In the first season of “Odthaw”, Katarzyna Zawieja, a policewoman from Szczecin, investigates the body of a young woman found in the Odra River at the turn of winter and spring. In the process, it turns out that the woman gave birth to a child before her death. What happened to the child? The thirty-something officer is determined to find out the truth, but at the same time she has to deal with the trauma of losing her husband and raising little Hania alone.
This is the plot of the first season of “Thaw”, a Polish crime series directed by Xawery Żuławski. The production debuted in 2022 and was produced for HBO Max by HBO Europe. Marta Szymanek and Piotr Szymanka are responsible for the script for the six episodes.
The main character was played by Katarzyna Wajda. (“You Are God”). The cast also includes Bartłomiej Kotschedoff, Juliusz Chrząstowski, Cezary Łukaszewicz, Sebastian Fabijański, Bogusław Linda, Andrzej Grabowski, Małgorzata Gorol, Monika Krzywkowska, Piotr Żurawski, Ewa Skibińska and Marcelina Stepkowska.
A tangled plot, an unusual atmosphere of gloomy Szczecin and an exceptional cast quickly won the hearts of viewers. The first season was rated very highly, so expectations for the second were high. Did the creators of the series live up to the task?
In the second season of “Thaw” we are still in Szczecin, However, this time, aspirant Katarzyna Zawieja will have to deal with a completely new case. Her difficult relationships with her father-in-law, mother and daughter, as well as her easy tendency to become a workaholic, remain unchanged. She also constantly struggles with the loss of her husband.
The main plot focuses on illegal smuggling of people for profit. The thirty-something policewoman will be close to solving the case at the beginning, but due to the decisions of her superiors, the situation will become significantly more complicated. Zawieja will have to rely on her instincts and the invaluable help of her police partner – Krzysztof Trepa.
Katarzyna Wajda is once again joined on screen by Bartłomiej Kotschedoff, Andrzej Grabowski, Ewa Skibińska and Juliusz Chrząstowski. In the second season, the cast was joined by: Michał Czernecki, Nikodem Rozbicki, Eryk Kulm Jr, Agnieszka Dygant, Mirosław Zbrojewicz, Andrzej Konopka and Tomasz Schuchardt. As in the first part, Xawery Żuławski sat in the director’s chair.
At the outset, let me point out that I am not one of the satisfied viewers of the series. The first season had great potential, but in the end it was quite boring in my opinion. I was not captivated by either the acting or the plot. In fact, the only plus point I consider to be the original, gloomy portrayal of Szczecin. In my opinion, the creators tried to cover up the deficiencies in the script in other ways, including pretty and unnecessary locations. The scene in the Szczecin Philharmonic was impressive, but was it necessary to illustrate the plot? Absolutely not.
Despite everything I can appreciate a job well done, so technically I can’t fault the second part of “Thaw”. The atmosphere is created by muted colors and very good shots. You can see that the production received a large injection of cash and a greater scope for acting. Unfortunately, this is where the positives end…
It started well. The plot seemed interesting. The first scenes, in which Zawieja and Trepa almost discover a “live” transport, were really suspenseful. Unfortunately, the further into the plot, the worse it gets. The script begins to fall apart, and very spectacularly. The threads taken up create incredible chaos, and at the same time do not develop the characters in any deeper way.
Zawieja’s difficult relationship with his family is taking a back seat. This season the creators decided to focus on Kasia’s relationship with her police partner – Krzysztof Trepa. In fact, this is the only relationship that the viewer root for, but as a result, the main character turns into a character that you no longer want to follow. Her irrational and unjustified behavior is simply incredibly irritating.
Even though many more famous names have appeared on the screen, mostly in the role of antiheroes, their portrayals are not at all impressive. The problem here is the one-dimensional characters. The actors have absolutely no chance to present the audience with “something more”. It’s a real shame, because the story of the family manipulated by the criminal father, which includes Agnieszka Dygant, Eryk Kulm Jr, Nikodem Rozbicki and Mirosław Zbrojewicz, could really bring more chaos to the screen.
The series features several strong moments worth noting: we see the reasons for the main character’s husband’s departure, the tragic accident of a young boy that Zawieja is trying to solve, and her personal clash with a dangerous smuggler, played by Tomasz Schuchardt. Amidst all the chaos, the viewer every now and then has the chance to re-experience suspenseful emotions.
The second season of “Thaw” definitely lacked balance. The action gained momentum, unfortunately at the expense of the three-dimensionality of the characters. At times, you would like to focus more on the emotions of the characters, but the series simply rushes forward. The creators wanted to do far too much in the six episodes they had. I recommend watching it to fans of crime series. I think that despite its shortcomings, they will like another story of a policewoman from Szczecin. I would rather advise against it for occasional viewers of similar topics.
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