God in heaven, I have finally made it to the double digits. And it only took me three years! I want to say there’s a good reason for that, like chronic debilitating illness, or a death in the family, or getting a productive job and having friends, but the truth is actually that I’m as bad at managing my time as the teachers at Elite Way are at doing their jobs, and I just keep putting these things off forever.
Without further ado! We’ve got a lot of ground to cover if I’m going to finish this series before I die. Previously on Rebelde Way: the amount of shit they manage to cram into 45 minutes never ceases to amaze me. Manuel went to Argentina for vengeance!, but has mostly just managed to assign himself a lot of homework. Marizza managed to show compassion for another human being for like five minutes. Guido finally, finally figured out that Pilar was writing the newspaper, and then…promptly forgets it in this episode. But I never expected much from his detecting skills, so that’s all right.
Opening narration: I…I don’t even know what this is. “My body is worthless unless it’s with yours.” I mean…okay?
Marizza bawls the journalist out for not being able to deliver her ~information~ immediately, because her entitlement issues just don’t stop. Eventually she agrees to go pick whatever it is up from the guy’s house, which sounds extremely safe.
Then I guess it’s the next morning, because Mia wakes up and shrieks at Feli for daring to hold a mirror up to her “morning face.” Heh. Feli yells at Mia for lying about being with Manuel, which confused me for five minutes until Feli’s like, “Manuel told me you talked to him about the photo!” So basically, Feli’s mad that…Mia spoke to Manuel for two minutes and didn’t tell her about it? Her yelling wakes Vico up, who takes this in and says, “I’d rather go back to my nightmare.” I feel you, Vico. Feli says she and Mia aren’t best friends anymore, which are cutting words when you’re 15.
Over in Marizza’s room, she begs Lujan to try out for the dance team with her. Lujan says dancing is stupid, except for those random times when the entire class bursts out into choreography together. Luna futilely tries to get them to lay off the dance group, and erroneously seems to think that telling them about Mia’s dead mother will make them be nicer to her. She shows them the picture frame that she’s somehow fixing even though there’s nothing wrong with it, and Marizza and Lujan both laugh at the fact that Mia doesn’t even know what her dead mother looks like. Jesus Christ. I thought Marizza had finally hit the bottom with destroying other people’s personal property, but she somehow managed to get even lower. For the sake of my love for her, I will ignore Lujan’s role in this. Marizza insists that she can teach Lujan how to dance, and drags her off while Luna shakes her head fondly. Luna! Psychosis is not cute!
Cafeteria. Tomás squeals that he can’t stop thinking about the girl who sent the letters. Who can it be?! Tomás, there’s only like eight girls with speaking parts. Guido is not pleased to find out about this — have Tomás and Pablo been keeping things from him? He’s like, their best friend! Pablo doesn’t want to tell Guido, which is weird since he was totally all for throwing Tomás under the bus and making Guido his new BFF last episode. Tomás tells Guido anyway, because he wants to brag about the fact that a giiiirl likes him. “She’s been writing me really dirty letters!” For some reason, this makes Guido think that it’s Pilar writing them. Do these kids even know each other? When they graduate, Pilar is probably going to be voted Most Appropriate. Anyway, she walks in at exactly that moment, and Tomás asks Guido why he thinks it’s her. Guido says it’s because she’s “always writing.” Well, yes, but the thing Pilar is writing is the newspaper, and I thought we established that Guido already knew that? Whatever. Tomás, hilariously, is actually sort of into the idea.
Then Marcos comes in, and they immediately start making fun of his glasses and his stutter. That’s just mean. He delivers another letter to Tomás (he like…found it on the floor), and the boys get all twitterpated. Guido points out that Pilar is staring at them.
Subtle.
In class, Mia tells Vico that she thinks Manuel is cheating on Feli, but she lied about talking to him, as she thinks that telling Feli will hurt her. I mean…more or less than finding out about Manuel’s (hypothetical) cheating will hurt her? I don’t know.
