The Sea Beyond (IT: Mare Fuori note ) is an Italian TV series produced by RAI. It's set in a juvenile prison near the sea in Naples and it follows the personal stories of its prisoners and workers.
A central theme of the show is the unlikely friendship between the two main characters: Carmine Di Salvo is the good-natured White Sheep of a dangerous Camorra family, while Filippo Ferrari is a privileged rich boy from Milan with the dream of becoming a piano player. Both are arrested in the first episode for accidental and/or unfair reasons. They quickly become easy targets for the other inmates, most of them being led by Ciro Ricci, the ruthless son of a Camorra boss who particularly hates Carmine.
Almost all the inmates get spotlight episodes with Flashbacks explaining their background and the reason why they ended up arrested. We also learn a lot about the adults who work in the prison, especially the prison commander Massimo Esposito (who tries to be a father figure to Carmine) and the director Paola Vinci.
It originally aired on RAI2 in 2020; however, it became a major success when it was brought on the platform Netflix in 2022. As for now, the show counts four seasons; a fifth one is being produced.
The Sea Beyond provides examples of:
- Aborted Arc: Sasà has one of the main storylines in season 2 and the season 2 finale has him admitting guilt in court for raping a girl, after denying it for many episodes. And then in season 3... he disappears without explanation. There were rumors that the character was simply dropped because the writers realized that a 15 year old boy guilty of rape was too dark even for this show. According to the creators, Sasà was only supposed to appear in season 2, and his story arc was concluded, but In-Universe it's never explained why he's no longer in prison, especially after he was proven guilty.
- Abusive Parents:
- Carmine's mother is emotionally abusive, constantly telling Carmine that he's a disappointment, just because Carmine wants to take distance from the criminal life of the family. They have their Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other moments in season 3.
- Filippo's mother is cold to Filippo in season 1, as she's ashamed about her son being arrested. She becomes more supportive later on.
- Naditza's father wants to force his daughter (who is still underage) into an Arranged Marriage to an older man in exchange for money. When she runs away, he uses all the dirty tricks to convince his daughter, including blackmail and manipulation. Naditza's mother is not much better, as she quietly supports her husband and wants the same thing.
- Gianni's father is a domestic abuser to both his wife and his son. In season 2, he even uses his son to hide a gun, putting his life in danger.
- Sasà's mother is controlling, snobby, and a very bad influence on her son, forcing him to follow her questionable orders to save her family's reputation.
- Kubra's mother. Other than being neglectful, she also wanted her own minor daughter to sleep with a sleazy old man to get the money to buy a new house.
- Viola's parents. Her mother is verbally abusive, her father frequently beats Viola with a whip.
- Accidental Murder:
- Filippo ends up in prison for accidentally murdering one of his friends.
- In the second season, Cardiotrap involuntarily kills Fabio by pushing him over a balcony
- Acid Attack: Fabio throws acid on Ambra's face, mistaking her for Gemma. She later seeks revenge by shooting him, and that's why she's imprisoned.
- Alas, Poor Villain:
- Ciro is the main villain of the first season. In the season 1 finale, after Filippo stabs him to save Carmine, the mortally wounded Ciro tells Massimo "Tell my father I wasn't scared" before breaking down crying "I don't want to die", and then he dies in Massimo's arms.
- Viola spends three seasons being disturbingly cruel to everyone, and has seemingly no purpose other than being a Hate Sink. In her last episode "L'età dell'innocenza", we learn that she grew up with an uncaring mother and a violent father, and she spent her childhood alone with an Imaginary Friend. She's heavily implied to be mentally ill, and she also admits that she stopped having feelings since the first time her father whipped her. In her last scene, we see Paola hugging her and promising to help her, but Viola jumps to her death anyway. The other characters are shocked by Viola's suicide, and Paola breaks down crying.
- Anti-Villain: Except Viola who is deliberately portrayed as irredeemably evil, the villains in the series have all redeeming qualities to some extent, and lack several key villainous traits. Even Ciro, who is cruel, manipulative and power hungry, does have a code of honor and people he cares for, in his own way.
- Anyone Can Die: Serena, Ciro, Nina, Fabio, Gaetano, Viola and Kubra’s mother Latifah.
- Ascended Extra:
- Edoardo, due to his popularity with viewers. He's only a background character in the first half of season 1, but starts to get his own subplots in the second half. In season 2, he gets even more focus, replacing Ciro as the leader of the antagonists. In season 3, he has a more prominent role than everyone else, along with Carmine and Rosa.
