Netflix's Money Heist Characters Ranked From Worst To Best

"Money Heist," the Spanish series known as "La Casa de Papel" in its homeland, has swept the world with its well-choreographed dance of emotions, tested loyalties, guns, explosions, and next-level cat and mouse. As of now, the show centers on two heists, each with its own unique sets of hostages, guards, and authorities. While the core group of thieves is basically the same in both schemes, there are a couple of key changes and additions.

The sheer number of chess pieces on these boards would be overwhelming to keep straight for anybody but The Professor. Still, the complexities of these characters, from names to plot points, are part of what makes this more than just another cops and robbers story. As we prepare for the next season of "Money Heist," let's look at where we've been by running down the list of characters we love and loathe. For this list, we'll be ranking characters from worst to best. But including everybody would be far too much, so we're focusing on the most dynamic characters with the most screentime. This list is full of spoilers, so if you haven't watched, I suggest doing so immediately.

Gandia and Arturo would make a dream team of men hungry to take down "bad guys" not because they want to help others but because they want to be labeled heroes. In Seasons 1 and 2, Arturo tries to rally the hostages against the heisters despite the fact that there is no physical danger to them. Every one of his plots involves somebody else taking the big risk while he's ready to claim victory. Then there's Mónica Gaztambide, his mistress. When Arturo finds out she's pregnant with his child, he says it will hurt his family and rejects her. But when she falls for Denver, he tries to get her back. Helsinki labels the man "Arturito" ("little Arturo") because he's a little boy playing a big boy game.

In Season 3, Arturo is giving big speeches as the hero who led the revolt against the thieves in the first heist. When he sees the second heist going down, he runs in because he lives for the adulation he has created around his own mythology. There, he again tries to rally people against their captors, eventually arming up for the apparent purpose of killing Denver and taking back what's "his." Which leads Mónica, now code-named "Stockholm," to shoot him herself. He's a petty, egocentric man happy to justify his own desire for revenge and adoration with a quest to save the day.

Berlin is a very polarizing character, and some would say he should be nearer to the top of the list. After all, he was the brother of The Professor, a part-planner of both heists, and a great conman long before they went to the Royal Mint in Season 1. The flashback scenes during the second heist show him inspiring those around them (including his son) to criminal greatness and depict a dynamic, suave man — a Spanish Danny Ocean with a million-dollar smile. So you almost forget who he actually was, at least in Seasons 1 and 2.

Remember: Berlin played mind games with everybody, both on his team and the other side. Quite often, he seemed to get some sadistic joy out of his torments. When he takes a hostage as his concubine, he crosses the line into, well, rape. Let's not forget that. Sure, he ends the season with a last stand to let the rest escape, but he knows he'll be dead in six months anyway, so it's really not that bad a way to go out; certainly not as noble as Tokyo's eventual self-sacrifice.

So yes, Berlin was aspirational, inspiring, and seemed like he was probably a really fun guy in his early years. And he certainly loved his little brother. But by the time we see him in the Mint heist, he's a dictatorial sadist who lives for physical, sexual, and psychological power games.

It's interesting how many characters from the second heist are so much worse than the people from the first time around. Palermo is one such person, and the irony is that he helped plan the Bank of Spain heist with his best friend, Berlin. He also was in love with Berlin — an unrequited love, since Berlin was heterosexual, as far as we know. Indeed, Palermo all but wants to kill himself after Berlin's death, but The Professor takes him on to act in a similar role as his old friend. The thing is, while Berlin (despite his horrible character) was always calm and in control, Palermo is more of a wildcard with a tendency to get petty and indignant.

Palermo helps inspire Gandia to escape. He acts impulsively, and just like Gandia, he talks down to Nairobi (partly because of his own misogyny). Eventually, he comes back into the fold and is from then on a selfless, contributing (if not a little bit humbled) member of the team. But since his betrayal over petty bickering leads to Nairobi's death, he can never be fully redeemed. Still, his rescue of and admission of feelings for Helsinki are a step in the right direction.

