Minor Spoilers Ahead!
Well, who does not enjoy a full-on teen drama? Directed by Alejandro Lozano, Control Z is a Mexican teen drama series featuring Ana Valeria Becerril, Michael Ronda, Andrés Baida, Macarena García Romero, and Yankel Stevan. The series dropped on Netflix on 22 May.
Control Z shows aspects like toxic masculinity, bullying, depression, teen pregnancy, slut-shaming, homophobia, and scandalous high school politics.
Don’t They Get Tired Of Pretending?
‘Everyone has secrets they don’t talk about.’
Control Z starts off with teenagers in a college courtyard. While they’re using their social media handles, a screen floats on their phones showing all they are seeing. It is symbolic of the endless addiction teenagers have to their devices. Further on, Javier (Michael Ronda), a new student, is introduced and is paired with Sofia (Ana Valeria Becerril) for an upcoming project
Sofia is shown as a student whom everybody considers mentally unstable because she has been to the psychic ward. She is one of those people who notices small details about everyone, which freaks everyone out because nobody wants the truth. Sofia finds a friend in Javier, who doesn’t find her weird like everyone else. The character of Sofia is so well-scripted and is worth watching. Ana Valeria Becerril is the perfect cast for Sofia and I just can’t deny it.
The whole drama starts when a hacker who goes by the name @_allyoursecrets_ starts revealing the secrets of students which leads to embarrassment and bullying. And they are all ready to save themselves at the cost of anyone – even their own friends. Sofia, Javier and Raul decide to find the hacker and to stop this game.
In the recent times series like 13 Reasons Why have shown that every teenager has something that they’ll want to hide irrespective of what it costs. Control Z, shows the same thing, but probably in a better way.
It also shows the pretentious nature of humans, how they fake being who they aren’t, and how they are never tired of this whole thing, which will be a lot easier if people were just real.
The Hacker’s Maze
The whole mess the hacker creates is simply commendable. It’s like a maze, it has many twists and turns and no matter how close you think the end is, the maze extends. I can say that this is one of those teen dramas that promises to keep its viewers hooked till the very end. The reveal of the hacker is at the most unpredictable moment and it does leave the viewer shocked. After all, the prettiest faces hide the nastiest of secrets, right?
Sofia’s search for the hacker and how every time he escapes despite being so close to her is frustrating but you just don’t want to skip it. Towards the end, the viewers realize that the whole search was for someone so close yet so far. And that’s the power of the internet and social media. Hidden predators.
I leave it to you to find out who the hacker really is.
Stream It or Skip It?
The eight episodes long series is everything you’ll want to watch. It isn’t like the usual teenage drama with dreamy love stories or some spoilt rich teenagers. It’s more than that. At first, the characters may seem a little unfamiliar but once you continue watching, you’ll realize you have seen teenagers like this around you. The outrageous behaviour is often painfully realistic.
One of the things I really liked is the name of the series – Control Z. Ctrl+Z is the computer shortcut for Undo. And there is something almost every character wants to undo throughout the series.
With well-placed twists and an interesting storyline, it is a must-watch. Control Z is now streaming on Netflix.