Pagan Peak

Establishes strong mood and tone. Creatively intertwines each case with the beauty and foreboding of the setting, including historical and fantastical aspects. The other essential element is the evolving relationship between the two leads. S3 is akin to a fever-dream in parts, intense, but at the expense of realism. Some of the season's philosophically oriented dialogue fails to enhance the sense of drama and foreboding, instead venturing into overblown, ubergrim, pseudo-intellectual ramblings.

One way to always lend a sense of gloom/doom to your program is to have a lot of snow. It's not always snowy, but even when it isn't, there's a lot of care to give Pagan Peak a sense of atmosphere; frankly, it's darkly beautiful. The plot itself isn't terribly original in how it unfolds but it's told well, and I have an affinity for Krampus so that imagery is always appreciated. Really cared about the two leads, which made this better than a lot of serial killer shows.

Despite me saying I hated subtitles, and I wouldnt watch it, this gripped me from the first 30 minutes. The two main characters are flawed, human, believable and frankly, great! Whilst the story arc is fairly typical of serial killer dramas (guess who is targetted by the serial killer?) the events, scenery and music, along with knockout performances by Jentsch and Ofczarek make this a must watch. There were a number of loose ends or unexplained questions but the final scene gave me real closure