We first meet Mónica Gaztambide as a put-upon underling working at the Spanish Mint. She is Arturo's mistress, and when he finds out she's pregnant, he ends things with her. Then, they get taken over by The Professor's crew, and Arturo pressures the hostages to help him be a hero. Mónica does so, and Berlin tells Denver to kill her, but he can't do it. Instead, Denver shoots her in the leg so that Berlin thinks he's done the deed, and then he rehabs her. Slowly, they fall in love, though people say it's because she has "Stockholm syndrome," which is the eventual codename she takes.

Eventually, Mónica chooses to be with Denver, and she becomes part of the crew by the end of the 2nd season after picking up a gun to help the crew escape. When round two begins, she immediately jumps into the mix, but she doesn't have the mental toughness of the former robbers. She's scared, in part for her child. After Arturo tries to kill Denver and the rest of the crew, she shoots him, which should be a moment of triumph over the man who had belittled her. Instead, she feels like she jeopardized her backup plan: having Arturo raise their biological child. Season 5 ends with her messed up on drugs she's taken to numb herself, rendering her useless during the crew's biggest firefight of the whole series. 

In the first heist, Helsinki is the hired muscle along with his brother (by experience, not blood — they're really cousins) Oslo. At first a stone-faced golem, Helsinki shows himself to be eternally loyal, strong, and a good person, which makes him the member we most want to know. And the scene when he has to "kill" the braindead Oslo may be the first time you cry watching the series.

After the first heist, Helsinki is partnered up with Nairobi, and they have a ton of fun as lost people partying and playing a married couple. She develops a love for him despite the fact that he's gay, and while he doesn't return the romantic feeling, she becomes family. While they plan round two, he falls in with Palermo, who doesn't reciprocate his mental affections, though he's all about the physical. Eventually, Helsinki breaks through his iron shell.

The first to take up whatever tough job needs to be done, Helsinki is the member of the crew with the purest heart and the most courage. His love of Nairobi inspires all of us to care for those closest to us, and he even inspires Palermo to finally care about somebody for the first time since Berlin.

Tokyo is the narrator for the whole series (so far) and thus the lead character. The series opens on her escape from authorities, when The Professor finds, rescues, and recruits her. You simply can't watch "Money Heist" without falling in love with Tokyo. She's the first to shoot but can keep her cool when she needs to, like when she's interrogated in the first heist. When roused to anger or action, her eyes flash with so much intensity that you can feel the fire, and all bets are off. The passion with which she attacks life is her greatest strength — and also her biggest weakness.

When Tokyo is focused and serious, she's unbeatable. When she acts impulsively, her colleagues pay. The biggest example is when she goes to the mainland to party, leading to Rio's capture. When she decides to return to the Mint on a motorcycle to be "cool," this stunt results in the death of Moscow, who is one of the show's most loveable characters (he would've made this list if he had more screentime). She also insults Nairobi by attacking her dream of motherhood and makes fun of The Professor's tics.

At the end of the day, Tokyo sacrifices herself to blow up the mercenary team — taking out the biggest threat to the success of the second heist, including the absolutely horrible Gandia — and you can't help but fall in love with her all over again. Also, that smirk as she reveals the grenade pins in her hands is priceless.

From the beginning, Nairobi is the most solid member of the crew. When minting the money in such a way that it can't be traced, even the hostage she puts in charge of the printing press says she was the best boss he's ever had. And when she has to switch gears, she's just as solid — she can handle crowd control with unwavering authority. At one point, she becomes the de facto leader of the group with the inspiring, "Let the matriarchy begin."

When she sees Alison Parker, their most important hostage, getting mocked by her classmates, Nairobi helps her find confidence and embrace her own power. Elsewhere, Nairobi's relationship with the gruff but caring Bogotá is one of the more moving romantic arcs in the show. Her undying love for and loyalty to Helsinki — despite the fact that he's gay and therefore can't reciprocate her romantic love — is nothing short of beautiful. And her respect for The Professor (to the point that she says she wants him to be the father of her child) is endlessly admirable. Her death is one of the most painful and the single most impactful moment in the whole series.

This fan favorite has become a symbol of feminine strength in a world that still has trouble embracing such a notion — a vision of nobility arising from a string of horrible circumstances. She is eternally loyal, trustworthy, and talented, and even has a building-sized mural in Berlin. It's no surprise that Nairobi tops the list.