Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season one finale of ‘Bäckström’.
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One thing that each and every one of us hope to achieve in the workplace is unity. Because deep down we know that if everyone in the office worked together on a more consistent basis, genuine wonders would take place. The kind that would make for a stress-free environment, one where workloads are lighter, and fun can be had. But alas, that particular wish/goal isn’t always easy to achieve since chaos often reigns supreme in any work environment and of course… people often have their own goals in mind and that motivates them to pursue those over anything else. But unity at work, can and does happen now and again and it is often brought forth when everyone in the office realizes that something greater is at stake, and it just so happens that after weeks of infighting and chaos at the station… unity finally came to Bäckström’s precinct in the season one finale of Bäckström on AcornTV.

A feat that came about, by way of Evert’s confrontation with the Russian mafia. Because that cleared his name and got him reinstated and since so much progress was made on the case recently, and because everyone realized that pulling in different directions was unhelpful and could have very well caused this attack to happen in the first place… everyone came together and put together a concerted effort to solve Jaidee’s death. Which led to a fast-paced series of events, the kind where Haqvin admitted to seeing Daniel and Jaidee around the time she died and that finally led to Daniel’s arrest and interrogation and that move put the newfound unity at the office to the test. For Eriksson stonewalled the investigation at every single turn and truly worked to get Daniel out of jail with minimal fuss. And since he's a crook, he even went so far as to help Daniel coordinate the destruction of his father’s boat, so as to hide any last shred of evidence.
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But being able to express his ideas without restrictions and having a team that was ready to support him at every turn, allowed for Bäckström to pull off one hell of a gambit to finally prove that Daniel was the one who killed his wife. A move that involved letting the next move leak whilst Daniel was being released in the hopes that he would lead the police to the murder weapon and well… that plan worked like a charm and Daniel was finally charged with murder. And while he didn’t spend the rest of his life in jail for murder, he was convicted of crimes regardless, bringing forth some semblance of justice and what appeared to be a happy ending. For now, Bäckström was part of a team that trusted one another and worked together seamlessly, and of course, he solved the toughest case of his career and finally earned the respect he genuinely deserves and while that would have been the perfect way to end this phenomenal first season… the flawlessly happy ending wouldn’t be this show’s style.

Because this one has been about unconventional storytelling from day one and the closing moments of this tale set up some future troubles for our intrepid investigator. For he did get one final goodbye with Tina, the kind that left him with an important choice. In that, he could say his peace and bring her in for her involvement with the mob and the attempted murder of a police officer, or he could truly punish her by letting her head off into the night toward an uncertain future, without someone that genuinely loved her. And of course, Bäckström being Bäckström, he chose the latter option and finished his meal and reveled in the wonder of tomorrow. One that will be sour in nature. Since it was revealed that Eriksson put Tina up to that goodbye, in the hopes of getting dirt on his rival. Which means that he is eager for revenge and knows that the removal of Bäckström is paramount to advancing his interests and illegal activities in the city.
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But while we wait to see how Eriksson enacts his vendetta, we can revel in one satisfying finale. For this one really did bring everything together in a beautiful and seamless manner, and of course… one of the bad guys did go down. But more importantly, it really was quite wonderful to finally see Hwass and Bäckström respect one another at last and see Ankan do Bäckström a solid after going behind his back, to apologize and move forward and well, now that this incredible case has come to its close, all we can do now is sit and wait and hope… that a second season is on the way. Because this really is one delightful show when all is said and done, and the world definitely needs more of everything that Bäckström has to offer. Until next season.  
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‘Bäckström’ is available to stream now on AcornTV.  

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘Whitstable Pearl’.
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It is definitely safe to say that love is something that makes all of us act in an incredibly strange manner. Because once it hits, we’re suddenly motivated to go the extra mile and say and do things we normally wait upon doing in a relationship, simply because our hearts are soaring, and we firmly believe that we have hit the jackpot romance wise and what’s wild… is that love’s impact doesn’t end with being goofy and excessively happy. Because it can also make us act in a negative manner as well. For when we are utterly afraid of how strong it feels, we sometimes erect emotional walls and try to play it safe out of the fear that it isn’t real, leading to complications in a burgeoning relationship and of course… some people really do attach themselves to the feeling it elicits in a supremely unhealthy manner.
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If anything, that stranger and sometimes more uncomfortable side to love is of relevance today, largely because it served as the focal theme of this week’s episode of Whitstable Pearl on AcornTV. Which made for one fascinating tale, since at first glance… ‘Civil War’ didn’t seem at all as though it was going to be about love. For initially this story saw DCI McGuire dealing with an unexpected death in a Civil War reenactment, wherein a surprise bullet or two took down a retired police officer named Brian Armstrong. And well… once Mike found out that the deceased was hated by everyone, including his brother and his wife, Heidi, who also happened to be quite apathetic toward his death because her late husband was a well-known ladies’ man; McGuire believed this was a matter of vendetta. One that Heidi was involved in.

But once Heidi approached Pearl about clearing her name, she and Mike pooled their resources and came to realize… that something far different was taking place here. In fact, this dynamic duo had actually managed to step into the heart of a love triangle, one that involved Heidi and Brian’s brother Kid and… the killer in question. Because apparently Brian knew that his wife was having an affair with his brother and rather than see her leave him for another family member, he planned to have her killed while she was watching the reenactment. But unfortunately for Brian… the killer was more interested in Heidi, in fact… he fell in love with her from afar. Which motivated him to kill Brian and try to ingratiate himself into Heidi’s heart by somehow looking like the hero. But thankfully, Pearl and Mike brought him to justice before he could cause more trouble or bring harm to Heidi. 

But while that alone could have carried this episode, since it truly did a wonderful job of demonstrating how love makes us do incredible and sometimes horrible and heartbreaking things, there was more to explore in this tale in regard to weird matters of the heart. For Pearl and Mike once again did their little song and dance romance wise in this tale, and since they’re both coming from broken places, the kind that have them scared to open up again… they were able to demonstrate how love can make us appear to be quite dumb for certain. Since they both put up walls and lightly hurt one another to project their past pain and their fears, but thankfully… there is still hope for romance between these two. Because eventually they realized how foolish their behavior was and opened up to one another and took things slow, which made for quite the sweet ending… to one engrossing and amazing episode.

Because this one really did take us the audience by surprise. Thanks in large part to the fact that it assembled a murder case that was about as unconventional as it gets, and every single time it appeared as though an answer might arise or that something traditional was about to happen… the case simply took one hell of a left turn. Which just goes to show that Whistable Pearl is going to be an incredibly dynamic and refreshing mystery series when all is said and done. Because this one, can simply do it all storytelling wise. Since every episode features tension and danger and depth and meaning and relatability and that really does leave the viewer eager to enjoy more of this journey, so that we can continue to partake in unique and original stories that keep us on our toes and keep us engaged, emotionally. Until next time.