International Mystery: Johan Falk Series

What makes someone risk his life every day for the sake of others? 

What makes someone risk the torture and death of his loved ones? 

What makes someone risk being ostracized by family, knowing what they think they know is totally wrong? 

What makes someone risk their soul and voluntarily go deeper and deeper into hell?

Those are the questions I've been asking every week when I watch this new season of Johan Falk, now playing on Sundays at 9:00pm on MHz Networks International Mystery series:

I’m obsessed every time I watch an episode not with our lead character, Johan Falk, but with Lisa.

Currently on Sundays MHz Networks is showing "Season 2" of this Swedish police series, Johan Falk. The series so far consists of 15 films released between 1999 and 2013.  From reading about Swedish or Nordic Noir series in general, I know that some episodes are seen on TV, some are released in movie theaters and some are released only as DVD's.  I'm not sure where this current group of films we are viewing fall in the 15 film series.  I tried to figure out when the episodes with Lisa began and ended, if they did, but still not sure.  I see on IMDB that an episode is now filming for airing in Sweden in 2015. Hope we'll see it here in the US. 

Last year I watched the first season of Johan Falk starring Jacob Eklund as the lead character.  In the first season we see Swedish policeman Falk both at work and in his personal life. What started out as what seemed like a local robbery turns into a case of international crime and criminals. The first season took us through a number of cases that Johan solves, despite resistance from his superiors. He attracts the attention of Europol, but refuses the job. At the end he's dissatisfied and leaves his job as a policeman.  It's been a while since I watched the first series, so the facts about the individual cases are a bit fuzzy. 

Jacqueline Ramel 

As for his personal life, when we first meet Johan he's having an affair with his colleague, Anja, played by Jacqueline Ramel.

In one of the crimes he's investigating in Season 1 he meets Helene Andersson.  At first she's a "person of interest", and later a potential victim of the case Johan is investigating. During the course of the episode Helene and Johan fall in love.  It's interesting that Helene is played by Marie Richardson, wife of series star Eklund. Richardson is a familiar face for those that watch Swedish mystery/police series.

Jacob Eklund and Marie Richardson

I liked and recommend the first series of Johan Falk films. It's a good police procedural with international intrigue, good acting, and conflicted characters. But I have to confess it's this second series airing now that has grabbed me by the throat and won't let go.  

The second series opens nine years later. Johan has spent a decade working for Interpol, but is tired of his mostly desk job.  He wants to go out into the field again and be there when the action happens. He accepts a job in a special unit GSI in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Johan and Helene have now been together for ten years and have a young son.  Helene has a career in marketing, if my memory is correct, and like most two-career couples, they must decide what to do.  To join Johan in Gothenburg, she must quit her job and move. Right now she's still at her job in another city, and visits Johan on the weekends.  To add to the complicated personal life, Johan's former girlfriend Anja is now the head of police in the same police station where the GSI special unit operates from.

But let's be frank, the center of attention in the second series is Lisa.   In order to avoid any major spoilers for any that have not seen at least the first episode, read on (click on Read More below) if you want to know more about Lisa and the actors in this series (SPOILERS).