A young couple finds a woman’s body on the outskirts of Frankfurt. But when the police arrived at the scene, she had disappeared. Inspectors Anna Janneke (Margarita Broich) and Paul Brix (Wolfram Koch) believe that this is Maria Gombrecht. She has actually disappeared, but strangely enough, no one in her family is worried: everyone thinks she has traveled to France. The investigators come across a strange family cosmos: husband Ulrich Gombrecht (Uwe Preuss) is terminally ill with cancer and is being fooled by his pregnant daughter Kristina (Odine Johne), while the other daughter Judith is in serious financial trouble. Nobody seems to really trust anyone else here. Janneke and Brix suspect the reason for the disappearance is in the family.
The family structures from which we come often shape us throughout our lives. This “Tatort” episode clearly shows how much one person can tyrannize and manipulate an entire family. Director and author Petra Lüschow has created an excellent portrait of a toxic personality who poisons everyone around her.
This time, for once, there is nothing to complain about.
When Anna Janneke and Paul Brix interview a therapist, she accidentally mistakes them for an old married couple. What a mistake: In contrast to other investigator duos, the two Frankfurt “crime scene” detectives work together professionally and respectfully – without constant squabbles.
Even if this story is depressing, this “crime scene” is definitely worth seeing. Tune in.
The “Tatort” episode “Finsternis” was first broadcast on April 18, 2022. ARD will repeat the case on Friday, March 15, 2024, at 10:20 p.m.
