Money Heist season 2 Review: Netflix's most bingeable show goes big, then goes out with a bang

They say the greatest trick the devil ever pulled off was convincing the world he didn’t exist. Similarly, the greatest trick the Spanish TV show Money Heist pulled off was convincing its viewers they were watching a heist drama: of a bunch of thieves breaking in to the Royal Mint of Spain, printing and making off with a billion euros. What the viewers didn’t know — they couldn’t have known really — is that they were watching a love story. Multiple love stories in fact: The first flush of romantic love, the bond between brothers, comrades-in-arms, the deep, abiding connection between father and son. The heist, cool and fun as it is, is merely the staging ground. As The Beatles once sang: Love is all you need. Author sidebar: The series’ original title La Casa De Papel, which literally means The House of Paper, sounds way cooler than the bland, boring Money Heist, whose title alone may turn off viewers. Get your head in the game, Netflix.

Indeed, it is love that is everywhere during Season 2 of Money Heist. For those already caught up, season 1 ended with the mysterious and cerebral Professor violating rule number 1 of his perfectly laid out plan: No attachments_._ By falling in love with Raquel Murillo, the lead investigator on the case. Who just so happens to have uncovered the thieves’ original hideout and training ground, chock full of DNA and incriminating evidence and has moved one step closer to getting her man. Pun very much intended. While Tokyo is the undoubtedly the centerpiece of season 1, the relationship between the Professor (aka Salva Martin aka Sergio Marquina) and Raquel, the woman he’s driving to distraction with cat-and-mouse games during the day and who is driving him to distraction with very different kinds of games in the evenings they spend together, forms the crux of season 2. The writers cannot be commended enough here: What could have so easily slipped into an over-dramatic Telenovela-style territory of star-crossed lovers, which would have had watchers rolling their eyes, instead feels earned and authentic (sadly not a given for TV relationships these days). It also helps that the actors are absolutely wonderful in their roles and the chemistry between them is  off-the-charts. I found myself smashing the rewind button on my remote control more than once to replay their scenes. Author sidebar two: Both actors, aside from being ridiculously good looking, are 43 years old. It’s so refreshing to see a man and a woman of same age play each others’ love interests: As opposed to Hollywood, which would have tried to sex-it-up by slotting a pretty 20-something as the lead detective (any pretty 20-somethings who take offence and wish to discuss this further should feel free to reach out). The Professor shares much with Prison Break’s Michael Scofield: The intelligence, the intensity and, surprisingly for a thief, integrity. As Irene Adler from Sherlock would deduce: Brainy is definitely the new sexy. Like Michael, the impetus behind the Professor’s plan  is family . As a writer, one often has to make a choice: Not just how much to reveal, but when. Once again, the writers’ timing is impeccable. Without giving away too much, they know exactly when to play their cards. Best of all, the Professor’s motivations not only make sense, they’re satisfying and at least to his own mind, logical. However, unlike Michael, who remains somewhat of an enigma (the viewer can quite never see what lies behind his implacable surface), the Professor, for all his machine-like calculations, feels far too much for his own good. His emotion and his goodness, his insistence that he will hurt no one and spill no blood remains his greatest weakness. Perhaps his only weakness.

For far too long, we’ve had the era of difficult men: Walter White, Don Draper, Tony Soprano and countless others. Flawed masters of the universe we’re asked to sympathise and empathise with. What Money Heist does wonderfully with its two female leads —Tokyo and chief inspector Racquel—is make us sympathise and empathise with difficult women (and to a lesser extent the rest of the supporting female cast). See the world from their eyes: Mocked, marginalised, and talked down to. Women who put themselves and their careers first. Unapologetically and without hesitation. Women who don’t have to be pliant and pleasing and smile prettily at the men in their lives. It’s refreshing and well past due.

And for those with absolutely no interest in matters of the heart, fear not: The action is pulse-pounding, the script is outrageous without ever being outlandish and more often than not, leaves you marvelling at the ingenuity and daring. Money Heist is, without doubt, the most binge-able show on Netflix.