Episode 1
Episode 1 of The Breakthrough begins on 19 Oct 2004 in Linkoping. Following the murders, it becomes the second-largest criminal investigation in Swedish history. The night before, Saad teaches his son, Adnan the concept of time. Someone types that they “Must Kill.” Another person enters a room.
On the day of the murder, Detective John is jogging. He is a former Olympic athlete, friendly and has a heavily pregnant wife. Adnan’s sister, Maya is late and he leaves for school alone at 7:30 AM.
Nearby, an elderly woman, Gunilla leaves for work at 8 AM. As she reaches a crossing, she spots a man stabbing Adnan. She tries to stop him and he punches her. Another neighbour, Karin is cycling by and sees the whole thing. Maya heads to school on the same route and realises the dead body is Adnan’s.
John is called to the crime scene and updated – Gunilla has died, a murder weapon and a blue beanie are found, and there is a witness. As Karin gives her statement, another neighbour, Ante watches her and runs off.
The victims’ families finally find out and are shocked. John believes the case will be quickly solved once they establish the connection between the two victims and talk to the witness. He takes the lead even though his wife doesn’t want him to with the baby on the way.
It is anything but quick as Karin cannot remember the culprit’s face despite seeing it. Gunilla’s husband hesitates to tell his son, Samuel while Adnan’s parents are distraught. John pursues the connection angle as Gunilla taught Swedish to immigrants. However, her husband claims she was loved while Adnan’s family don’t know her. Both families wonder what to do next.
While Gunilla’s husband follows the news coverage, Adnan’s family are busy with a memorial. John stops sleeping. The neighbourhood coach wishes him luck and we see that Ante is in his team. He is out of sorts and his coach notices. Karin struggles to remember the culprit’s face and beats herself up for it.
The investigation makes a headway as the cops sketch a profile of the culprit – a young male who lives in the area and knows it well, has a mental illness like anxiety, chose the victims at random, has a pent-up need and may kill again. And the murderer’s blood on the weapon doesn’t have a match.
The cops come up with a new plan as they call in all young men for a swab. It is a huge and slow task as 17.7k men fall into the category. Next, they check former asylum patients who match the profile and there are many. John questions some who match the profile and it is a slow process. He misses a check-up appointment with his wife as he stays back to go through the data.
A month passes by and there is no progress. Ante spots Karin in the supermarket and runs off. She finds it odd and goes after him but loses him.
John questions Adnan’s family for a religious or cultural angle due to the stab wounds. The family is shocked at the insinuation and clarifies that there is no religious practice. John apologises and promises to catch the killer.
Desperate, he looks into witness hypnosis. Karin’s husband is skeptical but she agrees instantly. She relives the whole morning till the murder. That’s when it goes wrong as she realises she could have helped by trying to stop the killer. They are back on track as she corroborates the blue beanie. The hypnotist pushes her and she declares she can see his face at the end of The Breakthrough Episode 1.
The Episode Review
The Breakthrough Episode 1 starts on a high note and ends on a high note. And the fact that it is set in the early 2000s not only makes the case that much harder to solve but gives the writers a chance to come up with intriguing props and plot devices.
Along with the convoluted nature of the case and the narrative splicing up the timeline, the script also focuses on fleshing out the characters. This already puts the Netflix show in our good graces as crime thrillers tend to forget their characters in a bid to weave a tangled mystery which later unravels smoothly with no plot holes. But we knew we were in good hands the moment we learned The Breakthrough (Genombrottet) is by Netflix Sweden.
Nordic countries are known for their thrillers and mysteries. Viewers just know they are in for a ride as their crime thrillers are always top-knotch, whether it is from the bereaved’s POV, the victim or the police. The first chapter itself shows the bereaved families’ emptiness, the shock, John’s shock and peppers clues which will either make sense or be marked off as red herrings later.
And the latest clue we have is Ante from his shiftiness to the poor timing at the crime site. Is he the killer or an accomplice?
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Read our Season 1 review of The Breakthrough here! |
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Episode Rating
(3)