#episode: das herz der schlange

[keineahnung-ichhalt]

If I had a nickel every time the two guys from a Tatort team kissed in the bloopers, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

[hawkaye]

30DTSC December 28 - Day 1: Favorite episode. ↳ Das Herz der Schlange

[all-the-gae-things]

30-Day Tatort Saarbrücken Challenge: ↳ Day 1: Favorite Episode: Das Herz der Schlange

[leo-woods]

🚓 30dtsc - Day 1: Favorite episode 🚓

Das Herz der Schlange

[anukkuna]

Day 13: Cleverest detail

I'm not sure whether this counts as a 'clever' detail or just as 'interesting symbolism' or whatever... also, I'm just speculating here, so maybe, nothing of what I'm about to say was ever intended by the director and welp...- anyway, here's my two thoughts:

The scene in which Adam has to undergo the strip search for prison and its related scenes:

The scene is presented in snippets. We cut between the office scene with Leo and Pia and, later, a longer flashback scene with Roland. It’s in this flashback that the stick and Roland’s method of suicide - intended to frame Adam as the murderer - are revealed.

In the office, we see Leo and Pia piecing together the bank robberies committed by Boris Barns and Roland Schürk (because Adam handed Leo the photo and related evidence at the lake). They come to realize that what happened back then is still very much connected to Adam’s current situation.

Meanwhile, Adam is being subjected to a thorough examination by the prison physician. (The only way it could be more literal is if they actually x-rayed him!)

We also see him lie effortlessly - for example, when asked whether he smokes. (And, of course, this is where we get his iconic line: "Alles klar. Mir scheißegal.") As a viewer, this was another moment in which thought: 'Wow, he’s really good at this. At lying... huh.'

What I really want to focus on here, though, is the theme of being caged in this scene. First of all, the way it’s shot: from outside the windows with these metal grids inside. We’re watching Adam, visibly uncomfortable, undress in a cage created by:

1. His own colleagues, whom we just saw in the previous scenes (with Leo, his partner, being the one who had to put the handcuffs on him); and -

2. His manipulative and abusive father, as shown in the following scene.

This is also the scene where Adam’s large snake tattoo is revealed, likely altering the viewer’s perspective on the title Das Herz der Schlange. (At least, that’s what happened for me.) You might think: Ohhh... the heart the snake is protecting is Adam’s heart! So, in a way, the episode could literally be called Adams Herz (Though, to be fair, one could have drawn this conclusion earlier, when Roland paralleled himself with the frog and Adam with the snake in the terrarium.)

And then there’s the way Adam briefly looks almost(!) directly at the camera - like a trapped, caged animal that would much rather fight or flee but isn’t allowed to.

There is, of course, a deeper and more sinister layer of symbolism to this.

Within the fandom, there has already been discussion about the association of snakes with negative traits - particularly due to their role in biblical contexts.

One major theme, I believe, is the idea that evil is inherent in the snake’s nature, tied to its association with temptation and sin.

This is another clever detail I’d like to highlight (if it was intended that way! Also, apologies if someone else has already written about this and I’m unaware.) So…

In the flashback, we cut to Roland, Adam’s father. In German (and, I believe, in English as well), there’s a saying:

"Der Apfel fällt nicht weit vom Stamm" - "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

So, is Adam tempted to discover how far he has fallen - from the metaphorical, biblical tree (and the real one we see later)?

How much of his family’s criminal tendencies and energy has Adam inherited? Are deception and lying things that come naturally to him? Is there, deep within the heart of the snake, some lingering trace of evil? Even if Adam were never intentionally criminal, are there still aspects of his 'nature' he can’t control (and which would that be)?

Esther seems to suspect as much. She believes Adam tried to kill his father before. Even after learning that it was Leo (and Adam) acting in self-defense, she continues to distrust Adam in Ep. 4. On the rooftop, she openly says to him, “I don’t trust you.”

Snakes are often associated with being cunning, deceitful, and unpredictable - silent predators that suddenly strike. Are we, as viewers, meant to draw these parallels to Adam? Or is this meant to make us question these stereotypes?

Later, when Roland utters his last words, I was wondering the same thing... wondering if this is what they're getting at.

"Adam... meine Krone."

