Series / Freud

A 2020 Austrian/German/Czech co-produced crime/mystery series, created by Marvin Kren and starring Robert Finster as Sigmund Freud, Ella Rumpf as medium Fleur Salomé and Georg Friedrich as policeman and veteran Alfred Kiss.

Vienna, 1886. The young Sigmund Freud is still a long way from being a globally revered national figure. His peculiar concept of the unconscious and his use of hypnosis draws ridicule and sees him marginalized by the medical establishment. His professional reputation is at stake, as is his engagement to his beloved Martha. He finds distraction by accompanying his friend Arthur Schnitzler to cocaine-fueled nights with Vienna's high society. When this same society is shaken by a series of mysterious murders, Freud enlists the aid of fragile medium Fleur and policeman Alfred Kiss in his bid to expose the masterminds behind the crimes, which are causing a stir - even in the upper echelons of political circles.

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This series provides examples of:

• Arc Villain: While the Szápárys are the main antagonists, General Von Lichtenberg and Lieutenant Riedl serve as this towards Kiss' storyline.
• Bawdy Song: Poschacher and Freud's housekeeper are shown singing naughty songs at the local inn.
• Bedlam House: Freud works in a hospital for the mentally ill with mad patients walking the coridors.
• Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: Not only was Sigmund Freud a revolutionary shrink, he also solved a murder case and prevented the assassination of the Austrian emperor.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: Count and Countess Szápáry, two Hungarian aristocrats who have fallen into the shadows since Hungary's annexation into Austria. They hypnotize people around Vienna to commit grisly murders in order to fuel Fluer's demonic powers so that they can eventually use her to assassinate the Austrian emperor as revenge towards Austria.
• Black Eyes of Evil: Characters will sport black irises when under a spell.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Henriette uses post-hypnotic suggestion to turn people into a Manchurian Agent.
  • This started at least four years prior to the current timeline when she made a guy burn the Ringtheatre hoping to kill the Austrian emperor. The coup failed because the emperor did not attend the play.
  • Freud discovers that she also turned an opera singer and Crown Prince Rudolf into killers.
• The Caligula: The Austrian Crown Prince is initially seen as merely a hedonistic and arrogant Jerkass but his later behavior with Fleur shows him to be a deeply perverted and savage rapist as well.
• The Cassandra: None of the authorities believe Freud's theory about the Szápárys' mind-manipulation. It culminates in a You Have to Believe Me! scene in the hospital's basement and Freud being carried away by two security guards.
• City Noir: Creator Marvin Kren described the genre as "Vienna Noir".
• Cliffhanger: Episode 3 ends with Freud committing suicide by jumping from a window. Then the scene cuts to black. This leads to a Cliffhanger Copout in the next episode when it's revealed that this scene never happened and Freud actually resisted Henriette von Schönfeld's Mind Manipulation.
• Damsel in Distress: Freud has to rescue Fleur from the hospital basement where she is subjected to a questionable heat treatment.
• Dismembering the Body: After Kiss kills two mooks in self-defense at his home, he and Poschacher chop up the bodies and throw the pieces into a river.
• Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: In episode 4, Fleur rapes Freud on the floor of his study but no fuzz is made about this incident.
• Dream Intro: Episode 3 starts with Freud committing suicide by jumping from a window. It's revealed to be another of Fleur's premonitions.
• Dr. Jerk: Freud's superior, Professor Meynert is close minded and obnoxious doctor who refuses to accept any point of view other than his own and berates Freud for daring to support new and revolutionary techniques in medicine. He also uses inhumane treatments on Fleur and the other patients, practically torturing them with high heat.
• Dueling Scar: A couple of male characters sport facial scars stemming from duels.
• Economy Cast: Apparently, Kiss and Poschacher cover all murder investigations in Vienna, be it day or night.
• Enemy Mine: Upon learning that his son did indeed murder a prostitute, General Von Lichtenberg teams up with Kiss to take down the Szápárys.
• Evil Sounds Deep: When Fleur dissociates and becomes Taltos, her voice is notably deeper.
• A Foggy Day in London Town: All shots of Vienna feature a menacing overcast sky.
• Functional Addict: Freud is a serious cocaine addict but manages his work life pretty well.
• Guy Liner: Victor Szápárys wears eyeliner.
• Human Weapon: Fleur was made one by the Szápátry.
• Hysterical Woman: The series is set in a time where hysteria in women was seen as pathological.
• Indian Burial Ground: Freud's housekeeper believes that the house Freud lives in is haunted because it was built on the ruins of the Ringtheatre which burned down in a fire with 400 people dead.
• Instant Sedation: Freud incapacitates the mad opera singer instantly with a sedative from his syringe.
• Killing in Self-Defense: Kiss kills two mooks in self-defense at his home.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Kiss is haunted by his memories of the Bosnian War. We learn more about it through a couple of Troubled Backstory Flashbacks.
• Soundtrack Dissonance: The massacre at the ball is underscored with cheerful orchestra music.
• Spooky Séance: Vienna's high society enjoys encounters with the supernatural and we are treated to a seance led by Fleur. It goes wrong as she has premonitions of a crime which makes her faint.
• Stop, or I Shoot Myself!: Fleur makes Henriette and Victor leave her alone by threatening to cut her own throat.
• Ten Paces and Turn: Kiss and Georg von Lichtenberg face up in such a duel.
• Troubled Backstory Flashback: We explore the backstory of Fleur and Kiss via flashbacks to pivotal moments in their lives.
• Vomit Indiscretion Shot: On numerous occasions do hypnotized characters vomit on-screen.
• Young Future Famous People: Duh.

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