How 'Money Heist' Season 5 Sets Up The 'Berlin' Prequel

Money Heist has come to a thrilling conclusion, but Netflix has already confirmed it won't be the last time viewers are able to experience the universe.

The streaming platform has commissioned a prequel series focused on Berlin (played by Pedro Alonso), the terminally ill thief that was in charge of the Royal Mint of Spain heist in Seasons 1 and 2.

*** Spoiler alert ***

Despite being killed in a fire fight with police at the end of Season 2, Berlin has remained a part of the show through flashbacks and this continues into the final season, which is available to stream in full now.

Season 5 also helps set up the prequel by establishing a lot of threads and plotlines that are likely to feature in it.

Here, Newsweek break down how the Spanish crime drama paves the way for the spin-off, which will be released in 2023.

How does 'Money Heist' Season 5 set up the 'Berlin' prequel?

As in Season 3 and 4, Berlin appears in flashbacks in which he explains to his brother The Professor (Álvaro Morte) his original plan for the Bank of Spain heist.

He does this alongside Palermo (Rodrigo de la Serna), who worked with him on the robbery's logistics, from how they could get Spain's gold reserve out of the vault to the way in which it would be removed to a secure location undetected.

But that's not all there is to Berlin's storyline in the season, as he is also shown embarking on a separate heist with his son Rafael (Patrick Criado), his fifth wife Tatiana (Diana Gómez), Marseille (Luka Peroš), and Bogotá (Hovik Keuchkerian).

Berlin and his crew embark on a meticulously planned robbery in which they steal Viking gold artefacts, swapping the relics with identical copies.

This plot serves as a way to explain how Berlin's son came to become a thief, as well as why Berlin split from Tatiana after she fell in love with Rafael and how they began a life of crime together.

But, it also teases the intense and exhilarating heists that Berlin will get up to in the spin-off, all without getting caught.

It has also been explained that Berlin was the mastermind for multiple heists and Season 5 revealed the character only went to prison once, for vandalism after smashing a bar in rage when he learned of Tatiana and Rafael's relationship.

While the stakes may not be as high with the knowledge that he only got caught the one time, it'll be interesting to see how he came to be the master thief he was by the start of Money Heist.

Berlin's professional relationship with Palermo, Marseille and Bogotá may also be developed more fully in the prequel, and his colorful love life, including four other wives, could also be featured since they were only referenced to briefly in Money Heist.

Money Heist Season 1 to 5 is available to stream on Netflix now.

Money Heist
Pedro Alonso, right, as Berlin and Patrick Criado, left, as his son Rafael in "Money Heist". Berlin will have his own prequel spin-off series. Netflix

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