The Darkness (2024) s01e01 Episode Script

1
Hulda, report.
Road accident, male fatality.
Corner of
Hulda.
She hit him with her car.
You really think so, Leifur?
That's some great work.
Case closed.
I-I already questioned her.
It's Marta, isn't it?
I'm Detective Inspector Hulda.
I need to ask you
a few questions.
What you were doing
before the accident?
I was just at home.
And your full name
and where you live?
Marta Bjarnadottir. Vesturbaer.
This is a little bit
out of your way, isn't it?
Yes, I was going to Hagkaup
because we needed milk,
and this was the only one open.
I already told
the other officer.
Yeah, y-you-you can tell me now.
Ah.
Do you remember
what speed you were going?
-I wasn't speeding.
-Mm-hmm.
He came out from
between the two cars, and
it was an accident.
-Any drugs?
-No.
-Medication?
-No.
What's going to happen to me?
I'm going to need
to examine your car,
and I'm going
to need your consent
to take a blood test.
Is that okay?
Yeah, that's fine.
And then I'm going to
have someone take you home.
I'll get in touch
if we have
any further questions.
Do you have children?
Yeah.
I have two boys.
Mmm.
Made you some coffee.
Wonderful.
You better get it
before it disappears.
That's mine. You're okay?
Yeah-- mm, rough night.
Bringing this to my man.
Ah.
You're a godsend.
I heard.
Dead at the scene, right?
Yeah. The woman who hit him,
Marta Bjarnadottir,
says he ran out
in front of the car.
No witnesses.
-Any cameras in the area?
-No.
Sounds pretty straightforward.
Hmm.
Is there a problem?
The victim Atli Karlsson--
he was a registered pedophile.
Don't you think
that complicates things?
Well
there's one less pedophile
in Iceland to worry about.
All I need is
some time to look into it.
So, uh, what is this, a bribe?
Well, it feels wrong, don't
you think? And it's just
Okay, stop. Just stop.
Jesus, you're giving me
a headache.
Hulda, you retire
in a few months.
Go on desk duty.
Take an easy ride out.
You don't need to
follow up on this crap.
Leave the trash for
the rest of us to take out.
I'm sorry,
am I having a senior moment?
Did I forget how to do my job?
That wasn't what I meant.
Sounded like it was.
It was a suggestion, that's all.
Just think about it.
There's no need for you to be
running all over the place
if you don't need to be.
I can still run faster than you.
You're out of breath
just from eating a pastry.
Okay, off you fuck.
And what about Atli?
Who?
The pedophile.
God's sakes. Fine.
Wrap it up quickly, okay?
Yeah.
Score.
Excellent police work.
Excellent police work.
Police Records. How can I help?
Yeah, I need
bank and phone records
for Atli Karlsson.
With a "C?"
No, with a "K."
Uh, date of birth?
October '81.
Okay, I'll email it to you.
Yeah, thank you. Thanks.
- Hi.
- Hi.
I'm picking up for Jon Jonsson.
-My husband.
-Okay.
Uh, sorry,
has he taken
this medication before?
Yeah, yeah, he has angina.
-Ah, I see. Okay.
-Okay.
-Just making sure.
-Yeah.
Uh, it'll be a few minutes.
Sure.
So just be careful.
Just stay on the pathway, guys.
We're walking
on a frozen river right now.
Actually, a month ago, this was
all filled with water here.
But glaciers are
always on the move,
and gravity pulls
everything downhill,
so just keep on walking.
Are you okay?
There's somebody in the ice.
Ah.
You look beautiful.
- Mm.
- Ah
Not tonight.
Oh, let's see.
Then when?
I'm here all day.
I don't get to bury my head
in the sand.
What did you do that for?
'Cause you're annoying me.
That is the last refill.
So stop working yourself up.
You need to go back
to the doctor.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh.
Ah. My friend is here.
Yeah. Come. Come on.
Good. Yeah.
- Yeah.
- This is why
it keeps coming back.
Stop feeding it.
It's not our dog.
Aw Yes.
-So, we're an
animal shelter now.
-Yeah, yeah.
-Good, good.
-You know, that Petur guy is--
he's so creepy.
He's not creepy.
-Shh.
-Oh, yes, he is,
and he can afford
to, uh, feed his own pet.
I think he is.
I'll take Moa home.
Here. Come.
Moa.
Here. Come.
Petur? Here.
Oh Uh, sorry.
