If you’re hunting for a show that actually respects your intelligence while simultaneously making you want to double-check the locks on your front door, you’ve probably stumbled across the Danish powerhouse Den som dræber. Specifically, Those Who Kill Season 2—often referred to as Blindness or Blinded—is where the series really found its footing. It’s gritty. It’s cold. Honestly, it’s one of the few reboots that actually outshines the original 2011 run.
Most crime procedurals follow a tired formula: body found, clues gathered, killer caught in the final five minutes. This isn't that. Instead, we get a deep, psychological interrogation of why people break. Natalie Madueño returns as Louise Bergstein, a criminal profiler who is basically the heart and soul of the show’s revival. She isn't a superhero. She’s flawed, she’s quiet, and she carries the weight of the cases in a way that feels uncomfortably real.
The Shift From Copenhagen to the Coast
In Those Who Kill Season 2, the setting shifts away from the urban sprawl of Copenhagen. We head to Aarhus. It’s beautiful, sure, but the show uses the Danish landscape to create a sense of isolation that’s almost suffocating. This season tackles a cold case—a young man named Ludvig who vanished five years prior.
Louise is called in by an old friend of her mother, Alice, who is dying of cancer. Alice just wants to know what happened to her son before she passes away. It’s a heartbreaking setup. It’s personal. Because the stakes aren't just about "justice" in an abstract sense; they are about a mother’s final wish. When Louise starts digging, she realizes Ludvig wasn't an isolated incident. There's a pattern. A terrifyingly methodical one.
You’ve likely seen "whodunnits" where the killer is a mystery until the end. This show takes the Columbo approach—or what critics call the "inverted detective story." We know who the killer is pretty early on. The tension doesn't come from a "gotcha" moment. It comes from watching the cat-and-mouse game unfold in real-time. We see the killer's mundane life. We see him at work. We see him being a "normal" person, which is way scarier than a monster hiding in the woods.
Why Peter Vinge Is a Different Kind of Villain
Tobias Santelmann plays Peter Vinge. If you recognize him from The Last Kingdom or Exit, you know he has this incredible range. In Those Who Kill Season 2, he is terrifying because he’s unremarkable. He’s a father. He’s a husband. He’s a craftsman.
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The show explores the "banality of evil" better than almost anything else on streaming right now. He doesn't have a lair. He has a workshop. He doesn't have a "villain motive" involving world domination; his darkness is rooted in a twisted need for control and a fractured ego. Watching him interact with his son while knowing what he does at night? It’s gut-wrenching.
The writing team, led by Ina Bruhn, makes a conscious choice to show us the domesticity of a serial killer. We see the logistics. The cleaning. The lying. It strips away the Hollywood glamour of the "genius serial killer" and replaces it with the drab, repetitive reality of a predator.
The Psychological Toll on Louise
Louise Bergstein isn't your typical "tough cop." She’s a profiler, which means her weapon is empathy. But empathy is a double-edged sword. To catch Peter, she has to understand him. To understand him, she has to let his darkness into her own head.
Throughout the season, we see Louise becoming more isolated. Her relationships suffer. She becomes obsessed. The show asks a really tough question: Can you stare into the abyss without it staring back? It sounds cliché, but Madueño plays it with such subtlety that you actually see the physical toll it takes on her. She looks tired. She looks haunted.
Breaking Down the Scandi-Noir Tropes
Let’s be real—Scandi-noir can sometimes feel like a parody of itself. Too many chunky knit sweaters. Too much rain. Too many moody shots of bridges.
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Those Who Kill Season 2 avoids the "misery porn" trap by focusing on the victims. Usually, in these shows, the victims are just props. They are bodies on a table used to move the plot forward. Here, the show spends time with them. We see their lives before the tragedy. It makes the violence feel heavier. It isn't mindless gore; it’s the loss of a human life that actually mattered to the world.
The pacing is also intentionally slow. It’s a slow burn. If you’re looking for Michael Bay explosions, you’re in the wrong place. But if you want a show that builds dread like a rising tide, this is it. The cinematography uses a muted palette—lots of greys, deep blues, and cold yellows. It feels like winter in Denmark. You can almost feel the chill coming off the screen.
How to Watch and What to Expect
If you are trying to find Those Who Kill Season 2, it can be a bit confusing depending on where you live. In the UK, it’s often on BBC iPlayer or My5. In the US, it’s been a staple for Topic (now part of MHz Choice).
- Language: It is in Danish. Don't watch the dubbed version. Just don't. The nuances in the actors' voices are half the performance.
- Format: It’s eight episodes. Each one is about 45 minutes. It’s the perfect "long weekend" binge.
- Trigger Warnings: It’s dark. It deals with abduction and violence. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s never gratuitous just for the sake of being edgy.
Interestingly, this season was a massive hit in Denmark, pulling in huge numbers for Viaplay. It proved that there was still an appetite for the Those Who Kill brand, provided the writing stayed sharp. It’s actually based on the characters created by Elsebeth Egholm, but the show has evolved far beyond the original books.
The Legacy of the Reboot
When the original series aired in 2011, it was a bit more "action-heavy." It felt a bit like a Danish version of Criminal Minds. When they brought it back for the Louise Bergstein-centric seasons, they pivoted. They went deeper.
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Those Who Kill Season 2 succeeded because it stopped trying to be an American procedural. It embraced the Scandinavian roots of psychological dread. It focused on the "why" rather than just the "who."
The ending of the season—which I won't spoil—is divisive for some. It isn't a neat little bow. It doesn't leave you feeling "good." It leaves you feeling thoughtful. It forces you to reckon with the fact that even when the "bad guy" is caught, the trauma doesn't just evaporate. The scars remain for the survivors and for Louise herself.
Practical Steps for Fans of the Genre
If you've finished the season and you're looking for what to do next, don't just jump into the next random show. To really appreciate the craft of this series, it's worth looking at the creators' other works.
- Check out Season 1 and 3: While Season 2 is often cited as the strongest, the continuity of Louise's character across the seasons is worth following. Season 3 (Lost) explores her own past more deeply.
- Explore the Original Source: If you can find translations of Elsebeth Egholm’s novels, they provide a different perspective on the world-building, though the show takes significant liberties.
- Watch "The Bridge" (Bron/Broen): If somehow you haven't seen it, this is the gold standard that paved the way for the style used in Those Who Kill.
- Look into the Director: Jonas Alexander Arnby directed several episodes. His film When Animals Dream has a similar atmospheric, slow-burn tension that is worth experiencing.
The most important thing to remember is that Those Who Kill Season 2 isn't just about a serial killer. It’s about the ripple effects of violence. It’s about how one person’s darkness can infect an entire community. If you go into it expecting a fast-paced thriller, you might be frustrated. But if you go into it ready for a heavy, emotional, and expertly crafted character study, you’ll find it’s one of the best examples of the genre available today.
The reality is that Scandi-noir is changing. It’s becoming more about the "internal" world than the "external" chase. This season is the perfect bridge between the old school of Nordic crime and the new, more psychological era. It's bleak, it's haunting, and it's absolutely essential viewing for anyone who likes their crime drama with a side of existential dread.
Make sure you watch it in a dark room. Turn off your phone. Let the atmosphere swallow you whole. Just don't blame me if you start looking over your shoulder the next time you're walking through a quiet parking lot at night.