Review of the Berlin Series: In the story of Berlin, we meet a group of thieves who are great at stealing things but struggle to protect their own hearts from being stolen. Sadly, it ends up taking almost eight hours of your time.
Even though the last two seasons of the Netflix show Money Heist weren’t as good as the first three, it’s become really popular. The show’s symbols, like the red outfits and Dali masks, are now signs of rebellion. They’ve even inspired real heists where people dress up the same way. The question of whether burglars strike twice doesn’t have a clear answer, but just like other successful series, the creators of Money Heist were expected to make more. After the South Korean version called Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area, we now have another series called Berlin, based on one of the thieves from the main show.
Review of the Berlin Series
Just like the main series, Berlin is all about a carefully planned heist, but with a twist. Unlike the original, which focused on the actual theft and threw in bits of the robbers’ personal lives to keep us guessing, Berlin mostly tells the love stories of its main characters. In fact, the big heist, stealing 44 million in jewels from a super secure vault, is done—spoiler alert—halfway through the 8-episode series. What comes next is a bunch of love stories pretending to be a police chase.
Berlin (Spanish)
- Creators: Álex Pina, Esther Martínez Lobato
- Cast: Pedro Alonso, Samantha Siqueiros, Tristán Ulloa, Michelle Jenner, Begoña Vargas, Julio Peña Fernández
- Episodes: 8
- Runtime: 58-61 minutes
- Storyline: Berlin and his team plan to steal but get their hearts stolen instead
Berlin, played by Pedro Alonso, is probably the most interesting character in the Money Heist gang. In the main series, he’s a sick master thief who might seem a bit crazy and selfish, but he also cares about friendship and would even sacrifice himself for it. In a series full of cool characters with stories that could keep going forever, Berlin stands out. He’s not like his nerdy brother, the Professor. We get to see some of his different past in season 3 of Money Heist, and Berlin shows us the best side of his charming character. Alonso does a great job playing the guy who would do anything for love.
But here’s where the series slips up—it tries to make its not-so-good guys seem more human. While it makes sense that Berlin is set before the big Money Heist at the Bank of Spain, the new series’ heist is too simple. It has a not-so-exciting heist that happens in just a few episodes. Money Heist sometimes gets a bit shaky when its characters mess up the well-thought-out plans, only for the Professor to fix things with a twist. Sadly, this happens more in Berlin. Throw in some new characters who are a lot like the ones from Money Heist, and you’ve got a bunch of newbies that we don’t really care about.
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The series is a bit letdown because it doesn’t explore some cool ideas already in the story. Like, Berlin is having an affair with a married woman, and his teammate Damián (Tristán Ulloa) finds out his wife is cheating on him. The series drops hints about a connection here but never really follows through. There are some interesting lines, such as “Love is like a sickness with different stages—feeling nervous when you find it, scared of losing it, and sad when it’s gone.” Also, “A robbery isn’t just a plan; it’s a learning experience.”
The show mentions the Professor and has some surprise appearances by familiar faces. But, unfortunately, they don’t add much, except for bringing in some strong female characters in a series that already has poorly written ones.
In the end, Berlin is a series with a pretty basic plot and too many easy twists. It wants to tell us about a group of thieves who can steal anything but can’t save their hearts from being stolen. Sadly, it just steals more than six hours of your time that you could’ve spent enjoying the catchy beat of Bella Ciao.
