Line #23 Series/Trace


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d7500fd4_57d5_49c0_bc7f_dd580496ec64.jpeg]]
2	One of the main trends of [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2000s]] was ForensicDrama. Of course, this wave couldn't omit Russia, so here we go!
3
4	''Trace'' (Russian: ''След'') is a ForensicDrama with CopShow elements which focuses on special forensic department of Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs - Federal Expert Service (FES). FES can investigate the most difficult cases from all over the Russia (but mostly from Moscow and Moscow Oblast), ranging from organised crime to [[SerialKiller serial killers]]. FES in headed by Colonel Galina Nikolaevna Rogozina who is a strict but loyal and devoted policewoman who [[AlwaysGetsHisMan always gets her man]] with the help of the detectives and forensic specialists.
5
6	This show started in 2007 on ''Channel One'', and, after moving to ''Channel 5 - St. Petersburg'' in 2011 is still airing, having more than 2700 episodes (mostly unrelated with each other). It makes ''Trace'' the longest-running show on Russian TV and one of the longest-running shows in the world.
7	----
8	!! This show provides examples of:
9	* ABNegative: After being poisoned with psychotropic drug, Danilov needs blood transfusion in "Insanity" to keep him sane. The biggest problem is that he has Type AB negative blood. Selivanov was not able to find enough AB- blood in the blood bank. Thankfully, Kholodov has AB- blood type, so the transfusion becomes possible.
10	* AgentMulder: Tikhonov tends to believe in the paranormal.
11	* AlliterativeName: Konstantin Kotov.
12	* AssholeVictim: Many an example. In "The Laughers", Anatoly turns out to be [[spoiler:guilty of at least two rapes]]; in addition, he helped cover up [[spoiler:Vasily's AccidentalMurder of the second victim]].
13	%%is this acknowledged in-universe?* AttractiveBentGender: Subbotin is disguised as woman (due to need for physical force during arrest) in "Secret Mission" and looks pretty good.
14	* AxesAtSchool: The most notable example is "Wonderful School Years" where a bullied teenager takes hostages (including Antonova, who came to give DrugsAreBad lecture and ends with chest wound).
15	* BabyBeMine: The kidnapper ([[spoiler:the first one]]) in "The Prince on a White Horse" is motivated by a fanatical wish to become a parent and by a desire to rescue the child from [[spoiler:what she believes to be]] a hateful family.
16	%%* BadassBiker: Sergey Mayskiy. It's even shown in his EstablishingCharacterMoment.
17	* BaitAndSwitch: "Unidentified Person" features dialogue where Antonova seductively offers (mixed with EroticEating) Tikhonov to go to shooting range ("I'll reboot you!"). It ends with them shooting from the FlareGun.
18	* BasicInstinctLegsCrossingParody: In "Peculiarities of the National Car Service", Amelina complains to Kholodov about the bad treatment of women by the car repairmen. Suddenly, she goes from complaints to seduction, using the legs-crossing as her FinishingMove. She does it to show how easily men can be manipulated. (For those who are interested: we see nothing special, since Amelina is wearing pantyhose).
19	* BerserkButton: Never, EVER try to insult or humiliate orphans [[FreudianExcuse in front of Danilov]].
20	* BigDamnKiss: Lisitsyn and Sokolova share a kiss at the end of SpinOff "The Gardener".
21	* BigEater: Antonova explains it the best way:
22	-->'''Antonova''': Kholodov can eat a plywood with jam! And Tikhonov... He doesn't even need a jam.
23	* BigFun: Andrey Kholodov, an overweight forensic expert with good sense of humour.
24	* BittersweetEnding: In "The Quarantine", the virus [[spoiler:is revealed to have an extremely low mortality rate given proper treatment]], the epidemic is localized and stopped in the space of a day, and several of the deceased victims [[KarmicDeath had it coming]] since they got the virus [[spoiler:from the meat they stole from a truck after killing its driver]]. However, several innocent people die slowly and painfully as well: the [[spoiler:burglars]]' respective wives, since there is no evidence they knew of the crime, and [[spoiler:Yegor and his wife, a loving and hard-working couple who just dreamed of starting their own farm]]. In the latter case, it's all the more heartbreaking, since during the entire episode we get to watch them lose all of their money for no fault of their own and then gradually fall sick without realizing how serious it is. In the end, Kruglov rushes to give them the vaccine, but [[YouAreTooLate doesn't make it in time]].
25	%%* BlackHumour: Given the nature of the show, it is inevitable.
26	* BlandNameProduct: Most notable one is "Face to Face", social network which resembles OK.ru (interface) and VK.com and Facebook (functions).
27	* BloodSport:
28	** One episode features illegal no-holds-barred-fights ending with deaths of the fighters.
29	** "Falcon Hunt" provides example bordering with SnuffFilm. Criminals run a website with videos of scantily-clad women who fight (and kill) in gladiator-like fights. Sokolova, who was sent to infiltrate fight club in order to investigate women's disappearances, [[spoiler:is abducted herself and turned into a fighter but saved by Kruglov and SOBR]].
30	* BookSafe: Danilov hides a gun in a book in "Right to Trust".
31	* BoundAndGagged: ''Trace'' was never shy of showing victims or detectives this way. Most of the FES roster (Antonova, Amelina, Belaya, Dunaeva, Vlasova, Kotov, Lisitsyn, Tikhonov, Kholodov) were BOTH bound and gagged at one point or another.
32	* BoxingEpisode: There are several episodes which are related to boxing and other martial arts.
33	%%* BunnyEarsLawyer: Ivan Tikhonov is the most notable example in FES.
