Wrong Side of the Tracks Review: Teen Angst, Drugs And Avenge

Wrong Side of the Tracks (Entrevías), a Spanish crime thriller series released on Netflix on 20 May 2022. The series was originally telecasted on channel Telecinco on 1st February 2022 and has two seasons, the last episode was broadcast recently on 17 May 2022. However, Netflix has only released the first season for now.

There are 8 episodes in total with a runtime of about 90 minutes respectively. It is available in Spanish and English languages with subtitles.

-No Spoilers-

Wrong Side of the Tracks Review: Plot

Tirso Abantos (José Coronado) is a war veteran who lives in Entrevías, which is an actual neighbourhood in Madrid, Spain. Recently the neighbourhood has been infiltrated by drug dealers and troublemakers which irks Tirso, but when his adopted granddaughter Irene (Nona Sobo) falls into the bad company of these thugs, he decides to take matters into his own hands and protect her to lead her to the right side of the track.

Irene is a 17-year-old teenager who isn’t happy with her life and wants to run away with her boyfriend Nelson (Felipe Londoño). But to earn enough money they go on a dangerous route that involves working for goons and dealing with drugs. When they think things will change for the better, they land in big trouble where they are wanted by both the police and the drug mafia.

When Irene asks for Tirso’s help in her hour of need, that’s when he decides to protect her from whatever danger might be lurking around to get her and change her rebellious attitude through his orthodox ways. Little did he know that controlling teenagers and their impulsive nature is no small task, which eventually drags everyone into a conflict with the people they wouldn’t want to encounter.

Wrong Side of the Tracks Review: The Characters

The character of Irene, played by Nona Sobo, is her first acting role and she does it quite well. Her role as a bratty and rebellious teenager who is always in their world and causing trouble without thinking much is played believably well. As opposed to her boyfriend Nelson, played by Felipe Londoño, who can maybe learn a few more expressions than the one that he repeatedly delivers.

When talking about characters we cannot miss mentioning the coming together of two great actors Jose Coronado and Luis Zahera, again in Wrong Side of the Tracks after the series Live Without Permission in 2018. Jose’s character Tirso is an angry old fashioned war veteran, who is somewhat pissed about everything in this world and has an even bigger ego. He is adamant about his beliefs and can come off as an antagonist if you don’t know him well.

Luis Zahera’s character Ezequiel, a corrupt policeman who likes to have the best of both worlds but with a new boss and Tirso’s plan to avenge, lands him in trouble. He is the polar opposite of everything that Tirso stands for yet throughout their series they have to work together and have an amicable relationship. Ezequiel is a peculiar character who brings comic relief in often tense situations.

Stream it or Skip it?

Wrong Side of the Tracks on Netflix is a complicated series that deals with the topics of crime, family, and social reform. You can either like it for its real grittiness or absolutely hate it for the same. The creator tried to reflect the influence and increase in the number of drug-related crimes through this series which is a real issue in Spain currently.

However, there are a few things mentionable that gave off a bad taste, like constantly referring to Irene as the Chinese girl, although she is Vietnamese and everyone knows it too. Likewise throwing away food given by Chinese neighbours because they eat dogs, pigeons and whatnot. Moreover, the series also calls non-white South Americans as P*nchito (a derogatory term) and their food, hospital piss. I don’t know if these are common cultural things but if they are casually dropped here and there in conversations repeatedly, then it doesn’t leave the best image of Spain for me.

Overall, it is a good drama series which is fairly realistic in its portrayal of real-like characters and actions. At the end of season one, a preview of the second season is inserted and one can imagine what could be expected in the next season, whose release date is yet unknown.

Wrong Side of the Tracks is streaming on Netflix.

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