- Other two members of Ciro's gang, Gaetano and Totò, start off as minor characters in season 1, but get characterization and backstory in season 2.
- Milos, another generic member of Ciro's gang, barely has any lines in the first two seasons. He's still a minor character in season 3, but we learn more about his backstory and love life.
- Rosa Ricci is introduced in the last two episodes of season 2. She's basically the female lead in season 3.
- Carmela is Edoardo's Satellite Love Interest in the first two seasons and doesn't appear very often. In season 3, she's far more prominent and fleshed out, and is the only character outside the prison who has ever got her own A Day in the Limelight.
- Attack on One Is an Attack on All: When Ciro is killed (supposedly) by Carmine, all of his group seeks revenge on him. They seem to change idea after a while, though.
- Betty and Veronica:
- Edoardo, caught between Carmela and Teresa. Carmela is seemingly the Betty (his long-time partner, who already knows Edoardo's family, they have a baby together) while Teresa is seemingly the Veronica (a new girl, very different from him, with whom he has a secret affair). However, Carmela has a Veronica-like personality, as she's rather aggressive and has very much an attitude, while Teresa has a Betty-like personality being very kind, naive and empathetic. The latter Took a Level in Jerkass, though.
- Gemma, caught between Nice Guy Gianni/"Cardiotrap" (Betty) and the violently abusive Fabio (Veronica).
- Big Bad:
- Season 1: Ciro. The main threat to the two protagonists Carmine and Filippo. On the girls's side, it's Viola, but, even though she's easily the most evil character in the series, their plot is secondary compared to the boys.
- Season 2 has the trio of Edoardo, Gaetano, and Totò. Edoardo is the new leader of the gang after Ciro's death, Gaetano seems the most evil of the three but has a Heel Realization in the season finale, and Totò seems the gang's Plucky Comic Relief until it's revealed that he's the one who killed Nina, the main conflict of the season.
- Season 3: In the first half, it's Edoardo. In the second half, there's the Big Bad Ensemble of Wanda Di Salvo and Don Salvatore Ricci, even if these two actually work against each other. They both want to take over Naples, and both provide most of the drama, especially after their Enemy Mine agreement.
- Season 4: It's a bit more complicated than usual, but overall it's Edoardo, at least in the most important storylines (killing Rosa's father, planning to steal Rosa's money, two-timing Carmela and Teresa). Consuelo's rapists are also this, since a huge part of the conflict in season 4 is about Consuelo, Massimo, and their son.
- Butt-Monkey:
- Carmine is loathed, insulted, and picked on by many characters who also want to kill him. His friend Filippo is also a huge Butt-Monkey in the first few episodes, but he starts to get more respect later on.
- In season 2, Sasà is treated even worse than Carmine and Filippo, and that's saying a lot.
- In season 3 and especially season 4, Mimmo is probably the most unlucky character in the series. Even after his Heel–Face Turn, he seems to have the world against him.
- Near the end of season 4, a new prisoner named Angelo is introduced to be the seemingly harmless newcomer who is bullied by the other inmates (like Filippo in season 1, and Sasà in season 2).
- Captured on Purpose:
- Naditza is purposely imprisoned to run away from her parents who want to force her into an Arranged Marriage.
- In season 2, Mimmo is purposely imprisoned to help Edoardo escape. Only that it's revealed to be a scam to actually kill him.
- In season 2, Rosa is purposely imprisoned to avenge the death of her brother Ciro, by killing Carmine. But she ends up falling in love with him.
- In season 3, Diego and the Di Meo brothers are purposely imprisoned because they were hired by Edoardo's criminal family, to give Edoardo more henchmen in prison, after the latter loses his old allies Totò and Gaetano, and Mimmo turns out to be a traitor.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Sasà disappears in season 3 with no explanation, despite him being a major character in season 2.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Obviosly, since the show is set in a prison. But here it's played up to the point where almost all the characters (young and adults) have bad parents, or a bad childhood, or something terrible that happened to them in the past. The only characters who have relatively good families and a relatively normal backstory are Filippo (until he accidentally kills his friend), Teresa (until she meets Edoardo), and Gaetano (until he starts hanging out with Ciro).
