When a family comes together to celebrate midsummer, confessions are made and secrets come out, leading to new beginnings. Midsummer Night is streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Carina and Johannes have been married for 30 years and have two daughters — Hanne, who is engaged to Darius, and Helena.
Carina comes to the realization that she wants to have adventures and new experiences, and she cannot do that as long as she is married to Johannes, so she is going to divorce him.
She decides to share the news with family and friends during the midsummer celebrations, which bring Hanne, Helena, and Petronella, Johannes’ daughter from his first marriage, home.
In addition to them, Carina invites her brother Håkan, his much younger girlfriend, Sara, and Darius’ family.
She also invites her friend Elin and Elin’s son, Lysander, who happens to be Hanne’s ex-boyfriend, without asking Hanne first.
Seeing Lysander at her parents’ house makes Hanne uncomfortable, as Lysander broke up with her without giving her a proper reason, depriving her of closure.
Hanne is going to marry Darius soon, and she is terrified of it. She was the one who proposed to him, but she only did that because she did not want to lose him.
Hanne ended up cheating on him with a stranger named Lucas a few weeks ago. What she does not know is that Darius saw her with Lucas that day.
Heartbroken, Darius went to his parents’ house, and his father asked him to choose between leaving Hanne or taking the more difficult path of forgiving and staying with her.
Darius has yet to make a choice. He loves Hanne and does not want to break up, but he is still struggling to come to terms with Hanne’s infidelity.
Another person who saw Hanne with Lucas is Helena, who has liked Darius since the day she met him but has not been able to confess.
Helena has never dated anyone because of her feelings for Darius. She has failed to notice that Darius’ older brother, Robert, has liked her for years now.
The day brings many surprises for the family. One of them is that Sara is pregnant. Håkan does not want to keep the baby, as he does not want children.
Sara is young, but Håkan is much older. If he is going to have a child, he wants to be there for them, which he doubts he can do because of his age.
Sara tells Håkan that she only wants a family with him, and no one else, because she is in love with him. Håkan, too, loves her; even his sister can see that clearly.
The second revelation is for Hanne, who finally questions Lysander about their breakup. Lysander tells Hanne that he cannot commit to one person.
He tried to change for her, but he could not. He thinks that she also knows what it’s like to be lonely, just like himself, and she is scared of that.
He believes that she is clinging on to Darius, who wants to be with her in both good and bad times, because of her fear of loneliness.
What he does not tell her is that he has a tumor in his brain, and the surgery he has to undergo only has a 50% chance of survival, which is why he came here to see her.
Tensions rise during a game when Helena snaps after Hanne cheats and gets away with it. Helena’s outburst is soon followed by Johannes losing his temper.
He keeps asking Carina to tell their family about the divorce, just as she had planned, but Carina does not find the right moment.
Johannes can no longer pretend that all is well and that he is happy, so he ends up angrily breaking the news.
He is also rude to Håkan for being with a girl who is the same age as his daughters, accusing him of pretending to be younger than he is.
Following that, Carina does damage control to salvage the party, while Petronella goes to speak with Johannes and comforts him.
Ending explained:
Helena moves on
After Petronella, Helena also talks to Johannes, who advises her to confess her feelings to the person she loves, as he now knows how easy it is to lose it.
Helena gathers the courage and decides to talk to Darius. She first tells him about Hanne cheating on him and is surprised to find out that he already knows.
She believes that it is unfair that Darius knows and is still choosing not to do anything about it. She then kisses Darius, only to realize that she should move forward now.
Having confessed her feelings to him, she no longer carries the burden of her emotions. She also realizes that her feelings for Darius are not as deep as she thought.
Later, she gets a chance to talk to Robert, who finally confesses his feelings to her. She asks him to send her the message that he never sent but has kept on his phone all these years.
Additionally, Helena reconciles with Hanne, towards whom she had been bitter because of her feelings for Darius.
She then responds positively to Robert’s message, marking the beginning of their relationship.
Choosing forgiveness
After talking to Helena, Darius confronts Hanne about cheating on him. Hanne breaks down, realizing that her mistake is no longer a secret.
She does not know why she cheated on him; all she knows is that she was scared of not being good enough for Darius and losing her freedom.
Hanne loves Darius, and he, after reflecting on his father’s advice, comes to the conclusion that he wants to take the difficult path of forgiving Hanne for the sake of their love.
He asks Hanne if she still wants to marry him, and when she says yes, he asks her to marry him then and there. He has already spoken to their families.
The two of them then get married in the presence of their friends and families, with Lysander officiating the wedding.
Lysander watches the newlyweds happy and in love. He only confides in his mother that he still loves Hanne.
Accepting change
Carina asks Johannes to face everyone after his outburst and apologize. Johannes returns to his family and apologizes to everyone, especially Håkan and Sara.
He admits that he is shy and not good at expressing his love. Seeing Håkan reminds him of his limitations, and it hurts him when he cannot do all the things that Håkan easily can.
Johannes’ apology and admission of his wish to be more like Håkan earn him his family’s forgiveness.
It is not known whether Håkan and Sara decide to keep the baby, but the news of the pregnancy does not change their relationship in the slightest; they are still very much in love.
As the family goes back to celebrating, Petronella remembers her therapist’s advice to speak to her father honestly.
Petronella had a difficult childhood. Her mother, who is now in a psychiatric ward, neglected her, and Petronella never told her father about it.
She was afraid of upsetting her mother by asking Johannes to let her stay with him and scared of imposing on his new family. Petronella is working on understanding herself better.
Later that night, when everyone goes home, she asks Johannes if she can stay with him for a few days. Petronella’s question makes Johannes happy.
Despite moving on in their lives, Johannes and Carina both know that they will always love each other. Carina’s decision to divorce Johannes makes her happy and relieved.
She is seen swimming alone and freely, an act that previously terrified her. She has started going on adventures, just as she had wanted.
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