Midsummer Night (2024) – Episode 1 “Break-ups and Falling in Love” Recap & Review

Break-ups and Falling in Love

In episode 1 of Midsummer Night, Carina is excited to invite her whole family to celebrate midsummer. They’re planning to play traditional Norwegian games and have a fierce tug-of-war to see who’s the strongest. Carina tells her husband, Johannes, about a surprise (good or bad) for the family on midsummer eve, but Johannes thinks they should wait until Darius and Hanne are married. 

Carina decides to celebrate midsummer the Swedish way this year, and Johannes can’t argue with his wife’s wishes. He agrees, and Carina invites everyone, from their kids to her daughter’s boyfriend and his family. Everyone is happy to be invited and brings tasty treats to share.

Hakan, Carina’s brother, also joins the party with his much younger girlfriend, Sarah, who he says is half his age. The whole family gathers for lunch, curious about Hakan and his new girlfriend, Sarah. Hakan, who’s divorced and has no kids, isn’t against children; he just prefers not to take care of them.

During lunch, Hanne decides to remove the empty chairs to avoid bad luck but is surprised to find out that Carina has invited Lysander and Elin. This news doesn’t sit well with Hanne, as Lysander is her ex. They were once in love, but Lysander ended things abruptly without explanation.

Just to catch you up, Hanne is now engaged to Darius and is getting married to him in a couple of months. When Hanne confronts Carina about inviting Lysander, Carina tries to brush it off by saying she only invited him because Elin, Lysander’s mother, is a good friend.

Things get interesting when Helena suggests that Hanne still has feelings for Lysander. Hanne gets upset with her mother, Carina, saying she should have talked to her before sending the invites. But Carina seems indifferent, saying, “I’ve got a lot on my plate right now.”

The scene flashes back to Johannes and Carina sitting on a dining chair, where Carina talks about her unhappiness and feeling of being trapped in her life. She wants to travel and have more intimacy, among other things. Then, Carina drops a bombshell that she’s tired of her life and wants a divorce. This might be the big announcement Carina plans to make at the party in front of everyone.

The Episode Review

“We’re getting divorced.” Could this be the major announcement Carina is about to make? Most likely. From what she’s hinted at, it seems she’s not satisfied with her life with Johannes. She feels it’s stagnant and going nowhere.

It’ll be interesting to see how this news is received by those at the party.