Alta Mar: Season Three

The hit Netflix show returns for a final season. Spoilers to follow.

Some time has passed since the Barbara de Braganza pulled into port in South America. Eva is pulled back to the ship as it makes a voyage to Mexico. She is alerted to a plot to release a lethal Nazi virus by Fabio, an agent for British Intelligence. Most of the original cast finds their way on board in a race against time to stop the virus and thwart a mutiny.

Ivana Baquero returns as our lead, Eva Villanueva, now a successful novelist. She again does a wonderful job sneaking around the ship, getting into trouble. I will miss Eva.

Alejandra Oneiva is back as Carolina Fabregas. She had some great stuff to do this season as Carolina and Fernando’s marriage is on the rocks following the developments of season two. Early on, she is kidnapped and replaced by a doppleganger for several episodes! Fun stuff.

The man so good looking he makes even ME question my identity returns: Jon Kortajarena as Nicolas, the First Officer. Now reunited with his wife, Nicolas is sadly sidelined for much of the season. Mutineers get on board by kidnapping the captain of the Braganza’s sister ship. Needing a replacement, Nicolas is promoted to Captain of that vessel, allowing Hector, the ringleader, onto the ship as Nicolas’ replacement. He returns in the final episode to help save the day, but is the last soul claimed by the Barbara de Braganza, dying from stab wounds.

Aloy Elorzin returns as Fernando. Trying to save his company, and his marriage, Fernando is very much adrift this season, only finding happiness with the doppleganger: whom he thinks is his wife.

Begoña Vargas and Ignacio Montes return as Veronica and Dimas. Veronica, having lost her mother following the season two finale, has taken a job on the ship as a maid. Dimas, no longer employed by Sebastian, also works on the ship. They are both trying to move on with their lives, but get sucked into the drama and the show seems to end with them finally together.

José Sacristán is back as Uncle Pedro. No longer involved in the central intrigue, Pedro is a secondary character who knows one of this season’s villains.

Natalia Rodríguez is back as Natalia, Fernando’s sister. Her role seemed far diminished this season. She was just here to be involved in the “owner of the ship” stuff as she is convinced that the Captain has gone senile.

Daniel Lundh is back as Pierre. Everyone is surprised that he still works on the ship following the death of Clara and the drama with Natalia, but here he is. We discover he is secretly working with the Muntineers and is seeking revenge on the Fabregas family for Clara. I would have preferred he went fully dark, but they allowed him to see the error of his ways and help defeat the mutiny at the end of the season.

Antonio Durán is back as Varela, the ship’s detective. I love this guy. He had some great interplay with Fabio and Eva. Having survived the first two seasons, he is on to Eva’s shit, and ain’t having it. Glad he survived the show.

This guy can’t catch a break. Eduardo Blanco is back as Captain Aguirre. After all the hell he went through in seasons 1 and 2, this time he is victim of a mutiny. The bad guys slip drugs into his tea, making him hallucinate. They also pull other major acts of gaslighting leading him, and the Fabregas family, to believe he has lost his mind. By the end of the season, he is back in command, but is KILLED OFFSCREEN when a mortar strikes the ship, destroying the bridge…wtf. At least he went down with the ship.

Marco Pigossi joins the cast as Fabio, the secret agent. He is presented as Eva’s new love interest, but it never fully develops. I did grow to like the character as we saw the depths he would sink to do his duty.

Nicolas Francella is Hector, Nicolas’ replacement and the leader of the mutiny. We don’t really get to know the guy as a character, but he did ok.

Claudia Galan plays Chantal, Nicolas’ wife. We discover that she was in Nazi camps during WW2 and has been adrift in the world. Broken, but not defeated, she is hoping to rebuild her life with Nicolas when a spectre of the past arrives. She did an excellent job in this show. As much as we are intended to root for Nicolas and Eva, making Chantal such a sympathetic character was well done.

Cue mustache swirl. We have Oneida as the Carolina doppleganger, Cristina Plazas as Carmen, and Pep Anton Munoz as Doctor Ayala. Ayala is a former Nazi doctor, having tortured people in concentration camps. Nicolas’ wife is one of his victims. Her recognition is what allows him to be identified as a baddie. Once the virus is released, his scientific knowledge actually saves the day as he develops a vaccine, in like a day, because that’s how quickly a vaccine can be made. lol. Carmen is an old friend of Uncle Pedro’s who has been roped into the plot. They all did well.

Itsaso Arana is Anna, the illiterate maid…or is she?? As with season 2, “The maid did it” is the answer to the mystery. It turns out the meek maid is in fact Alex Katona, student of the evil Nazi scientist who developed the virus. Katona releases the virus and has arranged the mutiny. She is killed in a knife fight with Nicolas, but not before striking the mortal blow which takes our dreamboat away from us…I mean Eva. She made a good villain.

In the final episode, the military refuses to let the virus reach the mainland and sends a warship to sink the ship, which it does. Nicolas fights Katona to the death, and dies in Eva’s arms (metaphorically) as the Barbara de Braganza is fired upon by the navy. The bridge explodes, killing the Captain, and our last shot is of our cast, adrift in lifeboats, heading towards shore as the ships is engulfed in flames behind them. The series has ended. I can’t help but feel some elements of that last episode were rushed/adjusted to give it a proper ending. This show had already been renewed for a 4th season when Netflix decided to cancel it.

And while I am on the subject: What the fuck Netflix? They have cancelled a whole slew of shows, many that happened to be in their 3rd season. Even Glow got cancelled. The suspicion is that the costs to run a show past season 3 (increased pay/etc) makes it cheaper to end it there. Let’s hope future shows learn from this and plan to end after 3. This show got done dirty. While Netflix’s adoption of “Cobra Kai” earned them some brownie points, this still stings. Adios Alta Mar.