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Spanish Netflix crime drama ‘La Casa De Papel’, known as ‘Money Heist’ in English, has made its mark as one of the highest rated dramas there is of this time. The show ended with five seasons on Friday, 3 December.
Directed by Jesús Colmenar, the show is streaming on Netflix and, at the time of this writing, is ranked number one in Bangladesh.
After releasing five episodes for the season finale on 3 September, episode 5 was the biggest cliff-hanger involving the narrator of the show, Tokyo (Úrsula Corberó). And because of that, the anticipation of the season finale’s last five episodes was at its peak.
Our favourite professor, Sergio (Álvaro Morte), who is also known as ‘The Professor’ has a lot going on in his mind – all initiated by his late mastermind brother, Berlin (Pedro Alonso), and apparently his father as well.
The season finale reveals how being a thief is something that is meant to be passed on to the next generation in Sergio’s family.
SPOILER ALERT!
Naturally, the heisters mourn Tokyo’s death. But along with her, five other soldiers and Gandia (José Manuel Poga) get killed.
It was revealed by Netflix that Alicia Sierra (Najwa Nimri) will also become a part of the gang and her name will be ‘Madrid’.
The first episode, however, created a little confusion in the beginning. But the plot soon becomes clear when the professor convinces others to be on his side.
With the story proceeding, the anticipation simmers as the professor comes to one dead end after another.
On the other hand, the lot gets busy trying to get the gold out of the bank, which, once again, was thought ahead by Berlin and Palermo (Rodrigo de la Serna).
When the gold successfully gets transported out of the bank, the group delightfully sings ‘Bella Ciao’ in celebration.
However, the gold ends up getting stolen and this paves the way for the bigger plot twist where, even after the gang gets caught and Sergio surrenders to the police, the location of the gold is never revealed; until the very end by Alicia.
This helps Sergio successfully play his final card which initially brings skepticism among the gang members and worries the viewers whether the show plans to kill all the characters for an iconic ending.
The characters have their fair share of doubts towards the Professor but Rio, Stockholm, Palermo, Helsinki, and Lisbon remain faithful.
Colonel Luis Tamayo’s character, played by Fernando Cayo, was great as well. He played the role of the confused, hypocritical cop who is frustrated looking for leads to bring this heist to an end through any means possible.
But unlike the show’s third season, which felt stretched and disappointing, except when Nairobi gets shot, in this season, the plot is much better. As a result, season five was thoroughly interesting.
Adding to the satisfaction was the absence of the vexatious character Arturo Román (Enrique Arce).
The connection between Alicia and Sergio was contradicting at first because of the extreme hatred Alicia has for Sergio. But as the episodes continue, viewers witness a newly formed friendship between the two and can easily ignore the flaws as there are other issues to focus on.
However, as a viewer, I considered the Manila-Denver-Stockholm love triangle unnecessary.
Nevertheless, Rio and Lisbon’s connection was sentimental. Rio’s character development was as satisfying as Tokyo’s final act of sacrifice that conflicted with her selfish nature. This changed the understanding of Tokyo’s love for her teammates.
Palermo’s connection, his trust in Berlin, and plans for the heist, portrayed through flashbacks, showed us a different side of Berlin.
One of the flashbacks reveals how Berlin was betrayed by his then-wife, Tatiana, who eventually leaves him, breaking his heart terribly and making him more vulnerable.
Berlin then grows to become more reliant on Sergio and Palermo to lead the Bank of Spain heist.
It is amazing how a show makes you see the perspective of the ‘other side’, which is somewhat dangerous. But the motto of the gang is to perform heists, not to shed the opponent’s blood, and to negotiate as much as possible.
At a time like this where hyped shows fail to deliver a proper ending (like the heartbreaking ending of ‘Game of Thrones’), it is safe to say that the makers of ‘Money Heist’ have done justice to the season finale.
The story of the season finale was wild and had twists at every turn of the scenes. Do not miss out on this season. It is emotional and has a bittersweet ending.
Farewell, ‘Money Heist’ – the mask, the red jumpsuit, and the professor will be missed.
