30 Coins

Great production effort for a series that contains the best and worst of Álex de la Iglesia, but in an ambitious format. It is excessive and sometimes clumsy in its development, it leaves characters without course like Elena, but it has great moments of terrifying fantasy with touches of typical Spanish humor. It is better when it pays homage to the Italian giallo (excellent Episode 7) than when it emulates "The Da Vinci Code", but as a whole it offers spectacle and entertainment.

First scene disappoints me a lot. Afterwards interest increases and makes it worth the watch. Good staff of actors and the world Alex de la Iglesia has previously shown is entirely on display here. Even there's some resemblance or homage to other films he shot in the past.

This is really a review of season 2. The first season was all the good things you've heard... I don't know what happened in between.

It's like the writer saw the difference between Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 and thought, "That's what I want to do!" So while the first season was serious horror based cleverly in Catholicism, the second season is horror comedy with a completely incompatible cosmology that brings in everything from Scientology to Lovecraft to Bosch. That's a shame on a couple of levels, partly because it undermines the first season, and partly because I would have loved to see these ideas presented seriously.

The characters' personalities have changed, too. Paco is now a bumbling goofball, Elena is relentlessly irritable and contemptuous, and Vergara... well, I can't tell you about him without getting into spoilers, but he's not the same man. The only character who seems consistent is Laguna, who's also the only actor who seems to be taking the story seriously. He almost manages to save it.

The basic lack of seriousness pervades the writing. Stuff happens without any attempt at plausibility... I'm not talking about the supernatural, I mean mundane things. People know things that happened in scenes where they weren't present, plot devices appear at impossible times. At one point a man who was strip-searched and dressed by guards moments ago suddenly has a cell phone in his pocket.

Ultimately, for me, having seen season 1 makes it impossible to really invest in season 2. It's not silly enough to feel like a completely different world, but it's not serious enough to take, er, seriously. I keep expecting the world from the previous season and being disappointed, which compounds the disappointment of seeing a great premise wasted. Maybe watch season 2 first? That might be a way to enjoy both.

First half of series 1 had good potential. The last 3 nonsensical episodes= Bad.. Truly! My 30 coins worth.

Plot holes abound but damn if the storyline isn't compelling. Just ignore how contrived it can be and you'll have a good time.

Also, little nitpick here, it feels as if the show has chosen the wrong main character. Clearly the most interesting person in the series is the Priest Manuel. With a dark past and plenty of secrets he's a solid type for the spotlight. But somehow he's the side character?? It's really weird. Makes the show feels off. Like I'm just watching a bunch a secondary characters try and carry the plot along while the main character just sits there and does nothing.

Anyway, still entertaining.