'Van der Valk' Season 4 Gets Messy with "Safe in Amsterdam"

Van der Valk is back for another season, so get out your black knit sweaters, pop up the collar on your coat, and find some dreary water to contemplate murder clues. The titular detective (Marc Warren) is back in Amsterdam for Season 4 and is already getting his hands dirty in the season premiere of the first two-parter, "Safe in Amsterdam." He's brought in to investigate the murder of a whistleblower about to testify at the trial of Bibi Franken (Anastasia Hille), only to find that his ex-flame Kalie (Kim Riedle) was in charge of security when the murder took place. An awkward reunion is had by all, much to Lucienne (Maimie McCoy)'s amusement. At least someone enjoys our lead detective, if sardonically. 

There's no love lost between Piet and Kalie as he ribs her about letting the witness get murdered and even starts snarking at her that she could be the murderer. Shortly afterward, Piet discovers the assailant still hiding in the house but apprehends him with the help of Hendrik (Darrell D'Silva). With at least one witness gone, Van Der Valk is sent to guard the second witness for the trial, Bibi's son Daan (Ben Baat). 

Bibi is ahead of the police force, though, because she has a bomb waiting for Daan's car when he arrives at the court building the following day. It kills him and his driver, while Van der Valk and Daan's lawyer, Anton de Haas (Mandela Wee Wee), manage to escape mostly unscathed. (Not so easy to keep these witnesses alive, now is it?) To make matters worse, Eddie (Azan Ahmed) is kidnapped while watching Daan's safehouse, and the team has no idea where he could be. 

The case has only just begun, but it is already a messy one with two dead bodies and zero witnesses making it to the trial. Van der Valk still suspects that his ex has something to do with the murders, which means these are an inside job. However, he and Lucienne also must figure out what a Franken bar manager named Sophie has to do with these two witnesses being killed. Questions are multiplying for the detective duo before they can find answers to any of the original questions. 

Our alleged mob boss, Bibi Franken, is also aware that Van der Valk is on the case and doesn't take the disrespect she's seeing from him too lightly. She's demanding a meeting, and it seems like Piet might go through with it despite being specifically warned not to tango with the crime boss without backup or his partner. Van der Valk is not the best at taking direction, though, and we fear he may be all too eager to throw himself into a lethal situation. 

With all the signs of this being an inside job, the detective must figure out who he can trust. He has Lucienne, of course, but it remains to be seen whether Kalie is actually a mole or can be trusted. Witnesses dropping like flies point to a leak in the team. It's not just a matter of allowing a murderer into the first house; someone told Bibi about her son's change in protection and allowed her goons to plant a bomb so close to the preliminary hearing for the trial. Whoever is helping Bibi secure this case has a very high-security clearance, which means they are either very powerful, in the inner circle, or potentially – and devastatingly – both. 

The clock is also ticking because Van der Valk's team has no idea where Eddie has been taken. They know that something is very wrong and that a search and rescue team has been deployed, but the longer Van der Valk takes to solve the case, the more danger Eddie will be in. Fingers crossed, he doesn't get tortured simply for following a Van der Valk edict, especially when Eddie only wanted to grab some breakfast. The pure ones always get the shortest end of the stick in these shows.

So, the first order of business is finding Eddie. However, then Piet and Lucienne need to figure out what exactly the whistleblowers were planning to testify about to understand why Bibi Franken was willing to have them both executed – and who Bibi managed to corrupt to get the access her goons needed to pull off the murders in the first place. There are already so many loose threads, and Van der Valk has only been on the case for a day. We hope he can find some time in the near future to take a nap.

Van Der Valk Season 4 2 continues with new episodes on Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on most local PBS stations, the PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. PBS Passport members will have access to all episodes of Van der Valk Season 4 to watch as a binge (or as initially intended, i.e., as three two-hour-long episodes). As always, check your local listings and streamers.