Directed by Oriol Paulo, The Last Night at Tremore Beach is a Spanish miniseries with never-ending twists and turns. Centered around music composer Alex, the psychological thriller dwells somewhere between his reality and imagination, making it at times impossible to figure out if something was happening in real-time or if it was just one of Alex’s vivid episode. Based on Mikel Santiago’s book by the same name, the truth surfaces in the last episode, as is typical of the genre. Stretched a little beyond necessary, The Last Night at Tremore Beach is a tedious watch.
Alex (known as Peter Harper in the text), once a renowned music composer, decided to move to a quaint small town called Tremore to rediscover himself. His obsession with his past had deteriorated his mental health, and his life began to unravel when he broke his fingers playing the piano while sleepwalking one night. Alex realized that he needed to take a break and create music that he liked instead of delivering what was expected of him. While life in Tremore was almost perfect, things took a turn after Alex was struck by lightning.
Spoiler Alert
What had happened to Estrella?
Alex’s mother introduced him to music at a very young age. She had figured out soon after conceiving him that her son would become a renowned musician. She had visions, and according to them, Alex’s future was bright. While she controlled every aspect of Alex’s life, she did not realize that Alex had fallen in love with Estrella, his batchmate at the music school. Estrella was Alex’s first love, and he was infatuated with her. He intentionally kept his relationship a secret from his mother, knowing she would try to sabotage it to protect his musical career. Everything changed when the principal at their music school announced that a selected student would be eligible for a scholarship at the Royal British Conservatory in London if they qualified for an audition. When Alex had met with an accident, he had watched his entire life flash before his eyes, and joining the Royal British Conservatory was part of it. He was confident that he would be selected, but he was afraid of losing Estrella in the process. Alex had not seen Estrella when his life had flashed before his eyes, and he assumed that joining the Royal British Conservatory would mark the end of their relationship. When he expressed his concern to Estrella, she promised that, no matter what, they would always be together. During the audition, Alex decided to test his fate. He wanted to be his own person, and he knew that it would be impossible if he made it to the Royal British Conservatory. So, he intentionally played the wrong note to lose the seat by a mark. Estrella aced the auditions, and she was selected for the scholarship.
Alex’s mother, Elvira, took the defeat personally. She refused to believe that she had predicted it all wrong. Towards the end of The Last Night at Tremore Beach, Alex’s father, Isaak, revealed to his son that Elvira was responsible for Estrella’s death. The night of the audition, after Alex left the gala, Elvira got hold of Estrella’s car keys and offered to drive her home. She repeatedly begged Estrella to give up her position at the Royal British Conservatory. She tried to reason with Estrella, saying that it was Alex who was meant to join the institute and that she was ruining his future. Estrella realized the reason behind Alex’s desperation to disappoint his mother, leave home, and start a career in London. Elvira refused to take no for an answer, and she realized that the only way she could turn her visions into reality was if she took control of the situation. Elvira assumed that she had an important role in Alex’s becoming a maestro, and she was ready to go to any extent to ensure he lived a fulfilling life. Elvira purposefully crashed the car, killing Estrella. She narrated the entire incident to Isaak, and in return for his silence, she agreed to admit herself to a mental institution. When Alex received the phone call from the Royal British Conservatory asking if he would like to accept the scholarship, Isaak assumed that maybe it was always meant to be.
Even though Isaak later regretted supporting Elvira, he had always been in love with her, and he could not help but protect her. At the very end of the series, when Alex figured out the truth, Alex contacted Estrella’s father, Ramiro, and told him everything. Ramiro had spent his entire life searching for the truth because somewhere deep down he knew that his daughter did not die in an accident; she was killed. Even though the truth was painful, it brought him the closure that he was searching for.
Who was the sixth man in a ski mask?
The lightning brought back a gift that Alex had lost touch with—his instincts. A gift passed down from generation to generation that modern science had interpreted as schizophrenia or dissociative disorder. The ending of The Last Night at Tremore Beach confirms that Alex was truly blessed with the power (called “The Instinct”) to see the future. Alex had one recurring vision—one night it would rain fish, his fence would break, and his neighbors, Leo and Maria, would come under attack. Maria would come to Alex’s house begging him to help, and she would die there. The intruders would arrive at Alex’s house in a red van, and they would hunt down his lover, Judy, and his children, Bruno and Brea. This vision left Alex feeling helpless. He was desperate to protect his loved ones, but he did not know who the attackers were. He initially assumed that maybe it was a robbery gone wrong, but according to his vision, Leo and Maria were brutally murdered, and no one would kill so ruthlessly unless there was some personal enmity. Alex figured that to protect his family from the possible threat, he had to learn more about his friendly neighbors, Leo and Maria.
According to the previous tenant of the house Alex lived in, Leo and Maria had a secret life. He had seen armed men visiting Leo, and he had also figured out that Leo and Maria’s real names were Alvaro and Alicia. He had also seen a pistol hidden in their greenhouse. When Leo realized that he was being spied on, he got aggressive, and that was why the tenant left in a hurry. Clearly, there was more to Leo and Maria than met the eyes. They had a secret life, and Alex was convinced that their enemy from the past would return to hunt them down. He desperately wanted to protect Leo and Maria because they happened to be the first friends he made after arriving in the small town. He decided to tell Leo about his vision. Leo refused to believe a word Alex said, but clearly, the sudden threat had left him rattled. One night Leo decided to tell Alex his entire truth after he found Alex hiding in his greenhouse with his pistol in hand. Leo told him that he and Maria used to be Alvaro and Alicia at one point in their lives. Alicia used to work for a ruthless gangster, Souza, also known as The Butcher. She wanted to run away from her miserable life, and one day she got caught at Caracas Airport, and that was when she met Alvaro, the government attorney who took up her case. Alvaro and Alicia fell in love, and together they decided to start their lives afresh. With the help of Interpol, they managed to get new identities, and they also faked their deaths to keep Souza away. But Souza continued to hunt them. Very recently, they were informed that Souza was dead, and after seeing a photograph of his corpse, Alicia and Alvaro decided never to live in fear again.
