Abhiroop Das
Co-created by Jorge Díaz, Agustín Martínez, and Santos Mercero, Netflix’s ‘Two Graves,’ originally titled ‘Dos tumbas,’ chronicles the inexplicable disappearance of two teenagers, Verónica and Marta, as experienced by the former’s grandmother, Isabel Luque. Deeply affected by this tragic event, she is more involved than anyone in the pursuit of justice and, more importantly, answers. However, with the clock ticking and details running thin, Isabel keeps running into dead ends. Soon, she realizes that a straightforward investigation won’t cut it, and instead, she gets her own hands dirty, stepping into a world of violence and cruelty to figure out the truth for herself. Somewhere in the process, the journey turns into a revenge quest, showing the extent to which a person’s mind can be corrupted in the face of tragedy. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Isabel’s Granddaughter and Her Best Friend Disappear
The series begins with a cold open, wherein an old woman is hard at work. Piano keys tinkle as she wipes blood off them, and not long after, a body comes into view. With great effort, she pulls the body all the way to the freezer, ready to hide it from prying eyes. Following this ominous sequence, the story jolts back two years into the past. The woman, named Isabel, bonds with her granddaughter, Verónica, through chatting about a piano duet. Isabel expresses her adoration for her granddaughter with a gift of green earrings, along with a matching pair for herself. Verónica then heads out to meet with her best friend, Marta Salazar, and the two have fun at the Saint Anthony fair. The day soon turns into night, and the two friends, drunk, look for a ride to their next destination. A charming young man agrees to help, but neither is prepared for the fate that is about to befall them.
Verónica’s absence that night and the following day raises questions, and a montage chronicles the investigation into the two missing girls that follows. We see from Isabel’s perspective how every last bit of her hope is gradually snatched away, as more and more evidence points to the girls facing a brutal death. The man who dropped them, identified as Jonas Herrera, is arrested but eventually released due to the lack of any evidence. The final blow comes with the discovery of Marta’s body in the ocean, and at her funeral, Isabel can’t help but mourn her own granddaughter. Two years have passed, and while the case has gone cold, the protagonist refuses to relent. She criticizes the investigator in charge, Zaera, for failing to come up with anything substantial, but also realizes her own helplessness.
Isabel Tries to Take Matters Into Her Own Hands
We also learn that Marta’s father, Rafael Salazar, is a feared gang leader, and Isabel makes her way to his home to learn more about the fateful event. However, this turns out to be a dead end, as Rafael is in a similar state of silent mourning. At a loss, the protagonist returns to her routine, which involves teaching piano to Beltrán, Verónica’s childhood friend. Still desperate for answers, she tries out new and increasingly pettier schemes, such as faking an anonymous note for the police with newspaper cutouts, but is quickly caught. During her phone call with her son, Antonio, we learn that she has a younger granddaughter named Lupe. Isabel’s neighbour, Ceferino, also shows up, and it is evident that he wants to go on a date with her. After playing him off, she makes her way to a family dinner at Antonio’s restaurant, but is unable to be at ease, given that Verónica’s fate is still up in the air.
On the drive back home, a chance encounter leads her to Jonas Herrera, who now works as a delivery driver. As she digs deeper, she learns that he also works in the fish market, which doubles her suspicions towards him. Deciding to act on her own, she ambushes him inside his boat, but is quickly overpowered. In a surprising turn of events, we learn that Jonas, despite his aggressive reaction, is not a threat. Furthermore, his detailed recollection of the day and how he dropped the two friends off convinces Isabel that he is not the culprit. However, one detail that stands out in his narrative is that Verónica actually hated the earrings her grandmother had gifted her, but wore them anyway for her happiness. With no answers at hand and only more pain, Isabel leaves the scene and contemplates her decisions.
Beltrán Holds the Key to the Mystery
After the long night, Isabel wakes up to Beltrán, her piano student, requesting a lesson. However, the tone shifts instantly when he points out her green earrings, which she wore in remembrance of her granddaughter. Everything seems clear to the protagonist, as she remembers that Verónica only had them on for a single day, meaning that Beltrán was involved in her disappearance. Panick-stricken at first, Isabel collects her thoughts and quickly gets into action. She finds her sleeping medicine and mixes a high dosage into Beltrán’s morning tea, which he drinks without any suspicion. However, they take effect in no time, knocking him out flat. Isabel then makes use of this opening to tie up his hands and feet to ready him for questioning. When the student wakes up, he is more than surprised and initially attempts to feign ignorance about his slip-up, but that turns out to be of little use.
Isabel is not one to let go of Beltrán easily; instead, she brings a hammer into play, repeatedly bounding his legs till he spews his account of what really happened that night. Initially, the student is tight-lipped and continues a stream of excuses. When that doesn’t work, he tries to convince her that he would never hurt his friend, and the hollowness left behind by her death has contorted Isabel’s psyche, causing her to do all this. Momentarily, the protagonist lets her guard down and nearly agrees to his wish to be freed of the zip ties. However, the question of how he found out about the earrings remains. Beltrán explains that he met her during the summer fair, and in the conversation that followed, she spoke fondly of her earrings, imprinting them onto his memory. This changes the game once again, as Isabel now knows for a fact that the man in front of her is lying.
Isabel’s Impulsive Action Flips the Story on Its Head
Showing no mercy, Isabel pierces Beltran’s shoulder with a pair of scissors and threatens him into telling the full truth. Realizing that there is no way out, he finally starts speaking and reveals that he picked up Verónica and Marta from and took them to a private party of the wealthy. He then explains that the party was reserved for elite figures from popular culture and was a hotspot for drugs, alcohol, and sex work. In a shocking revelation, he suggests that the two girls were being sexually abused under his watch, with huge sums of money promised in return. This clearly strikes a nerve, and Isabel’s blood begins to boil slowly. Unaware, Beltrán begins monologuing on his own, trying to pin the blame for the entire event on Verónica. He claims that he has no idea of what happened following their entry into the party, and that Verónica often acted on her own accord.
Things intensify even further when Beltrán begins to hurl expletives at Verónica, and after a point, Isabel is unable to bear it anymore. Moments after he names one of the people at the party, the television personality Carlos Jaen, Isabel bashes his head with her hammer, and then continues to strike till he’s beyond recognition. Almost immediately, she realizes that she has committed a blunder, and his death is all but imminent. This brings the episode full circle, explaining that it is his body that she is carrying around. While his death hasn’t been confirmed just yet, it is clear that the protagonist is in big trouble and is now further entangled in a larger conspiracy involving the wealthy and the powerful. However, this is still just the first step in finding out what happened to Verónica, and her grandmother shows no intention of stopping.
Read More: Where is Two Graves Filmed?
