Show Review: Money Heist (2017)

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“Money Heist” is a Netflix show created by Alex Pina that has been going on since 2017, and it is ended this year in December.

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The show presents the viewer a heist story through the eyes of Tokyo, one of the robbers and the unreliable narrator of the “Money Heist”. She and seven other robbers are recruited by The Professor, a mysterious man who has been planning the greatest robbery in history yet: a robbery of the Royal Mint of Spain.    

“Money Heist” has a great level of production and includes diverse genres so everyone can enjoy the show. As they show the behind-the-scenes documentaries, the studio in charge of production, Vancouver Media, does a lot of research and pays attention to details. They make sure it is humanly possible to do what the robbers do in the show.

The writing is also incredibly well done. The show manages to find a balance between the heist genre, romance, comedy, and drama. The viewers get to see the perspectives of the hostages, the police, and the robbers, as well as their battle of wits while the robbers buy time to be in the Royal Mint of Spain. 

This allows them to flesh out and develop not only the robber characters but also the police officers and the hostages. The best character, by far, is the mastermind behind the robbery, The Professor. His character is cold and calculated without being boring, and smart without ruining the fun for the viewer. He controls the actions of the police almost to perfection, but it doesn’t give the feeling that he is undefeatable. The Professor is also a complete mystery for a good part of the series, making the viewer progressively curious about who he really is.

“Money Heist” touches on themes like anticapitalism, the police, and the power of relationships. The actions of the robbers only seem criminal from a capitalist point of view and because of this, they have public opinion on their side not only in the show but also in real life. They are antiheroes rather than mindless criminals. 

It also points out problems with the police system, such as police brutality and the bureaucracy the detectives are tied to. Lastly, when it comes to relationships, “Money Heist” shows how Spanish culture is involved in the relationships of the characters and the passion in them; in romantic relationships as well as platonic and family relationships.

Although one of the rules for the heist was “no interpersonal relationships allowed”, “Money Heist” demonstrates that they are more important than they seem, and not so easy to avoid.