In the Spanish series El jardinero, mother and son run a gardening business that serves as a cover for the contract killings they carry out. However, their business is jeopardized when their son develops feelings for his next target. The new Netflix series El jardinero, translated into English as The Gardener, is a Spanish thriller with a fair amount of romance. La China Jurado (Cecilia Suarez) runs a successful gardening company together with her son Elmer (Álvaro Rico). Elmer, who suffered brain damage at a young age after a car accident, feels no emotions but is completely absorbed in gardening. It is his great passion and his life's work. However, a dark world lurks behind the gardening company. For payment, La China accepts murder orders that she then has her son carry out. They bury the bodies in their gardens and serve as very nutritious fertilizer.
The series is a mix of Dexter and You, but despite these comparisons it still manages to create a unique story.
La China dreams of a house in Mexico, the country she fled years ago. One last contract killing should be enough to raise the money for this emigration. Everything goes according to plan, until Elmer comes face to face with his next victim Violeta (Catalina Sopelana). For the first time since the accident he feels emotions and he doesn't know what to do with them. Violeta herself is also impressed by Elmer and wants to get to know him better. This puts Elmer in a difficult position with his mother who is counting on him to kill Violeta without any problems.
El jardinero is an engaging series that has six episodes. A lot happens in each episode and through all the background stories you really get to know the characters well. The series is a mix of Dexter and You but despite these comparisons it still manages to create a unique story. I thought the trailer looked good but I didn't expect the story to interest me so much. The cast and their good acting certainly contribute to this, but the dialogues and character development also have an influence on this.
When a swimmer is reported missing and his car is found at the beach, the Pontevedra police are called in. Although it initially seems like a simple missing person case, officer Carrera (María Vázquez) suspects that there is more to it. When another missing person is reported shortly afterwards, she and her partner Torres (Francis Lorenzo) decide to start an investigation. They think they know better than their colleagues and proceed with the necessary clumsiness, looking for a perpetrator who could be responsible for the disappearances.
Because Elmer has felt no emotions for almost his entire life, he is as happy as a child after meeting Violeta. Actor Álvaro Rico knows how to combine this innocence very well with the cold calculating personality of Elmer when he commits a murder. His chemistry with Violeta is clearly visible and despite the somewhat bizarre plot, as a viewer you can still imagine his inner struggle. La China is meanwhile worried about her son, whom she has never seen like this before. She is afraid of the influence Violeta has on him, but the question is whether this is out of motherly love or financial gain.
It was tense at times but also had humor and romance which made for a nice balance that was relaxing to watch.
There were times when I missed some subtitles, for example with certain text messages that came in during a conversation. Spoken conversations were subtitled but the app messages were not. This was a shame, but honestly, it was also the only real flaw I found in the series. Apart from that, I have little to complain about El jardinero and I found it a pleasure to watch. I love this genre and El jardinero is a well-made title that is not inferior to its American counterparts. It was exciting at times but also had humor and romance which made for a nice balance that was relaxing to watch.
El jardinero is described as a mini-series and also has a clear beginning and end. However, the makers surprise with a few extra scenes during the credits that still create a cliffhanger for a possible next season. As far as I'm concerned, there is still enough material to give the series a sequel. Especially after seeing this ending, I want to know what will happen next and I would think it would be super cool if a second season were made. Nevertheless, there is little to complain about if it remains with one season. What the makers have now created is in itself a fine series that fans of this genre will certainly enjoy watching.
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
