Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s magnum opus, One Hundred Years of Solitude, is famously regarded as the single most important piece of literature in the Spanish language since Don Quixote, and the recently released Netflix TV series adaptation of the seminal novel shows us precisely why. Chronicling an epic saga set in the fictional town of Macondo revolving around several generations of the Buendía family, which touches upon a myriad of themes ranging from human emotions, the cyclical nature of time, imagination, legacy, religion, and existential crisis—the nature of life itself—One Hundred Years of Solitude proves itself as a timeless classic, the universal tone of which will keep it relevant and appealing through ages to come. It’s a veritable microcosmic journey of human civilization that begins with new discoveries, wonders, explorations, and gradually adapts darker undertones of outside interventionism, violent politics, hatred, and conflict—harboring the essence of the Latinidad experience of a millennium within a single narrative. The elements of magic realism interspersed in the story bring an enigmatic effect and intrigue to it, which finds a new life in the live-action adaptation. The ambitious scope of the narrative, which spans several decades and encapsulates a narrative essence that combines tragedy, humor, drama, adventure, and horror, is fully realized by the makers and an ensemble of talented cast.
Spoilers Ahead
The Foundation of Macondo
The series kicks off in the small Colombian town of Riohacha, a settlement relatively untouched by the outside world even during the 19th century, and the narrative focuses on the passionate love story between Jose Arcadio Buendia and his first cousin, Ursula Iguaran. Ursula’s mother expresses disapproval towards their incestuous relationship, warning them their children will be born as abominations, which prompts the couple to remain wary about consummating their marriage even after their wedding. This results in Buendia facing insult from a fellow townsfolk, Prudencio Aguilar, whom Buendia ends up killing in a duel in retaliation. Just like Banquo’s ghost tormented Macbeth, Prudencio’s spirit starts haunting Buendia and Ursula, and the guilt of his demise, coupled with a willingness to break free from the shackles and prejudices of society, drive Buendia and Ursula to embark upon a journey to find new land to settle, going beyond the mountains to reach the shores of the ocean. A number of Buendia’s followers decide to join him and Ursula, taking their families along with them—with the hopes of living in a world that will be free from social barriers of class and religion.
After a painstaking journey over the course of two years, the group ends up in a sprawling swamp land and fails to find a way out of it. In the midst of perilous jungle, Ursula gives birth to Jose Arcadio, the first son of her and Buendia. Moving without a direction towards an unknown destination takes a toll on them, as some of the followers have already perished, and the spirit of the travellers seems diminished, so Ursula suggests Buendia take the condition of their followers into consideration. Buendia dreams of the city of Macondo, on the banks of a nearby river, the stones of which shine like mirrors—and inspired by the vision, he decides to settle down at the very place they have ended up at the moment. Macondo is founded upon the spirit of freedom—with no singular religion guiding any resident, no cultural or class-oriented divide paving the way for crime, and mutual cooperation and brotherhood contributing to the creation of a safe haven insulated from the drudgeries of the outside world. The founding fathers of Macondo celebrate the ideals of equality as the town begins to prosper thanks to all the abundant natural resources.
Family Grows and Influence of Melquiades
Buendia and Ursula welcome their second son, Aureliano, who becomes the first child to be born in the city of Macondo. Aureliano is gifted with a mystical ability of foresight, as he occasionally sees future events unfold and can predict them. Aureliano’s abilities are in line with Macondo’s mystical nature—strange, inexplicable occurrences take place in and around the town, the occasional loss of gravitation forces in certain places being one among them.
The first contact with the outside world occurs when Melquiades, a gypsy, leads his band of performers and traders to the city—and even though Buendia remains initially skeptical of Melquiades, the duo quickly hit it off thanks to their common passion for knowledge, exploration, and innovation. Melquiades introduces Buendia to the wonders of scientific endeavors, of which he was unaware, making him familiar with the intrigues of alchemy—which sparks the flame of curiosity in him. Buendia becomes obsessed with scientific studies, and disappointed at his negligence, Ursula takes control over family affairs. While Aureliano inherits Buendia’s curiosity and zeal for knowledge, his elder brother, Jose Arcadio, appears to be much more of an untamed, free spirit. Later on, Ursula gives birth to Amaranta on her own, while Buendia remains glued to his studies. However, Buendia doesn’t completely abandon his duties as husband and father and tries to reconcile with his exasperated wife.
After coming of age, Jose Arcadio begins a secretive relationship with Pilar Ternera, a fortune teller, and after she becomes pregnant with his child, Jose Arcadio’s young mind isn’t able to cope with the burden of fatherhood. Jose Arcadio flees with the group of gypsies who showed up in town once a year, prompting Ursula to rush into the wilderness in search of her son. Buendia and Aureliano wait with baby Amaranta for five months, after which Ursula returns after discovering new ways to connect with the outside world—advancing Macondo’s trade endeavors as a result—but Jose Arcadio is nowhere to be found. The absence of his elder brother affects Aureliano, who now completely dedicates himself to his scientific studies.
