Cathedral of the Sea, based on the book of the same name by Ildefenso Falcones, is a 2018 TV series set in medieval Barcelona, co-produced by Antena 3, Televisió de Catalunya and Netflix. It follows Arnau Estanyol's rise from Rags to Riches, with the construction of Barcelona's famous cathedral Santa Maria del Mar serving as the background to the story. A sequel, Heirs to the Land based on Falcones' book of the same name (itself the sequel to the Cathedral of the Sea novel), was released on Netflix in 2022.
Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: The tanner physically abuses Aledis, and forces her to marry a Dirty Old Man to improve his own standing in the guild.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: The nobility extort money from the peasants, and rape brides on their wedding night.
- Big Brother Instinct: The stonemason Cesc and his three friends take a liking to Arnau when he admires their church and brings them water to drink, and eventually invite him to join their guild when he exposes a thief.
- Big Bad Ensemble: In the early episodes, Margarida Puig was Arnau's arch-nemesis. Later, Nicolas and his inquisitors are the main villains.
- Beard of Evil: Villainous characters like Nicolas and Denis have sinister goatees.
- Burn the Witch!: Nicolas sentences three innocent Jews to be burned for witchcraft and descrating the communion host.
- Creepy Child: Arnau's cousin Margarida Puig who later grows up to become an Alpha Bitch.
- Christianity is Catholic: Arnau is an enthusiastic follower of the local cult of the Virgin Mary because he never knew his own mother.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Grau Puig whips to death the nanny of his children for failing to prevent his son's drowning.
- Dirty Coward: Dennis Puig boasts about his skill in Mounted Combat, but he grovels for his life when he loses his sword and would have been killed if Arnau did not get in the way of the enemy troops.
- The Dung Ages: 14th century Spain is a filthy, violent place. The peasants are little better than slaves
- Evil Wears Black: The Inquisitors wear black robes, and their guards wear blackened armor.
- Evil Uncle: Grau Puig, a greedy Nouveau Riche merchant who marries into the nobility and makes his own nephew a servant.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Mar goes through the Orphan's Ordeal of losing her father and sister to the plague, is forced to marry the man who raped her, and almost sees her adoptive father burned for heresy.
- Good Parents: Bernard raises Arnau and Juan to be God-fearing Christians, and to take a stand against injustice. He also encourages Juan to follow his dreams and become a priest.
- Heart Warming Orphan: Juan who is adopted as a son to Bernard and a brother to Arnau.
- Ice Queen: Arnau's aunt Isabel Puig is cold-hearted and cruel.
- Kill It with Fire: When Juan realises Arnau's wife fabricated the heresy accusations, he makes a Heroic Sacrifice by setting the castle on fire and blocking the only exit until she burns to death.
- May–December Romance: Between Arnau and Mar after she has reached adulthood.
- Missing Mom: Arnau's mother was sold into prostitution after Bernard escaped to the city. She is only reunited with her son years later in the dungeons of the Inquisition.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Juan has a Heel Realization when he understands the implications of unwittingly assisting Arnau's wife in committing perjury so she can get her hands on his fortune.
- Nobility Marries Money: Due to the influence of his Impoverished Patrician friend, Grau Puig enters an Arranged Marriage with Isabel.
- Old Soldier: The Captain of the regiment that Arnau joins to escape from Abhorrent Admirer Aledis.
- The Plague: When Arnau returns from the war, Barcelona is in the grip of The Black Death, and all of his friends are dead except for Juan and Albert
- Parental Substitute: Good Shepherd Father Albert takes care of Arnau and Juan after Bernard is hanged for starting a riot. He also does the same for Mar after her family die of the plague.
- Mar, Maria's sister and the only surviving daughter of Cesc whom Arnau adopts as his own daughter.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: The Inquisitors want to burn every Spanish Jew in revenge for the crucifixion of Christ.
- Plucky Girl: Mar is quick-witted, refuses to marry any man that she doesn't feel a connection to, and gets into a brawl with the thieves who stole her deceased sister's ring.
- Riches to Rags: As a wealthy banker, Arnau buys the debt of the Puigs and bankrupts them as punishment for their cruelty.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: The Good King orders his troops to stand down when the mob breaks into the inquisition's headquarters. He would rather owe money to a trusted subject like Arnau than have Pope take control of Barcelona's national debt.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Margarida loses an argument with her youngest brother, and decides to get even by luring him into the sea to drown, and then blaming his death on Arnau.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Aledis' husband the master tanner is a disgusting old pervert who forces himself upon her, and resorts to Domestic Abuse if she resists or looks at another man.
- Sinister Minister: Nicolas D'Emeric, leader of the The Inquisition who wants to frame Arnau for heresy so the Corrupt Church can take his wealth.
- Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: Arnau is against the slave trade, and insists that his servants are freed and paid a wage.
- Time-Passage Beard: As Arnau ages, his beard grows longer. By the time his son is born, it has begun to turn grey.
- The Vamp: Spoiled Brat Margarida wastes no time removing her dress if there could be something to gain.
- Vapor Wear: Being set in the 1300s, none of the women wear bras because these had not been invented yet. Aledis wears low-cut dresses to flaunt her cleavage.
- Wife Husbandry: Unintentional, but Arnau eventually becomes attracted to Mar and marries her after the death of her previous husband.
- Wicked Stepmother: Isabel gets on well with her stepchildren Margarida and Dennis, but despises Arnau.
- War Is Hell: Medieval battles are not glorious, they are bloody and cruel. Fortunately Arnau survives Storming the Castle and gains the Captain's favor.
