Who Killed Axel?
White Lines is the latest crime drama mystery from Netflix and already this early on it looks set to be the weekend’s top drama. There’s intricate layers of mystery being built up and with a host of shady characters at the foreground, certainly raise plenty of questions going forward. Despite a slightly slow opening, the second half kicks into high gear and looks set to weave a really interesting drama to follow. Episode 1 of White Lines begins with rainfall in Ibiza uncovering the body of a man believed to be Zoe Walker’s brother, Axel. Zoe and her husband Mike arrive and learn the body has been mummified given the prolonged period of time he’s been buried, but he’s been identified by a familiar tattoo Inspector Juan shows her, making it almost certain to be him. On the eve of Ibiza Opening Night in 2020, a man named Boxer hears the news about Axel and grabs his clothes, ready to leave. He heads up to Conchita and Andreu’s house and breaks the news that Axel’s body has been found on their estate. Zoe sets out to learn the truth about what happened to her brother. Hitching a ride from a colourful local, she heads up to Ibiza to investigate. At this point, we cut back in time to the first of many flashbacks, as we see Anna, Marcus, Dave and Axel arriving in Ibiza ready to party. “Mark my words Zoe, everyone in Ibiza will know my name,” Oriol heads down to the local bar and speaks to Marcus and the other dealers on the island. Because of the issues surrounding the police investigation, and the upcoming casino deal his family are trying to push through, he tells them no drugs are allowed in the clubs until he says otherwise. Zoe arrives in Ibiza looking for Marcus, determined to break the news to him about Axel. However, he’s preoccupied with picking his kids up who are staying with him that week. When Marcus returns home, his supplier happens to be waiting, throwing over a banana boat full of cocaine for him to stash in the garage. A break in the inflatable causes a white line to spread across the field, which we see thanks to a slick overhead shot. Zoe arrives at his house and as Marcus gets rid of his children, he invites her inside where they talk about the past and how Axel was obsessed with DJing. Later that evening, Zoe confronts Marcus about one of his lies in the past. It turns out he told Zoe that Axel was in India and that he was happy, given they spoke earlier that day. Of course, this looks suspicious given that’s not the truth but Marcus pleads with her, telling Zoe he had no idea what happened to Axel. Meanwhile, Andreu calls Oriol while he’s in the middle of a meeting about the casino and asks him if he killed Axel. Oriol passes the phone to his Mother without speaking but she simply hangs up too. They clearly know something but just what that is, remains to be seen. For now, Andreu tasks Boxer with investigating the case and finding out what happened. Boxer arrives at Marcus’ estate and threatens him with a fishing net and drowning him in the swimming pool. “Who killed Axel Collins?” He rasps and as he continues to choke him, Boxer demands a name while Zoe grabs a harpoon gun. As we cut forward in time, we see Zoe in hospital phoning Joanna and telling her what she’s learned – Axel was murdered. A bandaged Axel enters the scene and silently hands her the harpoon she shot as they limp out the hospital along with Marcus. “I don’t trust him,” Zoe says, as we cut to see her staring suspiciously at Marcus up at the DJ booth some time later. “One thing’s for sure, I’m not leaving Ibiza until I get the truth,” Did Marcus kill Axel? He certainly has a valid motive given Axel’s previous crown as “The King” in Ibiza and it could be a revenge-fueled killing to take his spot at the top of the DJing podium. We’ve already seen that he’s not the most trustworthy guy and I’m sure we’ll see more of his story over the episodes. With a mix of Spanish and English speaking and lots of music interwoven throughout the episode, there’s a heady, sun-soaked thriller that’s just starting to unravel here but how far the rabbit hole goes remains to be seen. For now though, White Lines gets off to a decent enough start.
