‘The Mallorca Files’ Season 3 Review - Cracking Cases

We experience a longing for the "good old days" when the current climate looks terrible. Nostalgia can be good as well as bad. It makes you see the past with a bittersweet sentiment, but if you remove the romantic lens, you will realize that the past, too, had its flaws. As someone whose job is to watch a lot of shows and films and write about them, I often find myself thinking about old movies and serials whenever I come across any latest streaming service disaster. The eight-episode series' mostly end up being empty noises, and even then, they display the audacity to tease us with a second or more seasons. The movies, with plastic backgrounds and paper-thin characters, look equally worse. In such a cinematic environment, when you watch something like The Mallorca Files, you fondly whisper, "Oh, I really want more shows to be undemanding and easy to watch without them being lazy or devoid of substance." The Mallorca Files takes you back to those "good old days" when shows followed the one-case-per-week/episode format. You could have started your journey from, say, Season 2, Episode 7, and you still would have been fascinated by the on-screen events. You didn't need to do homework to understand what was happening or what must have happened to the characters. The absence of these details didn't bother you much because you were too absorbed in the ongoing situation. On top of this, the actors played a crucial role in keeping you invested. Forget their backstories; you might have just found their attitude or costume attractive enough to make you a fan of the show.

Something similar happened to me while I watched The Mallorca Files's third season. I went in without any knowledge whatsoever regarding the first two seasons, and I still managed to grasp everything here. There is a quick recap at the beginning of the first episode, and in one of the episodes, Detective Max Winter (Julian Looman) mentions that there was a time when his partner, Detective Miranda Blake (Elen Rhys), used to prefer working alone. These tidbits, along with the way Max and Miranda talk and behave with one another, help you piece things together. The blanks got filled, and I found the detectives to be one of those characters who avoid expressing their true feelings for each other. The romance is clearly visible to the audience, and the chemistry is perceivable, but the characters choose to keep their feelings hidden. Season 3 gives you a reason for that by showing us Max's girlfriend, Carmen (Tábata Cerezo). Because of her, Max and Miranda don't stoke whatever tender feelings they have for each other, and later, Max finds Miranda kissing someone else, which further suppresses the romantic angle. Thankfully, the season finale sorts everything out without introducing lame and unnecessary confusion. It's rare to come across happy endings that conclude a story and that still leave the doors open for the future.

There is so much to admire here. Your attention, naturally, first goes to Looman and Rhys. Their lively banter generates amusing sparks. She has a beautiful smile, while he looks like a big teddy bear. They infuse The Mallorca Files with a sense of comfort. The duo solves a variety of cases. They go on a treasure hunt, take part in an undercover operation to catch a conman and later a robber, investigate suspicious murders, look for clues inside a company that might be playing dirty to buy one land, catch a criminal that escapes from a police vehicle, look into a mysterious all-girl island, and prevent an assassination. The scenes move lightly - the atmosphere feels casual. There are moments when you wish for a sense of urgency. The series could have also benefitted from more suspense. There are two or three wonderful jokes that leave you longing for more such chuckle-worthy moments. I didn't like how the colors were almost washed out (it dampened the images), and I was not convinced by that "casual romance" between Miranda and a cop from Barcelona.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed The Mallorca Files. It isn't "groundbreaking" in any way and doesn't need to be inventive to be watchable. Given how most of the offerings from streaming services leave you wondering if the filmmakers have forgotten their craft, something like The Mallorca Files reminds you that the best thing the makers can do is ensure that their shows are competently made and look decent.

Final Score- [7/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times
Note: All 8 episodes are screened for this review.
Premiere Date: Aug 08, 2024, on Prime Video