Netflix’s The Guest (2025): A Marriage Tested by Betrayal

The Guest is a 2025 Colombian drama series that premiered on 24th September, 2025, and is currently streaming on Netflix. Its original title is La Huesped. It was created & written by Dario Vanegas and Lina Uribe (La Reina del Sur) and directed by Klych López and Israel Sánchez Vargas. The series is rated 16+ and contains scenes with violence, sex, and adult language.

The Premise

A couple struggling to save their marriage after an affair is thrown into chaos when a mysterious woman from the wife’s past arrives at their door. There is a mixture of domestic conflict, secrets from the past, political ambition, and the arrival of a mysterious outsider who shakes up a family’s life in this psychological series.

Across its 20 episodes, The Guest includes themes of revenge, obsession, betrayal, addiction, and the corrupting influence of power.

Season 1, Episode 1 – The Storm

After the shocking suicide of their therapist, Dr. Mahecha, a couple resumes treatment with Dr. Sanchez. A breakthrough in their sessions drives Silvia to explore her husband’s darkest desires, but a violent storm brings an unexpected guest. This episode runs for 50 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 2 – I Didn’t Come to Bother

Isabel joins a viral challenge that ends in a terrible accident. Sonia reflects on how she first met Dr. Mahecha, while Silvia sets firm boundaries between herself and Sonia. This episode runs for 40 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 3 – The Rubber Band

As Lorenzo slips away to secretly meet Natasha, Isa and Juanjo grow frantic after receiving a chilling text that hints at their hidden truth. Meanwhile, Sonia is consumed by haunting memories of her painful past. This episode runs for 41 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 4 – The Necklace

Isa and Juanjo grow increasingly desperate as they search for a way to meet their blackmailer’s demands, knowing that one wrong move could destroy everything.

Meanwhile, Lorenzo uncovers a disturbing truth that shakes him to the core. At the same time, Sylvia braces herself for a difficult and emotional confrontation with Sonia, a conversation that could change the course of their relationship forever. This episode runs for 39 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 5 – Count on Me

Juliana catches Sonia in an unsettling moment and worries she has something gup her selve. Isa and Juanjo confess the truth to Lorenzo. To keep Lorenzo’s secret from Silvia, Sonia strikes a deal and demands a favor in return. This episode runs for 44 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 6 – The Pause Button

Silvia and Lorenzo’s fight pushes Sonia closer into the picture. While Lorenzo negotiates a risky deal, Isa’s search for the truth puts Pia’s safety on the line. This episode runs for 40 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 7 – The Prisoner

After her night with Sonia, Silvia faces a difficult crossroads. Just before his big speech, Lorenzo is hit with an unexpected blow, while Sonia’s desperation reaches new heights. This episode runs for 40 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 8 – Your Way, My Way

While Silvia slowly recovers from her ordeal, Lorenzo cannot shake the feeling that her attack was no accident, and suspicion begins to consume him. At the same time, Ibáñez presents Méndez with an offer that could change everything, though it comes with hidden risks. Meanwhile, Sonia steps deeper into Lorenzo’s fantasies, blurring the line between temptation and danger. This episode runs for 46 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 9 – The Siren

Lorenzo and Sonia struggle under the weight of their growing secrets while Silvia remains in the dark. Ibáñez begins to suspect Natasha of backing Lorenzo’s campaign, even as Natasha tightens her grip by extorting him. This episode runs for 45 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 10 – The Diary

Juliana races to warn Silvia about Lorenzo and Sonia, while Natasha makes a desperate move to hold on to her job. Meanwhile, Isa is stunned to discover that Brian has regained consciousness. This episode runs for 45 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 11 – The Blackmailer

Crushed by grief, Isa walks straight into a dangerous trap, while Sonia moves quickly to silence a lingering threat. As the search for Isa intensifies, Juanjo pieces together the meaning of a puzzling call from Matías. This episode runs for 39 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 12 – The Walk

Pepe manipulates a radiology assistant to advance Sonia’s scheme. While Isa remains in the hospital, Silvia presses Lorenzo to uncover a troubling secret. Meanwhile, Ibáñez continues to dig deeper into Lorenzo’s past. This episode runs for 41 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 13 – The Redhead

Brian is shaken by a startling visitor, and Silvia struggles with a life-changing decision for Isa. Meanwhile, Miguel and Juliana uncover the shocking truth about Juanjo’s role in the devastating car crash caused by Isabela. This episode runs for 39 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 14 – Half-truths

As Isa begins rehab, Silvia and Lorenzo’s marriage starts to unravel. Meanwhile, Matías’ mother reports him missing, and Sonia shifts her scheme in an unexpected direction. This episode runs for 36 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 15 – The Election

As Silvia’s health declines, Juanjo seeks out Méndez for answers. During the tense attorney general vote, a shocking news report surfaces, threatening to derail Lorenzo’s ambitions. This episode runs for 41 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 16 – The Judge

Isa faces the judge while police put Lorenzo under scrutiny. Sonia is forced to confront painful memories from her past, and Miguel’s intimate moment spirals in an unexpected direction. This episode runs for 42 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 17 – The Confession

Juanjo and Isa reconcile, while Natasha’s encounter with Pepe and Sonia sparks new tensions. Meanwhile, Miguel receives a chilling video that could bring ruin to everyone involved. This episode runs for 44 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 18 – The Breakfast

A mysterious phone call warns Silvia of a looming threat. Juliana uncovers the hidden truth about Sonia’s ties to Silvia, while Sonia unravels, slipping further into chaos. This episode runs for 53 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 19 – The Arrest

A search warrant sets off a shocking arrest. Ramiro reveals to Silvia just how far Sonia’s madness has gone, even as Sonia pushes her plan into motion. Meanwhile, Méndez’s doubts deepen. This episode runs for 35 minutes.

