Original subtitles

[cutlery clinking]

[Michelle] "Epic fail at the Book Fair."

"My heart goes out to the authors at Lund and Lagerstedt."

-"Death knell"-- -We're not sure what happened, and we're--

We know it doesn't look good right now, but just give us time to...

We constantly analyze different areas of potential growth.

Recent surveys showed we're weak among consumers who care about cultural regard.

That's why we acquired Lund and Lagerstedt.

They are also the consumers who reacted the strongest to the Book Fair incident.

Well, here's what we'll do.

I'm going to be out of town for three weeks.

When I get back, I expect a full report on how you will become profitable.

And you will arrange a book release

that becomes a massive success.

Or else the acquisition will be revoked.

[phone ringing]

[in English] Hi, Paul. [laughs]

Yeah, it's crazy, huh?

[footsteps recede]

[Ronny] You know what this means, right?

-We'll have to close down. -No--

-Yes, we do. Shit, shit... -Hey...

-[panting] -Calm down. Are you with me? Breathe.

-I am. -Look at me.

I've got this. We won't have to close down.

Good. We're all in this together.

LOVE AND ANARCHY

This will do the trick, Denise.

Chamomile tea to calm your nerves.

Thanks.

[sighs]

[whispering] Oh, am I glad to see you!

-Denise got dumped by Tove-Lee. -Huh?

As if the Book Fair turmoil wasn't enough.

Several of our authors are meaning to go elsewhere.

Fingers crossed for Sofie and Ronny.

They're meeting with the new owners.

I overheard the words "disaster" and "emergency meeting."

We'll pull through!

Ronny, where's Sofie?

She had computer issues.

She's working from home to really... [grunts]

This is surreal.

It's like a horrible nightmare.

I don't know how we got here.

Predator is your most brilliant novel yet. You have to publish it.

I won't be the property or a puppet of a freaking streaming service.

My artistic integrity is sacred.

I will protect it from this technological bullshit that doesn't respect literature.

Stefan, our authors mean the world to us.

We wouldn't have accepted the acquisition if it was unfavorable for you in any way.

Nothing has changed. I'm still your publisher.

With everything that's happened, I doubt you care about quality anymore.

I trusted you, Friedrich.

Maybe that was a mistake.

Perhaps I should find a new publisher.

Stefan, listen... Um...

Before a book release, it's perfectly normal to feel anxious.

I said no. I can't publish this book.

How about we postpone the release?

This will blow over in no time, I promise.

She got a job in the DN arts section!

Who?

My ex-wife.

The crazy woman in your book.

That's what this is all about?

She used to be a nobody, a good-for-nothing university lecturer.

Now she writes for DN.

She'll skin me alive in the arts section. Everyone is going to side with her.

How do you make a scandal go away? Do you know?

You create an even bigger scandal,

just like the Swedish Academy often does.

If we create enough buzz around this book,

everyone will forget all about the Book Fair.

And people will think of us as edgy, daring...

And Stream-Us will absolutely love it.

It's right up their alley.

-What about Stefan? -He's signed the contract and has no say.

What about his confidence in us? His confidence in Friedrich?

-I'm dead to him, anyway. -This is an emergency, a time of crisis.

And the book will sell more, so it's a win-win. He'll benefit as well.

Denise, get in touch with the DN-arts-section ex-wife.

Now.

Go on.

-Come on, Denise. -[groans]

You can do this.

Just pick up the phone and say, "Hello, are you Stefan's ex-wife?"

I'm busy right now, we'll talk later.

Okay, Friedrich. Hang in there.

[pants]

Hi, there!

[doorbell rings]

You're here?

Come inside before someone sees you.

So...

To what do I owe the pleasure?

[Max] You don't pick up when I call.

Listen, you can't...

We can't keep doing this.

Your rubber plant has fungus gnats in it.

Leave that there.

[sighs]

Look...

This isn't working, I can't...

I can't do this.

It's not possible.

Sticking matches into the potting soil gets rid of fungus gnats.

[romantic music playing]

[sighs]

[breathing heavily]

[door slams]

[Johan] Hello!

Hello!

Hello!

Just stopping by to have lunch and change my shirt.

[Sofie] Okay!

-[Johan] You're home? -[Sofie] Yes, I'm working from home.

-How did your pitch go? -Man, it was a huge success.

I just have to dress a little more formally for my next meeting.

What...

Hey.

Hey.

[Sofie] Well, he's here to fix the...

