Shadow Lines (Cold War. Finnish: Nyrkki)

Slydice

Show looks well produced. Seems to be set in the intelligence world of Finland stuck between the USA and USSR during the early cold war.

Very few reviews from what I can find. IMDB has it (7.1/10 from just 211) RT has one (Good) review total from a top critic.

IMDB summary:

During the 1950s, Helsinki was the focal point of the Cold War, as global powers and their intelligence agencies coalesced in the small neutral country that stood between the East and the West. Sphere of Shadows is an international spy thriller that follows a secret intelligence team whose mission is to defend the independence of Finland no matter the cost.

Trailer:

1: Very mysterious thriller feeling about this. I'm guessing there's going to be a lot of wanting to stay out of things because of the recent World Wars.

Though, it's hard not to see that some of these characters are going to be drawn to one side or the other and killing/getting killed for it. That early scene where the dude kills yer wan with the pillow was a bit of a shock, I'd thought the show might have been doing just some basics until then.

Oh and obvious heads up for people who don't like subtitles or women playing leading spy roles and all that.

Slydice

2: There I was just admiring the setup of the era and how they had the complex web of spycraft going

when suddenly the Kill Bill/Jason Bourne moment kicks off an I'm all like

:eek: I assume

that's a microchip and there's some nuclear intelligence on it.

Slydice

3: Damn this is good! The mystery, the spycraft, that damned scene

on the operating table.. like even down to the dude giving the blood transfusion in the middle of it!

I looked up Porkkala on google maps, it's here:
https://www.google.ie/maps/place/Porkkalanniemi/@60.0842951,24.3475375,11z/

SierraTango

Looks interesting. Where are you watching it?

Tristram

Great call, absolutely flew through that and hope there might be a second season. Very well done!

fits

Sounds great. Where can you get it?

Slydice

4: That was horrible!

Jeez from the point yer wan stopped Helena from going in to stop the beat.. to the tear going down the wifes cheeks with blood in it .. to the execution in the forest. Jeez it all just felt so bad!

Slydice

5: In no way did I guess

yer man didn't know his wife was getting killed. It sure opened up the story though. Getting the lockett to him was well done and then the closest sex scene and how they built it up was really well done. Then after that.. I'm not sure what message they're giving about Helena.. it's like she's some kinda of special soldier of the church maybe? or maybe of the pre-war soviet union..

Slydice

6: That was mad! I

glossed over and forgot she was wearing this huge tape recorder on her leg until she started recording there at the end. I was starting to wonder what the deal with the Americans was but now.. maybe they are just there for a defection. Helena though.. depending on her story.. maybe she could be a possible defector to Russa.

Slydice

7: Damn!

I really thought that was gonna play out with one of the guys betraying the other. Didn't see the killing or beating coming. They did kind of flag it up earlier I guess.

Need a Username

fits wrote: »

Sounds great. Where can you get it?

SierraTango wrote: »

Looks interesting. Where are you watching it?

Sundance Now for the UK but that service isn’t available here yet.

Slydice

8: I never really got

the feeling before that Helena was that into Olavi. Maybe it's just a starting connection from the mission to Moscow. Olavi is coming across as the kinda active Jame Bond style agent for the show at this point. I don't think he's dead either. That hand at the end looks like someone got to him.

Slydice

9: Jeez..

that's his wife and his son who he's pretty much been involved in murdering.. I get the feeling he's going to be a full on outspoken defector at this rate.

Guessing it'll finish with

some kind of wrap up on Porkkala being handed over. I don't think there'll be a change in leadership in the Fist in one episode.

Slydice

Finished: Overall, decent coldwar spycraft show. The stories and spycraft strong enough but felt a bit weakened by the overall plot. Maybe this was just retelling events to the Finns so they didn't need to do more for them. A show with Helena and Olavi as front spies with Julius as backup would be one I'd watch.

10: Kekkonen Kekkonen Kekkonen.... :eek: Anyway..

the fight with Helena and Lisa, I thought Lisa was going for a decapitation by tea tray! Then when Helena got the real birth cert, I thought she might've gone for Kekkonen. The definitely left it hanging full of grudges at the end.

As for the future, like, I could see how there might be a season 2, it'd be vicious I'd say!

Heraldoffreeent

Second series of this is out, first three episodes at least available.