When unpredictable whodunnit The Head kicked off , things were icy. Communications with a small research team, isolated over winter at an Antarctic station, had been lost. When the weather eased enough for the summer team to arrive, they discovered most of the research team were dead. There were two survivors, and a third person missing. Who was a victim, and who was lying?
After season two moved some of the cat-and-mouse mystery and relationship developments to a scientific cargo ship, the newly arriving season three heats things up – literally. The action has shifted to the Sahara Desert, where five desperate subjects have agreed to take part in a dangerous experiment, run by some of the folk who survived the first two seasons.
We’ll attempt to avoid too many spoilers, just in case you haven’t watched yet – but here are five reasons season 3 promises to be great viewing.
Playing ‘I know that face’
Given the many deaths, twists and three different locations for all the action, the three seasons of The Head boast a large and international cast. In season one, of course, one of the headliners was John Lynch as Dr Arthur Wilde, one of the survivors. We’ve seen Lynch in everything from to Medici, and The Fall. Less recognisable, perhaps, but quickly establishing her character of young doctor Maggie Mitchell, was Katharine O’Donnelly (Mary Queen of Scots). Season 2 added more than a dozen new characters (understandably, given some of those who appeared in season one were seen only in flashbacks), including English actress Olivia Morris (Hotel Portofino) as Wilde’s daughter Rachel, plus Spanish actor Hovik Keuchkerian (Red Queen, Antidisturbios, T), Ireland’s Moe Dunford (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and Japan’s Sota Fukushi (Bleach).
Horst (Godehard Giese) and Rachel (Olivia Morris) inside the desert research facility. Credit: Mediapro
Moral ambiguity
What would you do to save the planet? The search for a solution to global warming drove the actions of the folk in the first two seasons and it continues here. What’s acceptable when you believe that the solution to a global crisis is almost within reach? For some that answer was – and is – murder (a decapitation sets the tone early-ish in season 3, in case you were wondering if things will go more easily this time. No. The body count is going to be high). For others, it’s undertaking dangerous, possibly deadly, and definitely unsanctioned research on human subjects.
Olwen Fouéré returns as Lauren, the director of a secretive conglomerate and a woman who'll stop at nothing to achieve her aims. Credit: Mediapro
A mysterious stranger
As a sandstorm hits the desert, a stranger appears at the isolated research base. How did he get here, and why does everything he says sound like a lie? Is he about to add to the mayhem and murder… or will finding the base turn out to be even worse luck than what stranded him in the desert in the first place?
The twists and turns
Season one kept us guessing with flashbacks, lies and revelations. Season two continued with the twists and turns, amping up the tension by isolating the action on a boat far out at sea. In season 3, we see three women with complex motivations (lost loved ones, a baby on the way, burning ambition, an obsession with erasing Arthur Wilde’s reputation and work) all chasing the final success of very high-stakes research. And with the action taking place in a pocket of the Sahara Desert between Egypt and Sudan that, we’re told, is considered a lawless zone not controlled by any government, what is there to stop all kinds of dangerous and nefarious behaviour unfolding?
John Lynch is back on screen as Dr Arthur Wilde. Credit: Mediapro
As to whether Dr Wilde is back in season 3 … well, those who’ve watched season 2 know he shouldn’t be, but given he’s prominently on the cast list for this new season, clearly we’re going to see his face again. Flashbacks? Yes indeed. But is that all?
The battle
While the isolated locations and plenty of ‘whodunit’ twists create bucketloads of tension, what really sits at the heart of all three seasons is the battle between Arthur and Maggie, brought to life by great performances from Lynch and O’Donnelly. Hate and the desire for revenge drive both of them, and that has ramifications for everything they touch. And even when they’re nowhere near each other, they’re in each other’s heads.
Seasons 1 and 2 of The Head are streaming at SBS On Demand. Season three arrives with two episodes on Thursday December 26, with fast-tracked weekly episodes following from 2 January.
Stream free On Demand
The Head
series • mystery • Danish
MA15+
series • mystery • Danish
MA15+
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