It has been difficult for Disney+ to bet on its own Spanish series more than other platforms. Almost two years ago there was a co-production with Telecinco like ‘Kisses al aire’ that went somewhat unnoticed and last November it was the turn of ‘The last’a title that was talked about because of the break in real life of its two protagonists than for anything else.
It is often said that the third time is the charm and it is likely that the same thing will also happen with Disney +, because this Wednesday, February 15, it has arrived on the platform ‘The invisible girl’adaptation of the famous literary trilogy by blue jean. In addition, it has come at a good time for Spanish television thrillers, since ‘The Snow Girl’ has been sweeping Netflix for some time now.
Lights and shadows
To be able to talk about its success, we will still have to wait a bit, but I have already been able to see its first two episodes -those that have been made available to the press- and the result has been satisfactory. Of course, not memorable, because one of its problems is that it bets too much on insurance and ends up reminding more of similar productions, but yes more than worthy when it comes to generating tension and taking an interest in the case it raises.
One of the great achievements of ‘The invisible girl’ is its setting work in Cárdena, a fictitious Andalusian town during the celebration of a summer festival. At all times there is a charge of overwhelm in the environment that helps to raise the tension through the feeling that the place is a town from which no one will be able to escape.
That is why the series manages to establish its own identity quickly and effectively, but then it forgets something as fundamental as giving enough importance to the characters so that they are an additional hook point. At least during its first two episodes, only the father and daughter played by the always solvent Daniel Grao and Zoe Stein (‘Manticore’) have some breathing room and be more than mere narrative tools. The two of them do more than meet, but, of course, more is needed than that and the secondary ones are not up to the task for now.
This leads to the fact that, obviously, ‘The invisible girl’ enhances the mystery surrounding the murder of a teenager above all else, for which the staging work of Norberto Lopez Amado -in the following also participates Aritz Moreno, responsible for the wonderful ‘Advantages of traveling by train’, but the first two are directed by the director of ‘El cuaderno de Sara’- takes on special importance. And it is that from its head it seeks to print a sinister air to the story that later finds accommodation in the series at all levels. Nor do you expect something as exhausting and sick as could be the case of ‘Seven’ but sufficiently empowered to play in his favor.
The secondary ones are invisible
in that line too the problematic relationship between the characters of Grao and Stein works quite well, with the former being somewhat absent and authoritarian, while she cannot help but be curious about what happened, since her father is in charge of the case. There it has been a success to rarefy him to take licenses regarding the book, where her mother also appears, of which there is no trace in the Disney + series.
Beyond that, I barely remember much of the rest of the characters and that I have the two very recent episodes. It is true that this way you manage to divert attention and that from the start there are not one or two clearer suspects and that the suspicions spread to the whole town, but from the start you also limit the connection that one may have towards the series and I wouldn’t be surprised. that some viewers may lose interest as a result.
I have no doubt that this point will improve as the episodes go by -its first season consists of eight and everyone can already see it on Disney+-, but perhaps it would have been better to work on it a little more from the start, since that reduces its personality and the too close to similar titles. Also, the second chapter barely exceeds 30 minutes, so at least there they had plenty of room to start making up for it more. I imagine that they would have preferred to promote a clearer and more direct narrative, but that also has its drawbacks.
In short
‘The invisible girl’ is a twisted thriller in which its overwhelming work of setting stands out and features solid performances from its two leads. It’s a pity that the rest of the characters seem to matter little, which leads the Disney+ series to end up resembling other productions in a similar vein more than necessary. All in all, it offers enough to be at least curious to see how it evolves.
In Espinof: