Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole falls into very dangerous, outdated tropes

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Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole spoilers follow.

Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole follows many of the typical patterns of police thrillers, particularly in its portrayal of the main character.

Harry Hole is a tough, dedicated detective who stops at nothing to solve a case, and he self-destructively relies on alcohol along the way, often disregarding both professional boundaries and his personal life.

The show starts out playfully, and it is enjoyable to see familiar story elements used in new ways. However, it unexpectedly veers into problematic territory, ultimately embracing some of the genre’s most harmful and outdated clichés, and even presenting ideas that feel dangerous.

Netflix’s series, The Devil’s Star, which is based on the fifth book in the series, follows detective Hole as he investigates a serial killer targeting women in Oslo. At the same time, Hole also has to deal with his dishonest coworker, Tom Waaler, and bring him to justice.

The dynamic between these two themes is what makes Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole compelling, but it also creates the show’s main weaknesses.

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Right from the start, Jo Nesbø’s series consistently shows violence against women. While some violence is expected in a show about a serial killer, this one seems to dwell on it excessively, which feels unusual for modern crime dramas.

The film depicts extreme violence against women, including shootings, dismemberment, and sexual assault. Scenes include a woman discovering a corpse in her bed during sex, and others showing graphic injuries like gunshot wounds and severed fingers. One woman is found horrifically mutilated.

The deceased woman is unnecessarily labeled with a derogatory term, as if placing her in the bed wasn’t already intended to be sensational enough.

While crime stories are increasingly featuring female detectives, a troubling imbalance persists: women are still far more likely to be victims of violence than men in these stories. This remains true even in the work of highly acclaimed crime writers.

In many stories, women are killed off—either as a central plot point or simply as a way to move the story forward—and their deaths primarily serve to further the experiences of the male characters. A good example of this is in Jo Nesbø’s novels, where Waaler kills Hole’s coworker, Ellen Gjelsten, early on to create more conflict and tension.

One of the most disturbing moments happens in episode four when Waaler unexpectedly grabs Hole’s hand and forces his palm onto the body of a young woman. He chillingly describes the lingering warmth that fades from a freshly killed person, seemingly enjoying the act and treating the woman as nothing more than a means to get at Hole.

The show’s focus on visually depicting harm feels like a return to older, less sensitive television tropes, and it’s not done in a way that feels comforting or nostalgic. This is especially noticeable when compared to the rare moments of violence against men, which stand out sharply. Interestingly, the male characters who experience harm often share similarities with the women who are frequently subjected to this type of visual focus.

After six episodes, Detective Waaler meets a man who is attracted to him, and surprisingly, Waaler appears to reciprocate those feelings.

The two eventually start chatting. The man tells Waaler she’s the most beautiful person he’s seen, then asks her when she last had a kiss. They share a kiss, and Waaler makes it clear this isn’t part of her job.

This scene offers a surprisingly sweet and vulnerable side to Waaler, adding welcome complexity to his character. While he’s generally presented as a ruthless antagonist, it reminds us that even ‘bad guys’ have emotions – and sometimes those emotions are quite human.

Let’s be clear: the problem isn’t that Waaler is queer and has questionable morals. We’ve moved beyond the point where every LGBTQ+ character needs to be a hero. Now, there are enough diverse LGBTQ+ characters that it’s possible to portray a queer villain without reinforcing harmful stereotypes about the community.

Except, oh wait, that’s exactly what Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole ends up doing here anyway.

Ugh, it’s so frustrating! You start to think, ‘Okay, finally, maybe we’ll get some queer representation!’ especially in a show that’s always been straight-focused, and then… everything falls apart. It’s like they tease you with the possibility and then just yank it away.

The two entered the restroom, a place they knew contained a hidden opening. (If you’re unfamiliar with what that is, we suggest researching it privately.)

A sex worker began preparing for an encounter in the stall next to Waaler’s. However, as he attempted to initiate contact through a small opening in the wall, Waaler attacked him with a knife, severing his genitals and then stabbing him through the partition.

The story doesn’t offer a clear explanation for what happens, instead suggesting Waaler is struggling with his identity as a queer person and self-loathing. This internal conflict is presented as the reason he abruptly rejects someone he initially seemed close to.

What’s particularly unsettling is that, based on my research, this creepy storyline appears to be a completely original addition created by Jo Nesbø for the television adaptation of his own book.

When adapting books for the screen, writers frequently update the story to reflect modern social values. However, Jo Nesbø took a different approach, deliberately adding a shockingly violent and unnecessary homophobic attack that is more extreme than any other violence experienced by male characters in the series.

It’s telling that the most extreme example of violence against men always centers on a gay man, effectively placing him in the same vulnerable position as women who experience similar attacks. This implies that straight men are somehow shielded from the intense violence driven by hatred of women.

Okay, so the killer is a gay man, but the game, Detective Hole, really pushes the idea that his sexuality is connected to being a creep. It especially feels that way after the credits roll – this character from Waaler’s childhood comes off like he’s saying Waaler was just… strange, because of who he was.

Waaler doesn’t fare much better. Being one of the only other openly gay characters, it’s sadly predictable that he dies after losing his arm and succumbing to blood loss.

The writing consistently criticizes traits traditionally associated with women, and also those in men who don’t conform to traditional masculinity. This ultimately supports the same harmful societal norms that cause real-world violence.

The show handles the sex worker’s death with a disturbing and ironic touch, using the gentle song “Heartbeats” by José González while depicting a graphic injury.

Joel Kinnaman, who plays Waaler, jokingly described his experience filming a scene involving the removal of prosthetics resembling penises as a transformative one, saying he felt like ‘a new and improved version of himself’ afterward.

This retelling of the story is a significant step backward, unfortunately. It reflects a problematic and even harmful perspective that was common in older crime fiction.

Despite being hailed as a master of crime fiction, Nesbø seems unable to revisit his own stories without diminishing their quality.

Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole is now streaming on Netflix.

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2026-03-26 23:21