Vienna Blood (TV Series) The Melancholy Countess (2021) User Reviews

A brilliant return.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 11 December 2021]

A patient of Max's, a wealthy Hungarian countess is found dead in her bath, Oskar is on the case, and finds his friend a little uncooperative.

What a treat to see this show back on our screens, I haven't long watched series one, which is a class act, this picks up exactly where that left off.

It's a wonderful start, this was a truly brilliant episode. The story was thoughtful, the bit if conflict between Max and Oskar worked well, and best of all, it looks sublime.

The story felt like a mix of Sherlock and The Blackheath Poisonings, that slightly seedy, but gritty plot worked very well, it moved along at a quick pace.

Visually, this was awesome, it looked fabulous, costumes, sets, all of that Austrian decadence, truly a feast for the eyes, this looked like an expensive production.

With the dismal Christmas TV schedule ahead, I think I'll save the next two for the festive period, and be guaranteed some quality viewing.

Loved it, 9/10.

Return of an excellent show

[jhenderson9-109-993677 · 9/10 · 15 December 2021]

Loved series one and looked forward to series two, was a little disappointed with the melancholy countess as the plot is lifted from Agatha Christie's the yellow iris otherwise served as a present watch.

Jessica De Gouw?

[urbanspider · 13 January 2022]

Really don't know why Jessica De Gouw wasn't in season 2 as she had so much depth and mystique about her, a proper shame tbh as she was much better in this role...

The Melancholy Countess

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 15 December 2021]

I did find the first series of Vienna Blood to be uneven but it did get better as it went along.

I thought maybe Steven Thompson who worked on three episodes of Sherlock needed the assistance of the show's creators Moffat and Gatiss.

The second series returns with an elderly Hungarian Countess having a strange vision at a dinner, she later died, thought to have committed suicide after feeling melancholy.

This spells trouble Max Liebermann, he was treating her and he told her not to take the medication prescribed to her. The Countess had disturbing dreams.

Meanwhile Officer Oskar Rheinhardt is not sure that the Countess did kill herself.

After stating so many times that Max had to respect his patient's confidentiality. To rescue his reputation, Max has to team up with Oskar.

Maybe that young army officer the Countess danced with has something to hide.

It is was sumptuous to look at, it also had both seediness and grittiness. The hotel that the Countess was staying in both served as a high class brothel.

Of course it turns out that someone was stalking the Countess, a troubled face from the past.

Then there was a little switcheroo. Maybe she was not an intended victim, it was straight out of Agatha Christie.

A character made an important remark nearer the beginning of the episode. A soldier not fit to wear the uniform. You cannot fault the construction but some of the dialogue was trite.

Inferior Amelia Lydgate. Superior Production. Weak Episodic Case.

[jamericanbeauty · 5/10 · 20 January 2022]

Please bring back the original Amelia Lydgate! Jessica De Gouw was a mysterious, haunted, unforgettable beauty and you understood why Dr. Max Liebermann (Matthew Beard) was immediately drawn to her outer dark beauty and inner dark struggles. He could not quite figure her out and he loves a great puzzle, but it was more than that. He seemed frozen in her presence, as if time around them stood still and all he saw was her. Jessica De Gouw and Matthew Beard had hypnotic-like chemistry. Beard has zero chemistry with the new Amelia Lydgate, now played by Lucy Griffith. Griffith, who I liked in True Blood, is pretty but that's about it. There's nothing interesting about her in Vienna Blood. As for the case, it was predictable, and the twist was anticlimactic. It checks certain boxes, you know representation and the Alphabet club and I do notice the brilliant, excited Pyschoanalyst and tough, grumpy Inspector detective duo now rely more on the new female record keeper and new-Amelia's forensics to solve their case than they did in previous cases in Season One. The production remains flawless. I hope the next entry, The Devil's Kiss, will deliver more psychological chills and thrills.

Lovely locations but that's it

[geezadave · 2/10 · 15 December 2021]

Usually good mysteries are solved by clues, alibi's and ultimately the motives of the antagonists being uncovered by clever sluthes in an earned manner, as you the viewer are drip fed these insights to keep your engagement in the characters and story at their peak throughout.

This is sadly none of these but lazy reveals that could have easily been discovered with little or no thought on the protagonists part other than to slowly eek out the runtime.

Agatha Christie would have dismissed all this in the first 10 minutes rather than the 90 this mess lasts.

The dialogue and lighting is as stilted and flat as your lower tier soap opera to boot.