34	* BusmansHoliday: "Strictly Cottage Murder", where the Shustovs (Igor and Elena) go to the countryside and find the body of a local thug (who was getting on nerves of everyone [including Igor and Lena]). The episode ends with Shustov [[spoiler: being poisoned with kompot from the berries used for poisoning the thug and saved by Lena at the eleventh hour]].
35	* CallingCard: "The Bat" revolves around the eponymous burglars' gang whose main shtick was [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin releasing the bats in robbed flats]].
36	* CarFu: Dmitry Tsukanov, SerialKiller in "Night Witness" drives over his victims (after raping them).
37	* ChildByRape: In "The Laughers", [[spoiler:Yaroslav]] was conceived after his mother was drugged and raped.
38	* ChristmasEpisode: Or, rather, New Year's episode. During ''Channel 5'' era every year ends with three or four LighterAndSofter episodes dedicated to the holiday.
39	%%* ClingyJealousGirl: Sokolova for Lisitsyn.
40	* TheCoroner: The series has two active (Valentina Antonova and Artyom Tukaev) and two retired (Pyotr Romashin and Boris Selivanov) coroners.
41	%%* CrazyJealousGuy: Tikhonov for Amelina. It's PlayedForDrama in "Right to Trust".
42	* CrimeAfterCrime: The plot of "Loneliness" revolves around the disappearance of high-rank army officer's daughter. The truth is [[spoiler: her friend (orphan) wanted to rob their house and accidentally killed their personal driver. Then, she killed the girl as a witness and was kidnapped by the competitor of aforementioned officer, playing role of the murdered girl]].
43	* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Alyona Karpova from "Diagnosis: Blonde" shows all shades of DumbBlonde (including pink rolling luggage) and BrainlessBeauty... yet creates a plan to cover her MealTicket's murder that's complex enough to make it a real thorn in FES' side.
44	* CruelAndUnusualDeath:
45	** The first victim in "Liquid Fire" is burnt by prussic acid added to shower gel.
46	** Another example is "Bamboo de Sade". The first victim is impaled by bamboo sticks ''grown through his body''.
47	* DaddysGirl: Rogozina is shown to be very close with her father, a retired judge.
48	* DarkHorseSibling: In "The Sunday Dinner", Anna is the most downtrodden of the siblings and lives completely under her mother's control, but she ends up [[spoiler:adopting the son she so desperately wanted and getting the entire inheritance of her mother's, thanks to the simple fact that she the only one of the siblings who is not a murderer]].
49	* DateRape: Heavily implied in "Friday!", where [[spoiler: Sokolova goes to [[NoCommunitiesWereHarmed Tsiolkovsk]]]] to investigate deaths of teenagers due to drug overdose. She meets her school sweetheart Grigory Melnik. [[spoiler: Yuliya]] performs some weird dances before being found by Subbotin in Melnik's car wearing nothing but lingerie and boots. It's because [[spoiler: Melnik poisoned her with the drug dissected in a bottle of water and filmed all that happened with her to compromise her]].
50	* DeadpanSnarker: All characters have their snarky moments, but most notable one is Margarita Vlasova.
51	* DeathByOriginStory: Grigoriy Amelin, Oksana's father, is mentioned only once (in "Tantra", when she introduces herself to Rogozina). His murder on the line of duty is stated as Oksana's main reason to become a policewoman.
52	* DirtyHarriet: Oksana Amelina usually works undercover as prostitute or stripper. However, "The Supermarket Girl" shows Sokolova in this role.
53	* DownerEnding: In "The Infection", the murderer is caught, but thanks to his and his AssholeVictim's actions, [[spoiler:several people have been infected with [=HIV=]]]. In particular, [[spoiler:Nina is infected]], and even though her husband stays by her side and loves and supports her, they can never have children ([[spoiler:and, it's implied, they abort the child Nina is already carrying, a child who was beloved and expected]]).
54	* DrivesLikeCrazy: Early episodes show Tatyana Belaya as horrible driver (she even fails her exams in her EstablishingCharacterMoment). She later became more capable driver, though.
55	* DropDeadGorgeous: "Necroromantic" starts with the police officer seeing the photo of a woman whose murder he was investigating two years before. Then, the plot revolves about A Sher, well-known photographer. His shtick was staging photoshoots with models posing as murder victims. But the real killer is [[spoiler: his assistant]], who wants to overshadow him. [[spoiler: So he strangles the woman and makes photos of her minutes after her death]].
56	* DrowningMySorrows: Kruglov leaves FES and goes to countryside in "End of the World". All he does there is drinking. The reason is death of his friend (Kruglov wrote off his suspicions as paranoia). Serious effort (a fictional murder case) was taken by FES to bring Kruglov back to normal life.
57	%%* DumbBlonde: Alla Semenchuk is a rather straight example.
58	* EpicFail: Mayskiy once tried to explain his absence from work by claiming to have stuck in a traffic jam... during a call from a ''home phone''.
59	* EveryoneHasStandards: In "The Living Corpse", Andrey might be an unrepentant GoldDigger who is ready to cheat on his loving girlfriend if it means being an escort to a very wealthy older lady, but he won't get involved in anything criminal, and [[spoiler:he absolutely WouldntHurtAChild]]. When [[spoiler:Larisa]] attempts to use [[spoiler:her sister's baby as a human shield]], he is disgusted and horrified and [[spoiler:manages to persuade her to let the baby go]].
60	* EvilTwin: PlayedWith in "Where Evil Hides". FES detectives found a grave of famous psychologist's twin [[spoiler: who never existed. It was part of the village's beliefs while the real cause of killings was the psychologist's SplitPersonality]].
