In 1994, seventeen-year-old Isabel Baker was murdered. The crime shocked the small town of Ashford and devastated Isabel’s Australian South Sea Islander community. The case was never solved, the killer never found. In the present day, the opening of a time capsule unearths a secret that puts cold-case detective James Cormack (Fimmel) on the trail of the killer.
What We Thought:
I enjoyed Travis Fimmel’s work on Vikings so I’m glad to see him doing more projects. Black Snow is quite the departure from Vikings and I thought Fimmel was good in the role of the cold case detective. The series consists of six episodes which I binged over 2 days because it held my attention throughout and kept me guessing.
The setting is a fictional town, but the people are realistic. You have this small town with a sugar manufacturer that has a mix of ethnicities. The locals are workers and townfolk and makes for a good setting. Fimmel’s character isn’t from there and knows no one so he isn’t biased like the local police and people.
The series time jumps between 1994 (the year of the murder) and 2019, 25 years later when the high school time capsule is opened. The dead girl Isabel leaves a message in the time capsule that people interpret in different ways, but it also held a hidden clue. Her younger sister has a teen daughter about Isabel’s age and it turns out there’s more to both the sister and daughter.
What I like about the series is the 1990s backdrop. I’m a product of the 1990s and it was cool hearing songs from my youth and seeing kids act the way they did then. Even in a country thousands of miles away from where I grew up, the music, style and attitude was similar.
Black Snow doesn’t separate itself from similar shows like Dark Winds or One Lane Bridge, but I liked those shows so I liked Black Snow. It leaves itself open for future seasons with Fimmel’s character getting a lead on the cold case of his missing brother. I’m curious to see if there is a season two and if it goes down that road. If you like Fimmel and murder mystery shows, check it out.
The Nerds Templar 