Netflix’s new show, The Snow Girl (La chica de nieve), is a Spanish mystery thriller based on Javier Castillo’s novel by the same name. The series follows a rookie journalist Miren, who is determined to find the truth about the missing girl Amaya Martin who suddenly disappeared during the annual festival – Cavalcade of Magi, Malaga, in 2010. Getting the support of her mentor, a veteran journalist, Eduardo, she runs research along with the investigative team that also leads her to the truth behind her tragic past.
Written by Jesús Mesas and Javier Andrés Roig, the Netflix miniseries is directed by David Ulloa and Laura Alvea. The show keeps jumping on three timelines to keep you engaged with its suspense. However, keeping track of the years and fiddling in between can be confusing in showing the character’s growth and revealing essential details about the series.
The Snow Girl deals with issues like PTSD, sexual assault, pedophilia, and many intense subjects such as child pornography, which can also put a dent in happy relationships and memories. The protagonist – Miren, played by Milena Smit, does her job flawlessly as someone who is constantly haunted by her traumatic past and still tries to deal with it with dignity.
People who are really into fast-paced, nail-biting suspense thrillers should give this miniseries a go. And for more assurance, if you can survive the jumping timelines of Netflix’s hit German show Dark, this is comparatively a piece of cake.
In the following article, I explain in detail what takes place in the show, with an added explanation of how it all ends. Spoiler Alert, please read at your discretion.
The Snow Girl (2023) Netflix Mini-Series Recap:
Episode 1: Disappearance of Amaya
In episode 1 of the Spanish thriller The Snow Girl begins with Ana, and Alvaro stuck in traffic with their daughter Amaya on their way to the Cavalcade of Magi, a traditional parade held yearly in Spanish cities. With many fun activities and exciting performances, the sight is a delight for the locals in the city, attracting thousands of spectators from all neighboring towns.
The family seems to enjoy their time together during the festival, and little Amaya is ecstatic to buy a balloon. Alvaro takes her to buy the balloon, and when he starts talking about money with the shopkeeper, his daughter gets distracted by a musical toy and starts following it. In a second, Amaya disappears, and her parents start to look for her amid thousands of people; however, their efforts go in vain.
In the following scene, we see a young woman looking at the television screen that runs news about Amaya’s disappearance during the Christmas parade in Málaga. The news is a national sensation, and Miren, an intern working at the local daily, is instantly attached to the case. When she requests the senior journalist to allow her to work on the case, he dismisses her and asks her to stick to weather reports. Eduardo – Miren’s college lecturer, mentors her to cover the case even though he warns her to stick to professionalism rather than seek emotional answers.
Before visiting the conference held by the investigating team, we see Miren panicking because of a traumatic flashback that might have shaken her in the past. She is a quiet and uptight person who seems to have a lot of pain buried inside, but concentrating on her studies and work helps keep it together. As an intern, she wants to add more value to her profession as a journalist.
Hence, Miren intends to do everything in her capacity to solve the case. Eduardo passes on important information regarding the disappearance, such as Amaya’s jacket found in a building around the parade. He also shares that Belen Millan would be the head investigative officer with whom Miren has had uncomfortable history.
After a brief encounter with Belen, Miren realizes she will need a quick and aggressive approach to finding the truth. While seeking answers, she also engages with the little girl’s well-wishers and helps them stick posters around. Taking advantage of the time, she tries to speak to Ana (Amaya’s mother) and shares her contact details so Ana can connect whenever she is ready to talk.
When Miren talks to Rosa, David violently pushes her away, disrupting the interrogation. He also threatens Miren that he will call her editor and get her fired if she doesn’t stop. Back at her office, Paco is furious at her; however, Eduardo protects her by taking the blame for her.
Later we see Belen, along with her partner, Chaparro questioning the residents of the building where Amaya’s jacket was found. One of the residents, Torres, saw two men with a girl outside the building’s doorway. She saw one of the men putting the raincoat inside the building. He also requests her to pick up her mother’s phone calls as she is worried and desperate to hear Miren’s voice. Later, the cops meet Juancho, the balloon seller; however, nothing concrete comes out of it. They let him go even though he is still considered a suspect.
Traumatized by her past that happened to Miren two years ago, she is continuously scared of males’ presence or how they look at her. She is always vulnerable and skeptical that she mistakes Eduardo for some stranger following her car at one point. Soon we see a vigil organized for the justice of Amaya’s disappearance as the cops look for prospects in question within the friends and family. David Luque, Ana and Alvaro’s close friend is disclosed to have a history of sexual violence against little girls.
The show jumps to 2016, and we see Amaya’s parents separated; it is her 12th birthday. Miren is now a full-time journalist at the Sur daily. She receives a package that contains VHS tape. The parents are called in at the police station, and the tape reveals that Amaya is alive and playing with a dollhouse in a video.
