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Shetland season 8

1000 replies

laplage · 30/10/2023 15:43

Anyone else looking forward to the new season starting on Wednesday? It will seem a bit strange without Perez but looks to be a good cast and storyline so far as we know.

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21
mrwalkensir · 11/12/2024 22:25

The lizard is the quilting of her jacket - the scales

RandomersAssociation · 11/12/2024 22:26

I think we all got that , @mrwalkensir!

Tiepolo · 11/12/2024 22:27

So basically the entire plot was a red herring, and it was all about covering up a rape we only found out about half way through the final episode? It was completely irrelevant that Annie was an ex-spy, that she’d re-encountered someone who shot her in a botched sting, that her former spymaster had gone rogue, that she was divorcing a not very nice man, that Bergen was involved in gambling etc etc. And the ‘marine’ research institute was only relevant insofar as Bergen was panicked that Astrid’s father had found out he was going to help Astrid escape her treatment, so they dashed off to Ian’s croft with a gun Annie had confiscated from Lisa Friel?

But in fact Stefan and Karin were completely irrelevant?

Kingdomoffife · 11/12/2024 22:32

I don't understand why Annie was so invested in helping Astrid either, and how did she become friends with Bergen?

Tealeavesinthecup · 11/12/2024 22:32

The question uppermost in my mind was what sort of mother takes her child out very late, lets a strange disturbed man into the car, drives to a dark creepy house and then puts her frightened child in a bath to go to sleep?? Never mind arguing with a woman about her husband being a rapist in a loud voice. Just what sort of mother would do that ? What sort of father would take his frightened and traumatised child back to that scene? Poor kid. All of his relatives are crazy and irresponsible.

The entire thing was absolute nonsense.

Kingdomoffife · 11/12/2024 22:37

Tealeavesinthecup · 11/12/2024 22:32

The question uppermost in my mind was what sort of mother takes her child out very late, lets a strange disturbed man into the car, drives to a dark creepy house and then puts her frightened child in a bath to go to sleep?? Never mind arguing with a woman about her husband being a rapist in a loud voice. Just what sort of mother would do that ? What sort of father would take his frightened and traumatised child back to that scene? Poor kid. All of his relatives are crazy and irresponsible.

The entire thing was absolute nonsense.

Edited

Exactly - Noah should have been at home in bed, it was totally implausible that Annie would have taken him on that night, and if they felt so threatened by Astrid's dad, why didn't they call the police instead of hiding out in a half built house? Makes no sense at all.

WatchOutMissMarpleIsAbout · 11/12/2024 22:39

I felt for Tosh at the end when she bumped into her so called friends. And don’t remember them mentioning the baby again. Guessed it was something to do with the family but the rest of it was a bit of a mess I think. Lots of red herrings.

SoupDragon · 11/12/2024 22:44

Kingdomoffife · 11/12/2024 22:37

Exactly - Noah should have been at home in bed, it was totally implausible that Annie would have taken him on that night, and if they felt so threatened by Astrid's dad, why didn't they call the police instead of hiding out in a half built house? Makes no sense at all.

Didn't she go when she left the party with Noah? She didn't take him out as such.

longtompot · 11/12/2024 22:45

The forefront of Annie's mind was the keep Bergen safe from Karin's dad. That's why she went to the croft. Them being killed at the croft was why the police didn't know who had done it. It was only when Lisa said what had happened to her, and when, that they could work out what she was going to tell Tosh but was killed before she could,
That scene with Norah wrapping her arms around Noah sent shivers down my spine. A very good reveal I thought.
I liked the ending too. Tosh has grown away from her friends, probably because she needs to due to her job, and now has Ashley's character to form a friendship with.
Im looking forward to the next series.

@wildfellhall Perez

SoupDragon · 11/12/2024 22:46

It was all ridiculous though and yes, about 90% red herrings. The only bits that came together nicely were the dinosaur and lizard. Everything else was a shambles.

I still enjoyed watching it though.

RandomersAssociation · 11/12/2024 23:11

That scene with Norah wrapping her arms around Noah sent shivers down my spine. A very good reveal I thought.
I liked the ending too. Tosh has grown away from her friends, probably because she needs to due to her job, and now has Ashley's character to form a friendship with.

