The Breakthrough (2025) – Season 1 Episode 3 “Family Tree” Recap & Review

Episode 3

Episode 3 of The Breakthrough begins with Per and John talking to the higher-ups for approval to use genealogical mapping to find the killer. Per needs to use family registries and the officers wonder if it is a privacy violation. John tells them about the Golden State Killer and they give him 2 weeks to find the killer before it becomes a cold case.

The work begins but Per realises that the DNA profile has missed a lot of categories due to the old technology of 2004. The blood on the murder weapon has all been used up to create the incomplete DNA profile. However, John is impatient and tells him to begin regardless. Things seem to look up as Per finds 3 ancestral matches. They are all from Germany with one match being a Linkoping resident. 

John runs into Gunilla’s husband and tries to assure him. The old man is tired and tells John to get in touch only if there is progress. Upset, John rushes Per, asking for an international warrant to check the German registry and pushing Per to make statements he cannot verify. Per is frustrated and backs out. John is unable to go after him as he has a meeting with his son. It is awkward as Henry is cold and aloof.

Back to the case, John asks the forensics team to find more DNA and one technician realises that there is some DNA left on the beanie. They work on creating a new DNA profile and assure John that it will be more concrete.

Per goes back to his boring life. His daughter, Klara skips school and he has a tough time trying to parent her. He finds John waiting for him who apologises and promises to do things his way. John explains that the case has become personal for him and Per agrees to rejoin.

They get the new DNA profile and it is complete. Per finds over 800 matches related to the killer and John’s squad is optimistic.

Unfortunately, EU’s data protection laws confirm Per’s method is illegal. The official dismissal will come by the end of the week and John tells Miran to look the other way till then. Per is able to narrow the search and finds 3 matches in Ostergotland. He believes that the killer has a connection to one of them.

Stina comes home after her father passes away. He has kept every single article of hers and she spots her sneak-attack article on John. Her brother tells her about it being an active investigation 16 years later. Curious, she looks into it and learns they have hired a genealogist. She instantly questions the legality of it. 

Meanwhile, Francy tells John to live his life and not lose himself in the case. He agrees to have a beer with her. She also reveals that their children are friends and Henry once asked her about the progress of the case. John is surprised and Francy tells him that it is not too late to patch up. Emboldened, he leaves a voice message for Henry.

Stina shows up and questions John about the legality of Per’s method which he ignores. On top of that, Miran gets the official dismissal. John begs him and he gives him 2 more days till he returns from a press conference. Believing that they are on the verge of a breakthrough, John requests Stina to stay mum on the case in exchange for an exclusive to which she agrees. 

Per starts hallucinating and lashes out at the squad. Worried, John takes Per jogging. He shares that he ruined his own athletic career by participating in the second Olympic event even when he was injured. At the end of The Breakthrough Episode 3, John tells Per to take a break.

The Episode Review

As a penultimate episode, The Breakthrough Episode 3 fails to capture attention. It abandons its original structure of following the characters for the sake of Per’s genealogical mapping. But since they cannot fit all of it in one episode, all viewers get is a haphazard explanation that is boring and difficult to follow. 

For a Netflix show that prefers to be fast-paced and skip years of progress to focus on what it thinks is important, it forgets that it is not a true crime documentary. Maybe it should have been because right now it struggles to find a balance between the emotional crime thriller that was the first 2 episodes and a documentary on genealogical mapping.

There is potential with Henry and Stina’s selfish nature and reluctant understanding of the investigation and John’s part in it. But unfortunately, instead of tapping into that, the show peppers shallow character development while wasting a chunk of the episode on a technique that is poorly explained.