Summary
Episode 9 is absolutely incredible television.
This recap of Netflix’s Money Heist season 5, episode 9, “Pillow Talk,” contains spoilers.
Read the recap of the previous episode.
I mean, what can we say at this point — not only is Money Heist leaving no stone unturned, but it’s pulling off a grand story. The grandest story. The writers have not written this with half a cup — it’s fucking overflowing. This is how you do a penultimate chapter.
Money Heist season 5, episode 9 recap
Episode 9 opens with The Professor furious that his tactics have been used against him. Their gold is stolen, and all hope once again seems lost. But, The Professor decides to be bold and wants to fight. His team gets into vehicles with weapons ready. Palermo tells The Professor that they must have a mole in the group — without the gold, there’s no way out of the bank. They find the location of the lorries, but they are empty.
Palermo and Lisbon radio to The Professor, and they tell him he knows who it is — Tatiana. He told her everything about these plans due to his close association with Berlin — it is Berlin’s ex-wife, after all. Suddenly, he starts to imagine Tatiana’s plans with the gold and how they transported it. He radios to Rio and asks him to hack traffic cameras, believing the gold is covered in dirt in the trucks. The Professor promises the team that he will get the gold back.
In a flashback, The Professor is sick of being the brains of the group and loses his head — he drinks alcohol, smokes, and tells the heist team he’s sick of them partying, believing it is a weakness. In his rage, he starts to dance, and everyone laughs at him. They all let off steam and dance with him.
Sagasta’s plans are coming together in the bank as his rogue squad member puts explosives in place. Tamayo is determined to bring them down still despite the many failures. The heist team must ensure that the authorities do not know their gold has been stolen. Lisbon starts blaming The Professor for falling for a cheap police trick. And then, he realizes that it could still be a trick and learns that Tatiana and her team have altered the traffic cameras to divert them. The Professor comes up with a theory; that Tatiana and Rafael are hiding and using the dump trucks to bury the loot. And that’s exactly what they are doing; scenes show Tatiana’s team building a house over the buried loot. This is a magnificent plot twist.
Tamayo prepares another assault on the bank with Sagasta’s squad member ready in the vents — she establishes eye contact with Sagasta. As Sagasta gives the signal, Palermo arrives where the hostages and surgeons are. The surgeons cause a distraction and pretend one of Sagasta’s squad members needs immediate attention. Palermo is disarmed, and Sagasta gives Tamayo the order to proceed.
And the next moments will make you feel numb as once again, it feels over. The bank is infiltrated, and the heist members are all arrested one at a time. The heist team has fallen, and the hostages are safe. Tamayo’s eyes well up as his team celebrates. Tamayo confidently enters the bank to confront the heist team, who are all knelt in a circle. He uses Libson’s radio to tell Professor that it’s over in the bank. The Professor is in shock, and he offers to hand himself in, as he doesn’t want to be a coward — he promised if the gang went down, he would go down with them. He tells Tamayo that he’s won and he’ll be there in twenty minutes for a photo opportunity.
The ending
But is it over? Surely, not? The ending suggests that The Professor has one last ace up his sleeve as we head to the final ever episode.
The Professor tells Sierra that it’s over if the heist team leaves the bank, so he needs to buy time. He tells Sierra to find the gold, and she laughs. She can’t believe that the plan now boils down to her (and to be honest, we can’t believe it over — this man has some incredible influence). The Professor and Sierra briefly argue, but there’s respect between them. Sierra agrees to get the gold, and they hug it out. As he leaves her, he gives her a note and whispers in her ear.
Tamayo and the governor visit the vaults to see all the gold has been taken. The entire national gold is gone — the country is in credit, insolvency. Admittedly, I chuckled at this bit.
The Professor arrives at the bank in a car, and he’s greeted by celebrating supporters. He’s loved. In a flashback, Tokyo tells him that he’s “their faith, their hope.” Back to the present, and The Professor looks overawed by the support around him as he walks towards the bank and remembers dancing with Tokyo. His shoes are shoddy, and he looks like he has been in a war. He walks past the national guard, and for the first time, The Professor enters the bank — he’s joined the war zone, the heist. This is a goosebumps-filled moment.
Additional points
- Denver and Stockholm; sex appears to have lightened things between them as they dream of a future together again.
