TORE review: A thoughtful exploration of grief and loss

TORE sees the titular character trying to escape grief after losing the person he loves the most, even if that means taking a self-destructive path. The show is now streaming on Netflix.

Story

Tore, a 27-year-old man, lives with his father. Tore’s father, Bosse, wants Tore to be independent and move out. He wishes for Tore to see the world and have adventures of his own. However, Tore has no plans of doing that.

Soon after, Tore’s father meets with an accident and dies before his eyes. Tore loved Bosse more than anyone in his life, and he was not prepared to lose him. Instead of dealing with his emotions, Tore ends up repressing everything.

He pushes away his best friend, Linn, when she tries to help him and turns to drugs and alcohol. He works tirelessly during the day and spends his nights at a club, trying to hook up with men, something that he has never done before.

At a time when Tore’s life has turned upside down, he meets Erik and starts liking him. He also makes new friends who help him in their own way. Will Tore learn to manage his grief, or will he end up losing everything that he holds dear?

Performances

William Spetz, the creator of the show, plays Tore. As Spetz himself wrote the character, his understanding of it is brilliant. Spetz plays the part with a sincerity that makes his character and his feelings as real as they get.

Sanna Sundqvist portrays Linn as a woman who is bold and strong-willed but also someone who cares deeply. One cannot help but like Linn when Sundqvist makes Linn’s concern for her friend so apparent and genuine. 

The other actors who performed their parts well include Carlos Romero Cruz, Karin Bertling, and even Peter Haber, despite him not getting much screen time.

Positives

The show explores different shades of grief. Everyone has their own way of dealing with the loss of the person they love, as seen in the cases of Tore, Linn, and Heidi. It tells the audience that grief, like any other emotion, is anything but simple.

Tore loses the person who is the most precious to him, but he finds joy in his interactions with Erik, which also highlights the complexity of human emotions. Two binaries can exist at the same time without one negating the other.

While Tore getting caught in a self-destructive spiral and refusing Linn’s help can be frustrating at times, the audience will not be able to blame him for it. The show makes it understandable why he is acting the way he is, and his choices make his sorrow no less authentic.

Just like the emotion that dominates the show, the characters are also complex. They are good people, but they are just as flawed, which makes them human. One would not want to judge any of them for their choices.

Tore coming to terms with his feelings towards his father and his death is carried out beautifully. Once he lets out his anger and frustration, he sees his father’s loving face in the crowd, encouraging him, which leads to the realization that his father’s love will always be with him. The acceptance is gentle and subtle.

Negatives

There are jokes in the show, but most of them do not land. Some of them are slightly amusing and might make the audience smile but most of them do not.

The ending of the show fails to bring a satisfying closure. Tore’s acceptance is quite nice, but the events leading up to it are abrupt and take place at a frenetic pace.

Verdict

TORE is a show about a man whose loss drives him to try the things that he has never tried before. The charm of the show lies in the depiction of his grief, which is authentic and relatable. It is a show that the audience should watch when they want to feel good and sad at the same time.

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Also Read: Tore summary and ending explained