García! [HBO / Spanish / Super-Agent]

Slydice

I was young when I saw Mission Impossible, The Saint, Bionic Woman on TV but just one episode in..

this reminds me of them .. modernised and with a cross of Captain America, the First Avenger mixed in.

What's it about:

Hadn't this Spanish language show on any radar before seeing it drop. Also going by the name: ¡García!. IMDB says:

A cryogenically frozen super spy from the '60s is thrust into modern-day Madrid.

Wiki says:

Set in a version of current-day Spain on the verge of societal collapse, the fiction follows Antonia, a reporter who accidentally unravels a decades-old plot concerning a super-agent created in the 1950s by the Francoist secret services, García, who was subsequently cryogenized. The latter, defrosted by Antonia, finds himself dazed and confused in current-day Spain.

Trailer:

 GARCIA! | Official Trailer | HBO MAX

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ojckacr9EA

Episode 1:

This has a very good hook in the opening. Very big vibes of the second half of Captain America, The First Avenger. Then the rest of the episode to the end very much feeling a little like an Indiana Jones style uncover the mystery story. Closing out with a big battle that was almost a little Terminator 3 / Captain America Civil War style feeling.

Solid opening. Good intro to the characters. Still keeping the bigger story under wraps but knowing it's there. Seems to be wanting to not shy away from the Spanish Civil War and what happened afterwards either.

At a guess..

Spoiler Warning

Maybe this baddie is a bit like the Red Skull in Captain America... he might have been there in the past but might have been separate from either side. Then that Garcia is going to be trying to take down whatever big baddie organisation he has setup since he got frozen.

Another show!?!? What I am I doing! I can barely keep up with the others! IMDB say this only has 6 episodes.. so hopefully manageable!

Slydice

2: This is great! What a twist at the end 😁

They've really got the goodie/baddie side figured out. Looks like there's the techie. They definitely have the super strength figured out.

Now just for the bigger mystery of what went down and what/where/who the bigger fight is all with.

I think the show isn't taking itself too seriously which is a benefit. It all pulls together consistently like that.

Slydice

3: Ooof! Definitely a feels episode but also a big baddie episode!

Spoiler Warning

That's gotta be the friend. From the opening scene where he couldn't handle that Garcia was going to retire right through to the end.. he was dodgey throughout and I get the feeling he must be the mastermind. Just why he kidnapped the first politician is probably the only open question.

Garcia finding his lost love Feli was the big feels and yer man arranging for the swat team that lead to her death.. that's going to be a big moment of revenge later on I think.

because of the feels.. I was remembering Forever Young.. rewatched the trailer..

Forever Young 1992 Trailer | Mel Gibson | Jamie Lee Curtis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIEHuEFDgac

wow Elijah Wood is SOOO young! 😲 Also.. Dyson from Terminator 2!! 😲

Finally.. I must give a shoutout to the really short and barely noticeable Captain America shield throwing moment!

Slydice

4: Supers Fight! and lil Seat car! 😁

Story getting complicated. Garcia having to come to terms with..

Spoiler Warning

his past.. but also.. the baddie super seems lost too.

Antonia's dad seems to still be in a fight with someone but who.. just the russians? but non soviet russians now? but section nine folks still talking about "commies"... maybe he's just against the way Spain has developed and wants to drag it all backwards

Garcia letting himself and Antonia get caught feels a bit odd but maybe he's all kinds of lost with what's going on too.. he does seem to have a plan from the looks of him though

Slydice

5: I eh.. hold on.. what?!?! 😲

Spoiler Warning

He can't be dead. No way. Not in the penultimate episode! This has to be a super-healing or healing-technology reveal moment or something. There was definitely bullet hits and red came out so.. hmmmm .. I dunno.

Was a fun enough episode but

Spoiler Warning

that operating at the motorway overpass.. in the end they could've just blocked the van and boosted Antonia up on the back of it considering how she ended up dangling at the back

also that ending with the 3 guys getting shot.. they all just kinda stood there.. well except Garcia.. that felt a bit wierd

Slydice

So, that's season one finished! Overall I thought it worked fine as an introduction. It felt a bit like the first captain america film maybe crossed with a 60s/70s spy tv show. Had some solid moments. Also dragged a bit in places. The two biggest downsides for me were the speed of the speech/subtitles and the length of the episodes. It felt like a lot to keep up with.

6: Right so. This kind of opened the world a bit I think. Gave the first sesaon a proper send off.

Spoiler Warning

That fight at the end.. where it turned to talking and the baddie dude revealing he was just looking for a cure. That a decent add-in I thought. Then it got gruesome! Those brain bit on the ground! Wasn't expecting that! 😲

That Neffenberg seems like a real cold baddie. Looks like he might be one of the oldschool mastermind types. Felt like he had made a lot of baddie tech and possibly also this woman at the end fighting in Armenia. Maybe she was in the third pod? I'm guessing that's all for a hoped-for season two.

Future: Like they wrapped the season one intro story and put in enough of a reason for a season two. Dunno though. Haven't seen any mention of this show much around.