Series / The Mallorca Files

The Mallorca Files is a British crime drama. Series 1 premiered in late 2019, with a shorter Series 2 following in early 2021. A third series was filmed March - July 2023.

Made to stay on the Spanish island of Mallorca after a witness transfer goes wrong, uptight and introverted Welsh police detective Miranda Blake finds herself partnered with the relaxed bon vivant German officer, Max Winter. Together they solve varied cases across the island, initially focussing mainly on those involving the international community.

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Contains examples of:

Tropes A-C

• Action Girl: In 'The Oligarch's Icon' Miranda says she has a green belt in an unspecified martial art. She frequently chases after suspects, often throwing them to the ground.
• Almost Kiss: Max and Miranda almost kiss during a dance sequence in 'Death in the Morning', but are interrupted when another couple crashes into them.
• Artistic Licence – Gun Safety: In 'The Maestro' Max places his gun on the table in easy reach of a suspect, despite having had his gun taken in the previous episode, 'Ex Factor', which led to an armed hostage situation.
• Bilingual Bonus: In the room in the quarry where Tony Ball is caged in ‘The Blue Feather’, a sign reads ‘el tiempo se agota’ or ‘time is running out’, which is a nod to Ball’s grave medical condition.
• British Brevity: Series 1 comprises ten episodes. Ten were planned for Series 2, but only six were filmed due to Covid-19.
• British Stuffiness: Miranda is emotionally closed and does not like being touched. In 'Number One Fan' she tells Max that she doesn't want to let anyone in and is shown to be uncomfortable when he hugs her.
• Brits Love Tea: Miranda is disappointed by the tea served to her on the island, spitting it out in 'Mallorca's Most Wanted'.
• Buddy Cop Show: Despite initial differences of opinion and policing styles, Max and Miranda become friends as they work together, calling themselves 'compañeros'.
• By-the-Book Cop: Miranda berates Max for not following procedure in 'Honour Amongst Thieves' and 'The Oligarch's Icon', although there are instances where she will break the rules to solve a case when she decides expediency is required, such as when she breaks into Esteban Domenech's motorhome in 'King of the Mountains'. Inés refers to her as 'the woman who loves procedure' in 'The Maestro'.
• Catchphrase: Miranda often mutters or yells ‘what the hell, Max!’
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Pathologist Federico Ramis is replaced after Series 1 and is never mentioned again.
• Comforting Comforter: Max lays a blanket over Miranda when she falls asleep on his sofa in 'Friend Henry'.
• Cool Car: Max drives a convertible BMW. The car features in all episodes, the title sequence and in most promotional material.

