RVK’s Trapped
Episode 8
Directed by Óskar Thór Axelsson
Written by Clive Bradley & Sigurjón Kjartansson

* For a recap & review of Episode 7, click here.
* For a recap & review of Episode 9, click here.
Now that Chief Andri (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) has put Cpt. Søren Carlsen (Bjarne Henriksen), things are about to change. At the same time, TV journalist Ragna (Guðrun Gísladóttir) has grieving widow Aldís (Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir) on television talking about her husband’s innocence— he was victim of a “ridiculous police operation.”
Trausti (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson) is about to head off to the city again, having done enough damage. But Andri, Ásgeir (Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson), and Hinrika (Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir) have more work to do, no matter the official word out of Reykjavík. In the interrogation room, Cpt. Carlsen’s questioned by Hinrika. She goes hard at him. She talks about how the Nigerian sisters were being brought on the ferry to be “violently raped,” and she doesn’t take it soft on the old man. She suggests he may not be a bad man, but acting out of fear. She’s presenting him with options. Hinrika brings up the engineer, Dvalin (Hans Tórgarð). This prompts the captain to talk cryptically about more horror which could potentially come down on that little Icelandic town. Then they’re stopped, as the Danish consulate says the cap needs a lawyer.
At her home, Aldís receives Andri. The chief believes her about the night of the mayor’s murder, though continues to believe her husband had something to do with Giermundur. He asks about the night Geirmundur would’ve been killed. She says that night the mayor called, late, looking for her husband. It was morning before Siggi got back to the house. And then he had a few drinks. She tells the chief her husband was both sad and angry, in a strange mood.

“Bad people aren’t the only ones who kill”

The autopsy is done on Giermundur. He had “final stage kidney cancer,” but died due to the stab wounds, specifically in his heart. The chainsaw came after death, likely to help dispose of the corpse. Sig’s fingerprints and those belonging to someone else were all over the saw. Andri believes the other prints were from Mayor Hrafn.
Andri goes to see Kolbrún (Sigrún Edda Björnsdóttir) to ask about the night her husband died. She only remembers “a silhouette” of somebody outside, no definable features or anything. The chief of police thinks she’s protecting that somebody. But she’s feeling grim relief, due to the fact her husband was abusive. She won’t give up whoever it was— the same person who continues lurking. Shit. That’s creepy.
We see Hinrika trying to help Nishadi (Marta Quental) and Joy (Grace Achieng). The older of the two worries about having to be a witness. Bárður wants his partner to “offer them asylum,” after all the two sisters have been through and the ugliness they’ve experienced at the hands of men. This causes a rift between the couple. Elsewhere, Agnes (Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir) mends her divorced relationship to a degree with Andri, whose heart’s so big it’s staggering.
Andri and Hinrika talk to Cpt. Carlsen more. They try to wear him down, asking him questions about Dvalin. The captain believed his engineer to be “a messenger” when in fact the man is much worse than that. He tells the police Dvalin’s on the boat constantly “like a ghost haunting it.” The so-called engineer has a violent temper, as well. Carlsen warns of the terrifying people for whom the man works. But he does give over the name, allowing Andri to search with Interpol. From Reykjavík, Ævar (Arnar Jónsson) helps as much as he’s able.
On the ferry, Andri and Ásgeir search for the engineer. However, he’s gone. He meets with hotel owner Guðni. Gradually all the connections of the human trafficking ring to that small town are being revealed. Clearly Leifur, Hrafn, and Guðni have had their dirty hands in the mix a long while. There are darker secrets yet to come, I’d imagine.
Andri and Ásgeir are hot on the trail of Dvalin. He leads the cops on a chase through the parts of the hotel being newly renovated. Ásgeir heads for the scaffolding, as the chief stays inside. Then Dvalin attacks Andri, but the two cops get the better of him, and it’s off to a cell he goes before they ship him and the cap off to Reykjavík.
Later, Ragna finds Andri to tell him the report he sent has been leaked, she has a copy, which shows how incompetent Trausti ran his investigation. Right off the bat, the chief goes to his cops, particularly suspicious of Ásgeir. That’s when Ásgeir admits to having leaked it himself, trying to make sure it wasn’t buried by Reykjavík. Still shitty when it ends up on the evening news.
Agnes goes to Andri to apologise for what’s happened between them. He admits his part in their damaged relationship. Then, they fall into one another’s arms for the first time in so long. Finally, some beauty in that man’s life. He deserves the tenderness. She deserves him. Only question is, will it last? If only for a moment, they’re able to recapture some of their love.
It’s been 8 days since this whole tragedy began. The ferry’s up and running. Transport for Cpt. Carlsen has gotten into town to take him back to the city. Joy and her sister are feeling relief. And Andri’s dug up a strange clue that could have to do with his ex-father-in-law. He finds Eiríkur’s pants, smelling strongly of something. From them falls a key— the one belonging to the lock from the mayor’s shed. Holy fuck. Could lead us back to the original sins 7 years ago that set all this off in the first place.
Honestly, when a series gets better towards the end of a season it’s always a good indication it was built to last. Trapped has gotten stronger every step of the way. I love the character development. Only two episodes left in Series 1 now— oh, damn!