The Buendia family welcomes two new members—Arcadio and Rebeca. Arcadio is the son of Pilar and Jose Arcadio, and despite his illegitimate lineage, Buendia and Ursula decide to adopt him as their own—on the condition that Pilar will never try to return to his life. A young Rebeca, who appears to be of the same age as Amaranta, is of unknown, mysterious origin, and her parents are said to be distant relatives of the Buendias. Rebeca arrives from a faraway land carrying the bones of her parents in a sack (which occasionally move on their own) and initially appears to be extremely unsociable and stubborn. However, Ursula accepts her as her own daughter and manages to break through the girl’s obstinate walls. However, Rebeca had brought an unknown darkness with her, as a peculiar insomnia plague engulfed the town right after her arrival, which took away the sense of identity and mental faculty of the townsfolk after a certain while. Melquiades, who was rumored to have passed away, returns to Macondo and helps save his old friend, Buendia, his family, and the entire town from the plague. Melquiades decides to stay on at Buendia’s residence afterwards.
Horrors of the Outside World Creep in on Macondo
Years go by, and the children grow up fast. Melquiades brings a daguerreotype camera—much to the fascination and amazement of Buendia, who becomes spellbound at the device’s ability to capture space and time within a frame—and becomes obsessed with capturing a daguerreotype of God. As Amaranta and Rebeca come of age, Ursula becomes concerned about their marriage, and as she gets busy redecorating the house and inviting prospective suitors, the family comes across Pietro, an Italian pianist. Both the sisters fall for Pietro, which initiates a rivalry among them that remains unresolved till the very end of the first season. Pietro chooses Rebeca as his beloved, much to the dismay of Amaranta, who swears revenge upon the duo.
The peaceful town meets a malicious force in Don Apolinar Moscote, a wealthy aristocrat from a conservative political background, an outsider who appoints himself as a lawmaker/authoritative figure by the command of the Colombian government. Apolinar’s diktats threaten the freedom and existing way of life the founders of Macondo advocated for, and in no time Buendia and Apolinar become sworn enemies. Bringing Colombian soldiers from the capital and using them as his muscle, Apolinar tries to pose as a dominant presence in the town. Meanwhile, Aureliano, who had thus far submerged himself into his studies and experiments, finds the love of his life in Apolinar’s youngest daughter, Remedios, and despite Buendia’s disapproval against having a relationship with the Moscote family, Ursula and Aureliano decide to bring a proposal of marriage to their family. However, Remedios is still years from coming of age, and on one occasion, in his drunk state, Aureliano spent a night with Pilar. A connection with a Moscote family member allowed Rebeca to exchange letters with Pietro, and Ursula tried to forcibly end their relationship—only for Buendia to oppose her and approve Pietro’s marriage with Rebeca.
Consecutive tragedies strike the Buendía family, as Melquíades finally passes away after drowning in the river. Melquiades had written a book in Sanskrit, and even though the contents of the book weren’t revealed by the end of the first season, it is hinted that it consists of predictions about the fate and legacy of the Buendia family. Arcadio, who never truly felt himself at ease at the Buendia family thanks to how he was treated by the family members, blamed his negligence for Melquiades’ demise and devoted himself to research. Ursula overheard Amaranta’s spiteful remark against Rebeca and decided to take her daughter away for a while for a change of pace, and in her absence, the agony of losing his dear friend Melquiades gets to Buendia. In sheer agony and desperation, Buendia loses his mind and has to be tied to the chestnut tree in the middle of the house. Things get a little better after Aureliano gets married to Remedios, who brings joy to the Buendia family by sharing great rapport with each of the members.
Apolinar brings Christianity to Macondo and, with the help of Priest Nicanor, tries to convert the townsfolk and eventually proceeds to build a church. Apolinar’s efforts to transform Macondo go unchallenged, with Buendia in his most miserable state, and Aureliano is of no help either as he has become a stooge of his father-in-law. Arcadio is given the role of principal of the newly formed school in Macondo, thanks to Apolinar’s influence—and not knowing his parentage, he tries to make love to his own mother, Pilar. Later on, Pilar, without revealing her relationship with Arcadio, gets him into a relationship with a girl named Santa Sofia. Pilar gives birth to her son with Aureliano, who gets adopted by Aureliano and is named Aureliano Jose.
