MovieChat Forums > Forbrydelsen (2021) Discussion > Did Anybody Guess the Killer Early On? (...

Did Anybody Guess the Killer Early On? (SPOILERS)

posted 13 years ago by peytonplace1
23 replies | jump to latest

I did and ended up being somewhat disappointed for the rest of the show. There was a scene fairly early on (maybe just before or after Nanna's funeral) where Vagn was framed standing apart from the group of family/friends with his back to the camera, the typical 'suspicious character'. I remember thinking, 'It's him!' but didn't know why at that stage, or what his motivation might be. And wasn't his admitted motivation pretty poor? A lot of loose ends in this series...

[–] ncmmorris 13 years ago

Yes! I had my suspicions very early on, maybe episode three? I still enjoyed the chase though.

[–] peytonplace1 13 years ago

There's no doubt The Killing was a great series, but the plotting and loose ends means no gold star.

[–] bendipa 13 years ago

There's no doubt The Killing was a great series, but the plotting and loose ends means no gold star.

Seems that BAFTA would disagree with you as The Killing won the International Award, beating Mad Men which had been strongly tipped at the time.

[–] peytonplace1 13 years ago

I know about the awards, but we all know about free speech and differing opinions as well. Bet the Mad Men fans were none too pleased either. I really enjoyed The Killing but it isn't the best drama I've ever seen.

[–] film_rat 13 years ago

I suspected Vagn for a certain time and then dropped it. And I did so with a couple of other sespects... - I guess the audience is lead to exactly this kind of reaction. Throughout the series a lot of persons are presented as the killer, and you knew most of them, except for one would be red herrings.
I don't know whether the motivation was poorish. What would a not-poorish motivation be like?
There are not many loose ends; go on and tell the people here on the board what you don't unterstand, you will get answers to your questions.

English is not my first language. Any corrections are welcome.

[–] peytonplace1 13 years ago

OK, I think most critics will admit there were loose ends. That's not the same as saying I don't understand. As for Vagn, I still think his stated motivation was poor. The detail of the violent sexual assault on the girl seemed superfluous as well. A 'not-poorish motivation' might have been Vagn acting impulsively/in fury and driving the car off somewhere such that the girl ended up drowning while he escaped unscathed. Also I thought it was slightly odd that the girl's parents didn't express more dismay on learning that the daughter's private life was very different from what they would have expected.

BTW, you do pretty well for someone for whom English is not the first language. Congrats!

[–] film_rat 13 years ago

Hi peytonplace,
finally there are loose ends, but maybe less than you thought when you ask other people here on the board what they think about it. I myself did so and some details could be cleared up, others not. One of these loose ends is f.e. the question about the necklace; maybe you would like to read about it.
I have to admit as well that when I saw the series on TV years ago for the first time, I was deceived by the "revelation". It looked like somewhat illogical to me that Vagn, regardless of whatever his motives might have been, would kill the daughter of his very very best friend(s) and (kind of) substitute-family. If he was a type under some inner pression to mistread and violate and kill young women (as the movie finally suggests), he would have chosen someone else. But acutally it does not come to a complete explanation like in a police questioning, supported by a psychologue, or somethng like that, which (maybe) would fully satisfy the audience about the motives of the killer. The only thing we kave is Vagn's "confession" towards Theis; and THIS, here I'm absolutely okay with you, is poorish. No wonder: Vagn, as a disturbed, ill character can not investigate on his own about the (deeper) motives of his actions. A lot of explanation is left to the audience.

English is not my first language. Any corrections are welcome.

[–] peytonplace1 13 years ago

Hi film rat,

Glad we agree on the killer's motive being implausible. I like having to do a little work at the end of a movie/TV prog, but I also like a good denouement. My small quibbles about The Killing are mainly cultural ones, to be honest. Scandinavian crime thrillers are recent developments, so who can blame the makers for taking their eyes off the ball from time to time? I love some of the differences between those and American/British thrillers, but not all of them. I also think a lot of the 'loose ends' feedback might have had an impact on the makers of The Killing. I notice the next one has significantly fewer episodes. But I hope there'll be just as many desirable sweaters.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] AlbaITA 12 years ago

They gave us a clue in the first ep. and not just because Vagn sounded or looked creepy. He had a band-aid on his neck and as we know Nanna had fought back and Vagn had cut her fingernails. I suspected him at the very beginning but as you said the red herrings were well made and I dropped him until the 18th episode.

[–] AlbaITA 12 years ago

Vagn acted impulsively and in fury indeed. He didn't plan to kill Nanna, he went in that appartment to make her not leave and assaulted her when she wouldn't listen (of course not) to him. He went mad and understood that there was no way to explain what happened to Thais, therefore he "had" to kill her. Vagn was not into killing girls, not just any girl anyway. He had problems and they were very well explained. He was disturbed and suffering from lack of affect from the whole world, in his opinion, and he was worth of nothing although he did pretend to have a high opinion of himself. Therefore, he killed those (2 that we know) that "refused" him. That is not a "poor" motivation in any book.
About the parents: what mor dismay did you want? The father new about her job in the night club and the affair with the politicion/married man, and that's why they had a fall out. He did kept it secret from his wife and when she discovered she was even more broken and mad with Thais and her sister. She felt betrayed by both of them and sad because he realised didn't know as much as she thought her daughter. It was very well written and the acting was just superb.

[–] jeanlavarenne 11 years ago

That would have made perfect sense that he got mad and beat her up, tied up and then killed her when he realized there was no way he could explain what he did. But the rapes? That makes no sense whatsoever. He's like a second father figure in the family/ uncle. I know that fathers/uncles raping their daughter/niece exist but here he was just mad at her. I don't see where the multiple rapes fit in

[–] renardazur 12 years ago

I didn't guess who it was but being danish and not watching the series in it's first run it was impossible not to know when it was out because of it's popularity. It was strange to watch it knowing the outcome all along and yet sitting on the edge of the seat for 20 episodes.

There are loose ends, I don't know if we'll be told somehow in the following seasons, but my theory is that it's not plotholes but a concious choice by the writers. The series is quite realistic and doesn't show any flashbacks or tries to explain the viewer what the charaters don't know. Being a part of an investigation like this you wouldn't know everything and thus we don't. It's unsatisfactory but plausible..

[–] different-drummer 12 years ago

I guessed it might be him on the Agatha Christie principle that he was the last person you would suspect - a close associate of the family, but a bit of a dull character who didn't stand out that much. But I couldn't have backed up that suspicion in any serious way.

[–] oakcourt 12 years ago

Oh thanks to the administrator who has deleted my post, there was nothing offensive in it in fact you still have offensive posts on the board - I just said I suspected Vagn and so have a lot of other people. You pay peanuts well you know the rest.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] loz-1 12 years ago

My wife said "I don't trust him" the moment we first saw him, and made the remark that "It must be someone who knew they were going away", which is pretty obvious really, and surprising that the police never latched on to this idea. If they'd employed the missus they'd had saved an awful lot of lives early on!

I've been a fool but you know I wouldn't kill for you...

[–] Pearl16 11 years ago

Yes, I did, because he had a plaster on his neck in the first episode and it seemed weird because there was no explanation for it. Also he acted weirdly when theis said he planned the top floor of the new house for Nanna, he went quiet.

[–] jemfish 11 years ago

I thought it was him from the start as well, obvious candidate as an oddball friend of the family, but then I kept thinking "so why are all these politicians in the show?" and it had to be one of them, and then when he was the main suspect in episode 14 or so I thought it couldn't be him as he had been accused too early.

Seriously though, the number of people suspected by the police had got ridiculous by the end.

[–] 11 years ago

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