Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Part One of One Hundred Years of Solitude.
For years, the author of One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez, refused to sell the rights to his book, believing that it was unadaptable even for a trilogy of films due to the length of the narrative, never mind the magical realism littered throughout. However, Netflix has truly succeeded in crafting an endearing and heartbreaking narrative that sees you fall in love with every member of the Buendía family before you either end up hating or pitying their position. Not only is seeing characters like Jose Arcadio Buendía (Marco González) grow old and die a true reflection of life, but to shift the protagonist focus from Jose Arcadio Buendía to Úrsula (Susana Morales) and Aureliano (Eduardo De Los Reyes) and not lose narrative weight is a real achievement to be celebrated.
The final episode of One Hundred Years of Solitude‘s first season is no different in how stunning and heartbreaking it is compared to the rest of the show. We see multiple deaths in the family, and moments of hope are also soured because of what their knock-on effect turns out to be, especially in the case of Aureliano and his facing the firing squad. In the end, the show leaves us on a cliffhanger about what Macondo’s fate will be in this tragic war that barely makes sense to anyone anymore.
Colonel Aureliano Buendía Is Saved From the Firing Squad
The finale’s opening sub-plot follows the potential fate of Aureliano after he is captured by the Conservatives and sentenced to death in Macondo. He tells his mother Úrsula, who in her later years is played by Marleyda Soto, not to weep for him as “this is war,” yet Aureliano feels a “rage” at the things left “unfinished.” He is led to the cemetery, which has grown exponentially since the war started and sits next to José Arcadio (É dgar Vittorino) and Rebeca’s (Akima) house.
The soldiers apprehensively aim their weapons, frightened by Pilar’s (Viña Machado) prophecy that whoever kills Aureliano will be cursed to die, yet we still fully expect them to carry out the order. Aureliano closes his eyes and accepts his face, yet the gunshot we hear is not for him. Instead, José Arcadio and Rebeca walk in with guns raised to save Aureliano, and the soldiers, who were already uncertain, lower their weapons. What is surprising was that, rather than simply let Aureliano go, they join him in his war against the government. It appears Aureliano’s reputation has grown so large that more people are beginning to believe he is the one they should all follow. Aureliano leads the soldiers away to continue his war.
José Arcadio Is Mysteriously Murdered and Rebeca Isolates Herself in Grief
Despite how glad we are that José Arcadio saved Aureliano, we are reminded of the tyrant he himself is becoming, as he still demands rent from the farmers who are struggling to get by with all their sons at war, though José Arcadio doesn’t care. One day, when him and Rebeca seem perfectly content and happy, now living in Arcadio’s (Janer Villareal) house, a gun shot is heard, with a trail of blood snaking its way to Úrsula in her home, and we discover that José Arcadio has been murdered. It is left as a mystery to who did it, yet we can guess it wasn’t Rebeca due to their seemingly happy relationship, and it was most likely someone in the village who had grown tired of José Arcadio’s bullying. In the end, it proves that, no matter how tough one is, we are all humans who can be killed. Rebeca then locks herself up in the house and goes back to eating dirt, feeling alone once again as she was when she was brought to Macondo.
Amaranta’s Relationship With Aureliano José Takes an Uncomfortable Turn
With Aureliano’s bastard son growing up and becoming a man, he begins to develop sexual feelings towards Amaranta (Loren Sofía). For a while, Amaranta gives in to these feelings, and we get some of the most uncomfortable scenes of the entire show. Yes, we’ve seen incest in the show before, but Arcadio didn’t know Pilar was his mother when he made his advances, and José Arcadio and Rebeca are at least distant cousins who had never met before. What makes this relationship between Amaranta and her nephew so messed up is that she has really been his mother his whole life, and is far too old for him. Luckily, she tells her nephew they will never be together, and he goes to join his father, Aureliano, in the war. The only thing tragic about this break-up is the fact they can’t go back to just being a family, and Amaranta seems to be either completely in love with someone, trying to destroy them, or never wanting to see them again.
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Macondo Follows José Arcadio Buendía One Last Time in His Death
Perhaps the most tragic decline of all of One Hundred Years of Solitude‘s characters is seeing the young and curious José Arcadio Buendía become a mentally ill and isolated old man, played by Diego Vásquez. It’s a haunting reminder that time and decay comes for us all. In a dream, José Arcadio Buendía visits Aureliano and gives him a yellow flower, which causes Aureliano to send Úrsula a letter that his premonitions are back and his father, her husband, will die soon. Úrsula and José Arcadio Buendía weep together, and he tries to console her by telling her that “we come from water,” which almost feels like it is meant to invoke the Christian idea of dust-to-dust, and that these lovers will meet again one day. José Arcadio Buendía dies, and the entire town of Macondo follows his funeral procession, bringing us full circle to how Macondo was founded in the first place.
Aureliano Brings War to Macondo
With the more politically minded members of the Liberal Party now desperate for negotiations to begin with the Conservative government, Aureliano abandons the party, believing they are betraying the people for their own political gains. The government and liberals put out a dead or alive warrant for Aureliano, which sparks him to go on his own crusade, massacring entire towns whether they be Liberal or Conservative. We see how the rage of war has infected what used to be a scholarly young man.
Aureliano brings 1000 armed men to Macondo, intent on taking it back from the Conservatives who govern there. However, rather than this being a liberation from subjugation, we have seen that Macondo has been peaceful, with the new general in charge a moral human being that Úrsula truly supports. With both sides ready for bloodshed, Úrsula goes to Aureliano and begs him not to bring war to a town desperate for peace, yet he has lost all sentimentality, it seems. He ignores his mother’s wishes and rides in, and we are left with a final shot of his warmongering expression, terrified about what Macondo will now suffer through.
It may be a rather depressing ending, yet perhaps a second season will give us the justice we are craving. However, for now, all we have is a crushing war and the prospect of more conflict. It’s a bitterly sad ending to what was such a hopeful beginning when Macondo was founded, and we go from supporting Aureliano to hating him by the end. Overall, One Hundred Years of Solitude is not only a stunning achievement for its narrative structure, but the way it makes us fall in love with Macondo and the tragic Buendía family, leaving us praying for the safety of Úrsula and her loved ones.
All episodes of One Hundred Years of Solitude are available on Netflix in the U.S.
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One Hundred Years of Solitude (2024)
One Hundred Years of Solitude (2024): Based on Gabriel García Márquez’s acclaimed novel, the series chronicles the multi-generational story of the Buendía family in the fictional town of Macondo. As magical realism intertwines with historical events, the family’s triumphs and tragedies reflect broader themes of love, power, and destiny.
- Release Date
- December 11, 2024
- Cast
- Eduardo De Los Reyes , Claudio Cataño , Jerónimo Barón , Marco González , Leonardo Soto , Susana Morales , Ella Becerra , Moreno Borja , Carlos Suárez , Santiago Vasquez
- Main Genre
- Fantasy
- Release Window
- 2024
