Occupied

Occupied belongs to a group of works that revolves around what would happen if... I will review it properly after the final episode once I finish watching it, but today I can write a comment with a clear conscience because I have a clear view of the basics. The series loses one star because it fails at the starting points from which the story unfolds, for several absolutely crucial reasons. I don't know how long Jo Nesbo had the script in the drawer, but I'd guess he worked on it with a team of colleagues for quite a few years. The idea that we would soon run out of oil and what all the consequences of its shortage would be was widely popular even 10 years ago, but in recent years we have seen a steep decline in prices, the closing of drilling rigs due to low demand, and the collapse of economies solely based on hydrocarbon extraction for good reasons. Even in the worst-case scenario, such as war in the Arabian Peninsula, Europe has several options for dealing with it despite a number of minor inconveniences. Secondly, Norway itself is heavily dependent on extraction, and its impressive economic rise over the last 50 years has been financed by oil and gas extraction, and even today it accounts for about 55% of its exports. And finally, thirdly, if the hypothetical extraction of Norwegian hydrocarbons were to end, Russia would award the Norwegian Prime Minister the highest state decoration instead of occupying the country, because there would be nothing else it could wish for. Russia itself is much more dependent on the export of oil and gas than Norway, and its economy, apart from the production of energy equipment and weapons, cannot offer anything reasonable other than resource extraction. Otherwise, the starting situation of this otherwise very interesting and, in my opinion, quite a topical thriller could, for example, originate from Marine Le Pen's victory in the French presidential elections and the subsequent collapse of the European Union and NATO when the American president distances himself from Europe. The conflict could paradoxically arise precisely because of the discovery of new promising hydrocarbon deposits along the border between Russia and the Kingdom of Norway when Russia questions the current border and nobody wants to get their hands dirty for the Norwegians. If we overlook this nonsensical starting situation, we get a very well-executed political thriller with interesting characters and practically endless possibilities for branching the story, a high-quality cast, and a traditionally well-crafted Nordic production. In addition, wide co-production in this case also means a fine budget, so there is something worth watching. The series does not develop the idea of a hybrid war but rather explores the traditional problem of a small country exposed to the pressure of a powerful neighbor when no one else wants to take any action on its behalf. Czechs, for example, can easily recall the Munich Agreement and the subsequent embarrassing existence of the Second Republic. Even in such humiliating events, there are always enough people who can benefit from the situation or endlessly justify their concessions. Everyone has something to lose, and usually, we do not bear responsibility only for ourselves. Anyway, I consider Occupied to be a very promising project in European TV series production. (22/01/2017) (moins) (plus)