Abhiroop Das
Created by Jo Nesbø, Netflix’s ‘Detective Hole’ or ‘Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole,’ follows Harry Hole through the highs and lows of life in Oslo. As a high-profile detective, he is expected by his peers to maintain a certain persona, but that crumbles down when he develops addiction issues after enduring several traumatic incidents. However, when news about a serial killer in the making reaches his ears, Harry returns to work, determined to get to the truth before more lives are lost.
While all of this is going on, the Norwegian crime drama series also develops a parallel plot line that is equally as important, that of Tom Waaler. Harry’s senior in the force, Waaler, is suspected of being involved in a shady conspiracy of his own, and Harry spends much of the show gathering proof, until we reach the climax with the finale. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Waaler Bleeds to His Death After Being Outsmarted by Harry
Tom Waaler dies at the end of ‘Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole’ season 1 after being thoroughly defeated by Harry and Oleg. Though Waaler initially trusts Harry with a ticket to the inner corners of Oslo’s criminal networks, that decision soon backfires when, instead, Harry escapes with Martin. The latter is perhaps the only witness alive who can explicitly tie Waaler to the larger den of crime, which in turn makes him Waaler’s priority target for elimination. Desperate to be in control, Waaler crosses all lines by kidnapping Oleg in his sleep and using that as a bargaining chip for an exchange of captives. That plan almost works when Harry relents, if not for some last-minute resilience on both his part and Oleg’s.
The mystery of the pentagram killer is already solved by the time Harry reaches the exchange spot, which means that Waaler no longer has any reason to keep Martin alive. What neither of them knows, however, is that Harry already has plans to intercept Waaler the moment they make contact, which is exactly what happens. The moment Waaler gets Oleg into the elevator, Harry snaps the gun out of Waaler’s hand, and the two begin going at it with their bare fists. In the end, however, it is Oleg who pulls off the clutch move, turning on the elevator while Harry manages to hold on to Waaler’s arm through an opening. As the elevator goes down, Waaler’s arm is crushed and then severed, leaving him to bleed out to death.
Waaler is Revealed to be a Pawn in the Larger Criminal Machine
For the bulk of the series, Waaler plays his cards very precisely, leaving little to no room for error. Where he messes up, however, is in underestimating Oleg as a potential victim. The scene where Oleg breaks free of his control directly calls back the diving lessons, where Harry taught Oleg the countdown to manage fear. In this scene, they use the same tactic to take Waaler by surprise, neutralizing his grip and getting him to almost fall into the elevator, after which Harry takes care of the rest. The severing of the arm is only one step in beating Waaler, though, as he still manages to walk down several flights of stairs to keep up with the elevator. In the end, Harry walks out with his gun loaded, prepared to risk his life to take his nemesis down. However, that doesn’t seem to be necessary, as Waaler is already weakened by the time they meet again.
Waaler’s death in the series brings an end to a multi-faceted conflict within the police system, the very conflict that consumed the life of Ellen and potentially many others. Even before his death, there are two moments that almost guarantee his arrest, but in both cases, he emerges victorious. In the first, he frames Ellen’s death as a murder committed by Swenn, and instead portrays himself as a hero. Later, he goes as far as to encourage a gang of criminals to enter a hospital and take out an informant. Harry’s ultimate victory over Waaler, as such, does justice to Ellen’s passing at last and deals a near-fatal blow to Oslo’s organized crime circle. That is, until we learn about the masked cult leader’s real identity to be Agnes, which recontextualizes Waaler’s role in this larger, corrupted system.
Read More: Is Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole a True Story? Is Harry Hole Based on a Real Detective?
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