Pulp takes the front seat in Netflix’s latest Spanish thriller, 1992. It has an intriguing plot that goes bonkers by the end. The acting is deliberately melodramatic, although that hardly matters because the six-part miniseries (unless they come up with another season) is quite entertaining overall. In this article we’re going to break down the plot and look into the ending of 1992. If you haven’t watched the show, this is your spoiler warning.
What happens in the series?
Former cop Richi rescues Amparo by taking her out of a burning building. He fails to save Amparo’s husband and his friend Alvaro, who was also inside the same building. Alvaro’s death is the result of an explosion that has also killed clothing business owner Roberto Valcarcel. Amparo claims to see Roberto’s burnt body, with a small figurine of Curro placed on his hand. She suspects Roberto’s death is not an accident and her husband was the collateral damage of whatever happened. While the police don’t entertain the grieving widow, Richi decides to begin an investigation into the matter, because Alvaro was not only a friend; he was also the man who literally saved his life. Richi was an alcoholic who lost his wife and daughter thanks to his drunk driving (which is revealed much later) and got fired from his job. Had there not been a chance meeting with Alvaro, he would have killed himself. Alvaro made sure Richi recuperated by sponsoring him in AA meetings (a fact that he hid from Amparo, which caused an unfortunate rift between the two).
Anyway, shortly after Valcarcel’s death, another man, Domingo Granjero, is killed in the same manner at the worst possible time—in a hotel room where he was waiting for a prostitute. This time we see the killer, who’s wearing a hazmat suit and a Curro mask that looks similar to the figurine we already saw. He’s also carrying a large flamethrowing gun (a very cool weapon, I must say), which he uses to fry Granjero to a crisp; yeah—that’s exactly what happens. Not to mention, the killer leaves his signature behind—the Curro figurine—thanks to which police commissioner Manchado (who’s a friend of Richi’s) finally starts taking the matter seriously. Unfortunately, Manchado gets transferred, and he’s replaced by Robledo. Richi and Amparo soon figure out the connection between Roberto and Domingo thanks to stumbling upon a photo taken during the 1992 expo in Seville. Along with Roberto and Domingo, three other people are seen in the photo: Jose Zamorano, who now lives in an old age home; Fernando Victoria, who is a famous tech mogul; and Esteban Palacios, the current interior minister of Spain. Realizing Zamorano and Victoria’s lives are in danger, Amparo sets out to Seville to warn them. Richi doesn’t accompany her and finds himself in trouble when he tries to warn the minister.
Does Amparo manage to save Zamorano and Victoria?
Upon reaching Seville, Amparo first tries to get to the tech mogul, but she fails to meet Victoria as his receptionist insists on having an appointment. So, she leaves a note for Victoria and visits Zamorano at the old age facility. That also doesn’t go well, as Zamorano doesn’t seem to be in a state of sanity. Shortly after Amparo leaves, the Curro killer comes and takes care of Zamorano in the same manner. Meanwhile, Amparo meets this mysterious maintenance worker, Rosa, who works for Victoria, and asks her to go away from all this. Clearly Amparo is not someone who backs down, so she follows Rosa to an old warehouse with a rocket tower. She notices the Curro killer (in his attire) there, and upon spotting her, he chases Amparo and corners her at the high ledge of a bridge from where there’s no option but to jump. Rosa also arrives on the scene, but her intention here is not quite clear. Amparo takes a leap of faith and jumps into the water. Fortunately, she gets rescued by some locals, and after retrieving her phone (which got wrecked when she jumped), she receives a message from Victoria—he wants to meet her.
Victoria comes off as quite the gentleman, who offers his condolences to Amparo for her husband’s death. He also provides some really important information regarding the 1992 expo. A replica of a famous ship, made for the event, suddenly crashed. The organizing committee—consisting of five people in that photo—received a tip about sabotage. They also received a threatening letter, where someone was forcing them to cough up a huge sum of money, or else none of them would have their jobs. Palacios sought the then-interior minister for help (as the committee had run out of funds), but the minister hung them out to dry. The blackmailer soon set fire to the expo pavilion, which compelled the government to pay the money in order to cover up the sabotage. Zamorano was the commissioner back then, and Victoria only worked for the man, so he had no say in the matter. All of this is partially true, by the way. After hearing the news of Zamorano’s death, the new police commissioner, Robledo, decides to join the investigation and reaches Seville with Richi. Amparo takes them to Victoria, who tells them the same thing he told the widow. However, that can’t save him from getting attacked by the Curro killer, who does something different this time around. Instead of using the flamethrower gun on Victoria, he leaves a bomb inside a Curro figurine. When the blast happens, Rosa suffers the most and ends up at the hospital fully burnt, but Victoria survives with minor scratches and a figurine in his hand. At the hospital, the Curro killer arrives, and upon Rosa’s request, he suffocates her to death with a pillow. Robledo, who’s at the hospital at that very moment, tails the killer and reaches the warehouse. He goes all the way up and then has a scuffle with the killer before falling from the top of the tower and suffering a painful death.
What really happened in the 1992 Expo?