61	* ExplosiveLeash: [[spoiler:A bankrupt businessman in cooperation with a disabled [[UsefulNotes/TheChechnyaWars Chechen War veteran]]]] uses explosive collars for revenge in "Blasted City". [[spoiler:The aforementioned businessman]] puts one on Rogozina in the end of the episode, but her collar is dismantled by Kholodov and Amelina, who found the vulnerability in its design.
62	%%* FacialDialogue: PlayedForLaughs in "Monster Hunt". Amelina [[DirtyHarriet is working undercover as stripper.]] She gets an order to dance for the client. The client is... Tikhonov. HilarityEnsues.
63	* FairCop: Pretty much all the female cops are young and beautiful.
64	* FalseRapeAccusation: The modus operandi of the antagonists in "The Rapist" is {{Gaslighting}} rich young men into believing they raped and beat [[spoiler:Kamila]] and then demanding money, claiming that the "victim" wouldn't press charges if paid off. Their scheme fails when the mother of one of their targets turns out to be an actual rape victim and deduces that [[spoiler:Kamila]] is lying.
65	* FatAndSkinny: Tikhonov (skinny) and Kholodov (fat), two forensic experts.
66	* FieryRedhead: Yuliya Sokolova is ginger and has a rather tough demeanor.
67	* FilleFatale: One of the episodes features [[VictimOfTheWeek Victim of the Day]] who was sleeping with rich men while being underage[[note]] Age of consent is 16 in Russian Federation. [[/note]] Since she's turned 16, [[spoiler: she uses staged rapes for blackmail, instead of being underage]].
68	* FishOutOfTemporalWater:
69	** In "A Trap in Time", a businessman obsessed with the idea of time travel suddenly finds himself [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor in Nazi-occupied Pskov, captured by the Nazis as an apparent spy]]. He manages to escape, shooting the German officer who interrogated him, and soon finds himself (and the officer's dead body) back in the 21st century. [[spoiler:The "time travel" was an elaborate but harmless prank, a gift from his friends, but the director of the company that staged it deliberately [[NotSoFakePropWeapon put real shells into the gun]], since he had a personal vendetta against the actor who played the officer]].
70	** "Wormhole" begins with a Soviet car discovered in a forest, with an old man in Soviet clothing who insists he is a high-ranked Communist party member and refuses to believe he is not in the [=USSR=]. [[spoiler:The old man ''was'' a high-ranked Soviet official, but fled in 1978 under an assumed name to avoid investigation and has been mentally ill since the [=1990s=]. The apparent time travel was a setup by two conspirators to make their victim remember where he had buried his illegally-acquired treasure]].
71	** "Seeking Charon" focuses on the murder of the mobster Kirill Kuzin. His corpse was found dressed in a typical [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Russians "New Russian"]] style, which was typical for [[UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia the 90s]]. In fact, he spent 25 years in a Portuguese prison and was completely out of touch with the world. For example, he had no idea about the smartphones or broadband Internet.
72	* FleshAndBombs: A bomb in a body kicks off the plan [[spoiler: to wipe Tikhonov's hacker friends out]] in "Morgue Explosion".
73	* FlippingTheBird: Played with in "Liquid Fire", where Amelina shows the perp's ring finger without the ring.
74	* ForeignRemake: The show was remade in Poland, named '''Ślad'''.
75	* FootballHooligans: Igor Shustov claims to have been a football hooligan in his early years.
76	* GambitPileup: In "The Prince on a White Horse", several crimes are committed by different people for entirely different reasons. [[spoiler:Marina kidnaps a baby girl to raise her as her own and then murders her partner when he finds out]], [[spoiler:German vandalises the lab in revenge for Zhenya plagiarising his work]], and [[spoiler:Valeria kidnaps Alisa in revenge for Zhenya agreeing to be her sperm donor but neglecting to tell her about his genetic disorder]].
77	* GenderEqualEnsemble:
78	** With every episode featuring Rogozina as head of FES, two detectives, two forensic experts and one pathologist, there are good chances for a gender-equal cast.
79	** "Original Six" cast featured three female (Rogozina, Antonova, Belaya) and three male (Kruglov, Tikhonov, Mayskiy) characters.
80	* GhostExtras: There are background lab employees whose job is just to be there.
81	* GiftForAnOutgrownInterest: In "Not in the Brow but in the Eye", Larisa Gavrilova tries to get back into her daughter Masha's life after effectively abandoning her, and attempts to give her a Barbie doll. The problem is that Masha is seventeen and tells her bluntly that she hasn't been interested in dolls in years; she views Larisa's sister Albina as more of a real mother, wants nothing to do with her, and Larisa is just trying to mooch off of Albina's family.
82	* GlorifiedSpermDonor: PlayedForDrama with Aristov. It's mentioned that he has an illegitimate daughter with a businesswoman who didn't want Aristov to see her.
83	* GratuitousGerman: [[ChristmasEpisode New Year's Episode "Call Snowgirls"]] features Amelina pronouncing name of some cosmetics with erotic intonation and Tikhonov calling her "Mein kleine Schtrudel". Given that the German language in Russia is associated with [[UsefulNotes/{{Pornography}} one certain movie genre]]...
84	* GratuitousSpanish: Kholodov's reply to Tikhonov's offer to call to Peru during the investigation made Andrey to show his fluency in Spanish this way: "Eres un tonto, pero yo te amo". (You're a bonehead, but I love you).
85	* GriefInducedSplit: Vlasova left her partner, Artyom Biryukov, after the abduction of their daughter, Liza.
86	%%* HeterosexualLifePartners: Rogozina and Antonova; Kruglov and Mayskiy.
87	* HugeGuyTinyGirl:
88	** Non-romantic example: Long-time coroner duo - Boris Selivanov and Valentina Antonova. Oleg Valkman (Selivanov) was 30cm taller than Anna Dankova (Antonova) and was big enough to qualify.
