‘Between the Lands’ has come to an end on Antena 3. The drama starring Megan Montaner, previously released on atresplayer, has passed through the open air, constituting an appointment for its faithful followers on Thursday nights, closing its story with the tenth episode and offering the public an ending, in general terms, quite accommodating. Of course, not before dealing a hard blow with the death of one of the protagonists, Manuel, in the previous chapter. About these and other decisions regarding fiction We spoke with the screenwriter Susana López Rubio, who has led the writing team accompanied by Juan Beiro and Joaquín Santamaría, using the Italian series ‘The Wife’ as a starting point, although with the freedom to choose different paths when introducing new characters or directions for the plot. She also tells us how she imagines the characters’ lives would continue after the series.
Before analyzing the last episode, let’s talk about that surprise from the penultimate episode, Manuel’s death. How do you decide to reach the outcome with this twist?
When it was broadcast on Atresplayer I thought: they are killing us, my mother for starters. In the Italian it happened, but in a fire, and we decided to keep it because it suddenly broke the narrative, it was a very powerful twist, and also so that it wasn’t a 100% love story. The series has a classic feel, like galdosianfrom these stories bigger than life, so we thought of doing something adult and resounding. What many people have told me when watching it is that the penultimate breaks them, but then the ending reconciles them. Life is like that and you have to move on. Plus, I think we made up for it pretty well with Custodio’s love story. Even so, I believe that María is going to be happy. In my imagination, she then meets another very low man and rebuilds her life, she is not going to stay to dress saints.
The story of María and Manuel has a point like ‘Beauty and the Beast’…
I hadn’t thought about it, but it’s true… When I teach screenwriting classes, I always tell my students that classic stories influence us much more than it seems. For example, Atom Egoyan’s ‘The Sweet Hereafter’ is ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin’. And ‘Between the Lands’, apart from ‘Beauty and the Beast’, also has a bit of ‘Bluebeard’: you come to this house, but don’t open these doors because you might find things you don’t like. They are stories that we have internalized.
Were you afraid that it wouldn’t be understood that she fell in love with the man who was almost the villain in the beginning?
I liked that Manuel died for not creating the typical narrative of absolute redemption. There is that cliché that a woman can change a man, that you fall in love and, with the power of love, you can change him. And giving that message 100%, with a happy ending, seemed a bit dangerous to me. So, they have had their moment and we will never know how far they would have gone. Furthermore, neither José nor Manuel, she alone accompanies her.
‘Between Lands’ is partially based on an Italian fiction, ‘The Wife’. To what extent have you followed her?
We had the Italian series as a reference, but then it is true that it changes a lot. The only episode that is more similar is the first one and then each series takes its own path. For example, the entire plot of the death of Llanos, Manuel’s first wife, is entirely invented or in Italian they give much more importance to the child and we don’t. For me, the great discovery of the Spanish version is the character of Justa, who is missing from the original and we were clear that we wanted a villain because of this classic thing that a story is only as good as its villain. We wanted to give Don Ramón a restraining arc that we thought was very nice, with Claudia, like this thing where Quixote and Sancho exchange roles, so we needed a villain to give us play. If you ask me, I’m always a villain. The Lannisters are always more interesting.
Since you have so much love for villains, let’s talk about Justa, who in the final episode has some redemption by being María’s necessary ally.
I have a deep understanding that good fiction is one that has heroes with flaws and villains with virtues. We were clear that Justa and María were not going to end up being close friends. They join forces punctually and have this beautiful moment of knowing that they both loved Manuel, but then they split up and each one goes their own way. We did like that, in the end, the three girls team up, but I don’t think that Justa has completely redeemed herself. It is like the broken clock that strikes once a day and has done something good. But in my imagination, after the series Justa has gone to Madrid and done evil.
The ones you give the happiest ending to are Custodio and Guillermo.
It was something that was not in the original series either. We saw that María’s brother was a gem and we wanted a happy love story, so we decided to give it to these two, who deserve it. The series is called ‘Between the Lands’ and the moral, which is explained by María at the end of the series, is that you are from the place that you decide; We were all born in a place with a family, but in the end you decide your place in the world, which can be a person, a real place… And we also wanted to give as much importance to the chosen family. So, the thing about Custodio and Guillermo was going that way. The Custodio arc is the one I like the most, it seems heavier to me. In my imagination, the two open a book store in Barcelona.
After Manuel’s death, everything ends quite well. Did you doubt if it was too happy an ending?
Manuel’s death was so heavy that we had to give hope. We wanted that, but also to be realistic with the story. For example, Gabi and Claudia, after everything they’ve been through, I can’t imagine them having a super happy ending and I don’t think it’s a good idea to send that message either. So we left it as if they could end up together or not, since everyone thinks what they want. María is going to be fine, with her children, we have the happy ending of Custodio… This is like when you cook, you have to see if you have gone too far with the salt or the sugar. We talked a lot about it and made many versions of the script. Also with the order of closing the stories, María’s voice-over… there was bobbin lace there, both sentimental and later during filming.
Bobbin lace like the one involved in making a series with a pregnant Megan Montaner.
Completely. But how cool. When I was pregnant with my son I was writing almost until I gave birth, which was in ‘Presumed Guilty’. Megan looked strong and I think it’s great that she did it. Being pregnant is not being sick. Plus, she got more close-ups and was gorgeous. It was also lucky that it was later integrated into the plot.
Did you include María’s pregnancy in the series because of Megan’s or was it planned before?
María was going to get pregnant later in the story, but since the pregnancy was already quite noticeable during filming, we made the decision from the script to change it and bring it forward. The conflict began faster. It was also a lot of credit to the production team that they made that bobbin lace to adjust it.
‘Between the Lands’ has had a loyal audience when it was broadcast on Antena 3. Why do you think it has been so successful?
I wish I knew, because then we would only write hits. Nobody knows anything. Perhaps because they are powerful stories, with powerful conflicts and interesting characters. Before being a screenwriter, I am a voracious spectator and I believe that fiction is very therapeutic; When you have a difficult day and want to escape from reality, there you find a place where you feel comfortable. And maybe what makes something a success is creating a world that helps someone have a good time there. Although, paradoxically, in the case of ‘Between the Lands’ it is suffering. It’s a series of crying, but crying well.
I was born on Wisteria Lane, I was roommates with Hannah Horvath, and ‘Chicago’ drove me crazy because Roxie Hart is me. I have a sharp tongue, but, as Lola Flores said, “they had to give me a subsidy for joy.”
