Vis a Vis: El Oasis (2020) User Reviews

Locked Up: The Oasis

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 14 September 2021]

Set a few year after the events of 'Vis a Vis' (AKA 'Locked Up' in the UK) Zulema and Macarena are working together robbing banks, casinos and jewellers. Macarena has decided it is time to end her criminal life but agrees to one last job... they will steal a diamond tiara from a Mexican cartel leader at his daughter's wedding. It will be a big job so they will need more people, including Goya, who they know from prison, and a couple of others. Things don't go according to plan and they find themselves holed up in a desert hotel with a hostage. Here they will have to deal with corrupt cops, a proprietress who has reasons to want revenge on them, a coachload of school children who arrive unexpectedly and the cartel when they learn where everybody is.

I can understand why some fans of the original series didn't enjoy this; however I thought it was rather fun... it was good to see Zulema and Maca again and the story was as over the top as ever. There was plenty of tension and a real feeling that not everybody we knew would make it to the end. There is plenty of action, some of it flashbacks to previous events. The cast do a fine job bring their over their top characters to life, especially Najwa Nimri, Maggie Civantos as Zulema and Maca. The desert setting provided a great atmosphere; as the final showdown approached it gave things a western feel. Overall I'd certainly recommend giving this a go if you enjoyed the original series.

These comments are based on watching the series in Spanish with English subtitles.

[8.2] She lived without fear...

[cjonesas · 8/10 · 17 July 2020]

El Oasis is a show for hardcore fans of 'Vis a vis' only, a sort of closure spin-off by itself and if it weren't for Zulema and Maca, this one-season series would get a 4.

• (+) Superb acting as always by Najwa Nimri who basically carries the entire show by herself. She is on another level of acting and her intense, deep and scorpion-like play, personifying Zulema, is as bright as tens of thousand candles.
• (+) Good acting by Maggie Civantos who IMO wasn't given enough opportunity to shine as in the original series. A shame. More Zulema-Maca screen-time, scenes and interactions would have been very welcome.
• (+) Amazing accompanying music and soundtracks carrying emotional intensities that I loved very much.
• (+) Nice cinematography and filming, beautifully depicted and shown.
• (-) Terrible screenplay, plots and above all sub-plots, making as much sense as a rabbit "flying" over an arid landscape.
• (-) Weak development, too many fillers and illogical characters' behaviors, especially the supporting cast.

A series to be only watched by 'Vis a vis' lovers, which bring an average yet satisfying closure to the original show. I couldn't help but sense 'Breaking Bad' - like vibes in the show, which was sort of strange and amazing by itself and the character of Zulema in this was like a younger sister to Heisenberg.

She lived without fear and died proudly without fear, true to her scorpion nature.

Nice but too much inspiration from "Big times at the El Royale"

[paolofurlotti-08596 · 7/10 · 3 August 2020]

Overall I have enjoyed this spin off and the development of the relationship between Maca and Zulema especially. However I found out that the authors took way too much inspiration from "Big times at El Royale".

At some point in time it sounded like they just took the overall idea behind the movie written and directed by Drew Goddard in 2018 and used it to develop their fifth season.

Different from the prison series but nice!

[spyridwnas · 7/10 · 16 September 2020]

At first i thought that they shouldn't continue the storyline but after some episodes it is enjoyable . Maca and zule are great actors!

Different but worse

[wait_im_reviewing · 6/10 · 12 July 2020]