Pablo, Tomás, and Guido catch a girl putting something into Tomás’s locker. It’s the mystery girl! She runs off and Pablo and Tomás tell Guido to chase after her, because you definitely want to leave an important job to Guido, of all people. Frankly, if I were the letter girl and Tomás couldn’t even bother to chase after me himself, I’d be pissed. The girl ducks into a classroom and Guido loses her, because of course he does. He walks off and the girl reveals herself: it’s Pilar! This comes as a surprise to anyone who didn’t notice that the mystery girl was wearing the same socks, shoes, and knee-length denim skirt (2002!) that Pilar’s been wearing for the entire episode. Nico could do better than this!
Feli has apparently given Mia a chance to explain herself, as they’re now in the cafeteria, discussing Manuel. Mia flails around trying to explain why she thinks Manuel is playing Feli, which again, I think the show wants us to believe that Mia can’t say the real reason (that she doesn’t think Feli is attractive enough for Manuel to bother with) because it’s shallow, but you could just as legitimately say that all the evidence Mia has (Manuel’s weird obsession with her family, that time he pinned her to the side of a cliff) would upset Feli, as it sort of points to Manuel having a thing for Mia. Or just Manuel being psychotic. Feli points out that Mia might just not like that she’s not the center of attention for once, and snaps that Mia probably thinks that Feli is too ugly to get a boyfriend. How many times are the characters going to have this conversation? Mia tries to tell her that’s not true, and calls her “gordita”, and Feli snaps not to call her that. (“Gordita” is used as a term of endearment, but literally means “fat.” Double meanings!) Aaand Mia’s been kicked out of Feli’s lunch table again.
Meanwhile, Manuel and Nico are doing their homework in some hallway. As you do. Nico notes that Manuel isn’t able to concentrate on any of his schoolwork, and says that he’s going to have to vent “sometime.” And why not to Nico, his new BFF? Manuel admits that he feels like he can’t handle anything. It’s almost like a 17-year-old shouldn’t have taken on the responsibility of traveling to a completely different country and avenging his father’s death alone. He admits to Nico that he’s using Feli, but not for money — he doesn’t want to hurt her, but he’s given up everything for his ~mission~, and he has to sacrifice her feelings for the greater good (the greater good!). What’s really weird is that he says, “I lost my family…the friends I’ve had all my life…” like…aren’t his mom and tiny sister still okay? They’re just like, chilling back in Mexico, right? And his friends were like, “Cool, see you once you avenge urself on Colucci.” It’s not like they’re all dead, Manuel! I know texting didn’t exist in 2002, but you could write them letters! Nico suggests that Manuel find another way of carrying out his ~mission~ that doesn’t involve hurting Feli’s feelings. Seriously, if Manuel had just gotten with Mia in the first place, this whole thing wouldn’t have happened. Of course, then they wouldn’t have been able to drag this drama out for ten episodes.
Back at the lockers, Guido tells Pablo and Tomás he lost the girl. They’re all appalled, and Guido’s like, “Why didn’t you go after her?” For real, Tomás! Put some effort in! Fortunately, not all is lost: Guido picks up a rainbow hair clip from the floor. A clue!
An accurate representation of their mystery-solving skills.
Feli tells Mia that she just doesn’t understand — Manuel makes Feli happy! “I feel like I could die tomorrow, because the time I spent with him gave my life meaning.” Dude! That’s scary! Mia sensibly says that Feli shouldn’t be talking like this about someone she just met, but Feli says that Mia doesn’t know because she’s never been in ~love. This is, admittedly, not out of character for 15-year-olds. Mia lets it go for the sake of their friendship, and I guess the two of them are besties again. That was fast. But then, this is also pretty characteristic of 15-year-olds, to be fair.
Marizza comes in to audition with Lujan, Pilar, and a bunch of extras. She asks if Feli can put the CD on without eating it, because Marizza is actually a terrible person. I really don’t understand how Mia is the mean girl of this school. Anyway, once they’re done dancing, Mia cheerfully lets them all in, except Marizza, naturally. Marizza takes this with great maturity, by which I mean she tries to pull Mia’s hair out.