Hulda
I'm sorry. I'm-I'm-I'm so sorry.
It's-it's just the dog.
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
Sorry, I
Oh, yes.
It's fine.
I thought you were tired.
I have some work
I need to finish.
I'll try not to wake you.
Hulda, do you receive?
10-10, looking for an assist.
Hulda. Copy.
Isn't there someone there
who can handle it?
You might want to deal
with this yourself.
Copy.
Have a good night.
-I want you to take me home.
-I am.
No, to my home.
-What the hell's going on?
-Oh, no!
I don't want Dad to see.
I didn't need you
to come get me.
I'm sorry that you have a family
that cares about you.
Why have you even
kept it like this?
Don't you want an office?
I don't want an office.
I want you.
You should try
and get some sleep.
We can talk tomorrow.
Okay.
Dimma?
How'd she go?
Wasn't easy, but we got her out.
One, two
I wonder where she fell
into the ice.
Dozens of water swells
around here.
Hulda.
-Hi. Uh
-Hi.
Yeah, I saw you driving out
and I just thought
maybe it'd be better
if I came over
and, you know, just
ripped the Band-Aid off, maybe.
So, last night, wow.
That was pretty embarrassing,
wasn't it?
Yeah. Um-um, Petur,
I'm sorry. I truly am sorry,
and-and, um
I obviously didn't know.
I'm sorry.
I, I felt a little bit
like a teenager
whose parents
had just come home.
I'm so embarrassed. I'm
really, truly sorry, and
you must apologize to your
Friend.
Just a friend.
- Now, look, um
- Uh
M-Moa
would be devastated
if you were to start
avoiding us now.
So, you know,
please don't do that.
Hi, Jon.
Petur.
Hi.
- Okay. See you.
- See you later.
Hey.
Hello.
- Marta?
- Yeah.
- Hi. Hulda Hermannsdottir.
- Hi.
- Can I come up?
- Yeah.
Go on.
I have some questions
about the accident.
Okay.
Uh, why don't we start
with what happened again.
I was going to Hagkaup,
and
he ran out
from between the cars,
and I didn't have time to
He was just there.
-And that's everything?
-I called the police.
And you came.
I have evidence to suggest
that this wasn't an accident.
Atli Karlsson
taught violin.
Private lessons.
I have bank records.
Payments into his account
from you.
Fifteen transactions.
The final one
was made last week.
It's my son Emil.
Uh, he was having music lessons,
but we don't have money
for that now.
Marta,
you knew the victim.
But it was
This doesn't prove anything.
Not a thing.
Marta, I know bad people.
I've dealt with enough of them,
and I don't think that's you.
I think you
for whatever reason,
believed you were doing
the right thing, so I
I need you
to help me understand, okay?
It's Emil.
He's only 10.
And
Atli.
He
He touched him.
He's just a little boy.
Why didn't you come
to the police?
I couldn't do that.
Put him through that,
everyone knowing.
Online.
In the papers.
It would have
This man.
He ruins children's lives.
He had already went to prison.
And it didn't stop him.
He just got out
and found another boy.
My boy.
The police didn't stop him.
Jail didn't stop him.
I did.
Because he is my son.
And it's my job to protect him.
And I was sending him
to that monster for many months.
Am I under arrest?
No.
No, I-I don't know.
I don't know.
Uh
Not yet anyway.
What's new?
Found a dead tourist.
Mm, no way.
Mm-hmm.
Let me guess.
Reynisfjara Beach.
Nope. Kotlujokull.
Some Asian found her.
Jesus Christ.
Tourists treat this country
like it's Disneyland.
I know, right? Signs and fences
mean the same fucking thing.
Tour group found a girl
at one of the glaciers.
Sounds like a fall.
God forbid they have
to do their jobs.
Oh, hey, have you seen
my new Harley?
-No.
-No.
It's a Fat Boy.
Oh, Fat Boy for fat boy.
Hey!
Alexander,
someone is here for you.
Now I've already said
I can't share that information.
You need to listen.
That was my friend! She's
-I don't know where.
-I know.
-I heard you the first--
-I come to you.
No, no.
You tell me.
Her name Katja Popova.
Please.
People at hostel
say you found girl.
Everyone say.
So look.
And tell me.
-I already said-- I-I can't--
-Look.
Is it her?
Hey, M wants to see you.
Yeah, I'll just be
another moment.
-Look
-Is it?
I've already told you
I can't share that information
right now. Understand?
