The Gardener is a 2025 Spanish romantic and psychological thriller series that premiered on April 11th, 2025, on Netflix. It was created by Miguel Sáez Carral and directed by Mikel Rueda and Rafa Montesinos.
It has a maturity rating (18+) containing scenes with vulgar words, sex, violence, and substance use. The original language in the movie is Spanish, and its original title is El jardinero.
The Premise
Following a terrible accident he had with his mother, 6-year-old Elmer suffers severe damage to the cortex of his right frontal lobe. This makes him unable to process human emotions. His mom (La China Jurado) also loses a limb (right leg) to the accident.
He had to learn how to live in a world where there are lots of human emotions without experiencing any. How does he connect with others? This led him to develop a strong connection with the world of trees and plants because with them, he didn’t have to perform or fake emotions he didn’t have. The Gardener is a tale of love, betrayal, manipulation, and murder.
The series comprises a single season made up of 6 episodes:
Season 1 Episode 1: Atlantic Landscape
Elmer does a job killing a man who is physically abusing his wife and child. Elmer and his mother were contracted by the man’s wife. This episode runs for 47 minutes.
Detectives Torres and Carrera are involved in the investigation into the disappearance of the man, not knowing he was already dead. Since Elmer doesn’t leave the bodies of his victims lying around, he buries them in his garden, as he believes that corpses are the best manure.
They got another job, which was to kill Violeta Àlvarez, a lady believed to have killed her boyfriend (Xoan Costeira); they were contracted to kill her by the late boyfriend’s mother. Instead of Elmer causing Violeta to disappear, he ends up falling madly and hopelessly in love with her.
Season 1 Episode 2: Seed Germination
Elmer follows Violeta into the woods to kill her, but he can’t; rather, they went to a tavern to eat. They were met by a guy named Ramón Sàntis (Mo), who ridiculed Violeta. Mo made fun of her, saying she killed her boyfriend and told Elmer to be careful of her before she kills him too. This hurt Violeta and made her leave the tavern. Elmer was so filled with anger that he followed Mo home and killed him.
Elmer is realising that he is starting to feel things he has never felt before, such as love, anger, and sadness. He opens up to them about what he is going through, and they try to resolve it together.
Elmer keeps experiencing headaches, dizziness, blurring of vision, and loss of consciousness. He was rushed to the hospital, and an MRI scan was done. The results showed a benign tumour in his frontal lobe. The doctor tells them that it is growing in size and needs to be removed and that it can cause personality changes. This makes Elmer reluctant about the procedure because he doesn’t want to go back to who he was. This episode runs for 45 minutes.
Season 1 Episode 3: Organic Substrate
La China is not happy with the new development; for many years, she had been the only one to whom Elmer showed anything remotely akin to love, but now it has changed. Elmer has fallen in love with Violeta, and he wouldn’t take the treatment for the tumour he has.
Tony (La China’s ex-boyfriend) comes back into their life; he was hiding from mobsters looking for him because he had slept with a minor. Tony begins abusing China again, emotionally, physically, and otherwise, so Elmer kills him.
China then decides to kill Violeta herself and fails. Left with no other option, she decides to add the medication Elmer refused to take into his food. Elmer finds out, and he is heartbroken and swears never to trust her again. This episode runs for 44 minutes.
Season 1 Episode 4: Pest Control
This episode runs for 47 minutes. China, determined to get her son back, decides to teach him that a heart that loves is a heart that gets hurt.
Detectives Torres and Carrera discover a series of missing persons cases that were unsolved and are related to the cases they are handling presently. They believe they have a serial killer on their hands, but they have little or nothing to take to the homicide division.
Mrs Sabela Costeira, the woman who contracted Elmer and his mother to kill Violeta, was getting impatient. She then threatens China that if it is not done in 2 weeks, she will tell the police everything she knows about China and her son Elmer.
Season 1, Episode 5: Decomposition Island
Due to the heartache Violeta caused Elmer, he decides to go ahead with the job and kill her, but he couldn’t; he was still so in love with her. China hires a hit man called Orson to take care of Violeta for her.
Detective Carrera and Torres’s investigation leads them to Elmer, but they are unable to get concrete evidence. They believe he buries his victims in his garden. This episode runs for 48 minutes.
Elmer invades Mrs Costeira’s home, kills her, and steals some gold and money for his mother. Violeta finds out and gets very far from Elmer and then calls him to tell him that she will be going to the police.
