Netflix's latest Nordic noir hit, Secrets We Keep, is an entertaining binge-watch, but rarely have I seen something with so many unlikeable characters!
The six-parter, now in Netflix's Top 10 in the US and UK after being added last week, revolves around a set of people who you could imagine holidaying in the White Lotus, but here we're in an exclusive part of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Rather than the standard issue Nordic noir plot where someone is simply murdered and we follow a detective who solves the case, the central character here is Cecilie (Marie Bach Hansen) a businesswoman and mother of two, whose au pair Angel looks after her incredible home while she and her lawyer husband Mike are busy with work.
Nextdoor is an even richer family made up of Cecilie’s friend Kat, her husband Rasmus, their son Oscar, and their au pair Ruby.
When Ruby vanishes, local cop Aicha is called in to investigate, and she soon starts suspecting that either Mike or Rasmus is behind Ruby’s disappearance.
It makes for a highly entertaining watch as Aicha — the one character you’re really rooting for — tries to piece together what happened.
But boy, are most of the characters unpleasant. Kat is a horrible, manipulative racist who claims that au pairs from the Philippines are exploiting rich Danish families! The amount of racist abuse she gives out is terrible, along with her bully of a husband, Rasmus.
Cecilie, while on the surface likeable enough, just lets Kat and Rasmus be racist. She does have a go at her husband, Mike, for not calling them out, but she doesn't call them out herself. She also completely ignores her son even when he's desperately trying to talk to her.
Mike is a pretty terrible husband. He gives Cecilie no support over the fact that she’s struggling to bond with their son. His dark past comes out through the story, and he has a short fuse.
Even the kids aren’t likable! Viggo and Oscar are sharing vile videos. The series is scathing about how the rich treat the rest of society.
At least Angel, Cecilie’s au pair, is largely sympathetic.
Should you watch Secrets We Keep?
Yes, as I say, it is a great binge as the story draws you in. It's also beautifully shot and well-acted. Plus, it's nice to see a Nordic drama set in the summer rather than the winter for once.
But it does suffer at times because so many of the characters just aren’t very nice. It also doesn't have the same sharp sense of humor that recent Netflix Nordic noir hit The Åre Murders had. If you haven't seen that, I'd definitely give it a watch. General call to all makers of police thrillers, a bit of humor now and again is very welcome.
It seems a slightly odd call by the makers not to have tried to make some of the characters a bit more sympathetic!
Secrets We Keep is on Netflix now. Check out our best shows on Netflix guide for more series to enjoy.
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