Yes, all of this. I didn’t feel bad for Tosh, I felt excited for her - it was a pivotal moment. One can only hope Donnie is able to shed his old skin at the same pace …

duc748 · 11/12/2024 23:17

And why did Rossi need a gun, and why did Ruth's spook say he'd gone rogue? Too many clumsy and convoluted red herrings. But I agree about the clothes, and Shetland just looks fabulous.

Ilovetea33 · 12/12/2024 00:10

Completely underwhelmed and glad it's over. And had spring suddenly sprung or why was Tosh wearing a boring black short-sleeved T-shirt instead of some nice knitwear?

LadyEloise1 · 12/12/2024 00:34

Forestdweller11 · 11/12/2024 22:04

How were they going to get home? Presume taxi? I'f they knew they were drinking they'd have arrived in a taxi surely? if they were sharing a bottle that would put them well over Scottish driving drive laws!

I was thinking that too

XxSideshowAuntSallyx · 12/12/2024 05:46

Too many unanswered questions, too much else going on that by the end I'd given up.

What was the point of the gambling, Astrid, Rossi, the lab? What's happened to the baby both his parents are in prison? Will we see the sqaut gain? Why was Angus drugged?

Either do the spy plot, the murder plot or the lab plot. There was no need for all three in one with so many ends left left undone. The new writers are pretty dreadful and went for shock and action not storyline, and even the action was pretty on the slim side so it all felt a little underwhelming.

I actually like Ruth's brother though.

AreYouShittingMe · 12/12/2024 06:44

I enjoyed it. I saw all the plot lines as part of the process of solving the murders. The police have leads to follow which may or may not be the correct one.
I enjoyed the exploration of the impact of Tosh's job on her friends and her relationship with Donnie. I thought it was quite powerful when she was able to recognise Lisa's actions and emotions as being a response to the rape where Ruth couldn't and was just getting angry at her. And there was something about how Noah's aunt and uncle were that was strange (well spotted PP!), but it was missed because the focus was elsewhere.
Loved the ending- really glad Tosh not only has a colleague she can work with, but someone she can develop a good relationship with away from work with too. I was expecting her friends to change their attitude towards her a bit, and demonstrate a bit of empathy towards her, given she did solve the murder and she need to suspect someone close to Annie.
Also enjoyed the scenes with Ruth and Noah, and Ruth spending time with him helping her to work out who the lizard was. When she said 'I know' to him, he must have so relieved!
Some bits were a bit clumsy, but I still enjoyed it.

wildfellhall · 12/12/2024 08:38

mrwalkensir · 11/12/2024 22:25

The lizard is the quilting of her jacket - the scales

Ahhh I didn't get that.

Hugging the child and the view of her from the side, her hooded face - very scary, really well done.

But we don't see what he sees do we? We just assume he saw her running away?

RandomersAssociation · 12/12/2024 08:50

When Noah first said what he saw that night I had the impression that he’d seen the ‘lizard’ close up - that maybe the thing was prowling around the house. (I may not have been listening properly!) And then yesterday the flashback showed him noticing his aunt’s car near the Croft - but I somehow didn’t see her there and assumed she was inside the car. So there was never a moment when I definitively saw him perceiving her as a lizard. Only his recognising that memory when she had her scary lizard arms and hood over him last night.

LadyEloise1 · 12/12/2024 09:01

@XxSideshowAuntSallyx Are there new writers on the show ?
It certainly felt that there was a lot going on and with only a tenuous link to the main plot.

That poor wee baby.
Mum a cold hearted murderer and Dad a rapist.
Lisa, despite so many thinking her a "bad 'un" was aware of that and mentioned it.
Noah's mother was murdered by the aunt who was caring for him.
Ian's wife was murdered by his sister 😮
They will need a lot of counselling !

