Netflix’s The Chestnut Man season 1, episode 2 recap

Episode 2 of the Netflix series The Chestnut Man begins with investigator Mark Hess examining a video archive of the Hartung murder case. In one video, the purportedly guilty Linus Bekker (Elliott Crosset Hove) is interviewed about the murder, saying he killed Kristine Hartung with a machete.

In the next scene, Anne (Camilla Lau) finds a chestnut man near some family photos, seemingly tied to the previous murders where similar figurines were found. Then The Chestnut Man urges us to ask why the character Laura Kjær changed the locks.

Also, was she (or someone else in her household) abusive to her son, Magnus? Plus, you can add even more questions to the question pile, including why the killer’s cutting off hands.

On that forensics note, Hess decides to hack up a pig’s corpse to demonstrate a machete’s cutting efficacy (why would the machete have Kristine’s blood but no bone dust?). Then, to add even more complexity, Laura’s fiancé, Hans Henrik Hauge — who had himself been under some suspicion for the murders — asks young Mathilde (Katinka Evers-Jahnsen) about the chestnut men figurines she sold.

Mathilde reveals they didn’t even make chestnut men during the year of Kristine’s murder, which is a bit baffling.

The Chestnut Man: Pig corpses and bone dust

The Chestnut Man peppers in a few new characters, too, such as Gert Bukke (Frank Rubæk), a political opponent to Rosa Hartung, Danish Minister of Social Affairs, and mother to the slain Kristine Hartung. However, he doesn’t embody all of the hardship she faces.

When Rosa heads outside, the word “morder” (murder) is written on her car. There are some interesting developments in that case, too, such as Linus Bekker not being able to identify the places where he buried body parts.

Next, investigator Naia Thulin (Danica Curcic) is informed of a message on a cellphone owned by Laura Kjær. It’s not a subtle message, either, but a creepy Chestnut Man song.

Without much difficulty, the message is traced to a man named Erik Sejer-Lassen (Peder Thomas Pedersen), who is tracked down by officers while apparently stalking a blonde woman. Oddly, he has a package supposedly from Laura and says he got a text about it.

When he opens it in front of authorities, the package is revealed to contain a severed hand!

Give me a hand, would ya?

Obviously, The Chestnut Man will make a savvy viewer wonder, “Okay, why would this creepy stalker guy send the severed hand package to himself and open it in front of witnesses?” The next scene moves on and into another missing person, Anne.

There are signs of struggle and Hess stell Thulin to get a k-9 unit to explore the nearby woods. Unfortunately, they find Anne’s body hanging upside down from trees, with her hands cut off, a telltale sign of The Chestnut Man killer.

Meanwhile, Steen Hartung asks Rosa Hartung how Kristine’s fingerprints showed up on a recently discovered chestnut man if they didn’t make any decorations last year. Indeed, in the next scene, after specialists formally reveal fingerprints on the chestnut men figurines, Hess says they must reopen the Hartung case.

This leads to Naia Thulin interviewing Erik. It turns out that the now deceased Anne was apparently planning to leave Eric over his affairs, perhaps immediately making him a more plausible suspect.

New leads?

Next, we learn there was dry blood found on the living room floor of Erik’s house. However, he says his oldest daughter, Sofia (Nora Barnechow Sefrioui), had a fall and broke her nose and clavicle, therefore the blood.

Next, we are reminded that Sofia and Magnus now have mothers who were killed, and some man working as a pediatric specialist is the only known link between the two victims. This man says he knew Magnus’s mother, and that Magnus was there for treatment for autism.

Oddly, someone anonymously reported that Magnus’s mom was neglecting him, and someone also vandalized her car and e-mailed a threat. Rosa Hartung, the Danish Minister of Social Affairs, and her husband Steen are informed about another chestnut man being found.

She says she does not know the murder victim Anne Sejer-Lassen. Then Steen inquires if Kristine could still be alive, due to fingerprints

False reports

Next, it’s revealed that social services did get an apparently false report of abuse by Laura Kjær. As investigator Thulin has her department look up a license plate number, Hess investigates Laura’s place, finding a weird child drawing depicting a house struck by lightning and catching on fire (apparently).

He also finds a hidden, underground room and some clear evidence of possible kidnapping, which he records on his phone. Unfortunately, Hess is actually not alone.

Someone catches him off-guard and proceeds to beat him up. Fortunately, Thulin shows up and, after continued fighting, it’s revealed to be Hans Henrik Hauge who attacked Hess.

We don’t yet know the full story, but it does not look too good for Hans. As Thulin makes Hauge open a hatch in the room, Hess accidentally distracts her by telling her to protect the laptop.

This is when Hauge attempts to flee with the laptop. He fails to abscond with the evidence but does momentarily evade them.

What are your thoughts on Netflix’s The Chestnut Man? Let us know in the comments!