A thriller with good and bad displayed in nearly all the characters. Nothing is straightforward and the plot appears contradictory. But its strength is that it is unpredictable: the good characters struggle through the crisises and unlike many plots they don't often come out on top. This isn't a thriller following Hollywood lines. If there is one message that comes out of the show it is that there is good and bad in all of us, It is worth watching for its intensity and characterisations but don't expect a satisfying hollywood type resolution.
18 Reviews
mediocre story at best
ddianami30 November 2018
The acting is solid and some characters are very interesting, but the actual story is mediocre at best. A bunch of annoying and glaring plotholes along with a pace that alternates from slow to too fast. The show didn't captivate my attention at all from the first episode, but it does get just slightly most interesting as the show progresses. The premise seems to imply a thriller, but this show is most certainly a drama. I believe there is an audience out there for this show, that some people would love this kind of dramatic and all-over-the-place storyline, but it's just not the kind of show I was expecting to see.
Uneven but intriguing drama
blessloveheal-0951023 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Fugitiva kept my interest enough to finish the series but it lost focus at times with ridiculous plotlines with Magda, the kids, K, Tobias, and Alexandria chasing around between Mexico and Spain, getting into and out of trouble.
Definitely stick with it
lisadanger9 March 2019
Enjoyably melodramatic drama
Tweekums5 September 2021
This series is centred on Magda, a former model from Spain, who now lives with her Mexican husband, Alejandro, in a large house outside Mexico City. They have three children; daughters Paulina and Claudia and a deaf son Ruben. Being wealthy they know they could be targeted by kidnappers who operate in the city. One day, while Alejandro is away on business in Spain, the worst happens... Magda and the children are kidnapped. We soon learn that all isn't how it seemed... Magda has orchestrated the kidnapping to get away from her abusive husband without telling the children. The 'kidnappers' get them to the Spanish city of Benidorm where they are told to stay in their hotel room while further preparations are made. Inevitably things don't go to plan; a betrayal leaves them without money or documentation and the children have no intention of staying in their room. As her husband closes in on her Magda must decide who she can trust.
If you want gritty realism this won't be the series for you; however if you want plenty of tension and don't mind characters making irrational choices to further the drama it is a lot of fun. The initial kidnapping is impressive and there is a real sense of danger as at this point it isn't clear that Magda is behind it. The children do come across as bit bratty but it isn't surprising given that they've always been given what they wanted but also always been guarded; this is their first time where they can act like 'normal' people their age; no matter how much it exasperates their mother. I liked the fact that many characters are quite ambiguous; we don't know whether Magda and the children should be trusting them; in some cases they clearly shouldn't. The antagonists; most obviously Alejandro and his mother are somewhat pantomime villains but that doesn't matter as it fitted with the general tone of the series. The cast is solid making the characters believable even if not all are likeable. Overall I found this to be a fun melodrama so would recommend it.
These comments are based on watching the series in Spanish with English subtitles.
If you want gritty realism this won't be the series for you; however if you want plenty of tension and don't mind characters making irrational choices to further the drama it is a lot of fun. The initial kidnapping is impressive and there is a real sense of danger as at this point it isn't clear that Magda is behind it. The children do come across as bit bratty but it isn't surprising given that they've always been given what they wanted but also always been guarded; this is their first time where they can act like 'normal' people their age; no matter how much it exasperates their mother. I liked the fact that many characters are quite ambiguous; we don't know whether Magda and the children should be trusting them; in some cases they clearly shouldn't. The antagonists; most obviously Alejandro and his mother are somewhat pantomime villains but that doesn't matter as it fitted with the general tone of the series. The cast is solid making the characters believable even if not all are likeable. Overall I found this to be a fun melodrama so would recommend it.
These comments are based on watching the series in Spanish with English subtitles.
Lame from start to finish
jjbrick2 December 2018
Where to begin. Put 'Magda' in a wardrobe of crummy hoodies so she won't stand out in an upscale, highly populated tourism venue where she has gone to hide out, give her three wretched, entitled, snotty kids that you can never care about, give her a husband that she keeps running back to after he beats her and makes her life a living hell, and have her horrible kids keep disrespecting her and running off in all directions like a hormone-driven herd of cats, and top it off with a selection of mercenaries promising to help her that any fool would send packing, and what you have is - what? - ten hours of "We can't leave without Pau!!" and "We can't leave without Ruben!!" over and over and over until finally - LEAVE ALREADY!! El stinko supremo!!
Some sort of morality tale?
Design8830 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Sometimes I just wasn't sure but I stuck it out through all 10 episodes of this series but it did have its moments and I enjoyed a lot of the characters along with a lot of the plot twists and turns. Some of the acting, pacing and editing was sub-par and the storyline became implausible and downright annoying at times...but still interesting enough to keep me watching and wondering what might happen next.
