‘The Chestnut Man’ Season 2 Ruined The Show With Its Controversial Death

InnovationGaming‘The Chestnut Man’ Season 2 Ruined The Show With Its Controversial DeathByErik Kain,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about TV shows, movies, video games, entertainment & culture.Follow AuthorJun 03, 2026, 07:31pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.The Chestnut ManCredit: NetflixThe first season of Nordic noir series, The Chestnut Man, was excellent. Not perfect – the ending was a bit over-the-top – but quite good. I’m a huge fan of Nordic noir and serial killer mysteries, and the show was plenty creepy, with lots of weird symbology and horrific murders. It reminded me a bit of True Detective.More than anything, I really loved the two lead detectives and their chemistry. In Season 1, this chemistry was only really professional. They worked well together, supported each other once they got past the initial awkwardness of working with a new partner, and in the end they solved the case and stopped the killer. Spoilers ahead.Danica Ćurčić plays Naia Thulin, a Danish police detective working in Copenhagen, though by Season 2 she’s moved to cyber-crime in order to achieve a better work-life balance for her daughter, Le (Liva Forsberg). Mikkel Boe Følsgaard plays Mark Hess, a Europol investigator who, in the first season, returns to Copenhagen and finds himself caught up in the mysterious killings.There are some fun twists and turns along the way, and some deeply troubling revelations, and the season finale ends with lots of action that I found a little too Hollywood, but still enjoyable. At the very end of the season, Hess leaves. We learn in Season 2 that he and Naia had a relationship that lasted several months before he had to go, and that he pretty much went no-contact with both Naia and Le.Understandably, Naia isn’t thrilled about this, so when he returns in Season 2 (to look after his brother whose...