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| Who Is Candela in ‘Berlin and the Lady With an Ermine’? Meet the Pickpocket Who Completely Ruined Berlin’s Emotional Stability. (Credits: Netflix) |
‘Berlin and the Lady With an Ermine’ may revolve around stolen paintings, aristocratic wealth and another ridiculously complicated master plan, but viewers quickly realised the real chaos arrived the second Candela walked onto the screen. Netflix’s latest expansion of the Money Heist universe introduces the Andalusian pickpocket as both a romantic spark and a walking disaster for Berlin’s carefully controlled world. Frankly, the man can organise a million-euro heist down to the second, yet one woman steals his wallet and suddenly he is acting like a poet who has not slept in three days.
Co-directed by Albert Pintó, David Barrocal, and José Manuel Cravioto, the Spanish series throws Berlin into another extravagant operation centred around stealing Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting Lady with an Ermine. But while art theft may be the official plot, audiences have become far more invested in the emotional spiral caused by Candela, a sharp-tongued thief whose carefree personality collides perfectly with Berlin’s obsessive need to control absolutely everything around him.
Candela enters the story with the kind of confidence that immediately changes the atmosphere of the series. She is introduced as a skilled pickpocket from Andalusia, someone who survives by instinct rather than elaborate planning.
That contrast becomes the entire point of her relationship with Berlin. He calculates every movement like a man permanently trapped inside a chess match, while Candela behaves like someone who would happily flip the chessboard over just to see what happens next.
Their first meeting already feels like trouble waiting to happen. Candela steals Berlin’s wallet, Berlin becomes fascinated instead of offended, and before long he ends up literally getting shot trying to sneak into her house.
For most people, that would probably count as a sign to reconsider their romantic choices. For Berlin, however, it apparently qualifies as emotional chemistry.
What makes Candela stand out in the larger Money Heist universe is how human she feels compared to the show’s endless parade of dramatic criminals and criminally dramatic people. Beneath her fearless image sits someone terrified of emotional disappointment.
As she learns more about Berlin’s chaotic romantic history, Candela begins pulling away emotionally, building walls before she can become another casualty of his unpredictable life. Their eventual separation scene becomes one of the season’s emotional peaks, largely because viewers realise Berlin is genuinely unravelled by losing her.
Naturally, because this is Berlin, the solution involves grand romantic gestures instead of basic emotional communication. He tracks Candela back to her village, confesses his feelings and proposes marriage in full dramatic fashion.
The season then closes with the pair getting married, leaving audiences simultaneously emotional and deeply suspicious about how long peace can realistically last around this man. Fans of Money Heist already know that happiness around Berlin usually arrives with a countdown timer attached.
Still, Candela’s role in the series feels far bigger than simply being another love interest. She becomes the emotional counterweight to Berlin’s ego, exposing insecurities he usually buries beneath charm and theatrical speeches.
Her presence softens him without completely changing his personality, which is probably wise because nobody watching this franchise wants Berlin to suddenly become emotionally stable. That would honestly feel less believable than stealing priceless art from under international security.
The woman bringing Candela to life is acclaimed Spanish actor Inma Cuesta, whose performance has quickly become one of the most praised parts of the series.
For many viewers outside Spain, Cuesta may already be familiar from The Mess You Leave Behind, but her filmography stretches much further across Spanish cinema with projects including The Sleeping Voice, Invader, Three Many Weddings, and Just One Small Favor.
Across those roles, she has built a reputation for balancing emotional intensity with sharp comedic timing, which turns out to be exactly what Candela needed.
Critics and viewers alike have praised the way Cuesta matches Berlin’s theatrical energy without disappearing into it. That is not an easy task opposite a character who treats every conversation like he is auditioning for the world’s most dramatic philosophy lecture. Yet Candela never feels overshadowed. If anything, she often becomes the emotional centre of the story while Berlin spirals around her.
In interviews promoting the series, Cuesta admitted filming lasted around nine months, joking that the experience sometimes felt like being “kidnapped” by the production schedule. Still, she also described the project as creatively rewarding, especially because Candela allowed her to explore someone driven by passion and instinct rather than caution.
In another interview, the actor laughed about how she personally relates far less to pickpocketing than her character does, admitting she is usually the person getting things stolen from her instead. That honesty alone somehow made fans adore her even more.
Away from acting, Cuesta is also known for keeping much of her private life grounded despite her fame. She shares two children with screenwriter and producer Ángeles Maeso, and fans frequently mention how refreshing it feels seeing someone move so comfortably between prestige drama, blockbuster streaming projects and ordinary family life.
Meanwhile, their dog Rumba has somehow developed its own small fan following online because the internet will always eventually focus on the dog. Reactions to Candela across social media have been intense, divided and occasionally hilarious.
Some viewers argue she is Berlin’s best romantic match in the entire franchise because she actually challenges him instead of simply admiring him. Others remain emotionally exhausted watching another woman willingly enter Berlin’s orbit despite every visible warning sign imaginable.
Several fans joked that Candela deserves “hazard pay” for dealing with a man who turns every emotional conversation into a dramatic monologue about destiny.
There has also been growing discussion around whether Candela could appear again if Berlin and the Lady With an Ermine receives another season. Cuesta herself has sounded optimistic about returning, though Netflix has not officially confirmed future instalments.
Given how strongly audiences reacted to the character, many viewers already believe Candela’s story deserves far more exploration, particularly because her fate before the timeline of Money Heist remains unclear.
What audiences seem to agree on, however, is that Candela brought fresh energy into a franchise that could easily have relied only on nostalgia and familiar tricks.
Instead, the series introduced someone capable of matching Berlin scene for scene, flirt for flirt and emotional breakdown for emotional breakdown. Not bad for a woman who started the story by stealing a wallet.
ICYMI: Where Was Berlin and the Lady With an Ermine Filmed?
And honestly, viewers probably would have handed it over willingly anyway. So, did Candela become Berlin’s greatest love story, or just another chapter in his beautifully chaotic life? Fans are still arguing about it online, and judging by the reactions so far, nobody seems ready to stop anytime soon