- A Day in the Limelight: Everyone in the prison (both inmates and prison staff) gets the spotlight at some point. Each episode focuses on one different character and includes flashbacks to their backstory. The only people outside of the prison who have got her own episode are Edoardo's wife Carmela (season 3), the lawyer Alfredo (season 4), and Edoardo's mistress Teresa (season 4).
- Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: Many episodes have one or more characters singing (or humming) the theme song, or some parts of it. At Gianni's concert in season 2, after singing his own original song "Sangue Nero", he also sings the theme song, and all the other characters join in.
- Disproportionate Retribution:
- Many of Viola's horrible actions, especially her backstory. Before going to prison, she and her best friend Lara shared a trailer as their own secret hideout, and Viola didn't want anyone else going there. Then she found out Lara secretly took her boyfriend to the trailer to spend some time with him. Viola's reaction? Brutally killing Lara by stabbing her with a knife repeatedly. That's why she's in prison.
- Edoardo beats up an unknown guy to a bloody pulp for two reasons. Firstly, because the guy was hanging out with Edoardo's ex-girlfriend Teresa and tried to interrupt Edoardo's attempts to win Teresa back. The other reason is that the guy had red hair just like a redheaded kid who mistreated Edoardo in his childhood, with no evidence at all that he was the same person.
- "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: The theme song was written and sung by Matteo Paolillo, who plays Edoardo on the show.
- Evil Redhead: The redheaded Viola is the most sadistic and cruel character, and loves to manipulate and torture people.
- Evil Versus Evil: The rivalry between the Camorra families and their associates, with the most prominent being the one between the Di Salvo family and the Ricci family.
- Expository Hairstyle Change:
- When Ciro tries to turn Filippo into a member of his gang, he gives him a haircut similar to the one of Ciro himself. Filippo gets rid of it soon after Ciro's death.
- In the first two seasons, Gaetano has longish hair, usually tied up in a low ponytail. After his Heel–Face Turn, his hair is shorter in season 3.
- Foil:
- Arch-enemies Carmine Di Salvo and Ciro Ricci. Both were born into powerful Camorra families. Carmine is against the criminal "family business" and is hated and mistreated by most people in his environment. Ciro is a ruthless delinquent who wants to follow in his father's footsteps, and is feared and respected by most people, especially in prison.
- In the first season, Ciro and Viola stand out as the most evil guy and the most evil girl, respectively. Both are cruel, manipulative, violent, Faux Affably Evil bullies who are feared by most people. While Ciro is a natural leader who is followed and respected by a Gang of Bullies and most guys in prison, Viola is a loner hated by everyone, except her well-meaning roommate, who is too naive to stand up to her. Finally, despite their Ship Tease scenes, Ciro has a genuine infatuation with Viola, while Viola coldn't care less about Ciro and only wants to take advantage of his crush.
- Gaetano and Mimmo have a lot in common. Both abandoned their honest parents to work for Camorra criminals, but while Gaetano would do anything for Ciro Ricci, Mimmo only pretends to work for the Ricci family to spy on them, and is actually an henchman of the Di Salvo family. Gaetano is a cruel Jerkass who grew up in a middle class family and hates his parents just for being "weak", while Mimmo is a troubled Anti-Villain who grew up in Perpetual Poverty and just wants a better life. Both have a Heel–Face Turn and try to make peace with their parents, and while Gaetano is immediately forgiven, Mimmo is harshly kicked out by his mother who blames him for his father's death. The two are not enemies, but they reluctantly find each other at gunpoint due to the circumstances and other people's orders, and Mimmo ends up killing Gaetano and feeling extremely guilty for it.
- Four-Philosophy Ensemble: Of the main male friends quartet, Carmine is the Realist - is very aware of the reality surrounding him in prison and knows how much life sucks, but tries to do what's right and wants to live an honest life nonetheless; Filippo is the Conflicted - a wealthy guy who's a Fish out of Water in prison, doesn't know what to do and risks to become a criminal to survive, but is established a good guy and does what's right; Gianni is the Optimist - cheerful Nice Guy who wants to help others and, despite everything he went through, positively influences them with his optimistic attitude, and Pino is The Cynic - doesn't get along with anyone except his dog and his mother and is almost constantly angry. Things change later on as they all become more positive and cheerful all in all.
