The Mill
Has Isabel actually captured Dr. Heim?
Episode 6 of Jaguar begins this finale with Isabel breathing a sigh of relief after escaping the horrors of the hospital skirmish. Heim is kept tied up but he tries to get into Isabel’s head, claiming he’s actually called Johann. Isabel refuses to listen though, seeing through his deception and determined to get some solid answers from him. With a knife in hand, Isabel cuts his beard just like all those victims at the camp. In doing so, she reveals a scar underneath confirming who he is. Back then, he sported the same scar while overseeing the horrors in Dachau. Eventually Heim breaks and chillingly tells Isabel about how tough Spaniards are. During his numerous experiments to test human endurance, it was always those from Spain who came out on top.
What significance do the flashbacks have?
As Isabel weighs up what to do, flashes to the past for both Deaf Man and Castro help to shed more light over how morally conflicted these men and women are. Despite being holocaust survivors themselves, they’re determined to bring the Nazi officers responsible to justice. The idea of vengeance and revenge has been flirted a lot throughout the show and here it’s portrayed through Deaf Man’s acceptance (scribbles on his arm) and Castrol embracing his true self, breaking down into tears regardless of how painful that is. Part of this show has been about gaining justice but doing so in a way that doesn’t result in mindless killing. That’s the moral of the story here it seems, as these flashes continue through the episode. Marse’s scene is a stark contrast to the other characters, flashing back to before the Masquerade Ball and depicting him dancing with Isabel, trying to calm her nerves.
What happened to Isabel’s brother?
Back in the present, Isabel questions Heim about what happened to her family. Her brother, Riaza, was in Maunthausen and suffered brutal torture at his hands. According to Heim, Riaza should have died within minutes but he held on for days. Heim is callous and uncaring, antagonizing Isabel who eventually lets her guard down and looks set to kill him… until someone knocks her out from behind.
Does Isabel kill Dr. Heim?
When Isabel awakens, she finds herself tied up to the wall. This man questions the pair over what’s going on, contemplating just what to do as he hears Heim’s horrific testimony. Eventually he releases Isabel from her binds, believing her story and wishing her luck, hoping she gets justice for her family. For now though, Isabel decides to conduct a blood transfusion, keeping the doctor alive so he can pay for his crimes. She’s determined to make sure he stays alive long enough to make it into court to stand before a court of law. However, before that happens Isabel cuts short her transfusion when a car rocks up.
How are Marse, Deaf Man and Castro still alive?
This car happens to hold Marse who’s still alive! It turns out he wasn’t shot dead and instead has arrived with both Deaf Man and Castro en-tow. So how did he escape the soldiers? Well, we’re not actually told so a lot of this is guesswork at this point. It could well be that he paid off the soldiers to turn a blind eye, or he could have played possum and pretended to play dead. Given he sports a gunshot wound on his shoulder, it could well be that Marse was shot and the soldiers left him, believing the man to be dead. The hallway scene though could well be construed as Castro killing the soldier after he shot Deaf Man.
Is Lucena still alive?
Lucena is still alive too, being held captive by Bachmann, who imprisons the man and keeps him chained to the ceiling. With classical music playing, Bachmann electrocutes Lucena, sending currents rippling through his body. As Lucena passes out (eventually to reawaken later on), his fate is left in the balance. It’s clear he’s being kept alive for information so we’ll have to wait and see if he cracks.
How does Jaguar season 1 end?
Back at the abandoned tower, Deaf Man is bleeding out and struggles to control his gun. He points it at Heim’s face but he’s too weak to pull the trigger. Castro is beside himself with grief too which leaves Isabel alone to try and turn the tide of battle. As she leaves, Isabel rings her contact and demands to be put on the phone to Bachmann. She’s embracing her persona of the Jaguar and determined to gain revenge for her friends. As she looks out at a horizon, this whole conflict is left on a knife-edge.
The Episode Review
Jaguar comes to a close with more questions than answers, leaving lots of frustration plot holes on the way to rushing through this conclusion. How did Marse, Castro and Deaf Man survive the army? How did they escape the hospital? And how did they know where Isabel would be? Will Heim stay alive? Or is the whole mission compromised now? There are so many questions here that are all set up for a second season that may or may not arrive. That’s a shame too because the series actually worked quite well, save for the final two episodes that push the point of believability. When it comes to thematic relevance though, this historical drama has done a decent job portraying the struggle between vengeance and revenge. Not seeing a definitive conclusion to this definitely hurts the overall integrity of the story though, but there’s no denying that the production design has been spot on and the characters have been compelling enough to stick with until the end. Despite slipping up with its finale, Jaguar does have a lot going for it and hopefully this one will be renewed for a second season.
