Wake - The Vigil: Sweden is a victim of a lethal insomnia epidemic

A lethal insomnia epidemic spreads in Stockholm with alarming speed. Those infected completely lose the ability to sleep and within a few days develop frightening hallucinations, loss of motor control, and finally vital organ collapse. The disease is transmitted through methods still unknown to health authorities, and there is currently no cure. What begins as a series of unexplained incidents – from chairlifts collapsing due to lack of maintenance to planes crashing, and episodes of violence in public places – quickly transforms into a national health emergency, threatening to collapse the entire Swedish capital and beyond.

In Wake - The Vigil, the script follows several parallel storylines, some of which then intertwine. The Prime Minister suddenly finds himself at the center of crisis management, despite a private scandal that threatens to end his political career, linked to his drug-addicted son. We then find an emergency nurse working on the front lines at the hospital, where the influx of patients in desperate conditions increases exponentially by the hour and her own partner discovers she is infected. There is also a young influencer who finds herself forced to take care of her young neighbor after his father, afflicted by the disease, has completely succumbed to his conspiracy delusion.

Waking up before it's too late

The ambition of Brynja Björk, the mind behind the series, was evident: to build a pandemic thriller that reflected post-Covid anxieties, choosing an unknown but potentially plausible disease through which to explore more universal themes related to social collapse, the (lack of) trust in institutions, and the fragility of family ties under extreme pressure. The idea of an insomnia epidemic is certainly not new, but Wake - The Vigil had the potential to stand out thanks to its Scandinavian setting, capable on paper of offering different solutions compared to a more seen and overused Anglophone context.

It's a shame that the execution almost never lives up to the premises. The six forty-minute episodes proceed at a sustained pace – perhaps even too much – but often leave fundamental questions unresolved. The origin of the epidemic is barely hinted at without ever providing satisfactory explanations, and when in the finale the loose ends are obviously destined to come together, the conclusion is timid and leaves doors open without actual reasons, with few ideas for a hypothetical second season to come.

The characterization of the main characters suffers from evident superficiality, with the intent to emulate archetypes around which to build the various narrative bricks that make up the overall puzzle. But from those who blindly believe in conspiracies at the cost of endangering their loved ones, to politicians who think of their personal gain, from idealistic nurses to influencers ready to rediscover unexpected courage, the protagonists of Wake - The Vigil adhere too much to their pre-established roles without ever straying, except to make selfish or unbelievable choices.

The eye wants its share

If from a writing perspective the operation is not entirely convincing, the staging remains at decent levels, showing how Nordic cinema and TV series no longer have anything to envy. A large number of extras for the frequent crowd scenes and the notable variety of locations guarantee enjoyable entertainment for fans of the dystopian genre, with tension becoming palpable on several occasions. The cinematography favors cold and desaturated tones that amplify the sense of urban alienation, with the curfew in a nocturnal Stockholm making it a kind of post-apocalyptic landscape.

But these qualities also paradoxically highlight the general limitation of the entire series: while technically we are faced with a respectable production, ultimately we observe that it lacks that spark that could transform a scenically solid product into something truly memorable, so much so that by the end of the last episode, the memory of what was seen will probably quickly fade.