Four Seasons In Havana - Episode 3: Máscaras (Spanish)

This Cuban series is your regular detective investigation series with a few recurring characters. The basics are straightforward. Homicides happen and homicides need to be solved. I am going to review Episode Three which is entitled Máscaras. In the scalding summer of Havana, the body of a gay young man and son of a diplomat is found, leading Conde to a world of sexual possibilities.

The episode starts with a man's body found dead in a park strangled dressed in a red woman's dress. Turns out that he is Alexis, the son of a diplomat, so the investigation has to be hush-hush. Investigations reveal that he was gay but not really trans, so why dress in red, then? Detective Conde meets his family and his caretakers who tell them that he left home almost six months back when he had an argument with his father. The cops then go to an older gay guy from whom Alexis was renting a room. The cops are frustrated because they do not wanna be involved in solving the case of a 'homo'. Regardless there they find out that Alexis had a lover Salvatore. When they visit him, they find out that he is married and could possibly have a motive. But before they could do anything, Salvatore disappears. Using the landlords help, Detective Conde and his partner being themselves to get familiar with the underground gay scene in Havana and eventually are able to solve the reason behind the murder.

Since I have not seen the entire show, I am going to review the episode as a standalone. Personally I wanted to watch this show just because it is set in Havana. Cuba is oe country where I would like to visit at some point and this episode (that came out back in 2016) gives a good glimpse of what city is like. That aside, if we talk about the suspense element itself, like many other shows, it has its pros and cons. I did suspect the perpetrator but there were never any solid grounds for that. Even the way eventually the murder is solved, you are not really shocked but then you do question the authenticity for the reason. It is still not very clear about Alexis and his mental issues, why was he dressed as a female etc. Many speculations are provided by the cops but nothing substantial. This would have ben very acceptable when it came out, but these days when globally, thriller and suspense shows have become so detail oriented, even small little things that are not explained stay back in my mind as a nagging explanation. Acting, production and everything otherwise is of pretty good quality. I am a sucker for detective thrillers and murder mysteries; so give me anything half decent and I would like it. At just about 90 minutes duration, this episode is a good one time watch with central them of a gay man's murder investigation. (6/10)