-Oh right, the dishwasher! -Yes, precisely.

[Johan] Terrific.

Is it common that they shut down mid-cycle?

-Uh... If it's common? -Yeah.

[clears throat] Uh, well...

It's super weird, you know, it's like...

[dishes clattering]

I should have emptied it, but you can see for yourself.

It's not draining after it's finished.

Oh, I'll have a look at it.

Nice.

Washing by hand just takes too long.

All right then, way to go.

If I'd known you were home, I would have brought two servings.

-[Sofie] God, no... -[Johan] We'll split it.

[Sofie] No, I've already eaten.

[Johan] It was such a good meeting.

-[Sofie] Wonderful. -So exciting.

-I totally won them over. For real. -[Sofie] That's wonderful. That's great.

[Johan] Awesome.

[water sloshing]

-Listen, about Isabell's birthday... -Mm?

-I asked our friends to bring their kids. -Mm.

Since Isabell hasn't invited anyone.

-[sighs] -[Sofie] Right.

-[Johan] And then there's Lars. -[Sofie] Mm.

[Johan] You didn't invite him, did you?

For Isabell's sake, perhaps he should stay away.

Sure, I'll tell him not to come.

Well, there you go. Peace and quiet.

There are dishrags in the cupboard if you want to clean up.

-Grab whatever you need. -[Max] Sure.

So, all set.

That should do it.

-[Johan] That was quick. -[Max] Yes.

Would you like cash or do you invoice?

I don't charge for unclogging drains. It's fine.

Hey, wait!

You can't come over and work without getting something in return.

-Here. Treat yourself to something nice. -Thanks.

-[Johan] Thanks for coming. -Bye.

["Roses" by Soleima playing] ♪ Yeah are roses red and violets blue? ♪

♪ So what the fuck did you think that you could do? ♪

♪ Change me? Really? ♪

♪ Thank God Bless you for the truth ♪

♪ Roses, red roses ♪

♪ Roses, red roses, baby ♪

♪ Roses, red roses ♪

♪ Now they're just dead roses, baby ♪

[ring tone]

[phone ringing]

This is Max. Leave a message after the beep.

-Congratulations on the new job. -[woman] Thank you.

-[Denise] You must be thrilled. -I really am.

-Quite the platform. DN... -Yes.

-Yup. [laughs] -The top dog in Sweden.

-Wow. -Yes.

So, we wanted to have this meeting

to hear your thoughts on the release of Stefan's latest novel.

I'm not the least bit interested in what my ex-husband does.

[hesitant] No, but this book is actually about you.

-About me? -Yes, uh, well...

Let me give you a little sample.

We want to give everyone a chance to tell their side of the story,

so...

"When she gets tired of nagging at me,

she effortlessly shifts her focus to her girlfriends."

Wait...

No, that's not it...

Excuse me, here we go.

"When I got home from work, the hallway mirror had been shattered."

"The shards dug into the soles of my shoes."

"She was still sitting in the same spot on the bathroom floor,

holding a pocket mirror between her wide open legs."

"She asked me to look in the mirror and tell her what I saw."

"She wanted to hear the words I used about her most intimate parts."

There's more, but perhaps you should read it in the comfort of your own home.

May I have the book?

Certainly.

Thank you.

-Thank you. -Thanks for coming.

We... Yeah...

That went well.

This is perfect.

Soon, the floodgates of publicity will open,

and we can put the Book Fair behind us for good.

[man] Hi, Max!

7 MISSED CALLS

[indistinct chatter]

-[Sofie] Having fun? -[all] Yes!

-Are you guys okay over here? -God, this is so wonderful.

-You've outdone yourself. -I'm glad.

-Hey, my disco ball. -Hi.

You're so pretty.

By far the hottest wife of the party.

-Nille! -[Nille] Mm!

Hey!

-[Johan] Doing well? -Yes, more or less.

-[girl] Hilma posted a new YouTube video! -[girl 2] What?

Hey, everyone! Hilma here.

Today, I'm going to talk about two things that really piss me off.

First of all, bullying, and second,

second-rate eyelashes.

-[electronic music playing] -[whooping]

Turn it off. Turn it off!

-Turn that shit off! -[music stops]

Is this your idea of a birthday party? It looks like a fucking TV commercial!

It's fake! Everything's fake! The works!

Isabell, this isn't you.

[sighs]

[mutters]

What are you looking at?

What are you all looking at?

He's completely insane.