89	** Sergey Mayskiy towers over EVERY woman in the FES. The contrast is best seen with Tatyana Belaya.
90	* IfICantHaveYou: Very jarring example in "Everybody Hates Gleb", where trans teenager Gleb Skvortsov is constantly bullied at school and [[spoiler: is stabbed by his only girlfriend who can't handle the news. He leaves for China for doubtfully legal sex-reassignment surgery]].
91	* IHaveNoSon: [[spoiler: Vlasova rejects Liza]] at the end of "Deposit" after understanding that [[spoiler: her long-lost daughter grew in a cold-blooded killer]].
92	* INeedAFreakingDrink:
93	** Vlasova drinks a shot of rubbing alcohol after seeing the body of her ex in FES morgue in the beginning of "Deposit".
94	** Selivanov needs to calm himself down with alcohol after examining the hanged boy's body in "Dead Partisans".
95	* IdenticalStranger: One of the victims in "Night Witness" looks just like Oksana Amelina (except for red hair). [[ActingForTwo She was played by Anastasia Gulimova (who plays Oksana)]].
96	* InLoveWithTheMark: In "Beauty and the Beast", Abramtsev falls in love with the woman he and his accomplice have kidnapped.
97	* InMediasRes: Some episodes (like "Worthier than Money" and "Order of Choice") start in the middle of the action.
98	* IronLady: Galina Nikolaevna fits this trope to a "T" (strong will, devotion to her work, strict but supportive view of her subordinates).
99	* ItsAllAboutMe: In "Children in a Cage", when Yana's baby daughter is kidnapped, Yana is more worried about the ransom being too large than about her child's safety, because if her husband pays the kidnappers a lot of money, he won't be able to afford a new car for her.
100	* JackOfAllTrades: Shustov and Belaya work both as detectives and forensic experts.
101	* TheKindnapper: In "The Prince on a White Horse", it is revealed [[spoiler:Marina]] has kidnapped Alisa allegedly for the child's own good, believing Alisa's own family didn't love her. It turns out, however, that [[spoiler:Alisa's real parents' irritation with her was merely a case of ParentsAsPeople and they truly love their daughter, as they never give up hope in the two years their daughter's been missing and keep constantly looking for her]].
102	* KillAndReplace: In "The Living Corpse", [[spoiler:Larisa]] impersonates [[spoiler:her sister]] after killing [[spoiler:her]], taking advantage of the fact that the latter was [[spoiler:on maternity leave]] and that their voices are virtually identical.
103	* KillItWithFire: The notorious anniversary episode "The Hottest Greetings" features burning people alive, starting with [[spoiler:retired FES detective Pavel Granin]].
104	* LetOffByTheDetective: Defied in "Blood on the Hands". When it turns out [[spoiler:Alexey killed his utterly sociopathic brother]], Lisitsyn suggests to pass it off as self-defense (it was dark, there were no witnesses, and [[spoiler:Alexey]] is known as a very honest man). However, [[spoiler:Alexey]] refuses to lie and says he deserves to be tried for murder [[spoiler:for not being able to raise his brother right]].
105	* LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: Oksana Amelina (blonde GirlyGirl fashionista who prefers bright clothes and is more-or-less easy-going) and Margarita Vlasova (abrasive DeadpanSnarker with hazel hair who prefers darker colors).
106	* LighterAndSofter: Episodes dedicated to New Year's Day or the 8th of March (International Women's Day, which is widely celebrated women's holiday in Russia). They are definitely lighter and rarely connected with murders.
107	* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple:
108	** Bickering is a stand-by communication mode for Sokolova and Lisitsyn and also for Tikhonov and Amelina. Being heavily {{Ship Tease}}d, well, guess...
109	** Kholodov and Amelina performed one while being undercover as... well, a long-married couple in "Resented Husbands' Club".
110	** There was also an example showing Rogozina and Antonova talking this way.
111	* LimitedAdvancementOpportunities: Only two characters ever rank up in their careers (Sokolova and Belaya), everyone else staying the same the whole time.
112	* LoopholeAbuse: In "The Sunday Dinner", Lisitsyn needs to retrieve the cash stolen from the murder victim as evidence. Problem is, the money has been paid [[spoiler:to a hospital, to finance a lifesaving operation of a little boy]], and if it is taken away, the [[spoiler:operation cannot begin]]. After weighing his options, Lisitsyn comes up with the idea of letting [[spoiler:the doctor start operating]] and then pretending to come for the cash half an hour later: if the payment is taken away ''after'' [[spoiler:the operation begins]], then [[spoiler:the operation won't be stopped]].
113	* LoveFatherLoveSon: "Antonova's Mistake" tells the story of Olga Frolova's murder. Her body was found in Alexey Khlebnikov's flat (Alexey was a surgeon and and Antonova's university sweetheart). lga was going to marry Alexey... but then fell in love with his wealthy father and married him. [[spoiler: Olga was killed by Alexey when she begged to forgive his terminally ill father.]]
114	* LoveMakesYouDumb: In "Beauty and the Beast", when [[spoiler:Anastasia]] learns [[spoiler:her husband]] has ordered a hit on [[spoiler:her]] instead of paying a ransom for [[spoiler:her]] return, [[spoiler:she]] insists he is a good man and is simply too weak.
115	* {{Manchild}}: Tikhonov is a geek with an [[{{Troll}} interesting sense of humour]].
116	* MadnessMantra: "Free the clams"[[note]] rus. Освободите мидий [[/note]] is the phrase repeated by a drugged Danilov in "Insanity".
117	* MamaBear: Valentina Antonova who has four children and is ready to do anything to protect them.
