Wataha: Excellent Polish Crime Series!

Wataha is a Polish crime series which can be compared to Nordic Noir series where you rarely see the sun shining or people smiling. In Wataha you follow the Polish border patrol which operates in the Bieszczady mountains between Poland and Ukraine. A very deserted and impassable area to operate in. And rainful too. In this rugged terrain ruthless criminals smuggle anything that is worth money. Weapons, drugs and people.

In the deep forests of the Bieszczady mountains the border patrol guards often find refugees which are left behind freezing and starving. They also find dead bodies whose only fault was they were too slow.

To be a member of the border patrol you must have impeccable integrity and be incorruptible. Temptations are everywhere.

The main character in Wataha is Wiktor Rebrow. He is an officer in the border patrol. Rebrow survived as the only one a bomb attack in a cabin where his unit celebrated that a colleague was retiring. Rebrow had gone out to his car where he was waiting for his girlfriend who was also a member of the border patrol. Suddenly he got a text on his phone saying BOOM. The cabin blew up and all his colleagues were killed.

Rebrow was injured and hospitalized. When he regained consciousness he was told that all his colleagues and his girlfriend were killed in the explosion. Now the investigation headed by public prosecutor Iga Dobosz starts. A new unit is also established under commander Markowski. This unit gets the extremely difficult task to solve who was behind the bomb explosion. It soon turns out that the perpetrators not only are members of the criminal environment, but they have also tentacles all the way up to the top of the political establishment. Corruption is apparently widespread.  

Wataha has a plot which fortunately avoids the worst crime series clichés. We follow fragile border patrol guards who have a tough time handling the inhuman work. We follow Rebrow who in many ways operate as a lone wolf but at the same time suffers from the loss of his girlfriend and his colleagues.

Wataha is an excellent series. Set in an unknown area of Europe and which shows how cruel and brutal the criminal world can be. And also how corruption can work its way up to the very top of the political establishment.

Please, give Wataha a chance and watch the series. You won’t regret it.

You can find Wataha on HBO Nordic.

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