This article contains spoilers for A Nearly Normal Family episode 2.
A Nearly Normal Family is a Netflix family drama that follows the Sandell family as their picture-perfect world is turned upside down when teenager Stella is accused of murder.
A Nearly Normal Family episode 2 sees the murder investigation getting properly underway. Both parents are interviewed, and both Ulrika and Adam take steps to cover for their beloved daughter. We also get an insight into how well Stella and Christoffer got along, plus a new suspect is thrown into the mix!
Already binged A Nearly Normal Family? Check out What To Watch's recommendations for the best Netflix shows that you should be streaming to find your next watch. Otherwise, read on for our full breakdown of what happened in A Nearly Normal Family episode 2...
Parental protection
The episode opens with a snapshot of Stella returning home in the rain with police driving around on alert; this is the same night her father found her in the shower downstairs in episode 1.
Then, we join Ulrika being taken to the police station, with Stella's bloody clothes still stashed inside her black handbag. At the station, she's questioned about her whereabouts on the night of the murder. Ulrika says Stella wasn't home when she got in from, and then says she was out for a meal with Mikael
She lies about her return home, saying she got back about 11.30 pm, and specifically says she had no idea what Stella was wearing the night of Christoffer's death. Partway through the interview, she gets a few calls from the care home her father, Thord, is staying in. They explain that they are struggling to handle his behavior and ask Ulrika to come down as soon as possible, otherwise, they might have to evict him from the site.
Stella is then taken to meet Mikael, who will be serving as her defense lawyer. Mikael says the case against Stella is based on weak evidence, and he's determined to get her out of custody as soon as possible. He also advises her to remain silent during her impending detention hearing, as the burden of proof to convict her remains with the prosecutor.
We then join Adam, who drives straight to the police station after leading the christening service. He parks up just as Ulrika is leaving; she tells him it's clear that Stella knew Christoffer Olsen, and that the witness who placed Stella at the scene heard shouting around 1 am.
In Adam's police interview, he explains his and Stella's whereabouts on the day. He mentions how he'd attempted to reach her by phone and text, but couldn't get through. He also tries to protect Stella by lying about the precise time Stella got back: he says he saw 11.55 pm on the alarm clock by his bed, when he heard her return, and that he even spoke to her as she came in.
After his interview, Adam heads to the scene, where a shrine for Christoffer has been set up. There, he learns where Christoffer lived, and a man who knew the young businessman said he heard the terrible screaming that took place that night and noted the woman at the scene of the crime had light hair and a tattoo on her arm... two descriptors which definitely could apply to Stella. Meanwhile, Ulrika arrives at the care home, and she stashes the bloody clothes in a locked drawer before leaving her father's room.
Progress report
Following that revelation, there's another flashback. Stella is at work in a bakery, when she gets a notification on her phone. Christoffer has sent her an Instagram follow request; she accepts, and the pair start chatting and eventually plan a dinner date.
Under the guise of meeting Amina, Stella gets dressed up and heads for a meal with Christoffer Olsen who picks her up in his sports car. Over dinner, the pair get to know each other: Christoffer reveals he's a businessman who is involved in trading, and she asks why he's chatting to her, when he could be dating women his own age.
Christoffer admits that he wasn't sure whether he should have gotten back in touch with Stella after "what happened in Copenhagen", but explains that he thinks age is irrelevant. The only thing he cares about in a partner is if they are "interesting", which he says Stella definitely is.
After dinner, the pair go for a walk on a pier, and Christoffer asks to take their relationship slow, owing to how he got "burned" with his previous partner, who wasn't in a good place when they split up.
After the flashback, we're reunited with Ulrika and Adam, who are waiting to speak to Mikael at his office. They see the prosecutors leaving, and Ulrika seems perturbed when she spots Jenny Jansdotter is working with the team. Unfortunately, Stella has not yet been released from custody.
Mikael takes the couple to his office, to go through the case to date. He describes the investigation as being 'scandalously dealt with'. Whilst both the police and prosecution are firmly locked on Stella as the prime suspect, Mikael maintains his earlier position that the evidence is weak. Not quite as weak, though; a footprint was discovered at the crime scene, and police say it matches Stella's trainers.
There's also the issue of the witness having spotted Stella outside Christoffer's house (just a short walk from where he was stabbed) on several occasions. Plus, Christoffer's autopsy report said he had pepper spray in his eyes... and Stella was carrying a can of the same kind of pepper spray when she was arrested.
Linda Lavander
Mikael goes on to reveal that Christoffer Olsen isn't as squeaky clean as he might appear. In his background check on the victim, Mikael identified that Christoffer made a huge amount of money he made from cryptocurrency deals, and plowed a lot of that money into a series of "shady" business deals.
He suspects that this will enable him to identify alternative suspects, such as his ex-partner, Linda Levander. Linda had reported Christoffer for abusive and threatening behavior, though that investigation didn't go far; could this have motivated her to seek justice on her own terms?
After the meeting, Adam and Ulrika return home; during the journey, Adam admits he isn't keen on Mikael, but his wife assures him that Mikael is the best defense lawyer she knows.
Adam finds Stella's room in a state following the search and begins to tidy her things up. Then, as the case sinks in, he dons his priest collar and proceeds to drive over to Linda Lavander's address to speak with her.
She is unwilling to let him in at first, but when she asks if 'Bodil' sent him and Adam says yes, Linda starts to open up to him about Chris. She is not sorry he's dead but reveals she was with Chris for two years.
Over the course of their chat, Chris is revealed to have been Bodil's only child. Linda says she feels sorry for his mother, as she was a kind woman, but Chris was different. She explains that the police didn't believe her report about his behavior, but surmises that he must have done the same things to Stella, the murderer.
Adam becomes flustered at the mention of Stella's name, ruining his ruse. He asks if Chris was seeing anyone else and if those girls might have held a grudge against him. Linda then realizes Adam has been lying, so he gets up to leave. On his way out, he spots a pair of white trainers that would match those ones in the police report: did Linda kill Christoffer Olsen?!
A Nearly Normal Family is now streaming on Netflix.
