Money Heist: Why Letting Go Of Tokyo Is So Damn Hard
Did that really happen? Did Money Heist kill off one of the most beloved characters in Tokyo? As fans of the show know, once an episode begins to show life flashbacks of a character’s past, there’s a 99.9 percent chance they’re going to meet their demise by the end of the episode’s credits.
It was the same fate for Nairobi and why would Tokyo be any different? But in all fairness, Tokyo is different. While the show is geared towards a robbery and the brain function of The Professor, it’s Tokyo that seems to take top billing of the characters. I mean, she is the narrator.
And for that reason alone is why this article was written. When Tokyo was describing her last seconds, she said “when I killed Gandia”. But at the moment, Gandia was still alive. For most viewers, it went in one ear and right out the other. But for those die-hard fans, it was not missed. So what exactly does that mean?
And a better question is, who has Tokyo been talking to all this time?
Is she writing a diary? Is she talking to a kid telling the story? Or, what if she’s describing these jobs to her own team much like The Professor did her current team? If so, then that means that Tokio is alive. But how?
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We saw Tokyo take a ton of bullets. Then we saw Gandia stand over Tokyo about to shoot her in the face but Tokyo had one more trick up her sleeve. She revealed that she took the pins out of a handful of grenades. A few seconds later, there was an explosion. But was that her explosion?
Watching Money Heist at times is like watching a magic show. You must be careful of the sleight of hand at all times. What if those grenades were duds? If so, then what was that explosion?
Is there any way Tokyo could have survived?
Killing off a main character is nothing new in Money Heist. But after killing off Nairobi, why would they eliminate another strong female in Tokyo? It makes no sense.
On an emotional level, the writers did a great job with Tokyo’s flashback. We learned about her first love. We learned what drove her to become the fearless person she is. We watched as she let her walls down for Rio but it was at the moment of her death that we realized how important she was to everyone, especially The Professor.
When he learned of her death, he broke down the same way he did when he thought Lisbon was killed. Tokyo was like a daughter to him and there is no way The Professor planned for this. Losing his brother was hard and the loss of Nairobi was a blow but losing Tokyo just hit him differently.
Tokyo was just different from the rest. Her story pulled you in. Her personality pulled you in. She was everyone wrapped up in one package. She was the leader without needed to be labeled the leader outside of The Professor. Tokyo trusted no one and when the war began to come, it was Tokyo that wanted to take down. Putting her on ice was the equivalent of taking down the man behind the phone.
While fans of Money Heist are still holding out hope that Tokyo is alive, the truth is, we may have no choice but to mourn, accept it, and move on from one of the best characters ever.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
