El internado

I tend to like shows that are centered around unraveling a mystery with just a touch of creepiness woven in. This show seemed to hit the spot, though it ended up being much more of a convoluted drama than I had anticipated. Turns out it is addictive too. It is a bit ridiculous at times.. and a bit cheesy.. but highly entertaining. As a bonus I have picked up some bits of Spanish (I've never even taken a Spanish class).Nothing terribly useful though, but now I do know how to tell someone they are lying to me, call them a liar or say I don't believe them. (There is so much lying going on in this show that I actually learned multiple ways to express or deal with lying in Spanish).I keep thinking that if people just told the truth, it would shave off about 5 seasons worth of content. Of course, what is the fun in that? Despite the flaws, I am thoroughly enjoying this show at the moment.

A few years ago while I was living in Spain, I went to see the movie "Perdiendo El Norte" that starred Yon Gonzalez and Blanca Suarez. The girl I went with mentioned how the two actors were on a TV show she absolutely loved about a school where weird things happened. Ever since then, I had a desire to watch this show. I finally got Netflix over the summer and I started to watch El Internado to help maintain my Spanish.

This was not the show I had expected to watch, but wow, it blew me away. I thought it would be ghosts and monsters and things like that, but it was so much more. There are things that happen in the first episode of the first season that link to the final episode of the final season. It is an incredibly planned out show with such attention to detail. I mean, yes, sometimes I do find a few inconsistencies, but overall, just wow.

On top of that, Yon Gonzales and Matiño Rivas are such great eye candy. I also really increased my knowledge of Spanish slang.

It took me a while to get through because the episodes are over an hour long each, but when I had a long break from working, I just charged through the episodes, staying up until 4 AM watching because WOW. Just go watch. Even if you don't understand Spanish, go put on some English subtitles! It's a fun ride with some really unpredictable story lines.

Yes.... it's on Netflix and with English subtitles!!!!!!!!!!!! Well worth watching from the first episode. Great for binge watching. The plot merits such viewing, and being so addictive, you will find it hard to stop or take a break. The acting is superb from everybody. One has to sustain disbelief, not think too much about things: should one not be seeing more students? Should not the faculty be larger? Shouldn't there be more servants? Ultimately, these questions do not matter as suspense and intrigue is built with what one gets without need for extras. This is a very engaging series and very enjoyable to watch several episodes together.

Being an English speaking couple only, choosing to watch a Spanish 7 season show wasn't what we envisioned doing. But after I had watched two episodes I decided I needed to start it over with my wife also watching. Episode after episode we grew more involved with the characters, which focuses more on the group of kids ranging from 17 to 6 or 7. The twists involved in this well written plot are pure addictive. Watching what we have seen so far (seasons 1-6) has taken us through so many emotions, it came to be all we thought about and couldn't wait to get back on Netflix to continue the drama. One regret is we should have counted just how many times Paula and her friend Evelyn hugged, it was cute and heart-warming. Though there were cheesy moments at times and so many stupid decisions or reactions that left us yelling at the characters, the twists in the writing made us speechless at times. We would recommend to anyone that has Netflix give it a chance. Even though we don't understand any Spanish, we also found that having the volume down didn't work for us, we needed the music, the tone and emotion in their voices. We don't know what season 7 will bring, and don't want it to end. The finale for season 6 is still sinking in, so dramatic.

Netflix has decided for some unknown reason to take El Internado off the air. To be fair they did give me adequate warning, but on Friday I still went to watch it as usual of an afternoon and found that it had disappeared. Sigh. I feel bereft.

Anyhow, in memory of this slyly addictive show, I will do a review in its honor. Now at the outset I must say that no one was more surprised than me that I was so hooked, but the fact remains that it was strangely well-written for such a ludicrous premise. That premise being that there is a boarding school (the eponymous El Internado de la Laguna Negra) somewhere in rural Spain which attracts the kids of that country's elite, but there are mysterious events afoot with an abundance of underground passages, missing children from the school's history as a former orphanage, and adults with plenty to hide.

There is skulduggery, for lack of a better word, in every episode with breathtakingly foolish actions and impossible coincidences galore. However, to offset all this is the genuine chemistry among the cast and the almost constant thread of humor that lends the proceedings some lifesaving levity. At the center are the group of teenagers, the principal and teachers, the administrator Jacinta, and two staff members, Maria the cleaner and Fermin the cook.(We are to believe there is but one cleaner in a school of 400 students, but that is just one lapse to overlook because you are too addicted.)

Full review at:http://devikamenon.blogspot.com/2016/07/watched-el- internado.html#more