Season 1, Episode 20 – The Sacrifice

Haunted by her past with Lorenzo, Sonia unravels in ways that leave Silvia and Isa terrified. As Lorenzo races against time to reach them, the question remains, will he arrive before tragedy strikes? This episode runs for 35 minutes.

Cast and Performance

Laura Londoño as Silvia Rincon

Silvia is Lorenzo’s wife and Isabela’s mother; she deals with betrayal and internal doubt about her marriage and struggles to stabilize the relationships with herself, her husband, and her daughter. Silvia is a renowned cellist. Her musical career seems to be one of her defining traits. She is dealing with marital issues, especially with Lorenzo’s infidelity and sexual urges that mismatch hers. Their marriage is strained, and they seek therapy.

Silvia shoulders the responsibility of her role and tries to balance it with both delicacy and toughness, thereby giving rise to a compelling performance.

Jason Day as Lorenzo Malagon

Lorenzo is married to Silvia and is the father of Isabela. His relationship with Silvia is strained by his infidelity and a mismatch in sexual desires and expectations. He is running for attorney general, so he has public ambitions and political visibility. This adds external pressure on his personal life.

He struggles with a high sex drive, temptations, guilt, and shame. His failures in fidelity are a major source of conflict.

He portrays a flawed man who knows he has a problem and is really making an effort to change because of the love he has for his wife and daughter.

Carmen Villalobos as Sonia Laborda

Sonia is the mysterious guest, whose backstory and agendas are gradually revealed. Sonia’s goal is revenge. She wants to destroy Lorenzo, both his public reputation (he’s running for Attorney General) and his private life (marriage, family). She uses her bond with Silvia to get close enough to infiltrate the family. Her performance was extraordinary; she wore the role and played it effortlessly.

Kamila Zea as Isabela (Isa)

She is the teenage daughter of Silvia and Lorenzo Malagón. Isa struggles with drug addiction (methamphetamines) and faces issues typical of adolescence under pressure (social media, peer influence, etc.). She gets involved in a reckless public stunt or internet challenge that leads to an accident.

Isa is manipulated at various points by other characters (some secrets are hidden from her, she becomes entangled in scandals or plots beyond her control). Kamila gave a convincing performance.

One of the very few high notes of this Colombian series, “The Guest,” is that the actors did their best with the material they were given.

What I Liked About The Series

Interwoven timelines

I enjoyed how the past, present, and future scenes were woven together, allowing the story to unfold gradually with suspense while remaining clear and engaging.

Production Value & Setting

The estates, interiors, and contrasts between public and private personas felt well done. The show leverages setting to underline the tension: what looks luxurious and perfect often hides rot and betrayal.

Beyond the Screen

I truly admired how Sylvia and Lorenzo fought to keep their marriage alive despite their flaws. Even as someone who firmly believes that a cheat should never be forgiven, since such betrayal often repeats itself, I found their determination moving.

Character Conflict & Moral Ambiguity

The series avoids portraying its characters as purely good or evil. Each is deeply flawed—Silvia is conflicted, Lorenzo is driven by ambition and moral compromise, and Sonia’s motives remain ambiguous. This complexity enriches the drama and leaves viewers questioning whether anyone can truly be seen as entirely good or bad.

Lessons Learnt

No matter how close you are to someone, never let them become deeply involved in your family because problems are bound to arise. Family should remain between a husband, wife, and children.

We should always be careful about the friends and company we keep, because they can influence us in ways that lead us astray, even when we are doing our best to stay on the right path.

What Didn’t Work

Weak Plot

The storyline had strong potential and could have delivered an excellent psychological thriller, but the weak plot filled with noticeable holes made watching the series feel more exhausting than engaging.

Prolonged Runtime

The long runtime led me to expect an intense psychological drama packed with suspense, action, and depth, but instead I was let down by a straightforward storyline centered on a scorned woman’s quest for revenge.

As a soap-opera drama thriller, 20 episodes makes sense, but considering it is on Netflix and it caters to the binge-watching crowd, the duration is the show’s biggest drawback. The dragged-out runtime makes the story feel painfully stretched, and the predictable ending only reinforces the sense of disappointment.

Slow pacing

20 episodes is supposed to be enough to tighten certain arcs and scenes but that was not the case here. Some episodes linger too long on, the series is filled with scenes with repetition and dragging moments.

Predictability in Twists

After a while you begin to guess most plots, especially once the pattern of “hidden betrayal / ulterior motive” is established. Some twists are still satisfying, but a few felt telegraphed.

Final Thoughts

The Guest is a solid thriller-drama that tries to deliver on tension, secrets, and character conflict. It may not be perfect or wholly unpredictable, but it is somewhat engaging, well acted, and well suited for binge-watching especially for the right audience.

If you like family dramas, mysterious outsiders, and ethical ambiguity, you will not like to miss this.

Rating

I would rate the series a 3 out of 5.

Our Rating

Have you seen this series? Do you think the series could have been stronger with fewer episodes, or did the slow build work for you?

Author

Chiamaka Nworie

Nworie Rita Chiamaka is a passionate movie reviewer who loves storytelling and cinematic artistry. Beyond movies, Chiamaka is a nature lover who finds joy in taking walks, reading, and singing. She thrives on meaningful connections and enjoys making new friends. Her reviews often reflect her appreciation for authentic storytelling, well-developed characters, and the emotional depth that movies bring to audiences.