Did we just find out how Rio dies in ‘Money Heist’ season 5?

Netflix’s Money Heist was already a worldwide phenomenon, but season 4 of the series dropping during quarantine definitely helped bring new viewers to the show. Money Heist season 4 received million more viewers than Tiger King during quarantine. That’s how big this show is. 

Naturally, we’re all biting our nails as the cast gets back to work safely filming Money Heist season 5. The cast has been posting on social media about being back on set, and eagle-eyed fans on Reddit have been keeping us updated about shooting locations and such. 

New footage from set hints at a new man in Tokyo’s (Ursula Corbero) life, leading fans to ask what happened to Rio (Miguel Herran)? But theorists believe this is actually a flashback sequence with an ex of Tokyo’s, and this scene will confirm how Rio dies in Money Heist season 5. 

Tokyo & Rio: A brief recap

If you’ve managed to forget about our adorable young lovers, let’s review their relationship. Both are on the younger side, with Rio being the youngest member of the Money Heist team. The two break the Professor’s (Alvaro Morte) rule of no personal relationships during the heist, and date throughout seasons one, two, and three. 

After the gang escapes the Royal Mint at the end of season two, Rio & Tokyo escape to an island in Panama with their portion of the money. Thanks to some chipped phones however, Rio is caught by Spanish police & Interpol. As Rio is locked up and tortured, Tokyo begs the Professor to help her free Rio from prison. 

From there, we get to the robbery of the Bank of Spain. After bargaining with government secrets, the police let Rio free and he’s brought into the arms of his lover. But he’s not the young boy we remember from season one, and he breaks up with Tokyo because of it. Rio confides in Stockholm (Ester Acebo) about his experiences being abused and his PTSD, and those conversations show us Rio still has feelings for Tokyo.

Now that we’ve caught up to now in the world of Rio & Tokyo, what does this new man mean for Rio? An important fact to remember about Tokyo is we’re introduced to her while she’s on the run. After a robbery gone wrong, Tokyo & her partner (implied to be her boyfriend at the time) try to escape, but her partner is shot dead and Tokyo is left on her own. 

Thankfully, the Professor pulls up to Tokyo and invites her into his crazy plan. But what happened that fateful day during the robbery? Fans are thinking we’ll go back right before the beginning of Money Heist and meet Tokyo’s former boyfriend through flashbacks in season 5.

Tokyo, the controlling girlfriend

More specifically, the theory implies these flashbacks aren’t just about the robbery. We’ll get to see events in Tokyo’s relationship that led up to the robbery and her boyfriend’s death. Fans are implying this will open up how toxic Tokyo really is, and will expose her for being a controlling, abusive girlfriend. 

So controlling, in fact, Tokyo’s boyfriend didn’t “accidentally” get killed, but sacrificed himself to protect her. Therefore, these flashbacks will prove Rio is going to die by sacrificing himself to protect Tokyo. Whether it be from a gunshot wound, drowning, or another form of death, Rio will take the fall and save the woman he loves. 

Didn’t Rio already do this?

Money Heist is no stranger to repeating itself. But implying Money Heist season 5 is going to have Rio sacrifice himself for Tokyo completely ignores the fact he does this in Money Heist season 3. The reason Rio is so badly tortured by Spanish police & Interpol is because he refuses to spill on any of the other robbers. 

Considering there’s video footage of him & Tokyo going into the Royal Mint before the heist, it’s hard to believe Alicia Sierra (Najwa Nimri) wouldn’t directly question Rio about Tokyo. Yet we know Rio never gave up any information and kept the heist information secret, as that’s part of the reason the police are willing to turn Rio over. 

While Rio would probably sacrifice himself to protect Tokyo again, it’s hard to believe Alex Pena and the other Money Heist writers would put this plotline in season 5. Then again, these are the same people who nearly kill Nairobi (Alba Flores) off at the beginning of season 4 and bring her back to life just to kill her again. Anything’s possible with the Money Heist writers. 

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If you’re dying for some more Money Heist content, you can read about other fan theories for season 5 here.