In the 16th century, patriotic soldier Alonso de Entrerríos is framed by his superior officer for the military cock-up of the latter, then imprisoned and sentenced to death when he attacks him. In his cell, he is visited by a strange priest who offers him secret work with the government, at the cost that everyone who knows him, including his wife, will think him dead. When he accepts, the mysterious man reveals Alonso's superior Bound and Gagged, and about to be left to die in his place.
In the late-19th century, Amelia Folch is having trouble being accepted as a genuine academic as the only woman in her university. After being mocked and insulted by her professor for daring to voice an opinion, she is given a note that leads her to meet a woman with whom she shares a passionate conversation about feminism and her vision of the future. The woman is disappointed to learn that Amelia, despite vehement opposition to marriage, isn't gay, and decides to entice her another way, pulling out a cell phone...
In the 21st century, emergency responder Julián Martínez is eating a meal in a pub with a co-worker, refusing entreaties to hang out with the latter after work, when a call comes in that there's a fire. Continuing to ignore his co-worker (who complains that they're ten minutes away from the end of their shift), he rushes to the scene.
A firefighter tells Julián that the building is empty, but Julián sees someone moving in an upstairs window, dons a gas mask, and heads inside. There he finds an unconscious man dressed in garb from the early 19th century, then sees two more looking at him from across the room before he succumbs to smoke inhalation.
When he awakes, his superior tells him that he's confined to the hospital for the present, because no one wants to work with him; no one else saw his strangely dressed men, and ever since his wife died, Julián has been increasingly driven and everyone thinks working with him is as safe as working with a suicide bomber. Then Julián gets a visit from a pair of government workers who believe his story about men in strange garb and want him to come with them.
The two - who present themselves as Ernesto and Irene - bring him to a secret institution of the government, the Ministry of Time, an organization created by Queen Isabel I to protect the time doors, which allow people to travel between two points in time and space, always within Spanish territory. It is here that he also meets Alonso and Amelia, with whom he eventually joins as a new agent.
In the meantime, the two men Julián saw in the burning building, a Frenchman and Spaniard afrancesado from 1808, are in Madrid, with one objective: trying to learn more about the French invasion of Spain. After stealing a book pertaining the war, they set a trap for a policeman, so the Frenchman can steal the cop's gun. When his companion objects to the death of the policemen, the Frenchman kills him, too.
The new patrol team is sent on their first mission to 1808, to recover all traces in that year from the present and prevent the time traveler from changing history. They manage to follow his steps to an inn where they find out the Frenchman is Thibaud, an officer in Napoleon Bonaparte's army, but the big surprise is the appearance of a woman Salvador (the man in charge of the Ministry), Ernesto and Irene immediately identify as Lola Mendieta, a former agent that supposedly went missing years before on a mission. A chance encounter also allows Amelia to find Thibaud's target: Juan Martín Díez "El Empecinado", one of the leaders of the Spanish guerrilla that fought the French, a guerrilla that eventually forced Napoleon (with the support of a counter-invading British Army) to leave Spain: Thibaud feels that, if he kills him, the guerrilla will either never form or will not be as successful.
Julián confronts Lola after he finds she, too, carries a cross-time mobile phone, but the rogue agent manages to get the best of him and knocks him out. Thibaud later attacks Lola (who had showed him the time door) and puts her in a wardrobe, before going to kill El Empecinado. The first shot is not immediately lethal, but before Thibaud can doubletap the future guerrillero, Alonso appears and kills him with his own gun. Julián manages to stabilize El Empecinado, who is taken to the 21st century to get healed, and the time door (which was in the inn) is taken care of.
Salvador congratulates them for their successful mission, and hopes all future missions will have similar successes.
Tropes:
- Bait-and-Switch Gunshot: When Thibaud has El Empecinado on the floor, a shot rings out but it's Alonso shooting Thibaud instead.
- Chekhov's Skill: Early in the episode, Subminister Martí mentions that Alonso is quite skilled with weapons. Later in the episode, Alonso demonstrates his skill by using a modern pistol to deadly effect.