- Roland Schürk, Das Herz der Schlange

I feel this refers both to the crown of a tree and the crown of a king, (which is traditionally passed down to his heir, of course). (It’s worth noting that the crown, as a symbol, has been scratched into the bark of the tree where the money is buried. R+A - Roland and Adam. A place where they likely went before... maybe when Adam was much younger?)

But make no mistake. Telling Adam where the money is in his final moment is not meant as a kind gesture at all.

Roland correctly suspects that once Adam knows where the money is - whether or not Adam really finds or takes it - other gangsters will come after him. Adam is even tortured by Boris in prison over it. This becomes Roland’s final attempt to torment Adam, presenting him with criminals, who will come after him, as well as a difficult moral choice: Should Adam return the money, which he could use as compensation? (After all, the bank likely didn’t go bankrupt from the robbery, so it might even be morally justifiable for him to keep it.) Or should he keep the money - and risk both his job and his relationship with Leo in the process?

Adam is caged, in more than one way. How will he escape?

[mindless-mars]

Heyyy I have a question, I've been meaning to get into Tatort Saarbrücken in order to better my German. What order should I watch the episodes in? The episodes aren't numbered on the ARD Mediathek website 😢

ohhh thanks for the ask and sorry for infecting you with the sad gay cop show hehe

So the order is

1. Das fleißige Lieschen

2. Der Herr des Waldes

3. Das Herz der Schlange

4. Die Kälte der Erde

5. Der Fluch des Geldes

And for the 6th one (which I think will be called Das Ende der Nacht) we'll have to wait another year 🥲

I'd advise you to turn on either German subtitles in the ARD Mediathek (bc sometimes the sound is shit and Germans also tend to mumble a lot) or ask @nerd-on-duty for the English subtitles (hope they're still active)

Also sometimes the ARD Mediathek takes the episodes down but you can find all of them here:

MediathekViewWeb

Have fun and welcome to Spatort world 🥰

[spadeoftears]

30dtsc day 10: favorite bond

-> Adam and Leo

Before you start reading I want to say that I#M sorry for the length of this, it just sort of escalated and suddenly I was sitting in front of nearly 1k words.

Yes, this is the most obvious answer, I am very aware. The thing is, I thought about who else I could choose, but due to the fact that this is Tatort we’re talking about and that most other bonds are just not that deep (yet) due to the limited time and storytelling itself, Adam and Leo are the best answer there is. It’s also the reason I didn’t wanna write something for today, you can thank @anukkuna for encouraging me to do it anyways.

First of all, it is very clear that Adam came back for Leo and for no other reason. There is nothing else connecting him to Saarbrücken like Leo is. I don’t think it’s chance that he applied to the open spot in Leo’s team, I don’t think Adam would have ever set a foot in Saarbrücken again if Leo had left too. It that isn’t a strong bond I don’t know what is.

I’m gonna try to look at it from episode to episode to see how their bond evolves over time.

At the beginning of Das fleißige Lieschen we don’t know anything about these characters, but one thing is clear from the start. Adam and Leo have a connection that goes a long time back, perfectly illustrated with the flashbacks that wind themselves through the whole episode. But there is still a disconnection between them, caused by the fact that Adam was gone for so many years, that he ran away without telling Leo or saying goodbye, and that he stumbled back into Leo’s life unannounced, causing Leo to be completely overwhelmed by the situation.

But over the course of the episode you can just see that they fall back into step with each other easily, proving that they were very close before Adam forced the separation on them. It’s not all perfect, how could it be considering that they were apart for so many years and with all the unsaid things between them.

Episode 2 puts a new strain on their still fragile new relationship that is build on so many things that lie years in the past. A relationship that was inherently destroyed by one Roland Schürk, who choose a truly great point of time to wake from his coma. Of course neither of them deals great with that and I just love how, while we know what happened in the garage that day, der Herr des Waldes keeps going with that theme. And how it shows us that neither of them have really dealt with this over the years.

Adam tries to protect Leo by not telling him that Roland woke up, as a way to protect him because he knows how much all of it pains Leo. But it makes Leo distrust Adam because he didn’t tell him the truth, because that is the opposite of protecting him in Leo’s eyes. That Adam tried to stop Leo from shooting Lausch before he can kill Roland doesn’t make their already fragile relationship easier to navigate in that moment.