118	* MayDecemberRomance: Frequently a bad idea for at least one of the partners.
119	** In "In the Eyes of a Child", young Veronica regularly cheats on her elderly but wealthy fiancé Arkady and views him with utter disdain behind his back. [[spoiler:However, the trope is for once played straight when Veronica's sister Lyudmila is revealed to be in love with Arkady and he has a LoveEpiphany about her]].
120	** In "The Pharaoh", a professor in his sixties is [[TeacherStudentRomance married to his former student]], more than thirty years his junior. She cheats on him, [[spoiler:and he is so obsessed with her he kills her to invoke TogetherInDeath]].
121	** In "The Big Game", middle-aged Victor and young Victoria hit it off almost immediately. [[spoiler:Except not, because Victor, whose name is really Lev, is just using her to get the papers incriminating him and his boss]].
122	* MexicanStandoff: In "Worthier than Money", where Danilov and Amleina (who was needed in the episode for RuleOfDrama) meet FSIN[[note]] Federal Penitentiary Service [[/note]] officers in the ambush for criminal.
123	* MockMillionaire: In "Played Too Much", [[spoiler:Irina and Leonid]], [[spoiler:each]] living on a minuscule salary, pretend to be wealthy to impress [[spoiler:each other]].
124	%%* MotorMouth: Belaya and (to a lesser extent) Tikhonov.
125	* MsFanservice: Oksana Amelina, who usually wears short skirts and high heels with blouses. She is also featured in the most notable [[spoiler: [[RapeAsBackstory unconsensual]]]] sex scene in "Night Witness".
126	* MurderDotCom: "Shadow in the Cave" features the livestreaming of a murder which was [[spoiler: overtaken by man who was denied position in FES to conspire an attack on squad]].
127	* MutualKill: In "The Wench", [[spoiler:Angelina]] murders [[spoiler:Nelya]] for [[spoiler: stealing [[MurderTheHypotenuse her fiancé]]]], unaware that [[spoiler:Nelya]] has been gradually [[YouAreAlreadyDead poisoning]] [[spoiler:her]] to [[spoiler:get her apartment]].
128	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
129	** In "Dance with Me", [[spoiler:Tamara]] begs her husband to seduce [[spoiler:the forensic medic: their son Denis is charged with voluntary manslaughter and potentially facing ten years in prison]]. The husband agrees, [[spoiler:the medic reexamines the case and concludes that the victim's death was not directly caused by the injuries inflicted by Denis, so Denis is convicted of involuntary manslaughter instead and only receives a year of confinement]]. However, the husband has gone through a RomanticFakeRealTurn, prompting [[spoiler:Tamara to MurderTheHypotenuse]]. Then the [=FES=] gets the files on the manslaughter case, and it's revealed that [[spoiler:the medic was actually honest and it ''was'' involuntary manslaughter after all; the medic hid the fact from her lover to prevent him from dumping her]]. [[spoiler:Tamara]] breaks into tears when she is informed that she [[spoiler:provoked her own husband into cheating and then committed murder for absolutely nothing, since her son would have been saved from a ten-year sentence regardless]].
130	** In "Not All There", the culprit [[spoiler:murdered her son's pregnant fiancée since all her relatives are crazy and she doesn't want "bad blood" in her own family]], so she regards her actions as regrettable but NecessaryEvil. Then she is told that [[spoiler:the girl's mother and aunt were placed in a mental institution after a severe CO poisoning and the girl's brother got a fake diagnosis of a mental illness to avoid serving in the army]]. She is absolutely horrified and breaks down.
131	** In "The Victim", [[spoiler:Zhilin]] genuinely thinks he had consensual sex with Polina because she never pressed any charges (in fact, Polina didn’t want to hurt her mother who was being treated for a heart disease and might not have survived the news of her daughter getting raped). When he [[HeelRealization realizes what he has done]], he tries to kill himself.
132	%%* MyBelovedSmother: The mother of Konstantin Kotov is mentioned this way in some episodes.
133	* NearDeathExperience: Dunaeva almost dies after being [[spoiler: strangled with plastic bag]] in "Beyond".
134	* NecroCam: How the victim(s) died is shown near the end of the episode, during the perp interrogation.
135	* NeverMyFault: In "Children in a Cage", Yana can't understand why she is blamed for her daughter's kidnapping. After all, all she did was leave the baby in the care of a journalist she just met! [[spoiler:Ironically, though, the journalist is actually innocent and gets kidnapped along with the baby]].
136	* NewscasterCameo: News anchors of ''Channel 5'' sometimes take part in episodes. The funny thing is that, while ''Trace'' is set and filmed in Moscow, ''Channel 5'' is the only main TV network in Russia which is ''not''.
137	* NiceJobFixingItVillain: In "The Prince", [[spoiler:Pavel]] pretends to be George Douglas, famous animal conservation enthusiast, to catfish [[spoiler:his classmate]] who spurned him. When she realizes she has been swindled, her enraged father contacts the real George Douglas... and the girl falls mutually in love with the latter.
138	* NightmareFetishist: "Hangman's Rope" features Artyom Zhuk, whose collection consists of portraits of people painted with their ''ashes'', a book with an autograph of Ian Brady, handgun with was used for execution of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Golovkin Sergey Golovkin]] (mistakenly "Golovkov") and, finally, rope which Sergey Yesenin used for his suicide. [[spoiler: The rope turns out to be fake]].
139	* NoodleIncident:
140	** There was some incident with ants and popcorn at the lab which left scars on Oksana's body.
141	** Mayskiy once did something... unusual while being drunk at New Year's party (it's mentioned in "Absinthe Admirer" episode), but it's not explained.
