Quicksand: Season 1 (4/5) – Netflix Series Review

Quicksand is a new thriller series on Netflix. It’s a Swedish production and season 1 is just 6 episodes, so it’s very quick to watch. Also, the storytelling style reminded me of The Sinner which is a very good thing. Read our review here and watch it on Netflix now!

Quicksand is a new thriller series on Netflix. It’s from Sweden and I was pretty quickly reminded of The Sinner season 1. Admittedly, the opening of Quicksand isn’t quite as strong, but the style and evolution of the story and characters are quite similar.

The primary characters are high school students and I was a bit annoyed with many of them early on. However, it doesn’t take long to be reminded of what they’re struggling with. They’re all on the brink of becoming adults and are treated both as kids and adults at the same time. And not always in the ways they should.

When the series begins we’re on the sidelines of a school shooting much like what we know from the US, but certainly isn’t common in Scandinavia. 

From this point on, the thriller series is focused on the trial of one girl, Maja, and finding out what happened in the months leading up to the fatal incident.

Hanna Ardéhn is brilliant as Maja

It’s absolutely amazing (not to mention important) to see a lot of “normal”-looking young people in Quicksand. We meet all kinds of different types at the high school. Also, our main protagonist, Maja, has crooked teeth and not the most flawless skin. But she’s real and charming and lets you in.

Basically, Quicksand is not about the exterior but rather focusing on all that lies beneath the surface.

Maja is portrayed with a fascinating realism by Hanna Ardéhn who is simultaneously annoying as hell and a victim of circumstance. Maja comes from a family that’s pretty well off and is used to a certain standard of living.

At the same time, we see her being wonderful with her younger sister, a talented student and a good friend who cares about the world she lives in. In other words, Maja is a complex and complete character reminiscent of many other teenagers you might know. She makes plenty of mistakes but also has immense pressure placed on her.

Especially in relation to her boyfriend, who is portrayed equally impressively by newcomer Felix Sandman.

The Sinner set in a high school in Sweden

The story in Quicksand is told through a series of flashbacks. The point of this is to tell us the story as the trial unfolds. But it’s also to help Maja remember what happened on the day of the fatal school shooting. She is charged with some of the murders as well with several other charges.

This way of telling the story is very reminiscent of the amazing The Sinner which starred Jessica Biel as both victim and perpetrator in season 1.

However, Quicksand does differ from The Sinner in one huge way; We don’t see the actual school shooting. Instead, we’re left in the same situation as Maja who doesn’t know exactly what happened. And therefore doesn’t know exactly what part she played at first. Though she feels sure she would never hurt her friends.

What really works for Quicksand is the complex characters that help us understand how things could go so wrong.

The many victims in Quicksand

While no one is 100 percent innocent, the story of this Netflix series does have a lot more victims than those who were killed in the school shooting. Especially towards the final half of this 6-episode series, it becomes obvious that Maja (Hanna Ardéhn) has been under immense pressure.

Why doesn’t she help? Why doesn’t she leave? And why can’t she remember?

While watching the many aspects of the story, you will probably start to ask more questions. I know I did. Questions like: Why didn’t anybody help her? And why could no one see the pressure she was under?

Watch season 1 of Quicksand on Netflix

The new Swedish Netflix thriller series is just 6 episodes, so you can binge-watch is rather quickly. The creator of Quicksand is Camilla Ahlgren who worked as a script editor on the three original Lisbeth Salander movies in the Millenium trilogy. 

Since then Camilla Ahlgren has been the head writer on a few TV series including the Scandinavian (original) version of The Bridge (org. title Broen). This has since been remade as The Tunnel.

Also, she wrote an episode of the British thriller Marcella which is one I highly recommend watching as well.

Season 1 of Quicksand is a complete story, but it does seem obvious that Netflix could create more seasons with this concept. And yes, this does also mean that you will see what happened during the school shooting before the final episode is over.

Quicksand is out on Netflix globally from April 5, 2019.

Details

Creator: Camilla Ahlgren
Directors: Per-Olav Sørensen, Lisa Farzaneh
Stars: Hanna Ardéhn, Felix Sandman, David Dencik, Anna Björk, Rebecka Hemse, Reuben Sallmander, Ella Rappich, William Spetz

Plot

After a tragedy at a school sends shock waves through a wealthy Stockholm suburb, a seemingly well-adjusted teen finds herself on trial for murder.