Van der Valk Season 3 Episode 6 Review: Magic in Amsterdam: Part Two
Despite at least two more bodies dropping before we get to the climax, much of the previous episode has little bearing on the real motives of the case, revealed on Van der Valk Season 3 Episode 6, “Magic in Amsterdam: Part Two.”
First, the old man we see slip into insanity is not killing his granddaughter. Due to both my observational skills and the lighting in the scene, we can barely tell who he stabs in the neck. It will be some time before any connection makes sense.
His granddaughter does have to watch him collapse in the least surprising death of this whole mess. Expected or not, his demise seems disjointed from the list of victims. We can already guess that the occult is less impactful than we once believed.
Sure enough, the drama soon centers around Mila, a young woman left paralyzed and in a coma in the room of an old house. The people and rituals she got involved with did (somehow) lead to her current state, with all the victims playing some role.
After all we’ve been through, we’re left with the very human motive of revenge. Mila’s brother is a member of the club, having infiltrated himself in the group and lurking undercover before starting to carry out his man.
The end goal of this plan will kill Mila, too. In her brother’s mind, he’s sparing her from an existence that isn’t worth living. Yet he’s unwilling to perform this final act himself, thus bringing us to the stakes we expect from the final episode of the season.
The transition from the tone of the first half of this story to the second is rapid and not fully fleshed out. The lack of explanation is frustrating, but it does let us spend a significant part of the hour in a much more engaging climax.
Valentijn finds Lena on Piet’s houseboat and soon takes them both hostage. Piet’s attempts to spare her by pretending he doesn’t actually care about her are proof that she will indeed be sticking around. Good thing the shot at her head goes wide.
Soon, Piet and Lena are taken to Mila’s bedside at gunpoint, expected to disconnect her from the machines keeping her alive. What follows is a heartfelt conversation about the meaning of life and at what point ending it could be an act of mercy.
There’s no looking past the heinous nature of Valentijn’s crimes, but his grief, even while prepared for what he thinks is right, invokes empathy. We can’t know what awaits Mila in life or death, or if there’s any hope for her to someday recover.
It’s a moving point that, in the end, she chooses herself to keep living after her machines are turned off a beat too long. It’s not exactly an uplifting ending to everything that happens, but is enough to at least keep the idea of that hope alive.
The episode closes with more lighthearted scenes of the team relaxing together. That includes Lena and the second shot she and Piet will take at their relationship. It’s all a great way to end the season and shift from the darkness that shaped much of it.
Will there be more for these characters? While the gathering could be effective as a series finale, it’s likely that there will be at least one additional season. After all, we have to see Piet and Lena actually get back together—and maybe Eddie and Citra, too.
Van der Valk is adapted from the series by Nicolas Freeling and written by Chris Murray and Maria Ward. This episode was directed by Arne Toonan.
What did you think of this episode of Van der Valk? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Van der Valk 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.