How ‘The paper house’ has failed Tokyo as its female lead

SPOILERS for ‘The paper house’ below

The dramatic and unexpected death of Tokyo at the end of Part 1 of the fifth season of ‘The Money Heist‘ left viewers speechless. The intense moment at the climax of the action saw Tokio, played by Ursula Corberosustaining multiple gunshot wounds while struggling to block the heavily armed military, whose primary goal was to stop the robbery.

As we get caught up in the shock of the moment, one of many other explosive turning points in the series as a whole, perhaps we overlook its importance. But this final act made it clear that Tokio ultimately failed as a character, and killing her fully proved that.

Taking a look at where it all started in season one, in episode one, we were introduced to the mysterious Tokyo as the narrator of the story. She was a woman who made poor choices in life, a woman who was on the run and looking to start over. That’s where The Professor comes in, who made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

There was an element of vulnerability in Tokyo as he desperately tried to contact his family. This setting gave the impression that this part of his life would be explored at some point, but the series never did. It was a creative decision by the team, who instead focused on other characters.

She was portrayed as the most reckless of the group, displaying toxic traits such as reckless and impulsive behavior, acting primarily based on her emotions rather than logic. Over time, Tokyo did not evolve like the others.

This became apparent in the second season, when he deliberately sabotaged a heist that required many years of hard work and planning. He ended up leaving the National Currency and Stamp Factory after enraging and defying Berlin by jeopardizing the heist with a riot.

The team knew the risks that come with a heist, but even though everyone had their fair share of low moments at some point, it was Tokyo who was constantly painted as the biggest weakness of the group, the one that could bring it all down at any moment. moment. This portrayal was disappointing given the nature of Tokyo as the main protagonist..

throughout the seasons, there was a clear development for all the characters, except for Tokyo. We see Denver go from selfish to totally committed to Stockholm and her newborn child, and The Professor becomes more than just the ‘mastermind’ behind the heist and shows a caring side as well. But Tokyo remained the same.

By focusing attention on Tokyo’s relationship with Rio, viewers could easily see how toxic it was.. Rio fell in love with Tokio very much, and she sometimes loved him back, only to completely ruin it later by being distant. She would eventually break off the relationship, reminding him that theirs would never work out due to her obvious age difference.

It became difficult to distinguish whether Tokyo was the focal point of the series or not, even though creator Álex Pina placed her as the protagonist and “narrator”. On social networks, the conversations about The Professor and Berlin were much greater than those of Tokyo. This is because Berlin had played a huge role in the second season, including overseeing the heist.

During the creation of the series, Pina made the decision to defy the typical gender convention, as she said in an interview on The Voice of Asturias: “It is a genre that has always been masculine and that we have transferred a feminine gaze to it with a narrator like Tokio (Úrsula Corberó), with very strong female characters in all the legs of the series, and then we go at a fierce pace in which there are no dead times”.

Although this is true, little was achieved through this ‘female perspective’, as Tokyo did not add much to the story it told. Instead, the series mainly concentrated on Tokyo’s sexuality, as she is seen semi-nude in various scenes, and her appearance changes drastically over time, from her short hair to her bold lipstick. Nairobi, the other female lead in the series, remains the same throughout.

It’s hard to ignore her physique, her image, which can lead to questions about why she was chosen to act and look this particular way, particularly given the less-than-romantic genre of the show. The question arises: Was there a point where you decided the character had to be sexy and seductive?

In the series finale, Tokio briefly appeared in a flashback to offer words of encouragement to The Professor., telling him that he was the hope for the group. Yet for some reason, you can’t help but wonder: why couldn’t it be her? Yes, she had bravely sacrificed herself for her friends, but…what if she was the one the group looked up to?

In the latest episodes, the robbery team launched their plan to extract the gold from the Bank of Spain. Resisting the attacks, the team, still grieving Tokyo’s sudden death, tries to work as fast as they can. But the group largely forgets their partner, their minds are focused on other things. Everyone except Rio and The Professor, who mention his name once. Even his death is left out.

Although the story was finely constructed, highly explosive, and one that many will continue to watch long after its ending, ‘The paper house’ was wrong to leave out one of the most important characters in the series.