One commissioner, two doppelgangers: "Wolfsland" episode on MeToo

"Butsch" is furious: "You're selling us out as a smear show," the inspector yells at his boss. The audience still has to sort out what happened in the first few minutes of the new "Wolfsland" episode. And why "Butsch" exists three times.

Das Erste is showing the episode "Schwarzer Spiegel" today at 8.15 pm. It's about an actor who was killed and looks a hell of a lot like "Butsch", alias Burkhard Schulz. But that's not all: the dead man was part of a play that was originally dedicated to an old case involving "Butsch" and his colleague Viola Delbrück. And there is even an understudy for the role of the detective, who is also pretty well cast.

Murder motif in the hustler scene?

While Delbrück takes it quite calmly that they are the model for a play entitled "Bad Blood", and forensic expert Uli "Jakob" Böhme is at odds with the fact that he doesn't even appear in the script, "Butsch" repeatedly flies into a rage. The Görlitz investigator even harshly interrupts the rehearsals: "First you steal my story. And then you tell it all wrong!"

The actual case almost fades into the background. But there's a lot that lies in the dark: "Alex was prone to self-destruction," says a colleague about the dead man. He was gay and is said to have had contact with hustlers. Is the murderer to be sought in this area, is there a motive for a perpetrator here?

Misuse of power and assaults

But more comes to light over time: the film is about abuse of power, assaults, rape - not only, but especially in the theater industry. MeToo - with serious consequences for the victims.

She herself has never experienced anything like this, says lead actress Yvonne Catterfeld in the press booklet. But she asked colleagues who are or have been in the theater whether the portrayal corresponds to how they experience or have experienced it. "They agreed, for them it wasn't as far-fetched as it seems at first glance." Colleague Götz Schubert notes: "Transgressions and abuses of power take place across all sectors of society."

It's good to question yourself and put your own house in order, says Schubert - "without losing sight of the public debate, criminal prosecution and a complete investigation". Speaking of the public: the first broadcasts of the popular ARD series "Wolfsland" are usually watched by five to six million viewers.

Letters on a corpse pose a mystery

This time, you will quickly guess that the scenes involving a young woman, which initially seem somewhat disjointed, take on an important meaning towards the end of the hour and a half. Meanwhile, two letters that someone has left on the corpse with a grease pencil pose a mystery. And which forensic scientist Böhme (Jan Dose) makes visible using modern technology.

Director Ole Zapatka's aim with "Black Mirror" was to get close to the characters, as he explains in the press booklet. "Hand-held camera, harsh alternation of long shots and close-ups. A rather rough approach."

There are scenes in the light-flooded café where all is still right with the world. This contrasts with the gloomy hall where the theater rehearsals take place.

A juicy piece of meat for the wolf

And then there is the autumnal forest again, where Delbrück retreats into solitude. She has made it a ritual to lure and feed a wolf with juicy meat while jogging at the weekend.

When she encounters the murder victim and "Butsch" doppelganger on one of her outings, her colleague, who is always talking down to everyone, wants to know: "What are you doing here?" She replies dismissively and evasively: "It's Sunday."