Familia, Amigos, Amor... y Dinero, Mucho Dinero (Money Heist TV show REVIEW)

After holding off for the longest time, I finally decided to plunge into (the ridiculously-named) Money Heist, last month. It’s not for wimps, time-wise—it took me the better part of July to stream, finishing late on the first night of August (although, with stay-at-home orders during the ongoing worldwide pandemic, time is something most of us have a hella lot more of, anyway)—but What. A. Ride.

La Casa de Papel (the Spanish show’s actual name, which is far more elegant than the Americanized title) tells the story of a grand heist--conceived and orchestrated by a quiet genius called the "Profesor", and carried out by his hand-chosen band of merry men and women (each given the name of a city rather than using their own names to maintain some anonymity and separation... in theory). In reality, though, that’s only part of the story; at its heart, this is a grand romance… or a series of them, actually. (And those romances? They run the gamut: intellectual, nerdy love; wild-child passions; same-sex; opposites attracting; unrequited; purely platonic; and, various combinations of the above.)

But back to the thieving… it’s as compelling and as cleverly-constructed a plan as you’ll find anywhere, with twists and turns that Do. Not Stop. (Are there some holes, and some of those “OMG, don’t do it, please don’t do that, you idiot… dammit, whyyyyyyyy did you do THAT?!?” moments? Definitely. But then I look around IRL and think, “Okaaaay, being stupid clearly happens, so… yeah, carry on,” and those little hiccups don't really matter.)

Money Heist is a lot more character-driven that I was expecting, and, with four seasons (so far), there’s plenty of time and space for the writers to do some deep dives into those characters… which becomes more and more important as the show progresses, in helping us to understand motivations and in making us care what happens. (By the end of S04? The emotional payoffs from those character studies are HUGE… and wrenching.) 

There's also plenty to look at in Money Heist, from shots of urban Madrid to the beautiful landscape of rural Spain, as well as a very appealing (but believably-so) cast, and a couple of gorgeous buildings, in which much of the action takes place. 

This show won’t be for everyone; nothing is. There’s a good reason this has become a huge international success, though, and if you dig a smart heist caper, then the slick, stylish Money Heist is one über-cool ticket to some great escapism… and don’t we all need more of THAT, right now?
~GlamKitty