142	* NotNowKiddo: In "The Laughers", nine-year-old Yevgeniya claims her neighbor's murderer was [[spoiler:a grown-up man in a skirt]]. Everyone thinks she is making it up, but it's perfectly true (except that technically, the person she saw is an accomplice covering up the tracks rather than the one who actually struck the blow): [[spoiler:it was Anatoly Burakov, a drag queen still in costume]].
143	* {{Novelization}}: There are three books based on ''Trace'': "Bite of the Lancehead" (which is based on first [[MultiPartEpisode four-parter]], "Kiss of the Lancehead" (which gives the readers alternative version of the first story) and "Professor Stern's Head" (which is a compilation of several episodes).
144	* OneSteveLimit:
145	** Averted with Konstantin Lisitsyn and Konstantin Kotov, who even used to work together frequently.
146	** Also averted with Sergey Mayskiy and Sergey Belozerov.
147	* OffWithHisHead: Decapitation happens pretty frequently. Sometimes [[{{Gorn}} it's shown rather graphically]].
148	* OperationJealousy: In "Kruglov's Personal Case", where Kruglov tells Rogozina about his decision to marry another woman. It was part of the plan [[spoiler: to involve FES in the case of dangerous cult]] orchestrated by FSB, no less!
149	* PaedoHunt: The father of a molested girl offers a reward for the head of local paedophile in "Kill Katsugovsky". It drives to whole town to insanity, which cost the innocent man his life.
150	%%* PapaWolf: Igor Shustov, Boris Selivanov, Sergey Belozerov.
151	* ParentalSubstitute: "The Erinys" has Sharapov, the longtime partner to Rona's aunt who was like a father to Rona, so much so that she called him "Dad". [[spoiler:His death is what triggered her RoaringRampageOfRevenge]].
152	* PersonalizedPledge: In episode "The Last Message", Karina swears on her unborn baby's health that she didn't kill her stepdaughter. [[spoiler:It convinces her fiancé of her innocence, and they quickly put their brains together and realize who the real culprit is.]]
153	* PhonyPsychic: They are here and there. The most notable example of the trope is in "Don't Trust Anyone" where [[spoiler: Danilov's]] visit to an alleged psychic is shown as his DespairEventHorizon.
154	* PoisonAndCureGambit: Rogozina performs one in "Hippocratic Oath" where she poisons criminals and promises to prepare the antidote recipe of which only she knew. It was done to save her life after surgery she performs on the gang's leader [[spoiler: who knew her and her husband during UsefulNotes/TheChechnyaWars]].
155	* PoliceAreUseless: The police are totally incompetent in most cases, in contrast to FES.
156	* RailroadTracksOfDoom: "The Last Commuter" features a [[VictimOfTheWeek victim]] who was hit by the train. Downplayed, as he was hit posthumously (he died of blunt force trauma), and, surprisingly, '''was not''' turned into bloody pulp by the train.
157	* RazorFloss: "Inverted Shakespeare" features the murder of a rock singer by decapitation with a wire strung across the road.
158	* ReasonYouSuckSpeech: In "Kill Katsugovsky", Lisitsyn and Shustov give a dressing-down to a whole town [[PaedoHunt that went insane with mob violence]].
159	%%** Rogozina is an expert in this.
160	* ReclusiveArtist: [[invoked]] In "Jokesters", which revolves around murder of a member of once-famous comedy duo. They retired five years before the murder [[spoiler: and had a good reason for it. They raped and accidentally killed a woman. Said comedian was killed by his partner in order to prevent their TV appearance without disguises, preventing from being identified by single witness.]]
161	* RecruitingTheCriminal: Rogozina needs high-class hacker in first FES case - "Bite of the Lancehead" - so she goes to jail to free Tikhonov (her former student) who was arrested for wire fraud (he spent all the money on drug rehabilitation centers because [[FreudianExcuse his sister died of an overdose]]).
162	* RefugeInAudacity: Oleg Arkhipov, the bodyguard of the Mayor of Tsiolkovsk's daughter, is in fact [[spoiler: Oleg Voevodin, a Federal Protection Service officer working undercover. His task was to infiltrate the protection agency, but he found out about the pedophile ring in the city. There was no reaction, so he decided to attract his bosses' attention by kidnapping the mayor's daughter.]] FES got involved in the case, and he even gets under Belaya's skin by flirting with her. The case ends [[spoiler: with him revealing the truth to Rogozina, so he becomes a new FES detective]].
163	%%* ReplacementGoldfish: [[spoiler: Liza for Pan'kov and Lentova's deceased daughter]].
164	* RiddleForTheAges:
165	** One of the solved mysteries is Rogozina leaving FES for some time in "Berlin Blue". She gives Kruglov a paper, which he burns thereafter. "Don't Trust Anyone" shows us that it was the paper from FSB, that Rogozina is leaving for a secret mission (with a non-disclosure clause).
166	** The riddle which is yet to be resolved is Sokolova's secret mission in the Middle East. What kind of mission was it? Why did she decide to leave FES?
167	** The ending of "After the Closure" shows someone (whose face is not shown) stealing the medalion (related to female luck) from FES. Who stole it and why?
168	* RippedFromTheHeadlines:
169	** Shopping mall fire in "Don't Trust Anyone" is based on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Kemerovo_fire similar one which occured in Kemerovo in March 2018]].
170	** SerialKiller plotline in four-part spinoff "The Gardener" is based on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pichushkin Alexander Pichushkin's story]]. The story was altered by show's creators, though, as they didn't want to film a biography and deprive the story of suspense.
