Spain's Elite Police: Beyond Limits (2021) s01e01 Episode Script

1
We have a wonderful moon tonight.
It's a privilege to be here.
I thank all of you.
-How are you feeling?
-Good.
Good enough to continue
or just to hold on a little longer?
-I can continue.
-Looks like you're suffering.
My hands are really cold.
Everybody else's hands are warm.
Your hands could be too.
But it looks like you're suffering.
Yes, I can take it.
I can take it.
You're missing your chance.
Your team's gone.
They didn't wait for you.
There must be a reason, right?
20 HOURS EARLIER
G.E.O. BASE
GUADALAJARA
The Special Operations Group
was created in 1978.
Very few make it into
the National Police's elite corps.
They fight terrorism,
drug trafficking and organized crime.
They are the last resort of the State.
Let's go, gentlemen, let's get started!
DAY 1: 100 officers have passed
the pre-entry tests for the G.E.O. course.
It is one of the most demanding
training courses in the world.
Perhaps none of them will make it
to become a G.E.O. operative.
The standard in this course
will be, not 100%,
but 500%.
Because the standard in this unit
is 500% as well.
HEAD COMMISSIONER
CHIEF OF G.E.O. / G.O.E.S.
G.E.O. COURSE PHYSICAL FITNESS TESTS
NATIONAL POLICE SCHOOL, ÁVILA
In a tactical unit like the G.E.O.,
there is no improvisation.
There is an immediate response,
an urgent response
based on previous training,
on daily training, not only physical,
but also psychological and tactical.
From the very first second,
the police officers who wish
to join the G.E.O. have to know that.
It's going to be their way of life.
It is a way of life.
The instructors I have selected
to teach this course
know they have an enormous responsibility.
We can't get it wrong.
Not for the police
and not for these police officers.
We can't get it wrong.
As I call your names,
I will give you your number.
Remember that number.
Number five, Alonso Arribas.
Number six, Acha Fernández.
-92?
-91, Salinas.
I like to observe people's body language.
It says a lot more than words.
I'm not interested
in what you're doing in that moment.
I'll look at you a minute later
to see how you handle it,
to see how you look at your partner.
I don't care about your mask.
I'm not looking at your face,
I'm looking beyond that.
INSPECTOR PELAYO
G.E.O. COURSE DIRECTOR
I will give a very clear instruction.
You have 10 seconds to carry it out.
You are to put the armband
on your right arm, do you understand?
Sit down.
All phones off.
Let this be the last time I see someone
walking from point A to point B.
From this point on,
everyone is constantly being evaluated.
-Any questions?
-No.
Now Deputy Inspector Mejías
will be giving you a series of orders
to be fulfilled as soon as possible.
We have a very tight schedule.
Seven and a half months
isn't a lot of time.
From now on, the only staircase
you can use is the service staircase.
The one you used to come up.
You cannot use the spiral staircase,
nor the elevator.
You have to earn those privileges.
When you hear your name,
go and get your ID card done.
Done. Next.
Eighteen.
-Number 10?
-Yes.
I would hurry up.
Put in the weapon, as it is, locked,
with the safety on, the two magazines,
telephone, watch
and personal identification.
I wasn't given instructions,
so I brought it in.
Did anyone ask you anything? Come on.
As soon as they arrived,
we took all their belongings from them.
Their cell phones, money,
wallet, identification
We had them put everything in a bag
like the ones used for prisoners.
Number 16.
-Are you number 16?
-Yes.
They kind of lose their identity.
They no longer have a first or last name.
They become a number.
Just a number.
On your feet!
We know how excited you are
about all this.
I congratulate you
for having made it this far,
because many other
National Police officers did not make it.
And in no way is that a failure.
You might have a lot of enthusiasm
and think that you have all the skills
to become a G.E.O. member,
but, over the coming days, some of you
are going to discover that you don't.
In any case,
for those of you who do not pass,
it will be an accumulated experience
in your professional history
that will surely enrich you.
Today we'll begin
the teambuilding phase of the course.
Do you know
what the inclined ground position is?
It's this. With our backpacks on,
we wait like this.
Let's go! Now!
Come on! Everybody,
inclined ground position!
We'll wait for our colleagues to arrive,
at their own leisure, no rush.
If you are told a specific time,
you are there at that time.
