THEMES AND ANALYSIS

The series was noted for its subversions of the heist genre. While heist films are usually told with a rational male Anglo-centric focus, the series reframes the heist story by giving it a strong Spanish identity and telling it from a female perspective through Tokyo.[66] The producers regarded the cultural identity as an important part of the personality of the series, as it made the story more relatable for viewers.[22] They also avoided adapting the series to international tastes,[22] which helped to set it apart from the usual American TV series[67] and raised international awareness of Spanish sensibilities.[22] Emotional dynamics like the passion and impulsivity of friendship and love offset the perfect strategic crime for increased tension.[52][66] Nearly all main characters, including the relationship-opposing Professor, eventually succumb to love,[58] for which the series received comparisons to telenovelas.[4][68] Comedic elements, which were compared to Back to the Future[25] and black comedy,[55] also offset the heist tension.[69] The heist film formula is subverted by the heist starting straight after the opening credits instead of lingering on how the gang is brought together.[2]

With the series being set after the financial crisis of 2007–2008, which resulted in severe austerity measures in Spain,[68] critics argued that the series was an explicit allegory of rebellion against capitalism,[4][70] including The Globe and Mail, who saw the series as "subversive in that it's about a heist for the people. It's revenge against a government."[68] According to Le Monde, the Professor's teaching scenes in the Toledo hunting estate, in particular, highlighted how people should seek to develop their own solutions for the fallible capitalist system.[70] The show's Robin Hood analogy of robbing the rich and giving to the poor received various interpretations. El Español argued that the analogy made it easier for viewers to connect with the show, as modern society tended to be tired of banks and politics already,[67] and the New Statesman said the rich were no longer stolen from but undermined at their roots.[4] On the other hand, Esquire's Mireia Mullor saw the Robin Hood analogy as a mere distraction strategy for the robbers, as they initially did not plan to use the money from their first heist to improve the quality of life of regular people; for this reason, Mullor also argues that the large following for the robbers in part 3 was not understandable even though they represented a channel for the discontent of those bearing economic and political injustices.[71]

The characters were designed as multi-dimensional and complementary antagonists and antiheroes whose moralities are ever-changing.[19] Examples include Berlin, who shifts from a robber mistreating hostages, to one of the series' most beloved characters.[19] There is also the hostage Mónica Gaztambide, as well as inspector Raquel Murillo, who eventually join the cause of the robbers.[19] Gonzálvez of The Huffington Post finds that an audience may think of the robbers as evil at first for committing a crime, but as the series progresses it marks the financial system as the true evil and suggests the robbers have ethical and empathetic justification for stealing from an overpowered thief.[72] Najwa Nimri, playing inspector Sierra in part 3, said that "the complex thing about a villain is giving him humanity. That's where everyone gets alarmed when you have to prove that a villain also has a heart". She added that the amount of information and technology that surrounds us is allowing us to verify that "everyone has a dark side."[72] The series leaves it to the audience to decide who is good or bad, as characters are "relatable and immoral" at various points in the story.[19] Pina argued that it was this ability to change the view that made the series addictive and marked its success.[19]

With the relative number of female main characters in TV shows generally on the rise,[19] the series gives female characters the same attention as men, which the BBC regarded as an innovation for Spanish television.[73] While many plot lines in the heist series still relate to males,[19] the female characters become increasingly aware of gender-related issues, such as Mónica arguing in part 3 that women, just like men, could be robbers and a good parent.[74] Critics further examined feminist themes and a rejection of machismo[74] in the series through Nairobi and her phrase "The matriarchy begins" in part 2,[75] and a comparative scene in part 3, where Palermo claims a patriarchy in a moment that, according to CNET, is played for laughs.[76] La Vanguardia challenged any female-empowering claims in the series, as Úrsula Corberó (Tokyo) was often shown scantily clad,[77] and Esquire criticized how characters' relationship problems in part 3 were often portrayed to be the women's fault.[71] Alba Flores (Nairobi) saw no inherent feminist plot in the series, as women only take control when it suits the story,[75] whilst Esther Acebo (Mónica) described any feminist subtext in the show as not being vindicative.[78]