"Tatort" in the check Commissioner Borowski's farewell was so gripping
In "Tatort: Borowski und das Haupt der Medusa", Inspector Borowski (Axel Milberg) and Mila Sahin (Almila Bagriacik) solve their last case together. Four days before his retirement, Borowski comes across inconsistencies around a creepy house that he has known since his youth. Is a silent landlord up to mischief here?
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
Klaus Borowski (Axel Milberg) and Mila Sahin (Almila Bagriacik) have to solve the mystery surrounding a creepy mother-son duo in Milberg's farewell case. Has a tormented psychopath not only killed his mother, but also other people?
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander/Sabrina R
At least as creepy as the famous silent guest that Lars Eidinger played three times in the Kiel "Tatort": August Diehl plays a murderer called Robert Frost as a farewell to Klaus Borowski. He is a nail-biting psychopath who gets rid of people who annoy him without batting an eyelid.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
During a visit to a travel agency to plan the near future, outgoing inspector Borowksi (Axel Milberg) indulges in daydreams. One of them is his former colleague and great love Frieda Jung. Actress Maren Eggert did not miss the opportunity to attend Borowski's farewell.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander/Sabrina R
Inspector Klaus Borowski (Axel Milberg) wants to solve one more case on his last day at work.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
Mother Elenor (Corinna Kirchhoff) humiliates her son Robert (August Diehl), who has cooked for her. The life of the toxic couple in the creepy Derrick house in Kiel's Düsternbrook district (!) is captured fantastically in the first third of the crime scene.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
Elenor (Corinna Kirchhoff) and Robert (August Diehl) eat together. It will be the last of many meals together, because Robert kills his mother and cuts her up into many pieces.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
On call in his own house: Robert Frost (August Diehl) communicates with his mother via intercom.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
Even the clown's nose can't hide the fact that Robert Frost (August Diehl) isn't really in a good mood. The tormented man has created his own outlets to deal with his mother's humiliation. Unfortunately, these are dangerous for Robert's fellow human beings.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
Blackout at the citizens' office: Mila Sahin (Almila Bagriacik) wants to find out who is manipulating from the outside.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
Outsider Robert Frost (August Diehl), who is responsible for IT at the Citizens' Office, stands somewhat apart at the company party - while his colleagues enjoy themselves.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
In "Tatort: Borowski und das Haupt der Medusa", Inspector Borowski (Axel Milberg) and Mila Sahin (Almila Bagriacik) solve their last case together. Four days before his retirement, Borowski comes across inconsistencies around a creepy house that he has known since his youth. Is a silent landlord up to mischief here?
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
Klaus Borowski (Axel Milberg) and Mila Sahin (Almila Bagriacik) have to solve the mystery surrounding a creepy mother-son duo in Milberg's farewell case. Has a tormented psychopath not only killed his mother, but also other people?
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander/Sabrina R
At least as creepy as the famous silent guest that Lars Eidinger played three times in the Kiel "Tatort": August Diehl plays a murderer called Robert Frost as a farewell to Klaus Borowski. He is a nail-biting psychopath who gets rid of people who annoy him without batting an eyelid.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
During a visit to a travel agency to plan the near future, outgoing inspector Borowksi (Axel Milberg) indulges in daydreams. One of them is his former colleague and great love Frieda Jung. Actress Maren Eggert did not miss the opportunity to attend Borowski's farewell.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander/Sabrina R
Inspector Klaus Borowski (Axel Milberg) wants to solve one more case on his last day at work.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
Mother Elenor (Corinna Kirchhoff) humiliates her son Robert (August Diehl), who has cooked for her. The life of the toxic couple in the creepy Derrick house in Kiel's Düsternbrook district (!) is captured fantastically in the first third of the crime scene.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
Elenor (Corinna Kirchhoff) and Robert (August Diehl) eat together. It will be the last of many meals together, because Robert kills his mother and cuts her up into many pieces.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
On call in his own house: Robert Frost (August Diehl) communicates with his mother via intercom.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
Even the clown's nose can't hide the fact that Robert Frost (August Diehl) isn't really in a good mood. The tormented man has created his own outlets to deal with his mother's humiliation. Unfortunately, these are dangerous for Robert's fellow human beings.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
Blackout at the citizens' office: Mila Sahin (Almila Bagriacik) wants to find out who is manipulating from the outside.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
Outsider Robert Frost (August Diehl), who is responsible for IT at the Citizens' Office, stands somewhat apart at the company party - while his colleagues enjoy themselves.
Image: NDR/Thorsten Jander
His 43rd case in Kiel was one of the most spectacular. Axel Milberg bids a more than worthy farewell with "Tatort: Borowski und das Haupt der Medusa". What's next in Kiel and for Axel Milberg?
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Axel Milberg bids farewell with a spectacular Kiel case in "Tatort: Borowski und das Haupt der Medusa".
- Robert Frost (played by August Diehl) gets rid of his domineering mother (Corinna Kirchhoff), with whom he lives in a villa that Klaus Borowski knows from his childhood as a house of horrors.
- Borowski wants to take a closer look at the villa. Then he and his colleague Mila Sahin (Almila Bagriacik) come across strange deaths among the staff of the citizens' office.