- Death Seeker: Following his wife's death in a hit-and-run accident, Julián's behavior has become increasingly problematic, to the point that no one wants to work with him, and the Ministry is easily able to compel him to join their ranks by faking a psychological evaluation that, if he refuses, will see him committed to a psychiatric institution.
- Expositing the Masquerade: The main characters being introduced to the inner working of the Ministry by Ernesto and Irene.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Past Julián has long hair at the cafe.
- Eye Cam: The POV shot from Julián in his hospital bed.
- Fanservice Extra: The barmaid Alonso saves from assault by French soldiers. Not only does her outfit sport a Navel-Deep Neckline, but she thanks him by waiting for him in his bed. Naked.
- Fantastic Recruitment Drive: The three main characters are cherry-picked from different time periods to join the Time Police.
- Gilligan Cut: Irene tells Amelia and Alonso it's time for them to experience the 21st century. Cut to them stuck in traffic as Irene drops a Cluster F-Bomb.
- Giving Radio to the Romans: Discussed by Martí as one of the ways history could be horrifically altered. However, Thibauld limits himself to stealing a modern weapon as a trophy and using knowledge of people and events to alter future outcomes, rather than trying to give France a technological advantage.
- Greeting Gesture Confusion: When the three main characters try to greet each other, there is much confusion about the "how" since they are used to different ways from their time period.
- "Groundhog Day" Loop: One door leads to a particular day, over and over. One agent uses it to get great seats to an awesome soccer match. Julián uses it to catch a glimpse of his wife.
- Guns Akimbo: Thibaud kills the two policemen with a gun in each hand.
- Happier Home Movie: One of Julián's pastimes is looking at old photos of him and his wife.
- Historical Domain Character: El Empecinado, a guerrilla soldier credited with helping Spain win independence from France in the Napoleonic wars. Also, Diego Velázquez, a famous painter (he does the police sketches for Julián).
- Laser-Guided Karma: Ernesto kidnaps the superior who got Alonso sentenced to death and leaves him to die in the soldier's place after recruiting him for the Ministry.
- Last Request: Alonso asks his wife to move on with her life after his execution.
- Mistaken for Gay: Sorry, Irene, Amelia's just a feminist.
- Mundane Object Amazement: Amelia's reaction to seeing a tampon for the first time.
- No Periods, Period: Averted. Irene explains tampons to Amelia and complains about how difficult it is to keep track of your calendar when traveling through time.
- Oh, Crap!: When Julián shows the photo he snapped of Lola, the experienced agents are shocked; she's supposed to be dead.
- Older Than They Look: Angustias was born in the 19th century, but is only 50,because time travel. Really, she is fifty, making this more of a subversion than anything. Similarly, Irene was born in 1930.
- Parting-Words Regret: Julián mourns over the fact that he and his wife parted over an argument before she died. He fixes things at the end of the episode with a Love Confession on the phone.
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: Julián compares their job to being Terminators but obviously none of the other two gets the reference.
- Rescue Sex: Alonso saves a barmaid from some abusive French soldiers. She shows up naked in his bed.
- Ship Tease: Julián and Amelia, having to pose as a married couple while they investigate the past.
- Shout-Out: The Ministry of Time recruits Velázquez to draw them some sketches. They open a gate that leads directly to the time when he was painting Las Meninas.
- Spy Cam: Julián secretly takes photographs of Thibaud with a mobile he hides in his garments.
- Super Identikit: The police sketches of the two Frenchmen are extremely accurate. Partly justified by the artist being a renowned painter from the past.
- Tap on the Head: Julián walks in on Lola talking on a cellphone. Past Lola. When he confronts her, he leaves his guard down and gets smacked on the head with a pitcher.
- Title Drop: Salvador name-drops the title when Julián asks what ministry they are at.
- Ungrateful Bastard: A rabbi told the Spanish crown about the existence of the time doors in exchange for them sparing his life from the Inquisition. They burned him as a witch.
- Wham Line: After the Ministry's sketch artist finishes drawing the facial composites of the suspects according to Julián's description:Julián: It's them. It's exactly them. (turns around to look at the draftsman) He's good.Salvador: Surely the fucker is good, he's Velázquez.
- Would Hit a Girl: The French soldier at the inn hits the barmaid which gets Alonso enraged.
