Netflix’s recent musical drama “Neon” (Season 1) explores the colorful, club-thumping atmosphere of Miami as it follows the story of three friends: Santi, Ness, and Felix. This series falls into the ‘stream it or skip it’ category, where you won’t see anything new; you can even predict the ending. Being a musical drama, you’d expect the songs to be good, but sadly, they are not. Anyway, the plot is not lengthy, and neither are the episodes, so that you won’t get bored. Tyler Dean Flores does a pretty good job leading from the front. So, let’s see what this story is about.
Neon (Season 1) Netflix Series Recap
Episode 1: Dream
We are introduced to Santi, the protagonist of the show, who is about to perform his viral new song ‘Exagerao.’ He has a great show, and his team, Felix and Ness, arrive to congratulate him. Soon, we see Felix waking Santi from his sleep. This has all been a dream to him as they arrive in Miami. However, the ‘Exagerao’ part was not a dream as the song really went viral with more than six million views.
Ness has hired a place where they will not be able to enter in two days as the paperwork will take some time. They spend the night inside the car, and then the following day, they go straight to a restaurant to meet with Mia, hoping to sign a million-dollar contract. However, Mia gives them a reality check about the music industry and the competition that lies ahead.
Mia has mentioned a party where she will be going to later that night. Ness thinks of a weird idea of going to the party uninvited. Both Felix and Santi reject this idea, but Ness somehow manipulates Santi into going to this party. The security guard recognizes Santi from the ‘Exagerao’ song and lets him enter along with Ness and Felix. There, they meet Mia, who doesn’t look very happy seeing them at the party.
Later, we see Santi meeting with other famous musicians like Jon Z and Brray. Both of them appreciate Santi’s talent for music, as they also have liked his song ‘Exagerao.’ As the episode comes to an end, we see the DJ at the party playing Santi’s song, and everyone dances to the song. The following day, Santi receives an email from Alondra Reyes, an assistant to Mia, about another meeting with Mia.
In the end, however, we see Mia doesn’t have any assistant; she is planning something different, which is rather unclear as of now. She herself works as a personal secretary to Oscar Morales. We will get to know more about Mia and this Oscar Morales person in the upcoming episodes.
Episode 2: Opening Up
We see Mia talking to Antonio, a nightclub owner. She cuts a deal with him about a show where Santi will open before Jowell. Meanwhile, we see Ness has got a job at one of the local grocery stores that will help the squad survive in Miami. There have been no updates from Mia until one day, she agrees to have lunch with them. They meet with Mia at a restaurant, and she tells them about Santi opening up before Jowell.
Santi looks very excited, and he goes on bragging about that. However, soon, he faces some challenges as someone from the crowd tells him that he has not heard of him. Santi faces disappointment. But Ness and Felix cheer him up for the upcoming show. It is going to be the first live performance for him. So, nothing can go wrong. However, just before this, Felix has found the true side of Mia.
Seeing how disappointed Santi is, Felix starts to AirDrop Santi’s song at the party, and he finds Mia there. He goes to talk to her, but she seems very uncomfortable talking to him in front of the other guy. Later, Felix understands that Mia is not a big deal; she shows up in front. She is an assistant to the other guy, Oscar Morales, and she does laundry stuff for him.
Mia then confronts Felix that she is a dreamer and she wants the best for Santi. In other words, she will be launching Santi, which will benefit her as well. Felix agrees to stay put because he, too, wants the best for Santi, and amidst this rat race, Mia is their best chance to survive.
Santi performs in the club, but since it wasn’t midnight, the crowd is very thin. But Santi heads to the bathroom and has cocaine, so he comes up with this bizarre idea. He cuts Jowell and starts singing his own song. While the audience is vibing with ‘Exagerao,’ a guard takes Santi to the green room. There, Jowell comes up, and no matter how upset he is, he says that he likes Santi’s passion for music. He even offers to collaborate with him. Things start to fall into Santi’s way.
Episode 3: Forbidden Fruta
In this episode, Santi faces new struggles as he goes for an interview for a job in his cousin’s office. Santi has given two rounds of interviews already, but there is still no confirmation of the job. Later, his cousin once again calls him for an interview; only this time, Santi becomes very impatient. When asked, Santi learns that his parents asked his cousin to put him in a job as they do not believe that Santi has a future in the music industry. This hurts Santi very much.
On the other hand, we see that Mia helps her boss, Oscar, in a client meeting, but she is still not appreciated. A junior gets promoted because she is related to the co-founder of the company. Mia fails to cope with this nepotism, and she goes to visit Eduardo’s, the grocery store where Ness works. Ness tells her about the opportunity that comes to Santi.
One day, while kidding around inside the grocery store, Ness cuts a deal with the owner of the store, Eduardo. She manages to put Santi in a music video about the grocery store itself. The store already has a jingle about them, and now Santi remixes the track a bit. Felix, being a director of the music video, feels a bit confused about what he really wants. Later, he gets a pep talk from Mia, who is already upset with her boss.
