Baby Bandito, the Netflix crime thriller, is based on real events, but the makers have taken a lot of creative liberties and included a lot of other plot points that didn’t happen in real life. The first season let us on a cliffhanger, and probably the makers would come with another season, though nothing has been officially announced as of yet. The main issue that I personally had with the show was that I never got attached to the journey of the characters, and so in its entirety, I never got impacted as much as I would have liked. This is one of the biggest reasons why Alex Pina’s Money Heist was a huge success: the audience vouched for the characters, and they got so involved in their lives and their journey that they really wanted them to emerge victorious. There was a lot of potential in characters like Panther and Mistica, but the makers didn’t use it properly.
In the first season, we saw that even after being warned by his father, Kevin Tapia decided to commit robbery. He had the blueprint of the plan that he had stolen from Greyhound, who belonged to an organized crime syndicate called the Butchers. Greyhound and his brother-in-law, Russian, with whom he had an affair, got to know that Kevin had entered their hideout and stolen the book in which the entire plan was written. Kevin knew that even after getting the plan, he wouldn’t be able to execute it alone. He needed allies, and that’s when his father told him about Panther, an old friend and a master planner.
Later in Baby Bandito, we got to know that Panther was Kevin’s real father, and his mother had hidden that fact from him. Ana didn’t want her son to enter the criminal world, as she had seen what happened to her husband, but Kevin had made up his mind. As far as Kevin’s motivations and intentions are concerned, I personally think that it was partly because he saw the situation on his own and somewhere also felt that he wanted that opulent lifestyle for himself. We saw how he spent his money with Genesis when they escaped to Italy. It was the most foolish thing he could have done, and I understand that he was young and naive, but still, that was no excuse, and he put everybody else’s life in jeopardy because of his own recklessness. At the end of season 1, we saw that Panda messaged Pablo’s mother that her son was in Kevin’s custody. Pablo was conspiring with Panda, and both of them probably wanted to extort money from the gang. But things didn’t pan out as they should have, and Panda realized the blunder he had committed. Up until that movement, Panda had survived just fine. There were moments where he felt like he would lose it all, and he was extremely disappointed when Nidia went and told the police officers about him. But he hid his tracks well, and the police were not able to catch him. In the shootout, Panther lost his life, and though Amador somehow managed to survive, he was paralyzed. Ana asked Mistica to take Kevin with her, as she knew that he wouldn’t be safe there.
As for Panda, he felt fatigued from running from one place to another, and so he went and confessed his crimes. So basically, Kevin is still on the run, and he knows that, at least until the time the case was in the headlines, he wouldn’t be able to come back to meet Genesis or his baby. Taking into consideration the kind of man Kevin was, I believe that if there is a season 2 of Baby Bandito, we will see him once again committing some illicit act. Also, I think even if he didn’t want to, he would be pulled into the swamp. Obviously, he has to survive, and earning a livelihood through legitimate means wouldn’t be possible for him. The police were on the lookout for him, and considering the magnitude of the robbery, they were not going to stop until and unless they got some potential leads and made a breakthrough. Though Panda confessed to his crimes, he went to the same prison where Russians were being held. We saw what he did with Pedro, and so it could be possible that in season 2 he plans an attack on Panda too. Panda would have to be very cautious because the Russian was a dangerous man; there was a fire raging inside him, and he desperately wanted to take revenge. I believe that in season 2, destiny will bring Kevin back in touch with his crew. Mistica was also on the run, and probably Kevin would get in touch with her if and when he faced a conflict.
I believe Natalia wouldn’t let Kevin escape so easily. Her father had been shot, and she would definitely want to seek revenge. From the likes of it, Pablo would join the family business, as he very clearly told his grandfather that he wanted to be a part of it, and there was no point in sending him to school. I believe that in season 2, we will see another heist happen. Kevin might take the defense that he did it for his family, but I believe it was his desire for a better and more luxurious life that made him a criminal. Maybe Kevin bumps into that gang that took all his money in Italy, and he tries to retrieve what he believes belongs to him. He would have also tried to find ways to come and meet Genesis and his kid. Kevin wanted to start afresh, and probably in Baby Bandito season 2 he will try to do that once again, but I personally feel that for him to do that, especially now, will be an impossible task. From the law enforcement authorities to the butcher gang, he was on everybody’s hit list. Whatever he does in season 2, one thing is for sure: he will need allies, and he will probably find people on his journey and form a gang of his own.
