Joshua Linnehan
Money Heist, or also known as La Casa de Papel, is a Spanish heist crime drama television series created by Alex Pina. The series is split between three seasons, and five parts, as the show explores two long-prepared heists, one at the Royal Mint of Spain and the other at the Bank of Spain. Both heists are led by the “Professor”, who organizes the plan of these heists with a large group of robbers, who are all criminals who go by names of major cities around the world, such as Tokyo, Berlin, and Denver. The series was initially a limited series to be told in two parts, which aired on the Spanish network Antena 3. When Netflix acquired global streaming rights in late 2017, they released the show to the platform, and then renewed the series for two more parts a year later. Two years after that, they renewed the show again for the fifth and final part to wrap up the series. With that being said, is Money Heist actually a good show and is it worth watching? Let’s break it down.
Characters/Cast
The key to any television show being good in my eyes is having great characters and a talented ensemble of actors. Fortunately, this series has exactly that. Despite having a ton of characters, everyone has their chance to share the spotlight, and I found it very impressive that the show takes a bunch of criminals and turns them into one big, happy family that I genuinely cared about throughout the whole series. Obviously, there were standouts in this show, and for me it’s definitely a toss up between the Professor and Tokyo for my favorite character. The show does a great job of showing how smart the Professor really is, he’s truly always one step ahead of any situation and it’s extremely calculated with every decision he makes; not to mention the incredible performance displayed by Alvaro Morte. Tokyo is probably the closest to being the main character in this series, as she is also the narrator throughout its entirety . Her character just has so many layers. She’s shown to be a reckless person who always acts before she thinks and doesn’t exactly control her emotions, but she also cares deeply about people she loves and is protective of them, as seen in her relationship with Rio. In fact, all the relationships in this series were strong, including the Professor and Raquel, and also Denver and Monica. Other standout characters were Nairobi, Alicia Sierra, and Arturo Roman.
Plot
While I’ve gone back and forth in comparing whether the Antena 3 season or the Netflix seasons are better than the other, it’s safe to say that all three seasons are equally great. The first season seemed to be much more focused, as we experienced the chess match between the Professor and the police, and the madness inside the Royal Mint. However, the last two seasons definitely raised the stakes to an all-time high. While the outcome of the first season was quite obvious the whole time, the final season really had me contemplating whether the protagonists were actually going to pull off the heist. A huge reason why that was the case is because everyone was expendable. The creators were not afraid to take risks with certain aspects of the show and I honestly respect it. I also like the way that this story was organized, as the show frequently goes into flashbacks, time-jumps, and shows hidden character motivations, this way you stay entertained throughout every season.
Flaws?
Now there’s no such thing as a perfect show or movie, but I really don’t have a ton of complaints for this series. Of course, with a show like this, there has to be a fine line between being realistic and unrealistic. It’s clearly impossible in real life to rob a place such as the Bank of Spain, and at times you might see yourself scratching your head in certain scenes. However, I’m willing to give this show an exception because it seems that nowadays, every action or crime media has over the top scenes, so I basically just ignore them. I will say, I wasn’t a huge fan of Berlin’s flashbacks in the Netflix seasons. Berlin is certainly a fan favorite character but I wasn’t too fond of him even in the first season. The flashbacks eventually connected to the present story at hand, but I feel like there could have been less of them as the focus on the narrative isn’t as sharp as the first season.
Conclusion
Joshua Linnehan
Money Heist, or also known as La Casa de Papel, is a Spanish heist crime drama television series created by Alex Pina. The series is split between three seasons, and five parts, as the show explores two long-prepared heists, one at the Royal Mint of Spain and the other at the Bank of Spain. Both heists are led by the “Professor”, who organizes the plan of these heists with a large group of robbers, who are all criminals who go by names of major cities around the world, such as Tokyo, Berlin, and Denver. The series was initially a limited series to be told in two parts, which aired on the Spanish network Antena 3. When Netflix acquired global streaming rights in late 2017, they released the show to the platform, and then renewed the series for two more parts a year later. Two years after that, they renewed the show again for the fifth and final part to wrap up the series. With that being said, is Money Heist actually a good show and is it worth watching? Let’s break it down.
