The Gardener Review: I Wanted To Be More Shocked By Netflix's Stylish Romantic Crime Thriller's Twists & Turns That Border On Melodrama

Fans of Netflix's other original thrillers and melodramas will have no trouble diving into the streamer's latest TV crime drama, The Gardener. Starring Álvaro Rico, who viewers might recognize from his work as Polo in Elite, The Gardener follows the evolution of Rico's character, Elmer. All about the balance between emotion and practicality, and what amount of suffering is worth the joy of love, The Gardener touches upon some deeper questions but ultimately unfolds predictably. It's not hard to see where each of Elmer's disastrous relationships is heading.

Though much of The Gardener revolves around Elmer falling head over heels in love for the first time with Violeta (Catalina Sopelana), it's the almost incestuous relationship with his mother that is most compelling. Following an accident that damaged Elmer's frontal lobe, making him unable to feel emotions, La China (Cecilia Suárez) grooms him into the perfect hitman. We catch up with the mother and son when their business is fully in bloom. Using their nursery and gardening services as a front, the pair make the perfect killers until Elmer falls in love.

The Shakespearean Tragedy At The Heart Of The Gardener Struggles To Hit Home

Elmer's Emotional Journey Never Cuts Through The Noise Of The Gardener

Many of the plot developments are a little over-the-top, like the fact that Elmer is suddenly able to feel emotions again, thanks to an unexpected twist. However, this is to be expected from a series like The Gardener. Only six episodes long, I imagined it would race by, cramming the many twists and turns it had in store into its limited run as quickly as possible. However, the pace was surprisingly deliberate. Even when blood was spilled, I felt as calm and collected as Elmer did.

It's a contained series, with only a few characters and locations, giving The Gardener the appropriate small-town feel that makes you think someone's always looking over your shoulder. Over the years, it seemed that this person was Elmer, carrying out hits until the emotions surged back. There's a lot of inherent tension in the premise, and though we worry for him and grow to empathize with his struggles, there's something holding The Gardener back from completely engaging the viewer.

Even when Violeta is revealed to be harboring a secret, The Gardener doesn't expand on this further.

It could be the watery character development, especially when it came to Violeta. The woman who is supposed to be the object of Elmer's pure affection appears to have very little going on behind the eyes. Even when Violeta is revealed to be harboring a secret, The Gardener doesn't expand on this further. While it's true that Elmer's feelings were a projection and he was in love with the idea of her, that doesn't mean we can't be let in on the secrets of who she is and why we should care about her.

There's been an interesting influx of stories that revolve around a hitman falling in love for the first time and deciding if his craft or his relationship is more important to him. The Gardener doesn't have much to add to this genre, as it refuses to go any deeper into the more significant moral questions and doesn't attempt to be a full character study either. This leaves The Gardener somewhere between the thriller, romance, and family drama genres, with one foot in each category and no clear sense of self.

The Gardener Opens The Door For Season 2, But It's Unclear If There's Enough Story To Pull It Off

The Gardener Struggles To Maintain The Tension Through Season 1, Making Me Question The Potential For Season 2

Most of The Gardener's final episode takes its time wrapping up the loose ends of the series and returning the story to the status quo. However, there's a final twist that leaves the door open for a potential second installment if the show can make its mark on Netflix. The fact that the story behind The Gardener would likely work better as a movie than a show doesn't bode well for the project's future. The series isn't outlandish enough to shock the audience and make them laugh or introspective enough to make them think.

Despite its issues, The Gardener is enough fun to buoy the audience through the narrative, and the central performances from Rico and Suárez help anchor the emotional core of the story. I would've liked to be more shocked by the twists and turns of the series with true blindsiding developments out of a soap opera. However, The Gardener will come and go on Netflix and might still garner a following from those who get lost in its tale.

The Gardener will be available to stream on Netflix on April 11th.