I admired Vis a Vis for its unique characters. They were the essence of the series. If not for the relations between them, the action scenes were quite mediocre. That's where the Oasis' fault lies. The genre is no longer drama, it's action thriller, written quite tastelessly. We are given plenty new characters, but they can't compare to Saray, Rizos, Tere, Sole, Antonia. The storyline is terrible, sometimes it feels like watching a music video where everyone just stares and makes faces to really bad music. There are a lot of plots that concern serious issues: child abuse, bullying, broken marriage, Sandoval's psychic love feelings for Macarena. They were packed to diverse attention from the infantile main plot (stealing diamonds). However, you can't develop so many problematic issues in only 8 episodes, when the core characters - Zulema and Macarena are not even involved in them. Finally, Zulema and Macarena. Starting of with Rubia, you can no longer see her fragile and sympathetic side. She became a ruthless murderer. The change was, however, too drastic and rushed. You can no longer identify with her. The Zurena relationship, love scene mostly, was aimed at teens who instantly rushed to create ship fanpages. Though, acknowledging that both of them were in their mid 40ies or even 50ies, how they acted seemed ridiculous. I would rather love to see the development of Macarena's relationship with Fabio. It was my favorite love story of Vis a Vis. Troubled but unique, ready for sacrifices relationship between a prisoner and guard which was yet again destroyed by the screenwriters with the character of Fabio drifting away into oblivion. As for Zulema, some say Najwa Nimri carried the whole season but as good of an actress Najwa is, Zulema seemed nothing special to me in the Oasis. She no longer had the same energy, pursuit for revenge, love for intrigues. We see her lost, indifferent, indecissive, wandering around the desert for most of the time. Death was the only reasonable ending for Zulema, it made her become a legend of some sort. When the season ended, noone cared about how bad it was, everyone talked about Zulema's death. Nice played by the directors. All in all, I give it a 6. A random person would call it a mediocre thriller show, but a Vis a Vis fan - a total disappointment.

Fabio

[cinelove93 · 10/10 · 5 May 2020]

I loved vis a vis but honestly I don't understand why they've been building Macarena and Fabio's romance for 2 seasons only for it to end the way it did. I thought we'd get to see Fabio in el oasis but the more I read about the spin-off the less hope I have of him returning. I wonder why they cut this romance so fast and so harsh🙄

SPIN OFF DE VIS A VIS

[HERMANO_MANSON_DIXIT · 7/10 · 5 August 2020]

After having given it a worthy end in 2019, this spin-off of the Spanish series created by Alex Pina pre La Casa de Papel arrives, to see what happened to the life of Maca and Zulema post Cruz del Norte. The former rivals now coequipers in crime decide to give a final blow, just against a Mexican drug lord (Diego Ostrosky of La Casa de las Flores), who can think of ??? To do so, they bring together Goya (the unpleasant fat woman who also comes from the series), La Flaca, a convicted ex-military man, Triana, a punk teenager, Goya's girlfriend, and Mónica, a singer, stepdaughter of the narco and a delivery girl. After the robbery, they will go to the hotel with the title run by the Argentine Ana Maria Picchio, who has some connection with Sandoval (the other sergeant Ramiro Blas and who, like Berlin, manage to make him appear again through flashbacks) and not there will be another to wait for the inevitable, the arrival of the Pancho Villa Army but at the service of the falopa and finish clean. Was the spin-off necessary? certainly not, something predictable but it is undeniable that it is well filmed, entertaining although it is stretched a bit, with the good pace that we already know that the production team can give you that these days will be doomed to finish LCDP5.

This is absolutely awesome

[jakedogoe · 10/10 · 5 July 2020]

This series is nothing like what people are saying it is. It is kind of like watching westworld with story-lines played at different timelines simultaneously. My point is that this shouldn't be described as a plothole. This is a style which people aren't familiar with . That doesn't mean it is illogical or disjointed. People are just in the habit of using their phones while watching a series. You might want to reconsider that when watching this one so that you don't miss out anything.

I say this series is awesome and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. I encourage people to tell us about facts(eg.story-lines playing simultaneously, new characters) before giving their opinions. I say this because everyone interprets things differently that's why you would see positive and negative comments. All I am saying is that people should be given a chance to decide for themselves whether or not they would watch the series rather than making discouraging comments like this is a waste of time.

Could've been better

[yyuppys · 6/10 · 3 July 2020]

As someone who just recently finished binge-watching all the season of the original series before this, i have to say that i'm really dissapointed. Vis a vis holds a really special place in my heart especially the 4th season, and this spin-off is just the worst out of all. Too many characters and subplots that doesn't contribute to the story, just there for the sake of being there. They are bland and boring and whenever it cuts back to them i feel like watching a different show. I don't know what's the point of them being there.

