The House of Flowers (La casa de las flores) is a 2018 Mexican Prime Time Soap distributed by Netflix, created by scriptwriter and director Manolo Caro.
Virginia de la Mora has it all. A loving husband, three grown children, and a famous and successful flower shop in Mexico City's most exclusive neighborhood, which she inherited from her mother. The flower shop will soon celebrate its 50th anniversary. Then, in the middle of her husband's lavish birthday party, a woman hangs herself inside the flower shop, leaving a letter for Virginia, and the family's dirty secrets start coming to light. Now the family must try to keep themselves together while all of their worlds start falling apart.
This series contains examples of the following tropes:
- A Birthday, Not a Break: The first episode takes place at Ernesto's birthday party. His mistress hangs herself at the party. In season 2 we realize that it was also their eight-year-old daughter's birthday the day before, too.
- Actor Allusion: One of Paco Leon's most famous past roles was also as a woman, Raquel on Homo Zapping.
- Age-Gap Romance:
- Diego is noticeably older than Julian.
- Poncho is much younger than Carmela.
- Lampshaded by Alejo with Paulina, who's not even that much older than him - but certainly played straight through his relationship with her mother.
- Ambiguously Bi: Though Paulina never comes out, she does get back together with her ex-husband after she's transitioned to be a woman (after several years of separation and thought), is quite happy referring to said ex-husband as her wife, is physically attracted to her after the transition, and viciously spurns homophobia in season 2 and especially the funeral special more than enough to sound personal.
- And Starring: "And Cecilia Suarez. With Arturo Rios as Ernesto, and the special participation of Paco Leon". In season 2, with Suarez now listed first as the main star, only Rios, Leon and (new for s2) Mariana Treviño have this.
- The Atoner: Paulina frames Diego for running a brothel as revenge for his alleged treachery, but after finding out that he was Good All Along, she turns herself in to the police instead.
- Bilingual Dialogue: A few conversations are part Spanish, part English, usually for the benefit of Dominique. It's clear that Elena and Paulina speak English well, and Dominique eventually learns Spanish.
- Call-Back: A self-reference for creator Manolo Caro. When Virginia has a conversation with the deceased Roberta, she says "I should have slit my veins" (she hung herself). Caro's first feature film was called I don't know whether to slit my veins or leave them long
(feat. Cecilia Suarez, Juan Pablo Medina, Mariana Treviño). - The Cameo: What María José's character was supposed to be, but she stuck around for all of season 1 and became so popular she became a main character in season 2 and 3.
- Citizenship Marriage: Part of the reason Elena is marrying Dominique.
- Contrived Coincidence: In the season 2 finale, Jenny Quetzal's SUV just happens to collide with Elena's car.
- Cultural Translation: Bruno's enthusiastic use of Spanish slang after living in Madrid is turned into British slang in the English subtitles. Further to this, in the hated English dub the Mexican characters are rendered US and the Spanish as British.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: Virginia abruptly dies of cancer between seasons 1 and 2.
- Dump Them All: The love triangle between Virginia, Ernesto and Salomon is resolved this way.
- Everybody Has Standards: When Paulina visits Diego's parents, she is horrified they are more concerned with their son being gay than the fact that he has committed grand larceny.
- Flanderization: Elena in Season 1 was presented as the "promising" De La Mora sibling, with an architecture degree and studies in the United States. Her Season 1 plot was about choosing between Dominique (her fiancé whom she was marrying for citizenship) and Claudio (the Cabaret's manager she had Unresolved Sexual Tension with). Both of those relationships fail, and she's left lonely and bitter. Come Season 2, and suddenly she's presented as a mediocre architect who is unable to keep a boyfriend, with her main character trait being that she's "easy".
- Good All Along: Diego didn't actually steal de la Mora family's money. He was covering up for Virginia and helping her pay for her cancer treatment in Houston.
- Hereditary Homosexuality: Of the three siblings at the center of the show, two are bisexual. Paulina's biological father Pato was also gay.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In the season 2 finale, Paulina turns herself in to the police in order to protect Diego.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each episode is named after a flower, the flower's meaning is related to the events in the episode.
