La Casa de Papel is not just the most watched European Netflix series, but the most watched Netflix series in a language other than English. And we could bet that the series outperforms most American productions in the platform portfolio. The rhythm, the tension, the turn of the situation, and especially the spirit of the front against the authority of any kind, turned the show into a global hit. Here’s how you’d like to watch the first two seasons of the show, a third one to be released on July 17th.
“My name is Tokyo,” tells us the main character (Úrsula Corberó) in the first seconds of the show. Her name is not Tokyo, but that does not matter. An anarchist arguing with the law and rules, the heroine licks his wounds after a robbery with her boyfriend ends with his death. Hunted by the authorities, she can only accept the more than the unexpected offer of Teacher (Álvaro Morte), to join a group that plans to steal more than one billion euros.
The context of the robbery and the nature of this exorbitant amount (“we will not steal anyone’s money,” the enigmatic Professor says) is not the reason why Tokyo chooses to join the gang, but they are one of the reasons why the series has so quickly found in the heart of the international audience. It is, in the end, the story of modern haunts, covered with scarfs, faces protected by masks with Salvador Dali’s face and ready to use the intelligence and the most modern technologies to show a finger to the system.
The story created by Álex Pina looks as good as she can and she captures her audience. When the eight bandits led by the Professor penetrate armed to the Spanish treasury, there is an avalanche of narrative threads that will soon intertwine, leaving room for spectacular twists and turns. We see, of course, what is happening in the mint, where the bandits choose not to steal, but to print thousands and thousands of banknotes that can not be identified. At the same time, the police bring together an intervention team led by Raquel Murillo (Itziar Ituño). A third force of the story is represented by dozens of hostages in the treasury. Some will fraternize with the intruders, but others are ready to anything to sabotage their plans.
The combination of these three elements is more than volatile, with the home being one of the most unpredictable series of actions of the moment. Perhaps there is no shortage of dead time or dubious choices of scriptwriters, but excellent interpretations and chemistry of the heroes quarreled with the law, the credible and creative way in which the Professor manages to be one step ahead of the authorities, guiding and sometimes even saving – and from outside the accomplices, and especially the way, out of the simple unknown, the eight looters with pseudonyms of cities turn into a real team cannot leave their audience indifferent.
Tokyo, Berlin, Nairobi, Olso, Helsinki, Rio, Denver and Moscow. At the beginning of the series, perhaps these words have for you the basic meaning of the known cities of the earthly world. But there are chances that after the two seasons of the series you think of the fabulous Pedro Alonso and not the capital of Germany when you hear the word Berlin. Unpredictable, unleashed Ursula Corberó when you hear Tokyo and energetic Alba Flores when it comes to Nairobi. The actions of the heroes become a real front against the system regardless of the problems of ordinary people, and the palm is given to the banking system and authorities gains deeper significance by joining the action with the famous song “Bella, ciao”, the anthem of the Italian partisans ready to give their life not to let fascism catch roots in their country.
If you are not already a fan of the show and want to give it a chance, our advice is that until you get up to date with the episodes you do not follow the third season trailer waiting on July 17th. It reveals too much about the explosive and unexpected end of the second season.
