Margrete – Queen of the North is a historical 'what if' story in just three episodes. Queen Margrete (Trine Dyrholm, Arvingerne) has ensured that Denmark, Norway and Sweden work together peacefully in a union. She does everything she can to preserve this union. After the death of her son (Jakob Oftebro, Agent Hamilton), she adopts Erik (Morten Hee Andersen, Herrens Veje) to prevent the union from falling apart. When her presumed dead son suddenly turns up, the union is under heavy pressure. Especially if it turns out that hostile Germany plays a role.
In just three parts we get to see what could have happened in 1402.
An interesting mini-series has been made from the little that remains of the historiography. In just three parts we get to see what could have happened in 1402. The fact is that what was once written down has been burned. This gives the writers plenty of room to fantasize about what really happened. This is done with tasteful restraint. Don't expect a grand historical spectacle. No big fights or imposing CGI images. The atmosphere is much more based on historical reality.
Margrete – Queen of the North features many well-known Scandinavian actors. It ensures that the quality is good. The fact that the story is completed in three parts is no problem at all. The investigation into the resurrected son and its consequences are neatly completed. Although it only has three episodes, the story has enough depth and tension. The principle behind the story (is he who he says who he is) has of course been done before. In that sense, this is not a surprise or innovation. Still, it must be said that the ending has a nice twist.
Think of it more as an ingeniously put together play.
Personally, I think it's great that people try to imitate historical reality so faithfully. The historical protagonists have all existed. The clothing and the background (especially a castle) show that attention has been paid to detail. Margrete – Queen of the North is not a smash hit, but certainly a decently average series. Think of it more as an ingenious stage play, not an action-packed historical adventure series. With that state of mind, I think it's a great series to watch.
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.
