At the end of the day, it is all about love, or at least that is what Berlin from Netflix’s celebrated television show Money Heist believed in. Yes, there is a heist that takes the plot forward, but the focus of Berlin from the very beginning is love and relationships. We are introduced to the bright, colorful world of a charming Berlin. He had recently gone through his third divorce and was on the verge of giving up on all romantic pursuits, but everything changed when he laid his eyes on Camille.
Prequel to Netflix’s Money Heist, Berlin series showcases the best days of the criminal mastermind. We are introduced to the gang members Berlin worked with to execute the French heist worth 44 million euros.
Spoiler Alert
Who is Camille?
After blackmailing and robbing the exquisite 4th-century chalice from Mr. Antonio Vals by pretending to be a policeman, Berlin proceeded with his actual heist plan. He met his team in France to discuss the intricacies of the 44 million-euro heist and the role the chalice would play in taking them closer to their objective. Berlin was proud of the team he had selected to execute his plan—Keila was the computer geek, Roi could open any lock, university professor Damien was quite the genius who enjoyed the best of both worlds, and Bruce was, as described by Berlin, “the jack of all trades.” Joining the team as a trainee thief was Cameron, who was best known for being short-tempered. Berlin and Damien did not hesitate when they defaced the chalice, adding that it would be worth a lot more in its current state. They planned to convince Father Toureaux that they were a group of excavators who strongly believed that an ancient French church was located beneath the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Pres. The prospect of discovering an ancient church excited the priest, and he allowed Berlin and his team to start the excavation process. There was, of course, no sign of an ancient church beneath, and it was simply a story they came up with to get access to the crypt that had a secret passage to the catacombs of Paris. Through the catacombs, they would have full access to the city of Paris. After following the tunnel for 45 meters, they would reach the most prestigious auction house in Paris. There, they would find the 34 precious jewels worth 44 million euros. The last day of shipment was when they could execute the heist.
Berlin had strategically booked hotel rooms to keep an eye on the director of the auction house, Monsieur Polignac. The only way to find out about the deposits was by following Polignac, so Berlin’s trusted team entered the house of the director and placed hidden cameras all around. At the time, Berlin had no idea that his greatest diversion, Camille. The first night Berlin saw Camille through the spy cameras, he was enthralled. She struggled to find sleep at night, just like him, and she decided to head out. Berlin followed her to the local bar, fascinated by her spontaneity and beauty. He watched her sing, and at that moment, all he wanted was to be in close contact with her. Berlin was in love once again, and along with the jewels, he intended to steal the director’s wife.
How did love impact the heist?
As we previously discussed, love is the predominant factor in Berlin series. While Berlin pretended to be a tourist mesmerized by Camille’s beauty, Damien was crushed. He believed his marriage was perfect, but that was until his wife called him up and asked him for a divorce. They had been married for twenty years, but Damien had lately been absent, and his wife found love somewhere else. The unexpected upheaval in his romantic life diverted Damien’s attention, and he wondered where he had gone wrong while staying up late. Keila experienced sexual tension whenever Bruce was around. Keila was a nerd, and Bruce was a flamboyant man who enjoyed female attention. Keila had never, in her wildest dreams, thought that she would be attracted to a man like Bruce, but the situation was beyond her control. She fantasized about him and was easily distracted when he was around. Roi fell in love with Cameron when he saw her walk into the room. Roi was a thug who found his godfather in Berlin, even though Berlin considered him nothing more than a faithful dog. Roi was a petty criminal who had been in and out of prison several times. His mother died while giving him birth, and his father despised him. Roi found comfort in the dark corners of the street with the wrong crowd, and he often missed school as a result. His father would torture him when he returned home, and he continued to carry the scars after all these years. Roi ran away from his house at 13, and he ended up living the life of a thief. Berlin taught him to keep his temper in check, and he was ever grateful for the support Berlin provided. Cameron’s life was not easy either. She ended up at a mental asylum after suffering a devastating heartbreak. Roi and Cameron were attracted to each other, but Cameron was afraid of losing herself in love once again.