Basically, a very rich, unhappy, beaten-down wife, Magda, decides to leave her crooked, abusive husband by pretending that she and her children have been kidnapped. Assuming she had no concrete evidence of his criminal activities or abuse to take to the authorities in exchange for witnesses protection, she chooses the fake kidnapping scenario in-spite of the trauma it might cause her family. She expects to arrive in Spain with a fortune which she's amassed from secretly selling off her jewelry and replacing it with fakes. The money has been secretly smuggled into her Mother's bank account so perhaps her continuing plan may have been more plausible had she not been conned by her contact as soon as they arrive in Madrid.
I didn't particularly like Magda's character and acting and often had trouble viewing her as a victim. Her husband isn't your typical Latin "thug" husband and appears refined, genuine and often downright sensitive to his family's needs. I couldn't decide if it was great acting or bad acting on his part. Inspite of his feelings of ownership, he has genuine love for their children ...even loves Magda in his own twisted way... but he's deeply disturbed and deceptive and I think this is one of the series' strengths. At times we have to question whether or not it's Magda who is the crazy one but gradually we see more and more evidence of her husband's abusive and perverted ways and it becomes clearer how beaten down Magda has become before attempting to leave which does explain some of her irrational behavior and lack of trust. She can't forgive herself for contributing to their son's accident that resulted in permanent deafness. She's also very protective of her children and genuinely fears for their lives after a car blows up on their driveway and almost kills their son.
Their teen kids are annoyingly bratty and entitled and don't seem concerned to be leaving their home and friends because they probably don't have many. They are actually quite fun to watch and I think we are supposed to feel they've grown up a lot by the end of the series. They are still pretty insular and two dimensional but the experience has changed them.
My biggest complaint with Magda's character is her selfishness and bossiness. Perhaps she feels entitled to use anyone and everyone to get what she wants given her struggle but it's hard to accept. Her Mother is dragged from her home and ends up in hopsital even though she's totally supportive of her daughter's actions. Her brother learns how to steal a van and eventually kills someone because of what she's dragged them into. Even back at the fake kidnapping they leave the nanny in a state of shock since she's not family albeit leaving her cash to find on the floor of the car. Tobias' kind, helpful friend is seriously beaten and her boat stolen and ruined. None of them even think twice about it. She changes plans and abruptly uproots her kids at a moment's notice and leaves everyone who is trying to help hanging with no regard. Luckily, the kids are disrespectful so often she can't make a move while waiting for them to show up.
The saddest plot point for me was the totally unnecessary death of Tobias. He did everything for them at great risk to himself and she was never grateful until it was too late. When he and K were fighting on the boat and he was being held down at gunpoint she had every opportunity to jump in and taser K... or even knock him out cold with a frying pan. But she did absolutely nothing to help and even took the time to gather her children and hug them on deck and then he was fatally shot. None of them raised a finger to help him and their reaction was very cold upon hearing the shot. Even if they couldn't deal with which one might be shot, it was unspeakable in my book and made a very chilling statement about them all. The kids had grown fond of Tobias and the natural reaction would have been to help in a situation like that but they turned their backs and hugged each other in their tight bond.
She left devastation in her wake and her brother was right that she'd dragged them all into a real mess. Ironically, due to K's tape, they all qualified for legal witness protection after all that. Lastly, they could have used better wigs for Magda ... all of them were horrible .. and putting her in "out of place" hoodies was a very poor costume call too.
Basically, a very rich, unhappy, beaten-down wife, Magda, decides to leave her crooked, abusive husband by pretending that she and her children have been kidnapped. Assuming she had no concrete evidence of his criminal activities or abuse to take to the authorities in exchange for witnesses protection, she chooses the fake kidnapping scenario in-spite of the trauma it might cause her family. She expects to arrive in Spain with a fortune which she's amassed from secretly selling off her jewelry and replacing it with fakes. The money has been secretly smuggled into her Mother's bank account so perhaps her continuing plan may have been more plausible had she not been conned by her contact as soon as they arrive in Madrid.
I didn't particularly like Magda's character and acting and often had trouble viewing her as a victim. Her husband isn't your typical Latin "thug" husband and appears refined, genuine and often downright sensitive to his family's needs. I couldn't decide if it was great acting or bad acting on his part. Inspite of his feelings of ownership, he has genuine love for their children ...even loves Magda in his own twisted way... but he's deeply disturbed and deceptive and I think this is one of the series' strengths. At times we have to question whether or not it's Magda who is the crazy one but gradually we see more and more evidence of her husband's abusive and perverted ways and it becomes clearer how beaten down Magda has become before attempting to leave which does explain some of her irrational behavior and lack of trust. She can't forgive herself for contributing to their son's accident that resulted in permanent deafness. She's also very protective of her children and genuinely fears for their lives after a car blows up on their driveway and almost kills their son.