Tropes D-F

• Da Chief: Police chief Inés has no patience for her officers messing things up or not being efficient. In 'King of the Mountains', she tells Max and Miranda, 'you've got one more day to find them [the supposed kidnappers] or I'm putting you on currency touts for a month'.
• Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!: In 'Honour Amongst Thieves', retired armed robber Niall Taylor lived a life of luxury in a clifftop villa, until he put in place his scheme for himself and his glamorous daughter to make off with his entire gang's ill-gotten gains.
• Dance of Romance: 'Death in the Morning' features a charged paso doble. This is the first time Max and Miranda almost kiss.
• Dirty Cop: Niall Taylor has a bent copper in his pay in 'Honours Amongst Thieves'. Dirty cop Ramón Hernández is a major character in 'Mallorca's Most Wanted'.
• "Eureka!" Moment: Miranda frequently has moments of clarity that lead to solving the case. In 'To Kill a Stag', she has an epiphany at hearing a camera click. In 'The Maestro', an unrelated comment by Carmen makes her see the victim in a new light, meaning the case is no longer at a dead end.
• Everybody Did It: Featured in 'The Maestro' with the variation of 'everybody confesses', but it is unclear who actually did do it.
• Everyone Can See It: Inés teases Miranda by referring to Max as her boyfriend and gives knowing looks about them at other points. Hostage-taker Jens Schmidt continually confuses them for being a couple in 'Ex Factor'. There are hints that Carmen can also see that there is something more than friendly between Max and Miranda: she gets jealous of Max risking his life for Miranda in 'Ex Factor', saying that actions speak louder than words.
• Exact Words: Max makes a breakthrough with the case in 'A Dish Served Cold' when he recalls a suspect saying about a recipe that 'everyone born on the island knows it', when she was actually born on the Spanish mainland.
• Fair Cop: Max and Miranda both fall into this category, being attractive and in their thirties. Neither falls into the sub-trope of also being dumb.
• Faked Kidnapping: There's more than meets the eye to Esteban Domenech's disappearance in 'King of the Mountains'.
• Faking the Dead: Niall Taylor’s death in 'Honour Amongst Thieves' is revealed to have been staged with the help of a dirty cop and blood squibs.
• Fanservice: Max often wears a tuxedo or other smart suit, and is seen topless in bed in 'Honour Amongst Thieves'. Miranda has been seen in formal dresses in 'Honour Amongst Thieves' and in 'Friend Henry' she wears a revealing green jumpsuit and is also seen showering.
• Fictional Painting: 'The Oligarch's Icon' features the icon of St. Nicholas, a medieval religious artefact.
• Finally Found the Body: Max pieces some clues about dates and building works together in 'Sour Grapes', leading to the discovery of the bodies of two teenagers who had supposedly run away together.
• Food Slap: Averted in 'A Dish Served Cold' when Miranda discards the courgette she's grabbed.
• Foreign Queasine: Miranda refuses to try sobrasada and scorns the Spanish preference for paprika-flavoured crisps in 'A Dish Served Cold'. She expresses disdain for Max’s German food in 'Mallorca's Most Wanted'.
• Fresh Clue: The grizzly stable manager announces to Max and Miranda that some horse dung they have found while tracking a suspect is fresh, meaning they are hot on his trail.

Tropes G-I

• Genius Ditz: Pathologist Luisa Rosa is clumsy, very enthusiastic, and has a fondness for bright, patterned clothing, yet appears to be very thorough and competent. She drops items and interrupts the investigation of a break-in in 'The Blue Feather'. In 'The Maestro' and 'Son of a Pig' she quickly runs extensive tests that lead to breakthroughs in the cases.
• Golf Clubbing: It all goes a bit wrong for Freddie in 'Honour Amongst Thieves' when he goes out for a round and ends up in the trap with a nine iron to the head.
• Holding Hands: Max holds Miranda’s hand on the train when he is helping her with her claustrophobic in ‘Number One Fan’.
• Hand Signals: Max and Miranda communicate this way during a cat-and-mouse game with a man they believe to be following them in ‘Son of a Pig’.
• Held Gaze: There are plenty of these between Max and Miranda, notably as part of the almost-kiss in 'Death in the Morning'.
• Hidden Depths: Max often surprises Miranda with his knowledge of literature and the arts. In 'The Maestro' he reveals he knows a lot about opera and has been to many performances, while in 'Friend Henry' he recognises and listens to Mahler. In 'To Kill a Stag' he quotes Austrian playwright Franz Grillparzer.
• Honor Among Thieves: Despite all the talk at the wake in 'Honour Amongst Thieves', the criminal gang is like "one of those snakes that eats its own tail".
• I Am Spartacus: 27 women confess to the murder in 'The Maestro', most of them in a scene on the stage of the opera house in which they step forward to say it wasn't the previous confessor, but they who committed the crime.
• I Choose to Stay: After much grumbling about the island throughout Series 1, Miranda is finally allowed to return to London in 'Ex Factor', but turns the offer down because she views Mallorca as her home now.
• Identification by Dental Records: Roberto identifies the body of a woman in 'The Maestro' in this way.
• Impersonating an Officer: Murder suspect Charlie King uses a fake police badge to track down the man he suspects framed him in 'Mallorca's Most Wanted'.
• Improvised Weapon: One of the criminal gang Max and Miranda are talking to is killed with his own golf club while out playing.
• I Never Said It Was Poison: The murderer gives themselves away in 'Death in the Morning' when they talk about how the murder weapon might have got chipped. Miranda replies 'I said the sword was damaged. I never said it was chipped'.
• It's Personal: Max finds out the murder victim in an old case that has been opened up again in 'Mallorca's Most Wanted' was his girlfriend's best friend.
• It Works Better with Bullets: The murderer's attempt to evade justice doesn't go so well when he uses an emptied gun in 'Son of a Pig'.

