Annika Season 2 Episode 1 Review
We pick up on Annika Season 1 Episode 6 later the same day as the tumultuous events which precede this new season. That means our title character hasn’t had a chance to tell Michael that he’s Morgan’s father. She soon runs out of such excuses.
The hour passes without her making the revelation, though there is an awkward attempt involving a strange Norwegian ballad. It’s nice to see the literary references still going strong in the new season, but a story involving a seal does little to help here.
Annika does lay out some reasonable anxieties through her continued stream of consciousness. Michael has his own family now and yet has maintained a good relationship with Morgan. The truth could shake him and throw off that balance.
Still, now that we know the truth, the wait to see it shared becomes frustrating. This plot could potentially be dragged out over the full season, and we can predict that the longer Annika waits, the worse the consequences might be.
Morgan, now preparing for a wilderness adventure, also deserves to know who her father is. Being a teenager, she may be the most likely person to react badly to what her mom has held back from her, but she’s dealt with plenty of shocks already.
It seems we’ll have to make our peace with the wait for at least a bit longer. For now, it is nice to see mother and daughter in such a comfortable place with each other. Considering all they’ve been through so recently, they do deserve the break.
We’re invested enough in the personal storyline that the police work of the hour plays second fiddle. The murder and attempt to catch the killer are both suitably dramatic for a season premiere, but both audience and characters are focused elsewhere.
The undercover sting that serves as the episode’s climax is also the most amusing part of the story, thanks to a comically inept witness. Guilty of his own crimes, he runs straight into an overhead panel as both he and our murderer attempt to flee.
More notable that the behavior of any of the guest characters is Annika’s hesitation at various moments in the case. She argues that it’s more about Michael than the PTSD, but it’s been mere hours since she almost died. A therapist really should be in order.
In the meantime, we’re given one more major development that has nothing to do with crime. Blair is pregnant, and the team (who she tells well ahead of the baby’s father) immediately handles this with the exact level of professionalism we might expect.
That is to say they all become so overprotective that they question her doing anything from holding a taser to speaking to a suspect. It’s very sweet and extremely exasperating. At least that baby’s going to have a lot of people looking out for them.
We don’t see Blair tell the father in this installment and still have no idea who he might be. Could some potential for bonding be on the horizon for Annika and Blair? Considering the secrets they each currently hold, it could be very fitting for them both.
What did you think of this episode of Annika? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Annika airs Sundays at 10/9c on PBS.
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Caitlin Wyneken
Caitlin is an elder millennial with an only slightly unhealthy dedication to a random selection of TV shows, from PBS Masterpiece dramas to some of the less popular series on popular networks. Outside of screen time, she's dedicated to the public sector and worthy nonprofits, working to make a difference in the world outside of media.