We're off to a very bad start.
Obedience in life
is one of the basic values
in the National Police.
We are a hierarchical force,
and they should already
have learned that lesson.
In a tactical unit,
this is followed a lot more to the letter.
To be a G.E.O. member
is to be a National Police officer.
It is one more implication
of this pride of belonging
that all policemen have
just because they're policemen.
You can't be in the G.E.O.
without sacrifice.
You cannot be in the G.E.O.
without dedication.
You cannot be in the G.E.O.
without training.
These are qualities common
to all National Police officers.
But the G.E.O. officer,
when he acts, is like a surgeon
who has to know perfectly
where to place the scalpel,
and cannot slip up by a millimeter.
Because that's the difference between
the success or failure of an operation.
-Should we do another lap?
-Yes!
-Yes or no?
-Yes!
You have to be fully committed
to be in the G.E.O.,
you have to want to be here 200%,
because the moments of weakness will come.
The hard times will come,
it's just a matter of time.
Both during the course
and in operational life.
Are you willing to endure them?
That's the big question.
And that's what I'm going
to help them answer.
You can't go on?
Armband.
Relax.
-Hey. Well done, okay?
-What? Yes.
-Okay?
-Yes.
-Damn it.
-Come on.
In Trillo, the true nature,
the soul of each person comes out.
TRILLO
G.E.O. TRAINING CAMP
The deepest parts of us come out.
You can't help it.
You can't hide it. It's impossible.
On the double! Come on!
Come on, on the double!
Take your partner's pack as well,
not just yours. Let's go!
What are we waiting for? Let's go!
-Come on, don't walk!
-Get everything, then we'll sort them out.
The last one gets a prize.
Let's go, the last one
wins a prize, gentlemen!
-Let's go!
-What is this, summer camp?
-Come on!
-Let's go. All the backpacks. Come on.
Silently! Move silently!
Quickly and silently!
Come on, with me! Let's go!
-Faster!
-Fall in.
-Come on, Charlie!
-Charlie!
Quiet!
Mathematics never fails.
That's also an axiom of life.
Exact sciences, they call them, right?
We start with the numbers
we gave them, right?
One hundred have arrived.
There aren't enough spots for everyone.
That's not a threat,
it's not to put pressure on them.
It's a fact.
Mathematics tells me that I have
more than 80 extra police officers here.
The sooner you come to the conclusion
that the G.E.O.
may not be
the most suitable future for you,
the easier it will be for all of us.
Whoever overcomes this
will experience being part
of the most
operationally-capable unit there is.
But the G.E.O. is not meant for everyone.
That's the way it is.
That's a fact. Mathematics.
Do you understand?
-Do you all understand?
-Yes!
There is only one speed here.
If you can't keep up, you go home.
You can't take it?
If you can't, ask for a discharge.
I want planks, gentlemen.
Yes, Instructor!
As soon as they arrive,
they face an absolutely
wild, crazy pace.
They have to feel the pressure,
they have to feel the suffocation,
the foot on their necks,
stomping on them, suffocating them.
And, if possible, they have to think
it's going to get worse.
The worse they think it's going,
the better job I'm doing.
Let's go, gentlemen, come on!
How does the G.E.O. work?
This looks like a carnival.
We work quickly and quietly!
I don't want to see a gap
in the formation.
-Do you understand?
-Yes, Instructor.
We work 24/7 here.
Let's go!
Okay, repeat that message.
There's been a dropout or an injury?
Negative. Not a dropout, he's limping.
Can he continue?
He wants to, but he has cramps
and he'll have to walk
Talk to his team leader and
redistribute his load immediately.
He's not a dropout,
he's just having a one-time problem.
-Yes.
-Get them to snap out of it.
Got it.
No one here goes into
an operation by himself.
No job is performed individually.
We are all cogs in a machine
and we have to function as a team.
Can everyone hear me?
-Yes!
-Yes, Instructor.
Very good.
The four who were falling behind,
come out, please.
These four men were falling behind.
They are a problem.
Since they are a problem for all of you,
you are going to distribute the weight
of their packs among your packs.
Our mission is
to get to a destination, right?
-We must get there.
-Yes.
We all have to get there.
We have what we have,
the weight we have, the bags we have,
the gear assigned to us by command.
Think about how we are going to do it
and function as commandos.
Proceed.
-Yes.
-Yes, Instructor.
Do you know what your problem is?
You want to carry on
and you don't care about your colleagues.
Because you only see competitors
who want to take your place.
You are not a team!
Who is doing the worst of all?
-Listen up!
-It's an easy question,
who is doing the worst of all?
The worst.
There is always a worst one.
Having a hard time?
Give me your backpack.
You have to set an example, right?
Ready.
Stand in columns of twos.
-We'll divide it up.
-Eighty-nine.
I would be ashamed.
That's all I'm saying.
Let's keep moving.
We are all cogs in a machine.
The small cog
and the big cog work the same.
If one wheel is missing,
nothing else works.
It is the DNA of the G.E.O.
to function in unison.
It's what we know how to do.
Since it's all about mathematics,
have you counted
how many days there are in 30 weeks?
Have any of you counted
how many days there are in 30 weeks?
That building is going to be
your living area.
It needs to be made suitable.
Now. Now!
Come on. Quickly, gentlemen. Let's go!
Let's get it together now! Hurry up!
Why are we standing still? What's wrong?
Why are we not moving?
Come on, jogging on the spot.
No standing still. Jog.
They don't know where they are.
The accommodation is not a hotel room.
They won't have their food
sitting in a restaurant either.
I'm sure some of them have never been
in a bivouac in the field,
eating whatever they can find.
We're not on a holiday, we are in a phase
of a special operations course,
and we have to see how they react.
Maybe not everyone reacts the same way.
Anybody who joins will have to earn
their position, their place.
You have to prove that you are who you are
and you're good enough for this.
It's hard, it's very hard.
Very tough on your mind,
very tough physically
And people who aren't sure
that this is their thing
or this is what they really want,
they're going to leave.
Some of you already know
that you won't finish the course.
Ask to be discharged now.
When an order is given, we all follow it.
Okay? We don't duck out.
Even if it's at night,
even if no one is watching,
your conscience is watching.
Are we clear on that?
Yes.
You have 30 weeks left.
You still have no idea
of what's in store for you.
Sixty-four, they're calling you.
Careful, it's tilting.
-Careful, careful.
-Okay, hold the bucket.
Come on! Here in front, somebody.
Team leaders, water buckets!
Hold here.
I can get through here, no problem.
Teams! Boat up!
-Up!
-On the count of three.
Two, three.
Careful. Hold it.
Come on.
Get it up.
-Careful.
-Up.
We need someone up front!
Hold on! Come on, switch!
Come on, both of you! Switch now.
Switch places one by one.
Run faster. Come on, run faster!
The faster you run, the more water you get
and the heaver it gets.
Team leaders, water bucket.
He's not even trying.
If you're not helping,
your teammates are carrying more weight.
Watch out.
One, two, up.
Move up a little.
We have to compensate here.
You spent all morning
trying to skip the exercises. Laughing.
Everyone keeps telling you
that you're laughing all the time.
-Like you think things are funny.
-No, far from it.
You have little time left, because
if you don't leave, I'll throw you out.
If any of you turns in your number,
the rest of you are excused
from carrying the boats.
-You can turn it in, too.
-Shoulder up.
One, two, three, up!
The back is falling.
Lower the boat.
It's falling.
On your shoulder!
Distribute the weight better.
Get the boat up.
One, two, three, up!
-Up!
-Coordination, gentlemen.
Strength comes from the team,
but we're nothing without coordination.
Help here. Team leaders.
-Yes.
-Yes.
-We need a replacement here.
-On my way.
That's it. Talk, collaborate.
If I'm not carrying weight,
I speak. I try to help out.
I don't look at the instructor
so I can push when he's looking at me.
That won't work.
Do you know this boat is going
to save our lives on the high seas?
Yes, Instructor!
Lower the boat.
Do you get what this is all about?
This could be a long night,
anyone want to call it quits now?
-Empty it.
-Gently.
All together.
Team leaders, help here.
One, two, three, now!
Number four from team Bravo
is asking to be discharged.
Go find the Deputy Inspector
and give him the armband.
Let's continue with the training.
Now you are going to take your partner
and carry their weight.
Now!
Internalizing that your partner's safety
depends on you and yours depends on him
is critical from day one.
We're often outside on missions,
we're isolated.
That feeling of having
a duty of care for your buddy,
of doing everything you can to get him
home safe and sound, is essential.
And whoever doesn't have that spirit
is out on the street.
Number 74 is a dropout, 74.
I'm not going to be their friend
nor their acquaintance.
I have to work
from a very objective point of view
to try and determine whether I would want
to have them working with me
or any of my colleagues in the future.
Whoever you select,
the person who you bet on
to be your partner tomorrow,
is going to be with you in Afghanistan
protecting an embassy,
or is going to be with you
on a ship at sea in a storm,
or is going to be with you being assaulted
by perhaps the most dangerous person
we can imagine.
So, it's a very serious responsibility,
I would say.
Take off all your clothes,
leaving your number on your right arm.
The G.E.O.,
among its many assigned duties,
has diving missions
and ship-boarding missions
on the high seas.
And, in both,
we could suffer hypothermia at any time.
Hypothermia is felt
when the human body temperature
drops by approximately two degrees.
It goes from mild to moderate
and from moderate to severe.
Mild hypothermia is a state of mind
and can be mastered.
Mastering the sensation
of mild hypothermia
will be the difference between us living
or becoming a corpse
floating in the middle of the Atlantic.
It is not easy to get
people's demons out of them,
to get their fears out, to bring out
what they really think,
the essence of the situation.
The Tagus makes it easy for you.
What you're feeling is just the first dip.
The cold shock you feel
when you hit the water.
It is a thermal sensation
that we can totally master.
We have a wonderful moon tonight.
It's a privilege to be here.
I thank all of you.
We're going to hold our breath
for 10 seconds underwater. Now.
All right. I'm going to say it
one more time.
We mentally count to 10 with our heads
completely submerged under the water
and then we come out.
It's up to you guys
whether we do it again and again.
Water.
Instructor, I'm out.
Give me your armband.
Get dressed.
Number 18, voluntary discharge.
You still have 20 minutes left.
Eleven, how long is a nautical mile?
1,852 meters.
I like that.
Not being able to speak clearly
is one of the first symptoms
-of mild hypothermia.
-At your command.
But we can go on.
Yes, Instructor.
Let's see for how long.
If anyone wants to quit,
you just have to get out of the water.
And that's the end of the suffering.
Because there's still a long way to go.
Yes, Instructor.
Hypothermia is something
that comes with the territory.
And with hypothermia
comes the fear of death.
And that can paralyze you completely.
Fear is a subjective feeling.
You learn to manage it.
Yes? Come out, please.
Give me your number and come out.
Total number of dropouts so far?
Twelve. Roger that.
I don't like to say
that I don't feel fear.
But it's a feeling
I've experienced so many times before,
in dangerous situations,
that I consider it as my own.
When it comes, I know it.
And it helps me clear my mind, and think.
If something exists
and you can't make it disappear,
handle it.
Out of the water quietly.
Get dressed. Now!
I've seen herds of wildebeest
stealthier than you on nature shows.
What is it, cramps?
Negative.
-Should we call the doctor?
-No.
What's the point of prolonging the agony?
This will not subside, gentlemen.
If you'll be back here
in an hour and quit,
save yourself that hour
and save us all time.
Two of your colleagues have been honest.
They realized that this was not for them.
They have handed in
their armband, and it's fine.
They have seen what this is about.
We thank them for it.
They're not punishing themselves anymore.
Huh, 47?
Who wants to give me their armband?
47 and 49 are hesitating.
Who wants to go home and sleep warm?
Come on.
Let's go.
It's no disgrace.
Be honest with yourselves.
What are you waiting for?
To be back in the water in 20 minutes?
This isn't going to get better.
It'll only get worse.
-Are you okay, 47?
-Come on, 47.
No, Instructor.
The ambulance's right there. Are you okay?
Yes, Instructor.
-Can you continue?
-Yes.
-Are you sure?
-Yes, Instructor.
Charlie, get out of here.
Come on, we're leaving, gentlemen.
Ready or not.
This is just the beginning, gentlemen.
-How are you feeling?
-Good.
Good enough to continue
or just to hold on a little longer?
-I can continue.
-Looks like you're suffering.
My hands are really cold.
Everybody else's hands are warm.
Your hands could be too.
But it looks like you're suffering.
Yes, I can take it.
I can take it.
You're missing your chance.
Your team's gone.
They didn't wait for you.
There must be a reason, right?
If you're sure you want to continue,
that's fine. We will help you.
But we will help you like this.
By pushing you to the limit.
You must decide
how you want to get out of here.
If you want to try to go all the way,
or if you're not sure,
a timely withdrawal is a victory.
It's as simple as that.
That's it.
Don't think of it as a morale killer.
-Do you have to think about it?
-No.
-Are you sure?
-Yes.
-Are you staying or leaving?
-I want to stay.
Let's leave them for a while
to think about
whether they are really happy
to be here or not,
and let them think about it.
We've been on missions
where there was no food,
we've been on deployments where
we weren't able to sleep for a long time.
So, the recruit has to be
prepared to suffer
because it is no longer just about
being able to endure the fatigue
or being able to endure the cold,
but during that fatigue or that cold,
the operative has to be able to work
and to carry out his mission
without making mistakes.
We'll be heading
into the water again in a little while.
Anyone want to turn in their armbands?
Just by being here,
you're great police officers.
We trust that you are. To me, you are.
I just saw the doctor by the river.
You know what I feel when I see a doctor?
I think, "Fucking pro." Speaking bluntly.
But I know I'm not fit to be a doctor.
-Do you understand me?
-Yes, Instructor.
Do I go home disappointed because of it?
No, Instructor.
But I know I'm not up to it.
I just know it.
I couldn't be a doctor if I wanted to.
I know that. I'm not fit to be one.
So, if you're not good at this,
you're not a bad cop,
nor do you have to leave
in frustration or anything.
You can leave with your head held high.
But this is the time,
because this will only get worse.
It's seven and a half months
and it's going to get worse.
And there's nothing wrong with that.
Are you clear on that?
Yes, Instructor.
Attention. Now.
Left turn. Now.
We will now walk.
Straight ahead. Now.
Quietly.
-Number 100.
-Yes
Come with me.
Quietly, gentlemen.
Anybody want to give me their armband
before going into the water?
It'll be longer this time.
They have
all the time in the world to think.
And that's catastrophic.
Why? Because it's a feeling of abandonment
that they have there,
a feeling of confusion,
of not knowing what's real, of thinking
that what awaits them is hell.
And to go around in circles in a square,
going round and round.
That is a huge mental breakdown
that many are not able to cope with.
Okay, guys. Numbers, please.
-It was a pleasure.
-A pleasure.
You can keep that.
Thank you very much.
Okay.
Come on!
-Stay together.
-Careful.
Come on.
Martos, put your head under.
When the inspector tells you to,
put your head under, not your face.
If only out of respect
for your colleagues.
-What's your number?
-Thirty-three, boss.
Thanks to him, the remaining 19
get a fourth submersion.
And thank him
as soon as you come out, number?
Thirty-three.
I want to see it clearly.
Come on, dive in. Now.
This is what happens to your teammates
when someone doesn't deliver.
Never forget this.
Thank you, 33!
-Come on, together, guys!
-All together.
Come on, guys. Let's do this!
We can take it.
If you don't get it right the first time,
you're no good to your teammates.
If you fail your teammates,
it's no good to me.
-Come on, we can take it.
-Come on, guys.
We group together to defend ourselves.
The group gives us security.
The group gives you that confidence
to hold on for five more seconds.
Five seconds in an operation is
the difference between living and dying.
Between surviving and not surviving.
Even your partner's survival
may depend on you as well.
We can't fight biology,
but we can win over a minute.
And one minute is sometimes
the difference between life and death.
That's what the group
gives you, confidence.
Fall in!
Let's get the morning started,
for fuck's sake.
Wash your faces, gentlemen.
One, two, three!
One, two, three!
Come on, a little more
Okay! Carefully!
The operatives will come
to remove the tree, don't worry
Get out of the way,
the tree will fall on you.
Anyone who is hungry, cold, tired,
their mind won't be at 100%.
All of that in the end means
that you can't pretend.
Your true self is bound to come out.
We're looking for whatever is hiding
under that mask. What are you like?
What are you like as a person?
What are you offering me?
What will you and I do in the future
if you become an operative?
After these first 24 hours,
do you still want to join the G.E.O.?
SPAIN'S ELITE POLICE: BEYOND LIMITS