Merlí. Sapere Aude

What a beautiful series this has been. I hadn't realised it was a follow-up to an earlier drama, so I shall be searching out the original now. But as for this, I found it to be utterly beguiling. Every character was so believable, with all the frailties and vulnerabilities of youth, but with marvellous performances from 'older' cast members too. It felt effortlessly authentic, a testament to the level of acting, direction and production of all involved. Beautiful and so moving.

< Merlí: Sapere Aude > The series I didn't know I needed till I watched it.

Tired of American attitude, accent and acquisition, British make believe and bluster I clicked on the Spanish - Catalan "Merlí: Sapere Aude" currently showing on Netflix Boy am I glad I did!

We are thrown into the lives of a group of young Spanish, Argentian, French, American students freshly enrolled in a university in Barcelona and their pungent, unforgettable tutors and family.

Parachuting into philosophy and metaphysics, the series somehow NEVER bores, never turns hysterical and always finds a new emotional twist and turn even as it proffers eye candy, heartbreak, coming of age, humour and some magnificent classroom teaching... I am reminded of my time in uni and am made both young and wiser What a pleasure, what a serendipitous gift in the midst of Netflix sameism.

It lures you in, reinvents a tough time, presents an attractive, cleaned up (it is TV yet) version, modern, young, culturally different - an alternative, human and inspiring parallel world.

This alone is worth the 'click' to view both 8 episode seasons.

Carlos Cuevas as Pol Rubio is the centrepiece of this quiet storm, physically perfect with the devilish eyes of a Leonardo Salai and intellect and raw emotion to break your heart.

Maria Pujalte as philosophy professor Maria Bolano is so convincing I want to meet her and attend her classes and laugh, yes laugh along with her acerbic defiance.

I'm glad I'm old enough, young enough to enjoy this.

I'm watching it again as I write this .. Must watch - 2 Thumbs Up 👍👍

This show came up on my Netflix recommendations and I'm glad I gave it a chance. Interesting, different, funny and sexy. You will fall in love with Barcelona and Carlos Cuevas character Pol. Although is a spinoff you don't have to watch the original show to enjoy it but after I watched the original, some things made more sense, especially in the beginning. The first season has some filler characters and storylines that felt unnecessary but they were gone by season 2. So the story focuses more on Pol and that makes the final season better. Overall a very enjoyable show with some clever writing and quirky characters.

Merlí was simply one of the greatest series ever made. Besides the grandiosity of Merlí, the rest of the cast was outstanding, and the script made them flow naturally between each other. The story was believable, emotional, deep and it's all about character development.

Merlí. Sapere Aude fails in all this. It seems to be a gathering of non-believable characters put together to spin around Paul. It just doesn't connect with anything. None of the characters connect the viewer.

Where is the connection to Merlí? The series is set 3 weeks after the Merlí story ends, and it's like that universe ceased to exist. Besides from Bruno and Calduch, which make shallow appearances. Where is Tania? Where is Bruno's sister? Where is Ivan? These people can't just disappear from one day to the next, specially when the story's main character had such strong connections with them.

The script fails to achieve a new story and tries too much to separate itself from Merlí. It just doesn't work. It's disappointing to see how the same script writer can make something so beautiful as Merlí and fall down into something that no depth at all.

I'd much rather see a Merlí Prequel than a Paul sequel written like this.

An exceptionally well written, acted, and directed series. A group of first year philosophy students come to terms with both student life and their own sexual identities as the series develops. It manages to get over some very complex philosophical concepts with relative ease, relating them to the thoughts and actions of the characters, demonstrating that philosophy has practical applications and is not all esoteric. The characters are well developed over the course of the two series, dealing with the inequalities of existence, the hard knocks of life, as well as the highs. The sex scenes were convincingly erotic. Carlos Cuevas does a brilliant job as the lead.