The shocking end of season 5 of La Casa de Papel killed an important character, and there are several reasons for it. Tokyo (Úrsula Corberó) is the narrator of the series, being recruited by the Professor (Álvaro Morte) in the series premiere. Throughout the Netflix series, Tokio is a character who does things her way and is not afraid to follow any order given to her.
In a flashback during episode 5 of season 5, Berlin (Pedro Alonso) asks the professor to recruit the character of Úrsula Corberó as they watch the news coverage of one of her old heists. Berlin notes that she is a “survivor” and in her words, she is “one of a kind to the team” and “has nothing to lose.”
La Casa de Papel prepared the death of Tokyo throughout the season. In the season 5 premiere, Tokio explains to Lisboa (Itziar Ituño) that love speeds up in heists because every moment can be the last for someone. It is a sinister statement. Then throughout the season, flashbacks introduce more of Tokio’s backstory and how she lost the love of her life in a heist.
Episode 5 gets even heavier with Tokyo flashbacks, showing the fateful heist that she killed her former love and hinting that her time on the show is coming to an end. In fact, at the beginning of the episode, Tokyo basically admits that it’s the end of the line. Despite facing a dead end, she makes it clear that she will never “let go of her gun” and make it easy on her enemies.
Tokio’s death is her redemption in the show. Throughout Money Heist, Tokyo has been one of the most polarizing characters. She is often selfish and unreliable, putting her wants and needs before others regardless of the consequences. In Season 3, she even leaves Rio (Miguel Herrán) on an island to go off and live her life, which ultimately leads to the police capturing and torturing Rio after he tries to contact her.
However, by sacrificing herself for the gang, Tokio finally redeems herself, and it might not really be the end. With the dead characters from La Casa de Papel constantly returning in flashbacks, Tokio’s death may be a way to redeem her character while still keeping her on the show. Could this have been the trigger for a spinoff of the character? Although it is known that Berlin (Pedro Alonso) would be preparing his own character, many fans ask that the story of Tokyo be developed on Netflix.