- Of the main adults, Massimo is the levelheaded Realist, Beppe is the All-Loving Hero Optimist, Paola is the troubled Conflicted, (formerly) hostile Sofia is The Cynic, and balance-oriented Lino is the Apathetic.
- The guys of the main incarnation of Ciro's gang also qualify, with Ciro being the cruel and ruthless Cynic, Edoardo being the ambitious yet more balanced Realist, Totò being the cheerful and gregarious Optimist, Gaetano being the Conflicted who does cruel deeds but out of loyalty for Ciro and changes a lot later, and Milos being the calm Apathetic who's rather uninvolved and neutral.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: The main quartet of male friends fits here again - Troubled, but Cute Carmine is Melancholic, naive Uptown Boy Filippo is Phlegmatic, Ax-Crazy yet loyal Pino is Choleric, and friendly Nice Guy Gianni is Sanguine. As things go on, sadly, Gianni becomes somewhat Melancholic as he's clearly more troubled and brooding after his Accidental Murder (though he gets better and returns the way he was before), Carmine becomes Eclectic as in S3 he's more sociable and playful and shows more sides to himself, Pino mellows out and becomes a rather goofy and cheerful Sanguine, and Filippo remans the calm, kind and mellow Phlegmatic.
- The antagonists fit here as well: Ciro is Choleric (arrogant, power hungry and vicious), Totò is Sanguine (goofy, playful and loud), Gaetano is Melancholic (submissive Yes-Man who executes orders), Milos is Phlegmatic (The Quiet One who usually doesn't talk or do things and is rather passive), and Edoardo is the Eclectic (easily the most multifaceted villain with both a more ambitious and a more carefree side, though ultimately troubled).
- The most recurring females in the beginning: Naditza is Eclectic (multifaceted, cheerful yet troubled and impulsive yet cunning and intelligent), Silvia is Sanguine (cheerful, friendly and kind), Viola is Choleric (morbidly psychopathic, cruel and manipulative), Gemma is Phlegmatic (kind, shy and insecure) and Serena is Melancholic (lonely, depressed and has addiction issues). Giulia later replaces Viola as the Choleric (as she's unpleasant, violent and cocky).
- The main adults even fit all the possible variants. Massimo is Eclectic (well-balanced, kind, morally upright, compassionate and understanding yet strict when needed), Paola is Melancholic (initially sullen and cynical due to her tragic backstory, yet a kind, gentle and upstanding woman), Gennaro is Phlegmatic (kind, quiet, friendly and gets along with pretty much everyone), Lino is Phlegmatic Type 2 (the cynical variety as he's calm, detached, and prefers to maintain a balance among the inmates, though he later becomes more concerned with the right thing to do), Beppe is Sanguine (friendly, outgoing, optimistic in most situations and by nature an All-Loving Hero), and Sofia is Choleric (temperamental, violent and strict, although honest and tries to do what's right).
- Gang of Bullies:
- Ciro, Edoardo, Gaetano, Totò, Milos, and all the characters associated with them, including Pino in the first season. They like to bully Carmine and Filippo in season 1, and Sasà in season 2.
- Since most of these characters (except Edoardo and Milos) are gone after season 2, the new gang members are Luigi, Raffaele, and Diego.
- Hate Sink:
- Viola is the only one of the inmates who falls into this. While most of them have done horrible things, they all have sympathetic traits, genuine bonds with other people, and Character Development, even the most villainous ones. Except for Viola, whose only defining trait is being a sadistic creep who hates everyone and enjoys hurting people for no reason. While she's revealed to be a tragic character because of her Abusive Parents, mental illness, and the way she's Driven to Suicide, she's the only inmate who is portrayed as irredeemably evil.
- On the other hand, many secondary characters outside the prison are clearly meant to be hated. Among them, Gemma's boyfriend Fabio, Ciro's father, Gianni's father, Naditza's father, Beppe's brother, and Sasà's mother have no redeeming qualities. Carmine's mother mostly appears to be this, as she's a horrible mother and ruthless criminal, but she loves her son deep down, even if she thinks he's a disappointment.
- Heel–Face Turn:
- Pino spends most of season 1 being an aggressive and violent bully who works for Ciro, with his only good trait being his love for dogs seen in a flashback. At the end of the season, Ciro turns against him while Filippo saves Pino's life. Starting in season 2, Pino becomes friends with Filippo and Carmine, is much more caring and affectionate (he even falls in love with a girl), and his violent Ax-Crazy side only shows up rarely.
