Penultimate Problems
The final two episodes of Quicksand really act as a two-parter, as the court trial begins and the final elements to this tale are presented to us. As Maja tries to mentally prepare herself for this, everyone around her fusses over the various elements to the court case before the trial itself begins. For most of this episode, the flashbacks and court trial play out in a back and forth motion, helping to building tension throughout its run-time. The past events are strung out across the entire episode while interspersed with details of the case itself, leading to a really exciting finish. While the Inspectors begin discussing all the forensic evidence at the crime scene, we cut back in time to see Sebastian in hospital as Maja runs in, kissing and hugging the troubled boy before promising to help him through this tough time. This ultimately leads to the main crux of drama with Sebastian’s Dad as Maja heads back to Sebastian’s to see his father sat, joking with his friends. After not seeing his son in hospital, Maja flies off the handle and shouts at him, confronting him over his parenting methods and demanding to know why he didn’t go and see Sebastian. As he laughs this off and continues to antagonize her, we cut back to the present day to learn Claes Fagerman died the morning Maja and Sebastian shot up the school. As Maja tries to process this newfound information, we cut back to another flashback. This time, we see an unstable Sebastian drunk at Maja’s party and embarrassing himself and everyone else around her. As her parents plead with their daughter to see sense, she ignores them and blindly pursues the path of helping Sebastian through this rough patch. As she heads back to Sebastian’s and confronts him over his behaviour at her party, he rapes her. A shell-shocked Maja heads downstairs as Claes comes to see her, revealing just why he didn’t see his Son in hospital. “If I was there, I would have smothered him with a pillow,” He remarks matter-of-factly, pleading with her to come with him and leave Sebastian to his own devices. Believing she can still save him, she refuses his offer and sticks around, despite sexually abusing her. This happens to have a profound impact on the final part of the episode too as Maja is called to the stand and questioned over the events of the night. She reiterates what happened in her flashback, much to the shock of those in attendance. After quizzing her on just why she stayed with Sebastian through all of this, the attention then turns back to her shooting Amanda. As Maja denies the shooting, the prosecution coolly reveal they have a witness who saw everything. That person happens to be in attendance and is about to testify. As a penultimate episode, the cliffhanger ending and manner in which everything appears to be coming together is really well executed. The story is told well, with a good burst of suspense and shock running throughout its run time. The back and forth flashbacks continue to be a really welcome inclusion too and all of this looks set to end in a climactic flurry of drama.