Even the new addition to the gang doesn't really interest me that much, they lack depth. The only thing stands out from this (and actually good) is Zulema, and Macarena. I find their moments sweet, but i do still think it could've been handled better, they should've add more scenes of them instead of the useless side characters stories. Zulema literally carried the whole series in my opinion lol. Also i feel like they lost the thrill and suspense from the original series. Sometimes the pacing is waaay to slow and seems kinda dragging. I even checked my phone a few times which i rarely do whenever i'm watching a series. I wanted to give it a 5 but i'm adding +1 for Zurena i guess...(just because i love them)

dang, when i watched the trailer I really thought it would be good, i loved the theme and the setting of it. but now I wish I could erase it from my memory(except the Zurena moments) and keep the finale of 4th season as the true ending in my mind.

Let's just pretend it was never made

[mattedeny · 2/10 · 6 August 2020]

I think that El Oasis should have only focused in details on the story of Maca and Zule after prison. Instead it features a complicated plot with lots of irrelevant storylines and new meaningless characters. It deviates from the main focus and it doesn't make clear the evolution of the relationship between Maca and Zulema. If the producers had shown how Maca and Zule after prison got together and some heists, it would have been a lot better. I don't understand why a spin-off, whose main aim was to develop the relationship of this fierce duo, was contaminated with a huge amount of irrelevant things. In my opinion it didn't do justice to the original show and to the story of Maca and Zule.

I'll just pretend Vis a Vis ended with season 4.

Unforgettable series

[sasham-49840 · 10/10 · 3 August 2020]

Amazing screenplay, actors, locations...Najwa Nimri, Maggie Civantos, the top actresses worldwide! It was my pleasure to watch all five seasons!

Very good story,

[vali-dum2002 · 7/10 · 1 August 2020]

But the movie director wasn't The right one for this film style. The story has many ideas and scenes from El royale, Kill Bill, Desperado, 4 rooms, and other movies filmed în Tarantino or Rodriguez style. But it was too much for The director. The worst part în the movie was that în every climax of the story movie director choose to show it to us în sliw motion with an enoyng counterpoint music. And that ruined all action scenes, all suspance and tension, create frustration for all The adreline lovers. Great plot, good story, bad directing.

Boring

[bkadi-96172 · 3/10 · 19 June 2020]

It was better for you to stop after season 4 than doing a boring season . Macarina & Zolima were great in the last seasons but now you destroyed what the did.

Brilliant!

[larissatlg · 20 June 2020]

Najwa Nimri just rocked it as expected. Not quite happy with the ending but it made sense considering what all these characters went through. The original series is waay better but I am glad they decided to show us their life outside prison. Definitely worth watching.

Intresting start with quite an evident end

[aimenoon · 6/10 · 10 June 2020]

So I started watching this simply because I recently binge watched the entire Vis a Vis quadrology last month and I was hooked on how realistic it was with a perfect blend of drama, black comedy and emotion. On a scale of " Woah" to " eyeh ", El oasis was Meh! It didn't live up to expectation but I can't complain as the show creators were literally thoughtful enough to give us a glimpse of what happend to our beloved yellow tide characters. El oasis had quite the start but by episode 4 it kinda lost it's way. In episode 5 Zulema discovers that she has an inoperable brain tumor and so the ending becomes quite evident, how she would prefer to die with pride rather succumb to a tumour ( which by the way is proved in the finale). Episode 5 onwards is just a quest to try to make it to episode 8 with too many subplots, most of them just left where they were. Alba Flores made her last cameo as Saray so that was a plus point. Overall I wouldn't complain as I am obsessed with Zulema's character and got to see more of her. Her character and Maca as well are what are going to live on as a legacy of " Locked Up". Would I recommend? Well if you have nothing else up in your life,sure. #HastaSiempreZulema #PutaDelInfeirno

Patience got me through

[ejh-60622 · 6/10 · 24 November 2020]

To be fair I was only watching it because of Macarena, so I may be biased: But I was really disappointed and almost as frustrated as when she was abscent during season 3 and 4 in the original series. She deserves more screen time and a much better storyline since SHE is Vis a vis for me. Not Zulema. Maca's life just seems so tragic and although we already knew that it was from the original series, this show doesn't really seem to brighten her existence - at least not during what we are shown throughout the episodes.

