The Crystal Cuckoo Review: When a young doctor suddenly suffers a heart attack and receives a donor heart, she has an unshakable urge to learn who her donor was. Arriving at their hometown, she is shocked to find herself in the midst of a surprising mystery that goes back years.
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The Crystal Cuckoo Netflix Cast
Catalina Sopelana, Álex García, Itziar Ituño, Iván Massagué, Tomás del Estal, Alfons Nieto
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The Crystal Cuckoo Series Directors
Laura Alvea, Juan Miguel del Castillo
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The Crystal Cuckoo 2025 Screenwriters
Jesús Mesas, Javier Andrés Roig
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Original Title
Ve El cuco de cristal
The Netflix thriller miniseries has 6 episodes, each about 50 minutes long, and is based on the bestselling novel by Spanish author Javier Castillo.
The Crystal Cuckoo Review
In this six-episode miniseries, a young doctor finds herself drawn to learning about the identity of her heart donor, and, as they say, curiosity killed the cat. The series is mostly the standard fare for Netflix thrillers these days and is a dark and dreary watch that brings out some shocking twists and turns to keep us invested.
The show leverages the contrast between the beautiful and serene mountain town where you’d expect nothing to be out of the ordinary and infuses it with horrific secrets. This contrast makes us uncomfortable and forces us to take note of what’s happening even more. The idea that such heinous crimes can exist in these remote and idyllic locations can be surprising for viewers, and although it’s not a novel concept, it does make us pay attention.
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The thing about these Netflix thrillers is that they oftentimes follow a similar beat. Clara’s heart attack and her eventually getting a donor heart that calls her to go to said donor’s hometown, where she discovers some shocking crimes, is very similar to other shows that we have seen. Okay, maybe not the same, but the beats are similar. But the execution does a good job of bringing these situations to light and holding on to the tension well.
This is a serial killer story, and, thus, viewers will have a field day uncovering clues with Clara. Despite being a picturesque and sleepy town, the high number of disappearances brings up alarm bells that are hard to ignore. It’s an interesting story that is paced well, and the short six-episode runtime makes sure to never overstay its welcome. The series holds on to its tension from start to end, and there’s a certain eeriness in the mix as well that will keep viewers guessing.
In the end, the series answers most of the questions that it asks and leaves you to interpret a few as well. The characters are well-developed, especially Clara, although a bit more backstory about Carlos’s family or the townspeople might have been beneficial. Either way, Catalina Sopelana is great as the protagonist and is a well-rounded character to follow. If you have watched and enjoyed The Snow Girl (another Netflix adaptation of Javier Castillo), you will enjoy this one as well.
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Final Thoughts
The Crystal Cuckoo is a standard but entertaining crime thriller series that will entertain viewers who love the genre. It’s engaging, and its short runtime packs all the right punches. It’s very similar to other crime thrillers of the genre on Netflix, so if you’ve enjoyed any one of them, this will be equally entertaining. Fans of moody, atmospheric thrillers will find this worth watching, especially if you enjoy genre comforts and emotional storytelling.
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