Sumith Prasad
Netflix’s Spanish series ‘The Snow Girl’ centers around Amaya Martín, who disappears amid the Twelfth Night Parade in Málaga. While police officer Belén Millán leads an investigation into Amaya’s kidnapping, an intern at Diario Sur named Miren Rojo makes progress with a parallel investigation to find the missing girl and her kidnappers. The engrossing thriller series ends with the conclusion of Miran’s investigation. The result of the same turns her life around, making her a renowned reporter not just in Málaga but in the country of Spain, which leads her to Laura Valdivia. So, who exactly is Laura? Who sends her photograph to Miren? Why? Let’s find out! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Laura Valdivia: A Missing Person in The Snow Girl
Nine years after Amaya’s disappearance, her kidnappers send a second and final VCR tape to Miren. Realizing that the tape is the last piece of evidence she can use to find Amaya, she studies every bit of it. While comparing the two tapes, she notices that the second tape has a better quality despite being recorded with the same device. She finds out whether the VCR model was repaired in any electronics shops, which leads her to Iris Molina, who kidnapped Amaya. Miren’s intervention saves the life of Amaya, also paving the way for the child’s reunion with her parents Ana and Álvaro.
Amaya’s discovery makes Miren a star. She writes a book titled ‘La Chica de Nieve,’ detailing the missing girl’s case, which makes her a famed personality in the country. As she celebrates her fame and the acclaim she received, she receives a package with a text that translates to, “Want to play?” Inside the package is a photograph of Laura Valdivia, tied and blindfolded. Laura seemingly is a missing girl, kidnapped by the anonymous sender of the photograph. In Javier Castillo’s ‘La Chica de Nieve,’ the source novel of the series, the photograph belongs to Gina Pebbles, a fifteen-year-old girl. Laura is the television counterpart of Gina.
Castillo’s ‘El Juego del Alma’ AKA ‘The Souls Game’ follows the disappearance and murder of Gina Pebbles, who was abducted in the year 2002 in the novel. In 2011, Gina is found crucified in a suburban church. Miren joins hands with Jim Schmoer (the literary counterpart of Eduardo) to trace the past of Gina to find her abductor and killer. As their investigation progresses, they end up in a religious institution that is in some way connected to the murder and photograph. The rest of the book unravels Gina’s past and Miren’s determination to find out the truth behind her death.
In ‘The Snow Girl,’ Miren solves Amaya’s kidnapping case in 2019, nine years after her disappearance. The journalist receives Laura’s photograph two years after Amaya’s reappearance, which makes the year 2021. In Laura’s photograph, her name is mentioned along with the year 2012, indicating that she was disappeared/kidnapped nine years ago. As Miren celebrates her stardom as the solver of an infamous kidnapping case, the kidnapper wants to challenge her with the hope of seeing her fail. The kidnapper may want to project himself as a superior criminal by seeing Miren fail to find him despite her being the star investigative journalist.
Laura’s photograph and the kidnapper’s challenge may become the foundation for the potential second season of the show. Although Netflix hasn’t yet renewed the series for a sophomore round or announced the adaptation of ‘El Juego del Alma’ as an independent series, the cliffhanger does indicate that we have not seen the last of Miren investigating a disappearance. If Netflix greenlights the second season of the show or the independent adaptation of ‘The Souls Game,’ we can look forward to finding out the kidnapper behind the photograph.
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