Kapningen tries too hard to surprise with different plots.Kapningen is basically the second season of Sthlm Rekviem. The stories are based on the novels by Kristina Ohlssons about Fredrika Bergman (Liv Mjönes, Advokaten). In addition to Bergman, Alex Recht (Jonas Karlsson, Beck) also plays an important role in this season. Fredrika now works at the Swedish Department of Justice and is asked to support the investigation team in a plane hijacking. Alex comes into the picture when it turns out that his son Erik (Adam Lundgren, Vår tid är nu) has a crucial position.
The story is so muddled that there is hardly any time for character building.
A Boeing 747 on its flight from Stockholm to New York has been hijacked. One of the demands of the hijackers is the release of Said Kehlifi (Tsahi Halevi, Fauda), a Syrian academic critical of the Western world. He has been imprisoned by the Swedish security service. The other demand is about a covert operation. This not only raises questions, but also ensures that the research takes all kinds of unexpected turns. Especially when the research team itself becomes the subject of the investigation.
The hijackers appear to have access to systems in the aircraft that show that this has been an inside job. Someone who knows exactly how it works. Several passengers and crew members appear suspicious. The first allegations go out to a violent Islamic group. It soon becomes clear, however, that the ultra-right movement does not seem to be going completely unpunished either. In addition, events in the past play an important role. This story unfolds in several flashbacks.
It is precisely those flashbacks that are part of Kapningen's problem. It is unclear for a long time why they play a role and partly because of that the story goes in all directions. That was probably done to keep the tension going, but it creates a lot of confusion. The story is so muddled that there is hardly any time for character-building. The only person you get to know about is the head of the investigative team Eden Lundell (Ana Gil de Melo Nascimento, Hassel). Part of her background becomes clear, partly due to the flashbacks. Furthermore, the story frantically tries to be different from all those other stories about plane hijackings. As a result, people completely lose sight of their own red line.
The story is enough to keep you entertained for six episodes.
Unfortunately, Kapningen doesn't get much further than a six. The story is enough to keep you entertained for six episodes. Incidentally, they manage to build up the tension nicely. The problem is that one cannot hold on to that built-up tension for a longer period of time. The ending is somewhat surprising but also very far-fetched. In the end, the complexity between extreme Islamic groups and extreme right-wing ideas is not developed at all. The question is why people bring it up if it doesn't actually play a role. Unfortunately, that feeling of sharing unnecessary information with the viewer is just a little too common as far as I'm concerned.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