- In the first two seasons, Gaetano (Ciro's biggest Yes-Man) is a horrible person, and cruel enough to be one of the most prominent Hate Sink. In the season 2 finale, he has a Heel Realization, realizes that the criminal life is not for him, makes peace with his parents, and turns him into The Atoner. In season 3, he's very much a Nice Guy, but sadly he dies in the middle of the season.
- Totò is one of the hoodlums who follow Ciro and Edoardo, though he's more Laughably Evil than anything else. By the end of season 2, it's revealed that he's the one who killed Carmine's gilfriend Nina to avenge Ciro. He has a My God, What Have I Done? breakdown, tearfully apologizes to Carmine, repeatedly saying that he doesn't want to be an evil person. He's Put on a Bus after that.
- Mimmo is involved in the Camorra to have a better life, initially following the orders of Wanda Di Salvo, who orders him to betray Edoardo and later try to kill Rosa. After killing Gaetano in self defense, Mimmo feels extremely guilty, starting his gradual Heel Realization, and he ends up confessing the truth to Gaetano's parents. He also tries to make peace with his own family, although his mother never forgave him for abandoning her.
- The Mafia Princess Rosa Ricci goes from trying to kill Carmine to falling in love with him and saving the life of Carmine's daughter. By the end of the season, she also found out that her father Don Salvatore tried to kill their close family friend Edoardo, causing a Broken Pedestal about her relationship with her father.
- In-Series Nickname: Quite a few.
- Carmine is nicknamed "Piecuro", meaning "sheep", only by the ones who hate him and consider him a coward.
- Filippo is called "Chiattillo", meaning "preppy rich boy" more often than not. While the nickname was initially given to him by the antagonists, it's often used even by his friend Carmine and by the adults.
- Pino is sometimes referred to as "Pino il Pazzo", meaning "Crazy Pino".
- Gianni is often called "Cardiotrap".
- Gaetano is known as "Pirucchio" meaning "louse", as he's the biggest Yes-Man to young boss Ciro. After his Heel–Face Turn, he prefers to be called by his real name Gaetano, even saying "Pirucchio is dead".
- Season 3 introduces a trio of characters nicknamed Dobermann, Cucciolo, and Micciarella. Their real names are Diego, Luigi, and Raffaele.
- Jerkass to One:
- Ciro is a bad guy in general, but he makes it pretty clear that Carmine is the one he hates the most.
- Pino can be Ax-Crazy and violent towards anyone who makes him angry, but he's particularly cruel to Filippo in the first season. At the end of season 1, Filippo saves Pino's life and they become good friends in season 2 and 3, eventually inverting this trope, with Pino even considering Filippo his "best friend".
- Edoardo is a jerk in many situations, but he's particularly a bully to Sasà in season 2. He and his friends were bullying Sasà since he arrived, but Edoardo takes it further when he finds out that Sasà is accused of rape, using Pay Evil unto Evil as an excuse to torture him.
- Viola hates everyone and is always cruel to everyone, but in early episodes her favorite targets are naive Extreme Doormats like Serena and Gemma. Then in season 3, she starts picking on Mafia Princess Rosa Ricci, which is not exactly a smart move.
- Karmic Death:
- Ciro is killed by Filippo at the end of season 1, and Filippo only did it to stop Ciro from trying to kill Carmine in that scene.
- At the end of season 2, Fabio was beating Gianni to death. While trying to defend himself, Gianni accidentally pushed Fabio off the balcony, killing him.
- Killing in Self-Defense: Mimmo kills Gaetano, because he thought the latter was about to shoot him. He still feels extremely guilty about it, especially when he learns that Gaetano never wanted to kill him for real, and his gun was unloaded.
- Light Feminine and Dark Feminine:
- Gemma and Viola, who frequently interact. Gemma is The Ingenue and Viola is a cold Fille Fatale.
- Edoardo's two love interests: Teresa (Light) is innocent, polite, ladylike, and initially oblivious to Edoardo's dark side, while Carmela (Dark) is ostentatious, confident, Hot-Blooded, and involved with Edoardo's Camorra business. However, they invert the Betty and Veronica roles, since Carmela is the wife and Teresa is the mistress.
- Naïve Newcomer: Filippo and Gemma in season 1, Sasà in season 2. When they first arrive in prison, they are completely oblivious to the criminal world, and we see it in their interactions with the other inmates.