Characters/Cast
The key to any television show being good in my eyes is having great characters and a talented ensemble of actors. Fortunately, this series has exactly that. Despite having a ton of characters, everyone has their chance to share the spotlight, and I found it very impressive that the show takes a bunch of criminals and turns them into one big, happy family that I genuinely cared about throughout the whole series. Obviously, there were standouts in this show, and for me it’s definitely a toss up between the Professor and Tokyo for my favorite character. The show does a great job of showing how smart the Professor really is, he’s truly always one step ahead of any situation and it’s extremely calculated with every decision he makes; not to mention the incredible performance displayed by Alvaro Morte. Tokyo is probably the closest to being the main character in this series, as she is also the narrator throughout its entirety . Her character just has so many layers. She’s shown to be a reckless person who always acts before she thinks and doesn’t exactly control her emotions, but she also cares deeply about people she loves and is protective of them, as seen in her relationship with Rio. In fact, all the relationships in this series were strong, including the Professor and Raquel, and also Denver and Monica. Other standout characters were Nairobi, Alicia Sierra, and Arturo Roman.
Plot
While I’ve gone back and forth in comparing whether the Antena 3 season or the Netflix seasons are better than the other, it’s safe to say that all three seasons are equally great. The first season seemed to be much more focused, as we experienced the chess match between the Professor and the police, and the madness inside the Royal Mint. However, the last two seasons definitely raised the stakes to an all-time high. While the outcome of the first season was quite obvious the whole time, the final season really had me contemplating whether the protagonists were actually going to pull off the heist. A huge reason why that was the case is because everyone was expendable. The creators were not afraid to take risks with certain aspects of the show and I honestly respect it. I also like the way that this story was organized, as the show frequently goes into flashbacks, time-jumps, and shows hidden character motivations, this way you stay entertained throughout every season.
Flaws?
Now there’s no such thing as a perfect show or movie, but I really don’t have a ton of complaints for this series. Of course, with a show like this, there has to be a fine line between being realistic and unrealistic. It’s clearly impossible in real life to rob a place such as the Bank of Spain, and at times you might see yourself scratching your head in certain scenes. However, I’m willing to give this show an exception because it seems that nowadays, every action or crime media has over the top scenes, so I basically just ignore them. I will say, I wasn’t a huge fan of Berlin’s flashbacks in the Netflix seasons. Berlin is certainly a fan favorite character but I wasn’t too fond of him even in the first season. The flashbacks eventually connected to the present story at hand, but I feel like there could have been less of them as the focus on the narrative isn’t as sharp as the first season.
Conclusion
Overall, I’m willing to say that Money Heist is definitely one of the best Netflix series that’s out there today. The concept isn’t exactly mindblowing, but between the fantastic characters and gripping storyline, this is absolutely a show that I would recommend. Keep in mind that the show is not in English, so you’ll either have to put on subtitles or use the English dubbing, which honestly wasn’t that bad when I used it. The show has received critical acclaim as well, and received several awards including the International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series. The series is also one of the most watched non-English-language series, and in general one of the most watched series on Netflix. It also received acclaim for innovating Spanish television, with particular resonance with viewers from Mediterranean Europe and the Latin American regions. So I suggest you try out this series yourself if you haven’t already.
Overall, I’m willing to say that Money Heist is definitely one of the best Netflix series that’s out there today. The concept isn’t exactly mindblowing, but between the fantastic characters and gripping storyline, this is absolutely a show that I would recommend. Keep in mind that the show is not in English, so you’ll either have to put on subtitles or use the English dubbing, which honestly wasn’t that bad when I used it. The show has received critical acclaim as well, and received several awards including the International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series. The series is also one of the most watched non-English-language series, and in general one of the most watched series on Netflix. It also received acclaim for innovating Spanish television, with particular resonance with viewers from Mediterranean Europe and the Latin American regions. So I suggest you try out this series yourself if you haven’t already.
