Nothing about The Gardener should work—but it kinda does.
A hitman who feels nothing? Classic. A mother running a murder-for-hire ring out of a garden center? That's new. A love story that threatens to dismantle the entire operation? That's where things get messy—emotionally, morally, and narratively.
Netflix's The Gardener, created by Miguel Sáez Carral, just sprouted onto the platform and immediately bloomed into a global #1. And yet, underneath the algorithmic success, it's not your average thriller. It's more like Dexter if it were crossbred with a telenovela and watered with unresolved trauma. Absurd? Yes. But also… oddly compelling.
This Isn't Just a Thriller—It's a Genre Chimera
The show follows Elmer (played with eerie detachment by Álvaro Rico), who, after a life-altering accident, is stripped of his ability to feel. His mother, La China Jurado (Cecilia Suárez in peak commanding form), doesn't send him to therapy. She turns him into a contract killer. You know—normal parent stuff.
But when Elmer is assigned to kill Violet, a bright-eyed nursery school teacher, his numb world cracks. He catches feelings. For his target.
Now we're in murky water—thriller territory with romantic undertones that feel more Killing Eve than Barry. This isn't about redemption. It's about resistance. And mommy issues with body counts.
The Dexter Comparison? Only on the Surface
Sure, The Gardener has echoes of Dexter: a killer with rules, a parental figure pulling strings, and an identity crisis buried beneath the violence. But the moral compass is twisted. Dexter hunted monsters. Elmer is one—manufactured by maternal manipulation and repressed emotion.
Unlike Dexter, this show doesn't ask if Elmer can be good. It asks: Can someone who's never felt love, survive falling into it?
And that's the unsettling part. The Gardener doesn't punish absurdity. It embraces it. Joel Keller of Decider called the show “plausible enough to be dangerous.” Mary Kassel of Screen Rant even argued it might've worked better as a film. She's not wrong—it's high concept stretched across six episodes that sometimes buckle under the weight of their own ambition.
Still, there's something in the soil here.
Recycled Roots, New Growth
We've seen versions of this before. 2017's The End of the F**ing World* gave us a sociopathic teen trying to connect. 2019's You flipped romantic obsession into full-blown murder cosplay. The difference? The Gardener feels like it knows it's melodramatic—and leans in. That's either genius or lazy, depending on your threshold for camp.
The emotional detachment of the lead, the controlling matriarch, the doomed romance—it's basically a noir told through Netflix's glossy lens. Which is probably why it's climbing charts. Viewers love familiar flavors with exotic packaging. And The Gardener serves it up in a terracotta pot full of murder and metaphor.
So, Is It Worth Watching?
That depends. If you're into slick killers, strange mommy-son dynamics, and high-stakes gardening (yes, really), you'll find something here to chew on. But don't expect prestige TV. Expect pulp with polish.
Would you risk rooting for a hitman who doesn't even know if he has a heart?
Watch The Gardener—then dig into the comments below. Just… watch your back. La China's always watching.
Haven't seen the trailer for The Gardener yet? Check it out now at Filmofilia—don't miss this gripping sneak peek!”
