Gangs of Galicia Review: Netflix excels itself when it comes to the crime-thriller genre, and the newest Netflix release seems to be a tight watch all about the seedy underworld of gangs in Cambados. While twists and turns are expected, will the series be able to leave a mark on our hearts?
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Gangs of Galicia Netflix Cast
Clara Lago, Tamar Novas, Xosé Antonio Touriñán, Melania Cruz, Francesc Garrido, Miguel de Lira, Nuno Gallego, Tomás del Estal, María Pujalte
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Gangs of Galicia Series Director
Roger Gual
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Gangs of Galicia 2024 Writer & Showrunner
Jorge Guerricaechevarría
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Original Title
Clanes
There are 7 episodes total, each with a runtime of 40 – 60 minutes.
– No Spoilers –
Gangs of Galicia Plot
When lawyer Ana’s father suddenly passes away, she learns about her father’s truth during the reading of his will. Shocked and confused, she moves to a small town called Cambados, where everyone knows everyone, and a competent lawyer’s sudden appearance doesn’t go unnoticed. However, when she comes across Daniel, the son of a drug trafficker and the leader of the Padín clan, she starts to realise that he might have a connection with her father’s shady past.
Gangs of Galicia Review
The problem with Gangs of Galicia is that it is thoroughly and mind-numbingly boring. Categorised as a crime-thriller, there is hardly any crime or thrill happening for most of the runtime as Daniel, the feared drug trafficker, walks around looking cute and creating a romantic connection with Ana, the feisty lawyer from Madrid. The first episode itself is so long and arduous that you hate to sit there and watch the information that is presented in the most underwhelming way possible, devoid of any personality or flair.
The long episodes just add to the annoyance of the series and make it sluggish, giving it time to add stuff that is necessary. The storytelling isn’t tight enough to take our breaths, a feature that every thriller should have in some capacity. The problem is that Gangs of Galicia isn’t really about the drugs or the gangs; it’s about romance and interpersonal relationships, which just ends up being thoroughly uninteresting because that’s not what we were here for. And sure, the romance can be great as a secondary plot in a thriller, but when that’s what encompasses the story, it gets on your nerves.
The other problem is that the characters aren’t charming enough to make us root for them or for their romance. None of the characters has any personality and is mostly bland. The storyline is so cliched that you can see it from a mile away. Think about Ana – upending her life just to find her father’s secrets. I mean, sure, I might take a week or two off to go grieve and healthily find the truth, but I am not joining a drug trafficking gang in a small town to get to the bottom of a 20-year-old secret.
And sure, you can say that different people are different, but there’s still some sort of behaviour that we all consider sane and balanced in some way, right?
Apart from unbelievable motivations and decisions, Ana and Daniel’s relationship is both annoying and unnecessary. There is no passion and you don’t see why a lawyer and a gang leader would get together and fall for each other genuinely. I mean, I get why – but it only works if the lawyer is corrupt, which Ana isn’t. Do neither of the protagonists understand that memo? I don’t know. As I mentioned, the motivations are confusing and lacklustre, and the extended runtime doesn’t help and makes the cons just glaringly obvious.
Final Thoughts
Forgettable and unimpressive, Gangs of Galicia is too long and doesn’t have enough oomph to keep you invested. Despite being a crime thriller, there’s hardly anything going on that will hold your interest for long enough.
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