After a long wait, a stream of teasers, trailers, character posters, and a lot of images, Money Heist’s much-anticipated prequel spinoff Berlin hit the Netflix TV screens precisely on December 29, 2023, globally. However, while the fans of the franchise were quick to retreat to binge-watching the show to witness the prime-time Berlin pull off a nice heist in Paris, the critics were also quick to notice all the areas where Berlin genuinely lacked.
Berlin is currently rated 7.1 on IMDB from over 700 voters — over at Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 50% critic score and around 65% audience rating. This is a huge contrast when compared with the original Money Heist, which has 8.2 IMDB ratings and a 94% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s clear that Berlin has not been fully able to live up to the legacy set by its predecessor Money Heist. But how and why? Let’s find out!
Berlin Is Less Thrill and More Indie Romance
Money Heist was most widely loved for its suspense-loaded, high-octane, and adrenaline-filled plot. Every other scene was gripping and had the viewers on the edge of their seats. It was beautifully directed — from the sets to the screenplay, background music, and execution of it all by the actors, everything was impeccable. However, Berlin takes a slightly different route when compared to its predecessor. The problem isn’t that Berlin takes a different route, the problem is that the suspense part of Berlin, which is the foundation for the Money Heist universe, is just not there at all. The few areas where Berlin does carry some thrill are not executed well. The show almost feels like a heist pulled off by four students and two teachers — but it’s a coming-of-age story where both the kids and teachers were tackling the heist as a side quest, as they navigated the intricacies of their love life in Paris.
The Auction-House Heist in Paris Lacks Meticulousness
Sergio Marquina (The Professor), the character that was critically acclaimed and played by Álvaro Morte, led the robberies in Money Heist and his work was no less than art. Each detail, loophole, and loose end was closely taken care of and was almost always met with the same excitement by his crew. There was discipline and detail, something that Berlin generally lacked. Even if the showrunners wanted it to have a light indie pace, it would’ve been better for the heist parts to be a lot more meticulous than how they were presented. The heist itself almost felt too easy.
The Crew Takes the Heist for Granted But Gets to Eat Their Cake
The whole crew, including Berlin and Damian, mess up the intricacies of the heist and take it for granted for the sake of their love interests. And yet somehow still end up seeing the end of it. It leaves a gap in storytelling — the crew’s rewards weren’t earned. Bruce and Keila got caught up in that whole childish venture to go and delete Bruce’s passport from the car rental, only to run away from it. Roi and Cameron fail to retrieve the chalice and end up leaving the bike as a loose end. Berlin being distracted leaves the crew undisciplined and yet the heist still goes through unfazed and everybody gets their rewards.
Berlin Wasn’t Interested in the Heist and Sergio Marquina Wasn’t There to Pull Him Back
Yes, Berlin was supposed to be this morally-ambiguous flirty, chocolaty dude but that’s not all he was supposed to be. We’ve seen his flashbacks with Palermo, Tatiana, and more in Money Heist, and his plans ever were directionless. A show that follows his life in his prime time isn’t supposed to project him in a bad light. Better yet, to project him in a heedless, careless demeanor is one thing but it’s another for him to never be able to reclaim his authority back. But that’s how it felt.
In Money Heist Season 1, we saw that Berlin respected Sergio’s decision-making and whenever he slipped, his brother was there to pull him back on track. However, while Damian did play the brains behind this heist this time, he wasn’t as authoritative, and Berlin never really valued his calls — until perhaps toward the end of the show. All these did not align well with Money Heist fans — Berlin was pitched and marketed for Berlin’s heist genius but lacked this very genius fans had come to expect.
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