El jardinero

So here we are, sitting down to watch El Jardinero, expecting some emotional grit, mystery, maybe even a slow burn character arc. But instead, we get a narrated backstory from his mother, telling us that our main guy fell on his head and just stopped feeling things. That's it. That's the entire emotional foundation of this walking plot device.

And just as we're trying to get invested in his emotionless stare and existential gardening, bam, 28 minutes in .. redhead appears. Suddenly, Boom. Puberty hits like a freight train. And just like that, years of psychological detachment are cured with a some awkward small talk. His brain reboots, Windows XP style, and suddenly he's Mr. Charisma with feelings and opinions.

Honestly, if you're into emotional arcs that collapse faster than a house of cards in a hurricane, this is your show. Watching this was like ordering a steak and getting a soggy salad with a side of "we gave up halfway through.

3/10 - and that's me being generous because the opening music slapped.

It's a romcom with a serious darkness to it. A show that explores many shades of love maternal, romantical and even extramarital. The magic is the story's ability to keep the viewer uncertain on taking sides. A drama that examine the complexity and possessiveness in relationships between traumatized souls. Acting was sincere and emotional. Biggest highlight was the fresh background music. Great sound and visual effects. Though it ends in a bittersweet cliffhanger there's many major indications about a return. And for anyone who wishe to enjoy a TV show with a highly unqiue theme, Gardener wil be a perfect choise.

The Gardener: Elmer (Alvaro Rico) totally lacks emotion due to brain damage he suffered in a car crash when he was young, his mother La China (Cecilia Suarez)lost a leg in the same accident. Now in his 20's he is a master gardener at his mother's plant nursery in Spain. His garden creations grow so well because of the fertiliser he uses, human corpses. Elmer is also a ruthless serial killer, his urges controlled by his mother who channels them towards contract killing. All is well until one target, Violeta (Catalina Sopelana) shows him kindness and he falls in love with her. His brain chemistry is changing allowing emotions to develop but there is also a tumour in his brain. The killer's lore is examined, how he stalks, hunts, captures. Kills and inters his prey. Making it look as if they have disappeared, drowned, maybe run away. He has conflicts with his mother over Violeta, through flashbacks we see how the accident occurred, what led up to it and years later Elmer's first kill. Violeta has a few secrets of her own which led to her becoming a target. A love story as well as a mystery with elements of horror and competing demands. Two bumbling, meddling but persistent cops also get involved. Deliciously dark, I'm surprised the garden didn't have Triffids. Six episodes on Netflix. Created by Miguel Saez Carral, Written by Saez Carral and Isa Sanchez, and Directed by Mikel Rueda and Rafa Montesinos. 8/10.

This is an interesting story and the acting is solid. However, all of the characters are so selfish that I did not enjoy it very much. I almost wish they would all be murdered as it would be very satisfying from a karmic perspective.

The actress who played the mother of the garden, as well as the actress who played another mother in the story were brilliant.

I kept wanting to attach to one of the characters as my protagonist, but one by one they failed the personality test. It goes back to each one, not seeing any goals beyond their own. Disappointing when it could've been so good. I learned the trigger was a good fertilizer.

The aesthetics of the film are in another world, the gardens and setting up, truly delightful. Ending was mindblowing too. I loved the casting of the male and female lead, and the story gradually evolves into something better. One of the best part of the film is the dog ofc. It's like, the lovers try to pull apart from each other, but fate brings them closer together, in the most unexpected ways. Could the episodes have been short? Maybe. The main thing that attracts you to the story, is how the male character, slowly grows out of the shell that his mother had put him into, all because of something that happened, which she never expected. The plot twists are so good.