SPOILER ALERT: This article contains major spoilers for all nine episodes of “Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole,” now streaming on Netflix.
“Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole” is not heavy on sex scenes, but it compensates with a high body count. Nesbø, who penned the screenplay, employs various lethal means, from fire irons to swords and guns to clothes airers, to eliminate his unfortunate characters. Many victims not only meet their end but lose limbs in the process.
The series is adapted from the best-selling Norwegian novels by Jo Nesbø, focusing on Harry Hole (pronounced “Hoo-ley” and portrayed by Tobias Santelmann), a driven yet flawed detective on the hunt for a serial killer in Oslo. Meanwhile, he must navigate the treacherous waters of dealing with the corrupt and menacing colleague, Tom Waaler (played by Joel Kinnaman). From the outset, Nesbø demonstrates no hesitation in gruesomely dispatching key characters.
Here is a detailed look at the nine most shocking deaths in “Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole.”
The Sidekick (Episode 1)
The debut episode introduces a classic partnership between detectives Hole and Ellen (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal), who share a long-standing professional bond. However, when Ellen trails suspect Sverre Olsen (Arthur Hakalahti) into a forest alone, her fate takes a dark turn. She encounters Waaler, who seeks Olsen for different motives. After shooting Olsen in the stomach, Waaler drags Ellen into a cabin and brutally attacks her with a fire iron before forcing a dying Olsen to shoot her. He then finishes off Olsen and reports the incident, falsely claiming self-defense.
Producer Eric Fellner told Variety, “Ingrid is a big actress in Norway. It’s gonna blow people’s minds, because they’re settling in for her to be the third lead.”
Courtesy of Netflix
The Yoga Pose (Episode 4)
In Episode 4, the first-person camera hints that receptionist Barbara Svendson (Rebecca Stadsnes) will be the next target of the Bike Courier Killer. Her sudden death, a shot to the head while filling a water cup, is startling. Her body is later found arranged in a disturbing yoga position known as “child’s pose.”
The situation worsens as Waaler insists on inappropriately touching her corpse and forces Hole to do the same.
The Hospital Assassinations (Episode 5)
In Episode 5, gang members Odin (Peter Stormare) and Loke (Sondre Larsen) play chess in a hospital room while Loke recovers from gunshot wounds inflicted by the rival Korps gang. Odin receives a call warning him that Korps leader Attila (Eili Harboe) and her crew are coming to finish them off. Odin calls Hole for help and attempts to wheel Loke to safety, but they encounter armed Korps members. The gang kills Odin and Loke at close range, leaving flowers on their bodies as they calmly exit the hospital, passing a helpless Hole.
The Dismembered Member (Episode 6)
In Episode 6, Waaler frequently meets Attila in a dilapidated building, exchanging flirtatious looks with sex worker George (Aleksander Varadian). George persuades Waaler to step into the light, unknowingly sealing his fate when he identifies Waaler from the news. Waaler lures George into a toilet cubicle designed for clandestine encounters, where he pretends to engage in oral sex but instead uses a sword to mutilate George. As George bleeds out, Waaler thrusts the sword through the partition, piercing George’s neck.
Prior to the show’s release, Fellner mentioned to Variety, “There’s a scene in Episode 6 that’s going to blow your mind.” He certainly was right.
Courtesy of Netflix
The Vacuum Sealed Corpse (Episode 7)
Marius’ body appears sporadically throughout the series, but it’s not until Episode 7 that viewers realize the corpse belongs to the student (Sjur Vatne Brean). Believing the Bike Courier Killer will strike at certain Oslo dorms for the fourth time, the police set a trap. However, Hole discovers a pentagram above a doorframe, indicating they are at the site of the first murder instead. In a flashback, Marius was killed earlier in the summer after being coerced into writing a letter to his family explaining his sudden absence. Hole finds Marius’ vacuum-sealed body with a CD lodged in his mouth.
The Water Bed (Episode 8) and The Shower (Episode 9)
Lisbeth Barli (Dagny Norvoll Sandvik) is believed to be the second victim, and the only one whose body remains undiscovered, though her dismembered finger mailed to the police suggests otherwise. Forensics reveal feces under the fingernail, implying it was used in anal play before being sent. Throughout the series, Lisbeth’s body is shown floating in water, hinting she might have been discarded in a lake or pool. In the penultimate episode, Lisbeth’s sister Toya (also portrayed by Norvoll Sandvik) uncovers the truth while looking under a waterbed, where she finds Lisbeth’s body. This revelation leads to Toya’s demise, and in the final episode, Hole discovers the killer’s last victim tied by the neck in a shower.
The Elevator (Episode 9)
Waaler’s death is the lengthiest and arguably most fitting of the series. On the brink of being exposed by Hole, Waaler is ready to eliminate anyone obstructing his path, including young Oleg (Maxime Baune Bochud), whom he’s taken hostage. Hole, Oleg, and Martin Aminov (Simon J Berger), a wrongly accused gun smuggler, find themselves trapped in an elevator with Waaler reaching in to grab Oleg. Hole, haunted by a childhood elevator incident, hesitates but then presses the “up” button, causing the elevator to sever Waaler’s arm. Waaler staggers out, bleeding profusely, and breathes his last as Hole watches, finally achieving justice for Ellen.
The Clothes Airer (Episode 9)
Another shocking end in Episode 9 is the suicide of Willi Barli (Frank Kjosås) after his identity as the Bike Courier Killer is unveiled. After threatening Hole, Barli leaps from a fifth-floor balcony, landing on an outdoor rotary clothes airer below, which collapses under his weight and forms a blood-spattered pentagram, a scene artistically captured by cinematographer Ronald Plante.
