OK, there’s officially a serial killer on the loose in Fortitude. One with a penchant for beheading: another dead body has turned up, this time that of a young woman.
The taxidermist Tavrani (Ramon Tikaram) couldn’t have committed this latest crime - he’s behind bars - but he has admitted to killing Hindemith. And beheading him.
“I killed him because he was crazy. His soul was in torment,” Tavrani tells police while in custody. “I released him, he was happy, it was all good.”
Well, it’s not all good now.
Tavrani then goes on a rant, screaming that the demon is among them, and that everyone is going to die.
It’s pretty clear someone’s been living with him - and that someone is scary enough to spook Tavrani out. He doesn’t think he’ll make it through the night alive - even in a locked jail cell.
He makes it through the episode with his life intact, but the mysterious stranger does take something crucial: He breaks into the station and cuts out Tavrani’s tongue.
Rune (Lars Ulvenaune) overhears it all from the neighbouring cell: his sister, PC Ingrid (Mia Jexen) arrested him because she was sure he was somehow involved in something unsavoury to do with the murder. Rune does recognise the mysterious stranger’s voice. He helps lead Eric (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson) and Ingrid to the scene of the crimes: a dank cellar with a reindeer. Carrots and bowls of blood can be found at his feet.
Meanwhile, Hildur (Sofie Gråbøl) may have been relieved of her official government duties - but she’s got an agenda of her own after a mayor from a neighbouring town calls her and begs for help.
She convinces Michael to take her around the coast to see what’s going on, and although she doesn’t get a chance to have a candid conversation with the mayor, it’s clear that the town is facing similar issues to Fortitude.
The town is practically deserted and we see some remains being burned in a pit, as the mayor warns in Russian: “Cover it up. And make sure nobody talks.”
Hildur and Michael have a history, as it turns out: they dated years ago and argue about who broke whose heart first. So Hildur probably should have mentioned to Eric that she’d be spending the night away from Fortitude in an ex-beau’s company before setting off...
Now, you’re probably wondering what’s become of Dan Andersson (Richard Dormer)? He’s made a recovery that can only be termed miraculous, has fled his hospital bed in search of Elena (Verónica Echegui) and spends the whole episode wandering around freezing Fortitude in a flimsy hospital gown and fur hat. Apparently not feeling the cold at all.
He doesn’t trust Dr. Khatri (Parminder Nagra) or her motives - and rightly so. She’s using Elena to perform some kind of bizarre surgical procedures or tests.
As if all of that wasn’t enough to worry about, the fauna of Fortitude are still behaving super erratically. Vincent (Luke Treadaway) and Natalie (Sienna Guillory) see a reindeer eating a polar bear carcass, which seems nearly impossible, considering reindeers are herbivores.
As they camp out for the evening on the glacier, things take an even more ominous turn: Vincent has been panicky all episode, but he wakes in an even more agitated state, begging for the lights to go on.
As he flashes a torch in his eyes and still insists it’s dark, it becomes clear: Vincent’s gone blind. But why?
Fortitude series 2 is on Sky Atlantic Thursdays at 9pm, or watch every episode ever before anyone else only on Sky Box Sets.