'Berlin' Season 2 Ending Explained: Is Lady With An Ermine A Real Painting?

Berlin loves love, and when his relationship with Camille didn’t work out after Berlin season 1, he fell in love with Candela during his ‘work trip’ to Seville. Well, his initial plan was to impress and rob the duchess of Malaga, Genoveva Dante, but he soon discovered that she already knew who he really was, and her husband was surprisingly a fan of his work. In Berlin season 2, the duke, Alvaro Hermoso de Medina, asks Berlin to steal Lady with an Ermine (a real painting made by Da Vinci in the 15th century) for his personal collection. Now, Berlin is a genius thief, so there’s no way he is going to let someone else dictate his next heist! He feels deeply offended by the duke’s proposal and figures that he now has all the more reason to rob the duke! The moment Berlin heard the word ‘collection’ he was intrigued; it suggested that the duke owned several other stolen pieces of art. Berlin and his team focus on finding this ‘collection’ and, instead of stealing the paintings, he uses it to leverage a deal between him and the duke.

Spoiler Alert

Did Roi and Bruce survive?

Berlin and his gang executed two heists, stealing the original Lady with an Ermine and replacing it with a duplicate, which wasn’t that big of a challenge, but entering the duke’s vault was life-threatening. Berlin from the very beginning had been after the duke’s money and he figured the ‘Lady with an Ermine’ heist plan was the best way to keep the duke distracted. The vault was hidden under the chapel on his property, the floor to the crypt was opened by pulling down the angel figurine’s hand, and inside it was the vault that had such extreme layers of security that Berlin and his team were left utterly confused. Remember the professor, Damian, from season 1? Well, he continues to play an integral role, and luckily the duke trusted him enough to flaunt his secure vault to him after getting drunk one night. There was an evident ego clash between the duke and Berlin, so when Damian mentioned how his friend was a genius, the duke felt the urgency to establish that he was quite a smart fellow as well! That night, Damian noticed that the duke typed a passcode to open the vault, and as soon as they stepped inside, the door closed. There was a machine installed inside the vault that scanned the duke’s iris, and only after the biometric scan was completed and his ID was confirmed did the security system deactivate. But if the machine failed to confirm the duke’s identity, within ten seconds of stepping inside the vault methane gas would be pumped through the vents installed all around the vault. Immediately after, a massive fire would start, and anyone inside would basically be charred to death. Now, even if someone survived the fire, there was this mysterious door to the secret chamber that did not have any handles, locks, or even a hydraulic system, and therefore the entire mechanism behind it was unknown. The duke had taken every possible precaution to ensure that his dirty money remained safe in the vault, and Damian wondered if the heist was worth the risk they would have to take to get their hands on the money. But Berlin was a proud man, once he’d set his eyes on the prize, he refused to let it go. He and Keila, the tech nerd, figured that if the fire used all the oxygen in the vault (the door of the vault automatically closed within a few seconds), there would be nothing left and the fire would die down, but of course, they would need oxygen tanks and fire suits to execute the plan. But there was no guarantee that they would make it out of the vault alive, especially because they were almost convinced that as soon as all the methane was pumped out of the cylinder, it would automatically be refilled and the whole firing process would be repeated. 

The team decided the reward was worth the risk, and Roi and Bruce donned their fireproof suits and oxygen masks to enter the vault. But for a minute Bruce started to second-guess the plan because there was no denying that it was extremely risky, they could literally be trapped inside and burn to death. He looked forward to spending the rest of his life with Keila, and he was genuinely scared of not making it out of the vault. Roi wasn’t afraid of the challenge, he needed the adrenaline rush to feel alive, especially after his breakup with Cameron. Berlin considered calling off the heist, but Roi was pretty determined to continue, and Bruce figured he couldn’t just let his friend face the fire all alone, so he followed. Keila managed to hack the security code, and as soon as the vault door opened, Roi and Bruce stepped in. After the biometric scan was left incomplete, methane gas was pumped through the vents and there was a massive fire. The fireproof suits could barely hold against the fire, soon Roi reported that he was burning, and Bruce was unconscious. Roi begged Berlin to open the door and let them out of the vault, but he couldn’t risk doing it. If they opened the door there would be an influx of oxygen and the fire would only get worse, the only option they had left was to wait it out. Keila was devastated, she heard Bruce scream her name while Roi repeatedly stated that they would die if they stayed inside any longer. But her hands were tied and they had to wait for the cylinder to empty out before opening the door. They only had a few seconds to rescue Roi and Bruce before the door closed again and the entire process was repeated. 

