RVK’s Trapped
Episode 9
Directed by Börkur Sigþórsson
Written by Clive Bradley & Sigurjón Kjartansson

* For a recap & review of Episode 8, click here.
* For a recap & review of Episode 10, click here.
We see the night of the fire, 7 years ago. Someone pours gas all over the fish factory, as Dagný (Rán Ísold Eysteinsdóttir) is trapped in the ensuing fire, and Hjörtur (Baltasar Breki Samper) nearly perishes in the midst of the fire. It’s true Hjörtur was dragged from the building. Was it by the arsonist? Was the arsonist Geirmundur? So many threads continue unravelling.
Now that Chief Andri (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) has discovered the key from the mayor’s shed in the belongings of Eiríkur (Þorsteinn Gunnarson), things are getting fucked up. Was it really the old man who murdered Hrafn? Hinrika (Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir) doesn’t yet know what her chief’s found, though she’s suspicious. She also thinks Guðni’s hiding secrets, so she wants to take a run at him. She asks him to come in to the station, “just routine.” This puts the hotel owner on edge. He calls Leifur immediately, both men growing exponentially paranoid. Hinrika follows Guðni, seeing him stop off on the road before he goes to the station. Very curious.
Hinrika sits down with Guðni. She automatically asks what he “threw into the sea” on his way over. He claims a bad sandwich. She knows better— it’s the burner phone he bought a while back. He sees them playing a “cop game,” whereas they’re starting to uncover all the dirty secrets of their fellow townsfolk. They make him give his fingerprints to test against the chainsaw.
We find Andri in a moral dilemma. He doesn’t want to implicate Eiríkur. All the same, he can’t ignore his duty. It won’t be easy on the family if he has to arrest his ex-father-in-law. Agnes (Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir) can already see something isn’t right.
Andri finds Eiríkur then confronts him with the key. Eiríkur talks to him about “a lie” he figured out, involving Hjörtur being pulled from the fire. His own friend Hrafn said Hjörtur was the one lying. This drove the old man to seek revenge on the mayor for having deceived him so terribly, once he realised his pal profited from the fire insurance during the “economic collapse” in 2008. The victim of their greed was Dagný. Her father chose an eye for an eye, burning the mayor alive. I feel so badly for Eiríkur, as he was manipulated into hating a young man for a crime he never committed, and now he’s been driven to murder.
At the station, the other cops are surprised to see Eiríkur with Andri. Just another surprise in a week full of horrific surprises. The chief explains what’s happened, which shocks Hinrika and Ásgeir (Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson). Afterwards he must face the rest of the family and tell them the tragic news, devastating everyone. Agnes goes too far, accusing of him trying to “be the hero.” Poor Andri cannot catch a goddamn break, man.

“That’s when the devil came into me”

But I wonder— is the old man really to blame? There’s still the mysterious man lingering around Kolbrún, in her bed, even. Who is it? Does he have something more to do with the fire that killed her husband? Strange, as it appears Eiríkur was telling the truth when he confessed. No reason why he’d lie and take the fall. Unless maybe he’s trying to atone. Hmm. Nevertheless, it’s got Leifur especially spooked.
It’s a perfect time for Valentine’s Day in that tiny town. There’s a bit of romance, too.
Looks as if Leifur has a connection with the mayor’s widow. Good thing Hinrika’s given the voyeur her phone number. He’s always watching, and he sees these two meeting. Andri and Hinrika go see Rögnvaldur about Kolbrún and Leifur— they’re indeed “sleeping together.” More pieces of the puzzle emerge.
They also get more information about Geirmundur and Hrafn’s argument: the former was driving a blue car. The cops locate a rental vehicle from Reykjavík under a pile of snow. Inside they discover wrapped present box with a firetruck and a card— remember Maggi said his dad called and told him he’d be bringing the present? Maybe the kid was telling the truth after all. The car happens to be directly outside the boy’s house.
Another whopper! Lots of amazing stuff happening. The Series 1 finale is next time, I’m already drooling for Series 2 here.