{"id":10317,"date":"2018-04-17T14:13:33","date_gmt":"2018-04-17T12:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pinartarhan.com\/blog\/?p=10317"},"modified":"2018-04-26T14:18:40","modified_gmt":"2018-04-26T12:18:40","slug":"la-casa-de-papel-money-heist-series-plot-and-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pinartarhan.com\/blog\/la-casa-de-papel-money-heist-series-plot-and-review\/","title":{"rendered":"La Casa De Papel (Money Heist) Series Plot and Review: Update"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Characters from left: Nairobi, Berlin, Professor, Tokyo, Moscow.Image via sondakika.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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UPDATE<\/strong>: La casa de papel has been renewed for a 3rd season! Yay!!!!<\/p>\n

La Casa De Papel, translated as Money Heist to English for some reason, is an original, Spanish Netflix series that is among viewer favorites, including yours truly.<\/p>\n

I was recommended the series by a friend who knows Spanish, and I started watching after the trailer looked fun. But trailers don\u2019t do this fun heist series justice. Literally meaning The House of Paper, it\u2019s so full of heart, in addition to some solid action scenes, a good sense of humor and decent plot twists.<\/p>\n

And because the characters\u00a0and the relationships between them provide most of this heart, I\u2019ll talk about them a bit.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the plot (no spoilers)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Salva (\u00c1lvaro Morte) is the self-educated, well-read, brilliant planner who can be a little socially awkward due to many years spent in the hospital as a sick kid. He has crafted a plan to \u201crob\u201d The Royal Mint of Spain (Fabrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre) \u2013 the place where Spain prints its money. He wants everyone to call him Professor.<\/p>\n

To execute it, he needs 8 co-conspirators with nothing to lose: 2 Serbian soldiers, a leader\/experienced robber, an action-loving thief, a young computer whiz, a great forger, a \u201cdigger\u201d and the digger\u2019s son, who has had his own trouble with illegal stuff.<\/p>\n

Salva brings them to a big old house where they will do nothing but study and practice for 5 months until the big day. The lessons will feature everything they will need during their stay in the \u201cfactory:\u201d medical know-how, police procedures, hostage psychology, shooting and beyond. The professor has only two rules: No personal information is to be exchanged \u2013which is why he asks to be called Professor, and no personal relationships. He is also against violence.<\/p>\n

His set of misfits mainly embraces the challenge, and to not give away any personal info, they are to be called after cities.<\/p>\n

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Pretty impressive weaponrt. Image via wannart.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Oslo and Helsinki <\/strong>(Roberto Garc\u00eda Ruiz, Darko Peric)- the Serbian soldiers, cousins.<\/p>\n

Nairobi<\/strong> (Alba Flores)\u2013 the extroverted, talkative and slightly quirky forger, one of the two women of the group.<\/p>\n

Tokyo <\/strong>(\u00darsula Corber\u00f3) \u2013 the action-loving, impulsive thief with a short fuse, the other woman in the group.<\/p>\n

Berlin<\/strong> (Pedro Alonso)- the narcissistic and charismatic leader of the group with empathy issues<\/p>\n

Rio <\/strong>(Miguel Herr\u00e1n)\u2013 <\/strong>the youngest of the group, 20-ish (or was he 19?), the computer whiz, the least cynical of them all<\/p>\n

Moscow<\/strong> (Paco Tous) \u2013 the digger, the middle-aged miner with the adult son, embodiment of all positive Mediterranean stereotypes and we love him for it,<\/p>\n

Denver<\/strong> (Jaime Lorente)\u2013 Moscow\u2019s slightly ignorant, loving and funny son<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

The show is set in the present with the heist while we flashback to their plans and how the professor meticulously anticipated and prepared them for almost anything.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for the professor, some of the hostages will turn out to cause more trouble, and his no personal relationship rule will be thrown out of the window by Rio and Tokyo, the show\u2019s first coupling.<\/p>\n

And episode 2 will introduce us to a police chief Raquel Morillo (Itziar Itu\u00f1o), a woman who unfortunately for the professor, is beautiful and just as brilliant as he is.<\/p>\n

We are definitely rooting for our robbers while the show keeps us full of surprises, action, romance, humor and of course, more logical but tension-filled conflicts we know what to do with.<\/p>\n

Can they pull it off? After all, the goal is to \u201ccamp\u201d inside for about 9 days with 67 or so hostages while printing unmarked billion dollars!<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

The mini-series currently has two seasons: The first season has 13 episodes while season 2 has 9.<\/p>\n

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Favorite Characters<\/strong><\/p>\n

While obviously with his quiet and intelligence charm and adorable looks, The Professor<\/strong> \u2013 Salva (\u00c1lvaro Morte) \u2013 is one of my favorites, I love all main characters. Most of them will piss you off with irrational and impulsive behavior.<\/p>\n

Pedro Alonso\u2019s Berlin<\/strong>, while he can be chilling with his psychopathic behavior, he is a delight to watch as he continuously freaks out hostages and fellow men. But even Berlin has his darling side with his loyalty \u2013 especially to the professor. And he won\u2019t let you down if you have his back.<\/p>\n

\u00darsula Corber\u00f3\u2019s Tokyo<\/strong> is explosive, and she is one of the best things about the show. Nairobi provides great laughs\u00a0and is generally unrivaled apart from Denver, who has a crazy, silly yet contagious laugh.<\/p>\n

And Raquel (Itziar Itu\u00f1o) is also great: strong yet vulnerable, brilliant yet full of self-doubt, tough but sensitive.<\/p>\n

I can however easily pick least favorite characters:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Arturo<\/strong> (Enrique Arce). The CEO of the place, married father cheating (and impregnating) his secretary Monica. Arturo is a coward with a hero complex. He thinks he can outsmart the hostage-takers, and comes up with escaping ideas that put\u00a0his fellow hostages in more danger. Arturo might be the only hostage whose demise you actively root for.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    • Lead intelligence officer Prieto <\/strong>(Juan Fern\u00e1ndez)- generally a bastard who is more concerned with international diplomacy and Spain\u2019s public image than the safety of the hostages.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      • \u00c1ngel<\/strong> (Fernando Soto). Cop \u00c1ngel is like that guy who puts all the \u201call the girls friendzone me but I\u2019m such a nice guy\u201d posts all over the internet. Despite being married, he is infatuated with Raquel. He is an excellent partner and friend…until Raquel starts developing a crush on Salva \u2013 while of course not knowing he is the mastermind she negotiates on the phone with all day. And of course, I hate Raquel’s ex with a vengeance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        *<\/p>\n

        The 2017 show was created by \u00c1lex Pina.<\/p>\n

        *<\/p>\n

        Give it a try. And do watch it in its original language with subtitles. You can\u2019t beat the original.<\/p>\n