‘Hinterland: The Complete Season Three’ DVD Review
Stars: Alex Harries, Aneirin Hughes, Hannah Daniel, Mali Harries, Richard Harrington | Produced by Ed Talfan, Ed Thomas, D. Gethin Scourfield
After the events of season two, DCI Tom Mathias (Richard Harrington) is on the hunt for Iwan Thomas (Geraint Morgan). When Thomas is found dead though, Mathias is soon under suspicion in an investigation that will discover a cover-up connected to an old case that threatens to create a rift with the whole team.
Season three of Hinterland is interesting because it brings in a conspiracy that goes right to the top, and connects to the past. While each of the four episodes has a case to be solved to keep things moving, the hunt for the killer of Iwan Thomas is an the on-going overall story arc.
The problem with the case of course is that it threatens to unravel the cover-up, which people don’t want to be revealed. While Mathias would be a good scapegoat for the murder, thankfully we don’t see this expected route followed, even though there are hints that it could go this way. What we get instead is a group of powerful men looking to make the case go away.
This introduces the character of the retired Chief Superintendent Robert Owen (William Thomas), who advises how to shut down the case. Seemingly charismatic, Thomas is able to turn on the charm for the character, before becoming intimidating when needed. The revelations about his character are slowly fed into the story through each episode until the finale.
What is impressive is the way Hinterland’s story arc for this season has such high repercussions for the characters. Not only does it affect Mathias, but all of those around him. This allows for intimidation and blackmail as the cover-up is strengthened. Mathias of course is one of those police officers who refuses to be intimidated, which sets up the confrontation between him and his superiors in his fight for justice.
Hinterland really handles this cover-up story-line well, because we are slowly fed the details as the season goes on, before we are given the final episode where the original case is brought back, and the cover-up is blown apart. The fact that Hinterland doesn’t rush in revealing its story also allows for a more relaxed viewing experience. This isn’t a high action show, but there are still plenty of dangerous situations as the killers are revealed.
For fans of Nordic Noir style shows, they will see that style in the show, even though it is of course Welsh. What makes Hinterland stand out though is the mixing of both countryside setting and seaside town (Aberstwyth). It is interesting that just as we get the two different settings, we also have the mixing of the Welsh and English language and how the two are mixed in the show.
Hinterland is well worth watching, especially for fans of more laid back crime drama shows. Even with the laid-back feel though, it still manages to include plenty of grit and the constant menace of police corruption. Fans of the show will already know how good it is, but for newcomers it is well worth checking out.
****½ 4.5/5
Hinterland: The Complete Season Three is available on DVD now.