When Berlin entered the vault, he found Roi lying on the floor; he was exhausted and wounded, but before Berlin could help Roi get out of the vault, the door closed again. For a moment, they thought Berlin, Roi and Bruce would die in the fire, but in the end, they rejoiced when they discovered that there was no more gas left in the cylinder, and as a result, even though the biometric scan failed again, there wasn’t another round of fire. Presumably, the cylinder had to be manually refilled for the process to start again, a minute detail that the duke perhaps never thought would cost him millions of euros. Both Roi and Bruce suffered from severe burn wounds, but they refused to walk out of the vault without the money. Berlin’s new love, Candela, an expert pickpocket, had managed to steal the duke’s key that had the magnet he used to open the secret chamber. As soon as they opened the door, they discovered heaps of cash all around the room. Berlin, Roi, and Bruce celebrated; although they had been through hell, the money made all the pain and anxiety bearable. Roi had burned his left arm while Bruce had injured his legs, but they had a smile on their faces when they walked out of the vault with bags full of cash. After the incident, I’m not sure if Roi and Bruce continued working with Berlin, they might have stayed in touch, but the trauma of being stuck in a confined space on fire definitely took a toll on their mental health. They had made enough money to live the rest of their lives lavishly, but then again, the thrill of a heist might just lure them again! 

Why did the duke take no action against Berlin and the gang?

Berlin and his gang emptied the vault, not only that, but they also made off with the duke’s private art collection! The duke thought he was the one playing smart, but well, he underestimated Berlin, the notorious thief with a killer smile. Even the duke’s wife abandoned him for Damian, and he was basically left with nothing but the original Lady with an Ermine, and that became his only respite. While Berlin thought he wouldn’t steal Da Vinci’s masterpiece, he figured that if he didn’t leave the duke with something to hold on to, he would burn the world down to find them. This was his consolation prize and, given his circumstances, the duke couldn’t really complain. Samuel, the duke’s bodyguard, had found the tracer that the gang had used to find the vault, and while he could’ve raised the alarm, he chose not to. We soon discover that Samuel had always been in love with the duke, and he figured that Alvaro might start to value him if he lost everything that mattered to him. Samuel had noticed Genoveva and Damian’s growing proximity, and he likely suspected that Berlin had every intention of robbing the duke, but he chose to remain silent, hoping that one day, when the duke would lose all his treasured paintings, his wife, and the millions of euros in the vault, he would finally notice him and have the courage to love him. 

Alvaro received a call from Berlin, and he slyly stated that stealing the ‘Lady with an Ermine’ had cost him slightly more than he’d expected, approximately the 75 million euros he’d found in the duke’s vault. He also added that if Da Vinci’s painting were auctioned, then he would easily earn 350 million euros, so he thought the money he stole was just. The duke wasn’t concerned about the stolen money, he demanded to know where the paintings were, but obviously Berlin didn’t think it was important to share the details with him. Berlin added that he’d installed a surveillance camera in the duke’s gallery, and he’d already recorded a video of the Duke with Da Vinci’s painting, where he’d also mentioned his missing collection of paintings. Berlin stated that if the Duke dared to seek revenge against him or harm them in any way, he would make public not only the video, but also the recordings of the shipment of trafficked diamonds on his yacht. If that happened, Alvaro would be stripped of his title and would spend the rest of his life in prison. But if he chose not to take any steps against the gang, then he could continue to make money from trafficked diamonds and spend the rest of his life gazing at the ‘Lady with an Ermine.’ The duke figured it was better to hold on to whatever he had left. His faithful servant, Santos, offered to help the duke track down Berlin and the gang and seek revenge on them, but the duke asked him not to do so and insisted he just rest. 