Over in the boring Sonia/Papa C storyline, you will recall that Papa C hit Sonia with a defamation notice, which is totally throwing off her groove. Papa C’s lawyer tells Sonia that he’ll drop the whole thing as long as she denies the rumors of him sexually harassing her (which aren’t true regardless), but she refuses for no reason that I can see. Pepa suggests that maybe someone put the reporter up to publishing the story? Sonia’s all appalled that someone would do that to her. I would be surprised by this, but we already knew Marizza can’t even be nice to her own mother.
Luna brings back Mia’s frame to cheer her up, and Mia squeals over how pretty it is. It…looks exactly the same? Okay, whatever. Luna asks Mia if she was just joking about not having any pictures of her mom, because Marizza said so. Mia’s like, why the fuck would I be joking about my dead mother? Then she muses that it is really weird that she doesn’t have any photos of her. There’s a mystery afoot! It’s lucky that Mia’s a better detective than Nico or Guido.
Back in Marizza’s room, all the other girls are excited over making the group, but Marizza shuts them down quick: she didn’t get in, and that’s what really matters here. Weirdly, one of the extras was in the dance group in the very first episode? Maybe you’d still be in the group if you didn’t quit, random background character! Marizza says that they should form their own group away from Mia’s ~tyranny. So essentially, she’s trying to pretend her power play is an issue of equality. The revolution is now!
Guido catches Pilar going down the stairs and demands to know what she’s doing there. In…the hallway of the boarding school that she lives at? Come on, Guido. He asks why she’s rummaging in her bag, because no student ever carries around a bookbag and has to get stuff out of it sometimes. She snaps that she’s just fixing her hair, and pulls out one of her rainbow hair clips to prove it. I mean, Guido’s lucky she basically brought out the evidence right in front of him, otherwise he probably never would’ve figured it out.
In the lounge. I don’t know what time of day it is. Do these kids only have one class in the morning or something? Anyway, Manuel is trying to break up with Feli, but then her tiny sister and her overly critical mom show up. See, this would be a good time for Manuel to be like, “You have a tiny lisping sister? I also have a tiny lisping sister!”, but he doesn’t. Feli’s tiny lisping sister blurts out that they came to pick Feli up in person because her mom didn’t believe Feli had a real boyfriend. Oh, ouch. So of course now Manuel can’t break up with her for another fifty episodes.
Guido tells Pablo and Tomás that it’s Pilar who’s writing the letters. They’re both weirdly enthusiastic about the idea, even though I thought all the popular kids hated Pilar? Because she’s the principal’s daughter and possibly a snitch? I’m not making that up, right? Well, whatever. I can believe Tomás doesn’t care, bless his heart, but I don’t know why Pablo’s backing him up. Pablo says he’ll throw a party at his house and invite “another girl”, so it’ll be like a double date. That sounds awfully unspecific. I guess Pablo’s not planning on inviting Vico? When she shows up and says she wants to come over, he lies and says he’s spending the weekend at Guido’s. Vico is suspicious.
Mia has a dream where Manuel kisses her while “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman” plays in the background. God, I love this show. She wakes up all appalled. Could it be that she likes Manuel? Yes, Mia. Yes, it could. Isn’t like, half the issue here that Mia had a thing for Manuel when he first came to school?
(Sidebar: I was like…eight, I think? when that song came out, and my friends and I used to overdramatically sing it together on the playground, and one of the teachers yelled at us for it. Good times.)
Also, I have to admit that for a second, I didn’t realize it was a dream. I mean, coming into the room without permission and sitting on Mia’s bed while she’s asleep kind of seems like something Manuel would do anyway, right?
Just another day creepin’.
Back in reality, Feli comes in crying over her mom. Mia comforts her, but then Manuel busts in and takes over. He tells Feli that his mom is embarrassing, too. So he does still remember his mom? I can’t keep up with this show’s continuity. He cheers Feli up a little, and then Gloria knocks on the door. Manuel is going to be caught in the girls’ dorm! Hijinks! Gloria yells at them that locking the door is against school rules, which is the least safe policy that I can think of. Mia and Feli stash Manuel in the closet, where he starts sniffing Mia’s clothes. I swear to God.
