The Trapped

Mal Higgins shares his thoughts on the story thus far of The Trapped.  

If viewers of this website are followers of the Danish/Swedish drama called The Bridge now in its third series being shown on TG4 on Thursday night at 11.10pm. Then they will be delighted with the arrival of a new Icelandic drama on RTE2 on Sunday at 9pm called The Trapped. Episodes 1 and 2, already shown, are currently available on the RTE Player.


The opening scene of this drama starts with 2 teenagers “making out” in some derelict property. The young man, Hjortur, goes downstairs to retrieve some drinks when suddenly the building is engulfed in flames thus trapping the girl and resulting in her death. The townsfolk suspect he may have set the fire but nothing is proven.

Fast forward 4 years later and a torso are retrieved from a fjord by a local fisherman just as a ferry from Copenhagen is docking in the port. Andri the local sheriff, who looks more like a fisherman, suspects the torso was dumped from the ferry and the killer may still be abroad it. Unfortunately, the forensic detective team from Reykjavik are held up due to a blizzard that has engulfed the surrounding area so Andri and this team must assess the situation and take appropriate action to apprehend the killer.

The police have arrested a Lithuanian human trafficker, who was on the ferry, but he has managed to escape into the storm that has engulfed the town. The torso, which was stored in a cold storage facility, has been stolen and photos of it have ended up on an Internet Twitter account. 

There are several subplots to this drama. Andri’s ex-wife has just returned from Reykjavik with her new boyfriend and plans to return there with their 2 children thus causing a lot of friction. The local politician and businessmen are about to sign a deal with a Chinese firm allowing the latter to build a processing plant in the port.

However, full cooperation on the selling of property is essential if the deal is to be successful. A businessman assures a packed community gathering that everyone will prosper until a lowly protester points out that the same thing was said in 2008 in reference to Iceland’s famous banking crisis that plunged the country into recession. 

By all accounts this is just a run of the mill murder drama but what makes it so special is the Icelandic scenery and landscape in which it was filmed. The acting is top rate, especially when it is set against such an inhospitable yet charming landscape. All the storm and scenery shots are natural as there is no CGI used in this drama. The camera crew certainly did an excellent job in filming this drama.

If episodes 1 and 2 are anything to go by then the remaining 7 should be a joy to watch. In the past I don’t usually like sub titled films but I now think it’s a price you have to pay for good entertainment as what this drama appears to be and long may it continue.

2 comments:

  1. Don't fancy this by the sounds of it. Waiting patiently on House of Cards returning on Friday. Bosch season 2 is coming soon.Better Call Saul didn't live up to expectations after breaking bad.

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  2. If you really like the House of Cards then maybe you should watch the originally that was made in the mid 1980s and set in the House of Commons. It was excellent.

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