- Nice Guy:
- Carmine, Filippo, and Gianni are genuinely kind individuals and shown to be, in different ways, well-meaning and heroic characters who are in prison just because of unfortunate circumstances. All three have a Rage Breaking Point, though. Pino also qualifies after he becomes a more decent and less impulsive guy, and is shown to be a loyal friend with a goofy and playful side.
- Among the adults, Massimo and Beppe are good-hearted Reasonable Authority Figures. Also Paola qualifies as a Nice Girl after she overcomes her formerly strict and cold attitude, being actually a compassionate and empathetic Team Mom with a Dark and Troubled Past.
- Among the girls, Gemma, Serena and Silvia are genuinely kind and pleasant individuals. Naditza as well, ignoring her attitude and impulsiveness. And also qualifying is Teresa, who is not an inmate but is one of the most compassionate and selfless individuals (sadly, she's also very naive, and later on it's shown she Took a Level in Jerkass due to the development of her relationship with Edoardo).
- One-Steve Limit: Averted, many characters have the same name or similar names.
- Pietro is the name of both Ciro's brother and Massimo's son.
- Rosa is the name of both Ciro's sister and Edoardo's mother. This is probably intentional since their families are very close.
- The name of Edoardo's son (born in season 2) is Ciro. Again, intentional since Ciro was also the name of Edoardo's friend killed at the end of season 1.
- Carmine's surname is Di Salvo. Edoardo has a cousin named Salvo. The name of Ciro's father is Salvatore. Salvatore is also the real name of Sasà, who is pretty much Only Known By His Nickname.
- Only Friend: Carmine and Filippo are this to each other in the first season (due to Filippo losing his old friends, while Carmine has always been an outcast aside from his gilfriend Nina). Starting in season 2, they also become friends with other inmates like Pino and Gianni.
- Parents as People:
- Surprisingly enough, in a series like this (which focus on teenagers behaving badly, so you would expect a lof of Freudian Excuse and bad parenting), there is a good amount of decent, well-meaning and loving parents, who try their best but are simply unable to deal with their children's problematic behavior. Among the best examples, there are Gaetano's parents, Filippo's father (his mother too in later episodes), Serena's father, Pino's mother, Gemma's mother, Edoardo's mother, or Totò's adoptive parents.
- The prison commander Massimo genuinely loves his son and they seem to have a decent relationship, but he's so Married to the Job that he doesn't spend much time with him.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: While Filippo is one of the most sympathetic and heroic characters, he says "filthy gypsy" after the Romani girl Naditza steals his wallet and his watch, and it's the reason why she dislikes him initially. They end up falling in love, though.
- Promotion to Opening Titles:
- Kubra is a Fake Guest Star in season 2, probably because she's introduced in the third episode of this season, despite being a major character since her introduction. The name of the actress is added to the opening credits in season 3.
- Mimmo and Rosa start appearing in the last two episodes of season 2. Both of their actors's names are added to the opening credits in season 3.
- Put on a Bus:
- In season 1, there are several appearances of Carmine's brother Ezio, who is heavily involved in his family Camorra business, unlike Carmine. In season 2, he's arrested and his mother Wanda takes the lead. While Season 3 focuses a lot on the Di Salvo crime business, we only see Wanda as the only Di Salvo family member behind everything, while Ezio never appears again.
- Totò, after season 2. He is transferred to another prison after confessing to Nina's murder.
- In season 3, Paola is forced to leave the prison after Viola's suicide and is replaced by another director.
- Filippo and Naditza after season 3. Naditza leaves Filippo in the middle of season 3, when they are escaping from prison. Filippo comes back alone but he's later released from prison.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: The writers initially try to avoid the trope with Sasà, but eventually it's played straight. In season 2, Sasà is portrayed as a conflicted and redeemable character who has just made one mistake (raping a girl) and then he has a Jerkass Realization. Due to controversial receptions, Sasà's character is cancelled in season 3, with no explanation. In season 4, Consuelo's rapists are portrayed as disgusting thugs with no characterization other than being awful, and even their boss Wanda is outraged by their actions, since she never wanted them to rape Consuelo, just scare her.
- Relationship Upgrade:
- Filippo and Naditza have Unresolved Sexual Tension for most of the first season. They get together at the end of season 1. They fight and break up quite a few times, and end up with a Maybe Ever After in season 3.