Gloria refuses to leave until Feli is done packing, which, as always, strikes me as a really weird invasion of the administration into the students’ lives, but whatever. They shuffle out together, and Mia and Manuel are left alone. Drama! Manuel thanks Mia for saving him, and they bond a little over their mutual affection for Feli, which is kind of sweet. Then Manuel kisses Mia on the cheek, and she gets all twitterpated. Mia and Manuel frustrate me because they can actually be pretty cute at times, when Manuel’s not nosing around her clothes and barging into her bedroom.
Over at the lockers, Tomás gives Pilar chocolate. “It’s not as sweet as you, but I hope you like it.” Tomás is such a dork. Pilar is weirdly snippy with him, considering she’s been leaving him love letters? Anyway, Tomás asks her out, and Pilar hedges a little (“My parents are like dinosaurs about this kind of thing”), but eventually says yes. I really don’t know if we’re supposed to think Pilar actually likes Tomás or if this is some kind of elaborate newspaper-gossip plot or what. I also don’t know why I’m bothering to try and make sense of this show.
Sonia comes to pick Marizza up and embarrasses her in front of everybody. God bless. “Have you ever considered that not everyone wants you around all the time?” Marizza asks. “No, everyone who meets me always wants to be around me!” Sonia chirps. Heh. Marizza wails that Sonia is harshing her cool. Hey, at least you have a mom, Marizza! Marizza lets it slip that she was the one to sell the sexual harassment story to the reporter. Sonia is not pleased.
Outside, Feli’s mom tells her that Manuel probably lost a bet. Jesus. Manuel runs out and introduces himself to Mama Mitre, and says they should all have dinner together. He wants to get to know Feli’s family, because he likes her so much! Goddammit, Manuel, you are so creepy but also one of the only decent people on this show. I am emotionally conflicted here.
Over in Mia’s room, Pilar comes in asking for fashion advice, as she needs something to wear for the party with Tomás and Pablo. Mia gives her a dress without a second thought — “I’ve worn it twice already, so you can have it.” God, I love her. Also, has Marizza considered that maybe the reason none of the girls want to fight Mia is because Mia is pretty nice to them about 80% of the time? I mean, I’m not saying she’s being genuinely friendly to Pilar, but it’s not like she’s actually a bully or anything, which is how the Libby usually rolls. Mia’s more of a Cher Horowitz than a Regina George, u know? Vico is Not Pleased to find out that there’s a party at Pablo’s. She doesn’t swear vengeance though, which I find a little disappointing.
Manuel’s room. Nico points out that spending the weekend at Feli’s house is just going to make it harder to break up with her, but Manuel flips out that he doesn’t care about such things. Is he the only one that cares about other people’s emotions?! I mean…yeah, Manuel, you kind of are. I don’t know what you expected in a school full of obnoxious rich kids. Manuel says that a long time ago, someone he loved was suffering, and he didn’t notice until it was too late. “Well, you can just write him a letter now and make it up to him!” Nico derps. Oh, Nico.
Some limousine. Sonia rightly chews Marizza out for making the sexual harassment story up, and tells her that she’s going to have to apologize to Franco Colucci. My God, someone is finally disciplining Marizza! It’s like a miracle. Marizza wails that she can’t, because she goes to school with Papa C’s daughter, and “the daughter” told Marizza that she couldn’t dance! She’s just so mean! Sonia immediately switches gears and says she’ll go yell at the Coluccis for her, since obviously Marizza is too fragile. How long will I have to wait for something terrible to finally happen to Marizza? HOW LONG?
Back at school, Dunoff shuts Pilar down over the party: he doesn’t like Pablo, he doesn’t like the Bustamantes, and he doesn’t like “that environment.” Yeah, Death Eaters are no good, Pilar! Pilar wants to know why she can’t go to the party if it’s cool for him to accept gifts from Papa B, and Dunoff slaps her. My God, there’s a lot of parental abuse going on in this episode. Pilar storms out.
Marizza goes to pick up the envelope from the reporter, but the reporter has skipped town for some reason, and has left his kid to be picked up with the envelope. So now Marizza gets to take care of a small child. Hijinks! I guess. I mean, it’s not the comeuppance I hoped for, but I’m learning to really lower my expectations where this show is concerned.
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