The Mess You Leave Behind

I enjoyed the glum Galician atmosphere, the performances of the two leads, their mirrored lives, and some great classroom tension between kids and professors at odds with each other. There are some interesting twists and turns, although I felt a lot of them are revealed in a rather anticlimactic way, that lacked drama. Not all of the scenes and motivations are quite credible, although the menacing theatre of a village where everyone knows everyone is a great device for creating a level of fear and distrust of the authorities that the story needs to keep going. Overall a solid show, one which I will recommend to friends, but I was left with a sense that the story had greater potential than was realised.

An average series with good acting, average artificial drama-mystery flow, very good for practicing Spanish and roller-coaster ratings as far as the episodes are concerned. The parallel flashbacks and present events were also developed and presented in a messy way.

It lacks solid screenplay, twists and turn of events, logic and ending. Give that script to Swedish/Danish Noir masters and they would create a series that would keep you glued to the screen while biting your nails.

Arón Piper as Iago and Bárbara Lennie as Viruca stand out above the rest in this one. Liked their charisma and acting.

This series is centred on Raquel and Viruca, two literature teachers working in a small Spanish town. Raquel moves to the town with her husband, who is a local, to take up the teaching position. She didn't know that her predecessor, Viruca, had died in a presumed suicide. The more she learns the more Raquel starts to think Virura may have been murdered, possibly by somebody in her class. As the series progresses we see Raquel's story intertwined with flashbacks of the events leading to Viruca's death.

This is a somewhat mixed series; on the down side one does have to suspend one's disbelief at times... watching the series one would think there was only one class at the school and the way the students and teachers interact seems highly unlikely; it is far too casual and students get away with threatening teachers. If you can get passed those problems the central mystery is gripping and there were plenty of genuinely tense moments. As the series progresses more suspects emerge as we learn about various activities going on in the town which include affairs, sexual jealousy, shady financial dealings and drugs. The cast is solid; most noticeably Inma Cuesta and Bárbara Lennie as Raquel and Viruca. Overall I'd recommend this despite its problems; if you want a good mystery it is definitely worth watching.

These comments are based on watching the Series in Spanish with English subtitles.

This series deserves a higher rating than it currently has. It is a storyline with suspense, that keeps your attention. There are some not very well worked out aspects in the storylines of certain characters, but that doesn't devaluate the show too much. I like it and couldn't stop watching. Would definitely recommend (and I'm a series snob). And, for the Netflixers; it's a fresh change from a lot of soap opera like shows from Spain. This is better quality and more Netflix worthy.

How can two women be so consistently stupid. But then it's a tv show likely written, produced and directed by men who want women to be this way. Otherwise it's a pretty good thriller.