a5c7b9f00b Seville, 16th century. During a terrible plague epidemic, the corpses of several murdered people are found, as an omen of the end of the world. Seville was one of the main cities of the Western world. Known as the Great Babylon, it was home to people of all races, where fifty different languages were spoken, and all the gold from America arrived into its port. It was one of the smelliest, most beautiful cities in the world, and the setting for this unique, character- driven thriller.
The Spanish Empire begins to become a memory of the past. The city of Seville, which for a long time was a strategic enclave for Europe because of its access by the Guadalquivir River to the lands of America, begins to decline. The old feudal order breaks down and in the middle of the sixteenth century the transition to the Renaissance and the bourgeoisie shakes the pillars that governed the Western world for ten centuries. The plague ravages Europe and Spain is not spared. Hospitals can not cope, brothels are increasingly monitored and convents less. In the homes of the nobles, the only thing that prevails is hedonism and seizing power. In the midst of an atmosphere suffocated by mistrust and betrayals on the order of the day, Matthew will have to find out who is the author of a series of diabolical crimes committed against the high places of Sevillian society. Otherwise, he will not find the forgiveness of the Holy Office and the Inquisition will decide to bias his life.
Spain had become an empire by the 1500's, the most powerful country in Europe at the time. A time of plague, the Inquisition, superstition, and hyper-religiosity. The plague struck terror in people because it killed so quickly and so many, with no known cause. People had an inkling of what infection might be, but without science, they turned to omens and to the supernatural. Solid acting, sets, costumes, locations, & CGI.
Dark, dense, painfully realistic. If you know Seville a little bit, it will be , like a time travel. Anyway, you may expect a time travel and not for too sensitive watchers. It is the most expensive Spanish series and watching the accuracy in depicting the XVI century city, you realize , the money are not waste. Do not expect lavish, sweet renaissance decorations saw in BBC Borgias or Tudors. On the contrary, you may appreciate the picturesque depiction of deepest poverty, cruelty, city slums and social constitution in the post medieval city struck by the plague. From visual point of view it is impeccable. The careful watchers will find the real interiors of the Sevillian Casa de Pilates and Palacio Lebrija. The view from the riverside , La Giralda, and The Cathedral are simply real, may be with some extra touch of graphic artists. The other Spanish cities and monuments were also included. Actors are great, very well cast (my oppinion), and convincing. As far as writing, it is a surprising crime drama. Pleasure to watch. I am wating for the next season.