Published August 24, 2025
Karachi:
In a city buried deep in the Austrian Alps, death is not the end – it is the beginning of secrets that reveal, revenge that unfolds, and corpses whispering their truths.
Long after seeing Woman of the Dead (WOTD), I couldn’t get the pictures of the majestic, yet hard terrain in the Alps, talking cada, a state-of-art scattery in a strong snow-in-valley, dead people and motorcycling on smooth roads through the wise mountains and deep valley would not leave my mind.
I found the Netflix series fascinating for several reasons. Located in Tirol, Austria, the story of a funeral director in a small ski resort for some well -pre -secrets in the small town where her husband is killed right in front of her. Often, the mysteries of small city are close with eccentric characters, but here the quirkiest character is the funeral director himself. Yes, it is a woman who dresses, dresses out, cuts, trims, styles to make them fit chests and presentable to people and God! More details later.
The background is perfect for the story of a subtaxer – the harsh Tyrolean Alps with their unforgivable terrain and cold, permanent snow, mirroring the gloomy and passionate work from the Undertaker and casting a cool atmosphere over the series. Second, after discovering that Undertaker was a woman, my mind was rolled with a mixture of intrigue and unbelievers. The idea of anyone who handles the cold, nervous reality of death, especially a woman, struck me as both creepy and disturbing. [Especially when she imagines, the corpses are talking to her!] Her gloomy profession, a sharp contrast to my own sensitivity, felt deeply unnatural, almost defies the typical roles I had imagined. And third, the nature of Undertaker Brunhilde Blum, who is known around the city as “Blum”, played by Anna Maria Mühe, who is unique in her triple role as a wife seeking revenge, and a wanna-be Sleuth, who has a great instinct a knack to loosen secrets. As she explores deeper into the case, she comes in increasingly dangerous situations. Being a Mortician, she knows how to cover murders, and who can dispose of dead bodies better than her!
Mühe is an award -winning German actress with a long list of films in her honor. Blum’s role as a Undertaker must have fascinated her as she is known for choosing roles involving strong, complex characters that she has received recognitions for her performances in films such as “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Love in Thoughts”.
That was this Combination of factors: the engaging revenge plot, a strong female lead, awe -inspiring kinematography and captivating atmosphere that keeps you glued on screen. Most of all the quirky blend of crime drama with dark humor, kept me through the two seasons.
Based on the new Totenfrau, by Bernhard Aichner, the series starts with a quiet visual of a Sailboat on the open sea. A woman wearing headphones listens to an old iPod when she is sunbathing on the arch. Ah, you are sniffing problems instantly. It is the peaceful scene that tempts fate. Two seconds later, people scream for help. The visual flashes a few times in the series, at least in the first season with certainty until you start tying up the incident with other developments that happen later.
Wotd could be a run-of-the-mill, straightforward thriller, if it wasn’t for Blum’s layered character, her back story, and the dark edge of the show that gives it an edge over the long list of thrigers on the streamer these days, most around the missing girls, which is what seems to be Netflix’s fastest go-toy to criminal gash-gash-gasher genre genre.
Imagine the stage where Brunhilde Blum does routine things around her funeral room in her small mountain town. Her assistant, Reza Shadid (Yousef Sweid) tells her that the family of the person she is working on has bought a standard size coffin that was too small, it doesn’t bother at least Blum. With the ease and impassivity that a chef adds more salt to a pot on the oven, blum whip her bone saw and cups one foot after another out of the cadaver so it can fit into the coffin. Does it make you shake or are you fooling out completely? This may not be a spoiler, maybe I just made it up!
Yousef Sweid, who plays Reza Shadid, brings a compelling presence on screen. His mysterious eyes and stoic behavior fit perfectly with the character that acts as Blums Confidential, Combat Trainer and Protects. Reza, a Syrian refugee taken in by Mark, secretly helps Brünhilde on his quest for justice, saves her life and carefully hiding the murders she commits. However, an error in covering the Puch murder eventually leads to a blum investigation, putting their common secret at risk. The choice to make Reza a Syrian refugee adds a crucial layer of social and political context to the story that highlights themes of shifts and survival that reverberate deeply with the mysterious actions of the character.
