Your latest Scandinavian crime series obsession is here! Netflix just released an addictive new series in The Åre Murders, based on the books by Viveca Sten. All five episodes of the show's first season are now streaming.
In the series, we follow two detectives, Daniel and Hanna, as they investigate various murders in the ski resort town of Åre. And like most of these crime dramas, both Daniel and Hanna have problems of their own to contend with in their personal lives that are deftly woven throughout the show.
Keep reading if you need further clarification on what happened in the series or are seeking answers to some of the many questions that arose throughout the story.
What happened to Amanda?
The first three episodes of the show are dedicated to solving Amanda's murder. She disappears one night after returning home from a party.
We find out that Amanda's best friend, Ebba, was being groomed and sexually assaulted by their teacher, a man named Lasse. However, even though Amanda confronts Lasse and calls him a creep, he's not the one who killed her.
Annika's husband, Bosse, murdered Amanda and it all connects to the housekeeper Zuhra. Annika had taken over the company from Bosse and financially wrecked it, so he tried to fix things through dubious means.
Zuhra became part of a human trafficking operation where, based on my understanding, Bosse was bringing in foreign labor under the guise of offering them a well-paying job, but then would take their passports to prevent them from leaving once they realized the job was much different and exploitative than anticipated. That's what happened to Zuhra, who cleaned for Annika, Amanda's family, and Hanna's sister.
Zuhra had started stealing some things from Amanda's house to sell on the side and send money back to her mother. When Amanda caught her, she decided to help her, selling things herself to send cash straight to Zuhra's mom. But then Bosse finds out and, on the night of the party, Amanda confronts him.
He lures her into his car under the guise of giving her a ride home, but in reality he takes her to a remote location to try and convince her he'll give Zuhra her passport back. Amanda calls him on his BS, leading to Bosse snapping and strangling her to death. He then leaves her body at the ski lift to ensure she's found.
Who killed Johan?
The Johan case takes over the remaining two episodes of the first season. Johan's body is found dismembered into several pieces after being thrown in front of a moving train. But the police realize he was murdered beforehand through blunt-force trauma.
Their first main suspect is a sketchy local pastor named Ole whose church did business with Johan's company. Ole is abusing his pregnant wife Rebecka, who we learn was having an affair with Johan and is pregnant with his child. They were planning to run away together the night that Johan vanished. But Ole has an alibi and isn't the killer.
That said, he still tries to murder Rebecka when Hanna helps her to escape. Ole tracks his wife down to the hotel where she's taken refuge, pulls the fire alarm, and breaks down her door with an ax. He then takes her to an abandoned factory. Daniel and Hanna track him there and arrive just in time to prevent Ole from bludgeoning his wife to death with a rock. Daniel shoots Ole dead.
In reality, Johan's murderer is much closer to home. His own son, Leo, delivered the final blow. Johan had been planning to leave his wife to go away with Rebecka, leading to a huge fight between Johan and Marion. Leo overhears this fight and then hits his father on the head with a shovel to prevent him from leaving.
Marion and Leo's biological father Jens work together to cover-up the murder. Jens uses Carl's van, which happens to be the suspicious vehicle with a missing tail light that was spotted previously, to dispose of Johan by throwing him on the train tracks.
Marion and Leo then attend a concert later that night, which they use as their alibi. But they mess up by discussing the opening act and the band in question never performed that night, meaning their alibi timeline isn't accurate.
Wracked with guilt, Leo ultimately tries to take his own life by jumping in front of a train, but Hanna manages to save him in the nick of time.
Where does the story end?
Now cleared of all suspicion, Carl and Anton are able to continue their relationship. Elsewhere, Daniel returns home to Ida and tries putting genuine effort into being less of a workaholic. At the end of the final episode, we see Daniel ignore a phone call from Hanna for the first time, opting instead to stay home with his partner and daughter for a change.
As for Hanna, she's now working full-time in Åre and seems to be staying at her sister's home permanently, or at least for the foreeable future. The latter half of the season also appeared to be hinting at a potential romantic relationship forming between Daniel and Hanna, so it'll be interesting to see if that blossoms further should the series be renewed.
Why was Hanna under investigation in Stockholm?
For those who missed the explanation, the reason Hanna was being investigated for harrassing a colleague is because she suspected a police officer of murdering his wife.
When interviewing his fellow officers who had given him an alibi, Hanna suspected they were lying to cover up the death. She dug deeper into the investigation, leading to the claims. She still doesn't know if that cop actually murdered his wife or not. Hanna confesses all of this to Daniel while trying to stay alive in the cold after Bosse drives her car off the road.
All episodes of The Åre Murders are now streaming on Netflix. Add the series to your watchlist here.