Episode 2: An Entire Web of Mystery and New Findings
The second episode of the Netflix drama begins with police confirming the girl’s identity from Amaya’s parents. Belen, in the meantime, requests Miren not to publish anything about the video. The show goes back to 2010, and we see young Miren attending Eduardo’s class at the university. He teaches the fundamentals of a particular case that resembles how Miren works, proving that she has the merits of being a journalist.
Later we see David during the interrogation as we learn new details about the case. He confirms that he did buy an umbrella when Amaya went missing in Málaga. However, he didn’t have any alibi to prove his absence, and as per the investigating team’s theory, David had 15 minutes to kidnap Amaya. Her parents were also present during the questioning; learning this, Alvaro comes after David. However, the police manage to calm him down.
David owns a removal company that requires several trucks where he might have hidden Amaya. Eduardo gets a hint about this development. However, Miren already saw this information coming as the case proceeded further. Miren feels that David can take Amaya within that period as the little girl is familiar with him. At this point, the show also reveals that in 1983, David was convicted for a sexual assault of a 13-year-old neighbor.
Later we see Eduardo and Miren meet an old friend who has more information about David from the 1983 case. The police search David’s apartment but don’t find anything against him. Belen, in the meantime, gets a call from the police watching Juancho. Something is not going right.
Next, we see Miren meeting rape survivors, thus confirming her tragedy. She hardly ever talks about it and lets the pain slowly engulf her present. Upon meeting Lopez, who gives Miren and Eduardo the 83′ case file, the former detective makes lewd comments about the young journalist. Miren gets provoked and hits back, but Lopez’s make ego makes him retaliate, to which Eduardo intervenes and threatens him about something from the past before leaving the place.
We then see Juancho guilty of smuggling exotic animals, which nullifies him from the case. On the other hand, Ana and Alvaro have started bickering with one another even though they care for each other. Although Miren does not believe that David has to do anything with Amaya because she feels his temperament doesn’t lead him on with the case. However, her doubts get confirmed when she learns that the neighbor is Rosa Marquez, David’s wife.
We soon learn through Chaparro’s revelation that David had access to another apartment bought under his wife’s name. Belen, however, thinks this could lead them somewhere, so she goes to the spot along with her best team. At the same time, Miren goes to David’s house to find Samuel there. David and Samuel used to work as a team in bringing the girls, drugging and raping them. The sudden arrival of the police panics Samuel, and he rushes to the terrace.
In the meantime, the show also reveals an extensive network of people paying money to them to acquire videotapes of the rape both men committed.
When David’s wife discovers all this, she calls Samuel; however, while conversing with Miren, he shows a family album to her, telling her how much his family loves Amaya. At the same time, picking up Rosa’s call, Samuel panics and jumps off the terrace, causing his death. The series shows the present time in 2016 when Alvaro talks to Ana about getting back, but his wife doesn’t want to. Back at her home, Miren is still working on the case with the same persistence as before.
Episode 3: The Revelation
Episode three of The Snow Girl begins with Belen meeting Miren outside David’s house back in 2010. The journalist tells the investigating detective to work on Amaya’s case harder and not leave her behind the way she did to Miren. It is about time Belen and her team set things right for their department. Eduardo picks Miren, and she shows him the logo she saw on Samuel’s laptop. We can only see little of it and nothing more. In the meantime, we learn that David’s alibi is not helping him get a free pass. Hence, he is considered a suspect; however, he is charged with a different trial for child pornography.
At this point of the show, we also see Miren pecking on the lips of Eduardo before leaving for work which is astonishing for both characters. It may indicate that the two share a history, and Eduardo is the only person of contact with whom Miren shares a good relationship based on warmth and trust. The cops, on the other hand, have consulted their experts to look into the videotape; however, no concrete information has been found. The kidnapper has used a Sanya recorder, a vintage possession, to record videos.
Miren’s boss, Paco, gets angry at her for not copying the tape she received that he thinks would have been to their advantage. However, she explains to him that even with the tape, they would not have been able to publish without any permission. Belen struggles with the lack of good and trustworthy men in her team for the investigation and intends to take it to a higher level.
We then see Miren going to the shop adjacent to her office to inquire about the camera footage. While looking at the video, she notices someone who drops the package for her.
Belen and Miren then strike a deal to help one another find the truth behind the kidnappers who adducted Amaya. While Miren covers the story to get more coverage, Belen will give her first access to the account once the kidnapped gets caught.
Once the tapes are published, Alvaro is skeptical of going through the entire menace of investigation and press. Ana, on the other hand, is hopeful this will help them find the truth, so she allows Miren to do what she feels is right. Seeing Miren’s way is working, the team congratulates her. However, good things slowly turn awful when Miren gets triggered by a few men in the bar eyeing her wrongly. Memories from the past haunt her yet again.