- If It's You, It's Okay: Paulina decides this in the season 1 finale.
- In the Blood: Julián believes he inherited his cheating ways from his father. Considering the massive amount of infidelity in the family, he might have a point.
- New Old Flame: Paulina and María José were married, got divorced, and married again in Season 3 Finale.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe:
- Paulina isn't Ernesto's child; Virginia was already pregnant when she got with Ernesto. For a while it seems like she's the child of Dr. Cohen, but it's ultimately revealed to be Pato, Virginia's Gay Best Friend after an experimental one-night stand.
- 'Namibia' isn't Julián's daughter; Lucía told him and two other guys that to collect child support after the real father refused to acknowledge her.
- Manipulative Bastard: Whenever someone tries being this, it usually backfires because people really aren't that predictable and manipulation is a toxic thing to do in what's supposed to be a loving relationship.
- Marriage of Convenience: Season 3 reveals that Virginia and Ernesto started as this. they were Childhood Friends, and she got pregnant by Pato, who died. With her mother's ultimatum of either getting married or giving the baby up, Virginia chose to marry Ernesto, who was having economic problems (and was aware of the baby's parentage), since Salomon (her boyfriend at the time) had broken up with her to marry a jewish girl.
- Meaningful Name:
- 'de la Mora' - it is an easy and in-universe pun on 'de la moral', and suggests that the family has long had green fingers because it suggests they come from berry farming.
- 'Jenny Quetzal' - Quetzal is the name of a rare Central American bird, which explains why her cult is called The Flock, and a bird that traditionally symbolizes freedom by is limited to its native habitat, which may be why her claims to give people freedom from their troubles without significant changes was believed. It's also the name of the currency of Guatemala, which tells of the money scam that the cult actually is.
- 'Alejo Salva' - salva obviously meaning like a savior or a balm, and he was Virginia's comfort as she was dying. Also seems to be an obligatory name for Spaniards on Netflix?
- The Mistress: Roberta.
- Nosy Neighbour: Carmela. The family must go to great lengths to keep her from discovering and divulging the family secrets.
- Noodle Incident: Virginia's funeral after being constantly referenced in season two. Only a few weeks later, a funeral special was released.
- Parents as People: Despite their many, many flaws, all the parents in the main cast are shown to deeply care about their children and do what they sincerely believe is best for them.
- Posthumous Narration: Roberta
- Product Placement: Oh, so much. Sometimes the advertisement comes in the form of a literal billboard taking up the entire screen for a scene.
- Race for Your Love: Paulina chases María José to the airport to ask to get back together, surprisingly at the encouragement of her mother.
- Scam Religion: Season 2 introduces Jenny Quetzal's Flock, where Ernesto joins this pseudo-religious cult.
- Secret Other Family: Roberta and their daughter Michaela are this to Ernesto, particularly when you find out that Michaela wasn't the result of a contraception slip-op—they did expensive fertility treatments to have her.
- Shout-Out: The strange name of Lucía's daughter, Namibia, is lampshaded a whole lot, but before it's even said right by anyone Elena first accidentally miscalls her 'Nairobi', the pseudonym of another famous Spanish-language Netflix character, and one who's also involved in a money scam, possibly showing some foreshadowing.
- "Shut Up" Kiss: Paulina to María José when she tries to suggest reasons they can't be together.
- Sobriquet Sex Switch: Born José María, after coming out as a trans woman she flipped it around, making it María José.
- Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace: Subverted. It doesn't actually happen, but Michaela encourages Claudio to object to Elena's Wedding.
- Starts with a Suicide: Roberta hanging herself in the flower shop is what kickstarts the plot.
- Surprise Car Crash: In the last episode of Season 2, while getting chased by the police, Jenny Quetzal's car crashes with another car whose passenger is Elena
- Team Mom: Paulina.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Julián receives a devastating one from Diego, while the latter is taking off with the family's money.
- Waxing Lyrical: Twice, first when Poncho is trying to seduce Carmela. She immediately notices and rebuffs his advances. The second is when Elena talks Michaela into keeping her secret. She intentionally uses Selena's lyrics, knowing the girl will recognize them and be swayed by them.