Tropes J-R

• Justified Criminal: The suspects in 'The Maestro' have all either been victims of the dead man, or have seen the abuse he's inflicted on the others.
• Karma Houdini: The criminal in 'Honour Amongst Thieves' not only gets away with a string of historical thefts, but a couple of murders too.
• Let Off by the Detective: Miranda lets dog-killer and sender of threatening letters Margalida Byass escape after talking her down from killing herself in front of a train in 'Sour Grapes'. Inés quietly files the case away in 'The Maestro'.
• Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Max and Miranda agree to forget about what happened during their dance in ‘Death in the Morning’, with Miranda saying ‘some things are better left’.
• Literal Cliffhanger: Max dangles off a cliff at the end of ‘Honour Amongst Thieves’.
• Literary Allusion Title: 'Death in the Morning' is a play on Hemingway's bullfighting work 'Death in the Afternoon'.
• Moment Killer: Max and Miranda's dance and almost-kiss in 'Death in the Morning' are interrupted by another dancer crashing into them, and then ended by max stamping on Miranda's foot.
• No Full Name Given: Max’s friend Christian never has his surname revealed, even in the credits.
• No Honor Among Thieves: One criminal picks off the other members of his gang in ‘Honour Amongst Thieves’.
• No Social Skills: Miranda can be awkward and comes off cold, as in 'Death in the Morning', when Max more than once has to encourage her to comfort a grieving widow. In 'The Maestro', to Max's horror she insensitively tells another grieving widow that she is the likeliest suspect, according to data.
• Not That Kind of Partner: Miranda states that she and Max are professional partners on multiple occasions.
• No Warrant? No Problem!: Max and Miranda don't let paperwork stop them if there's a case that needs solving quickly, such as when they are trying to stop a valuable artwork leaving the island.
• Offing the Offspring: A man shoots his daughter's boyfriend dead, causing her to immediately take the gun and kill herself. He buries both their corpses on his property and claims they drowned at sea, lies that never come to light until Max and Miranda are called to a case on his property.
• Opposites Attract: Max and Miranda are opposites in character and policing style. She is reserved and prefers to follow the rules, while he is outgoing and going with his instinct.
• Patricide: featured in 'The Outlaw José Rey'.
• Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: Miranda frequently needs to be filled in on the world of celebrity and pop culture; her parents thought TV rotted the brain. Max has to explain a famous German music mogul and his reality show in 'Ex Factor'. She is also unaware of top cyclist Esteban Domenech and leading model Valentina.
• Race Against the Clock: In 'The Blue Feather' Max and Miranda are racing to find an abducted diabetic man before his body gives up.
• Rape as Backstory: The tragic story of a star athlete's druggie best friend is revealed after his murder, as the reason for his death was to cover up that the athlete's mother had raped him back when the boys were children. This made him quit playing football and led to his being an aimless stoner.
• "Reason You Suck" Speech: Max and Miranda have a heated argument in 'The Oligarch's Icon', in which they criticise each other's policing styles and skills.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: Miranda is displeased in 'Honour Amongst Thieves' when she is told she must remain on the island indefinitely; while Max loves Mallorca, she has previously sarcastically called it 'a charming place' and remarked 'who'd want to live in a place like this?'.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Max is red oni with his zest for life and reliance on instinct, while Miranda is blue oni with her introversion and respect for rules.
• Revisiting the Cold Case: Max and Miranda receive a tip-off that a suspected murderer who has been on the run for four years is back on the island in 'Mallorca's Most Wanted'.

