From the beginning, ‘¡García!’ has had a problem: Antonia. It’s not that the character is bad, but rather that he lives in another dimension than the rest of the cast. If Garcia and the rest of Section 9 are part of an action spy movie filled with twists and conspiracies, Antonia’s part is much more human, naïve, light and, why not say it, out of place.
Beware: there may be some spoilers for ‘¡García!’, but not many. Just in case you are very squeamish.
Against the Chicharrón gang
Episode 5 of ‘¡García!’, just one episode away, has had more of ‘Mortadelo and Filemón’ than of the complex political-social plot that was guessed in previous episodes. The core of the episode is a rescue mission for Antonia with a plan that seems to have been devised by the Super and in which Professor Bacterio literally participates. I always advocate humor as a way of escapism in action movies, but in this case it is an elongated farce that adds nothing to the story.
It is comparable to zap within the same episode: if the initial and final parts continue to be dark, full of mystery, with characters willing to do anything to achieve their interests and in which compliments, conspiracies and half-truths come to light in each scene, the central part seems rather a procedural series from the 90s that forgets about the pulp to seemdirectly, a nonsense worthy of the serial products of Disney Channel.
It may be that in the first bars these parts of slightly lighter humor were appreciated, but by episode 5, with the swords held high, this detour in the road (figuratively and literally) is a small bump in the way of ‘¡García!’ towards what deserves to be considered: one of the best series of the year
Iberian conspiracy
Despite the pulp that adorns each shot of the series, this hit something fundamental: Conspiracies and meetings in secret, in the dark, in fancy restaurants, seem fundamentally real. The mysteries, the whispers, the plans conceived to “save Spain” seem simple, but they are basted with detailed precisionin which the older politicians try to save the junk before “the reds” destroy it.
Emilio Gutiérrez Caba said that, watching the series, each viewer will understand the images in one way or another, according to his political bias, as if this were some kind of ‘Malnazidos’. But I don’t have much idea of the series that the actor thought he was playing: within a general message of “the political class is corrupt”, ‘Garcia!’ is a series against fascism and the current reactionary environment.
To the HBO Max series you can put all the hits you want: some interpretations are forced, the action scenes have too many soap operas and lack reality, García’s journey is too fast… But it is inevitable to enjoy each episode, from the beginning in black and white imitating the serials of the 40s , to the revelations about the intentions of the characters. It is imperfect, but it is our imperfection.
The art of the cliff hanger
Sara Antuña and Carlos de Pando they master the art of the cliffhanger like no one else, leaving the series always at its most exciting until then. If in episode 4, García was in jail after a betrayal by his former friend Ortiz, in this the danger rises even more decibelsno matter how much, as a public accustomed to superhero series and movies, we can intuit what is going to happen next.
Maybe this episode does not have the focus well placed on what the viewers want to see, but it is easy to forgive her in exchange for some fabulous dialogues and a simply perfect protagonist. And we have to be honest with ourselves: the mere existence of this series is already a small miracle in a Spain that a few years ago would never dare with a pulp fantasy starring a fascist superhero. And, of course, he would not treat her from this point of view.
There is only one episode left to see the outcome of ‘¡García!’, and despite the stumble of the central part From what we have been able to see this week, it is still a hilarious, unique, different series, a rare avis made by people fed up with the somewhat rigid Spanish audiovisual and wanted to add a little rock and roll. Oh okay, of falangist chotis.