Velvet

By accident on Netflix, I came across this series and was instantly hooked. I'm currently rewatching it with family members who as well are hooked and without a doubt like me are waiting anxiously for Season 3. One thing I would've wished for is for the music to be more culturally and scene associated. There are some beautiful Spanish boleros and Pop selections that in our opinion would've made the scenes more profound and connected. The English selections were a huge disconnect for me and my family who are all of Latin origin and bilingual. Nevertheless, this is a beautiful series filled with an engaging mixture of love, drama, and comedy. Season 3 hurry up and arrive to Netflix, Please!

SPOILER: The show is visually stunning, characters are interesting (Raul De La Riva for instance) and almost everyone is really good looking. My main beef with the show is that it makes it really hard to empathize with the main characters. The premise is that you root for the lovers who almost never have things going their way (at least for too long). But their actions make it hard to root for them. Alberto marries Christina for her money to keep his store afloat. Christina loves Alberto earnestly, yet he continues his flirtations with Ana and one other woman. He cheats on her and treats her badly. And we're still expected to be on his side. Ana is too 'principled' to marry Alberto in a secret ceremony but has no qualms hanging around with a married man, while befriending his unsuspecting wife. It's all a bit hard to reconcile. The characters being 'flawed' is not the problem here, it's that the show carries on strongly making the assumption that you're on their side despite their actions. I personally struggled with forgiving them for their actions and wishing them to be united in spite of all the people they hurt along the way (in many cases unnecessarily and selfishly). Yet they are portrayed as being 'golden'.

Very light amusing distraction. Stuff for watching before bed with the wife. (Avoid the follow-on Velvet Collection - which is trash)

In the same genre - Spanish sloppy stuff - Grand Hotel is better.

The visual content of this series is superb. The fashion, architecture, cars are evocative of the period the series takes place in. The formal mannerisms, impeccable clothing, beautifully curated dresses and accessories lend an elegant high end look to the production. The wonderful regional Spanish accent imbues the dialog with a true time and place.

Even though the arc of the storyline is well thought out and the intrigue well peppered throughout, the main love story falls flat for me. You want to reach in and slap Ana and Alberto and tell them to get some balls and act like adults. This is especially true of Alberto. He seems childish emotionally but the series makes you believe that he is an accomplished person without really giving the audience a way to reconcile the two.

Some of the minor love stories work better. They come and go, ebb and flow to keep the story moving. They can be funny and sweet even if frustrating at times.

Beautiful, yes. Outstanding, it could be; but it falls short because of the relationship of the main characters.

Most of the actors did a good job in this TV series. However, there are 2 actors who really stood out.

Manuela Velasco played the role of Cristina Otegui and was outstanding!

Asier Etxeandia played the role of Raul de la Riva, the fashion designer, and was outstanding!

SHS(fnpshs@gmail.com)