As for the series as a whole, I can agree with those questioning some of the other characters relevance and what they brought, more than distraction and at times irritation and waste of time. What bothered me the most though was the lack of logics in some events. I get that not everything can be realistic in a fiction but when you start to question several things in the same episode it's just not enjoyable imo. The holes in the storyline was too obvious at times. For example (SPOILERS): The school kids: Where were the adults? How could they be allowed to party? Where did they sleep? All in the same room? How did certain events at the party go unmentioned afterwards? Also I semi wonder who the bride was supposed to marry. Can't recall even seeing him. (Btw yes, Maca gets a happy ending from what it looks like, so that makes me happy, but I would've liked to see more)

A 10 for Zulema

[zoe-888 · 10/10 · 11 June 2020]

The good: I gave this a 10 because I really liked the way they portrayed Zulema in this season, and I am really glad that we have that. Najwa Nimri does a really good job, she carries the whole thing on her shoulders if you ask me. This, spiced with the messy relationship they have with Maca is the best thing about the show. The rest is... well...

The not so good: There are too many and sometimes unnecessary secondary characters and secondary plots which take away the focus from the main characters, and you can feel that in only 8 episodes. And I didn't like the ending at all. I was prepared that this will happen and I was ok with it since its the final season, but they could have done it differently. All I felt while watching the last episode was deep disappointment. I don't think it did justice to the character.

This is not Vis a Vis

[hgt-06014 · 6/10 · 10 August 2020]

This is not a spin-off but neither a 5th season. It has elements that they wanted to do both and didn't work out. The side stories were lame and the antagonists were weak. To tell you the truth it gets a bit boring and predictable after a couple of episodes. If you have nothing else to do and liked the character of Zulema, go ahead and give it a shot, if you're not then rather stay away.

Brilliant (Give it a chance)

[elbicochitoeponjoso · 10/10 · 2 August 2020]

This series deserve a 10/10 here, so why the rating is not that high? Well read some of the bad reviews, I'll quote one of them for you "We are not obliged to watch such unrealistic characters (the fat lesbian with the 20 years old girl), boring and disgusting at the same time." Now you decide if it is worh it ;)

Don't bother

[Sushi1 · 2/10 · 12 May 2020]

I started watching this simply because I loved the original series, however I am really disappointed and after just 4 episodes I think I'll stop watching, it is extremely weird and illogical, all characters are uninteresting (except maybe Zulema), the storyline is terrible.. the best thing they did is making it a spinoff series instead of having it as another season, because this will absolutely ruin everything you liked about Vis a Vis..

*IF YOU ARE EXPECTING THIS TO BE LIKE THE ORIGINAL SERIES, AVOID WATCHING.

Fabio back?

[ppatricia24 · 8/10 · 3 May 2020]

I loved vis a vis previous seasons.I hope this new one will reach my expectations. It would be great to see Fabio back as there was a fabulous connection between him and Macarena 😍

What a letdown! I was so looking forward to it...

[rklemm05 · 1/10 · 31 August 2020]

I loved every season of Vis-à-vis. The characters, the plot was brilliant. The cast also (special mention for the actress portraying Zulema -Najwa Nimri-, simply incredible). So, needless to say I was expecting this ultimate season to be the crown jewel. Boy was I wrong... How could they make it so boring, uninteresting, confused and confusing? I know that giving it a 1 on 10 rate may seem a bit harsh, but considering how great the previous seasons were compared to what this kind of spin-off half-baked quickly and dirty made El Oasis has to offer, I think it is deserved. I binged-watched the previous ones. That one I had to force myself to carry on, hoping for an improvement that never came. Even Najwa Nimri lost her edge and looks like caricaturing herself, probably due to the bad writing. She seems as lost as we are. That was the one too many season, probably just to deliver on a Netflix's order. Not worth your time, especially if you're a fan of the original like me. Leaves you with a bitter taste of total waste.

Bad spin off, extraordinary duo (worth 9 stars)

[justinespll · 18 March 2022]

Technically, it's a swing and a miss, they knew we wanted to see Maca and Zulema, and instead we got a bunch of bad actors and a bad plot.

HOWEVER, when we do focus on Maca and Zulema, we got that extraordinary dynamic that we love, and Zulema still carried the whole thing and, in my opinion, really made it worth the rest of it.

Brilliant

[elbicochitoeponjoso · 10/10 · 2 August 2020]

This and the original are the best TV shows I have ever seen. I love the philosophical aspect of the characters and their context.

Amazing

[eragon-66114 · 10/10 · 3 May 2020]

One of the best TV show I have sent in the past 10 years! This is amazing can't wait for the Oasis