While the team planned on executing the perfect heist, romantic complications sometimes got in the way. Berlin was busy pursuing Camille, and she eventually fell for his charms. She was afraid of losing him and decided to give their love a chance. But Berlin was not happy being with the guy she was having an affair with; he wanted more than an affair; he was hopeful that she would leave Polignac to be with him. When Polignac found out about the affair, Berlin assumed that Camille and Polignac would separate, but instead, Polignac was ready to meet Berlin and discuss the nature of their relationship. Seeking revenge on the director of the auction house became his priority, and he realized that Camille would leave her life behind once Polignac was sent behind bars. Berlin chose to risk it all for Camille.
What mistakes did Berlin and his gang make?
After Polignac dropped off the final jewel, the Elena of Savoy diamond tiara, the team got ready to enter the auction house’s vault. They had fifteen hours to execute the plan. Keila played the pre-recorded surveillance footage on a loop to fool the security guards. The team successfully entered the vault, and it was finally time to steal the jewelry. Everything was going according to plan, but the relationship between Berlin and Damien was not the same anymore. After being cheated on, Damien despised Berlin for eyeing a married woman. He thought it was unfair that Berlin was destroying a marriage to satisfy his ego. Berlin defended himself, admitting that he was madly in love with Camille and that it was not a trivial affair. Damien considered it pointless to pursue a woman with a false identity, even after knowing that they would never end up together. Berlin was ready to risk it all to enjoy a few days with Camille rather than be filled with regret thinking about the could-have-beens. The argument escalated into a fight, and Polignac heard the sudden bang from outside the vault. He was alarmed by it and requested that the guard on duty take a look at the antechamber. Luck favored Berlin and his crew, and Polignac received an important call, and as a result, he did not ask the guard to look into the main vault.
After Polignac left, the team got busy cleaning their tracks. They carried the jewelry to their hotel room, and they left the spot just the way it was before. Problems start to arise in Berlin after the heist. Bruce took Keila along to the bike rental store to remove his ID from the system. While they planned to enter the office room secretly and remove data, the security guard got suspicious and decided to check the office. Keila pretended to be the new girl in charge of the bills, but because of her uneasy demeanor, the security guard doubted her. Soon, the guard found Bruce hiding under the table, and Keila tried to come up with an excuse. Bruce knew it was impossible to win the trust of the guard now, and he went into attack mode. The guard’s gun was on the table, and Keila surprised everyone in the room, especially Bruce, by picking up the gun and pointing it at the guard and his friends. Keila and Bruce escaped from the scene after robbing the guard. Keila was not proud of the person she was becoming, and she was afraid that she would be in deep trouble with Bruce by her side.
Meanwhile, after the heist, Cameron suddenly felt a rush of emotions, and she wanted to contact her ex-boyfriend, Jimmy. When the call reached his voicemail, she realized it was a mistake. When Roi came to her room, she decided to party with him, knowing that she would be drowning in her emotions otherwise. Roi enjoyed racing, and after stealing a car, he entered an illegal street competition. Cameron was carrying one of the stolen pieces of jewelry with her that night, and the jacket in which it was kept was left behind in the car. Cameron lost control of her emotions when she saw Jimmy calling her. She asked Roi to stop in the middle of the race, and he had to hand the car to the winner as a prize. The necklace was left behind in the car; it later connected the criminals to the crime.
Was the heist a success?
Berlin entered Francois Polignac’s house when he was fast asleep. After drugging him with chloroform, Berlin wore Polignac’s coat and hat, masquerading as him, and he drove the director’s car to his country villa and left shreds of evidence and a piece of diamond from one of the stolen jewelry. When the power at the auction house went out, panic ensued. The police entered the scene, and their first suspect was Francois Polignac. He was arrested at his house and brought in for questioning. Polignac declined his involvement in the robbery, but the French police had mounting evidence against him. Berlin thought he had struck gold, only to realize he had made a terrible mistake. Camille was planning on leaving Polignac and spending her life with Berlin, but after her husband was arrested, she decided it was not the time to part ways with Francois, and instead, she must support him in any way she can. Berlin did not predict this outcome, and he tried to be a good supporting lover to Camille so that she would choose him at the end of the day.
