“Detective Hole” Season 1 Ending Explained: Who Is the Bike Courier Killer?
“Detective Hole” Season 1 Ending Explained: Who Is the Bike Courier Killer?
Christopher RudolphTue, March 31, 2026 at 5:40 PM UTC
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Tobias Santelmann in 'Detective Hole'Credit: Netflix -
Detective Hole premiered March 26 on Netflix
The nine-episode season is primarily based on the book The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbø
The plot involves Harry Hole on the trail of a murderer known as the Bike Courier Killer
Warning: Spoilers ahead for Netflix's Detective Hole!
Things are getting hairy for Detective Harry Hole in a new Netflix show.
Since 1997, the beloved crime-solver has been the star of a series of Nordic Noir books by Jo Nesbø. One of the novels, 2007's The Snowman, was adapted for the screen in 2017, with Michael Fassbender playing the detective.
The Snowman didn't launch a new film franchise, but in March 2026, Harry was brought to life again in a Netflix drama featuring Tobias Santelmann as Harry.
Detective Hole is primarily based on the fifth book The Devil's Star, which follows the main character as he attempts to stop a murderer known as the Bike Courier Killer.
Their identity is a surprising one especially after episodes filled with "a lot of red herrings," director Øystein Karlsen told TIME.
Here's the ending of Detective Hole season 1 explained, including who the Bike Courier Killer is and what the post-credits scene means.
Who is the Bike Courier Killer?
Frank Kjosås in 'Detective Hole'Credit: Netflix
In episode 6 of Detective Hole season 1, evidence surrounding the serial Bike Courier Killer's identity begins to point to Martin Aminov (Simon J. Berger), a smuggler known for making multiple trips to Oslo.
Clues are mounting, but Harry believes the murders — which have been following a pentagram pattern with victims' severed fingers — are planned too perfectly.
The police receive a finger in the mail belonging to Lisbeth Barli (Dagny Norvoll Sandvik), who died earlier in the series. After forensic evidence is discovered under her fingernail, the killer is revealed to be Lisbeth's husband, Wilhelm “Willy” Barli (Frank Kjosås), a theater producer.
Harry confronts Willy, who confesses to the murders. Years earlier, Willy had discovered that Martin and Lisbeth had been having an affair. Although Willy thought their relationship was over, he later found out that Martin and Lisbeth were still in contact.
She had been sending him money in preparation to leave Willy. As a result, Willy killed his wife and devised an elaborate scheme to make it appear like Martin was killing people in Oslo, including Lisbeth.
Willy, dressed as a bike courier, was the one actually committing the murders, leaving fingers and star-shaped diamonds at the crime scenes.
Where did Willy keep Lisbeth's body?
Tobias Santelmann in 'Detective Hole'Credit: Netflix
Before Willy was unmasked as the killer, the police were suspicious of him and searched his apartment.
Later, during his confrontation with Harry, Willy revealed that he hid her body in a waterbed mattress filled with alcohol.
"I've put her somewhere only I could ever find her. Somewhere that's reserved for me and her. And I want her here forever," Willy tells Harry as he shows him Lisbeth's preserved body beneath the bed sheets.
Does Willy die?
Tobias Santelmann in 'Detective Hole'Credit: Netflix
Yes, Willy dies in the season 1 finale of Detective Hole.
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After showing Harry Lisbeth's body, Harry searches the rest of Willy's apartment. Harry then hears screams from outside and steps out onto the apartment balcony.
The detective then sees Willy's body on the ground below. He jumped and impaled himself on a star-shaped rotary clothes airer.
"He wanted his story to have a happy ending," Harry says.
What happens to Tom Waaler?
Joel Kinnaman in 'Detective Hole'Credit: Netflix
Throughout Detective Hole season 1, Harry clashes with Captain Tom Waaler (Joel Kinnaman), a corrupt colleague of his.
Tom tries to entice Harry to join his illegal weapons-smuggling operation. Harry declines, which leads to Tom kidnapping Oleg Fauke (Maxime Baune Bochud), the son of Harry's girlfriend.
In the finale, Tom tries to kill Harry, but during their confrontation, Harry manages to have Tom's arm severed off using a descending elevator. His injury doesn't stop him, and Tom still tries to hunt down Harry.
In the end, Tom isn't successful and instead dies from blood loss after losing his arm.
Who is the masked leader of the crime organization?
Agnes Kittelsen in 'Detective Hole'Credit: Netflix
Tom had connections to a secret criminal syndicate, but he wasn't the only one.
After Harry kills Tom, two masked figures in tuxedos are seen meeting in an ornate hall.
"What do we do now?" a masked person asks the other person. "It's simple. We regroup and lay low for a while," responses the figure, who then removes their mask.
It is revealed to be Agnes Sjølid (Agnes Kittelsen), the chief superintendent in Harry's police department. "After that, we'll come back stronger," she adds.
What does the Detective Hole season 1 post-credits scene mean?
Tobias Santelmann in 'Detective Hole'Credit: Netflix
The post-credits scene shows Harry trying to learn more about Tom.
Harry travels to Strömstad, Sweden, where Tom is from. There, Harry speaks with a shopkeeper known as Solo, who Tom said was his best friend growing up.
Solo tells Harry about Tom's abusive father and rough childhood. He also shares that he wasn't friends with Tom, and that Tom was actually "reclusive, and a little weird, too."
The conversation also raises suspicions about the death of Tom's father, who had died by reportedly falling onto a knife he was holding.
“The fact that Harry tries to figure out what happened to Tom after his death, and why he became the way he is, is also his way of trying to understand himself," Karlsen told TIME about the scene.
He continued, "And how someone like Tom could have gone in a totally different direction and had a great career."
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