Leave or I'll have you removed.
Do you want your son
to see that?
Fuck you! Asshole, pig!
Mama.
I know, baby.
Mama shouldn't have said that.
- What was that?
- What?
Seriously, Alexander.
I'm not fucking around.
What was that?
She thinks it was her friend
at the glacier.
-And?
-And what?
Why didn't you get her
to identify the body?
Because by the time
she's defrosted,
the only identification
will be through dental records.
You'll be in the raisin ranch
by then.
Hey, hey!
Wait a second. Wait! Wait!
I'm a detective.
Look, please, I want to help.
Just come back inside.
I can take a formal statement.
I tell him Katja missing.
I come here and say,
two week before.
You reported her missing?
Yes. Police don't care.
I do. Okay? I care.
I
Uh, j-just, uh,
just come back inside.
No one care when we die.
No one.
What do you mean?
Hey!
-What do you mean?
-Leave us alone.
Katja Popova, Katja Popova,
Katja Popova.
Alexander, you must be
so proud of yourself.
Here's the file.
This girl is dead.
And this was the work
you did to prevent it.
Elena Dubrovsky filed this
weeks ago.
Hey, this has nothing
to do with you.
-Is this about the tourist?
-No.
Yeah, I'm still
working that case
No. Katja Popova
wasn't a tourist
Hey, one at a time,
one at a time.
The pathologist identified her
from the antemortem records
in her immigration file.
She entered Iceland
seeking asylum.
You spoke to them?
He ignored a key witness.
You're a piece of work,
you know that?
Katja Popova.
Her friend filed
a missing person's report.
I responded to the situation
as I was required to,
in exactly the same way
Hulda would have done
had the situation been reversed.
I did what I was supposed to do.
I did my job.
Yeah, congrats, you did
the bare fucking minimum.
Hulda, that's enough.
Inside.
Elena
the woman who submitted this,
I spoke to her.
There was no follow-up.
There was no risk assessment
of the disappearance.
There's not even a picture of
the girl attached to the file.
This report was submitted
two weeks ago.
And now she's dead.
Whoa, you're saying
that's somehow my fault?
What I'm saying is it doesn't
matter if it was an accident.
It was never followed up on.
I want the case.
Put me on the case.
Fucking unbelievable.
Magnus,
if the press get wind of this,
they're gonna hammer you
harder than Jesus.
It will be a PR nightmare.
At best they'll say
the department's
misogynistic,
that we're incompetent,
that we don't listen to women.
Get ahead of it.
Put me on the case.
Uh
Hulda will play lead.
But this is your last case.
-Understood?
-Mm-hmm.
-Copy that.
-Copy that.
Her retirement
can't come soon enough.
What about the, uh, the jogger?
Nothing yet.
Still looking into it.
This is Elena.
Please leave message.
Mr. Cretu won't be long.
-Okay.
-He's expecting you.
-Hello.
-Hi.
In here.
Katja was a journalist.
The Kremlin
launched a full-fledged
witch hunt on independent media.
She was persecuted, beaten.
And she fled here.
What did the two of you
talk about?
Her case.
Her family, how she missed them.
Her father was ill
and she was worried
about not seeing him again.
She felt like
she had somehow betrayed them
by leaving Russia.
Okay.
And can you tell me
about her mental state?
Nothing alarming
that I saw, but
you never know.
Do you think
she could've killed herself?
It certainly happens.
Applying for asylum,
the journey,
it's a marathon psychologically
and, uh
not everyone
is made out for that.
I'll try and summarize.
We applied for subsidiary
protection in February.
Katja had an interview in April.
And it went to
the Directorate of Immigration
shortly thereafter.
Was her visa
going to be approved?
It was approved weeks ago.
And she knew this?
I believe she was going
to keep it to herself.
She had a friend
that was waiting.
Elena Dubrovsky.
Yeah.
Why would someone
who just had their visa approved
take their own life?
That's your question, not mine.
Her friend Elena,
how's her application?
We're still waiting
for an answer there.
Uh, it's tough being Russian.
Elena's volatile.
She's, uh, a single mom.
She's alone. She's, uh
eh, the struggle's real.
Yeah?
I'm really sorry,
but Lucila's here.
Okay, thank you.
Any further questions?
-Did you ever take her hiking?
-Oh, please
understand that I'm way too busy
to be wading in foot-deep snow
with my clients.
Thank you.
There's no sign
of sexual assault.
