La Casa De Papel – Season 5 Episode 3 Recap & Review

Welcome to the Spectacle of Life

Episode 3 of La Casa De Papel Season 5 begins with Stockholm giving CPR to Arturo. He’s down and out, with all hope seemingly lost. Thanks to some quick thinking from the group though, they manage to revive him and bring Arturo back…yay?

Anyway, with them in desperate need of a doctor, Arturo is taken out on a stretcher and away in an ambulance. The somber crowd watch on from afar while Stockholm ends up wracked in guilt over what’s happened.

Tamayo certainly doesn’t feel any regret though. In fact, he hopes Arturo dies as it will given him an excuse to head in and kill everyone in the bank. No survivors and all that.

With things looking sticky inside the bank, outside the Professor, Benjamin and Marseille end up held at gunpoint by Sierra. The Professor is not happy and it seems like he’s concocting a new plan to break free from this predicament. Well, as news of Arturo’s condition reaches Sierra, she uses that to rile up the Professor, telling him he’s lost control.

Speaking of control, Sierra sees hers slip away when Tamayo heads on-air and releases a statement regarding the inspector, issuing a manhunt to bring her in.

There seems to be no way out and after fabricating evidence against her, that’s just the ticket the Professor needs to unsettle her position. Only, Sierra’s water suddenly breaks which throws a serious spanner in the works.

Sierra is stubborn though, and decides to give birth right there in front of the Professor and the others. The Professor decides to help Sierra give birth, who eventually relinquishes and allows the trio to go free. In doing so, the Professor is true to his word and helps her give birth.

Back inside the bank, the gang – led by Bogota – decide to make their final stand. They know they’re not going to win this but given the Professor is fighting his own battle away from Tamayo and the army, they enact a plan to hold off the army as long as possible.

There’s a tranquil moment of self-reflection here before all that happens; a proverbial calm before the storm. Different players reminisce on times gone by, while the authorities outside regroup and prepare to hit the bank. Among them is Gandia, who’s absolutely fine now and ready to fight.

The final conflict begins and each of our main players take their positions in the vents. Down on the ground, the soldiers rappel up the building, planting explosives on the roof. The building blows, Sierra gives birth and the soldiers prepare to fight. Here we go…


The Episode Review

Wow, what a way to kill the tempo and mood. Not only is Arturo apparently still alive, robbing us of a satisfying death, the entire chapter is weirdly paced and seems to drag on and on. Unlike the first few episodes, this one feels more like the “calm before the storm” but it simply stays on “calm” for 50 minutes. Nothing of consequence really happens and by the end, the action looks set to pick up after a long slog.

And what’s with the flashbacks here? They don’t really add anything to the episode (hence their exclusion from the recap) and ultimately lead to you itching to get back to the action.

Unlike the first episode, episodes 2 and 3 have felt like a step back for the series. Let’s hope these final two are a step in the right direction before our long hiatus for December’s second part.

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You can read our full season review for La Casa De Papel Season 5 here!

 

  • Episode Rating
    (2.5)
2.5

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