From the moment you see the Curro killer for the first time, two major questions arise – Who is this man? and what is the reason for the killing? You do see his fully burnt body (including the face), the latex tub, and many Curro masks lying all over the warehouse (where he lives), but that doesn’t reveal his identity. The thing here that you need to remember is that not everything is absolutely true in this show. Like Victoria may have said so much about the 1992 expo, but those are mostly lies. What really happened is revealed much later, almost at the end of the show. The reason I’m putting this question as the subheading is because this will ultimately clarify everything. The whole thing can just be summarized by saying men are terrible and they ruin everything, but since you’ve come this far, I’m going to break it down here.
Some two weeks before the ship-crashing disaster, the committee of five was chilling and partying in the pavilion. That was something they used to do almost every day. Booze and drugs were not the only things they needed; these men used to hire a lot of sex workers for the purpose of pleasure. Local brothel owner Ramiro was their pimp. On that fateful night, Rosa (yes, the same maintenance worker, then much younger), Margaret aka Marga, and Maria—all of whom used to work in the brothel—were called upon for the entertainment of these powerful men. Marga had a teenage son, Victor, who used to live with her. On that night, things were arranged so impromptu that Marga had to take Victor along. When the three of them arrived at the pavilion with Ramiro, four of the men—Palacios, Roberto, Domingo, and Zamorano—greeted them while wearing the Curro mask. The Curro was also the mascot for the event, so masks, figurines, and other merchandise were in endless supply. Of course, these men also didn’t want anyone to see their faces while breaking bad. Anyway, the three women got inside the pavilion, and the men started their party. Ramiro, meanwhile, sent Victor to the tower, thinking the boy would have a good time with all the churros around. The night was going as per usual until the worst possible thing happened, which would change everything. Palacios accidentally killed Marga while he was being aggressively intimate with her. Panicked and confused, they called the head of security, Jose—who was very loyal to them—to take care of the situation. Ramiro quickly ushered Rosa and Maria away, and Jose began erasing the evidence. It didn’t come free for the men, though, as Jose demanded a fortune for the cover-up job. But they had run out of money already, so Jose suggested the idea of sabotage and crashing the replica ship. When that didn’t work out, they decided to burn the pavilion, with Marga’s body hidden inside a cabinet. Not only did that take care of the ‘Marga problem,’ it made the government pay the money (to Jose) as well. Except there was one thing that they didn’t think about—Marga’s son, Victor. The boy literally saw his mother getting killed from the tower (which is rather unfortunate). Then when he ventured into the pavilion looking for the body, Jose burnt it at the exact same moment; talk about bad luck! Victor survived but got burnt for life, and his scars never healed.
Who is the Curro killer?
It is, of course, Victor who’s coming for revenge. But there’s another angle—Victor is not the one who’s the mastermind here. Did you have a bad feeling about Fernando Victoria from the start? Because I did, and I was right after all. The tech mogul is actually on the verge of bankruptcy, and to make his situation better, he has hatched quite the devious plan. He could only do it because he noticed Rosa one day (who was working as a maintenance worker in his company only) and followed her to the warehouse tower. Rosa is, of course, the one who was taking care of Victor, who was mostly living a life of nothingness. Victoria sees that as the perfect opportunity for himself and ignites the fire of revenge in Victor. He tells the deranged man about how terrible he felt all these years for being part of something that horrible, and Victor happens to buy it. How does Victor killing all these men help Victoria? Well, as Minister Palacios is going to be the final victim (which is only fitting), Victoria anonymously asks for the money he needs. He knows Palacios is gonna deliver given everyone else has died. Not that paying the money is gonna save him, as Victor/the Curro killer is still gonna fry him alive. And that’s exactly what happens. The sleazy minister does pay the money. But that doesn’t stop the Curro killer from barging into his house and doing his thing. Does that mean Victoria gets what he wants by the end? Obviously not.
Do Richi And Amparo Catch The Curro Killer?
Thanks to Victoria purposefully nudging them towards the wrong direction, Richi and Amparo go to Miami in search of Jose (who they believe to be the killer). Nothing fruitful comes up from the trip – other than the two of them bonding inside the shady motel room, while there’s a hurricane outside. The romantic vibe between the two was quite evident from the start, and this moment furthered that sentiment—not that they slept together. Upon returning to Spain, they do find out what really happened. While Amparo has to take forensic expert Carmen’s help for that—which includes going into Rosa’s shady neighborhood and also Ramires’ nightclub—Richi finds out the truth from the horse’s mouth. Of course, Victoria conveniently omits the part about him pushing Victor towards revenge for his own benefit. Richi and Amparo do figure it out, though, and rush to catch the train to Madrid. Needless to mention, Victor and Victoria are both on the train. Victoria is planning to escape, while Victor is out there to kill him. Of course, Victoria fully deserves it, and he was doomed the moment he put the seed of revenge in Victor. Richi and Amparo try their best to save Victoria, but in the end, he gets what was always coming for him—getting burnt to death by the flamethrower. Amparo then shoots Victor’s flamethrowing tank and blows him into pieces. It is a tragic ending for Victor, but we also need to remember that Amparo’s husband died as a result of Victor’s quest for revenge. Also, Victor’s life had no purpose after he escaped from the mental hospital he was in due to his physical and psychological trauma. In a twisted way, Victoria gave him purpose. But after pouring all his emotions and energy into killing everyone responsible for his mother’s death, his life would have become aimless again. So, maybe it was not a bad thing that Amparo put him out of his misery.
