Athletes or (Love) Islanders, That Is the Question

Every year, we get a bunch of shows that push the boundaries when it comes to what feels like too much intercourse on commercial TV. I feel like the OTT platform is an experiment in how much can be tolerated. Now, from what I’ve read, it seems like Gen Z isn’t as sex-positive as their predecessors, in that they prefer to keep their TV clean, just like how they leave their dishes after a fancy meal. But maybe things are different in Spain, because we keep getting movies and shows that are more focused on being outrageously scandalous than giving us any actual material to work with. And you know, you might just call me prudish or old-fashioned for putting these thoughts down, but when a show is solely steamy for the sake of it, leaving everything else behind, you know it’s not worth your time. 

Olympo’s premise is a promising and exciting one. In a world of competitive athletes, there’s no room for imperfection, and a lot of space for pushing yourself to unexplored limits. The show tells the story of Amaia and her friends, a bunch of elite athletes at the HPC Pyrenees. The show begins with Amaia and her friends all happy and excited to get selected for the prestigious Olympo scholarship, essentially a guaranteed ticket to the Olympics. However, the competition goes too hard, and nobody is ready to back down. What follows is an energetic mess of drugs, steamy scenes, and all things competition. 

Before I get into the negatives, there are some things about this show that make it perfect for the summertime. It’s got all the thrills of a hit in the making, but I do think it lacks that oomph that would make it memorable, just like much of what we get to see today. In Olympo, the focus isn’t on one character but on a bunch of athletes, all pursuing different sports. This allows anybody who isn’t interested in any specific sports to still watch this show as an outsider and enjoy it. Rather than focusing on the technicalities of how to be good at each of these sports, the show glazes over all that, which could feel superficial but is still intriguing. I think the most fun thing about the show is watching the swimmers do their synchronized swimming. Plus, all of these young stars are incredibly well built and look the part. The running sequences are also pretty cool, and there are some slow-motion shots that feel very cinematic. 

The thing that makes the show so darn annoying is the host of characters that are all unlikable just because they exist in a competitive world. I found this almost slanderous towards the world of sports because, despite the competition and the pressure, the whole point is to keep it together and hold your head high. On the surface, Olympo may feel original or new, but it’s pushed down several notches simply because of its undesirable and unlikable characters. Yes, I said undesirable, because we don’t get any actual details of their personalities. Sure, they can be hot, but what about an actual personality? It can’t just be “highly ambitious” and “ready to destroy everybody in their way.” 

Don’t get me wrong, the cast is phenomenal, because how do you get so many people who look like actual athletes to come together in one show? But the characters are highly detestable, and every episode is a bore as the show progresses, because it almost feels like everything is going backwards. But out of all the characters who are distinctly annoying, the standout has got to be the protagonist, Amaia. We’re meant to admire her because of how hard she works to become the best athlete/synchronized swimmer that all of Spain has ever seen, but her likeability quotient just dips every time she opens her mouth. Honestly, she’s giving Emily competition at this point. And I know she’s just a teenager and she’s got everyone’s back, but I’m sorry, I’ve not got so much as a shred of sympathy for her, even if she’s played by Clara Galle, of Through My Window fame. The other main characters aren’t that much better either. Sports are also about teamwork and sportsmanship, not just ambition and competition. Because of this, the show starts to get quite tiresome after the first few episodes. 

Really, the conflicts could’ve been wrapped up in like 5 episodes, but they had to be dragged on for 8 episodes to make us feel like we’ve won a competition ourselves by predicting what’s going to happen at the end of the show. There’s nothing thrilling about watching these young people suffer under pressure, and I think this show really pushes the limits of how much can be exciting before it turns sour and boring. Ironically, the last two episodes are the most tedious of the lot, except for the one swimming scene right at the end, of course. Yes, there are like 4 adult scenes in a single episode, and sure, it’s fun, until it’s not anymore. We’re not so superficial that we’d be okay with watching anything just because the actors are incredibly fit. 

At the end of the day, though, if you’re okay dealing with half-developed plots and no actual substance with a lot of superficial stuff, then you might enjoy Olympo as a background watch. The English dub is pretty decent too, so you can follow even if you’re not entirely paying attention. I wish the plot itself were developed further, especially the stuff related to the titular “Olympo,” because it’s so shrouded by mystery that even at the end, we know essentially nothing about it. I’m not entirely sure who this show is for, but if you’re not so keen on this one, I’d say skip it entirely. I’d give Olympo 2.5 out of 5 stars, and the point 5 is for the impeccable cast. 

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