171	** One of the sublots in "Knight's Move" revolves around the letters with used condoms sent to underage female chess players, accompanied with lewd stories about them posted on chess forums. [[https://www.pravilamag.ru/news/society-news/07-02-2022/319643-neizvestnyy-bolee-10-let-otpravlyal-rossiyskim-shahmatistkam-pisma-s-ispolzovannymi-prezervativami-i-porno-zhurnalisty-ego-vychislili/ This subplot is based on a true story that occurred in Russian-speaking countries]].
172	* RomanticFakeRealTurn: In "The Marriage Agency", Liza marries Vasily [[spoiler:as part of the agency's long-running scheme of conning men out of their money during divorce]]. However, she falls genuinely in love with him, [[spoiler:which leads to her killing the agency's director after the latter demands a million rubles for Liza dropping out of the con halfway through it]].
173	%%* RussianHumour: In assortment.
174	* SadisticChoice:
175	** In "Farewell", Rogozina has to make one. When FES detectives understand that Rodin [[spoiler: killed himself by changing blank ammo for the live ones to get the insurance money]], she has to choose whether [[spoiler: to report his death as suicide and deprave his family of insurance money, stealing the chance for surgery from his ill daughter, or send his epileptic assistant (who knew nothing about his will to kill himself) to jail for murder.]] [[spoiler: She selects the second option]].
176	** In "Proof of Love", burglars force a woman to choose [[spoiler:which of her daughters gets raped]]. If she keeps silent, they threaten to have the entire family killed. The mother, sobbing, [[spoiler:finally tells them to take Liza, the elder one. It has devastating consequences, since Liza goes AxCrazy after that]].
177	* SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou: Rogozina aims at the camera in the opening titles.
178	* SerialKillingsSpecificTarget:
179	** In "Witch Hunt" a man murdered fortune-tellers to hide his first murder because that one accidentally named him as his father's killer.
180	** "Jackal Breed" has Alexey Skorikov, a higher-class father [[spoiler: killing his daughter's fiancé to prevent their marriage. He doesn't want his daughter to marry a tow-truck driver, so he killed the daughter's boyfriend and hid it among the similar murders]].
181	* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Artyom Tukaev likes to speak with overcomplicated language (and annoy the detectives, too).
182	* ShamelessFanserviceGirl: Alyona Karpova from "Diagnosis: Blonde". When Danilov (supported by SOBR) came to arrest her, she was bathing. It ends this way:
183	--> '''Danilov''': Please, [[PleasePutSomeClothesOn cover yourself]]. There are people watching you. (gives Alyona a towel)
184	--> '''Alyona''': (throws it) I DON'T MIND!
185	* ShipTease:
186	** Rogozina/Kruglov and Lisitsyn/Sokolova are all but confirmed.
187	** Tikhonov/Amelina also show the dynamics with many teasing and flirtations (mixed with mutual trolling). And some of it (like "Female Instincts" and "Right to Trust") was PlayedForDrama.
188	** After [[MultiPartEpisode feature-length episodes "Don't Trust Anyone" and "Deposit"]] it seems to be that [[spoiler: Danilov and Vlasova]] are in a relationship. And it isn't forgotten after aforementioned episodes.
189	** There were examples of the trope which now look unexplainable (for example, teasing Rogozina and Selivanov).
190	*** There was some between Kotov and Dunaeva in "Mokosh" (Dunaeva asked whether Kotov can marry a woman like her).
191	*** FES detectives and experts also get some ShipTease with perps. Most notable one is Vlasova with drug dealer Alexey Zakharov in "Order of Choice".
192	* SignificantNameShift: In the very first episode, a four-parter "The Pit Snake's Bite", Rogozina and Kruglov address each other in the most official manner possible — either as "Comrade Colonel" and "Comrade Major" respectively or at best by [[UsefulNotes/RussianNamingConvention name and patronymic]], a sign of the extremely frosty and distrust-filled relationship they have. In the fourth part, he ends up TakingTheBullet for her, whereupon she immediately switches to his [[FirstNameBasis first name]]'s diminutive version "Kolya". The antidote she has developed saves his life in turn, and after he is healed he likewise begins to call her by her name's pet version, "Galya". From then on, they never call each other anything else and are absolutely devoted to each other (with [[ImpliedLoveInterest a romantic relationship hinted at occasionally]]).
193	* SilverFox: Kruglov is silver-haired, looks good for his years and has a beautiful voice.
194	* SinisterDeerSkull: The body of Elina Nikiforova, the victim in "Teeth on the Shelf" (who was making fineries of animal's skulls and teeth), is found with a deer's skull [[OffWithHisHead instead of her head]].
195	* StandardCopBackstory: Let's see...
196	** Nearly half of FES squad were deployed [[UsefulNotes/TheChechnyaWars in Chechnya]]. Bonus points for Rogozina (she lost her husband there) and Selivanov (he was a POW in Afghanistan).
197	** Kruglov's fiancée disappeared many years ago.
198	** Shustov is SerialSpouse (being married for the third time) and single father (according to "The Gardener"), though his son has grown up.
199	** Vlasova is divorced. She has a son [[spoiler: who lives with his father. And daughter who was abducted 20 years ago.]]
200	** Tikhonov lost his drug-addicted sister and got put behind bars for wire fraud.
201	** Amelina [[DisappearedDad lost her cop father a few days after her prom]] and was [[spoiler: raped back in her college years in Novosibirsk]].
202	** Granin [[MissingMom lost his mom in his childhood]].
203	** Aristov [[GlorifiedSpermDonor has never seen his daughter because of her mother's decision]].
204	** Belaya's sister [[spoiler: committed suicide because of child abuse by her stepfather]].
205	%%** And Danilov. [[DeusAngstMachina Sweet baby Jesus...]]
206	* StartToCorpse: The time until someone's killed is usually from one to three minutes.
