Bank Under Siege – Season 1 Episode 1 Recap & Review

Everybody Down

Bank Under Siege episode 1 takes us back to  1981 after the death of dictator Fransisco Franco and the coup d’état that followed. On May 23, 1981, a group of armed men decide to rob the Bank of Spain. They quickly get into the bank and force everyone to get down. They are organised and calm as they get into a gun shoot-out with the first police officers to respond.

Meanwhile, Maider reports to work at the Basque newspaper. It is her first day on the job and she meets Berni, the in-house photographer and Isabel, the editor-in-chief. Maider’s dad recently died and everyone is offering their apologies. Isabel assures Maider that she wasn’t hired through her dad’s connection and that the women at Basque have each other’s back.

After the initial introduction, Maider heads to the empty desk. She hears the phone ringing but sees no one is interested in picking it up. She picks it up, and a woman informs her of the bank heist and says there is a list of conditions the robbers left at a telephone booth near the bank. The anonymous lady warns that the robbers will start killing the hostages within 72 hours if their conditions are not met.

At first, Maider thinks it is a prank, but she overhears the gunshots. She rushes to tell Isabel, but she is nowhere in sight. She tells Berni and insists he take her to the bank. They sneak into the scene and find the list of conditions.

They are surprised that the robbers are asking for the release of Terejo and his friends, who tried to stage a coup d’état back in February. Maider and Berni take a picture of the letter before a policeman spots them. The officer leads them to Captain Paco, head of the Robbery division.

They show him the letter and he orders them to keep it a secret for an hour. He offers his friendship and Maider believes him. She refuses to follow Berni’s advice and calls Isabel.

Meanwhile, in the bank, the robbers refer to each other by numbers. They order a few people to stand at the windows. Two of the robbers open the bank vault and take some documents from a safe deposit.

Outside, Paco takes the letter to his higher-ups and, within a short time, the President is informed of the situation in Barcelona. The robbers want Terejo and the rest freed.

One plane in Barajas to take the newly freed men to Argentina and another plane to take the robbers to Argentina. They give the authorities 72 hours to execute their conditions. The President calls for the Director General of the Civil Guard. Everyone thinks that the robbers might be part of the Civil Guard.

Back in Barcelona, Paco sets up a command centre and orders the arrest of Maider and Berni to keep the news about the letter from coming out. Maider is pissed that she trusted Paco, but Berni is used to being betrayed. Paco makes contact with the robber and Number 1 takes the call. He refuses to identify himself and repeats their demands.

The Governor tries to corner Number 1, but the robber doesn’t take the bait. He asks for a quick response, a direct line to Madrid. He states he has about 300 hostages. Paco asks for a gesture of goodwill, so Number 1 agrees to release 50 hostages in return for some food, tobacco and an ambulance. He insists that only the people from the Red Cross can deliver the food.

In the meantime, Berni tries to bond with Maider and gives her his condolences for her dad.  On the other hand, the anonymous woman realises that the police are hiding the truth about the heist. She calls another media house and tells them everything.

Inside the bank, Number 1 tries to pick the 50 hostages he will set free. Every hostage starts begging and listing all the reasons they should be set free. Number 1 loses patience and opens fire. That gets the attention of the hostages and the police outside. He then summons one of the young hostages and shoots him in the leg. 

As the Red Cross members arrive with the food, the police get distracted by giving them cover. Maider and Berni use this opportunity to get out of the police van. They find a high spot in a nearby apartment building and follow the events from there. Unfortunately, they realise later that they lost their scoop about the robber’s demands.

Number 1 decides to take a volunteer, Ramon, the director of the bank, to join him outside.  He uses Ramon to make sure no one shoots at him.  The other robbers quickly take the supplies inside and release the 50 hostages. The police stand by and observe from their position. Once the exchange is done, Number 1 and Ramon head back in. 

At the command centre, the Regional Director of the Civil Guard, Pajuelo, arrives. Paco informs him that they will be questioning the hostages to learn more about the robbers. The Governor offers to allow Pajuelo to listen to the recording of their call to the robbers. After listening to the recording, Pajuelo is convinced that the man is Gil Sanchez Valiente. Valiente was Terejo’s close companion, but vanished after the coup d’état.  

Outside the bank, a crowd supporting the robbers start to form. They are met with police brutality and forced to retreat.  Maider and Berni head back to the office and Isabel asks her to focus on the Teletypes. Maider is not pleased but follows the orders. 

At the President’s office, he talks to the Director of the Civil Guard, who assures him that he is looking into the matter. He is already trying to account for all his men and weapons. One of the Presidential staff members informs him that Pajuelo thinks that the leader of the heist is Valiente. The President worries that they are on the verge of another coup d’état. He orders the General Director to head to Barcelona and do everything necessary to fix the situation.

Inside the bank, the robbers start continuing the money in the vault while trying to break the wall and get an escape route. 

The Episode Review

It is nice to see Miguel Herran again. You might remember him from Money Heist. This show is based on the real events that happened in Spain in 1981. After the death of their leader and the coup d’état, Spain was struggling.

The government was trying to remain in power while some of the citizens were done with the constant abuse of power they were enduring. A perfect example will be the arrest of journalists without probable cause.

The police brutality the crowd faced and many more.  This is only the first episode and we don’t know the identity of the robbers. Pajuelo is convinced that the man is Valiente, but what if he is wrong?