“Holy Family” or “Sagrada Familia” is a Spanish drama thriller that questions the definition of motherhood. Gloria lives in a posh neighborhood in Madrid. She takes her toddler, Hugo, everywhere with her, and her wealthy girlfriends keep her company. She is an artist who prefers to not bring anyone into her house. While that did seem strange, Gloria wanted to be careful about the people she brought home. After all, she was hiding a secret that could ruin her life.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Summary: What Is The Series About?
Gloria did not wish to bring anyone into her house, but she soon realized it might seem strange to her friends. To normalize her existence, she decided to organize Hugo’s first birthday, and she invited her friends over. Her friends, Blanca and Alicia, knew that Gloria was a single mother who lived with an au pair, Aitana. But in reality, Aitana was Gloria’s daughter. Gloria also had a son, whom she kept locked up in a room. She did not want the neighbors to find out about her family, so she kept them hidden. Abel/Eduardo stayed in his tiny room all day and was only allowed to leave the house at night when the street was vacant. Aitana/Mariana attended film classes on behalf of her brother, who was no longer allowed to attend school. It was while attending his classes that Mariana met Marcos. Marcos was the son of one of Spain’s most talented musicians. When Marcos heard Mariana play the piano, he knew she was special. Even though Mariana enjoyed Marcos’s company, she could not commit to him, knowing they were living a lie and it would all be over soon.
While Gloria tried her best to conceal the truth, she did not know a threat was lurking around her. She was introduced to Caterina, a mother of a baby girl who was new to the neighborhood. Blanca believed that all mothers must stick together, and she wanted Caterina to feel comfortable in the new environment. Gloria had to invite Caterina, now that she was also a part of the group. Caterina was not the person she was pretending to be. The baby she was carrying around was borrowed. She paid a drug addict money to lend her the baby. The baby helped her befriend the group of mothers. Her actual goal was to find out information about Gloria and her baby, Hugo. While Caterina befriended Gloria and her friends, her husband/fellow mercenary, German, became friends with Gloria’s son, Eduardo. It was his way of finding out about the family. The only problem was that German was taking a liking to Eduardo.
Who Were Caterina And German? What Was Julia’s Past?
Caterina was a mercenary whose motive was to find out the truth behind Gloria’s perfect life. She knew that Gloria was Julia, a potential criminal who had settled in Madrid. But she needed to find proof and take the necessary steps as requested by her client. But first, she had to find out if the baby Gloria was carrying around was hers. She managed to collect a few strands of the baby’s hair and sent it for testing. The result proved that Gloria was not Hugo’s mother. The result indicated that the baby belonged to Natalia, the client’s daughter. But Catarina had seen Gloria’s wound from the C-section, making her wonder who the real mother was. Her client, Fernando, paid her to bring his grandson back to his daughter. But Catarina and German decided to act upon it only when they were absolutely sure who the mother was. The DNA result was strong evidence, but to get rid of the family, they had to make the murder look like a suicide.
Gloria’s son, Santi, was desperate to have his own child, but his wife, Natalia, was diagnosed as being infantile. Gloria wanted to help her son, and to do so, she proposed surrogacy. She agreed to carry Natalia and Santi’s baby in her womb and give birth. Santi was overjoyed by the possibility, but his wife felt like a failure. Natalia could never truly accept the fact that Gloria was carrying her child while she had to sport a fake belly to keep the rumors away. She felt distant most of the time and could not participate in Santi’s happiness.
After the birth of the baby, Nico, Natalia felt like a mother. Even though she never carried the child, she knew she wanted to protect Nico from all harm. But life would not get any easier for her. When the family went to the beach, Mariana drowned in the sea, and Santi risked his life to save his sister. While Mariana survived, Santi, lost his life. Gloria could never accept her son’s death. After the death of her husband, Natalia was advised by her father, Fernando, to move to Argentina with him. Gloria decided to intervene; she would not allow Nico to be taken away from her. She refused to accept Natalia as the baby’s mother.
Gloria believed she was Nico’s mother because she was the one who carried him in her womb. She was determined to take Nico away from Natalia at any cost. She had lost her son, but she would not allow Nico to slip away from her. The baby was the only way Gloria could stay close to the memories of Santi. When Nico was taken out on a walk, Gloria managed to create a distraction and steal the baby from the walker. Even though Mariana was not in support of her mother’s action, she was by her side because they were a family, and it was important for them to stick together. Gloria/Julia got men to steal four bodies from a morgue. Three adults and a baby. The plan was to make it look as if they had died in a car accident. The police, too, identified the accessories left behind at the scene and concluded that it was Julia and her children with baby Nico. That was how Gloria/Julia landed up in Madrid with her family. She was trying to forge passports to travel to Canada and live a safe life. Fernando Alberche was a wealthy businessman and a believer in Christ. He could go to any extent to bring back his grandson. Fernando doubted the accident, especially after he saw that four bodies had gone missing from a morgue around the same time as the car accident. It seemed too much of a coincidence to be true. He employed mercenaries to bring back his grandson and to murder the family.
Who Murdered Marcos? Why Did Mariana Decide To Return Baby Nico?
