Post Mortem
Episode 1 of Post Mortem: No One Dies In Skarnes begins with a dead woman’s body being found out in the fields. This woman, Live Hallangen, is eventually taken away. When she is, her brother Odd receives the grim news while working at the family business. A Funeral Parlor of all place! As the autopsy gets underway, Live suddenly bolts upright on the table, ripping the knife out of her chest and screaming. The others can only stand and watch in horror. From an autopsy table to the hospital, Live is examined and confirmed to be very much alive. The doctor there chalks it up to hypothermia but when her father, Arvid, rings Odd, he asks a rather ahem odd question. He asks if Live is any different now. Back home Arvid continues to act strangely, lighting a candle and watching Live’s expression settle on the flames. He’s visibly spooked and shuffles off back home. When Live follows, she realizes she seems to have enhanced hearing now. She can hear Odd and his girlfriend talking clearly from the hallway while they’re upstairs. Live also has enhanced stamina too, able to run non-stop across town without even showing signs of being out of breath. Live runs up to the farm where flashes of the past come bleeding through while touching the ground. Whatever happened to her, it seems someone injected her with a syringe and left her for dead. In doing so, it appears a necklace was taken from her too. Arvid meanwhile, heads home and starts playing a tape recorder. A woman speaks, confirming this is the final message they’re sending. This woman speaks of an impending darkness that could be spreading to Live, which seems to be what’s happening here. Well, Arvid grabs Live later on that evening, forcing her into his office. He knocks her out with chloroform, apologizing to his daughter and bundling her into a casket, en-route to the crematorium. As the casket burns, Live breaks free from the wood and crawls out to safety. Miraculously she has no burns over her but when she learns Arvid was responsible, she’s shocked and lunges at him. The scene cuts abruptly but when it does, Odd receives news that their Father has passed away. Blood on Live’s fingers seem to confirm she’s responsible.
The Episode Review
Post Mortem gets off to a pretty good start here, weirdly blending comedy, drama and horror together. This one is definitely going to be an acquired taste and right now, the series feels a little tonally sporadic. Still, the actual premise is quite intriguing and the mystery surrounding Live and what happened to her is engaging enough to stick with for the long-haul. Quite who that person was who stuck Live with a syringe remains a big mystery – and could be key to finding out what her powers are. Could this be a crucial clue to uncovering everything that’s happened? We’ll have to wait and see!
