her; he simply wanted the baby.
• Why Would Anyone Take Him Back?: Marc is a habitual gambling addict, a hole that Jeanette has dug him out of many times. Except that he loses everything they have twice in the series alone (and has done it in the past) and, if not for Freddie's dubious charity, Jeanette would probably be dead at the hands of the people he owes money. Still, she insists on taking Marc back, even going behind Freddie's back to do so.

Season 4

Sofie Björk

Played by: Lisa Linnertorp

A victim of domestic violence whose vicious ex-husband attempts to track her down after witnessing a murder.

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• Apologises a Lot: A habit she got into while married to her abusive ex.
• Broken Bird: From being physically abused by her husband Dan.
• Parents in Distress: At the mercy of Frank after Christoffer escapes.
• Replacement Goldfish: Of Alice, Henrik's wife for Frank: another troubled wife and mother who needed his "help".

Christoffer Björk

Played by: Erik Lönngren

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• Accidental Murder: Of his abusive father.
• Action Survivor: He threatens his father with a knife when he tries to intimidate Sofie, and escapes from the cabin that Frank locked him in.
• Bratty Teenage Son: Although understandable given that he's been through so much trauma after watching his father abuse his mother and being taken to a cult.

Astrid Sabroe

Played by: Selma Modéer Wiking

Frank's daughter, who stays with him in the cult. Actually Henrik's daughter, who Frank kidnapped years ago.

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• Connected All Along: To Henrik. She's his daughter.
• Family Relationship Switcheroo: Henrik, not Frank's daughter.
• Stockholm Syndrome: Downplayed in the last season. Henrik's surviving daughter Astrid has for years been raised by Frank Wahlgren under the belief that her parents died in an aviation accident. After Frank threatens her with a rifle and she's reunited with Henrik, concerns rise about how she'll manage with the father she hasn't known for years. Astrid does feel strange about how her life has turned around, but she also acknowledges Henrik as her real father, and when asked if she wants to meet Frank after he has served his sentence, her answer is no.
• Walking Spoiler

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