After leaving viewers with The Professor being met with a gun in the final shot of season four, Money Heist (or La Casa De Papel) will debut its long-awaited fifth and final season on September 3rd, 2021. After such an intense ending, fans may be wondering how the incredibly intelligent Professor will manage to come up with a way out of his deadly situation.
Luckily, outsmarting the enemy is something the Money Heist characters are no strangers to. Some members of the beloved band of bank robbers bring their advanced knowledge of crime to the team, others their emotional intelligence, and some have much more niche abilities - but the smartest ones of the group have a multidisciplinary intellect that they showcase throughout the series.
Rio
When it comes to computer smarts, no other character has Rio beat. He is the designated hacker of the group, a skill that requires someone of high intelligence. This is even more impressive considering his young age.
Although he's technically savvy, Rio's intelligence can easily be questioned at times. He often makes decisions that lead the gang into trouble with law enforcement. This is first evident in season one when he accidentally allows Allison Parker to access her phone which in turn gives the police intel about the identities of the robbers. Rio might just be the smartest of the bunch in a virtual sense, but practically, not so much.
Helsinki
Helsinki is one of the more rational members of the group. While he does tend to be quite a softy and lets his emotions get the best of him at times, such as when it comes to his relationship with Palermo, he is not someone to mess around with. His teddy bear appearance somewhat hides the fact that he is indeed an intellectual.
There is no other character that steps up to fight more than Helsinki. He knows how to be intimidating, when to be threatening, and he even made the difficult decision to put his own brother Oslo out of his misery. These are traits of someone with a clear, level head, but overall his sense of reason just doesn't quite measure up to that of his counterparts.
Tokyo
It cannot be ignored that Tokyo has made some crucial mistakes throughout the series, like shooting at police officers in season one, her many attempts at overthrowing Berlin's leadership, and of course breaking The Professor's rule against relationships. Despite this, she almost always bounces back better than ever before.
Tokyo is able to think quickly and fight back effectively, such as when she was able to escape Gandía's capture in season four. She always wants to take the lead and often makes it seem like she has smarter ideas than The Professor. Being that she is always on the front lines while The Professor makes his moves from afar, she undoubtedly brings an important level of insider expertise and intelligence to the missions. Still, Tokyo's foolish errors often result in dire consequences for the entire team which proves she still has more to learn.
Inspector Alicia Sierra
With Raquel leaving her position with the police, a new character had to be introduced as a negotiator in the next big heist. In walks Inspector Alicia Sierra who gives The Professor and the group a quite literal run for their money. Most of her actions are undoubtedly smart in terms of combatting the bank heist, resulting in her character becoming one of the most clever in the entire series.
Fans are likely wondering how Alicia will continue to outsmart the gang in season five of Money Heist, especially considering she is on the other side of the gun during the cliffhanger ending of season four. So far, she has come up with the ingenious idea to manipulate Nairobi by taunting her with her estranged son, and she was able to single-handedly find The Professor after she is let go from the police department.
Moscow
Moscow is one of the smartest characters of the original robbery crew. His character is established as a wise father figure to not only his son Denver, but the rest of the gang as well. Time and time again, Moscow encourages the other characters to think more rationally in order to avoid issues with the established scheme, especially when Tokyo continually wants to stray from the plan.
Ultimately, Moscow made all the right moves and was smart enough to keep everyone on track. And yet, he ended up being one of the first of the Money Heist crew to fatally fall. Without him, the group began to spiral. If Moscow had stayed alive, it is likely that many things that did go wrong would not have under his guidance - had he gotten more of a chance to showcase his smarts.
Nairobi
One of the best Money Heist team members is Nairobi, whose intelligence is on display often. Her troubled background thrust her into a life of crime, making her incredibly smart in terms of deception. She is able to take charge when necessary, like when she temporarily takes over for Berlin during the first heist. She can ensure that everything is working smoothly, as showcased in both heists when she oversees the printing of money and the smelting of gold.
In addition to her boss-like attitude, Nairobi genuinely cares about others which makes her able to consider situations holistically when making important decisions. Simply put, Nairobi knows how to get things done effectively - but her overall intelligence isn't enough to match the genius of some of her crewmates.
Palermo
Palermo is one of the most disliked Money Heist characters given the way he treats others so poorly. Despite this, he is wildly cunning and his intelligence cannot be denied. Palermo knows how to manipulate others so that he gets what he wants, such as when he convinced Gandía to free him after being tied up by his heist-mates.
In addition to his astute deceitfulness, Palermo is established as a skilled engineer. He also contributes to the planning of the heists with The Professor and Berlin, which of course requires an incredibly intelligent skillset. Regardless, Palermo proves time and time again that he has evil tendencies and is seemingly not smart enough to care for the good of the group.
Raquel / Lisbon
Originally, Raquel had a tendency to be one step behind the group at all times in her role as a detective. Despite this, The Professor was continually forced to adapt the plan as Raquel used her wit to combat the hostage situation. Had it not been for her talent and intelligence in her investigative role, there would have been no conflict at all.
In the later seasons when Raquel integrates into Money Heist's criminal crew as Lisbon, she uses her insider knowledge to help navigate through the second mission. Since she knows how to work both with and against the police, she is one of the smartest people to contribute to the robbery of the Bank of Spain, nearly matching the brains of her beau.
Berlin
Berlin is a character whose intelligence is initially hidden away. To the group, Berlin is just another member of the heist at first, chosen by The Professor to be the leader. Of course, it is later revealed that Berlin had a major part in planning the entire Royal Mint heist, which unquestionably requires immense cleverness.
His character is established as a master of heists, so it is not surprising that he is intelligent enough to help concoct the most intricate crime of all time. Plus, he is even smart enough to sacrifice himself for the safety of the others at the end of season two. And yet, Berlin would surely be nothing without the wit of his brother.
The Professor
Without a doubt, the most intelligent character in Money Heist is most obviously The Professor. Though he thrives off the help of Berlin, Lisbon, and Palermo in terms of making the plans, The Professor is the mastermind behind each heist as he is able to contemplate every detail of the utterly complex crimes.
The Professor is almost always able to find a way out of the problems the group faces. He is even brilliant enough to directly immerse himself into a romantic relationship with the lead detective on the Royal Mint robbery case, which is one of the boldest moves someone in his position could make. Being the puppet master behind the scenes, there would simply be no heists at all without The Professor.