Meanwhile, the rest of the gang left the hotel one after the other. Keila and Bruce, dressed as backpackers, left on a bus. Roi, Cameron, and Damien pretended to be family mourning the death of their mother, and Berlin was supposed to leave at the end after clearing out the hotel room, but since things did not go as he had planned, he decided to stay back and support Camille. The French police were quick to react, and Berlin and his team had to take extra precautions. When the police came across Roi, Cameron, and Damien, they were suspicious of the pretend family. But with the help of the urn, Cameron managed to divert the attention of the police from the tin cans full of jewelry. They realized it was impossible to cross borders now, and they decided to camp for a few days.
A stranger took an interest in Damien, and she offered him a jar of limoncello to cope with his sadness. Damien called his wife and tried to mend their marriage, and the stranger heard the entire conversation through the vents. Damien had lied to her about his wife’s death, but there was something about him that she could not resist. Damien finally realized what it was to experience love within a few minutes and to indulge in it even after knowing that it would not last long. When Damien found out that Berlin was still at the hotel, he decided to help him escape, and Roi and Cameron were alone. The police had noticed the romantic stares that Roi and Cameron shared, and they realized that the family had lied to them. Soon, the police surrounded the van, and Roi and Cameron had to escape through a service hole. They walked through the underground tunnel and hopped on a truck that was waiting outside. They planned to camouflage with the surface of the truck, and even though the police thoroughly checked the vehicle, the thieves managed to fool them.
Keila was bitten by a snake, and as a result, she and Bruce ended up in a messy situation. The two policemen who helped them reach the hospital found a bullet magazine on them, but Bruce was quick to react, and he held the policemen at gunpoint. After Keila was released, he handcuffed the policemen to a boat and left with Keila to cross the border using the water route. They paid a bunch of old homeless people to make it look like a family cruise, and the police allowed them to pass without any suspicion.
Berlin was completely shattered when Camille decided to break up with him. Damien could see the sadness in his friend’s eyes and decided to stay back at the hotel for a couple of drinks. The two ended up crashing a wedding and having a gala time. Meanwhile, Camille suddenly suspected Berlin of getting her husband into trouble. As she was saying her goodbyes, she stole the card key to his room, and when she opened it, she discovered everything she needed to prove to herself that her lover was a master criminal. Damien noticed Camille walking away, and he realized they were in deep trouble.
The first order of business was to get rid of every piece of evidence and escape from the room through a hidden passage. The Spanish and French police together had figured out that the criminals had been planning the heist from the hotel across the director’s house, given their knowledge of Polignac’s life. But before the police could have access to the surveillance footage, Keila hacked into the system and took it all down. At the end of Berlin, we find out that Berlin and Damien cycled their way through the mountains and out of France. They managed to fool the police and pull off one of the most highly valued heists.
Why Did Camille Not Inform The Police?
Camille could have destroyed Berlin, and she was about to inform the police of his truth when she came across all the things her husband kept hidden from her. Francois maintained a personal locker, and as it turned out, towards the end of Berlin series, he was in a relationship with another woman, and they had a kid together. He went on trips as a family, and Camille was kept in the dark all these years. Camille and her friend decided it was time that she prioritized herself over everyone else, and they planned to get a share of the money Berlin earned from the heist. She followed Berlin to Spain, and one day, she confronted him. The two could not resist their temptation, but Camille made it a point to ask for her share the next day. Berlin agreed to pay her even though, by that point, he had destroyed all of the recordings she had that would have implicated him. While love did not come easy, at least Camille found a way to compensate for all the emotional trouble she had to go through.
Berlin‘s ending suggests that Berlin and Camille’s romantic affair continued, and their next destination was a bar in Singapore. The French police, on the other hand, did not have a single picture of the criminals, making it impossible for them to hunt them down. The lack of any strong evidence makes it quite the perfect crime. Even though it seemed Berlin would end up in trouble, he managed to get it together in the end. Planning elaborate robberies was what they enjoyed the most, and Damien and Berlin were back together in the end to discuss another heist.
