In a world drenched in blood, betrayal, and broken dreams, can love still plant its roots deep enough to survive? Netflix’s The Gardener dares to explore this haunting question. It’s not your regular thriller that jolts you; it fixes you to your seat, digging deep under your skin and making you feel for the most unexpected of souls – a killer learning what it means to love.
Story Explained (Spoilers ahead)
Elmer, the protagonist, becomes emotionally numb after a traumatic brain injury. His mother, China Gerorado – A schemer hiding behind the mask of maternal devotion – exploits his blank slate to orchestrate murders-for-hire. (She runs a Contract Killing Business.) Their victims fertilize the very garden Elmer tends. It’s a brilliant metaphor: a man who cannot feel, nurturing death into life.
But when Elmer’s dormant emotions begin to resurface (thanks to a benign brain tumor), the narrative abandons its chilling setup and spirals into generic melodrama. Love-at-first-sight with a schoolteacher named Violetta (Who was supposed to be their next killing target) derails the plot faster than the writers can cover their tracks.
The show’s single smartest move: That China didn’t want her son cured because he was easier to control when emotionally dead. China’s greed grows monstrous, willing to kill for her dream house in Mexico.
Here’s what actually happens
Elmer falls for Violetta, who ironically is herself a murderer (having killed her abusive ex). China pushes Elmer to kill Violetta to fulfill a contract that would finance her dream house in Mexico. Elmer refuses. China sends a hitman to kill Violetta instead. Elmer kills the client (Sabella), who financed to kill Violetta, and covers it up poorly. Violetta discovers Elmer’s crimes, although love clouds her judgment. But she decides to leave.
Meanwhile, China knocks Elmer unconscious and manipulates doctors into removing his tumor against his wishes so she can “get her son back.” In the final scenes, Elmer regresses into near-catatonia; Gardening silently while despising China, yet still trapped with her. (He is mad at her but doesn’t know what for.) And BOOM, there’s Violetta in front of his eyes, again. Running away from a haunted past or a haunted deed.
But the question is – Will Elmer recognize her? Will Elmer regain his feelings for her? And will he help her? The ending is uncertain and open, building curiosity for maybe… season 2. Keeping the viewers under the air of mystery.
What’s Good:
Elmer and Violetta’s chemistry – STEAMING HOT! With the perfect blend of Elmer’s innocence & awkwardness to the hues of Violetta’s mysteries & secrets = Fire on Fire. Acting performances – raw, layered, phenomenal, especially the portrayal of Elmer’s naïveté, China’s greedy manipulations, and Violetta’s haunted mystery.
Background Score – Like all the other series, some episodes do feel dragged, but the subtle, sharp & beautifully timed background score keeps you engaged. Visuals & Color Grading – Absolutely applaudable; every frame narrates a story of secrecy of its own; looks like a secret whisperer.
Poster – The Gardener deserves a poster child award for thriller art in 2025. Because there are no lies, the poster is so immaculately made, showcasing Elmer’s duality and Elmer’s buried truth under the garden. This poster entices you even before you know what the story is.
Open endings in episodes – Every ep ends up dangling. But the Storytelling keeps you hooked till the end, making you itch for the next one. A break from English – Major Relief to watch The Gardener is a break from English and experiencing the rawness and the harshness of Spanish. The Dialogues & the voices sound better in Spanish. (Skip the dubbed version.)
What’s Bad?
Predictability – The only thing bad about The Gardener is its predictability; once you’re in, you’ll kinda predict what will happen. The arc is not shocking if you’re a thriller junkie. But hey, it’s 2025, and it still feels fresh!
The show wanted to say something profound about freedom, identity, and maternal possession. Instead, it says, “Mothers always know best, even if they brainwash you and kill your girlfriend.” The ending is an unearned tragedy. Elmer doesn’t triumph. He doesn’t break free. He doesn’t even destroy the garden of death he built. He simply withers – a passive, neutered figure, stuck in the same poisoned soil.
OVERALL—Should the Gardener: Plant seeds or not?
Is it predictable? Yes. But is it new enough to make you feel fresh in a 2025 thriller crowd? Absolutely. I personally loved it because it gave me my guilty pleasures all at once: drama, thriller, suspense, contract killing, money lust, blood, dirty pasts, gardens full of dead bodies, mysteries layered with tender romance, mother’s rage, and bittersweet, open-ended closures.
This isn’t a thriller that throws you off your chair screaming – this is the kind that glues you to your seat, forcing you to follow each subtle crack in the character’s soul. If you like being taken on a slow emotional spiral with a cocktail of blood and love, then The Gardener is for you.
But hey – only watch it if you’re ready to see a gardener who’s gardening more than just plants and smells of fresh earth and buried corpses.
RATINGS – 7 / 10 ⭐
Written By MANSI SINGH
