#colonel prieto

Here we are, mis chicos de la Resistencia! The harshest season of them all, the one that had me wonder how on earth I would ever make a crack video out of it, yet here we are with the longest crack I’ve made. Figures that one must make some fun even out of the most painful moments of the show and the difficult times that we live in, otherwise I’d go loca! Hope you get some laughs. I know I certainly did while making this!

When I realized my favorite gang of thieves would be doing another robbery, I assumed Part Three would be repetitive and unnecessary. But I was quickly proven wrong. First off, the location of the robbery was different of course. The gang couldn’t return to the same goal of printing their own money in the Royal Mint of Spain. Instead, they planned to melt and steal gold from the Bank of Spain. The gang itself wasn’t the same either. We lost Berlin and Moscow, but gained Stockholm & Lisbon from prior seasons, as well as some brand new members like Palermo, Marseille and Bogotá. Lastly, and probably most importantly, the police in charge of the case were different. Colonel Tamayo and Inspector Sierra replaced Colonel Prieto and Inspector Murrillo (aka Lisbon). This new team of police is much smarter, more unpredictable, and therefore a bigger threat than the Professor is used to.

The plan for this robbery (originally formulated by Berlin and Palermo which we see via flashbacks) was set into motion after Rio was arrested in Panama. Tokyo sought the Professor’s help, and he reunited the gang from all corners of the world to do what they do best. Initially, I didn’t understand how a robbery would get Rio back. But it began to make sense as the season progressed. The Professor would negotiate the release of a few hostages in exchange for Rio. I was extremely nervous when the police just let Rio waltz into the Bank to rejoin the gang. It can’t be that easy, I kept thinking, please don’t kill him! But the exchange was successful. The cops did plant a mic and GPS tracker inside Rio’s body, but of course the Professor had a solution for that. Nothing to worry about right?

WRONG! The last two episodes were so intense and ended with me bawling my eyes out. Rio breaks up with Tokyo, which is basically like setting off a ticking time bomb! My heart raced with fear that she would cause someone to get hurt again. Inspector Sierra uses Nairobi’s son against her, and Nairobi gets shot in the process (I’m praying my fav will still be alive in Part Four). And the Professor falls for Sierra’s trap as he listens while Lisbon is captured and the cops pretend to execute her. “This isn’t a robbery, or a challenge to the system,” he later tells Palermo, “This is war!” The gang destroys an armored police tank outside the bank, and the war begins.

Numerous times throughout the series, the Professor stresses rule #1: no romantic relationships. But even he couldn’t help but break that rule. We’ve seen the rash decisions made by people in love, such as Tokyo with Rio or Nairobi with her son or Arturo with Monica (really how dumb was Arturo to go back into the robbery a second time). Now we see it with the the Professor and Lisbon, which may be the most dangerous love story of them all. The gang has so much support from the public because they’re seen as Robin Hoods; taking from the corrupt system and giving back to the people without really harming anyone. Will they still be treated with such praise after setting a police tank on fire? I’m still rooting for my gang but the police are definitely winning this time around. I just can’t believe I have to wait until January to see what happens next...

Part One

I found my Halloween costume for this year! I gotta order my red jumpsuit and Salvador Dalí mask so I can shout “Soy Allison Parker y soy la puta ama!” (translation, “I am Allison Parker & I’m the fuckin boss!”), or so I can sing “bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao CIAO!”

In case you can’t tell, I love La Casa de Papel (or Money Heist as the show is called in English), and I’ve only finished Part 1! I’m not Hispanic, but I can read & understand Spanish a little due to a combo of school, and having mainly Hispanic/Latinx friends my whole life. But I’m certainly no pro; I still had to watch this show with English subtitles. Plus Spain-Spanish is different from the Spanish I’m used to hearing. For instance, I know the word boss is “jefe” in Spanish and was confused when Allison Parker used “ama” instead. I also noticed they pronounce a lot of their words with a “th” sound, like “grathias” instead of “gracias.” A show that’s entertaining and that’s teaching me things (I had to google things too like muñeiras, which I learned is a traditional dance), what’s not to love?!

The entertainment comes from the captivating storyline of course. A group of strangers spend five months planning the robbery of La Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre, aka the Royal Mint of Spain where money is printed. But this is no ordinary take-the-money-and-leave type job. The gang expects to spend 10 days or so in the Mint, using employees as hostages to print as much money as possible for them to steal (like 2.6 billion USD worth!). In Part 1, we simultaneously watch the planning and execution of the heist. A man who calls himself The Professor is the mastermind behind it all. He has studied every single detail, and has provided a solution for any possible error that could occur. He reminds me of Jigsaw of the Saw franchise. But even years of preparation can’t control human emotions, so only about 80% of things go as expected. The Professor himself even screwed up, risking almost everything for some pussy & falling in love with the lead cop on the case, Inspector Murrillo! 😩

At the end of Part 1, Murrillo has a lead on the house where the gang lived and planned for five months. She asks her new boyfriend, who she has no idea is The Professor, to drive her there. The Professor looks extremely worried the entire drive, but once Murrillo discovers the house and the DNA left all over it, The Professor smiles. Was this part of his plan too?!

It’s crazy that this show has me rooting for both the good and bad sides of this robbery. Of course I want Murrillo to catch her freakin boyfriend, and I want the hostages to be successful in their escape attempts. But I also want the plan to work out for the gang. Whenever something goes wrong, like Oslo gets bashed in the head or Berlin threatens to kill Denver for disobeying an order, or Tokyo shoots a cop, I grab my chest in a panic! Getting to know these criminals through the eyes of Tokyo as the narrator has made me quite fond of them. Nairobi is my favorite of them all. She’s a badass but caring woman who won’t let anyone ruin the plan for her, and ruin the opportunity to reunite with her son. Helsinki is my second favorite. He serves as comic relief with his big, teddy bear aura, and his broken Spanish since it’s not his first language. He also admitted to being gay and it’s funny to see Arturo squirm, thinking Helsinki’s hitting on him.

Speaking of Arturo, can we talk about the acting in this show?! As frustrating as Arturo can be sometimes (cheating on his wife & falling in love with his secretary, getting himself shot, etc.) he definitely deserves an award for his role. Berlin also does a perfect job of portraying a creepy villain with not too many morals or empathy for anyone. Anyway, I could go on and on talking about the awesomeness of this show, but I digress. I just hope Parts 2 and 3 are as good as Part 1, and that no one else has a near-death experience 🙏🏾

Part Two