Shadow Lines

I was very much looking forward to the series, so what followed hit me like a ton of bricks. The Finnish filmmakers managed to create a relatively chaotic work, which initially looked like a spy thriller, but it was only a ruse. It soon became clear that it would in fact be an investigation into the past of a new Finnish secret service agent. But the series failed in this respect, too. Although the script focused on her (way too much), I learned almost nothing about her in the end, so I think the Finns would have done better if they had saved the money instead of wasting it on such nonsense. (09/12/2020)

The pilot episode failed to impress me enough to bump up my usual opening rating. While the character introductions followed a standard path, I found the introduction to the plot somewhat confusing. (07/12/2020)

I think I've cracked it: it's the classic tale of evil "democrats" versus evil totalitarians, with proud Finns caught in the middle defending their turf. While I'm intrigued by the Cold War backdrop, there's still something lacking for me to be fully satisfied. I'm also growing concerned that the focus might veer more toward the main heroine's journey rather than the intense tug-of-war between the CIA and the KGB. (07/12/2020)

I was initially eager for this Finnish series, but after two episodes, my enthusiasm waned, and by the third, I felt downright disappointed. Surprisingly, the most engaging part turned out to be the discovery of an old photo album. The depiction of events on Soviet territory felt painfully naive, even with the inclusion of the first Finnish Terminator. (07/12/2020)

I'm still slightly disappointed. The concept, in my view, is top-notch, but its execution on screen feels somewhat lacking. Given the 1950s setting, I anticipated much more from the storyline. (07/12/2020)

The creators keep missing the mark, leaving me wanting more, especially from the Moscow trip, which had potential. Instead, we're stuck in Helen's story, which feels more like a subplot to me. It's frustrating how the Cold War backdrop feels like an afterthought rather than the main event. (08/12/2020)

Well, I got a taste of the spy life, but once again, Helena completely lost it. How many guys does she have to take down before someone realizes there's more to her blonde act? You shouldn't need to be a secret agent to see through it, right? And don't get me started on the predictable gay romance subplot. Oh well... (08/12/2020)

You know, I used to gripe about the creators putting too much spotlight on Helena and not delving enough into the bigger picture. But now? Watching those two lovesick dudes on their journey to bliss was a real drag. It's like the main storyline just sort of pops up randomly now. (08/12/2020)

The eighth episode showed improvement over the previous one, yet I couldn't quite bring myself to bump up the rating. So far, each episode seems to have only about twenty percent interesting plot, with the rest being filler. (09/12/2020)

The ninth episode took me by surprise with its significantly more engaging plot compared to the rest of the series. It finally broke free from treading water and returned to the original main storyline. It's just a shame this didn't happen sooner. (09/12/2020)

The creators seemed to stumble upon success in the previous episode by sheer chance. While the finale introduced an inherently interesting and almost suspenseful plot, it came at the cost of logic, leading to a series of brisk yet silly scenes. (09/12/2020)