Huge responsibility and high expectations all crashed on the Netflix screen due to the "Berlin" series, which a large segment of the audience had been waiting for a whole year. It was only a few days ago that it was shown, a stark contrast to starting a dramatic series from scratch without any prior expectations compared to beginning magnificently with eyes all around you, waiting to see what you will offer to satisfy them – a challenge that expects you to deliver work befitting these expectations or not at all. This was the pitfall the creators of "Berlin" did not anticipate.
The series would have been more successful if presented as drama showcasing a random snippet from the emotional side of thieves (IMDb)
The Spanish series "Berlin" started airing on December 29th of last year, and since the work is derived from the more famous Spanish series "Money Heist" (La Casa De Papel), it enjoyed a wide fan base and pre-watching probabilities without effort.
The protagonist of the work is "Berlin", the brother of "The Professor" who died in the last episode of the first season of "Money Heist". However, due to the audience's attachment to him and his notable performance, Netflix granted him this great, but wastefully spent opportunity.
The Story
Just like "Money Heist", the "Berlin" series belongs to the crime drama and thrillers genre, specifically to smart and exciting robberies, and the events unfold – years before The Professor's plan to rob the Royal Mint of Spain – this time in Paris; where an older Berlin, alongside another gang aims to steal jewels worth 44 million euros in one night.
The audience anticipates bearing witness to a genius plan and highly suspenseful events amidst escalating dramatic tension, especially since the work was written by Álex Pina and Esther Martínez Lobato, who are also creators of other successful Spanish experiences on Netflix such as "La Casa de Papel" and "Vis a vis". Unfortunately, the outcome is disappointingly underwhelming.
The film enjoyed a wide fan base and pre-watching probabilities without effort (IMDb)
Thieves but also Lovers
Perhaps the series would have achieved greater success if presented as a drama that showcases a random snippet from the thieves' emotional side, and how love can ruin everything; in its pursuit, all things valuable become trivial, so much so that some see no issue in sacrificing a lifetime heist and millions for a person they have just met, thereby endangering the greater good of the entire team and increasing the likelihood of getting caught by the police.
The story begins with Berlin falling in love with his victim's wife at first sight, and instead of the man we knew from before – accustomed to ignoring emotional affairs or anything that could disrupt plans – we find him following his heart like an infatuated teenager running in the streets.
Episodes proceed without any remarkable thrill, just illogical or predictable events and even the operation they promote as a precision heist with astonishing planning suddenly becomes marginal and recedes behind a drama focused solely on the heroes' feelings and how they deal with love amidst a lot of melodrama about their past emotional experiences.
This led to audience distraction due to the many chaotic and numerous subplots, especially since the hints that could have been exploited to create smart twists or truly exciting events, whether thrilling or intriguing, were squandered and replaced with immature and unjustified complications.
A Late Attempt at Redemption
Although "Money Heist" enjoyed love stories based on the couples among its characters, the difference is that here it seemed more clichéd and predictable, as if the writers were trying to replicate the reasons for the success of the previous experience, before the series turned out to be a faded and frayed copy with no originality.
When the creators tried to address the issue, increasing the dose of excitement in the last two episodes and introducing two female faces from "Money Heist" – the detectives Raquel (Itziar Ituño) and Alicia (Najwa Nimri) – known for their great enmity, although we see them this time before the breakup. Neither was given a large or central space, and worse, they appeared older than they were in "Money Heist", even though the events of "Berlin" occur at an earlier time.
Nevertheless, the seventh and eighth episodes remain the highest-rated by the audience, managing to raise the viewers' adrenaline levels and forcing them to stay seated to see what happens next.
The ending of the work is open, suggesting more heists to come (IMDb)
An Open Ending and Negative Impressions
The series ended on an open note, suggesting more heists to come, at least until we reach the point where the two main works converge. At the same time, one cannot ignore the negative impressions that the series has received from the audience or critics, an issue that makes renewing the work for a second season a worrying gamble and possibly a misguided one if Netflix decides to proceed unless the creators of "Berlin" rethink a new recipe for success and recapture the audience they have squandered in vain.
"Berlin" is a Spanish series that released its first season consisting of eight episodes, making it suitable for fans of short European drama, provided they do not set any prior expectations. The work features an ensemble cast including Pedro Alonso, Michelle Jenner, Tristán Ulloa, Begoña Vargas, and Julio Peña Fernández, and is a recommendation for Joel Sanchez.