After 22 years and 43 episodes, Axel Milberg's "Tatort" story ends in Kiel. The place where the actor, who lives in Munich, was born and grew up. It was a long farewell. Two years ago, in spring 2023, Milberg announced the end of Borowski for this date. Correctly and according to plan, just as civil servants retire.
Even his farewell film, "Tatort: Borowski und das Haupt der Medusa", followed a planned schedule: four days to go until his retirement when the film begins. Klaus Borowski is seen looking a little awkward in the travel agency. You have to do something when there's nothing left to do! Then it's off to the citizens' office, where the pre-retiree applies for a new passport.
Now the pension plot is cleverly intertwined with that of a pathological murderer. But who played Borowski's creepy nemesis? Why are the murderers always known from the start in crime novels by Kiel regular Sascha Arango? And what's next for Axel Milberg and the Kiel "Tatort"?
What is it all about?
Robert Frost (August Diehl), a man in his 40s, lives with his domineering mother (Corinna Kirchhoff) in a villa in Kiel's upmarket Düsternbrook district. After a meal together, the IT specialist disposes of the old lady - after which most of the body parts are disposed of. Only the titular head is kept in the aquarium.
Borowski notices a photo of the creepy Frost mansion when he enters the citizens' office. This is where Robert Frost worked until recently. Then he allegedly went on a trip around the world with his mother and then called in sick. Borowski knows the Frosts' creepy house from the time when he roamed the town as a teenager.
Borowski's instinct tells him that he has to take a closer look at the retro villa. Soon he and his colleague Mila Sahin (Almila Bagriacik) also come across strange deaths among the staff of the Citizens' Office.
What is it really about?
This well-paced thriller by long-time Kiel regular Sascha Arango combines two stories that don't actually fit together very well: On the one hand, the pension countdown is giving Borowski a hard time. He feels lost in the travel agency. Hobbies? He never had anything like that before. Axel Milberg plays the North German restrained "emotional outbursts" strongly.
In addition to the psycho-study about loneliness and loss of meaning, Arango writes a hard-hitting thriller into the script for his companion Borowski: Borowski meets a larger-than-life opponent in the style of the "silent guest" (Lars Eidinger played this murderer role in three Borowski films).
August Diehl also plays this Robert Frost with little dialog but a lot of expression. Sascha Arango, who also invented the "silent guest", says about his popular plot principle of revealing the murderer right at the beginning of the film: "Nothing is as interesting as watching a perpetrator deal with what he has done. I find that much more exciting than looking for him."
Borowski and his murderers: was there something?
Klaus Borowski was probably the "Tatort" detective with the most intimate relationship with his murderers. Similar to Inspector Columbo, the Kiel detective often suspects who the perpetrator is quite early on and circles his suspects in often very personal encounters, even revelations - until he hunts them down.
Who is Borowski's adversary?
Robert Frost is played by August Diehl. The 49-year-old comes from a family of artists in Berlin: his father Hans Diehl was a theater actor, his mother a costume designer. The graduate of the famous Ernst Busch drama school made a career in German cinema at a young age. In 1998, he played the leading role of a computer hacker in "23 - Nichts ist so wie es scheint". Diehl was awarded the German and Bavarian Film Prize for this role. His charisma and ability soon drew the attention of international cinema to the highly talented Berliner.
August Diehl appeared in cinema productions such as the Oscar-winning "The Counterfeiters" (2007), Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" (2009) and in "Salt" (2010), where he played Angelina Jolie's husband. August Diehl was in a relationship with actress Julia Malik for 20 years and the couple have two children. They have been officially separated since 2016.
From 2013 to 2020, August Diehl was a permanent member of the ensemble at Vienna's Burgtheater - which is quite unusual for an actor of his prominence. He can currently be seen on stage again in his hometown of Berlin. He is starring in the production "Drei Mal Leben" at the Berliner Ensemble, directed by Andrea Breth.
What will Axel Milberg do after "Tatort"?
Axel Milberg says about his departure from "Tatort": "Without giving too much away, but for Borowski it looks like this: There's no big farewell, there's no big applause, you do your thing, you turn around and go. And that's how he wants it. I find that very North German." Milberg emphasizes that he is not retiring, but rather looking for new acting challenges - and is looking forward to different formats and roles.
One of these roles is Frederick I, King of Württemberg. The six-part historical series "Vienna Game" is set at the time of the Congress of Vienna (1814-15) and is soon to be launched on the Disney+ streaming service. In addition to classical acting, the 68-year-old also works as a dubbing actor, author and for audio book productions. In future, he would like to use the time freed up by "Tatort" to be able to choose projects more freely.
What's next for "Tatort" in Kiel?
With the same director who staged Borowski's farewell: Lars Kraume simply continued filming on the fjord after the "Medusa" case. He realized a two-part series that brings together the remaining detective Mila Sahin (Almila Bagriacik) with her new investigative partner Ellie Krieger, a psychologist played by Karoline Schuch.
The double episode "Unter Freunden / Unter Feinden" is expected to be shown on two consecutive Sundays in 2026 on ARD and in the ARD media library.