Take a look at yourselves instead.

You believe that capitalism can save your children.

Look at yourselves.

Capitalist pigs!

-Lars... -You little pig.

You little pig.

Look at yourself!

[shouting] Lars! Get a grip!

That's enough.

-[Johan] Lars. -[pants]

Come on.

[muffled voices arguing]

[sobs]

-I'm standing up for what's right. -Not here!

Not in this house, and not in that manner.

You think you have moral authority, but you're just a rambling old anarchist.

-You have your opinions and I have mine. -Try keeping your opinions to yourself.

Sofie, just let me explain--

Isabell is a child!

She is turning twelve and you just ruined her birthday party.

Are you happy now?

Did you make the world a better place?

Go home. Now!

I'll call the cleaning service.

[gentle music playing]

"Predator doesn't even qualify as a novel,

but rather as an inadvertent manifesto for male incels."

"And he writes as poorly as he fucks."

I mean, she is really nasty. This is just what we need.

Hashtag "MyTurf."

-There's even a hashtag now. -That's perfect.

It's starting to spread and Stefan's been tagged in several posts.

-We've hung one of our authors out to dry. -Rather him than us. We're safe.

"I've been married to Stefan Lindberg..."

-[reads under breath] -[Denise] We have to tell Friedrich.

Where is he?

Hi.

-Hi. -Hi.

Can we talk?

Is your dishwasher in order?

[phone ringing]

DAD

Do you think what happened was easy for me?

I can't even begin to say how sorry I am, but I truly am.

I'm really, really, really sorry.

[humming]

-Hey. -Hi!

I have, like, six cups of coffee a day. Is that too much?

No, I doubt it. I probably had twice as much when I was your age.

-And it's supposed to prevent Alzheimer's. -That's right.

I'll work from home today. Putting in overtime this week.

-Okay. -I need to balance it out.

-[Caroline] Bye. -Bye.

Wait!

[upbeat music playing]

[housemate] Hey!

Hey.

-[whispers] You shower in the hallway? -Yeah.

[laughs] Okay.

My room is over here.

Wow!

Cozy.

[Max] Thanks.

Um...

Would you like a beer?

Sure, why not?

Hi.

Oh, Alex, this is Sofie.

Sofie, this is Alex.

-[Alex] Hey. -Hi.

Uh... I'll just...

God, yes. I'm sorry.

Oh God, I'll sneak in here.

Is that the lipstick girl?

Yes, that's her.

How old is she exactly?

Piss off.

[phone ringing]

DAD

Thanks, thanks.

Did you draw these?

I did.

Nice.

Mm.

Delicious.

-It tastes like-- -Beer.

Exactly.

[romantic music playing]

[moans]

[panting]

[moans]

[coughing]

Oh, hi.

-Have you been sitting here all day? -[Friedrich] This is all... meaningless.

The times are changing and none of this matters.

No, but at least you found a brochure about paragliding.

Exciting.

Well, I have to try to get some kind of perspective on life.

Okay, tell me.

I'm despised by authors.

The fiasco at the Book Fair.

The hateful Twitterstorm.

And I've sold my soul to a streaming service.

[laughs]

Sorry.

You can't help but laugh.

I don't know what to do.

I don't know who I am anymore.

-Go see a therapist, like the rest of us. -I don't like therapists.

You know what? Maybe you should try ayahuasca.

-Pardon? -Ayahuasca. I haven't tried it myself.

But, I've read manuscripts by young authors who've tried it

to get a new perspective on life.

[sighs]

Tell me something about you.

-You already know everything about me. -Are you kidding?

-I know nothing about you. -You do.

-Except that you're from up north. -Hälsingland, yeah.

Do you have a family, siblings?

Do your parents live together? Stuff like that.

I have two younger brothers, and they're awesome.

Okay.

And your parents, do they live together?

No, I lived with my mom growing up.

So...

[laughs] Well, go on.

What's she like?

My mom?

-Yes. -She's...

Well, she's something else. [chuckles]

She is.

In what sense?

Well, she doesn't like me. I can't do anything right.

We hardly see each other, but they want me to come up next weekend.

[phone ringing]

Sofie speaking.

Yes, that's me.

Come again? He was picked up by the police?

Yes, of course.

I'll be right there. Sure, bye.

Is everything okay?

It's my dad.

He's been involuntarily committed to the psychiatric ward.

[shakily] Can you hand me my purse?

Um...

["Alen" by Amason plays]