Aahana Swrup
The Spanish drama film ‘Untamed Royals’ presents a riveting exploration of crime, punishment, and privilege through the story of a group of rich young teenagers in search of lavish thrills. One unfortunate evening, a masked man robs the Fernandez estate within its gated community and attacks Xavier Fernandez. However, as it would turn out, Xavier and his friend, Gerardo, deliberately concocted the robbery to get their hands on his family’s cash. Therefore, as the duo’s privileged status saves them from the consequences of their actions again and again, they grow bolder in their criminalities. Consequently, as the stakes inevitably rise towards the end, one can’t help but grow curious about Xavier and his friends’ motives and their fates. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Untamed Royals Plot Synopsis
After Xavier’s parents fire his driver, Leopoldo, the boy stubbornly walks back home and ends up running late for their anniversary celebration. As a result, when a masked burglar shows up at the door, the housemaid, Mari, and Xavier are the only ones at home. While Mari ends up knocked out, blindfolded, and tied to a chair, the perpetrator goes after Xavier. Nonetheless, in the teen’s room, the robber reveals himself to be Gerardo, the former’s best friend. The two teenagers have schemed up a plot to fake a robbery and steal heaps of the Fernandez family’s wealth.
After putting on an audio show for Mari to reinforce Xavier’s distress, he and Gerardo collect some cash before the other boy leaves. Yet, before escaping, Gerardo shoots Xavier non-fatally as a final puzzle piece to further authenticate his image as a victim. In the aftermath, Xavier’s father, Santiago, hires police officer Rodrigo Majarrez to find the culprit. On the first day, his son plays the part of a traumatized victim to buy himself some time out of talking to the cops while Mari is questioned. In the meantime, Rodrigo investigated Leopoldo, the fired driver, since Santiago has a natural inkling that his house staff must be behind the crime.
For their part, Xavier and Gerardo continue to loiter around their gated community as the latter sneaks out to hook up with Pilar, a married woman whose involvement with the young boy remains financially driven. Meanwhile, Xavier—who seems to get off on voyeuring on his friend’s sex life, hooks up with Renata, his neighbor who enjoys playing the part of a compassionate girl for social media attention. Eventually, the cops call the boy in to give his statement, which Xavier significantly fictionalizes by subtly throwing his house staff under the bus.
In the next few days, the neighborhood undergoes another inexplicable criminal incident after Renata’s mother gets a strange call. During her working hours, Angie receives a ransom call from a distorted voice over the phone who claims to have kidnapped Renata. As the voice spews out threat after threat, Angie has no choice but to follow its instructions and withdraw millions of pesos in cash. Afterward, she’s asked to dump the bag and her phone, cutting all traceable ties to the ransomer. Nonetheless, in the aftermath, the woman learns that Renata has been safe all along and that she has been extorted in broad daylight. Back at the Fernandez residence, Rodrigo suspects Gerardo’s involvement in the theft after learning about his past inclination toward trouble. Still, Santiago dismisses the possibility.
However, Mariana, Xavier’s sister who is hooking up with Gerardo, overhears the conversation and decides to find out the truth for herself by sneaking in the back of her brother’s car while he goes out partying with his best friend. The two boys revel in dangerous debauchery at the party, gambling away a bagful of newly acquired money. At the end of the night, as they’re escaping from some troublesome men’s clutches, Mariana ends up learning about their flushed pockets, leading certain secrets to come out.
Untamed Ending: Did Xavier Extort Angie? Does He Tell Renata?
Shortly after Angie gets extorted by an anonymous man on the phone, a natural narrative suspicion falls on Xavier and Gerardo. Even though the two boys are innocent in the Fernandezs’ eyes—and thereby safe from the cops—the viewers are privy to their illegal proclivities. Therefore, extorting Angie seems like the right kind of low-risk, high-reward endeavor for the duo. Eventually, the night that the two go out gambling, the theory is proven right as Xavier discusses the matter with his friend.
Like Xavier, Mariana also often partakes in risky activities for the thrill of the steal. However, her plans are usually smaller and rarely hurt anyone she cares about. For instance, a confrontation between the siblings reveals that Mariana stole her father’s watch and put the blame on Leopoldo to get the driver fired. Nonetheless, she deems the offense against the driver to be much less severe than what Xavier did to Angie—and Renata by association. Consequently, she gives him an ultimatum to reveal the truth to their friend. As such, the boy takes Renata out to a romantic hotel for one of their regular escapades.
