“Diary of a Gigolo” is an excruciatingly long 10 episodes series that might bore you to death. Netflix continues to use its same old recipe – a bit of murder, mystery, and a lot of make-out scenes. There is no point complaining about the uncountable subplots, or the run-off-the-mill visuals, but when it comes to editing, it was truly disappointing. There are too many unnecessary scenes that drag the story for no real purpose. The unraveling of the murder mystery series will remind you of another Netflix disaster, Elite. The murder has taken place, and the suspects are brought in for questioning; and in the meantime, the audience gets to know about the protagonist’s past.
Spoilers Ahead
‘Diary Of A Gigolo’ Plot Summary: What Is The Series About?
Emanuel lived in an orphanage with his little brother. One night, he and his friend decided to rob a store, but his friend shot the owner out of fear. Emanuel fled from the scene and escaped to a house, where he was found by an elderly woman, Minou. She saved him from the police and provided him with shelter and food. Minou owned an art gallery, a façade for the sex racket she operated secretly. She catered to the needs of wealthy women who trusted her to help them find the pleasure that they had been denied their entire life. Minou was proud of her business. She believed her service was a genuine help to women who are often ignored and left unsatisfied. Emanuel was popular with the ladies; he had a long list of clients who preferred him over everyone else. One such woman was Ana, owner of a pharmaceutical company. After the death of her husband due to a car accident, she married his close associate, Victor. While Victor helped her manage the business and house, she needed Emanuel to satisfy her needs. Her daughter, Julia, ignored her most of the time. She believed that her mother could never accept the fact that she survived the accident, but her husband did not. Julia kept to herself. She expressed herself through her art. Ana was worried for her daughter, knowing how she lacked a social life. When she discussed her concern with her best friend, Dolores, at a party, she advised her to orchestrate a plan to help Julia experience romance and intimacy. Dolores was not serious about it, and she did not intend to suggest Ana share her escort with her daughter. But that was what Ana understood, and she decided to work on it.
She tried to convince Emanuel to provide her daughter with his company, but he refused. He explained how consent was necessary for the business he was in and that he could not base a relationship on lies. He provided his service only to those who asked for it, but Ana was not ready to give up. She left a blank check and Julia’s diary, in which she wrote her deepest, darkest thoughts. Emanuel ignored it, but when he saw that Minou was struggling to pay her debt, he decided to take the job. He read Julia’s notebook and realized how troubled she was. She could never get past the accident that took her father away from her. She struggled to live with herself, and Emanuel took it upon himself to change her life. With Ana’s help, he enrolled himself in the photography course that Julia was pursuing, and that was how he got close to her. Emanuel is now being investigated for murder by the police. The body of the victim was found in his house, making him an obvious suspect, but he denied his involvement in the murder. Did Ana and Emanuel’s arrangement ultimately result in a murder? Who was responsible, and what was their motive?
Why Did Emanuel and Julia’s Relationship Bother Ana?
While Ana wanted her daughter to experience romance, she could not help but feel jealous of Emanuel’s closeness with Julia. She did not think it through before their arrangement, and now that she had to face it, she could not accept it. She had an intimate relationship with Emanuel; he was her best-kept secret that she cherished the most. He was her escape from the mundane life, and now she had lost her escape route. Emanuel no longer wanted to spend time with her because the situation would make it awkward for him, but it further angered Ana. She saw how happy Julia was in Emanuel’s presence, and it disturbed her. She knew her happiness would be short-lived, and she wanted to take it all away.
After losing her husband in an accident, Ana struggled to take charge of her life. Victor had to step in to take care of Julia and the business. She was an alcoholic, and the growing distance between her and Emanuel made her addiction worse. She reminded him that she was the boss, she was paying him for his service, and now she wanted him to end his relationship with Julia. Emanuel had fallen in love with Julia. She was unlike anyone he had known before. He was distracted from his work thinking about her, and he decided to leave his life as a gigolo to continue his relationship with Julia. His genuine feelings for her made it worse for Ana. She wanted that love and affection, but it was long gone now. It was perhaps the absence of any true feelings in her life that made Ana crave what others had. Initially, she joked about Dolores’s escort, but later she started spending nights with him. Dolores could never forgive Ana for this incident since she had always been a supportive friend, yet Ana betrayed her trust. As a result of Ana’s unstable behavior and to cover a past that Victor had kept hidden, he admitted her to a psychiatric clinic.
Why Did Victor Orchestrate The Car Accident?
Ana’s husband, Lorenzo, headed the pharmaceutical company, Bolonte Laboratory. When he studied the test results of the serolixine pills, a medicine that they were about to launch, he decided to not approve it. It was an addictive drug that could be abused if prescribed in large quantities. After Lorenzo’s death, Victor launched the pill, knowing its effect. Julia started studying the laboratory and the drug for an assignment for her photography classes. She noticed the many victims of drug abuse protesting in front of the company building and urged the owners to stop manufacturing it. But the company maintained that it was safe to use and did not have many chances of abuse based on their research. One of the protestors introduced her to the group, and they discussed how the laboratory was affecting the community.