Tropes S-Z

• Scenery Porn: The series heavily features sweeping shots of the Mallorcan landscape.
• Series Continuity Error: Episodes 2 (‘King of the Mountains’) and 5 (‘Sour Grapes’) of Series 1 were swapped during production, meaning that Episode 1 (‘Honour Amongst Thieves’) ends with Miranda saying their next case is to investigate a dog killer, which now doesn’t happen until Episode 5. It also means that Miranda says that Max has previously claimed that all great artists take drugs in Episode 2, something he doesn’t say until Episode 4 (‘Number One Fan’).
• Shoulders-Up Nudity: Miranda takes a shower after a long night at work in 'Friend Henry'.
• Shower Scene: Miranda showers after an all-nighter in 'Friend Henry'.
• Sibling Murder: averted with Max and Miranda’s intervention in ‘King of the Mountains’.
• Slapstick: There is a fight in a kitchen in 'A Dish Served Cold' that involves a courgette, some copper pans and nose tweaking.
• Sleep Cute: Miranda wakes in 'The Outlaw José Rey' to find Max spooning her with his arm across her body. She places her hand over his.
• Strictly Professional Relationship: In 'Death in the Morning', Max tells a suspect that he and Miranda are 'professional partners, end of story'. Later in the same episode, Miranda tells Max that they shouldn't discuss their almost-kiss: 'some things are better left'.
• Suicide, Not Murder: A musician found dead in his hotel room was found to have committed suicide due to terminal illness. His death nonetheless kicks off the episode's plot.
• Talking Down the Suicidal: Max and Miranda talk the murderer down from throwing themselves off the the top of a football stand in 'The Beautiful Game'.
• Take My Hand!: Miranda pulls Max off the edge of a cliff in ‘Honour Amongst Thieves’.
• Tampering with Food and Drink: The murder weapon in ‘A Dish Served Cold’ is a poisoned sobrasada.
• Tap on the Head: Miranda is knocked unconscious by a single blow to the head from behind in 'Mallorca's Most Wanted'. She appears to be largely unaffected later on and protests against going to the hospital to be checked over.
• The Corpse Stops Here: When José Rey is found leaning over the body with blood on his hands it is assumed he is the killer.
• Tracking Device: Christian helps Max and Miranda find an elusive suspect by planting a tracker in her bag in ‘To Kill a Stag’.
• Twin Switch: Pro-cyclist Esteban Domenech uses his supposedly-dead twin brother to cover up for his use of performance-enhancing drugs in 'King of the Mountains'.
• Unconventional Vehicle Chase: Max and Miranda chase a suspect using a golf cart in 'Honour Amongst Thieves'. In 'A Dish Served Cold', Max avoids having to run up a very long set of steps by hijacking an Ape.
• Undercover as Lovers: Max and Miranda pose as a married couple in 'Honour Amongst Thieves' in order to infiltrate a wake.
• Unexpectedly Dark Episode: 'Friend Henry' features drugs dealers, deaths, and dark memories for Miranda.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: There are examples of this between Max and Miranda in almost every episode. They are prevented from admitting to or acting upon their feelings because Max is with Carmen.
• Uptight Loves Wild: The series teases that buttoned-up introvert Miranda is falling for laidback, fun-loving Max.
• Who Murdered the Asshole: Unpopular wealthy playboy and son of a fascist Diego Gris is missing, suspected dead in 'Son of a Pig'. One suspect says that 'half the town think he's no better than a cockroach' and that Max and Miranda are 'going to find a lot of people who hated [him]'. In 'A Dish Served Cold', the victim, an arrogant food critic, is described as 'an idiot', 'pompous' and 'very demanding', with one interviewee saying the detectives will 'find a lot of suspects'.
• Will They or Won't They?: This thread runs through both series. Viewers' hopes are raised for Max and Miranda eventually getting together when Carmen rejects his proposal in 'Ex Factor' and later indicates to Miranda that she doesn't see a long-term future with him in 'The Maestro'. As of the end of Series 2, there is no sign of either Max or Carmen actually breaking the relationship off.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: In 'Honour Amongst Thieves', criminal-on-the-run Niall Taylor shoots the dirty cop in his pay without warning and pushes him off a cliff, having no further use for him.

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