Season 1 Episode 6: Pruning Calendar
This episode runs for 46 minutes. Orson captures Violeta and tries to shoot her, but before he can shoot her, she runs away, and he runs after her. Violeta comes from the back and brutally murders Orson instead. Violeta then calls Elmer, telling him what she has done. Elmer consoles her, telling her to calm down. She shared her location with him; when he comes, he makes it look like Orson had an accident.
Detectives Torres and Carrera get a search warrant to search the Jurado residence, but they are shocked to discover that all the plants were gone and the entire place looks like virgin land.
Violeta leaves town because it keeps reminding her of everything that had gone wrong in her life: her parents’ death, Xoan’s death, and her relationship with Elmer. China hits Elmer, and he collapses. He was rushed to the hospital; the tumour resection was done, and it was a success. It took away his emotions but gave him back his life.
Cast and Performances
Àlvaro Rico as Elmer Juardo:
He did a great job embodying the role, playing it effortlessly, and enhancing the performance.
Cecilia Suàrez as La China Jurado:
She played the role of a mother who is filled with greed and selfishness, neglects the safety of her 6 puts him in harm’s way for the sake of money. She was Elmer’s mother. Her performance was outstanding.
Catalina Sopelana as Violeta Àlvarez:
Her character was fully developed. She is a teacher who greatly loved her students, and they love her right back; she is free-spirited. She has good friends who give her good advice, and she is involved in several extracurricular activities and hobbies, such as boating, swimming, and going for walks. Her portrayal was impressive and worth watching.
María Vázquez as Detective Carrera:
Both Detective Carrera and Torres from the Pontevedra PD missing persons division were assigned the cases involving the victims of Elmer. Her performance was fairly good.
Francis Lorenzo as Detective Torres:
Torres has been married to his wife for 37 years; their relationship had gotten to a point where they were tired, but they couldn’t leave. He was nice to his partner, Carrera, buying her gifts and taking her for coffee.
When she asked him to come home with her, he turned her down, saying that he was married. This infuriated Carrera so much that it put a strain on their working relationship. His performance was satisfactory.
What I liked about The Gardener
Well-structured plot
The series features a tightly woven, well-paced plot that masterfully blends tension, emotion, and resolution, making every moment feel earned and impactful.
Character Development and Performances
The characters in this series were fully developed, and their performances were incredible. They were fully fleshed out, each with distinct personalities, backstories, and emotional arcs that evolved meaningfully throughout the story.
Music and Cinematography
Great music – it was always perfectly synchronised with each scene, enhancing the emotion and atmosphere at every moment.
Stunning picture quality paired with the breathtaking beauty of nature—lush trees and vibrant plant life bring every scene to life.
Lessons Learnt
I learnt that a mother’s unchecked greed and selfishness can cloud her judgement so deeply that she’s willing to sacrifice her own child’s safety and innocence, forcing him into darkness for her personal gain. China’s greed didn’t just put him in harm’s way—it stole his soul.
Also, I learnt that the Celts believed the forest was a sacred place—one they entered deeply to feel closer to lost loved ones, seeking connection through nature, memory, and spirit.
Nature Recycles Everything – The concept of a decomposition island shows how even in death, organisms contribute to the cycle of life, enriching the soil and providing nutrients for new growth.
In the end, I learnt the hardest truth of all: no fortune, no ambition, no fleeting gain is worth the quiet distance in a child’s eyes. Trust, once lost, doesn’t shatter with noise—it slips away in silence, and no amount of love or regret can summon it back the same way.
What didn’t work
Plot holes
How do 11 people go missing in a small town without it raising major public concerns or becoming a public health crisis?
One thing I didn’t quite understand is, why Violeta suddenly decided she was done with Elmer? What exactly happened? What made her reach that point so suddenly?
How did Sabela and their other clients get to know about their side business? Everyone seems to know that they do this “job” and come to them and pay them, yet nobody in the town knows.
Even when Violeta was revealed to be harbouring a secret, The Gardener didn’t expand on this further.
The story is weak when it follows the 2 detectives. I mean, what was even their purpose in the series? Is it to romanticise adultery?
Elmer barely wears gloves and works with his bare hands at crime scenes, and yet his DNA hasn’t shown up in investigations about these missing cases.
Unsatisfying ending
Elmer, China, and Violeta deserved to face the legal consequences of their actions. It is unsatisfactory that they get to carry on with life like nothing ever happened.
Final Thoughts on The Gardener
The Gardener is a gripping story about violence, manipulation, love, and the chance for redemption—even when you are surrounded by death. It is a worthy watch for lovers of psychological thrillers.
Rating
I would rate this series 4.5 out of 5 stars
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