The Bridge season four, episode two recap: the plot thickens, fast

*Warning: contains spoilers for episode two of The Bridge season four*

The Bridge made a typically dramatic return to our screens last week, with a brutal new murder case, a host of new characters, and a gripping cliffhanger.

The opener of season four of the border-crossing Scandi crime hit was a hard act to follow, but episode two manages to push the story forward in some surprising new directions - and in true 'Bron/Broen' style, the plot is already starting to resemble a drone's-eye view of a motorway spaghetti junction.

Let's tackle the big question left dangling from last week first...

Saga interviews Taariq (Photo: BBC / Filmlance International AB, Nimbus Film / Jens Juncker)

Saga's super-fast recuperation

Loyal fans of The Bridge know that Saga Noren is some kind of super-detective, but here we have evidence of her near-supernatural powers of recovery. Mere days after being stabbed as she was about to be released from prison, she's already making a lightning-fast comeback, as if it didn't happen.

After her release from hospital, there's a faintly ridiculous but fan-pleasing montage where Saga pulls on her leather trousers, takes the dust cover off her mustard Porsche 911 and floors it back to police HQ, a rare smile breaking across her face.

Conveniently, she's immediately transferred over to Denmark to help her love interest Henrik with the stoning case.

Despite some issues adjusting to the new office hot-desking policy in Copenhagen, her assimilation into the investigation all seems unrealistically smooth. "She needs to be a detective again," Henrik tells Lillian. "And she's damn good."

Add to this the fact that Red October is a Swedish group, and the boss is convinced: Saga's on the case.

Red October: a red herring?

But then again, Red October could well be one of those red herrings that The Bridge writers love to throw into the mix, just to throw us off the scent.

Richard, the charismatic journalist who's been investigating the radical organisation, sees a message online that denies responsibility for the murder of Margrethe Thormod.

Later, his hapless but likeable twin brother Patrik is murdered while taking a late-night dip in Richard's outdoor jacuzzi. The ladder out of the hot tub has been electrified and he comes to a grisly end.

The culprit, a figure who appears to be filming him from the dark edges of the garden and refuses to move when Patrik spots him, looks like it could be the same person who filmed Thormod's death.

Saga does the job of the coroner for him, after Patrik's death (Photo: BBC / Filmlance International AB, Nimbus Film / Jens Juncker)

Who are the teenage thieves?

This episode opens with a clever - if criminal - ploy from two teenage girls in Copenhagen. One of them faints in the street, and in the ensuing clamour of bystanders attending to her, an accomplice sneaks up behind and picks their pockets.

This new thread only connects to the main mystery when they try to sell a stolen passport to a man in an alleyway behind the restaurant where Taariq is working.

When the deal goes wrong and the man gets violent with the girls, Taariq intervenes, coming to their aid and scaring him off. He chats with the girls, and they give him a stolen phone, seemingly as a sign of their gratitude.

But when Taariq is arrested by Henrik and Jonas after the gay club owner Silas finally spills the beans, it's revealed that this phone has GPS tracking software - targeted at the late Thormod's phone.

It looks like someone has set Taariq up, but how were the teenage girls involved? With the police on their tail, they resolve to escape to Malmö.

Other talking points:

Suspicion falls on Niels in episode two of The Bridge (Photo: BBC / Filmlance International AB, Nimbus Film / Jens Juncker)

'¢ Niels, the husband of Thormod, acted suitably grief-stricken at the news of his wife's death. But he's now acting very suspiciously. After a visit from Henrik, he receives a phone call and tells the anonymous person on the other end of the line that the police know nothing. And at the end of the episode a car stops outside his house, and Niels receives a package of photographs depicting his wife's murder scene. "Thanks," he says, matter-of-factly.

'¢ It's still unclear what part the mother and son who are fleeing the temperamental dad will play. They've now been persuaded to move into a mysterious gated village presided over by a grey-haired matriarch. There's a vaguely sinister contract about being good citizens, and it's all a little cult-like.

'¢ Is it possible to feel sorry for the un-PC Jonas? With Saga joining the investigation, he's been summarily sidelined. So far he's just been stewing in the office, but will he conspire against the rest of the team as the series continues?

'¢ After rekindling her affair with Henrik without expressing a hint of emotion, Saga resolves to help him investigate the disappearance of his wife and daughters. This is sure to become the other main thrust of the final season, aside from the Margrethe / Patrik killings.

The Bridge continues on BBC Two on Fridays at 9pm. Catch up on the iPlayer.