The third season of the British drama set in Mallorca, Spain hits Prime Video with a new batch of episodes following two detectives in a foreign country. Should it be part of your weekend watch list?
THE MALLORCA FILES – SEASON 3: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: Detective Max Winter is watching a televised interview of a man who created a golden compass and subsequently buried it, kicking off a treasure hunt across Mallorca. He calls his partner Detective Miranda Blake and lets her know that his father is coming to visit, drawing parallels between the man behind the compass puzzle and his own father.
The Gist: Two detectives â one from Germany and the other Welsh â arrive in Mallorca to work on crimes committed internationally. Theyâre initially opposites that are assigned to less important cases due to their language barrier, but eventually work to prove themselves at the precinct.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The episodic nature of a detective team investigating crimes in breezy Mallorca is very reminiscent of the USA hit White Collar.
Our Take: Episodic series are an anomaly these days, so when a fresh duo are on screen with good chemistry, itâs worth checking out. With a new puzzle each episode, the story doesnât get too stretched out â a welcome change in the streaming landscape that has ditched the norms of cable television.
For a series that features a German cop, a Welsh cop, and a Spanish locale, The Mallorca Files could use a little bit more diverse intrigue â especially in drawing out the different approaches to the characters. Even in season three, there is little drama between the cops, which would add some stakes to the central relationship of the series. The premiere also does little to set up what the seasonâs story arc will be, focusing much of its runtime on the case-of-the-week instead of the interpersonal relationship of the characters.
A puzzle box episodic show, The Mallorca Files is both low and high stakes: in the premiere, the team is trying to solve a murder but also the compass treasure hunt that accompanied it. Even if the culprit is predictable, itâs a good mix that will hopefully keep momentum throughout the season, especially if they find a way to weave in B-plot with the working relationship of the detectives.
Sex and Skin: This one is pretty tame.
Parting Shot: The unlikely detective duo sit together looking out at the sea, watching the man that tried to doublecross them dig up the wrong area for the episodeâs central golden compass.
Sleeper Star: The aforementioned man, desperate to find the treasure and pocket the 1 million Euro prize, is a funny presence throughoutâhe doesnât help them when their boat floats away, vehemently denies his involvement with the murder, and eventually traps the two detectives in a church crypt to keep them from finding the compass.
Most Pilot-y Line: âI enjoy the chase more than the catch,â Winter says in the final scene, explaining his mentality to a tee.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Itâs breezy and fun, and you wonât need your brain too much.
Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a TV-obsessed writer based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared on Vulture, ELLE, Teen Vogue, and more. At any given moment, she can ruminate at length over Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You may call her Rad.
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