Blum’s husband Mark Thaler (Maiximilian Kraus) is a local cop, but her relationship with Mark is wrapped in the tragedy that killed her parents, so there are all kinds of consequences in his death. When he returns from a trip, Blum sees him talk on a yellow phone she has never seen. When she points out the new phone, he just says he was buying a new case. When he walks on his Ducati to go to work, he is struck as he shows up on the road and the reach that hit him drives away after only breaking for a moment, which is just enough to create intrigue and curiosity. While Blum rolls with shock, you also gap on screen and wonder what just happened!
Before we move on, let’s pause to live a little on the dark, cold and quiet world of businesses, a profession not specifically seen in our part of the world. This is where Blum’s character transports us to. Also known burial directors or mortars, these professionals handle the practical and emotional aspects of funeral arrangements. They help families plan and organize memorial services, ensure that the deceased is nurtured with dignity and provides support in a difficult time.
As seen in films and series depicting Western culture, companies help to choose families to choose a place, coordinate with priests or celebrate and arrange the transport of the deceased and participants, similar to ENT planners. The difference is an environment with rushed tones, soft lighting and some stillness.
In their Prep room, the clinical, passionate work finds the embalming, clothing and preparation of the body for viewing place. With scientific precision and methodological care, a company’s business focuses on restoring dignity to the deceased and preparing them to see. This may include embalming, dressing and preparation of the body for viewing or cremation, which may not be done for any dead person, since embalming is typically only performed if viewing or visiting the body is involved before funeral or cremation. For example The bodies of presidents and celebrities are typically embalmed for public views, and behind the flowers, wreaths and crowds or cows of people at funerals and memorials have a sub -taker diligently fulfilled the gloomy duties around the dead.
In order to become a subtaker, also known as a funeral director or Mortician, one must typically complete formal education in mortality science, followed by an apprenticeship and state license. This path involves studying the technical and business aspects of the funeral service sector, gaining practical experience and meeting specific state requirements.
Are there female companies? Yes, for example, Austria’s 528 companies that often work for family businesses. They have a wide range of knowledge ranging from local social practice and symbols to individual design options to accompany the deprived in the best possible way in their sorrow time. These include, for example, covering the coffin with a white cloth, setting up incense and coal and not bell bells at Buddhist burials. Undertaker’s knowledge also includes the preparation of the possibilities of the deceased person’s final resting place. Sharing and accompanying a person’s last journey has an important social and municipal significance for the deprived, and companies play an important role in this. Their support also extends to continuously dealing with death as part of human life.
Knowledge of burial and cemetery culture is transferred from one person to the next. There are several additional components that contribute to the protection and expansion of knowledge, including training opportunities such as Undertakers’ Academy, further education, frequent permanent meetings and exchange between the federal provinces and specialized group meetings and museums. They also have an association and their own specialist.
While the funeral industry has traditionally been male -dominated, the proportion of women working in the field increases. In Austria, about 36 percent of those employed in the funeral sector are women, according to a report from Kronen Zeitung, Austria’s largest newspaper.
Coming back to the series, full character to the author of the series’ unique prerequisite, with a woman as a Undertaker. It’s a really compelling and original idea. No wonder the two seasons were flipped by the audience. After three years, the second season of the series, originally in German language, returned with more secrets to postpone and mysteries to uncover. If you thought it couldn’t be better than the first season, you’re wrong because the second season gave it first a race for his money.
Blum, the central character takes the story forward. It is now two years since the events in the first season when she lost her husband. If you thought Blum had solved all the mysteries and exposed all the ugly secrets of the small town, and now would live a peaceful life with her daughter, Nela (Emilia Pieske), you took wrong again. After having even more enemies, in the police and on the local stage now, this time she has to tackle Nela’s kidnapping.
While Season 1 was directed by Barbara Albert and Stefan Ruzowitzky, the second season was directed by Daniel Prochaska and written by Marcel Kawental and Timo Lombeck, who build on the forces in the first and added new layers of complexity and darkness. However, there are parts where you feel season 1 was tighter and more focused, but Season 2 went wider in its tale of exploring human trafficking and snuff films. It is also described as darker and more threatening. But that being said, both seasons offer gripping history lines, powerful notions and intense mystery that redeem the few minor shortcomings.
Both seasons are bingeworthy, the kinematography of the alpine region simply spectacular. It certainly points to a third season that is produced. Would you dare return to Blum’s cold, ugly and gloomy world again?