Gripping scenes from 2010 show Miren going over the time when she used to group meetings as a survivor. We learn that her rapists drugged her, and that’s why she doesn’t remember many details. If only it were possible, she would like to take the roots out of her mind about these memories.
In the following scene, we see Belen getting more men on her task force to help with the case. Soon the team starts working quickly, and more promising leads come through. One man who is a VHS enthusiast leads them to James Foster, who bought a similar VHS player that the kidnapper has. Foster also has two incidents linked to his name for being a pedophile. Belen hints to Miren about the lead on the arrest, and soon the cops take him in.
However, Fosters is calm and apologetic during his arrest for his past wrongdoings. We learn that the man lives in a caravan, and the police search for any clues. Foster has a strong alibi and claims he slept with a coworker during the parade. His laptop also has nothing that will prove him to be a suspect. Since there is nothing against him, the police release him. While waiting for the bus, Miren is also standing next to him. He tells her that she is nearly close to cracking the case as he has read her work, and this will also help her get answers for her case that involves her rapist.
Episode 4: A Pact In exchange of Names
Episode four begins with Miren getting on the same bus as Foster to find more answers to her questions. We quickly learn there is a connection between the logo she saw on Samuel’s laptop and Foster’s knowledge about her rape. There is a website – Slide, that hosts videos of the submissions by the users. It contains content related to pornography, rape, and torture.
Foster doesn’t go to the website any longer. However, he deals with Miren to give her all the users’ names who submit such videos on the website. It will help her find her rapist. In return for this, he wants her to give him ten grand. Although he doesn’t guarantees she will find her answers.
After returning home, Mirren is mortified and upset about her rape video being circulated on a pornographic video website. She later calls Eduardo to meet and discuss the new revelation about the case and David. However, when she mentions the website Slide, Eduardo interrupts and asks her to stay away from it.
He further tells her that there are many powerful men behind it, and it would be best that Miren doesn’t get involved with it. However, Miren is still determined to proceed without feeling bogged down by Eduardo’s ultimatum. She then withdraws five grand, half of what Foster had asked. Even though Foster takes the money from Miren and gives her the list as promised – he has one last request. She would have to pose for photos just for the record that she, without hesitation, agrees. She doesn’t like posing for the pictures, but she does it anyway for the sake of the list in return.
In the following scene, we see Foster’s cabin burn one night. Miren gets an alert on her phone, and a package is left for Amaya’s parents. The package has adios written on it with a videotape of Amaya playing in the same room. The parents are called into the police station again as they scream in despair, thinking of the worst possible outcome.
After seeing a lag in the investigation, Ana threatens Belen that she does her job; otherwise, there will be consequences. Belen is disappointed, but Chaparro motivates and makes her understand that Ana is going through a lot, and she doesn’t mean bad to her.
Belen and Miren start looking at the videos closely, second to second. Miren notices some differences in the heads of a VCR in two images from the video sent before and the one she got right now. Belen, at the same time, looks at the video for clues about things present in the room through the video.
Both of them notice that all the toys are rare, leading them to a promising end. Ana, at the same time, makes a press appearance that makes an impact. Alvaro announces a 100,000 euro cash prize for whoever helps them find their daughter. Belen and Chaparoo go to a toy shop that makes such rare toys.
Amid the questioning, Belen gets informed about the burning caravan. On the other hand, Miren reaches the repair shop that specializes in vintage VHS players. The shopkeeper tells her that the Sanyo 85 model was brought in a few weeks ago for repair. However, when Miren introduces herself as a journalist, he asks her to leave. Miren, desperate for answers, steals the recording book, checks the customers’ names, and finds an address. She finds a name – Iris Molina – making Miren suspect that she might be the kidnapper.
Episode 5: Who is Iris and Santiago?
Episode five takes us to a new point – the story of the kidnappers. Miren’s gut feeling is right that Iris Molina has abducted Amaya. The series takes us back to the first scene – the disappearance of Amaya on the day of the parade. Ana had just told Iris that she could never be a mother. She is heartbroken, and her husband Santiago consoles her. On the day of the parade, when Iris sees Amaya alone in the street and crying, she takes the little girl with her.
While Santiago looks for Amaya’s parents, Iris has bonded with the girl. Even though she wants to take her back to her parents, every time she looks at her, Iris’s motherly instinct takes the better of her. Santiago does not favor his wife’s decision not to take Amaya back when the news starts to flood all over.
Torres, the neighbor, sees Amaya and Iris together in the street, so Santiago takes Amaya’s yellow coat and throws it at the entrance of the building to make it look like it got lost there. Iris shushes Amaya when she sees her parents passing by, looking for her. We then see the couple taking the girl to the countryside out of Malaga.
