A full-fledged war is looming at the Bank of Spain, the setting of Netflix’s hugely popular Spanish series, set to return for its final part on September 3. “Locked up for a hundred hours, trapped, about to be killed, having lost a friend, it feels like a 100 years have gone by,” says the character Tokyo in a voice-over in the action-packed trailer for Part 5 of <i>Money Heist</i> or <i>La Casa de Papel</i> (The House of Paper) in Spanish, unveiled on Monday. The hit show ended on a cliffhanger in part 4, with a disconsolate gang holed up inside the bank as the army prepares for an assault from outside. Meanwhile, their leader, The Professor, is held at gunpoint by a police officer. “Always fight. Never surrender,” the new trailer teases, taunting an enticing showdown of epic proportions. Ever since its premiere in 2017, <i>Money Heist</i> has been a runaway success for Netflix, even among non-Spanish speaking audiences. Following a gang of robbers, all code-named after cities, more than 65 million watched part 4, according to Netflix, making it its most-watched non-English series. The show’s iconography, including the red jumpsuits and Salvador Dali masks worn by the group, have become Halloween favourites, while the 19th-century <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/music/why-it-is-impolite-to-play-money-heist-song-bella-ciao-in-italy-1.1005390" target="_blank">Italian protest song <i>Bella Ciao</i></a> has seen renewed popularity after it was featured in the show. The final part of <i>Money Heist</i> will be released in two volumes of five episodes each, with the second one set for Friday, December 3. Ahead of part 5 volume 1’s premiere, here are some key takeaways from the trailer. <b>SPOILER ALERT</b> if you’ve not watched part 4 of <i>Money Heist</i>: In part 4, the gang takes control of the Bank of Spain and turns it into a fortress, after rescuing rescued Lisbon from the police. But a teaser for part 5, released in May, suggested a gunfight within the walls of the bank. So how did the army get through the supposedly impenetrable walls of the bank? “The stormwater tank has been discovered,” The Professor tells the group in the new trailer, suggesting their planned exit route has been compromised. But fans also have a theory the army could have blown their way into the bank. In May, actor Fernando Cayo, who plays Colonel Luis Tamayo, posted a photo from the set of the show on his Instagram. “End of shooting of Season 5. Something big is coming,” the actor said. Eagle-eyed fans pointed out a section of a wall that looks to have been blown open behind the actor in the photo, suggesting that could have been the point of entry, and the start of a deadly fight. “Checkmate,” police inspector Alicia Sierra said at the ending of part 4, with a gun pointed at The Professor, the mastermind of the heist played by actor Alvaro Morte. In the trailer, The Professor is seen tied up by Sierra, who was fired from her job after The Professor exposed her unlawful torture of Rio. “It’s possible this is the last time I’ll speak to all of you,” The Professor tells the gang as Sierra stands watch. With their leader captured, it’s anyone’s guess as to what will become of the gang, now holed up within the walls of the Bank of Spain. She was an inspector who was originally tasked with capturing the group of robbers in the first part of the show, but ended up joining them later. Lisbon, played by actress Itziar Ituno, is seen in the trailer trying to galvanise the gang. “We’re up against rogues, but we’re not going to end up in morgues,” she’s seen telling the group. With knowledge of the police strategy, Lisbon is primed to lead the team. But with a more powerful Spanish army now at the gates, and the constantly changing power dynamics within the group, it will be interesting to see if Lisbon, who is also The Professor’s love interest, will be up to the challenge. If volume 1 of the final season is an all-out war, what will the final five episodes be about? Will the plot be able to sustain the high-stakes beginning? “In volume 2, we focus more on the emotional situation of the characters. It is a journey across their sentimental map that connects us directly to their departure,” series creator Alex Pina told <i>Variety</i> in May. Pina, who also created the series <i>White Lines </i>on Netflix, added that part 5 was written in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. “We felt that we had to change what was expected from the 10-episode season and used every tool we could to create the sensation of a season finale or series finale in the first volume itself,” he said. “We decided to work in an extremely aggressive genre, putting the gang on the ropes.”
