The ending


I just finished watching the entire series. Loved the show except that they kept trying to add more and more intrigue. The show would have worked better with fewer side plots had they stuck to the bigger plots only; the death of Julio's sister and finding her murderer; the 2nd son of the father Carlos and his role in the whole story; the serial killer and the part that Diego and the mother Teresa play as the villains. Andres finding out he was the illegitimate son of the hotel owner, Carlos Alarcon, that story should have been more fully developed at the end since it played such a large part in the entire series. They missed their mark even though I was absolutely obsessed with the show until the middle of part two. Then the whole continuation of more murders, more intrigue, more bad guys was just too much. There was a little more lightness, fun in the show in the second half but it could have used more comedic relief. They should have developed the story between the Housekeeper, Andres' mother, and her maitre d'. That romance could have been fun and worked well, instead they ended it by sending the maitre d' out of the story very quickly.

The ending was very disappointing. I guess one always wants to see the bad guys get their justice in equal measure even though I did not expect that from a Spanish script. They tend to darkness rather than to romantification (if that is a word, if not, I coin it.) I expected a dark ending but was not prepared for such an abrupt one with no goodbyes to our beloved characters. It is almost like watching a play where at the end you want to stand up and give the wonderful actors a standing ovation. You want to say your goodbyes to the wonderful actors that gave us such a thrill when watching their work. I must admit that all of the actors were wonderful in their parts. One hated the bad guys and loved the good guys. The good guys even had their imperfections which was perfect.

Therefore, the ending was disappointing. Unless of course they planned to follow up with another series based on the reappearance of their characters as some having lived after the final tragedy. I will not spoil it for those who have not seen the series yet. There has to be a way to write a better ending without over romanticizing the ending and yet leaving the audience feeling satisfied that they have concluded their relationship with the show and it's characters.

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Unfortunately, Juan Luis Galiardo http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0302080/, who played Ernesto, apparently died right after he shot the last episode he was in in 2012 at the age of 72. For five episodes after that, there was an In Memory of with his name just before the words Gran Hotel after the beginning credits. I was really sad when I found that out because I really liked him, too, and hoped for something to happen between him and Dona Angela. Oh well, what are ya gonna do? Things like that happen sometimes with a cast that large.

I don't really have the complaints you do. I'm on my second time through, picking up more Spanish as I go, which is a lot of fun, and just marveling at how they put all this together. I thought it was really incredible, and had written a nice defense to you of the "ending" when I read another post here on IMDb that said there is a third season after all! So I guess we wait, unless you don't need the subtitles, in which case, apparently, you can watch it on YouTube in Spanish only. I'll just wait until it comes to Netflix. I've almost watched the first two seasons twice through though, so I can totally relate to your obsession. I can't wait till I can watch and see how they resolve all that stuff. BTW, I looked up at the listing for this show here on IMDb, and it still only lists 39 episodes, go figure. I did go to YouTube, and saw there is a third season (!), but I really don't want to watch it on YouTube. I think it's time for a note to Netflix. Hope they have a suggestion box!

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Wendy, I am glad you liked the show as much as I did. Those weren't really complaints as much as it was critique. I truly loved the show and thanks for letting me know about Juan Luis Galiardo. I could not remember his character's name, Ernesto. Yes, that could have been a really nice story in between the mess of all the other relationships at the hotel. Too bad he died. I don't know if I can watch it a second time. I may try. I lived in Madrid Spain when I was a young girl, from the time I was 4 until I left at age 8. I spoke Castillian Spanish and this show helped me with my Spanish. I won't say how old I am but after so many years it was great to listen to that Spanish and it was coming back to me. I even started to speak with my old Castillian accent but felt that I must sound a bit pretentious. Didn't last long, if you don't practice it goes away quickly. THanks for your reply. I hope sometime somewhere we find out if they will ever continue with the last episodes.

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How cool that you actually used to speak Castilian! :) I studied it years ago a la Mexicano, of course, and it probably does sound a little pretentious if you try speaking it in this country, but it does have a nice soft sound, doesn't it? Anyway, I found out there is more Gran Hotel after what is on Netflix, and you can watch at least some of those episodes on YouTube without subtitles. I don't really like watching on YouTube myself, so I'm going to wait for the rest to come out on Netflix. Meanwhile, I'm studying my old Spanish textbook so I can perhaps be able to understand more when the third season becomes available. At my age, it's probably a hopeless case, but you never know.

BTW, Juan Luis Galiardo was in a ton of movies, but I guess it was all in Spanish, which was why I'd never heard of him before, but I thought he was just great and was really sad when I found out what had happened. He was only 72. It must have been hard on the cast, too.

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JLG was in a few Charlton Heston movies in the 70s. Antony and Cleopatra and The Call of the Wild.

