Description:
“Explore Netflix’s The Glass Dome — a gripping Swedish crime drama filled with suspense, emotional trauma, and unexpected twists.”
A Series Without a Dome—But Full of Mystery
Despite the name, the Swedish Netflix limited series The Glass Dome, it doesn’t actually feature a glass dome. But does that even matter? As a child, Leila was held captive in a Swedish village by an unknown perpetrator, trapped in a glass box. Now, another young girl has disappeared without a trace.
As Leila investigates the disappearance, she must also confront her own inner darkness, a part of her past she’s tried to avoid. Are the similarities between Leila’s past and the girl’s disappearance just a chilling coincidence, or is history repeating itself?
A Story Adapted From Camilla Läckberg
So this six episode limited crime thriller comes from Swedish bestselling author Camilla Lackberg. And I’ve not read the novel, but I am impressed at how twisty this adaptation comes across.
The story follows Leila, who as a child was kidnapped and held prisoner in this fish tank like structure until she managed to escape. She was then cared for by the town’s police chief and his wife while Leila grew up. And after returning home for a funeral, a young girl is kidnapped, triggering Leila’s memories that causes her to start investigating.
Dark Themes and Mental Health Portrayal
Now, there are several disturbingly dark areas to this story. I mean, first, just the topic of taking kids. That’s terrible. But then we’re shown the aftermath of self-harm and the brutality that can encompass it.
And the story focuses heavily on the mental health aspect of a lot of the characters, not providing commentary so much as just allowing us to see how traumas or difficulties affect the characters in the present. And seeing these helps to add a ton of the mystique and intrigue.
Complex Suspects and Misleading Clues
Also, it works to set up several suspects, making it difficult to pinpoint who might actually be the perpetrator. Now, I love that I jumped to several different suspects over the course of the episodes.
Storytelling unfurls in a way that gives us credible arguments for certain characters being responsible, but then also introduces other complexities that point away from that particular character and maybe onto a different one.
And I did suspect the right person at one point, but they weren’t my final suspect.
Slow but Purposeful Pacing
Now, the pacing for this show is kind of slow. I mean, a lot is because there’s just simply not a ton of action. Instead, we watch procedural investigations mixed with half dreams of Leila.
She’s reliving her trauma from her own kidnapping, but the imagery we see, it isn’t fully cohesive. And a lot of the time, it’s also missing context for us.
So we have to continue to put the pieces together. And this makes us an active participant in the mystery rather than having the story lay it all out for us so that we just passively take it in.
I mean, you can do that because all of the reveals are eventually given to us, but it’s so much more fun to try and figure out who, what or why before the plot does for us.
And even though the pacing is slower, it’s deliberate. There weren’t any points where I felt like time was dragging or scenarios were taking too long to play out. I mean, if anything, sometimes things were skimped on a bit, but I’ll get to that in a minute.
Character Analysis and Performances
Leila: A Strong Yet Haunted Lead
Leonie Vincent plays Leila, and she expertly captures the persona of a haunted and guarded individual who’s endured a lot of emotional trauma. And I like that the character is strong and determined.
And while she may have been a victim and she still has to combat some of those memories, she doesn’t become the withering flower who’s just a useless pile of pity.
Her smarts and tenacity are some of her superpowers. But there is a moment when Leila makes an obviously dumb decision, which that felt out of character for her.
But while it was strange, it does lead to some harrowing sequences that only add further complexities to the plot.
Tension Among Key Characters
Now, storytelling weaves in several different strained dynamics between characters to build credible doubt and suspicion. One dynamic is between Walter, the man who cared for Leila after she escaped her abductor, and then Tomas, who became police chief after Walter retired.
Now, Tomas isn’t as competent and doesn’t inspire as much confidence to do the job as required.
And the strife between the duo, it adds a bunch of mystery and twists, but it also serves to aggravate us because we can see how Tomas’ inexperience frustrates the case. And Tomas is built to be an intriguing character.
Sometimes he’s very sympathetic, just simply because he appears to be doing his best. But he’s also antagonistic through some of his inactions.
Subplots and Unresolved Tangents
Now, another strained dynamic is between the owners of a mining company and local activists. And this is used to multiply the suspects, which it does really well.
But there are also plot points that are hinted at and sometimes blatantly shown that then go unaddressed. The story does an excellent job at inserting clues that add distrust, but it also doesn’t follow through on some of the most intriguing ones.
And we’re given a few sketchy characters that can be potential perpetrators. But when tangents come into play, they’re just typically abandoned before the arc fully plays out.
Now, I wasn’t a fan of the story elements just dangling, even if it meant progressing through the mystery faster. Even with some arcs left unfinished, the series does maintain a lot of urgency to the search for the newly missing girl.
Clues, Revelations, and Symbolism
Now, a lot of background investigation and clues, they’re dropped subtly, sometimes just being a photo that’s lingered on or maybe a drawing that holds clues.
And when these are added to the more obvious reveals, the tension steadily builds because we can assume that circumstances will become more dire as time progresses.
And all of this is working in conjunction with Layla trying to figure out her own abduction.
I mean, her memories are spotty and incomplete, but they consistently haunt her dreams. And while the imagery we’re shown, it isn’t particularly violent, the terror and stress of the captivity, it doesn’t require violent imagery to induce horror and trauma.
Once we get the final reveal, it’s quite dark and twisted. I mean, the rationale for it is a little thin or at least it’s underdeveloped, but that doesn’t detract from the unsettling nature of the crime.
And I had a blast with this, but it’s not perfect. And I still can’t figure out why it’s called The Glass Dome instead of The Glass Box.
Content Advisory & Rating
There’s no sex and nudity, a lot of profanity and some horrible violence. I give The Glass Dome seven out of ten score.
Anyway, though, have you seen any great thrillers or mysteries lately? I would love to hear about what you watched in the comments below.
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