Their teen kids are annoyingly bratty and entitled and don't seem concerned to be leaving their home and friends because they probably don't have many. They are actually quite fun to watch and I think we are supposed to feel they've grown up a lot by the end of the series. They are still pretty insular and two dimensional but the experience has changed them.
My biggest complaint with Magda's character is her selfishness and bossiness. Perhaps she feels entitled to use anyone and everyone to get what she wants given her struggle but it's hard to accept. Her Mother is dragged from her home and ends up in hopsital even though she's totally supportive of her daughter's actions. Her brother learns how to steal a van and eventually kills someone because of what she's dragged them into. Even back at the fake kidnapping they leave the nanny in a state of shock since she's not family albeit leaving her cash to find on the floor of the car. Tobias' kind, helpful friend is seriously beaten and her boat stolen and ruined. None of them even think twice about it. She changes plans and abruptly uproots her kids at a moment's notice and leaves everyone who is trying to help hanging with no regard. Luckily, the kids are disrespectful so often she can't make a move while waiting for them to show up.
The saddest plot point for me was the totally unnecessary death of Tobias. He did everything for them at great risk to himself and she was never grateful until it was too late. When he and K were fighting on the boat and he was being held down at gunpoint she had every opportunity to jump in and taser K... or even knock him out cold with a frying pan. But she did absolutely nothing to help and even took the time to gather her children and hug them on deck and then he was fatally shot. None of them raised a finger to help him and their reaction was very cold upon hearing the shot. Even if they couldn't deal with which one might be shot, it was unspeakable in my book and made a very chilling statement about them all. The kids had grown fond of Tobias and the natural reaction would have been to help in a situation like that but they turned their backs and hugged each other in their tight bond.
She left devastation in her wake and her brother was right that she'd dragged them all into a real mess. Ironically, due to K's tape, they all qualified for legal witness protection after all that. Lastly, they could have used better wigs for Magda ... all of them were horrible .. and putting her in "out of place" hoodies was a very poor costume call too.
people who love telenovelas maybe like this...
mapika28 November 2018
I don't believe the actors are bad and responsable at all for this mess, but unfortuantely i couldn't even finish the first episode:
poorly written, nonsensical beginning, awful style (ridiculous wig of protagonist...). looks like a cheap production...
Stick with it!
ellis-227-15052413 December 2018
I'm not a reviewer and don't pretend to be but, I tell you I loved this series; I had to binge watch it. Good story, good acting, some good twists, good suspense. OK, there's some dramatic license but so what, it's a story f'Xs sake. The kids are awful, sure, but then they are meant to be: spoilt, stupid, rich brats, get over it, hate them and love the drama. The people who give this story a bum rating have lost the ability to suspend belief and enjoy a good yarn. BTW it's way better in Spanish with subtitles than it is dubbed in American, which just doesn't come off.
You have to try to get into the culture as well as the story.
Very poor.
fallowfield5410 May 2021
Mexican telenovela
fbergerman11 December 2018
Terrible, waste of time
verborgenbuiten26 December 2018
The plot is unusual and interesting
sudhir-solomon21 December 2018
I watched all episodes of this series in two sittings for it was so captivating that I couldn't wait to know what happens next. Interesting story though stretched over so many episodes unnecessarily. I have absolutely no problem with this series, all the actors performed well, I am introduced to Spanish culture and locations and I just enjoyed watching Fugitiva
It failed to persuade
Cinephilos5 April 2024
Throughout the episodes, I could never understand whether the reason she left her husband was justified. The story resembles Julia Robert's Sleeping with the Enemy. But in the movie, the husband is truly a psychopath with homicidal instincts. In Fugitiva, the husband is at best a mafia leader with criminal intentions. It's never established that he poses danger to his wife or children. The explosion in the house doesn't warrant her deceptive escape from her husband. Moreover, it doesn't warrant taking all three children from their father. Apparently the father loves the children and the children love their father. The woman kidnapped the children from their father and deprived him of the love of his children. The story is faulty and exaggerated. It fails to persuade.
Good in the way for a Spanish tv show!
patrick-deman2-129 April 2022
Good story, good acting, some good twists, good suspense.
The initial kidnapping is impressive and there is a real sense of danger as at this point it isn't clear that Magda is behind it. The children do come across as bit bratty but it isn't surprising given that they've always been given what they wanted but also always been guarded.
The initial kidnapping is impressive and there is a real sense of danger as at this point it isn't clear that Magda is behind it. The children do come across as bit bratty but it isn't surprising given that they've always been given what they wanted but also always been guarded.
Alsome show
lrspears28 November 2018
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