Danish Nordic Noir (original title “Kastanjemanden”) released on Netflix on September 29th, 2021, based on the book of the same name by Søren Sveistrup.
Naia Thulin, a female detective trying to change departments within the Danish police force to spend more family time with her daughter Le, cannot catch a break as she is tasked with the investigation of a grisly murder scene, involving a brutally beaten woman in a playground, and a chestnut figurine, seemingly left behind by the killer as their signature.
Joining her is Mark Hess, a somewhat awkward, bespectacled Europol detective, on a temporary reassignment, who brings a different perspective on the case despite being forced upon her as her new investigative partner.
In the background of it all, Rosa Hartung, the Danish Minister of Social Affairs returns to the public scene after a leave of absence, willing to put behind the seemingly resolved kidnapping and disappearance of her teenage daughter, but it doesn’t take long for such tragedy to resurface crashing her public and personal life, somehow involving her in the case of a possible new serial killer, dubbed The Chestnut Man.
This show provides examples of:
- But Now I Must Go: After the case is resolved, Hess must leave to his next assignment in Bucharest.
- Calling Card: The creepy chestnut little figurines left behind at the murder scenes.
- Dark and Troubled Past:
- Mark Hess’s personal tragedy his wife and baby daughter died in a house fire
- The killer as well. Genz was named Toke Bering as a young boy. He and his young sister, Astrid, were orphaned and originally sent to live in the Petersen household along with their own daughter, Rosa Hartung. Rose lied about Toke sexually molesting her. That resulted in Toke and Astrid being sent to a different foster home, one where they were sexually abused constantly. Toke snapped and murdered his new foster parents, along with the police officer who first arrives on the scene.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The Chestnut Man is brutally impaled through the chest by a broken branch, after his car is forcibly swerved onto a tree by his hostage
- Intelligence Equals Isolation: Hess is smarter than pretty much every other police officer in the department, possibly Thulin included. His Sherlock Scan picks up details that others miss. But that intellect, combined with a lack of social skills, makes him a pariah within the department. The other officers resent him for either making more work for them when they believe it isn't needed, or coming across as an Insufferable Genius, or in one instance a fellow officer gets killed working one of his hunches. The guess was right, but that death wasn't his fault. It gradually gets subverted as everyone in the department realizes he's always right, and they end coming to him giving him effective control over the investigation as it nears its end.
- Ironic Nursery Tune: “Chestnut Man, come on inside. / Do you have some chestnuts for me today?” . This is sung by children at a church in the first episode and referred throughout. The tradition of chestnut men and this nursery rhyme were the primary inspiration sources for the real-life author to pen this thriller.
- Nightmare Fuel Coloring Book: Hidden drawings in a kid’s room heavily suggesting a traumatic experience lead Hess to discovering a hidden basement room where the child was being exploited
- Parental Substitute: Thulin relies on her mentor, Aksel, to be the grandfather figure and main caretaker of her daughter Le.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: The main character, Thulin, is a single mom constantly having to tell her daughter she can’t make it to dinner or school events due to work.
