Finland | One Last Word

Petteri Paavola, in case you are not in the know, is a young man who has played the role of Elias Vikstedt in the Finnish soap opera Salatut Elämät for the last four years.

Ronny Roslof (left) and Petteri Paavola portrayed lovers Lari and Elias — known by fans worldwide by the portmanteau Larias — on the Finnish sudser. Roslof remains on the show, his once-closeted character is now in an out relationship with an older man.

He announced recently that he was leaving the show and the character was written out, having headed to Belgium to live with his mother. It’s not known at this time if he will return.

The relationship between Elias and Lari captivated audiences around the globe, thanks to YouTube and the good offices of MissFinlandia88, the handle of the dedicated YouTuber who subtitled these clips in English — and even got the show’s blessing to do it.

What do I care? Well, a post I wrote about Salatut Elämät in January 2013 has been the most-read piece on this site for two years running. Go figure. Who knew gay Finnish soap opera characters would bring so much of the world to me?

If you don’t come back — or even if you do, — thanks, Petteri. I’ve enjoyed meeting so many of your fans!

The Infamous Most-Read Post

So Long, Larias – The Last Post

Petteri Paavola (left) is out teen Elias and Ronny Roslöf is closeted hockey player Lari in the Finnish series Salatut Elämät.

I first wrote about the Finnish soap Salatut Elämät back at the beginning of January. Since that time, my original post has been read hundreds and hundreds of times (thanks, btw) and is rarely not one of the most viewed pages of the week here on my little cranky corner of the Web.

YouTube user missfinlandia88, who has been captioning the storyline of Elias and Lari that has caught on with English speakers from around the world, informs us that today’s episode — a good soapy cliffhanger — ends the series until it comes back from its annual hiatus in September. For all you “Larias” fans today’s cut from what I call “Lots of Umlauts” will have to tide you over for the summer!