The duke had accepted defeat, he thought he had built an impenetrable vault but Berlin had proved him wrong, and he didn’t have the energy or the courage to cross paths with Berlin again. Instead, he chose to rest on the bed in his gallery with the painting by his side. He asked Samuel to lie next to him; after all, he was the only man who’d stayed loyal to him, and the duke valued him all the more. Everything that kept them apart, the duke’s social status, his money, his obsession with art, and his wife, was gone. Alvaro finally told Samuel that they must start from scratch, probably hinting at building his art collection again, but for Samuel, it meant a new beginning of their relationship. We don’t witness Samuel and Alvaro get physically close, suggesting that their relationship might be platonic in nature and Samuel was okay with it. I think the one common theme in Netflix’s Berlin is love, the entire operation could’ve failed if Samuel wasn’t madly in love with the duke, and ultimately love saved Berlin!

Do Berlin and Candela end up together?

Berlin was obsessed with the idea of love, and there was something about Candela that instantly attracted him. She wasn’t anything like the usual high-society women he always gravitated towards; instead, she came from a humble background and wore her heart on her sleeve. They were quite unlike each other, and that intrigued Berlin all the more! Also, she was a pretty smooth pickpocket, and of course it helps when two people are in the same line of work! Candela believed in loud, bold love, and there were moments when she thought Berlin wasn’t being faithful to her. She suspected him and the duchess first, but she was glad when Berlin explained that he planned on robbing the duchess and the duke. When she caught Berlin and Camille in a hotel room together, she decided to end their relationship. It was not just because she thought he was having a secret affair (he was not, Camille had paid him a surprise visit), but because she had realized that their lives were quite different. He liked shiny, fancy, extravagant things, while she was happy with her mundane life that revolved around her family, and she didn’t think they could ever be on the same page. Later, Berlin begged Candela for another chance, he believed that she was too afraid of falling in love because she feared that if they ever broke up she would be devastated, and that was why Candela chose to leave him before he did. Berlin admitted that he was madly in love with her, and he figured they were destined to be together. Berlin and Candela ultimately get married at the very end of the series, it was Berlin’s fourth wedding, but he believed Candela was it, and he had finally found the love and joy he’d always been searching for. 

How did Berlin predict the auction of the Lady with an Ermine?

Apart from Cameron’s death, Berlin season 2 came to a happy ending, Damian ended up with the duchess, Keila and Bruce were back together, romance might be brewing between Roi and Camille, and Berlin finally found the love of his life, Candela. As Berlin and Candela were walking down the aisle, Candela asked Berlin where the ‘Lady with an Ermine’ painting was, and he didn’t reveal all his secrets to her but he did give her a little clue, he stated that the painting would soon be likely sold at an astonishingly low price. Now what does that mean? You see, Berlin had replaced the original with a replica, and he predicted that soon the experts would figure out that someone had outsmarted them, and that the painting they had wasn’t the original. They’d messed it up, but they of course couldn’t announce it to the public, because that would highlight the carelessness of museum security and could create massive panic. Moreover, there wasn’t any proof that the original was stolen, because Berlin and his gang had also duplicated the security barcodes. So before the speculation around the authenticity of the painting got out of hand, getting rid of it even at a low price was the best option!

Shockingly, in reality, ‘Lady with an Ermine’ was indeed sold at a shockingly low price during an auction in 2016, suggesting that what we’ve just watched might be true, well take it with a grain of salt! So, what happened to the other paintings that Berlin and his gang stole? Berlin didn’t believe that such masterpieces should be locked in someone’s basement for an ego boost. Art had always had a tremendous impact on his life, and he thought that everyone deserved to experience such masterpieces and that could only be possible if they were displayed at a museum. That’s the point of art, to be perceived, appreciated, discussed and ultimately leave an impact, and he refused to take that away. Berlin was a thief but he also lived by certain values in life and that involved freeing masterpieces from someone’s private collection and returning them back to public museums. So, yes, the paintings were returned to the museums from where they were stolen, but of course, no one found out who was behind it!  

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