MovieChat Forums > Bron/Broen (2011) Discussion > Speculation on the Identity of the Kille...

Speculation on the Identity of the Killer (Major S03 Spoilers)

posted 9 years ago by zeppo1841
8 replies | jump to latest

I think it is Gustav, the guy who was in foster care with Anneka, and who stayed in touch with her
until she got married. I also think he is the third (and last) "kill brother." At this point (up to the end of
E08), we have not been shown or told anything that connects him to the crimes, other than his
history of being in the same foster home with Anneka (and probably Emil). However, I find it
difficult to believe that the series writer would bother to introduce a new character for the sole
purpose of telling Henrik and Saga a lot of things they already knew about Anneka, and life in the
foster home that they shared. I expect that the character will be used again in a big way.
I'm not really sure if Anneka had any role in the murders. It looked very likely that Emil was
held and tortured at her home, but that does not necessarily tie her to the rest of the killings.
At any rate, Anneka's role is not important anymore as she is very likely resting in a shallow
grave somewhere courtesy of Klaus, and the killer is, quite obviously, still at large. If it is Gustav,
as I am speculating, his connections to the foster parents, the ex-social worker, and the teacher
are obvious. However, his motivation for killing the first victim and Hans are not clear at this time. Even
more puzzling is his grudge against Freddie. It looks like he wants to take the baby as soon as Jeanette
has given birth, denying Freddie the one thing he wants most out of life. I doubt that he will kill
the child, but I can see him putting it into foster care thereby denying Freddie any information
on the fate of his baby. As for Emil, I suspect that he was kidnapped and released so that
he would lead the police to Anneka's house where they would find a mountain of evidence connecting
her to at least one crime. It is probable that Gustav (if he is the killer) was not aware that Anneka was already
dead. There are still a ton of loose ends to be tied up in the last two episodes, and it will be interesting
to see how many of them are resolved, and how many will be left as cliffhangers to be dealt with in
a S04.

[–] Sauterelle77 9 years ago

It did occur to me that Gustav could be the killer but I'm leaning towards it actually being Emil. Firstly, the information Gustav and Emil gave conflicted - Emil suggested Anneka was down the bottom of a hierarchy in the foster home (giving her the strongest motive for revenge) whereas Gustav said they were all treated equally poorly. It seemed to me that Emil was pushing the detectives to see Anneka as guilty, whereas Gustav wasn't.

Secondly, Emil had the strongest motive for killing Hans. Thirdly, Emil seems to be the most interested in the art, and it makes the most sense that he would use the artistic themes. Finally, Emil's foster records stated 'father unknown' but the records from when he ran away at age 8 stated that he said he was trying to visit his father in Paris. I believe that Emil knows who is father is, and that his father might in fact be Freddie Holst (and his mother perhaps a former employee), giving him the motive to seek revenge on the father who abandoned him to the abusive foster system but who plans to treat his legitimate child like a prince. It would potentially explain why the killer decided not to kidnap & kill Holst's wife when they realised she wasn't really pregnant - the target seems to be Holst's future child. I'm not sure what the age difference is between Holst and Emil, but Emil appears to be quite young so maybe he could be his son?

So all in all, I think Emil faked his own kidnapping, branded the inside of his mouth and is trying to take advantage of his foster sisters' obvious instability and frame her.

[–] amherstwhisky 9 years ago

My initial thought when I saw bloody Emil was that he did that to himself. His injuries were light. We're talking about a killer who dismembers his victims. Also, why would the killer release Emil?

I am extremely puzzled by the connection to Helle Anker though, can't wait for this to be revealed.

[–] aecceity 9 years ago

My initial thought when I saw bloody Emil was that he did that to himself.

That was my initial thought as well when I saw that scene.

[–] coralline21 9 years ago

Maybe Helle Anker was his mother. Morton said after all, that his brother shot him.

[–] Prutgardin 9 years ago

The killer released Emil in reference to the painting 'The One Who Got Away' ;-)

Athhajar ma yeroon.

[–] amherstwhisky 9 years ago

I came here to write a similar post, haha. I'd just like to add that Annika has actually been missing for a while - she went to Goteborg for a funeral fair but never showed up there and never came back where Claes was waiting for her. This probably means she's dead, so she can't be the killer.

[–] amherstwhisky 9 years ago

Regarding the baby, I think the killer wants to cut it out of the woman, not wait for her to give birth.

[–] aecceity 9 years ago

Very interesting theory! He would certainly have a connection to many of the victims. I also like the theory that one or more of the foster children are working together. I'm not completely convinced about Emil's innocence yet. I found it strange that they immediatly deemed Emil innocent "just" because he was kidnapped and didn't consider the possibility of a staging and/or him working with a co-culprit…

And we certainly know that Annika isn't sane - although I agree it would be too "easy" if she is the responsible one.

But I wonder what their connection to Freddie's surrogate child could be!