SPOILER ALERT: This blog is for people watching Borgen on BBC4. Don't read on if you haven't seen episodes nine and 10 of the second season – and if you've seen further in the series, please do not leave spoilers

Catch up with Vicky Frost's episodes seven and eight blog

Could there have been a more satisfying ending to this season of Borgen? Birgitte, with her daughter on the mend, standing before parliament: triumphant in her reform plan, resounding in her dismissal of those who suggested her gender was holding Denmark back, and, thanks to Bent, smartly sidestepping Hesselboe's planned tax-cut ambush by calling an election early. No wonder she was doing her lovely nose-crinkle smile. For the greater part of this series, such a result seemed but a pipe dream.

Which is not to say that things tied up too neatly and too easily here – rather that these were an excellent two hours of television. If, like me, you found last week's double-bill disappointing, these were the episodes to restore your faith in Borgen. There were debates over press freedom, and women's role in the workplace and home; an almost-coup from Thorsen; Birgitte's attempts to balance her personal choices with her political convictions; the election. Yet mostly these episodes were about relationships: between partners, between parents and children, between friends. The difficult balance between work and home. Guilt and its hold over you. And all of it explored with some beautiful writing and fantastic performances.

The politicians

Given the current plans for the NHS, an exploration of the Danish healthcare system proved to be rather more interesting than one might have thought – Nyborg attempting to dismantle a system that relied on health insurance and private providers and re-establish public healthcare as the default option for Danes, rather than a second-rate, underfunded offering for use only by those unable to afford better.

I wasn't surprised that Laura's treatment proved to be the faultline that saw Birgitte and Phillip forced to choose private care for their daughter, sparking a media storm, but I did find the way it was dealt with here interesting. I presumed it would lead to a row between Birgitte and Philip as the prime minister's politics demanded Laura be treated in the public sector. But actually Birgitte never waivered when it came to doing the right thing for her daughter. That seemed to make sense to me: nothing in her character has suggested that she would put political expediancy before her daughter's health, but it would have been a convenient, dramatic route for the writers to take. I was impressed when they didn't.

There was some more top-notch acting from Freja Riemann as Laura in a difficult role, and some smart scripting: having the psychiatrist explain how she thought Laura might feel was a neat way of avoiding overwrought emoting but still getting the message across. I liked too that it was she who explained to Birgitte in a very straightforward manner that she had to return to work: that she couldn't blame her choices for Laura's illness. I've thought throughout both series that Birgitte could do with a good girlfriend or two to support her – it's odd she doesn't have them surely? – but this was a decent substitute.

I was genuinely outraged by the arrival of paparazzi at Laura's hospital, which was rather conveniently placed in the middle of a public park, outside the jurisdiction of trespass laws. Even so, in the UK this would have been dealt with under the Editors' Code of Practice and while I'm not suggesting it is rigorously applied by all, I'm not convinced that such intrusion into the life of the prime minister's teenage daughter, who was suffering from anxiety – of all things – would have taken place on this scale. Birgitte's decision to send Laura to a private hospital while passing a bill that would make it more difficult for many to access private healthcare would of course have drawn a great deal of comment. But I'd have thought Birgitte would have paid the price more than Laura.

In fact, I felt sure at one point Nyborg was going to resign – out of crossness if nothing else; Sidse Babett Knudsen was so brilliantly furious here. So the idea of a month off was interesting. How would we feel if David Cameron did the same, I wonder. (He did, of course, take some paternity leave when his daughter was born in 2010.) I await your Nick Clegg jokes below.

"Hi Cecilie. I'm just shouting at your boyfriend!" And for once, Philip seems to have listened to Birgitte. There was a beautifully directed moment at the beginning of episode nine when we saw Philip collapse in the arms of his girlfriend, as he wept for Laura, while Birgitte remained tense, holding it all together, in the hospital corridor. And then another at the end of episode 10, when we saw Philip's heart jump as he looked at his ex-wife, and she pulled her hand away.

