The body of an American judge is found on the bridge separating the US and Mexico, with the bottom half in Juárez, and the top half in El Paso. As Detective Sonya Cross (Diane Kruger) tries to learn to work with her Mexican counterpart, Marco Ruiz (Demian Bichir), things get even more complicated, with the FBI also claiming jurisdiction in the case. However, this murder is just the start of things to come—”The Beast” is piling up bodies on both sides of the border. He taunts the cops every step along the way, passing information to the detectives through ruthless, self-obsessed, drug-addicted reporter Daniel Frye (Matthew Lillard).

I really enjoyed the central mystery/investigation of the first season. There are lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing about the identity of “The Beast” and what he wants. The series is gritty and dark, and there are some very shocking and unexpected turn of events. However, the writers have mixed in moments of humor to help ease the tension. The series presents a thought-provoking look at the disparity between the US and Mexican law enforcement and crime cultures.

The characters are really interesting, well-defined and feel like real people. Sonya has Asperger’s, and her sister was murdered when they were teenagers. Her only real friend is her boss, Lieutenant Hank Wade (Ted Levine), and she worries that if he retires, there will be no one who understands her. Due to her illness, she doesn’t do well in social situations, and has no filter when it comes to speaking what’s on her mind (this is one source of the show’s humor).

Marco also has an interesting past. He is on his second marriage, and his new wife is pregnant with her third child. He also has a 19-year-old son from a previous marriage, whom he struggles to keep on the straight and narrow. He has had a troubled past, but prides himself on being an honest cop in Mexico, refusing to accept any favors from the cartels, who may expect something in return.

I really enjoyed the relationship between Sonya and Marco. There is that opposites attract notion, but without any romantic element to it. I also really liked the father-daughter dynamic between Sonya and Hank, the father-son connection between Marco and Gus (Carlos Pratts) and the way Adriana (Emily Rios) remains a friend to the despicable Daniel.

In addition to the central investigation, we are also introduced to a few other side stories. Charlotte Millwright (Annabeth Gish) is a widowed second wife who discovers a big secret/business venture her wealthy husband had been keeping from her; and Steven Linder (Thomas M. Wright) is an odd man who helps Mexican women cross the border. While these stories briefly intersect with the main case, they seem more like set-up for the series’ second season. The main investigation is wrapped up by the eleventh episode of the season, and the final two episodes just felt like filler to set up for the second season.

All of the primary cast give really great performances. The two leads bring a realness to their characters, Matthew Lillard has some really great emotional scenes, and plays a selfish d-bag so well, and Thomas M. Wright is so perfectly creepy as Linder.

The series looks great on this DVD. Even in the darker scenes, the picture is detailed. The audio track makes use of the surround channel to bring the viewer into the drama. The bonus features are excellent—there is a really interesting behind-the-scenes featurette, a great collection of deleted scenes, a look at the real violence in Juárez from a New York Times reporter, and a pilot audio commentary with the cast/creators.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (590 min)

• All 13 episodes of the first season
  Disc 1: “Pilot”, “Calaca”, “Rio”
  Disc 2: “Maria of the Desert”, “The Beast”, “ID”, “Destino”
  Disc 3: “Vendetta”, “The Beetle”, “Old Friends”
  Disc 4: “Take The Ride”, “Pay The Toll”, “All About Eva”, “The Crazy Place”
• 480p / Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
• Closed Captioned

Extras:

• Audio Commentary on Pilot (1:02:57)
  Stars Diane Kruger and Demián Bichir, and co-creators/executive producers Elwood Reid and Meredith Stiehm provide an interesting discussion throughout the pilot episode. As each new character appears on screen, the creators talk about that actor’s audition and wardrobe. They also discuss the decisions to use Spanish versus English, and provide a lot of production behind-the-scenes tidbits such as which scenes were re-shot or added after the initial pilot, what was pulled directly from the original version of the series, where scenes were shot and more. There are some periods of silence, but overall it’s an entertaining and informative commentary.
• Building The Bridge (20:37)
  The creators discuss how the series was originally going to be set on the Detroit/Canada border, laying out the major moments from the original Bron series, and defining/casting the characters; the actors talk about their roles and working on the series; and the production crew talks about designing and creating the sets. Includes interviews with executive producers Elwood Reid and Meredith Stiehm, The New York Times Mexico Correspondent Damien Cave, production designer Jonathan Carlson, set decorator Alexander Carle, art department gang boss Paul Pastorelli, and stars Demian Bichir (“Marco Ruiz”), Diane Kruger (“Sonya Cross”), Ted Levine (“Hank Wade”), Matthew Lillard (“Daniel Frye”), Annabeth Gish (“Charlotte Millwright”) and Thomas M. Wright (“Steven Linder”).
• Ciudad Juárez: The Other Side of The Bridge with Damien Cave (9:33)
  Damien Cave, reporter for The New York Times, heads across the border to give a tour of Juárez, and talk about the history of the violence there and how the government is trying to improve the situation.
• Deleted Scenes (20:54)
  A great collection of 11 deleted scenes from throughout the season, including an alternate version of the entire sequence with Daniel Frye in his car.

Final Thoughts:

The first season of The Bridge provides a really interesting and thought-provoking central investigation that takes many unexpected and shocking turns. The characters are multi-dimensional and the portrayals are excellent, giving us humor, drama and emotion. While the last 2 episodes of the season felt like filler for season 2, I really enjoyed the season as a whole. The DVD also contains an excellent selection of bonus material. Its definitely worth catching up on this first season of The Bridge before the next season begins next month.