YMMV / Hernán

• Broken Base: Critics found the series entertaining and epic, especially because Cortés and the Conquest are not commonly depicted in decent-budget productions, but some could not overlook the irregular production values, questionable casting, clichés, and confusing presentation of the story. The uncritical references to the Spanish Black Legend were also a point of contempt.
• Hype Backlash: In Spain, promotion and reviews emphasized that the show attempted to distance itself from the Black Legend, but the product got accusations of this being Blatant Lies.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • Gypsy Cortés^explanation People noted, often for the worse, that Óscar Jaenada, who looks Roma and has occasionally played them, gives this vibe to Cortés.
  • A shot from the opening sequence showing Cortés climbing a pyramid against a sea of blood, was adopted by the show's detractors as an establishing shot.
• Narm:
  • Alvarado can be hard to take seriously given that he talks and behaves (and even somewhat looks) like a videogame orc. It gets worse with the actor's original Argentine accent slipping more than once.
  • Cortés' last line about how Tenochtitlan is "their true home" is such a contrived, contextually bizarre Badass Boast that it can suck the seriousness out of the whole scene.
• Questionable Casting:
  • Although most agree he gave a first rate performance with what he was given, even those will admit that Óscar Jaenada, a character actor more inclined to ham up, was not the most natural choice for a historical figure with the gravity and complexity of Hernán Cortés (especially because Jaenada doesn't physically resemble any portrait of the real deal). At time of release, it was more or less known that he only got the role thanks to his previous role as an Ax-Crazy conquistador in Gold (2017) and his starpower as Hollywood's last Dashing Hispanic.
  • Dagoberto Gama is an excellent actor, but his plump build caused criticism for his role as Moctezuma Xocoyotxzin, as the latter was never described as fat, but quite the opposite. Conversely, the casting of Silverio Palacios was criticized for not being nearly as fat as required for the legendarily obese Xicomecoatl, or at least that the filmmakers didn't use a fat suit or put any effort in making Palacios look obese anyway.
  • Casting an Anglo-Argentine actor in the role of a Spaniard might make sense if he had a particular physical resemblance to the historical character, but it is not really the case, with Michel Brown not even being a reddish-blonde like Pedro de Alvarado (he is naturally black-haired, which forced him to wear a blond wig).
  • The same applies to Pánfilo de Narváez, who in real life was tall, blond and long-faced and had a famously deep voice, yet is played here by Óscar Villalobos, who doesn't tick a single box. Unlike Alvarado, the makers didn't even bother to at least dye his hair.
• Uncertain Audience: The continuous back and forth of flashbacks and characters can make the series really confusing for people unfamiliar with the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire, but people more knowledgeable will likely frown at the large quantity of mean-spirited artistic license. It almost looks like the series was produced with its own niche in mind, those who know enough to follow but do not know or care enough to condemn the bias.
• What Do You Mean, It's Not Political?: It's hard for a series featuring Hernán Cortés apologizing for the Conquest not to be politically charged (and divisive), to say the least.