'In The Mud' Netflix Review: Written By Men For Men 

Every so often, we’ll get a prison show that is so intense it’ll put us off watching anything serious for a really long time. In The Mud, as I’ve learned after watching the whole series, is a spinoff of the popular Argentinian show El Marginal. Unfortunately, I have not seen the original, but I have a feeling I wouldn’t have liked it very much based on what I’ve seen in this show. In The Mud tells the story of a few women in the La Quebrada prison, who find themselves in a complicated situation after one of their fellow inmates manages to escape, putting them all on the spot. The series gives you everything from prison gang wars and sexual assault to human trafficking and abuse of power. It doesn’t hold back and is certainly one of the more gory shows you’ll see on Netflix. 

The show opens chaotically and never truly slows down. Sure, nothing is as ecstatic as the first episode, but there’s something about the whole thing that makes it feel like it’s in a rush to get somewhere, but does it get there? In my opinion, I don’t think so. I did quite enjoy the final act of the series, much after the frantic bit, when it finally slows down, to give us a deep sensation, but is it worth watching the whole thing for that one moment of solace? Absolutely not. 

Look, if you started out a fan of the original series, there are chances you’ll enjoy what’s happening here, but as someone who has come in with an entirely blank slate, I found this series way too sensational and absolutely unbearable in bits. So the prison is divided into different sects of women, with a couple of queen bees and a whole lot of drama. However, one of these is a group of women who produce explicit videos to make money. While this is perfectly fine, we don’t need to be spending half the runtime watching these women get it on, because it feels exploitative and entirely unnecessary. On the other hand, I’m so tired of sexual abuse being shown in explicit detail on television. Please stop. We do not need to be traumatized like this; it’s not making your show any more authentic or real or cool. Just stop it. I mean, we have to watch an unconscious woman get assaulted in this show, but it’ll black out other parts? Why? There is no need to show something explicitly just because Netflix allows you to, but I digress. 

A lot happens on this show, and it’s quite hard to follow along. It doesn’t spend any time letting us get to know the characters, so only a few really stand out, especially if you binge it. Given that the 8 episodes all came out at once, I’d assume that’s the intention, but if it were up to me, if I really had to watch the show, I’d do it in bits and pieces to not feel overwhelmed. 

When it comes to positives, I want to admit that the idea here is quite solid. The struggle of women in prison and how far people in power will go to assert that power. How far will women go to protect their loved ones, etc.? But the show largely lacks empathy towards these same female characters, making them all seem absolutely unworthy of our empathy. This is what takes away from my enjoyment of the show entirely. Additionally, the characters do seem quite standard for a telenovela, and then there’s the whole over-exaggerated part. I also didn’t quite enjoy the character motivations, which made it seem like these women are working to free themselves just for the men they love or have lost. 

The show also feels quite unstable in that it keeps shifting from storyline to storyline but clearly wants to focus on a certain character because it provides the most shocking outcomes and gives us a lot of sex on screen. Of course, that’s what we’re all here for, eh? I do feel like I’m repeating myself, but honestly, I’m so tired of the oversaturation of explicit content in shows just for the purpose of sensationalization. Then there’s that one character who cannot stop cussing and says the most absurdly disgusting things, which I genuinely don’t want to read (since I can’t understand Spanish). 

When I’m watching a show, I’m majorly focused on cultural context, especially when it comes to global TV. Shows are a segue into a different world, universe, culture, whatever you want to call it. Guess for this one it’s prison culture, but very unrealistic (or at least I hope that’s the case). I can admit that all the cast members have done a great job in playing their characters and bringing them to life, even if they’re half-baked. La Zurda was definitely a character I enjoyed, and Lorena Verga brought a nuanced performance to her. There’s a thuggish pair of henchman twins who are almost funny in how “tough” they want to carry themselves, almost reminiscent of Tweedledum and Tweedledee from the 2010 Tim Burton adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. Even their clothing seems to be mimicking them at some point. I think Marina’s the least interesting character despite having the most screen time, probably because of her good looks and all that, but that’s what TV is, I suppose. 

At the end of the day, if you’re keen on watching something violent with women in power, this show might do the trick for you. It’s not effective in its storytelling, but it certainly has something going for it. The best part, in my opinion, was the last scene, especially watching Gladys go ham, but you’ll have to see it to get what I mean. Some characters get neglected midway because there are too many things happening all at once, making the show feel like it’s trying too hard to be complicated when it’s not. I’d give In The Mud 2 out of 5 stars. Also, it’s too traumatizing a show to watch for funsies, so please be warned.