Gloria was scared of losing control of the lies she had carefully built. Even though she tried to micromanage everything that her family did, she missed out on some. She did not know that her daughter was going out with someone from a conservatory. Gloria never wanted Mariana to play the piano, fearing that someone might recognize her or that she might be heavily questioned for her talent. But Mariana could not control herself whenever she saw a piano. She enjoyed playing it and was tired of not living her true life. She played the piano at Marcos’s family function, impressing everyone present. Accidentally, when Marcos’s family was posing for a family portrait, Mariana was in the background. Natalia noticed the picture published in a magazine and contacted Marcos. Marcos denied knowing Mariana, but he could sense that Aitana was not the person she pretended to be. But Marcos was in love. He trusted Aitana and believed that she was caught up in an ugly mess. He decided to help her and proposed that she move to his family house in Marbella. It would be a safe place for her to stay, and she could be the person she was. Aitana accepted his proposal. She wanted to stay away from her mother, and Marbella seemed to be a good option.
German ended his relationship with Abel/Eduardo, believing that it was becoming all too dangerous. He was falling in love with Abel, and that could ruin his professional life. He knew that he might have to take Abel’s life if his client desired so. Eduardo was heartbroken, and he never stopped loving German. He opened up to his mother about his relationship and stated that he was gay. He even mentioned Atiana’s relationship with Marcos. Gloria knew that the lovers were a distraction, or even worse, they could be working for Natalia.
Gloria followed Marcos and questioned him about Natalia. In a way, Marcos realized that the extent to which Gloria went to find out about Natalia indicated that she was not innocent. He stated that he would go to the police to report Gloria, but before he could do that, she murdered him with a piece of glass. She used the glass to build the stained glass painting she was making in school. Gloria believed that because she was doing it all for her family, it was justified. Next, she burned Catarina’s car and managed to enter her house when they rushed to save the car. She found out that Catarina and German were working for Natalia. She went back home and convinced Eduardo to call German and meet him. German did not wish to harm Eduardo; he was looking for a way to keep Eduardo safe. Upon meeting Eduardo, Gloria attempted to choke German from behind with a rope. German managed to overpower her, but Eduardo got hold of German’s gun and pointed it at him. He could not shoot German and handed the gun over to his mother. Gloria learned all about Fernando’s plan from German and decided to spare his life. She kept him tied up. He was at her mercy now.
Both Eduardo and Mariana were not happy with the way Gloria was behaving. They barely got any opportunity to express themselves; they were constantly running away from every situation and living under tremendous fear. They were supporting Gloria because she was their mother, but they now started to question whether their sacrifices were even worth what Gloria wanted to achieve. They knew that Nico was not Gloria’s son. Even though Gloria carried him, Natalia was the mother of the baby. Gloria was holding onto Nico only because she could never cope with the loss of her son. Mariana and Eduardo locked their mother in a room with Hugo/Nico. Mariana decided to run away with her passport and belongings. She no longer wanted to be a part of her mother’s crimes. When she learned about Marcos’s murder, she knew it was her mother. Meanwhile, Eduardo decided to be by his mother’s side, but he would not allow her to dominate him anymore. He freed German, knowing that the man would never harm him. German tricked Caterina to meet him at a spot and drove his car into Caterina’s car and murdered her. He knew that Caterina would attempt to murder the family. He did it to save Eduardo.
Before leaving, Mariana attended Marcos’s funeral. Natalia was also present there, and she caught hold of Mariana. She begged her to return baby Nico to her. Mariana decided that her mother had done enough damage. She went back home to take baby Nico from Gloria. Even though Gloria tried to stop Mariana, she was not ready to listen. She reminded her mother that she was not truly the mother of Nico. She asked Gloria to think about the pain Natalia was going through instead of being selfish. Gloria had lost her son, but Natalia still had hers, and it was unfair, according to Mariana, to keep her away from her son. She carried the baby to the park, where Natalia was waiting. As she was about to hand over the baby to Natalia, Gloria stopped her. She injured Mariana and took the baby away. Eduardo entered the scene and forced Natalia and Mariana to come along with him. Mariana, Natalia, Gloria, Eduardo, and baby Nico were together in Gloria’s van. As Eduardo drove the family van, he noticed that German was being taken in an ambulance, indicating that he had survived the “accident.”
Will There Be A Season 2?
The ending indicates that there will be a season 2. The story is yet to end. While Natalia has reunited with her son, she is now taken hostage by Gloria and her family. Gloria did not allow Natalia to touch the baby. Will Mariana and Eduardo manage to convince their mother to hand over the baby to Natalia? Considering how Fernando is, he will surely question German and expose Julia’s family secret. Fernando is unaware of the fact that his daughter was not pregnant and that it was Julia who was carrying the baby. Fernando is a staunch Christian; he might find the whole act immoral and denounce Natalia once he finds out the truth. Gloria has committed too many crimes, stating that it was all to protect her family. But more than love and affection, calling baby Nico her own son became an obsession. She could go to any extent to fulfill her desire instead of taking care of her son and daughter, who needed their mother by their side. “Holy Family” might return with another season to answer all the questions.
“Holy Family” is a 2022 Drama Thriller series streaming on Netflix.
