Dilemma
Chaos grips the streets of Spain as episode 1 of The Minions Of Midas begins. Shouting, wailing sirens and smashed glass become a volatile cacophony of civil unrest. A young woman inside an office deliberates over publishing an article called The Minions Of Midas. Only, two armed guards arrive and chase her away. We then cut back 50 days earlier. Social unrest spreads across the country, being dubbed the “Spanish Revolt”. It appears that people are protesting against rising electricity prices and what started as a peaceful endeavour, looks to be on the verge of becoming something much more dangerous. At a newspaper outlet, El Observador Nacional, a letter arrives addressed to Victor asking for 50 million euros in cash. He’s got 10 days to deliver and to show he’s agreed to the terms, Victor needs to place an ad in the local paper otherwise people are going to die. Tellingly, this letter is signed by “The Minions Of Midas.” Victor returns home to eat alone, saying good night to his housekeeper Gloria and researching online about Midas. Thinking nothing of it, Victor rips up the letter and heads out to the balcony, overlooking the city. In Syria a reporter called Monica arrives in an abandoned, war torn building. While pops of artillery faintly blast in the distance, Monica meets with a man named Said Alfaad. He reveals a massive conspiratorial story. Apparently one of the Spanish banks has been financing the Syrian government for 6 years – and worse, it’s all legal. All of this feeds into a higher conglomerate known as Banco Industrial. When Monica asks why Said’s doing this, the whistleblower simply sighs and looks out at the battleground befalling their city. “I just can’t do this anymore.” Monica returns to the newspaper with all the information she needs to run this story. When Victor finds out, he’s unsure whether they should publish it or not. Given how much of a scandal it is – and that Monica has worked on this for 6 months – the newspaper’s involvement with Banco Industrial hangs in the balance. Later that evening, Victor arrives at the run-down bar Casa Sierra, where he greets the returning Jose Alva. After their pleasantries, they discuss their upcoming plans and what’s happened to them both in the past. Jose has been in America enjoying the high life. She and her boyfriend Tom broke up which prompted her to head back to Spain. With El Observador Nacional torn over whether to publish the story, Monica debates whether to upload it onto her blog or not. Before she decides, Monica speaks to Mr Valente, interviewing him about the situation. It turns out Banco Industrial were well aware of what’s been going on with Syria, and Valente was part of several subsidiaries that were swallowed up by Banco Industrial during that time. As protestors rush the scene, prompting the car to suddenly brake, a young woman is hit while crossing the road. True to their word, these Minions Of Midas write back to Victor and claim the life of this woman. Victor understandably feels awful and struggles to concentrate. Later that day, Victor meets Detective Conte in his office. He hands over everything he has on the blackmailers but without the original letter, it’s difficult to class this as anything but extortion. It also means Victor’s communications – and family – will need to be watched. When his ex-partner Laura finds out, she’s none too happy. His son Marcos is completely despondent too, ignoring his Father and telling him he’ll be late to work. Back at El Observador Nacional, the group gather together and discuss Monica’s story. After some back and forth, Victor decides to run the story – front page spread – and make the news as big and loud as possible so it can’t be ignored. Victor and Luis share a drink that evening, with the former complementing Monica’s guts and tenacity to get this story done. The story is run and the group fasten their seatbelts, ready for things to start heating up. At the same time, Detective Conte feeds back with his team the next step in their plan, gathering the troops ready to try and find the extortionists. As night turns to day, the various different pockets of officers gather and find a shooter up on the roof. It’s incredibly tense but they manage to thwart the threat, cornering this sniper out in the street and eventually shooting him dead to prevent him killing anyone. Detective Conte meets Victor outside and reveals there’s more to this story than meets the eye. The shooter was a man named Manuel and he was drowning in debt. Only, a week ago that debt was paid off but his wife and children went missing. The bullets were blanks and he had a letter on him addressed to Victor. It seems like this is just the beginning as Victor’s nightmare continues.
The Episode Review
After an intriguing opening scene, the blackmail story alongside the scandal is a nice way of weaving two story threads together. There’s also a delicate balance between the tension and thrills, backed up by some character-driven drama with Victor. Who are The Minions Of Midas? This seems to be a question that’s going to consume this series and already there could be numerous people involved and lots of possible suspects. One thing’s for sure though – this conflict is far from over.