207	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
208	** "Life Without Swag" has a subplot about Tikhonov wanting to create a viral photo. He decides to plank in the ''morgue refrigerator''. He spends rest of the episode sneezing and taking cold medicine (and scared Antonova).
209	** "Best Intentions" ends with Belozerov trying to break a brick with a headbutt... and falling unconscious after the try.
210	* SweetTooth: Tikhonov basically runs on chocolate.
211	* TagAlongActor: There was Lyudmila Klimkina in [[LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt "Death of Rogozina"]]. She was set to play fictionalized version of Galina Nikolaevna in a show called [[MythologyGag "Basic Evidence"]].
212	* TakeThat:
213	** "Most Terrible Enemy" features jab at ''The Sniffer'. The jab doubles as an ActorAllusion in that said episode features Vlasova. Nina Gogaeva (who plays Rita) played protagonist's LoveInterest in ''The Sniffer''.
214	--> '''Tikhonov''': I've seent on TV. There's a guy who sniffs something, and can tell your whole biography.
215	-->'''Amelina''': So write a letter on TV. Let them assign him to FES. We've got a lot to sniff.
216	* TeamDad: Kruglov is the FES Dad to Rogozina's TeamMom.
217	* TeamMom: Galina Nikolaevna is sometimes referred as "mum" by FES staff.
218	* TechnoWizard: Ivan Tikhonov, one of the best hackers in Russia, is presented as being able to do anything with tech. To a lesser extent, so is Amelina.
219	* TemporaryLoveInterest: If you see a romantic bond between one of the FES squad member and someone from outside, you should be prepared to see him (or her) dead or committing heinous crime.
220	* ThemeSerialKiller: "The Most Important Of Arts" features SerialKiller basing his crimes on murder scenes from Russian silent movies. It was his revenge [[spoiler: for leaving him being brutally beaten when he was walking home in St. Petersburg in drag as a lost bet during a silent cinema festival.]]
221	* ThisIsNotADrill: Poisoning of the FES squad (combined with the kidnapping of Tikhonov and Amelina) in [[MilestoneCelebration anniversary episode "Quest"]]. Ruslan Sultanov (police general responsible for FES's creation) explains the emergency to Rogozina over the phone.
222	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Oksana Amelina (a feminine fashionista) and Yuliya Sokolova (FieryRedhead in plain clothes who likes bouldering).
223	* TraumaButton: "Take it easy" said by Tikhonov in "Night Witness" drops Amelina into PTSD attack reminding her [[spoiler: of the rape she survived during her college years in her native Novosibirsk.]]
224	* TricksterTwins: Antonova's twin daughters Inga and Ira (or Kristina and Lera in "Bite of the Lancehead") are very restless and milk their mum's work for their curiosity. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2022_05_15_011405355.png This painting for school competition sums is best]].
225	* TurnInYourBadge: Danilov is forced to turn in his badge in "Right to Trust" (after being accused of stealing the gold).
226	* TwinSwitch: A very sinister version in "From the Head to the Heels", where [[spoiler:Katya is murdered]] and [[spoiler:her organs are donated instead of those belonging to her recently-deceased twin sister Alina]]. It is done because [[spoiler:Katya poisoned her sister]], and the surgeon, who is also the latter’s fiancé, realizes [[spoiler:the poison will cause the recipients to reject Alina's organs]]. That, and [[spoiler:he wants to avenge his beloved Alina, so he kills Katya and gives her organs to be transplanted instead]].
227	* UnholyMatrimony: [[spoiler: Alexey Pan'kov and Inna Lentova from "Deposit". They used to kidnap babies and kids and put them to orphanages before asking the ransom ''years'' after it. Pan'kov later had fallen in love with Liza, who was used as ReplacementGoldfish for their deceased daughter.]]
228	* ViewerFriendlyInterface: It's one of the genre's staples, so... The readable interface is used for both computers and phones.
229	* VitriolicBestBuds: Amelina and Sokolova go the way from mutual antipathy to a vitriolic friendship.
230	%%** There are some shades of this between Tikhonov and Danilov.
231	* WakingUpAtTheMorgue: Played more-or-less lightheartedly in "Comrades' Posse". Guy is drugged with tranquilizers [[spoiler: (and guilty of rape)]] and wakes up at the morgue. All he sees is Antonova's face in the laptop's screen light with surgical scissors in her hand. She speaks very softly, and the guy is ready to tell everything... but Rogozina enters the morgue and turns the lights on.
232	* WalkAndTalk: There is a long corridor in the FES office. It is used for the purpose of walking conversations.
233	* TheWarRoom: There is a meeting room in the FES office, which has a round table for discussion of cases by all six participating squad members.
234	* WaterSourceTampering: In "Water", where a [[spoiler: nurse in a local hospital]] poisoned tap water with antibiotic. It caused the death of more than 40 people [[spoiler: including her only target - surgeon whose negligence led to their son's death]].
235	* WholeEpisodeFlashback: "Stolen Face" rewinds the clock to show how Selivanov became a FES forensic examiner.
236	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Vlasova is afraid of snakes. So afraid, she could pull a gun and point it at her partner (Danilov) (as shown in "Good Intentions").
237	* WidowedAtTheWedding: In "Insanity", [[spoiler:Danilov]]'s newlywed wife is killed just as they leave the registry office.
238	* YouCanKeepHer: An even darker version in "Beauty and the Beast", where [[spoiler:Novikov]], after [[spoiler:his wife]] is kidnapped, offers to pay a sum even higher than the demanded ransom for [[spoiler:her]] to be ''killed''. [[spoiler:LaserGuidedKarma hits him, since one of the kidnappers has fallen InLoveWithTheMark and offs Novikov instead]].

Context Series / Trace