MERLÍ: SAPERE AUDE
season 2 (Netflix)
Merlí was a popular Spanish show about high schoolers in Barcelona, inspired and confronted by their unorthodox philosophy teacher, Merlí Bergeron, that ran for three seasons. The kids moved to university, and the original series was replaced with this spin-off, now in season 2, originally broadcast in Spain in 2019.
Fans of the original lamented the loss of many characters, including Merlí himself who died at the end, but hot bisexual student Pol (Carlos Cuevas) quickly became the focus. In season 1, the most talked-about scene saw him do things with a highlighter pen you’ve never seen on screen before. Why Stabilo didn’t include this alternate use in their ad campaigns I don’t know!
Season 2 opens with Pol and his mate reminiscing about their friendship, “back when you and I were fuck-buddies”. There’s a European gay sensibility here that’s terrific; no gay angst, no homophobia, with different dramatic tensions compared with out-dated condescension, which persists elsewhere.
Sapere aude is Spanish for “dare to know” or have the courage to think for yourself. Now in his second year at uni, Pol is deciding what sort of man he wants to be. After a day on the town with a new friend he really likes, he says: “I don’t want to end the day with easy sex that goes nowhere.” A new direction for him.
Things hit home at the end of the first ep when he’s diagnosed as positive. It blindsides him, and he can’t bring himself to tell anyone. Dealing with HIV, accepting the need to take meds, re-evaluating how to be safe and, mostly, learning how to talk about it are themes in the rest of the series.
Older characters have real problems, too, such as the senior teacher’s struggle to stay on the wagon and Pol’s dad’s need for a job to pay his tax debt.
The late Merlí’s constant plea for students to work out for themselves what is right echoes throughout. Series 2 ends with graduation thus ending the show. Bit of a shame.
Lead actor, Cuevas has gone on to star in several series since, including Stories To Stay Awake, a science fiction in which people choose to renew or recycle parts of their body or become a willing donor for others! (MA15+ strong sex scenes, 8 x 45m eps)