During the same, Xavier reveals the truth about his involvement in the extortion scheme as well as the robbery and faces Renata’s expected displeasure. Even though he isn’t able to simmer her down, she decides not to reveal the truth to her mother. In fact, later, a conversation with Mariana invites Renata’s own ill-wish upon her mother. As it would turn out, despite the “kidnappers” asking Angie for two million pesos in exchange for her daughter’s life, the woman had only withdrawn one million. Thus, the young girl grows vengeful when she learns that her mother has lowballed the price of her own life.
Does Vincente Die? Who is Blamed for His Death?
After learning about Angie’s actions, Renata’s anger at her family exponentiates at a dangerous level. Consequently, she concludes that her mother would have never pulled the same trick if her young brother Vincente’s life was on the line. The same, paired with the teenagers’ natural propensity to crime, leads them to hatch a plan to kidnap Renata’s baby brother. Donning their masks, the four teens abduct Vincente out of his bedroom and house him in a tent inside an abandoned building. Afterward, they film threatening ransom videos to send to Angie and her husband.
However, as reckless as they are in their lives, Xavier, Gerardo, Maraina, and Renata end up making a grave mistake. While drugging the little boy, they accidentally give Vincente a large dosage of medication, which inevitably takes his life. The group never planned for the same to happen but must deal with its aftermath anyway. Although they’re broken up over death, they choose to save their own skins in the end. Thus, the four teenagers—spoiled to the point of not understanding the concept of personal responsibility—dump Vincente by the river bank.
Afterward, Santiago and his team find Vincente’s body out in the wild. Nonetheless, his sister, Renata, and her friends predictably escape any suspicions. Still, someone must pay for the crime. Ultimately, that someone ends up being Paty—the house worker who had last seen Vincente after tucking him into bed. Consequently, Xavier and the company easily escape the consequences of their actions once again, even if their lie left a mark on their souls this time.
Why do Xavier and Gerardo Steal? Do They Get Caught?
Throughout the film’s narrative, the central source of intrigue remains Xavier and his friends’ motives that had led them to such measures that they ended up killing someone. In the beginning, the narrative introduces Xavier’s character as it finds the boy in a therapist’s office. Thus, his identity is shaped as a pathological liar who has been in therapy for the issue for two years. Xavier is hooked on the art of lying and seems to garner inexplicable pleasure from it. The same is evoked again in association with his character when he’s hooking up with Renata and describing fabricated details of the robbery, finding pleasure from the simple act of creating a sob story for himself.
Therefore, Xavier’s motives emerge from the same. He’s a perpetually bored teenager who is constantly surrounded by money. Nevertheless, he’s addicted to the thrill and the power he wields when he’s telling a lie, knowing that others will believe him. For the same reason, he stages the robbery with Gerardo. Nonetheless, his best friend, on the other hand, is an entirely different case. Unlike Xavier, Gerardo isn’t from an absurdly wealthy family. Furthermore, he’s in love with a married woman, Pilar, whose affections for him rely on how much cash he can get to her at any point in time. Thus, Gerardo’s inclination toward crime is perpetually tied to his desire and greed for money.
In the end, Xavier never truly faces any consequences for his actions. Xavier’s privilege—and familiarity with his victims—ensures that he is always blanketed in safety. Although the same is also true for Gerardo by proxy, he still faces some repercussions when compared to his wealthy friend. Towards the end, Rodrigo figures out Gerardo’s involvement in the recent crimes and uses the information to blackmail him. Consequently, Rodrigo takes all the money the boy makes from his recent illegal activities and establishes that Gerardo now works for him. The plotline adds another layer of nuance to the film’s exploration of power imbalance and exploitation.
On the other hand, Xavier and Gerardo’s actions end up costing the more vulnerable individuals—the mansion’s staff—as Leopoldo and Paty unfairly take the fall for the teens’ actions. Thus, the story reflects the same in its climax as it follows Mari catering to Xavier, Gerardo, and Mariana’s wishes while the three lounge around. Even though the three are responsible for Vincente’s murder, within the mansion’s walls, Mari is more prone to inviting trouble.
Read More: Netflix’s Untamed Royals: Where Was the Movie Filmed?
