Leaving a heist thriller in the middle of a suspenseful chapter is quite frustrating and if that is how you felt after the first season of Money Heist ended, you need not to wait any more to learn what happens next. The second part consisting of nine episodes is already available in Netflix and it takes the story forward right from the point where the season one left off. Originally, when La Casa de Papel  was broadcasted in Spain it consisted of 15 episodes. I wish Netflix had done the same but it broke up the series in two seasons of thirteen and nine episodes. Due to this unevenness, the two seasons  are not evenly balanced and with less number of episodes, the second season moves faster and is tighter than the first one.

You can check out our review of the Money Heist first season posted earlier.

The series revolves around the enigmatic ‘Professor’ who gathers a team of criminals to take control of the Royal mint of Spain along with hostages and print 2.4 billion Euros. The Professor co-ordinates the team from outside and also forms a connection with Inspector Raquel Murillo who is running the operation. The first season gave us the various interpersonal dynamics among the robbers and hostages inside the mint while the professor and the inspector gets closer to each other in the outside world. The second season starts with the police searching through the house which was used as the training ground for the robbers and the cat and mouse game between the Professor and the law enforcement continues at full pace.

Time is running out for both sides as the robbers try to gain time and misdirect the Government agencies, who on the other hand tries whatever possible to take control of the situation. The interpersonal dynamics take new turns in this season, some of which are tense and interesting while some seems far-fetched and downright infuriating. One weak point of the series are the multiple love stories that are entwined in the plot. They sometimes makes the show tedious at a point where it should be firing at all cylinders and often, especially in one case, is unconvincing.

But the good part about the series is that it never fails to introduce new twists and turns in the plot, keeping things fresh for the audience, as is needed in a good heist story. It does get predictable in certain areas but considering that it is a challenging task for a series revolving around one heist with more than twenty episodes to keep things interesting, Money Heist does a commendable job.

The series progresses along with the usual penetrating insights through the voice of Tokyo who ironically is the most volatile character among the robbers. The individual characters are nicely developed as the story progresses, with elements from their past being divulged to impact the present. The actors make things flow smoothly with their superb and convincing performances and this is one aspect that makes the series stand out.

The direction and the cinematography are also very effective in sustaining the claustrophobic environment inside the mint and balancing them with the events on the outside with great finesse. As the end draws near and both sides gets desperate to win, things hang at a knife edge and you can never be sure in whose favour the events will turn out. The second part manages to sustain the tension and at the same time raise some serious thematic undercurrents through its narrative.

So if you want to know who wins the symbolic chess game between the Professor and the police or what happens to the equation he has with Raquel Murillo or about the fate of Tokyo, you need to sit down with the second part. The series notches up the intensity to the perfect level in the climax, bringing the story and character arcs to a satisfying conclusion. It does falter at certain aspects of the plot but remains addictive till the very end. If you have gone through season one there is no reason not to enjoy the second season of Money Heist. Netflix has already planned for a third season so the the Professor will be back with bigger plans.

By Ananya Lahiri

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