The principle trio additionally lacks emotional stakes, with none of them getting a significant or emotionally resonant arc till the top. Earlier than that, their considerations are largely stepping into the subsequent get together and sharpening Santi’s ego. As an alternative, Mia (Courtney Taylor), because the band’s possibly record-label connection, makes actual sacrifices and takes actual dangers. However she’s exterior the core group, and so her journey simply makes the central three appear extra paltry. Everybody else is simply taking part in, and it’s exhausting to care.
The comedy doesn’t assist. Whereas some components, like a remixed grocery retailer jingle, are legitimately humorous, so much is not. For instance, there’s an ongoing gag the place Santi will get distracted as a result of, as he places it, some enticing younger girl “needs to have intercourse with me.” The naming right here is meant to be humorous with its bluntness and no-frill execution. However with out exploring Santi’s precise escapades (how precisely does he get them in mattress? What are the ladies’s motivations?), the entire thing is sort of a teenager fantasizing about informal intercourse and never the factor itself.
Santi does get an actual love curiosity in Celeste (Alycia Pascual-Pena). However what makes her completely different from the others is inconceivable to know since we see so little of them, one other method that exact alternative undercuts the potential emotional resonance afterward.
That’s a recurring sample of “Neon,” which units up so much in its first season however doesn’t ship on a lot of it. It’s not simply the romance; a cartel plot will get an episode or two however then fizzles out with out warning. Likewise, a visit to Artwork Basel permits the present to lampoon the fantastic artwork world however narratively feels prefer it’s simply taking over house. The primary two-thirds of the present is like this: introducing arcs after which dropping them with out decision.
It’s not till Santi hooks up with Isa (Genesis Rodriguez having a good time), a fictional, well-known pop star, that any type of plot establishes itself. However they meet in episode six. So although Isa’s machinations energy the finale (and arrange for a second season if there’s one), it’s too little too late.
“Neon” is a sequence of jokes, rhythms, and factors with no guiding anchor. It’s numerous issues, however wonderful shouldn’t be one in every of them. And that’s a disgrace, particularly as reggaeton continues its international dominance; we are going to want extra reveals and movies depicting its explicit tradition and cadence. Here is hoping that studio execs don’t take “Neon” as the top all, be the entire tales of the sound.
The entire season was screened for assessment. “Neon” is on Netflix now.