- Gianni and Gemma are also this in season 1, with Gianni being attracted to Gemma, and Gemma being still attracted to her abusive ex-boyfriend Fabio. They get together at the beginning of season 2, though their relationship is still troubled because of Fabio's interferences. They break up when Gemma is Put on a Bus, as Gianni feels that she would never be happy with a boyfriend still in prison.
- Carmine and Rosa spend most of season 3 with an obvious Belligerent Sexual Tension. They hook up eventually.
- Massimo and Paola, the two main adults, have their own Ship Tease moments. They get together in season 2, although Paola is later Put on a Bus in the middle of season 3.
- Scenery Porn: Throughout every episode, there are many shots of the beautiful landscapes and coastline of Naples. As evidenced by the title and the opening, the "sea outside" represents a symbol of hope for the boys and the girls in prison.
- Self-Harm: In season 1, we see Viola cutting herself in one episode, and she also forces poor Serena to do the same. In season 3, Giulia is also a cutter, one of the things she has in common with Viola.
- Single Serving Friend: A group of them. In the first episode, Filippo is on vacation in Naples along with his three best friends. After taking drugs at a party, Filippo ends up accidentally killing one of these friends, and it's the reason why he's arrested. After the pilot, only the dead friend is mentioned a few times, while the other two are never seen or mentioned again.
- Smoking Is Cool: While no one is portrayed as a chain smoker, most characters are sometimes shown smoking, and it adds some coolness.
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: In the first two seasons, the three main protagonists are Carmine, Filippo, and Naditza. Rosa Ricci is introduced near the end of season 2, but somehow becomes the star of the show in season 3, leading Filippo and Naditza to be much more Out of Focus and only appear in filler scenes. Carmine is still prominent in season 3 mostly for being Rosa's Love Interest, but has a completely different personality in order to create the Ship Tease with Rosa.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: In season 3, Carmine Di Salvo and Rosa Ricci are in the classic Romeo and Juliet situation. The Di Salvo family and the Ricci family are the two most prominent Camorra Feuding Families in Naples, and Rosa's main goal was initially to kill Carmine for being involved in the death of Rosa's beloved brother Ciro. After several episodes of Belligerent Sexual Tension, they fall in love. Many characters point out to Carmine that it would be crazy for him to be in love a Ricci family member.
- Sympathetic Murderer: Carmine ends up in prison for killing a criminal who was assaulting and raping his girlfriend Nina. He clearly did not kill him for the sake of evil, just to defend her, attacking the guy from behind with his scissors. And the criminal has his gang members with him.
- Teens Are Monsters:
- All the inmates are under 18 years old, and many of them belong to youth gangs, so they are ruthless and perfectly capable of murder, especially the ones who are raised this way by their families, such as Ciro and his gang.
- Even the ones who are not part of criminal families can fall to this. Viola is the biggest example, since she's just cruel to everyone For the Evulz.
- At first sight, Sasà is just a rich, shy, and very young teenager (15 years old, to be exact) who is easily bullied by the other inmates. Then it's revealed that he is in prison because he raped his girlfriend. At first he claims his innocence, but then he confesses the truth.
- Token Evil Teammate:
- Viola is the only evil one in the group of girls, as the other girls are mostly portrayed in a sympathetic light (or Anti-Hero at worst). In season 3, Giulia can also count as this - while far less monstrous than Viola, she's very unpleasant, violent, arrogant.
- Lino is not evib but the only corrupt adult in the prison staff, especially in season 1. He gets better in season 2, when we learn about his Freudian Excuse and he tries to help one of the inmates. In season 3, he's much more harmless.
- Uptown Girl:
- Teresa (a student from one of the wealthiest neighborhoods of Naples) is romantically involved with Edoardo (a delinquent she meets while she's doing voluntary work in prison). She doesn't know that he's already married.
- Gemma is implied to be well-off, and has a relationship with Gianni, who is from a poor family.
- Filippo is a male example. A rich boy in a relationship with Romani girl Naditza.
- Sasà is another male example. He's an extremely rich student and has a relationship with the janitor's beautiful daughter Erika. Sasà's manipulative mother considers Erika a Gold Digger and doesn't want him to date her.
- Villainous Crush: Ciro is a villain who has a crush on Viola, another villain. Viola doesn't really care for him, but likes to use him for her own interests.
