What Is the Story About?
Tokyo is dead. She took down four soldiers with her and with her death, the Professor (as well as most of the crew) is incapacitated with grief. However, they are running out of time. With most of the gold now turned into grit, it is time to implement Palermo’s part of the plan – getting the gold out of the Bank of Spain. But one thing still remains – even after the crew manages to get the gold out; how will they escape from the Bank of Spain alive?
Performances?
Most of the main gang is back, including Alvaro Morte, Najwa Nimri, Jaime Lorente, Itziar Ituno, Esther Acebo, Miguel Herran and the rest. They know their characters inside and out at this point and are exceptional in the final season. One of the best parts of “S5 Part 2” is the constant confrontation of ideologies between The Professor and disgraced police inspector, Alicia Sierra. And while the writers do deserve credit for that, both Morte and Nimri are exceptional during those scenes.
Also, at this point, Pedro Alonso is a series regular. While his screen time is limited (since we only see him in flashbacks), the actor plays a major role in pushing the plot forwards – in ways many didn’t even see coming. The actor has one incredible scene where his character loses control and he lets out all his emotions – showing us a different side to Berlin.
Analysis
By this point, you have to either be an avid fan or an up to date critic to understand what is going on in these last five episodes. And many of them will agree – nearly nobody saw the ending coming; yet, it is the perfect ending for this global phenomenon of a series. Of course the second part of the fifth season too has its issues, but the amount of plot covered in these remaining episodes kind of make up for it.
But because of this, many of the series’ usual callbacks do not make it on screen. These include – the football references, Arturo’s irritating idiosyncrasies (the character is not shown at all onscreen) and surprisingly no ridiculous levels of unnecessary drama. Don’t get us wrong, there is some drama which is not vital to the plot that pops on screen – the Stockholm-Denver-Manila love triangle being the main one. But upon closer examination, that piece of drama is brought over from the first part of the same season and it is quickly concluded.
But some of our favourite callbacks do make it to the screen – and not in an expected way. The escape plan and the plot twists related to that makes a huge appearance here and there are four major plot twists in these five episodes – Alicia’s brilliant deduction of the Professor’s motivation behind creating a new heist, Palermo’s plan for getting the gold out of the bank, The Professor’s surrender and the gang’s final “escape scene”. However, the best plot twist came in the form of Raphael’s gang, who came and stole 90 tonnes of gold from under the gang’s nose. We also got a (almost) full gang “Bella Ciao” celebration, when all the gold got transported out of the bank – a callback to season 1. And of course, despite her death – we can only have one narrator, Tokyo. She continues to narrate this story and eventually gets a brilliant send-off from the Professor.
Sure, the second part of this season has a few plot holes – which surprisingly, the inspector, Alicia Sierra figures out. Even plot holes many hadn’t thought about – Why did the professor attack the Bank of Spain to get to Rio? For a man who uses only logic, why is the professor quick to surrender his advantage for emotional reasons? How did the Professor convince Raphael to hand over the gold? The first two of these questions have been answered decently in Part 2 – the professor felt guilty for not helping Berlin with his Bank of Spain heist when he was alive & for a man who is ruled by logic, he has his own set of rules – no unnecessary killing. He wouldn’t have lost his gold in the first place, had he been a little harder – but the professor has always been ruled by his emotions (further proved in this part of the season), even if he does think with his brain.
Another major talking point is the interactions between the Professor and Alicia Sierra. During most of these five episodes, Alvaro Morte and Najwa Nimri share most of their screen time with each other. Their characters are similar in some ways but their onscreen interactions are mostly confrontational. Sierra wants to clear her name and give up the gang, so that her baby can have a chance at a better future. However, after her plan fails, she is forced to rely on the Professor (again) to survive. They team up, with Sierra taking over for the Professor when he surrenders. And for a character who was hated during the entirety of the third and some parts of the fourth season, Alicia is surprisingly likable during this season. She eventually cements her status as one of the gang when she finds out where the stolen gold is hidden.
As usual, the direction, cinematography and music are awesome as always, while the editing, props department, visual and pyrotechnical team do some of their best work in these five episodes. The screenwriter has done a better job than the first part of this season, and even the fourth season – we finally understand why there is a Tatiana-Raphael arc to begin with.
Overall, the second part of the fifth season of ‘Money Heist’ is a must watch five episodes, even more so than the first part of this season. Cliffhangers were what we have to deal with in the first half of this season, while plot twists dominate the second half. The series manages to provide a proper send off to all of its main characters and if you have been following this series from the start, then you should definitely watch this part as well.
Other Artists?
It is weird to put Ursula Corbero, a series regular, in this part of the list – but that is what she is in the second part of this series, a non-regular artist. Ursula is brilliant in her few minutes as Tokyo where she gets a brilliant send-off from the Professor. Fernando Soto and Mario de la Rosa have more to do in this part of the season than the previous one. However, Fernando Cayo deserves a special mention as Colonel Tamayo. While the actor has been a series regular for some time now, he seems to have been relegated to a smaller role in this part. However, Cayo has given the character a different dimension in these five episodes and has turned him into a character worth empathizing rather than a full-blown villain.
Music and Other Departments?
Music, direction and cinematography is excellent. The editing, props, visual and pyrotechnical teams all deserve special mentions for their incredible work. The screenwriter has also worked on some of the plot holes in the series and has managed to provide us with a good ending.
Highlights?
Series Finale
The Professor Vs. Alicia Sierra
The Heist Within The Heist
Direction
Drawbacks?
Minor Plot Holes
A Semi-Dubious Ending
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
Yes Definitely
Money Heist Season 5 Part 2 Review by Binged Bureau
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