Bank Under Siege – Season 1 Episode 2 Recap & Review

Off The Record

Bank Under Siege episode 2 starts with a flashback to February 23rd, when a group of soldiers disrupted the Congress and kidnapped the President.

The citizens were asked to remain in safe places while another group of Civil Guard led by the General Director tried to get Terejo to surrender and release the President. Of course, Terejo refused to surrender. He asked one of his men to secure a set of documents and leave the country. Those documents ended up in a safe in the Central Bank of Spain. 

Presently, the robbers are four hours into the siege. For people in the midst of such chaos, the men seem relaxed. Number 1 believes that the police won’t try to break in as long as they have hostages. Everything is going according to plan. They even have time to smoke on the rooftop.

At the newspaper, Maider refuses to let Berni use her picture as the cover of the newspaper. She doesn’t want people to know she is in Barcelona. Maider is still interested in the heist even though Isabel asked her to focus on the Teletypes. She convinces Berni to take her to Paco so she can talk to him. He owes them one.

At the bank, the robbers feed the hostages and continue their plan. One of them seems to love getting high and violent, and Number 1 asks him to keep calm. Outside, the Civil Guard arrives to offer more support. Maider overhears that the freed hostages are at the Clinical hospital and heads there. Paco is also there to gather more information about the robbers.

One of the hostages tells him that the robbers use numbers to refer to each other. Another hostage tells him the brand of cigarette that Number 1 uses and the shoes he wears. Paco spots Maider talking to the hostages and confronts her. He gives her a scoop but says it is off-record. Paco thinks the robbers are suing Terejo as a distraction and they are just simple bank robbers.

In the meantime, Pajuelo and the other men at the command centre call the bank and ask to speak to Valiente. Number 1 doesn’t deny or confirm that he is Valiente. He sticks to his demands and hangs up. One-half of the men believe he is Valiente and the other half is not sure. To verify their suspicions, they contact Terejo in prison. Terejo denies any involvement in the heist and insists he has no plans to seek freedom.  

On the drive back to the office, Berni tries to convince Maider to write about the scoop Paco gave her. However, Maider refuses and claim they need to verify the information first. They head back to the bank and hear the rumour that Valiente is the leader of the robbers. Isabel finds them and questions why Maider disobeyed her orders. Maider tells her about her informant and the scoop. She asks for permission to keep investigating and Isabel agrees.

At the bank, the first sign of trouble shows when the robbers are unable to drill a hole in the vault room to get to the sewers. At the command centre, Paco shares his theory, but no one believes him.

They all seem to think that Valiente is leading a group of rogue Civil Guard out of his loyalty to Terejo. The group calls the bank and tells Number 1 that Terejo refuses to be released. Number one hangs up the phone and tries to keep calm. On the other hand, the General and his team head for lunch at the nearest restaurant.

Berni and Maider also head to the restaurant. Maider pretends to use the toilet and listens in to the men’s conversation. The group is torn between entering the bank and resolving the situation differently. The General wants to force the robbers to surrender by making them desperate. If they refuse, he wants to send in special forces. The others want to resolve the situation peacefully without harming the hostages. Meanwhile, Paco calls the bluff on the robber’s threat to blow up the building if the police attempt to breach.

After the drill breaks, Number 1 also known as Jose, realises they were set up. The wall is hard stone and they can’t drill through them. Whoever gave them the blueprints lied to them. He decides he will negotiate using the hostages as his bargaining ship. The news causes an intense argument between the robbers. Jose asks for time to figure something new out.

Outside, the Governor tells the media that they will resolve the situation peacefully. He neither confirms nor denies that they don’t know the identity of the robbers. Maider and Berni get into a fight when he continues to act protectively towards her. She lashes out at him, saying he is not her dad and she is not his daughter.

As the tension inside the bank escalates, they receive another call from the President of the bank. Jose is offended that the man cares more about the money than the lives of the hostages. He sends his men to get all the money from the vault. Jose talks to Quevas and assures him that he will come up with a new plan. Jose has no plans to surrender and return to prison and Quevas thinks it will end badly.

After counting all the money from the vault, Jose calls the command centre and talks to the General. He demands to have a plane or he will kill the hostages and burn the money. The General asks him to consider surrendering, but Jose refuses. 

Meanwhile, Paco talks to an informant who tells him that the owner of a certain sketchy restaurant seems to know about the heist. Later, he runs into Maider and tells her about the recent death of Berni’s daughter. Maider feels bad for her harsh words towards Berni.

The episode ends with Jose reading the newspaper and there is a story about Lieutenant Colonel Alonso Manglano becoming the new director at CESID. 

The Episode Review

Jose doesn’t seem too pleased to read that Manglano is the new director at CESID. Why did he react this way? Who sent them to the bank and why did the other party betray them? Jose is running out of options and the police are getting close to breaching the bank.

The General Director is becoming more confident in his strategy and sooner or later, he will order his men to get inside the bank. With no escape route. Will Jose’s new plan to leverage the hostages work?

Meanwhile, Paco and Maider are starting to get along. Maybe they will break the case together. Maider was out of line with what she said to Berni. I hope the big guy can forgive her.