BebbanburgIsMine · 12/12/2024 11:28

@wildfellhall

Cassie's father was called Duncan, but Jimmy brought her up

Lunde · 12/12/2024 12:21

So Bergen seemed to be the spider in the web that cut across many of the subplots but misdirected us

  • was the victim at the croft along with Annie
  • involved in the gambling plot line drawing together the brothers at the start, the fishing family, the Chinese guy, and several guys from the friendship group
  • was a central character to the mysterious goings on at the treatment lab ... as well as the dinosaur digger
  • His involvement with Astrid and the suspicious Jakobssons put him on the periphery of the spy plot line

But in the end Bergen was literally an innocent bystander

In the end Annie seemed to be a very odd character. For someone with her spy training she doesn't seem to have acted with much subtlety or stealth. She was a bit of a busybody involving herself in Astrid's situation and then she told the rapist and his wife that she was off to the police in the morning and left a loaded gun within reach.

KitchenAngst · 12/12/2024 12:22

XxSideshowAuntSallyx · 12/12/2024 05:46

Too many unanswered questions, too much else going on that by the end I'd given up.

What was the point of the gambling, Astrid, Rossi, the lab? What's happened to the baby both his parents are in prison? Will we see the sqaut gain? Why was Angus drugged?

Either do the spy plot, the murder plot or the lab plot. There was no need for all three in one with so many ends left left undone. The new writers are pretty dreadful and went for shock and action not storyline, and even the action was pretty on the slim side so it all felt a little underwhelming.

I actually like Ruth's brother though.

Yes, I thought surely that Angus's video camera, with its footage of him being attacked, was going to appear again somewhere as evidence of wrongdoing at the research institute, but tbh, that plotline didn't make a lot of sense to me. If Astrid was their sole patient for the illegal therapy, surely it makes no sense to have this giant hush hush laboratory behind ostentatiously locked gates, more or less saying 'Look at me, I've got something to hide' with sinister security guards (who are never seen or heard of again?) attacking elderly conspiracy theorists, when they could have had a discreet lab somewhere that no one would have noticed? And did we ever even find out whether Karin was Brutus and/or the one who shot Annie Bett? And the brother who shot his brother for sleeping with his fiancée at the start was completely unrelated to anything, and Anton Bergen just randomly confided in Annie Bett about Astrid and the therapy.

Final impressions -- Ian Bett is not exactly father of the year, and I'm not convinced Annie was mum of the year either, if she brought a nine-year-old to pick up a virtual stranger at a shady research facility and then freaked out enough to take him off to a half-renovated croft to sleep in a bath with a gun in her bag, rather than go to the police? I mean, you'd expect a former spy to have better risk assessment, to put it mildly.

Still, at least Tosh has a new friend. And Ruth's brother got one of those attractively-sited Hollywood facial cuts that enhance the cheekbones.

KitchenAngst · 12/12/2024 12:23

Lunde · 12/12/2024 12:21

So Bergen seemed to be the spider in the web that cut across many of the subplots but misdirected us

  • was the victim at the croft along with Annie
  • involved in the gambling plot line drawing together the brothers at the start, the fishing family, the Chinese guy, and several guys from the friendship group
  • was a central character to the mysterious goings on at the treatment lab ... as well as the dinosaur digger
  • His involvement with Astrid and the suspicious Jakobssons put him on the periphery of the spy plot line

But in the end Bergen was literally an innocent bystander

In the end Annie seemed to be a very odd character. For someone with her spy training she doesn't seem to have acted with much subtlety or stealth. She was a bit of a busybody involving herself in Astrid's situation and then she told the rapist and his wife that she was off to the police in the morning and left a loaded gun within reach.

Edited

Yeah, exactly. I was complaining earlier on about how thinly characterised Annie was, which made it difficult to believe in Rossi's admiration for/love of her because we'd seen so little of her before she was killed, but last night's flashback did nothing to strengthen my sense that here was someone with pretty poor judgement for a former spy.

Lonelyscarecrow · 12/12/2024 12:34

Sorry if this has already been mentioned and I missed it, and if I missed it in the actual series, but was Karin (Astrid's stepmother) the person who shot Annie in the past or not??

RandomersAssociation · 12/12/2024 12:44

Given her final expletive on the last occasion we saw her (either fuck! or shit! - I forget) after Ruth told her how much trouble she was in, I think we can assume she was busted.

And remember how, when she’d overpowered Rossi on the beach, she told him how fucking useless he was? That also confirmed, despite all her denials, that she was no innocent bystander caught up in unexpected chaos.

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