We couldn’t hope for more, the sequel to the brilliant Danish miniseries Borgen. Here it is on Netflix today, nine years after the last season, with its refinement, exuberant complexity and themes more relevant than ever.
Posted yesterday at 7:15am
This fourth opus really does not disappoint. Borgen: Power and Glory is for curious, savvy adults who have fallen in love with shows like The West Wing and House of Cards, with an extra sophisticated Scandinavian twist.
This riveting political-media thriller also sprinkles its scathing behind-the-scenes games with a secret CIA mission, a suspicious death in a fjord, and the controversial exploitation of a major oil field in Greenland, which form the core of the script backbone of Borgen 4.
Clarification before diving deep into the plot: You don’t have to have swallowed the first three chapters to cold-ship Borgen 4. A few pretty flashes won’t enlighten you, but the story follows smoothly – and without compulsive googling, thanks.
Nine years after she left television, we remember our favorite idealist, the formidable politician Birgitte Nyborg, who became the first woman to chair the Danish prime minister.
Birgitte Nyborg, 53, now heads the foreign ministry in a coalition government led by Prime Minister Signe Kragh, 41. Yes, Birgitte finds herself back to what she embodied in the first season of Borgen: a young head of government with fresh ideas.
The new Danish PM is flooding social media with photos of her kids’ lunch (super healthy, of course) and flashy hashtags like #GirlBoss. Birgitte hates Instagram and Twitter, which puts her in an unusually reactionary position for her, so progressive and outspoken.
The #GirlPower and other #PouvoirAuFéminin will not prevent the proliferation of dirty tricks between the Prime Minister and our impressive Birgitte Nyborg. You’ll see it’s far more subtle, sophisticated and effective than mundane bun crepe.
Another important point in Borgen 4: Birgitte Nyborg lives her Loto-Méno through and through with hot flashes and mood swings. What about hormones? No way. Since Birgitte Nyborg survived breast cancer, her doctor advises against this treatment. Birgitte will therefore put up with changing her designer blouse several times a day.
Borgen’s fourth part moves away from the work-life balance that characterized the series in its early days. Birgitte lives alone and doesn’t date any man (or woman, let’s assume). Her two grown children have left the family nest, a charming temple of hygge with Jacobsen furniture and beige candlelight.
And Birgitte no longer feels guilty about investing fully in her work. Even more gratifying for her: Nobody at home accuses her of her long and impossible working hours.
PHOTO MIKE KOLLÖFFEL PROVIDED BY NETFLIX
Sidse Babett Knudsen embodies the character of Birgitte Nyborg in the Borgen series.
Work is piling up on Birgitte’s desk, especially the thorny file on the oil drilling in Greenland. This icy island (and linked to Denmark) would be based on a reserve of fossil energy as large as Norway’s. It would therefore be a gasoline well with multi-billion dollar sales potential.
But while Borgen takes place in Denmark, the kingdom of urban cycling, the Paris Agreement and green energy, Birgitte Nyborg’s cabinet opposes the Greenlanders tapping into this sea of oil. This sparks a global political crisis involving the Russian mafia, the Chinese government and the indigenous people of Greenland who hope to lift themselves out of poverty with black gold money.
With subtle intelligence, Borgen illustrates the conflict between local reality and beautiful ecological principles. Taxed as a “coffee latte” politician, therefore disconnected from the poorer majority voters, Birgitte sails from one controversy to the next, always within a hair’s breadth of the knockout. It plays extremely hard, and Birgitte’s experience will serve her to a turning point where she will turned over (not soaked yet). Power and, above all, the fear of losing her demand gross compromises from Birgitte, who is now robbed of her illusions and less flexible than she was then.
The media component of Borgen still holds a significant place, and it’s exciting. The journalist Katrine Fonsmark, who was Birgitte Nyborg’s spokesperson ten years ago, returns to the news as head of TV1 and meets star presenter Narciza.
What is the conflict about? Narciza’s tendency to prioritize her personal life over her work. This situation irritates ergomaniacs like Katrine, who sacrificed everything for their job. In both politics and the media, Borgen pursues strong and nuanced female characters navigating choppy waters. Which of the heroines will lose her crown if the wave gets too strong?
For those who don’t know, Borgen is the nickname the Danes give to Christiansborg Palace, where the government sits. And there can only be one queen.