Series / Twin

Twin: Rugged scenery and rugged beards!

Twin is a 2019 Nordic Noir drama starring Kristofer Hivju as Erik Moen, a broke beach-bum surfer who lives out of his motor home... and as his twin brother Adam Moen, a successful businessman and family man who runs a guesthouse with his wife Ingrid. The twins have been estranged for 15 years, but when they meet up again, old wounds are reopened and in a vicious fight between the brothers, Erik and Ingrid accidentally cause Adam's death. Fearing she will be charged with murder, Ingrid persuades Erik to stand in for Adam until the police investigation is completed. However, putting on a convincing performance for Adam's family and friends, especially when one of Erik's closest friends is investigating the death, proves to be a tough act.

The series contains examples of:

• Ambiguously Bi: Adam, who has a wife but is also having an affair with another man.
• Bittersweet Ending: It has the feel of ending on a high note. Ingrid can get on with her life and she and Erik have gotten away with their ruse. But Frederick and Karin (and Trond) will grow up thinking their father (and close friend) abandoned them.
• Bratty Teenage Daughter: Ingrid's 15 year old daughter Karin, who regularly sneaks out to wild teen parties and gets drunk. Not unjustified - she is acting out because her father didn't seem to care about her, and her mother was too busy running the guesthouse to spend much time with her.
• Dead Person Impersonation: The premise of the series, along with Twin Switch.
• Fish out of Water: Erik finds stepping into Adam's shoes is an awkward fit - he doesn't know how to start Adam's car, doesn't know where Fredrik's school is, struggles through an interview with some British journalists with the smattering of English he knows, and completely blanks the man who was Adam's secret lover for years.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: Erik initially comes over as entirely self-interested, but his better qualities eventually come to the fore when trying to look after Ingrid's children, feeding and changing Fredrik when Ingrid is not around, saving Karin from drowning, and even missing the flight that would have taken him away from all the madness to rush to the hospital when Fredrik breaks his leg.
• Identical Twin Mistake: The source of the conflict between Erik and Adam: Erik, in revenge for Adam stealing his then-girlfriend Ingrid, slept with her after a party when she was drunk and mistook him for Adam.
• Not Actually His Child: It's heavily implied that Karin is really Erik's daughter, not Adam's, and was conceived when Erik took advantage of Ingrid when she was drunk and mistook him for his brother. Adam is also likely aware of this, explaining his antipathy towards his family and his years-long affair.
• Out-of-Character Alert: Several, given that Erik is trying to imitate the twin brother he'd been estranged from for 15 years, knowing very little about his life. Karin is the first to directly comment on "Adam"'s uncharacteristic behaviour after Erik saves her when she gets pulled out by the current while surfing, and he is genuinely concerned for her well-being, whereas the real Adam didn't seem to care very much about her.
• Playing Sick: Ingrid initially gets Erik to stay in the basement, pretending to be sick or overcome with grief, to keep him from interacting with too many people and revealing their deception. However, as the lies start to unravel, even Ingrid starts using this as an excuse to avoid discussing "Adam".
• Playing Their Own Twin: Kristofer Hivju as both Adam and Erik, as well as Vebjørn Enger as young Adam and Erik.
• Plot Induced Stupidity: Every one knows Adam and Erik are identical twins, but other than Karin nobody, even the police has the cop on to suspect that there maybe something up, even when "Adam" is behaving so strangely.
• Polar Opposite Twins: Erik is a shiftless, homeless, perpetually-broke free spirit who lives only to surf. Adam is an upstanding family man, guesthouse manager and pillar of the community. As the series progresses, however, we find out that Erik is far more honest, principled and hardworking than his late brother, and Adam was not the perfect husband, father and businessman he pretended to be.
• Public Secret Message: In the first episode, Frank lets Erik off a speeding ticket (without alerting his fellow officers that he's doing so) by drawing a smiley face on the ticket instead of Erik's details. In the final episode, after Frank has destroyed his own credibility in pursuing the case, he finally realises that Erik is still alive and has been pretending to be Adam. Knowing nobody will believe him or reopen the case, he leaves the smiley-face speeding ticket on "Adam"'s car windscreen as a final "I know who you are" message.
• Scenery Porn: There are plenty of lingering shots of the rugged grandeur of Norway's Lofoten islands, where the series takes place.
• Twin Switch: The premise of the series.
• Wild Card Excuse: Ingrid and Erik both use the excuse that "Adam" is deeply grieving for a brother he's been estranged from for 15 years as an explanation for why "Adam" is acting so oddly. The longer it goes on for, the less convincing it becomes, and both Adam's family and Erik's friends begin to suspect something is up.