On the other hand, Santi, too, gets a pat on the back from the journalist Celeste. She is the one who wrote about Santi that he is immature, which catches his parents’ eyes in the first place. But Celeste herself motivates Santi for the video, and the audience really appreciates the final product. Even in Santi’s cousin’s office, the music video gets all the attention it needs. Santi’s cousin seems to be happy for him.
Episode 4: Art Basel
We see a weird art festival where Santi meets Zale, who is ready to sponsor a new talent. Santi gets in touch with him, and here, too, his path is crossed with his arch-nemesis, Javier Luna. After Santi’s remix of ‘Exagerao’ was a success, Luna posted on the internet saying Santi doesn’t have much talent and all. However, Luna says that since his rabbit died, he was going through a rough patch at that time.
Anyway, Santi learns that Zale is not funding his money for talent or art; he is just doing it as a PR stunt. Santi is very disappointed and doesn’t want his money any longer. Meanwhile, Ness meets with Gina, a woman who seems to be very rich and very much interested in funding Santi. Ness comes with the good news, and together, they visit her on her huge property.
It all seems pretty easy for Santi now as Gina approaches him with a contract and thousands of dollars, which he has always dreamed of right after setting foot in Miami. Now, in Gina’s office, Felix suddenly finds out about some boxes of cocaine (perhaps) and a lot of guns. They think that they are about to get into a big mess, something that is related to some sort of cartel or something.
Right at that moment, Gina arrives at the spot and assures them that this is not what they are thinking. Later, Gina directly asks Santi whether he wants to sign the contract or not. Although she says that there is no pressure, the situation states something very different. Santi agrees to sign the contract, but soon after that, he starts to regret his decision.
Episode 5: Corillo
This episode is about success and the cons it brings with it. We see Gina is setting Santi up with a big music producer, and Ness somehow feels that this is not something that is going to be good for Santi’s career. She thinks Santi needs the backup of younger blood, someone like Mia. Mia, on the other hand, takes a chance with her boss, Oscar, about meeting with Santi. Oscar surprisingly agrees with Mia this time and asks her to bring a song to pitch to him.
Mia cuts off Isa from a recording session with Jota Rosa, a famous music composer. Mia puts Santi in Isa’s place, which is unknown to Oscar. Santi meets with Jota Rosa, and Jota doesn’t really like his music. He continuously asks Santi to find who he really is so that it will help Jota create music for him that will connect with the audience. After a while, Santi shares his old music, the music he made while he was struggling back home. Jota tells him that his friends are the essence of his music, and they should create a track based on that.
Meanwhile, Oscar comes to the recording station. Mia finds it very disturbing, and if Oscar comes to know about Santi replacing Isa, she will be fired for sure. Felix, however, manages to talk with Oscar for a longer period of time, keeping him away from the recording room. But, after some time, Oscar finally enters the room and finds out that Santi is recording there in place of Isa.
Oscar is very angry with Mia, but Jota tells him that the song is good and he should listen to it. The name of the song goes with the episode name itself, i.e., ‘Corillo.’ Oscar listens to the song, and he finds it very intriguing in nature. He tells Santi to finish the recording and come to him the following day with a pitch of his own. However, before leaving the room, Oscar fires Mia for insubordination and lying to him.
Episode 6: Isanti
This episode brings forth the truth behind the celebrity lifestyle. We see Santi is making progress on signing the deal with BPM. However, Oscar gives him a task to go on a date with Isa, one of the most famous pop stars out there. Santi becomes so nervous about the date as Ness and Felix help groom him before going to this. Gina, on the other hand, hears about Santi signing with BPM staff, and she is really angry with them.
On the date, Isa straightforwardly asks Santi to kiss her, and she makes it very intense while the paparazzi from outside click pictures of them. Isa tells Santi that all of this is for the PR as she is about to make a song in collaboration with Santi. So, for this song to be a hit, they need all this chemistry to go viral up front. This is how the whole viral thing works, anyway. Santi realizes that no one actually values talent because of the amount of money it involves.
Isa also asks Felix to shoot the whole process and make a documentary out of it. Meanwhile, Mia waits for a new venture as she regrets the shortcuts she took in the past. As time progresses, Ness inspires everyone to keep their feet on the ground, but luck has something else planned for the three friends. Gina comes to confront Ness and reminds her that if Santi becomes a PR trick rather than an artist, she will take back everything she has given to them. As it seems from the conversation, Gina is actually one of the few persons who admires Santi for his talent.
On the other hand, Isa tells her origin story to Santi, which makes him feel sympathetic toward her. Isa is not at all singing the song well, as she is having trouble pronouncing the words of a language she doesn’t know. But, somehow, she likes Santi’s upcoming song ‘Corillo,’ which he wrote thinking of Ness and Felix. At the end of the episode, we reach a bypass where Santi tells Ness and Felix that he has made some changes to the song.
