La Chica Invisible Season 1 Review: Everyone is a Suspect

La Chica Invisible tricks viewers into believing the entire season will be about Aurora’s murder before introducing a second and third case. As each case is introduced, the show makes us suspicious of every character we meet.

By introducing a short list of characters, we are able to learn more about them as the episodes go by. However, the more we seem to learn about them, the more we believe them capable of murder.

That is where the strength of the show lies: in making everyone a suspect.

Julia Ties All Loose Ends

While Aurora and Patricia’s lives are cut short, we are able to watch Julia continue to be a teenager. Even though she hasn’t stopped thinking about the murders, we see her hang out with her friends, sleeping with two of them, and dealing with bullies.

Still, none of this regular teenager actions stop her from tying every loose end on the show. Just like the viewers, Julia gets to a point in which she begins to suspect everyone — including her best friend.

It probably is because her father is a police officer and the need to solve the case runs in her DNA, but she slowly begins to put the clues together.

Julia is the one who tells her father the murder weapon was a hockey stick. If she hadn’t broken into his office to look at the crime scene photos, who knows how long it would have taken the cops to figure it out.

She is the only character we feel we can trust. This is because even though the show is about a murder case, it focuses heavily on Julia and her life.

By witnessing everything she does, we never become suspicious of her and we trust everything she shows the camera.

Even though as viewers we feel like we can trust Julia, we reach a point in which become frustrated with her.

At first it is because she lies to the police about having been with Iván the night of the feria. This adds suspicion to Iván’s character, making us wonder if he truly was at school to get the drugs or if he had something to do with Aurora’s murder.

But that isn’t the only instance. After receiving the biggest clue from Patricia, we wonder why it takes Julia so long to tell her father.

Is it because she wants to solve the murder? Is it because she doesn’t trust the police can do it?

Whatever the case may be, as she keeps this secret, she delays the chances of helping find whoever is responsible for Patricia’s murder.

Other than those moments of frustration, Julia is probably the best character on La Chica Invisible.

The Camerawork

Throughout the eight episodes of La Chica Invisible it feels as if the storyline is moving at a very slow pace. However, this seems to be the best choice to show everything that happens after Aurora’s murder and how rattled the town becomes by the presence of a killer.

It is this pace that allows us to become aware of the camerawork and some of the editing decisions that make the show work perfectly.

For starters, during La Chica Invisible Season 1 Episode 1, “La Chica Invisible,” we can notice the contrast between a happy and enjoyable moment and what is about to happen to Aurora.

The difference is given by the loud music, the colorful lighting, and the fireworks at the feria in contrast to the silence, the darkness, and the shadows that are shown when Aurora gets to school and has to run away from her murderer.

After the first death, the entire show becomes darker. Every scene (even the ones in broad daylight) seem darker and heavy — as if something or someone is looming over the entire town.

The one thing that needs to be highlighted and applauded on La Chica Invisible is the blurry vision the show uses when Julia is looking at a crowd or piecing the clues together.

This starts on La Chica Invisible Season 1 Episode 1, “La Chica Invisible,” when she is with the crowd outside of school as they discover Aurora’s body. As she watches everyone around her the vision gets blurry and she is the only one we see clearly.

Because this is the first time we see this out-of-focus vision, we can put two and two together and realize it is because she is looking at the suspects. Just like us, she wants to figure out who the killer is.

However, this repeats itself throughout the season every time she is focusing on a clue. Whether it is the crossword Patricia left her or sharing her theory with Emi and Iván, the vision goes blurry.

This is a great editing choice to highlight the difference between what we know with certainty and what we suspect happened.

Everyone is a Suspect

From the moment La Chica Invisible starts until the killers are revealed, we know as viewers we can’t trust anyone but Julia. We don’t know what these characters have done or who they truly are.

Usually, when a crime show reveals a new detail, it helps viewers zoom in on one particular suspect. This show does the complete opposite. Every new detail reinforces the belief that everyone is a suspect.

When it comes to the teenagers, they have either lied about where they were the night of the murder or about their relationship with Aurora. None of them have been straightforward for fear of being accused.

As for the teachers, they all act suspicious. They either avoid the police, drink too much, fight with the priest, or their DNA has been found at the crime scene.

The perfect example for this suspicion is Virginia. Up until the moment of her death, she always acts guilty. Even though she didn’t kill Aurora, she committed a crime.

When she asks Miguel if he misses his wife, we can tell there was more between her and Aurora than she is telling the police about. Once again, the suspicion increases.

We aren’t surprised when Lázaro is found guilty of Patricia’s murder because he seemed guilty throughout the entire season. His drinking habit and his fights with the priest point us in that direction.

However, Jona murdering his ex-girlfriend and Aurora does come as a bit of a surprise. La Chica Invisible makes it clear that everyone is capable of murder, but at first it’s hard to believe the one teacher none of the students suspected is the one who did it.

Even though we can breathe easily because the case is solved, we are left with a few inconclusive details. Why did Jona place the compass and the hair tie at the crime scene? Why doesn’t the police address this?

Other than that detail, the show ties every loose end and the killers are brought to justice — a happy ending in an extremely sad show.

Stray Observations

• It is definitely worth watching the show in its original language. Hulu makes subtitles available for those who don’t speak Spanish. But watching in Spanish helps bring the rhythm of the show together as the tones of each character adds to their characterization and the suspicions around them.
• In the beginning, it is a great detail to make the woman show Miguel the tears of the virgin because we know from that moment on the tone of the show will change.

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What did you think of this season of La Chica Invisible? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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La Chica Invisible Season 1 is currently streaming on Hulu.

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