Santo Ende, Explained: Who is Santo? Will Santo Lucia Kill?|All Social Updates

Produced by Carlos López, Santo is a Netflix crime drama about Miguel Millán and Ernesto Cardona, two police officers from Brazil and Spain who meet while pursuing an unseen drug lord named Santo. Cardona travels to Madrid with Santo’s lover Bárbara to track down Santo and get revenge on him for the murder of his partner Vera. Santo has come to Madrid to use occult techniques to build a new drug empire. With stunning revelations and developments regarding Santo’s identity and goals, the first season of the captivating Spanish TV series comes to a close. Let’s share our opinions if you want to take a closer look. spoilers to follow.

Santo Season 1 Summary

Cristóbal and his son Mario, two local drug dealers, are killed at the beginning of “Santo”. For the sake of Cristóbal’s wife Maria, with whom he is having an affair, police officer Miguel Millán, who also works for the local drug gang to which Cristóbal belongs, sets out with his colleague Susi to search for the killers. Millán and Susi’s investigations lead them to three Norwegians who are also trying to murder the first victim. The Norwegians are revealed by Millán and Susi as men under the direction of Santo, a Brazilian drug lord with no discernible face or details of his identity. Ernesto Cardona, a police officer from Salvador, in the Brazilian state of Bahia, joins Santos as an undercover agent.

Cardona’s cover eventually blows and jeopardizes his goal. Despite this, Bárbara, Santo’s lover, offers him a second chance to find Santo as she needs the police’s help to escape from the undetectable drug lord. Cardona and Barbara flee to Spain in search of protection, but Santo kidnaps them. While searching for Santo, Millán eventually rescues Cardona from a warehouse where the drug lord used to sacrifice people for his safety and good. Eventually they track down Bárbara, but instead of cooperating with the police, Cardona and Bárbara decide to flee and take refuge in a hideout.

Cardona has a hard time coming to terms with the loss of Vera, who introduced him to Exu, a spirit of African descent. As a believer he receives the “thread of Exu” which he wears for protection. Santo’s occult rituals also cause him to have unsettling thoughts about killing a child for human sacrifice. Meanwhile, Millán’s superiors learn of his ties to a nearby drug cartel. Nevertheless, he invents a lie to keep Maria’s investigation going. At the same time, a group of children are kidnapped by Santo’s men for additional victims.

Cardona’s Brazilian colleague Paulo travels to Madrid to support him. He is killed by Santos’ men who take Barbara to the warehouse after the confrontation. Since Santo wants Millán to sacrifice a child, the Norwegians kidnap Millán, and they all end up in the same warehouse. Cardona enters and stops the offering. While Cardona and Millán search for Santo, Susi, who has arrived at the warehouse, rescues the kidnapped children.

End of Santo Season 1: Who is Santo?

Even his closest friends haven’t seen Santo, one of the world’s most notorious drug lords. Police authorities from different nations are unable to locate even a single picture of the perpetrator. But because Barbara is Santo, Santo was always around her. Bárbara created the idea and perception of a strong, powerful, and undetectable drug lord to divert the attention of her opponents, rivals, and law enforcement officials. By being with them and being aware of their every move, Bárbara can appear as Santos’ runaway and distract officers like Millán and Cardona.

Barbara knows she cannot build a global drug trade in a world dominated by powerful men. If it turns out she’s the real boss of her drug company, she must have understood the risk of someone trying to “dethrone” her from the empire she’s built. As a result, she realizes that having a strong, masculine figure is really necessary. Because they would be afraid of such a powerful being, Bárbara’s ability to live among her own men depends on them. She is able to command and direct her troops under the guise of Santo’s mistress, as she is seen as the person most closely associated with the fictional Santo.

Bárbara also taps into the innate human fear of the “invisible” through the fictional Santo. Even among Bárbara’s rivals and government officials of other nations, Santo remains an authoritarian, enigmatic and frightening figure because no one in the world can truly assess the power and authority of an imaginary creature. She takes advantage of people’s tendency to fear the mysterious and invisible. The popularity of Barbara’s creation is evidenced by the incorporation of occult rites and other paranormal activities, further reinforcing the myth of Santo.

Will Santo/Bárbara kill Lucía?

Despite knowing that Bárbara is Santo, Millán and Cardona are unable to apprehend her, allowing her to escape. Millán, who is being attacked by the drug lord’s goons, is also taken to the hospital. Bárbara sends him a video of him holding Luca at gunpoint as he is admitted to the hospital. Although Bárbara determines Lucas’ fate, it’s possible that she’s in no hurry to assassinate her. The fact that Barbara chose to give the cop the footage instead of killing his daughter outright suggests that the drug lord still has some plans for Millán. It’s possible that Barbara is using Luca as bait to manipulate the cop.

Millán could be a useful addition to Bárbara’s squad as she prepares to build her own drug kingdom in Spain, especially given her precarious position. The fact that Millán and Cardona are the first authorities who managed to uncover the truth about Santo indicates that Bárbara is deteriorating physically. At this point, she will benefit from having someone like Millán at her side if she wants to continue smuggling drugs into Spain. Therefore, it is expected that Bárbara will use Luca to blackmail the police officer.

Since Millán risked his life to defeat Santo, his superiors might agree to carry out his investigation and capture Santo. If so, serving Barbara could be the price Millán has to pay to protect his daughter. The cop may not have a moral dilemma about helping Barbara when he can benefit from having previously helped local drug lords for money.

Why does Cardona save Santo/Bárbara?

Millán intends to kill Bárbara once she reveals she is Santo in order to keep his promise to Maria. However, Cardona intervenes and buys Barbara some time. After his “rescue” of Barbara from Santo, Cardona develops a close bond with her. The times they hid from a common enemy and fought side by side strengthened this bond. Even after Cardona found out that Bárbara is Santo, she may still feel affection for her. Cardona intends to take revenge on the person who killed his partner Vera when he arrives in Spain.

Cardona’s anger subsided when he realized Santo was Barbara. Cardona has no other motivation to defend the man who calls himself a “child killer” after killing Vera, her nephew and part of himself. Cardona might prefer to assassinate Bárbara himself than assign the task to Millán. However, after stopping Millán, the Brazilian does not approach her with the intention of killing her, suggesting that Cardona’s love for Bárbara must have influenced his behavior.