The more Julia thought about the death of her father, the more she wondered if there was foul play. With Lorenzo, Victor had complete power over the company even though Ana retained ownership. She remembered her father was agitated when he was driving the car that day. She planted this doubt in Ana’s head, who realized that it was probably true. She accused Victor of murdering her husband, but she did not have any proof against him. Victor decided to admit Ana to a clinic to keep her away from the business. Julia wanted to treat her burn scars with the help of plastic surgery. When she was admitted to the hospital for surgery, she remembered what had happened that day. Her father refused to approve the drug, and suddenly a car started to chase them. Her father asked her to hold tight as he tried to handle the situation but failed to. All the while, he went on screaming Victor’s name. Julia was sure it was Victor who was behind her father’s death, but it had been years since the accident occurred, and Victor had managed to remove every document related to the case from public access. After Julia’s classmate died due to Serolixine, the company decided to monitor the drug use but did not agree to stop its production.
‘Diary Of A Gigolo’ Ending Explained: Why Did Julia Murder Ana? Will Julia and Emanuel Continue to Be Together?
Since, according to the police investigation, the impact of the object on the back of Ana’s head seemed to be the work of a woman, they could no longer doubt Emanuel. They doubted that Florencia might have murdered Ana since she had reasons to hate her. Florencia shared an intimate relationship with Victor; therefore, she could have attacked Ana out of jealousy. The murder object was found in Victor’s car, and Florencia had his car on the night of the murder, making the police pin her as the suspect. She was imprisoned, leaving Minou devastated. Florencia was her daughter, and she could not accept that she could be involved in a murder. The next day, Minou went to the police and confessed that she had murdered Ana. She met her that morning and later on found her at Emanuel’s house, they argued as a result of which she attacked her. Even though the police did not find her confession convincing, they could not reject her theory. Minou knew her daughter was weak and could not survive in prison. She believed that they were convicted even before the trial began because of their profession. Florencia was the daughter of Senate candidate Carlos. When Minou worked as a sex worker, she had a child with him. To protect her daughter, she threatened to tell the world about his past if he failed to release Florencia from jail. Minou was found guilty and had to serve time in prison, while her daughter was left free. Meanwhile, due to the case, Julia found out about Emanuel’s profession. She learned that it was all an arrangement and refused to give him another chance. Emanuel left town soon after. Julia took charge of her life after her mother’s death. She filed a case against Victor, accusing him of falsifying documents, bribery, and drug-related crimes. She decided to head the company and got rid of all those who sided with Victor.
After a year, Emanuel returned and noticed that Julia had started exhibiting her art. Her breakup with Emanuel inspired her work. He wrote down a note for her, knowing that she would visit the exhibition space. After reading the message, she rushed to his hotel room, and they decided to leave their past behind and build a future together. The next morning, Julia was set to leave with Emanuel, but she had left behind a few documents that Emanuel had gone to collect. In her room, he found a sparkling object that was spread all across the murder scene. It was enough to raise his doubt, and after leaving the house, he asked her if she had murdered her mother. Julia agreed to have killed her mother out of rage and frustration. When she was admitted to the hospital, she remembered what had led to the car accident. She sneaked out of the hospital and went to Emanuel’s house. She believed only he could calm her down. But upon entering, she saw her mother lying on the bed, nearly naked. She was shocked by it, but Ana was drunk and unafraid. She told her all about Emanuel, how it was all her plan and how he was paid to pretend to love her. Ana made her feel terrible; she described the arrangement in a way that implied that Julia was almost unlovable. Julia could not take her mother’s insults anymore; she got hold of an object and attacked her behind the head. She had killed her mother out of momentary rage, but she now had to deal with the outcome. She decided to blame Victor for her death and placed the murder weapon in his car. After murdering her mother, she came back to the hospital discreetly. She was never thought of as the suspect because she had an alibi.
She did not regret killing her mother, but she did regret not ending Victor’s life. So, she managed to gather contacts in prison who later burned him to death, just like he had killed her father. After narrating the entire truth, Julia said that love is painful, but one must be willing to make sacrifices to enjoy it and asked if Emanuel felt the same. We do not get to know how Emanuel responded after he realized that he was in love with a murderer who lived without any regret. Of course, Ana and Victor had betrayed Julia’s trust. Victor had destroyed her family and deserved to suffer but can vengeance in the form of murder be justified? The fact that she does not feel remorse for an innocent woman spending time in jail for her actions speaks volumes. If Emanuel refused to be with her, then he might meet a similar fate since he knows her truth, but if he agreed to continue his relationship, then he would betray Minou, the woman who gave him life when he had nothing. “Diary of a Gigolo” ends on an open-ended note and leaves it up to the audience to guess the probable decision Emanuel will make. The ending could also indicate the return of “Diary of a Gigolo” with another season. We might get to know what Emanuel decided to do after learning the truth. Will he forgive Julia’s actions or fight for Minou’s freedom?
“Diary of a Gigolo” is a Mexican Drama Series created by Sebastian Ortega.
