Birgitte Nyborg is back, but she isn't the same. Honestly, if you loved the original run of the Danish political drama Borgen, the 2022 revival titled Borgen Power and Glory might have given you a bit of a shock. It's colder. It's lonelier. It’s significantly more cynical about the cost of holding onto a seat at the table. While the first three seasons felt like a "West Wing" style journey through the compromises of coalition building, this fourth installment—produced by DR in collaboration with Netflix—dives headfirst into the geopolitical muck of the 21st century.
It’s about oil. It’s about Greenland. It’s about how a woman who once fought for her soul eventually finds herself wondering if she has anything left to trade.
What Borgen Power and Glory actually gets right about modern diplomacy
The series picks up years after we last saw Birgitte. She’s now the Foreign Minister, serving under a Prime Minister, Signe Kragh, who is younger, social-media savvy, and basically everything Birgitte finds exhausting. The tension is immediate. When a massive oil discovery is made in Greenland, the idealistic "Green" platform Birgitte stands on hits a concrete wall of realpolitik.
Most political shows fake the complexity. They give you a hero and a villain. Borgen Power and Glory doesn't do that. It shows the grueling reality of the Kingdom of Denmark’s relationship with Greenland. It’s messy. You’ve got the Naalakkersuisut (the Greenlandic government) wanting financial independence through oil, while Denmark—the former colonial power—is trying to play the environmental savior. It’s hypocritical, and the show knows it.
The brilliance here is how creator Adam Price uses the oil strike to drag in the big players. Suddenly, it’s not just a Danish domestic issue. The US, China, and Russia all want a piece of the Arctic. It’s a terrifyingly accurate look at how a small nation gets squeezed when global superpowers decide a patch of ice is worth billions.
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The brutal evolution of Birgitte Nyborg
In the original series, Birgitte was the underdog we rooted for. In Borgen Power and Glory, she’s often the person you’re most disappointed in. That’s a bold choice. We see her navigating the "empty nest" syndrome at home while becoming increasingly addicted to her office.
There’s a specific scene where she’s sitting alone, eating a sad meal, staring at her phone. It’s a far cry from the vibrant family life she sacrificed in the early seasons. Sidse Babett Knudsen plays this transition with a terrifyingly sharp edge. Her Birgitte is now someone who will steamroll her own staff to keep her position. She has become the "old guard" she used to despise.
Katrine Fønsmark and the collapse of modern media
While Birgitte is fighting for her political life, Katrine Fønsmark—the former journalist turned spin doctor—returns to news as the head of the department at TV1. If you’ve ever worked in a newsroom, these scenes are painful to watch. It’s not about the "truth" anymore. It’s about clicks. It’s about Twitter (now X) trends.
Katrine’s arc is a heavy-handed but necessary critique of how we consume information. She tries to maintain high journalistic standards, but the algorithm doesn't care about nuances. It wants blood. Her mental health spiral throughout the season is one of the most honest depictions of workplace burnout ever put on screen. It shows that in the world of Borgen Power and Glory, nobody wins. Not the politicians, and certainly not the people reporting on them.
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The Greenland Question: Sovereignty vs. Survival
The show spends a lot of time in Nuuk, and the cinematography is stunning. But it’s not just travel porn. It tackles the very real movement for Greenlandic independence. For decades, Denmark has provided a massive annual subsidy to Greenland. The oil represents a way out—a chance for the Inuit people to claim total financial sovereignty.
But as Birgitte points out, "independence" is a relative term. If you kick out the Danes, do you just end up being owned by a Chinese state-owned enterprise or an American oil giant? The show navigates this without giving easy answers. It acknowledges the scars of colonialism while highlighting the trap of modern capitalism.
Real-world parallels you might have missed
A lot of the plot points in Borgen Power and Glory felt like they were ripped from the headlines. Remember when Donald Trump expressed interest in "buying" Greenland? The show leans into that absurdity. It captures the frantic energy of a small diplomatic corps trying to handle a superpower that doesn't play by the rules.
- The Arctic Council: The show highlights how these once-boring bureaucratic meetings are now the frontlines of the next Cold War.
- Climate Change: The irony of "green" politicians needing "black" oil money to fund a transition is the central paradox of the series.
- Social Media Diplomacy: Watch how PM Signe Kragh uses Instagram to bypass traditional media. It’s a tactic used by leaders globally to control the narrative.
Why the ending felt so divisive
Without spoiling every beat, the finale of Borgen Power and Glory left a lot of fans feeling conflicted. Birgitte makes a choice. It’s a choice that reflects a glimmer of the woman she used to be, but it comes at a staggering cost.
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Some viewers felt it was too abrupt. Others saw it as the only logical conclusion for a character who had finally stared into the abyss and realized she didn't like what was staring back. It wasn't a "happy" ending in the traditional sense. It was a resignation to the fact that power, once tasted, is a hard thing to vomit back up.
How to watch and what to look for next
If you’re diving into Borgen Power and Glory for the first time, or if you’re planning a rewatch, pay attention to the colors. The sterile whites and blues of the Danish parliament (Christiansborg) contrast sharply with the vast, untamed landscapes of Greenland. It’s a visual metaphor for the attempt to control something that is inherently uncontrollable.
For those looking for more after the credits roll, the landscape of political drama has changed. Shows like The Diplomat or Succession carry some of that DNA, but nothing quite captures the specific "Nordic Noir" approach to policy and ethics like this.
Actionable Insights for the Political Junkie:
- Research the Kingdom of Denmark: To truly understand the stakes, look into the "Rigsfællesskabet"—the constitutional relationship between Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands. It’s more complex than the show even has time to explain.
- Follow Arctic Geopolitics: The "scramble for the Arctic" is happening right now. Keep an eye on news regarding the Lomonosov Ridge and continental shelf claims.
- Revisit the Original: If you skipped the first three seasons, go back. Seeing Birgitte’s rise makes her "Power and Glory" era much more tragic.
- Evaluate Your News Sources: Take a page out of Katrine's story. If a headline feels designed to make you angry, it's probably because the "TV1" in your life needs the engagement.
The legacy of Birgitte Nyborg isn't about being a "girlboss" or a perfect leader. It’s a cautionary tale. It’s a reminder that even the best intentions can be eroded by the sheer friction of staying in power. If you want a show that respects your intelligence and refuses to sugarcoat the state of the world, this is it.