Berlin - Season 1 -

Here’s a short critical piece on Berlin (Season 1), the Money Heist spin-off:

Where Berlin stumbles is in its pacing. The middle episodes sag under the weight of romantic subplots that, while intended to mirror Berlin’s own obsessive view of love as a “catastrophe,” sometimes feel like filler. And for all of Alonso’s charisma, the show can’t fully replace the high-stakes cat-and-mouse game with the police that made Money Heist so addictive. Here, the authorities are competent but bland. Berlin - Season 1

Still, Berlin Season 1 succeeds as a stylish, sun-drenched lark. It doesn’t try to be an epic; it’s a character study dressed as a heist flick. And for fans who loved the original’s most dangerous romantic, it’s a satisfying reminder that for Berlin, the greatest treasure was never the gold—it was the chaos of loving people who could just as easily betray you. Here’s a short critical piece on Berlin (Season

The answer, with a few noticeable cracks, is yes. Here, the authorities are competent but bland

Berlin wisely avoids trying to replicate the tension of the original. Instead of a grand political metaphor, Season 1 offers a smaller, gaudier, and surprisingly tender caper. Set before the events of Money Heist , we find Berlin in Paris, assembling a new crew for a single, glittering job: stealing €44 million in jewels from a luxury auction house. The plot is essentially a heist-of-the-week formula stretched over eight episodes, but the show’s charm lies not in the plan, but in the flawed, funny, and fragile people executing it.

The new cast is a breath of fresh air. Michelle Jenner as the cynical electronics whiz Keila, Julio Peña Fernández as her earnest, lovesick partner Roi, and Begoña Vargas as the fiercely loyal Cameron—each brings a distinct energy that doesn't try to mimic the original band. The heist itself is clever, relying more on social engineering and misdirection than on hallways of gunfire.

The question hanging over Berlin was never whether its titular character was compelling. Andrés de Fonollosa (Pedro Alonso), the suave, terminally romantic sociopath of Money Heist , was always its most volatile and magnetic element. The real question was: can he carry a story without the tight, chess-master framework of the Professor?