Medusa Review
Director: Claudia Sánchez and Said Chamie
Date Created: 2025-03-06 16:39
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Medusa Review: Directed by Claudia Sánchez and Said Chamie, this Colombian drama features an ensemble cast led by Juana Acosta, Manolo Cardona, Sebastián Martínez, and Adriana Arango. Released on March 5, 2025, with 12 episodes, each around 35 minutes long. The story centres around Bárbara Hidalgo (Juana Acosta), ruthless businesswoman and appointed new CEO of her family’s company, Medusa. But before she can even get her hands on the power, she’s cornered in a fatal explosion and assumed dead. Of course, she’s not dead—where’s the fun in that? Instead, she comes back with hazy memories, determined to discover who murdered her while a detective investigates the case.
Medusa Review
Netflix’s Medusa is a sizzling, over-the-top thriller that dispenses with logic for continuous drama. From the beginning, we see Bárbara swimming underwater, appearing to be dead, and we know that we are in for a drama. And by drama, I mean ludicrously dramatic. The show is all about revenge, betrayal, and family members who would not bat an eye to stab their backs (literally, at times). It’s filled with fiery fights, rich-looking people who do nasty things, and a detective who is too intense for his own good. If this is something you’d enjoy having fun with, then you might actually enjoy this.
The Medusa series isn’t actually good in the classical sense. It’s sloppy, unrealistic, and occasionally unintentionally humorous. The characters aren’t actually developed, and the plot twists come so quickly that you don’t even have time to catch your breath from one before the next one comes along. The show is trying to keep you on the edge of your seat, but after a while, it just becomes chaos for the sake of chaos.
The only thing that I have to credit Medusa with is the cast. Juana Acosta as Bárbara is great. She brings the appropriate levels of power and presence to bring the character to life to the point where you find yourself believing that she’s a woman who has been through hell and therefore come out hell-bent on revenge. When the script does become a bit ridiculous, she makes it work.
And then there’s Detective Danger Carmelo, played by Manolo Cardona. Yes, I did get it right—his first name is Danger. I wish I were joking. Whenever someone uttered “Danger,” I found myself chuckling. Aside from that, Cardona plays the brooding detective pretty well with the exception of his character tending to be a walking stereotype instead of a living, breathing individual.
The rest of the supporting crew is decent, too. Esteban, Bárbara’s husband, and her ex-cousin-turned-CEO, Cristian, are each shady enough for you to point a finger of suspicion at. Mariana Mozo, cast as Bárbara’s daughter, Maya, adds some necessary emotional depth to the series.
If this Colombian drama Medusa has a flaw, it’s that it doesn’t have faith in the audience to pick up on themes. The entire series is titled Medusa, and just in case you might possibly forget that, Bárbara’s father literally walks around with a cane topped with a Medusa head. The family business is named a many-headed beast, just as the mythological figure the series is named after is. I understand what they were trying to do, but it’s too much.
And that is also reflected in the plotting. Every episode is trying to outdo the last, and while that is fun in places, it also means that the show becomes tiring. There isn’t even a moment’s letup between all the betrayals, scandals, and dramatic confrontations.
Seriously though, Medusa’s more of a campy soap than an actual thriller. If you’re looking for a thick, well-crafted mystery, you won’t be finding it here. The series isn’t exactly in a place to get really deep into its characters on a serious note. They’re scheming, or flirting, or yelling at each other. That’s not always a bad thing in and of itself—it depends on what you’re in the mood for.
Summing Up
Personally, I liked it a little for the same reason that I like reality TV soap opera. It’s fun to see all of these wealthy, influential people stabbing each other in the back, even if it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. But if you’re in the mood for a well-written, slow burn mystery with complex characters and excellent writing? Yeah… this is not it. Medusa is style over substance, and sometimes it pays off, but sometimes it’s a sloppy rollercoaster ride with no end.
Medusa 2025 is now streaming on Netflix.
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