I am not, however, convinced that the Nyborg-Christensens are due for a reunion: I get the feeling that Birgitte has had too long to grieve her relationship, and Phillip too many opportunities to return for this to work now. That barbed line about "turning into the Birgitte of your dreams" suggests the prime minister has stopped blaming herself for the breakup. Obviously, I hope I'm wrong – and not just for the fuzzy warm feeling of returning to a happy Nyborg household, but mainly because Mikael Birkkjær's performance in these episodes was first rate.

The newsroom

While Nyborg battled to balance her personal and professional life, so did Kasper and Katrine, who clearly hadn't thought through the idea of keeping their relationship secret properly, given their jobs in two of the gossipiest industries possible. It was never going to work – although I did very much like Katrine's putdown to the reporter from Channel 2 about Torben. Talking of whom … I loved his way of hiring Katrine: "You're a pain in the arse!" But his remarks about the reporter not getting pregnant the moment she moved in with Kasper seemed a bit unlikely in this context. Sometimes Borgen does rather underline things three times before drawing on them in highlighter to make sure you get the point.

When it comes to Laugesen, mind you, I'm quite happy with that: I tend to think the more panto the better with the evil editor, who seems to spend most of his time making videos that express the most extreme viewpoint possible. No wonder Pia was disgusted with him.

But Torben's pregnancy point was, of course, there to push the conversation between Katrine and Kasper, who began the double-bill running home with delight, and ended it barely able to grunt hello when the other one entered the room. Much of it was very well done: I wasn't keen on the over-literal brandishing of Katrine's pill packets, but I very much enjoyed the initial jokey conversation that revealed some proper truths, and the flat-viewing that ended in fighting. (Really, they shouldn't buy a place that seems to make them have instant arguments.) It was touching too to see Kasper make peace, of a sort, with his mum. Perhaps it's better that she can't answer the questions he's been furiously incubating for so long. But most effective was the Kasper-Laura storyline here. Him prompting her into attending the group therapy sessions; her persuading him that your future does not have to be determined by your past. Nicely done, I thought.

Thoughts and observations

• Was this the first time we were explicitly shown into the Hall of Mirrors? And why didn't it seem to contain any? I was expecting it to be like a fairground ride of distorting reflections.

• Not nearly enough Hanne action this week. But she is going to appear in a BBC1 drama. Look out for The Lady Vanishes, a single film coming this spring.

• Does Birgitte not own a pair of jeans? Even in her month off she spent her time in skirts and heels. Although the massive power bun had a little rest. (A good job – as some of you pointed out last week, it had become as super-sized as Hanne's scarves.)

• Sulky Ulrik had a good week – nailing Laugesen via Kasper's nurse, which made both parties in the Juul-Fonsmark household do a little whoop of joy.

• Loved, loved, loved the whole newsroom having a little gawp at Katrine and Kasper.

• Bent coming in with his hydrangeas was very sweet. I liked that he and Birgitte were back to their discussions in which she wears her sunglasses on her head.

• What would Katrine and Kasper actually fill that flat with? It's enormous compared to their place now.

• The figures: DKK5.8m is about £665,500 (and that's apparently with a discount). The mortgage would be DKK33,000 a month – or just shy of £3,790. Good job Katrine's been saving on her rent and Kasper doesn't buy anything he can't carry.

• The Danish for walk-in closet is apparently: walk-in closet. Not that Kasper has anything to put in one, of course.

• We saw more of Birgitte's house in the daylight in these episodes than I think we ever have before. I'm used to seeing it by the soft glow of lamplight.

• A small point but one that's bothering me slightly: does nobody in Denmark have an electric toothbrush?

• I loved Magnus trying to take loads of swords with him at the expense of clothes.

• Also Laura's great line: "You look like you've been in a meeting with my mum."

• And Birgitte's to Magnus: "We'll have a short argument and a short story. Then it's off to sleep."

• Finally, thank you all for your comments and enthusiasm for this Borgen blog. We'll be back for BBC4's next European import from next week as the fantastic Spiral returns. (I should direct you to our episode blog for the show, if you're playing catchup). Tak!