The song is no longer about friendship, but Isa convinces him to make it a love song. Ness is very much disappointed in Santi, knowing that he sacrifices his song for a fake relationship, which doesn’t hold any value other than the PR campaign. Felix, however, cannot express his grief in front of Santi and leaves the scene in silence. Where do they go from here? Well, we will have to see that in the next episode.
Episode 7: New Management
As we saw earlier, things are not going well between the three friends who came to Miami with a dream. But, since Santi gets into this PR relationship with Isa, he is evolving into someone who has forgotten his roots. On Santi’s front, he is indeed getting a lot of attention because of this ‘fake’ relationship, but what he fails to understand is that he is losing his friends because of that.
Isa and Santi are recording the new version of the ‘Corillo’ song, which doesn’t make any sense to Ness whatsoever. Felix is continuing his documentary shooting as they go to this huge party organized by Daddy Yankee, one of the legendary figures in the music industry. Here, Isa suddenly tells Felix that his service is no longer required, as the documentary will be taken care of by someone else. Felix asks Santi about this, and when Santi reacts very casually to this, Felix leaves the party.
Ness finds him and inspires him to explore the possibilities of his own. She says that she will help him just like she helps Santi. But back at the party, Santi doesn’t like this proposal. He thinks that Ness will not be able to manage everything, and he wants her to totally work for him. Ness reminds him that the main reason for coming to Miami was to grow as a group, not as individuals. The three friends come to a pass, where Santi finds himself alone.
Mia, on the other hand, manages to somehow convince Javier Luna and is now appointed as his music manager. Ness takes an opportunity at the party right before her bout with Santi and shares the old ‘Corillo’ song with Daddy Yankee. On the other hand, we see a chemistry growing between Santi and Celeste, which Isa does not like. At the end of the episode, we see them kissing, and Celeste distances herself from Santi because of her career and credibility.
In the end, when Ness and Felix are leaving behind Santi, Daddy Yankee comes. He tells Ness that he really liked the old ‘Corillo’ song, which does not include Isa. He asks Ness to bring Santi for a chat, but Ness, no matter how much she wants Santi to have this moment, leaves the party. Daddy Yankee doesn’t understand what is going on, as Felix, too, leaves the spot. The final episode will tell whether Santi finds his truest self or not.
Episode 8: The Reality
We go back to the year 2014 when Ness was afraid of her parents because they did not agree with the fact that she is a lesbian. However, Santi comes to the rescue, and Felix also helps him to save Ness from the situation. Santi and Felix together managed to create a diversion for her parents, helping Ness to dance with her girlfriend without letting them know. This was how understandable they used to be before Santi changed the whole scenario.
As time progresses, Santi realizes that Isa is taking the whole credit for herself, even though the whole song was his. Soon, he finds out that Mia and Felix are helping Javier Luna with his music, and Ness, being a manager to Felix, is tagging along. Seeing his friends working for his arch-nemesis breaks Santi to the core. He is ready to apologize to them and tell Isa that he will not be a part of her PR campaign anymore.
When Santi goes to confront Isa, she shows him a picture of him and Celeste kissing. She starts blackmailing him that if he doesn’t launch the ‘Corillo’ song with her, she will post this photo online. Santi knows that if she posts it, both his and Celeste’s careers will be ruined. So, he agrees to cope up with Isa without asking many questions. But, there comes a time when Santi finally stands up for himself.
Everyone helps Santi in these final moments as we see Javier Luna showing a magic trick where he suddenly vanishes, and in his place, Santi appears. In front of the whole crowd, Santi confesses that his relationship with Isa has been a lie, a PR stunt that he ends right at that moment. Later, he sings his old ‘Corillo’ song that was written for Ness and Felix. The whole crowd enjoys the song, especially Santi’s friends. We see Mia and Felix kissing together as all things end on a good note.
Neon (Season 1) Netflix Series Ending, Explained:
How does Santi get a Second Chance?
Since Santi has destroyed Isa’s whole PR campaign, BMP assures him that they will make sure that Santi doesn’t get any work in the industry. When all of his dreams are starting to fade away, Daddy Yankee calls him. Santi cannot believe his eyes at what is happening right at that moment. Daddy Yankee tells him to come to one of his studios and record a song.
Thanks to Ness, the ending of Neon (Season 1) shows Daddy Yankee getting the chance to listen to Santi. He then sets up his PR team to find Santi’s number so that he can get in touch with him. Daddy Yankee is different from all the people Santi has met so far because he values talent, not the money one can make out of it. He has been an idol to Santi since the very beginning, and this idol is giving him a second chance to shine. After all this time, after all the ups and downs, Santi, along with his friends Ness and Felix, is dreaming again.
Neon (Season 1) Trailer
Related to Neon (Season 1): Everything Coming To Netflix in November 2023
Neon (Season 1) Netflix Links: IMDb
Neon (Season 1) Netflix Cast: Jessie Camacho, Rose Eshay, Daddy Yankee
