Money Heist Recap: Parting Gifts — Plus, Grade the Midseason Finale

On Netflix’s hit crime drama Money Heist, Tokyo’s various lives have less to do with reincarnation and everything to do with reinvention.

And as the first half of Season 5 came to an end, fans got a better understanding of her origin story — before she died — in Episode 5, which was titled, “Lives Many Lives.” For instance, when Tokyo was robbing restaurants with her old boo Rene (which we saw in flashbacks), her name was simply Silene. And after their penultimate heist, Silene and Rene ran away to Portugal and partied it up until the money ran out.

Knowing they would need to nab enough dough to retire, Rene went against his previous hesitations and said they should rob a bank. Silene agreed and said they could run away to Tokyo with the money and live happily ever after. (So, that’s why she’s named Tokyo.) That was not meant to be, obviously, and a security guard shot and killed Rene.

Silene fired back, killed the guard and lived on the lam until the Professor took her in and showed her a smarter and more disciplined way of stealing. (Or, as the Professor put it, “being born again.”) It was in her new life with the Professor and the other Dali-masked bandits that Tokyo met and fell in love with Rio.

The two had a swell life living on an island not far from Panama after their successful Royal Mint of Spain heist. That is, until Tokyo got bored and parted ways with Rio, causing the crap storm that led them to the rapidly imploding Bank of Spain heist where they’ve been trapped inside for 100-plus hours.

The latest unraveling included Tokyo, Denver and Manila being cornered in the kitchen where they had to fight for their lives against the Spanish Army. The cast-iron stovetop brought them some much-needed cover and Tokyo was even able to throw back Gandia’s grenade and take out one of the soldiers (replete with a Wilhelm yelp).

When another soldier drilled holes in the meat freezer, Tokyo shot through one of the holes and wounded him. But by doing that, she stepped outside of the snipers’ blind spots and they opened fire and wounded her. Around this same time, Stockholm sobered up long enough to alert the Professor, Denver, Manila and Tokyo there was a dumbwaiter shaft they could escape through.

A bloodied Tokyo decided to sacrifice herself and shoot at the Army until Denver and Manila were safe on another floor. Of course, Denver wouldn’t hear of it. He said he’d already lost his father Moscow in the first heist and he refused to lose his “sister” in the second.

Tokyo, who had been nursing her wounded arm, was touched. But she also knew she had to make them leave, so she told Denver and Manila to throw a bunch of pillows and fabrics down the shaft and she’d climb down and fall the rest of the way.

The pair listened and split, and Tokyo started shooting to hold off the Army. Midway through, Rio — who had been drilling through the ceiling above him to get to Tokyo one floor up — finally broke through. Sadly, Rio’s escape hole was only large enough for Tokyo to look him in the eyes… and say farewell.

Outnumbered and outgunned, Tokyo accepted her fate and also said goodbye to the mentor who had helped her start a new life. “You’ve always been my guardian angel,” she told the Professor through her headpiece. “Now it’s my turn to be yours.” And with that, the soldiers riddled Tokyo with bullets.

Right before she died, Tokyo had one more mission to complete. When Gandia came over to shoot her in the head, she winked at him and showed him her hand, which was full of grenade pins. If she had to die, Tokyo was going to take the show’s worst villain with her, and with one big, dramatic explosion, that’s exactly what she did.

Damn, now that’s how you end a midseason finale. Sis will be missed.

What did you think of the Money Heist Season 5 midseason finale and are you worried for the Professor now that Sierra has a pair of cuticle cutters? Grade the season so far in our poll and drop your thoughts in the comments.