Berlin - La energía del amor

A prequel to Money Heist (a show I will admit I haven't watched) the opening episode of Berlin is entertaining but also a bit shaky at times. We start out with a small heist theoretically included to introduce the members of the crew and allow each to show off their special skills. Unfortunately, the entire heist relies on Berlin (Pedro Alonso) carrying off a con and the others doing little more than stand around (which one of them almost screws up). We do get some narration in a montage introducing the crew to us, although we don't get to see these skills put into action.

From there the episode pivots to a larger job for the group which involves introducing a new member to the team (Begoña Vargas) and the theft of €44 million in jewels from an auction house. Perhaps setting the tone for the series, the episode is focused more on what goes wrong that right with the start of the con including amorous feelings developing between multiple members of the team and Berlin being caught off guard and falling for the girlfriend (Samantha Siqueiros) of the team's mark needed to pull off the con.

While I think the opening episode lacks the crispness and wit of Leverage, a heist show that knew how to put each member of the team to work while still relying on character interactions to further plot, Berlin does offers some interesting moments in the first episode including the team doing a job involving a fake archeological dig a bit too well putting all their plans in jeopardy while their leader decides to follow his heart rather than help them sort out the matter.

• Title: Berlin - La energía del amor
• IMDb: link