Not too long ago, my yearning for a new crime series to sink my teeth into saw me drawn to “Who Killed Sara?” I wanted something that didn’t follow the traditional blueprint of whodunnits.
And I found myself hooked on the Netflix Spanish crime thriller.
Since I wasn’t in the mood for distracting subtitles, I opted to watch it in English.
Yes, I understand that it takes away from the authenticity of the storytelling to some degree, but I did it anyway.
Kudos to the writers, they dangled red herrings in every episode, which heightened the curiosity even more.
Here’s a quick overview of the premise.
Álex Guzmán (Manolo Cardona) spent 18 years behind bars for the death of his sister Sara. After his release, he has only one thing on his mind - finding the real killer.
His decision placed him on a warpath with the influential Lazcano family, in particular the patriarch, César (Ginés García Millán).
Following Sara’s tragic death in a paragliding accident, César, encouraged by his longsuffering yet equally ruthless wife Mariana (Claudia Ramírez), swayed Álex to take the rap instead of his son Rodolfo (Alejandro Nones).
At the time, Rodolfo, who was madly in love with Sara and believed she was expecting their child, was a prime suspect.
Meanwhile, Rodolfo’s younger brother José María "Chema" Lazcano (Eugenio Siller), who was also with them at the time of the tragedy, didn’t feel right about the unfortunate turn of events.
Aside from being madly in love with Álex, Chema didn’t inherit his parents’ unscrupulous disposition.
Although his younger sister, Elisa (Carolina Miranda), grew up shielded from this scandal, her determination to get to the truth leads her down a precarious path, too.
Álex’s return stirs a hornet’s nest. It makes César as well as his right hand at the casino, Sergio Hernández ( Juan Carlos Remolina), and Mariana, anxious.
While in prison, Álex mastered the art of hacking, which prove invaluable in his quest to find Sara’s killer. He uses his skill to ruin a big night at the casino and he turns up the heat.
Meanwhile, Rodolfo, an even greater mess as an adult as he is constantly belittled by his father, is racked with guilt by seeing his former friend again. Chema on the other hand is ecstatic.
While happily married to Lorenzo Rossi (Luis Roberto Guzmán), he still carries a torch for his teenage crush.
The suspect pool in season one was crazy.
Don’t even get me started on that weird arrangement between Mariana and her “rescue” Elroy (Héctor Jiménez). Or her wearing a metal chain cilice.
There’s also some perverse sexual shenanigans going on with Sergio.
By the end of the first season, one thing was abundantly clear - there was more to Sara than met the eye.
Imagine my excitement to find season two. I wanted answers, dammit.
And so I binged the new eight episodes only to be thrown another curveball at the end.
Let’s put it this way, season two is even more of a shocker. There are painful revelations and deaths. There’s more danger, drama and deception.
Also, the writers cleverly flip the script where the bad guys embark on a redemptive journey and the good guys are sullied by darkness thanks to their hidden agendas.
Damn, this series. Now I have to wait for a third season to find the truth (or not).
“Who Killed Sara” season 2 is currently streaming on Netflix.