Things go from bad to worse as Remedios, heavily pregnant with the twin children fathered by Aureliano, dies after suffering from a blood infection, news that shakes the entire Buendia family to the core. Much to everyone’s shock and surprise, right at that time, Ursula and Buendia’s firstborn—Jose Arcadio—returns to Macondo. Turns out, having lived the life of an adventuring seafarer and survivor, Jose Arcadio is no longer the high-spirited boy who left his family—and instead has transformed into a wild, rugged force of nature. So far, Rebeca was getting restless due to Pietro’s unwillingness to commit to their relationship and the constant delay in their marriage, and finding a common ground in Jose Arcadio’s vitality and passion, she is quick to dedicate herself to a passionate relationship with him. Considering their relationship to be immoral (as she sees them as brother and sister), Ursula is horrified as Jose Arcadio and Rebeca ignore her warnings and prohibitions to live together on their own by getting married, but such is the way of life as “One Hundred Years of Solitude” showcases. What goes around comes around. A heartbroken Pietro tries to pursue a relationship with Amaranta, but she brutally rejects him to settle the score for his past rejection of her—resulting in Pietro taking his own life in grief.
Political Turmoil Ravages Macondo
Dr. Noguera, a liberal rebel who had witnessed the horror of the conservative Columbian government, had arrived in Macondo, and as Apolinar’s attempts to control and subjugate the townsfolk became increasingly irritable, Noguera started gathering strength by motivating the founder families to join the cause of liberals. Arcadio joins Noguera and his band, and as Macondo goes through elections for the first time, Apolinar sabotages the vote to ensure a win for the conservatives. Aureliano, despite being aware of everything, is torn between maintaining relationships and loyalty to his community. On one occasion, Aureliano decides to meet Noguera to get familiar with liberal ideology, only to realize Noguera’s perspective is vicious, twisted, and detrimental to peace itself. However, Aureliano is forced to choose a side when the government sends an army to suppress the liberal conspiracies by force, resulting in the public execution of Noguera and a number of his followers—and he decides to lead a violent uprising of liberal forces by seizing power from the army. Ignoring his mother’s warnings, Aureliano goes to war with the government by gathering forces of the rebel liberal army, leaving Arcadio in charge of Macondo. In his short stint as the authoritative chief of the town, Arcadio fashions himself as a Napoleon-like figure and turns out to be a pathetic leader, using force and abuse to make the townsfolk comply to share resources for the war effort. Ultimately, the government answers with fierce retaliation, and as conservative forces take control over Macondo, Arcadio is publicly executed, leaving his wife and three children behind, who find refuge in the Buendia family. Aureliano is dragged into the town as most of his loyalists have perished in the war, but as Aureliano is set to be publicly executed, his brother, Jose Arcadio, interferes, and the act is seen as a divine intervention by the commanding conservative officer, who was willing to let Aureliano go anyway out of a sense of respect. Aureliano gets a second chance in life, something he uses in a harrowing way in the upcoming days.
Will Aureliano Bring Ruin to Macondo?
Aureliano’s war against the conservatives rages on, and he refuses to agree to a treaty with the government even when liberal forces decide to do the same. As a result, Aureliano and his rebels continue to fight purposelessly, which completely changes Aureliano into a heartless, manipulative general who doesn’t feel remorse while taking lives of innocents to suit his purpose.
Years go by, and Macondo finds peace under conservative military general Jose Raquel, who reforms the town to bring it closer to its former glory. Aureliano Jose, the illegitimate son of Aureliano, who has become a teenager, becomes enamored with his aunt Amaranta, and as he continues to try to talk her into a romantic relationship, she resists his advances, resulting in a disheartened Aureliano Jose leaving the family. Jose Arcadio, who had started usurping neighboring lands, dies mysteriously under unknown circumstances, and as the narrator shares, the mystery of his death remains unresolved till the very end. General Aureliano gets his premonition senses back and sends a letter to his family, warning about his father, Buendia’s demise. In his final moments, Jose Arcadio Buendia is brought back to his room, where he envisions a series of mystical gateways that simultaneously connect the past, present, and future. Making amends with his past, Buendia passes away, and the divine acknowledge him by raining yellow flowers all around Macondo on the day he breathes his last—signifying the end of an era, a change, and new beginnings.
The Buendia family crisis is yet to be over, as General Aureliano arrives to wage war against the conservative force governing the town. Ursula tries her best to make her son see reason but laments as she realizes he is beyond saving. Praying to the God, Ursula acknowledges to the spirit of her deceased mother that indeed an abomination had been born out of her union with Buendia, just like she had warned all those years ago. As opposing forces of Aureliano and Raquel charge against each other in the final moments of the first season of One Hundred Years of Solitude, the fate of Macondo remains cast in shadow and darkness.
