Well, that’s it, another season of Vienna Blood has come to an end. This one was a brilliant doozy, however, as its new overarching story format allowed the series to explore an elaborate conspiracy that, while contained (for now), will undoubtedly leave a deep mark on the city of Vienna and our favorite crime-solving duo forever.
What stood out to me this season, though, more than any previous outing, is just how well Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt (Juergen Maurer) and Dr. Max Liebermann (Matthew Beard) understand one another. Yes, they’ve bantered with each other, confided in one another, and even saved each other’s lives on numerous occasions, but how well did they truly fundamentally understand and accept the other’s personality, behavior, style of thinking, needs, and wants? As it turns out, very, as one clever stylistic and narrative choice this season proves.
Major spoilers ahead for Vienna Blood season 4.
Now, normally, I am one of those people who finds dream sequences overrated. They’re over-used, cliché, and rarely give us any necessary insight into the character doing the dreaming. Not this time, though. No, Vienna Blood season 4 utilizes the concept of a “dream” sequence perfectly, illustrating how well Oskar understands his friend on a personal and intellectual level and how closely they rely on one another, too.
Man, they really are best buds
Spoiler alert: In a gorgeously intricate sequence set in a labyrinth of caves, Max is shot in the chest. Oskar misses the shooter but finds his friend bleeding out on the cold stone floor after infiltrating a high-end casino together. Not only does this shooting represent the show’s first proper and genuinely terrifying cliffhanger, but it also forces Oskar to work the biggest case of his life by himself. He has very few allies left and is unable to trust anyone in the police force, really. So who does he turn to? Max, of course, even though the psychoanalyst is lying in a coma in a hospital bed.
Vienna Blood has always been a show about the inner workings of the human mind, but this time, we actually get to see Oskar’s mind at work. He imagines himself in a room with Max—one that reflects their past together—and they discuss the case at length as Oskar imagines how his friend would react to new clues and what he might suggest as a next step. Max’s “advice” in the dream genuinely helps Oskar. Though Oskar had doubts about Max’s work, it’s also clear that he respects what his friend has achieved academically—Oskar doesn’t much care about Max’s American fame and fortune—and knows that his insight is invaluable where his police work is concerned.
When I spoke to Juergen Maurer and Matthew Beard during a press roundtable for Vienna Blood season 4, I asked them about these dream sequences and why they work so well specifically in the context of this season. Maurer echoed my thoughts exactly, saying, “He could as well think, what have I learned from my friend and then try to develop the thoughts myself, but the more beautiful way is to imagine the friend in a dream, kind of on a stage.”
Beard reiterated why it wasn’t just the right choice narratively speaking but stylistically, too: “I think that also gave us an opportunity to try something new visually and give the camera team something to play with as well,” he said. “We’ve never really, even though of course we’ve spoken about the mind for four seasons, we’ve never really gone there visually, and partly because it was just a stylistic choice, but this time the kind of reins were off and they were allowed to experiment a bit with that. And I think it brought up a lot of interesting stuff in terms of set design and lighting and all that kind of stuff as well.”
What I also love about these dream sequences is how they set up the further development of their partnership, should the show be renewed for a fifth season (fingers crossed). These two know and love each other—a lot. Could that mean they’re becoming too dependent on one another, though? Could Max potentially handle being away from the excitement of police work? Will Oskar cope if something happens to Max a second time?
Vienna Blood season 4 has changed and deepened the relationship between Max and Oskar forever. I truly hope we get to see more of this duo in the future.
Published: Jan 26, 2025 11:15 pm