“Money Heist,” the Spanish series known as “La Casa de Papel” in its homeland, has swept the world with its well-choreographed dance of emotions, tested loyalties, guns, explosions, and next-level cat and mouse.
As we prepare for the next season of “Money Heist,” let’s look at where we’ve been by running down the list of characters we love and loathe.
His actions in her death aren’t those of a noble hero, though — he executes her specifically because she’s a woman and of mixed descent, which made her power over him something he could not accept.
He’s also easily rattled, like when Tokyo points out that he obviously came back because he doesn’t care about his family or find his wife attractive.
Gandia and Arturo would make a dream team of men hungry to take down “bad guys” not because they want to help others but because they want to be labeled heroes.
There, he again tries to rally people against their captors, eventually arming up for the apparent purpose of killing Denver and taking back what’s “his.” Which leads Mónica, now code-named “Stockholm,” to shoot him herself.
Colonel Luis Tamayo is the new chief of operations in the second heist and is the perfect example of why people find themselves rooting for thieves over their own government and police.
Of course, he proves just how self-serving he is when he throws Alicia Sierra under the bus, essentially turning her into an international criminal by claiming she worked with The Professor after she tells the world that everything she’d done was under his command.
The flashback scenes during the second heist show him inspiring those around them to criminal greatness and depict a dynamic, suave man — a Spanish Danny Ocean with a million-dollar smile.
Sure, he ends the season with a last stand to let the rest escape, but he knows he’ll be dead in six months anyway, so it’s really not that bad a way to go out; certainly not as noble as Tokyo’s eventual self-sacrifice.
But by the time we see him in the Mint heist, he’s a dictatorial sadist who lives for physical, sexual, and psychological power games.
She loves to think of herself as the smartest, coolest person in the room, and when The Professor bests her, she appears to be in disbelief.
Sierra’s ego is only overshadowed by her faith in the system of which she is a part, which is why she’s absolutely shocked when Tamayo destroys her to save himself.
Indeed, Palermo all but wants to kill himself after Berlin’s death, but The Professor takes him on to act in a similar role as his old friend.
But since his betrayal over petty bickering leads to Nairobi’s death, he can never be fully redeemed.
He’s constantly seen as the weakest link, both in the first heist when the authorities get his parents to plead with him and in the second when he proves as much.
More specifically, he joined the heist because he didn’t have many other options, and in the second plot, he’s revealed to be even less tough after his time in captivity.
Slowly, they fall in love, though people say it’s because she has “Stockholm syndrome,” which is the eventual codename she takes.
Eventually, Mónica chooses to be with Denver, and she becomes part of the crew by the end of the 2nd season after picking up a gun to help the crew escape.
In the first heist, she was constantly trying to thwart The Professor, and she was smart enough to almost pull it off before he started courting her to distract her.
In the second heist, she’s part of the group under the name Lisbon, every bit as hardcore and awesome as they are but also armed with greater intelligence about the other side and working as The Professor’s partner in brains and love.
At first a stone-faced golem, Helsinki shows himself to be eternally loyal, strong, and a good person, which makes him the member we most want to know.
After the first heist, Helsinki is partnered up with Nairobi, and they have a ton of fun as lost people partying and playing a married couple.
The first to take up whatever tough job needs to be done, Helsinki is the member of the crew with the purest heart and the most courage.
If you like hanging out with the bros, Denver would be one of the favorite members of your crew.
Despite always being told he doesn’t have much potential for greatness, he wants something great out of his life and is willing to do whatever it takes to get that.
When roused to anger or action, her eyes flash with so much intensity that you can feel the fire, and all bets are off.
When she decides to return to the Mint on a motorcycle to be “cool,” this stunt results in the death of Moscow, who is one of the show’s most loveable characters .
At the end of the day, Tokyo sacrifices herself to blow up the mercenary team — taking out the biggest threat to the success of the second heist, including the absolutely horrible Gandia — and you can’t help but fall in love with her all over again.
That’s not to say The Professor is weak, either — when he calls out Raquel’s abusive ex-husband, and the cop tries to fight him, he overpowers him handily with his aikido.
The Professor is truly impressive when improvising, like when he destroys the car in the impound lot to erase evidence of the group or the game he plays with Raquel’s ex as part of his strategy.
When minting the money in such a way that it can’t be traced, even the hostage she puts in charge of the printing press says she was the best boss he’s ever had.
Her undying love for and loyalty to Helsinki — despite the fact that he’s gay and therefore can’t reciprocate her romantic love — is nothing short of beautiful.
This fan favorite has become a symbol of feminine strength in a world that still has trouble embracing such a notion — a vision of nobility arising from a string of horrible circumstances.