Burning Body, the 8-part Spanish thriller, is the story of a very toxic personality, and it makes us realize how important it is to understand the kind of person you are dealing with and to take a step back whenever you think that things are getting overboard and be in control of your impulses. Rosa Peral was like a puzzle, and the men who were with her mostly weren’t able to put all the pieces together. To top it off, she also came into contact with strange and obsessive men who became mad for her and, in turn, ended up spoiling their entire lives. Be it Manu, the police precinct captain, Albert Lopez, or Pedro Rodriguez, everybody just desperately wanted her in their lives, to the point that they were ready to do anything for it.
Javier, Rosa’s ex-husband, was probably the only sane one, and when he realized that things were getting too much for him to handle, he decided to walk away without creating any sort of scene. He wanted shared custody of Sofia, and for that one thing, he was ready to take things to court. Unlike Pedro and Albert, Javier knew that he didn’t want his life to become a living hell, and his peace and happiness were paramount to him. Pedro, on the other hand, had made his entire life about Rosa, and that attitude backfired very badly on him. So let’s find out what Pedro liked about Rosa, how he came to the decision to leave his ex-wife Silvia, and how his relationship reached a stage where Rosa was just done putting up with him and wanted a respite from the entire ordeal.
Why did Pedro leave his family?
Pedro met Rosa at a time when she was involved with Albert, and even Javier’s chapter hadn’t closed completely. Rosa saw him, and instantly felt attracted to him. Pedro had a wife, but he still started seeing Rosa because she had that kind of impact on people. Rosa was a charming and good-looking woman, and she never stopped herself from casually flirting with men and, at times, taking things forward too. Rosa had all the traits of a nymphomaniac; at least, we had that kind of perception after watching Burning Body.
Rosa didn’t have any problems with Albert at that time, and in fact, things were going very well between them. Albert had started dreaming of moving in with Rosa, though up until then, he hadn’t explicitly stated anything. There came a point where Rosa’s relationship with Javier ended after the latter found out that he was being cheated on, and she had the option of choosing between Albert and Pedro. Surprisingly, she chose Pedro, and Albert got very angry when he found out about it. Maybe Pedro gave the impression that he was more of a family guy as compared to Albert.
Pedro went to Silvia, his wife, and told her that thighs were not working between them and that he wanted to part ways. Silvia knew Pedro, and she immediately asked him the name of the girl to whom he was referring. Silvia knew that things might not have been good between them, but still, things weren’t so bad and hopeless that they couldn’t be worked on. Pedro hesitated for a moment, and then he told Silvia about Rosa. Silvia was heartbroken, but she knew that she couldn’t force her husband to love her, and he had clearly lost interest in her. Pedro didn’t do right by Silvia, but at that time, he wasn’t concerned about the ethical consequences of his actions, as his single-point agenda was to be with Rosa at any cost.
Why did Rosa kill Pedro?
After moving in with Pedro, Rosa realized the kind of man he was, and very soon, she started feeling claustrophobic and stuck in the relationship. He got on her nerves, and Rosa often vented in front of Albert, telling him how much nuisance he was causing. Also, Pedro had been suspended from his job as a case of police abuse was lodged against him, and instead of trying to do something and get his job back, Pedro was happily sitting at home and enjoying his leisure time. This attitude irked Rosa, as she wanted him to be a little more responsible and earn some money. Pedro had hired a private detective to observe what Javier was up to so that he could find something that could go against him in the case that he was fighting against Rosa for the custody of his daughter. Pedro loved Sofia, but hiring a detective was way too extreme, even for his standards.
Pedro had gotten really insecure after Albert sent him a screenshot of the messages that he had received from Rosa. Pedro lost his temper and asked Rosa how she could betray his trust when he was so invested in the relationship. But Pedro didn’t leave Rosa even after that, though he started keeping track of her movements and interfering in her private matters to the extent that Rosa got really frustrated with him. Rosa still kept meeting Albert even after that, and she always lied to Pedro about it. Pedro’s obsessive behavior was really getting out of hand, and Rosa knew that no matter what happened, this man was not going to leave her like Javier. Pedro was someone who had the potential to make her life a living hell if he came to know that she had been cheating on him all this time. Pedro had no control whatsoever over his emotions, and we saw towards the end of Burning Body how he had started losing his temper and getting anxious over the smallest of things.
Rosa might have realized that the only way to get rid of this man was to kill him, and that’s when she planned his murder together with Albert, who was waiting for the opportunity. Albert and Rosa killed Pedro in his sleep, and they started dreaming of a life together, believing that they had executed the most perfect crime and that there was no evidence that could lead the law enforcement authorities to them.