Somehow they do it anyways, because in Herz der Schlange Leo is willing to trust Adam enough to believe that he didn’t kill his father. And that also stems from their year old bond that survived all the time apart and maybe got even stronger because of it. He does everything to get Adam out of prison, because he just believes that Adam doesn’s deserve to be there, and that just shows how much they trust each other, even with all odds against them.

I feel like they fall into a kind of peace at the end of Herz der Schlange, because at the moment everything is okay. Adam is free, Roland is dead, the new threat of Boris Barns is still behind bars and the sun is shining. We all know that didn’t stick for long, because then Adam decided it’s a great idea to not tell Leo that he found the money from the bank heist. And that’s really the point where disaster starts. 

Die Kälte der Erde puts a very clear strain on their relationship, they still stick to each other but there is a hostility to it, mainly because Adam just doesn’t tell Leo about the money despite Leo getting suspicious. But what I think is interesting is that they still won’t let go of each other. Until the very end of the episode, Leo puts his trust into Adam, again and again. Gives him the chance to prove to him that he deserves that trust. In the end, Leo put too much hope into Adam, which leads us right into Fluch des Geldes. 

That money really is a curse, no matter how you look at it. First it had Adam under its thumb and as he finally got away from it, it had already gotten to Leo. What I find interesting is that the roles switch in Fluch des Geldes. At first it was Adam not telling Leo what is going on, now it’s the other way around and Leo makes one bad decision after the other without telling anyone. 

I think that is what clues Adam in to his mistake, and of course his only idea to fix it is doing the exact thing Leo did in the previous episodes, stick to his partner and try to support him and get out of him what the fuck is going on. 

I think that is kinda beautiful, how they are both inherently the same idiots and that they still stick together no matter what. Because in the end they do find back to each other. 

Like that one reporter once said, die Flipperkugel des Begehrens springt unaufhörlich zwischen den beiden hin und her. And they just keep on turning around each other, because to each of them the other is the middlepoint of their world, they just can’t seem to admit it. 

[hansfallada]

happy spatort day!! let's celebrate the day with a poll

[grabyourpillow]

One thing I like about Tatort Saarbrücken is that, except for Das Herz der Schlange when Adam gets rightfully innocented, solving the case usually brings no joy at all.

Both in Das Fleißige Lieschen and Die Kälte der Erde, the culprits were only driven to do what they did because of an abusive system that failed them.

Lida's brother got publicly beaten to death in a fucking working camp for a crime he didn't commit, and then she had to watch for years as the company claimed to never have employed exploited workers.

Alina's ex could despite her wishes, stop the adoption process of Alina's daughter, and stalk and harass her with no consequence. No wonder she took matters in her own hands, driven by desperation and her wishes for her daughter's future.

The tennis player woman in episode one reported Eric Hofer who literally threatened to break her arms, and nothing happened.

Adam tried to report his abusive father as a child and, you guessed it, nothing happened.

This is a cop show who repeatedly demonstrates the failure of the law to protect those who actually needed protection.

[kuzzzma]

Another papertoy based on “Das Herz der Schlange” episode of Tatort Saarbrücken: Adam Schurk and all of his clothing options from this episode, including a shirtless version.

Download free PDF file with template to print out and build your own papertoy + at my blog you can find instructions how to build this simple figure.

[ao3feed-tatortsaarbruecken]

Dahinter wird Stille

Read here: Dahinter wird Stille

by hope_calaris

Adam kommt ins Büro und Leos Schreibtisch ist leer. Komplett leer. Familienfotos, Lieblingskugelschreiber -- alles verschwunden. Es ist irgendein Schreibtisch, aber nicht mehr der von Leo.