The first few days are challenging because of the trauma the girl is going through from being apart from her parents. Despite everything, Amaya wants to go back to her mother, Ana. However, Iris is blinded by her motherly feelings towards the girl.
As things progress, we see that Santiago is behind on his mortgage payments. He keeps track of the news and the latest developments about the abduction. Iris has named Amaya as Julia, the little girl is still distressed every time she sees her mother on the television.
However, Amaya has slowly adjusted to her new environment as Iris tries to break her guard, and Santiago finds solace in seeing his wife happy. It is Amaya’s 12th birthday, and she requests to go out to see the world. But Iris is not pleased with it, so she tells a story about how the world is filled with evil men.
While the couple is inside the house, Amaya is playing outside. Iris sees Raul’s car, so she brings the girl inside. Raul sees Iris with the girl, and Santiago invites him over for dinner. However, when Raul is leaving, Iris shoots him dead, fearing he will snitch. Santiago is obviously shaken, but he handles everything well when the police come for the investigation. We jumped to 2019, and Iris decides to send Ana another video.
Meanwhile, the bank has sent them an eviction notice since they are behind the payment. Iris goes hysterical, and her husband wants her to keep it together and take care of the girl. One day, when Santiago finds everything too overwhelming, he confesses to the police about everything. However, he gets hit by a bus, which causes his death. Her life’s circumstances shatter Iris, but despite that, she still cares for Amaya. Santiago’s life insurance pays off the bank loan, and now Iris has decided to be with Amaya forever.
Episode 6: Will there be justice for Amaya and Miren?
Episode six begins with Miren being questioned by Belen in 2019 about Foster and his burnt caravan. She is connected to both Foster and the caravan, which are further linked with Amaya being abducted. Belen suspects that Miren killed both of them but does not have solid evidence to rule anything against her.
On the other hand, Eduardo is worried about Miren and wants to come along to meet Iris. However, Miren intends to go alone. Amaya’s parents do another television interview, and they learn about Foster and David. The press has already run headlines about Miren being the prime suspect. Belen is furious and warns Miren that if she is related in any way to all of this, she will not think twice before taking her down – despite whatever happened in the past with her. Eduardo picks Miren as she gets hounded by the press.
The Snow Girl (2023) Netflix Mini-Series Ending, Explained:
Do they find Amaya in the end?
While driving Miren out of place, Eduardo finds the camera and photos, which confirms Miren is involved with posting the articles on the website – Slide. However, neither of them says anything to one other. Later, Miren drives to Iris’s house, and she disguises herself as a survey reporter and gets invited inside the house. Iris is vulnerable, and Miren notices children’s toys and a broken bicycle. Iris tries to engage Miren in generic conversation while making coffee, and Miren, at the same time, is also doing her job quite well by looking around for favorable clues.
We then see that Amaya is closed in a room with their relentless dog, Chispa. Miren notices the noise but pretends to ignore it. Miren then asks Iris to bring the dog outside. When Iris goes to get the dog, Miren quickly scans the house. Iris had hidden a knife with her the whole time, and the show at this point creates a tense environment where we can sense that Iris can do anything to be with Amaya. Miren pets the dog and leaves, knowing that Amaya is in the house.
Miren then calls Belen but is unable to get through. So she hides in the car and waits for Iris and Amaya to be in sight so that she can capture them using her camera. Later we see that Iris leaves with the girl, and Miren follows them. Belen also calls Miren and learns about everything, but she warns her not to take any action. However, Miren is determined to take the matter into her hands.
Iris gets nervous and starts sobbing in front of Amaya and tells her that if she can not be with her, she will end everything. She then drives the car off the road and hits a barricade. Iris is unconscious, and Amaya starts screaming for help. Miren approaches, but Amaya picks up a gun and shoots at her but misses. Miren quickly moves ahead and hugs Amaya to give her assurance. Both of them are brought into the hospital, and the girl’s parents are also notified. Eduardo looks after Miren, who was lucky only to get a few scratches.
The following day, Iris’s body is taken away, and Chaparro looks into Miren’s car and finds the camera but no chip in it. It turns out that Eduardo had already taken care of it to avoid getting any wrong leads toward Miren. Miren goes back home feeling content as she takes down her wall of clues. She also calls her mother and invites her home. The final sequence shows Ana and Alvaro adjusting to their daughter’s new identity as Julia.
Will there be another season of The Snow Girl on Netflix?
Two years after the storm, Miren narrates a chapter from her book. She shares her experiences from the dark days of getting raped and starting afresh. She is now a successful author with immense support from Eduardo and her mother. When they are about to leave, Miren receives a package that mentions – Want to play? With photographs of her from the beach on the day she was molested. The show ends at that point, indicating there could be a second season of The Snow Girl showing the story of Miren and her dark past.
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