And the cause of death?
Well, the initial impact point
was her head.
But there's significant
post-mortem trauma.
The body is ready.
How long was she out there?
A day, a week.
The ice preserved her.
But how long to freeze
like that?
Faster than you'd think.
Any backpack?
Not that anyone found.
Got to warn you, she's, uh,
not in good shape.
She's gone through
the freeze-thaw process.
Anything else?
Mm, fractures in the fingers
of her right hand
suggest a fall. Maybe.
You're gonna want to wear that.
She's, uh, decomposing fast.
She's very clean.
No dirt under her fingernails.
Or on her body.
That's strange.
She's gone through
the rinse-wash cycle
of a glacier.
No calluses,
no blisters under her feet.
- Mm-mm.
- She wasn't a hiker.
Any indication of suicide?
Her medical records are
back in Russia.
We don't know if
she had depression
or history
of mental health issues.
And without knowing
the launch point,
if she left anything behind--
was she pushed,
did she trip, did she jump?
I don't have an answer.
What were you doing
on that glacier?
What were you doing
on that glacier?
Can you tell me why you're
dressed like Tenzing Norgay?
Going up the glacier.
I want to establish
a launch point.
I don't think she fell,
so maybe she was pushed.
Maybe she left something behind.
You know her visa was approved?
I don't care.
If you go to the field,
you take someone with you.
Do you know how dangerous
it is to be up here alone?
I know, that's why
you're coming with me.
Let's go. Okay.
Shit.
How is this going to help?
There are channels,
under the glacier.
Like giant water slides.
I know what goddamn
meltwater is.
But most of them go nowhere,
things get stuck in them, but
if we can find out
where they all flow
to the outlet,
maybe we can narrow down
where she went in.
So I'll throw these down
and we'll see where they end up.
That's littering.
You given much thought
to your retirement?
-What you want to do?
-Yeah.
I thought I'd knit you
a "fuck the patriarchy" sweater.
You know it doesn't
just affect you.
I have to make some
changes in the department.
And I have to, uh,
bring in someone else.
And consider your leaving
I have to take care of the
the goddamned department there.
Watch it!
Just a little bit further.
Ah!
Hulda!
Fuck. Ugh.
You can say it.
Thank you.
I think I will.
Told you so.
This is
Elena. Please leave message.
212 to Dispatch.
Go ahead, 212.
We're on-site
at Skeljanes Viewpoint.
One adult female appears
to be deceased.
Can we get an ambulance?
Received, 212.
Ambulance on its way.
Have you attempted CPR?
Negative, Dispatch.
212, is there a child?
A boy, maybe seven?
Negative. No child found
in the vicinity.
Shit. Hey, stop her.
It's an overdose.
It will trigger her.
You know what she's like.
Is it the Russian girl?
-Is it? Did-did you find Elena?
-Hulda.
Hulda, I need you
to go back to the car.
Who are you talking about?
The Russian with the kid.
Elena. Is it her?
What? No.
It's not suspicious, okay?
Do you understand?
It's nothing to do with you.
It's just some nut
taking the easy way out
and fucking up my night.
Turn your hearing aids on.
I said piss off.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, easy there.
-Hulda, easy, easy there.
-That's someone's kid.
Are you fucking crazy?
You're done, Hulda!
It's someone's kid.
-Easy, boy.
-Crazy.
Hey, there.
Dimma.
Your mom's here.
How's your leg?
-It's fine.
-Good.
I didn't even know her.
That girl.
Who I got in a fight with,
at the bar.
-She called me a slut.
-What?
Like, what a mean fucking thing
to say to someone
-you don't even know.
-She wanted attention.
It just made me so angry
that there are people
who suck that much.
That can be that fucking
arbitrarily cruel.
Just don't engage.
What's going on? Talk to me.
I'm
I get so afraid sometimes
that I'm not
feeling things properly.
Like I'm wrong.
Like the wrong shape
or something.
-No, baby.
-I don't know.
-You're not the wrong shape.
-Yeah.
Just next time, walk away.
'Cause that's
what you'd do, right?
You'd just walk away?
-I just want to help you.
-Yeah.
Thanks.
I think I should get back.
-I love you.
-Yeah. I love you.
♪Now crawl to life ♪
♪But speak so careful ♪
♪Those whitened forces ♪
♪Descent unstable ♪
♪Come alive ♪
♪Fallen wild sons ♪
♪Fall. ♪