Words: 1114, Chapters: 1/1, Language: Deutsch

Fandoms: Tatort (TV 1970)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Leo Hölzer, Adam Schürk, Esther Baumann, Pia Heinrich

Relationships: Leo Hölzer/Adam Schürk

Additional Tags: Post-Episode: Das Herz der Schlange, Tatort Saarbrücken, Pining

from AO3 works tagged 'Leo Hölzer'

[wizardbenedlund]

irdeokay, so like i was saying, in das Herz der Schlange, i don’t necessarily think that adam is lying when he says he doesn’t smoke. or at least he doesn’t think he’s lying

so, in das fleissige lieschen, adam smokes a cigarette with a woman on her break at Hofer’s company. that could very much be part of his MO for information gathering. similar to how in the next scene, he talks with the porter about his car. he’s just getting peopley with people. personally, i think bumming a smoke off someone so you have an excuse to talk to them is normal.

in der herr des waldes, adam also smokes only one time, and that is directly after he has to help his father into the tub, and then asks him about what he remembers from the day he fell into a coma. at this point he is staying at his childhood home, where he was abused, with his abuser. like, if there’s a time to have a smoke, i think that’s it.

in die kalte der erde, adam smokes in at least four separate scenes: on the rooftop, at Remy’s house during the party (lights up inside someone else’s house like some sort of monster), with Dr Lech after the fight with Leo, and in the ambulance at the end of the episode. This is waaay more smoking than in previous episodes, and he’s very casual about it

i think before die kalte der erde, he was an occasional smoker. an opportunistic smoker, maybe, but not someone who would define themselves as a smoker during a health checkup. it’s a long road to walk between, say, “i smoke when i'm stuck at my childhood home” and “i’m a smoker”

arguably, the entirety of die kalte der erde is also a stressful situation, but i’m only willing to stretch things so far. inasmuch as i think adam is a big fat liar about literally everything else, i don’t think he considers himself a smoker when he is asked about it in episode 3

[anukkuna]

Day 3: Favourite Spatort Case

Das Herz der Schlange.

I watched it back to back with HdW and the ending of episode 2 had me so hooked. I just love the shot that HdW ends with...

So, I was very excited for episode 3.

I know, parts of this case are a bit whacky, but hey, which Tatort isn't?

What I like in particulary are the stakes, right from the start. Adam must be in big trouble, cause he didn't do it, right? (At least, I never thought that he did it and I'm not sure if many people at all suspected him?) So, who dunnit?

At some point we realise, there was no intruder. Dreckssau killed himself and tried to blame Adam, because yes, that's actually how much he hated his son. Core Roland.

I love how protective but also how hurt and scared Leo is. Even when things were at their worst during their teenage years, Adam never hit his dad, he never got violent towards him as far as we know, so Leo firmly believes that Adam didn't kill his dad.

But, as ever so often, Adam doen't talk right away. I just love the scene at the lake... there is so much going on. Watching them struggle with communication and feelings... then the police shows up (Esther probably had them follow Leo) and Leo raises his hands and whispers, terrified, begging "stay clam, Adam...!"

I was hooked by the case, because I really wanted to see how they would get Adam out of there. The structure is two-fold, really - for the first half we wonder "what happened?" and we learn this through Adam's flashbacks and for the second half it's "oh, ffs, how will they get him out of there?" It's actually a nice wrap up, when they also solve the break-ins as well.

Then, of course, there is this scene:

Leo finally coming clean. It's so intense and I feel like it changes so much of the dynamic between the four than we see in just this episode. There is so much one could write about how it must also change how Esther and Pia see Leo (and Adam) after that.

It also tells so much about Leo just for how fucking long he kept quite about what happened fifteen years ago... just how much of a protector he is towards himself and Adam.

Seeing Adam suffer in prison and being tortured by Boris and his gang was hard to watch, though.

During the final minutes, I was at the edge of my seat when our squad stormed the rat lawyers den.

And then there's the ending, of course...

#nowkissplease. Oh well...

It was such a heartfelt hug though, still love it.

But don't get too sappy folks, there still remains the actual final shot:

...wherein mah blorbo digs up the fuckin' money. Arrrrgghhffs. As if that isn't gonna be a major problem in the next one. Dammit. But still captivating.

So yeah, Herz der Schlange it is. 💜🐍

[bestestpotato]

I know Adam went through hell and back in HDS, but the thought of Leo watching the footage from that night in full length is doing things to me.

[eolewyn1010]

Ritter in Berlin, Thiel in Münster, Schürk in Saarbrücken - so far I'm counting three Tatort Kommissare who get framed for a murder in an unnecessarily complex manner by someone who hates them for personal reasons, thinks themselves very superior and also uses drugs as a means to an end, and everytime the partners around are willing to fuck the law to prove their colleague is innocent.

Hot take here, guys: German TV is not all that creative with plots.