Alex questioned his vision over and over again. He wondered if it was his way of coping with his childhood trauma or if he was truly gifted. Was he imagining threatening situations simply because, deep down, he was afraid that he would be punished for defying his mother and living a simple life in Tremore? Did he also secretly believe that he would face terrible consequences for his actions? In the final episode of The Last Night at Tremore Beach, we discover that Alex had been right all along. He had always seen the intruders in ski masks, and his best guess was that the leader was either Souza or Ramiro. He assumed that maybe Ramiro wanted to kill him after finding out that he was indirectly responsible for Estrella’s death, but the ending confirmed that this fear stemmed from guilt. Ramiro was not someone who would kill people to avenge his daughter’s death. Surprisingly, the man who had orchestrated the killings turned out to be Leo.
Leo, who claimed to be a former government attorney named Alvaro, was in reality Souza. The armed men that the previous tenant had seen were members of his gang who came to pay his share every month. Alicia was never his mule; he had always loved her, and he distanced himself from his business operation to protect her. After losing their newborn son, Maria and Leo decided to move to a remote town and try to find peace. Everything had been going well before Interpol tracked them down. To think of it, Alex had put his family in danger. If he had not told Leo about the possible attack, then maybe Leo would have been killed and Alex and his family would have been saved. But it was because he had warned Leo of the intruders that Leo, aka Souza, had stayed awake that night with his shotgun by his side. He killed the Interpol agents and set out to kill Alex and his family. He was afraid that they would tell the police about his secret, and he could not let that happen. Leo killed Judy, Bruno, Brea, and even Alex, but somewhere deep down Alex was confident that this was not the end.
How did Alex predict his future?
The final episode confirms that everything that we’d been watching from the time Alex had been struck by lightning was all his vision! Yes, a vision within a vision within a vision—you get the drift. Alex had caught a glimpse of his future when he was admitted to the hospital after the lightning incident. He believed it opened a door in his mind that allowed him to see his future before it unfolded in real-time. The one thing that Alex learned from his mother was that one’s actions impacted their visions. His mother had killed Estrella to make her vision come true; if she had not done so, Alex’s life could’ve been different. Therefore, Alex knew that if he tried hard, he could protect his family, and the terrifying vision that he had could be avoided. When he woke up at the hospital, he realized that everything was happening just the way he had forseen. People around him were saying the exact same thing that they had said in his vision, and it was as if he got a chance to live his life a second time. Naturally, Alex had no intention of messing it up, and he was determined to protect his loved ones. Instead of letting the visions control his life, Alex decided to be in charge and make decisions that would stop the visions from turning into his reality.
Could Alex Protect His Loved Ones?
When Alex realized that he still had the time to come up with a plan to protect his family and loved ones, he decided to act immediately. He searched for Alicia online because, according to his vision, she had faked her death. When he realized that it was indeed true, he immediately knew that everything he had learned about Leo and Maria was also bound to be the truth. Alex contacted Ramiro while he was admitted to the hospital, and he narrated how his mother had killed Estrella, and he begged Ramiro to forgive him. Alex felt a lot more relaxed after he told Ramiro the truth. He had always blamed himself for Estrella’s death, and he was consumed by guilt. Helping Ramiro solve the puzzle made him feel at peace. Judy struggled to understand what Alex was going through. She was shocked to find out that he already knew about her past, and while it was all too strange for her to accept, she gradually started to trust Alex and his visions.
Alex stopped by Leo and Maria’s house and got hold of their shotgun and pistol. He dropped them in the septic tank. He later met Leo and Maria at the beach and told them that he was moving to Amsterdam to be with his children. The lightning incident helped him realize that he must not stay in Tremore and that he needed to spend more time with his children. After bidding them goodbye, at the very end of the series, Alex contacted Interpol and told them the whereabouts of Souza, the Butcher. They were unarmed, thanks to Alex, and Interpol successfully arrested them.
Alex contacted his ex-wife Paula and asked if he could look after his children for some time. Paula was relieved that Alex finally understood the importance of being present for his kids. In his vision, Alex had seen Paula die, and he realized the importance of treating everyone around him with love and care. Even though they had parted ways, Alex cared about Paula, and he wanted to make sure that she was happy. Alex admitted that for the last few years, he had not been himself and failed as a father. He wanted to make up for the lost time, and he also decided to introduce Bruce and Bea to Judy.
Judy will have a tough time dealing with what Alex called his awakening. She was yet to live the life that Alex already did in his vision. She was yet to fall head over heels in love with him, but before she could do so, Alex told her that they were meant to be together. Maybe if Alex takes it slow with Judy, they will have a future together as he had forseen. Alex managed to take control of his life, unlike his mother, who got swayed by her visions and never tried to find out what Alex really wanted from life. Instead of accepting the visions as hard truths, Alex interprets them as possibilities, and it helped him control his life. It was only after solving his life’s puzzle that Alex could compose music to perfection without the hindrance of a wrong note sticking out.