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Well, I might have seen them, I'm the right age, but I don't think I ever did. And he must have looked quite different in his 20s. But I'll keep an eye out for those just in case they show up somewhere on one of the old movie channels. I guess he must have spoken English then? I always love it when Spanish actors I know speak some English in their movies or TV shows. It's always kinda cute, like when Alicia did in Grand Hotel, and I've watched the first two seasons of Velvet, and Alberto spoke a little English when they went to New York for one episode. A couple of the other characters spoke some English on that show, too, and most of the background music was in English. Go figure. :)

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What ending are you talking about mvusich2? The end of season 2? That's all we get here in USA, with English subtitles. Oh gosh, I'm just going to scroll quickly through your post since I don't want any spoilers - but I can say the "ending" of season 2 was fabuloso! I so hope we get season 3 with English subtitles here! Nothing could be better than Gran Hotel! It's Dallas, Upstairs, Downstairs, and Downton Abbey on steroids! Magnificent! Another series with the surviving characters as they move into WWI? - I sure hope so - "Si, por favor!"

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Totally! You might contact Netflix and ask them to get the third season. I'm also anxious to watch it but need the subtitles. I actually talked to some guy in a live chat on the Netflix website and stressed how much we needed to see that. It was kinda fun.

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They might as well of called it Murphys Law Hotel.

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::snicker:: True, although eventually we do learn what's at the heart of all the troubles. No one is blameless in all this either. Which makes it kind of fun as people get away with all kinds of things up to and including murder.

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I just finished watching 2 seasons, and I just love this show! I am a Spanish student, so the bonus of learning Spanish from such a riveting show is simply amazing!!! I am now watching the 3rd season starting with season 3 episode 9 on you tube without the subtitles. I am still missing some of the phrases, but the story has even more twists and turns that one could imagine!

Trust me at the end of season 3 some of these villains will receive what is coming to them. Season 3 is the last season. :( There are episode synopsis in
Spanish and even a few transcripts in English for each episode in season 3 on the internet. I could not wait for subtitles and jumped right in to watching it!!!

I came accross this show as a recommendation on Netflix, and after that first episode, I was hooked!!!!


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Lucky you! Thanks for sharing all this. I don't have enough Spanish yet to watch without the subtitles, but I'm getting there. Great to hear we'll be happy with the ending. When I thought the end of the 42nd episode was the end of the series, I was pretty dismayed about the whole thing. Then I started making excuses for it. Of course, eventually I realized they had to continue, and this was just a typical cliffhanger. But at first I really wasn't sure. Those darned Spaniards!

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A fantastic series! I met Adriana Ozores who plays Dona Teresa recently. If you like her - she has a fan club - https://www.facebook.com/AdrianaOzoresInternational

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Far out, Lorraine! Did she speak English? In fact, I'd love to know if any of the cast speaks English so we could see them in other stuff. I thought they were all terrific. It's always fun meeting stars up close and personal. I live in California, so we have lots of opportunities like that. I've met many actors, the most famous of which have been Alex Rocco, Jane Seymour, Joe Lando, Scott Bakula, and Malcolm McDowell. I would just love to meet any of the people in Grand Hotel to tell them how great I thought they were and the series is. They must all be very proud to have been in such a terrific production.

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We too were disappointed by the ending (the 42nd episode?) and don't think there is a third series. There were about 14 episodes in the first season, then twice as many listed as series two. I'm afraid that that was both seasons 2 and 3. But if anyone knows more, please let us know.

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that's not the end. There are another 13 episodes after that final episode on netflix. If you go on Youtube and search for grand hotel season 3, you will see episodes 9-22 show up. Those are the episodes not available on netflix.

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Want more? Just go to http://www.clicknwatchonline.com/grand-hotel-s03e01/. Click on one of the "Watch Online" links. I wrote more about all this in the top thread of this message board if you're interested. The third season was just great! And I loved the ending! 😘

Of course, since I posted the above, the third season became available on Netflix, though if you want to see the entire episodes without cuts, you do need to go online. The picture won't be as good and probably not the sound, but at least you'll get all of it.

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When you said "lived after the final tragedy," it became clear that you don't know about the rest of the episodes. That's not the ending at all. Netflix made some error combining the first half of Season 3 into "Season 2" and it is missing the last half of Season 3.

Link to YouTube Season 3:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtb1SL8DWB91h3JTbuPv5-qLnrw5ahp pD

Link to article on the finale:
http://www.formulatv.com/noticias/31728/final-feliz-gran-hotel-sorpres as-inesperadas-redencion-castigo-villanos/

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Thank you Avatar19. I have tried your link. Unfortunately, when trying to open an episode, a warning message appears indicating it is "blocked due to copyright laws". At least I will get to read the article. Thanks much for that. And because of your note, I searched further and was able to see a few Youtube videos which gave me an inkling of what the ending would be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvJOiG_EpOk (especial gran finale)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZRaF_C7_Gs (megan montaner different videos)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEvHy9JeMy8 (see the thread for info) (this is a nice collage of past parts of the show)

As far as Netflix, I have requested the rest and they are congenial about it, but quite frankly next week is 2015 and this ended sometime in March 2013 and Netflix still hasn't gotten it so I am not holding my breath.

take care

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I forgot that I ran them through a Canadian proxy. Also, you and others might be glad to hear that SKY in the UK is now airing the rest of Season 3, which means subtitles through the end! I think it won't officially make it to Netflix until at least next year, but you might be able to find it online.

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Thank you for the information!!!

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