In lieu of an opening monologue, I’ll just remind you of where we left off. Feli told Manuel that Mia still liked him, and Manuel was shocked, absolutely shocked by this revelation! Nobody saw that coming!
So now here Manuel is in the hallway, asking Mia if she still likes him. She immediately denies it, because if she didn’t, that might actually resolve the plot. Manuel tries to save face and mutters that she was just with him for a bet (wait, what?), and Mia says that he was only with her for revenge. She doesn’t know why he wants revenge on her — is it because she was a dick to him when he first came to the school? Wow, I can’t believe they remember that far back. Anyway, Mia snips that there was never anything between them, so there’s nothing to get over.
Mansilla takes Renata out to dinner. When did they decide on this? Why must this show insist on constantly showing me useless scenes of Sonia getting massages and repetitively bantering with Papa C, and then not inform me at all when stuff like this happens? Anyway, he tells her that his contract with the school was only for a year, and Renata asks if he’s planning to come back. If I were Mansilla, I’d be like, “HA! Surely you jest!” but instead he evades the question. She lets it slip that she knows he’s going to be teaching school off in the wilds of the Argentinian borderlands, and he’s not happy with her for going through his stuff. Nevertheless, she doesn’t want him to leave because the kids love him, and he says he accomplished his goals: the Society is gone, and the kids have self-confidence. You sure, Mansilla? You might want to work on Feli and Luna a little more before you go. Renata tells him that she doesn’t think of him as an enemy, and the school won’t be the same without him.
There is no reason for this change of heart on her part, but I guess we’re getting close to the end, so we gotta cut some corners (like, say, Mansilla and Renata ever getting along) so that they can get together by episode 139.
You’ll recall that Marizza and Simon, the protagonists we’re meant to be rooting for, went behind Pablo’s back and started promoting the band’s final show, so now he’s all worried that Papa B’s going to find out and kill him. What fine, upstanding friends Marizza and Simon are! Guido and Tomás are like, “It’s the curse!” They want him to do the spell to try and break it, but Pablo’s like, “Uh, I was thinking we just go tear down the posters.” Guido and Tomás wibble that they’ll be in trouble if they sneak out, but they agree to go with him anyway.
Night falls, presumably for Pablo to sneak out. Mansilla and Renata are still at that restaurant. The staff must be pissed. He’s telling her about how kids in the border regions of Argentina don’t have access to education, so he’s going off to teach there and help them. Renata wants to know why he hasn’t told the kids yet, and Mansilla blusters that it’s not the right time. He’s like, “You can’t break up with someone right before exams!” (I learned that from The Princess Diaries, btw.) Why, is he afraid he’s going to distract them from all the studying they’re already not doing?
Marizza’s heart finally grows three sizes: she asks if Simon’s sure nothing is going to happen with the posters, because Papa B really will kill Pablo if he sees them. She’s having this conversation outside in the dark, just so that she can catch Pablo and co. sneaking out. They grab her and make her help them, so she distracts the guard and they leave.
Someone from the Justice Department calls Pepa and asks for Sonia. “You won’t get me this, time Mercedes!” Pepa says. “Look, I’m much smarter than you think.” HA! Oh, that’s the funniest thing I have heard all day. She slams down the phone all proud of herself, and on the other end, a woman from the Justice Department is like, “What was that?” HEE. I hope this ends with Pepa getting arrested and me never having to see her again, but I know that’s too much to ask for.
Meanwhile, Marcos is comforting Lujan over her tutor. He tells her that even if her tutor gets mad (what’s he gonna do, send her an email in all caps?), Marcos is with her. Aw. Lujan says she wishes she could help Marcos with his mom, the way he’s helping her with her tutor. Marcos says his mom is dead to him. I mean…eh, she was a jerk, I can’t really blame him for feeling that way. Belen runs up, all excited to have something to do in this episode, and tells Lujan that a box came for her. It’s an outfit for her to wear at the party, and Lujan’s like, “It’s so beautiful!” There’s something hilariously postmodern about a sad orphan getting misty-eyed over a tube top and a miniskirt. Like Cinderella, if the ball was at a club. Anyway, Lujan freaks out that her tutor somehow knows about the party, and refuses to wear the outfit. Marcos is like, “But your boobs would’ve looked so good in that top!”
Pablo, Guido, and Tomás are apparently searching for posters at the bottom of a glass. Oh, no, wait, apparently we didn’t see their search at all, and now they’re groaning about how they didn’t find anything. Then Marizza shows up with a bigass poster and she’s like, “Hmm, maybe you guys didn’t look closely enough.” The poster doesn’t have any of their names or their picture on it, and Pablo is half-relieved that he’s off the hook, and half-offended that the poster doesn’t ID the members at all. Heh.
The next morning, Mia’s cradling her dress in her arms while Vico and Feli sigh over her outfit choice. She won’t even let them see it, they’re just fawning over her for the hell of it. Heh. Mia is obsessive over keeping the dress in perfect condition and not letting anyone touch it until the party, which is storytelling shorthand for, “The dress is mostly definitely going to get fucked up before the party.” Luna comes in, and she and Vico both show Mia what they’re planning to wear to her party. Mia yells at them for picking such ugly dresses and wails that they can’t show up to her quince like that. Dammit, Mia, I was just defending you in my last post. Don’t make me regret it.
Manuel and Nico sneak into the lobby to call his family in Mexico. Marcos freaks out about what he’s supposed to do if someone comes by, and Nico’s like, “Oh my God, figure it out! Go away!” Like Nico really has room to talk. Every time he keeps watch for Manuel, someone busts them. Marcos is nearly as bad, but he does manage to keep Gloria away. He tells her that Marizza wants to invite her — and all the teachers! — to the quince. I would love to see that, I won’t even lie. Back in the lobby, Manuel finds out that Blas paid the Aguirres a visit. He tells his mom to go ahead and answer Blas’s questions, and keep him occupied long enough so that Blas will stay away from Elite Way for another day.
Luna emos to Marizza and Lujan that Mia didn’t like her dress (which was perfectly cute, by the way — on the other hand, I do dress like a grandma, so what do I know?). Sandra’s like, “What’s wrong with the dress, it’s only been worn once, at my quince…oh.” Heh. She sighs that someone really ought to teach Mia what’s important in life, and Marizza’s like, “Someone really should.” She drags Lujan off to help her, probably because this lesson is going to involve fisticuffs.
Sonia comes to see Mia, and she’s trying to tell her something important, but Mia keeps cutting her off with talk about her dress. They decide to go somewhere else to talk, leaving Mia’s room empty. Uh-oh. Marizza and Lujan sneak in and steal Mia’s dress. Even Lujan thinks this is a little overkill, but Marizza’s like, “No such thing!” Again: can you imagine if anyone had done that to Marizza? She’d be running around shrieking about what a miscarriage of justice it is.
In the lounge, Sonia wants to know why Mia was such a dick to her friends about the dresses, and Mia reveals that it was just a trick: Papa C bought dresses for them, and she wants it to be a surprise. Sonia coos about how sweet Mia is. I’d say Marizza’s going to feel like a dick, but I know she won’t. Sonia tells Mia that Mercedes doesn’t want Sonia anywhere near Mia or Papa C, so she won’t be able to spend much time with her anymore, and especially at the party. Mia has a meltdown until Sonia promises to help her. “Can you make Mercedes not come to my party?” Mia asks.
All the kids go to class, and Nico’s like, “So remind me why you want Blas to stay in Mexico and keep digging into your past?” and Manuel’s like, “It’s the perfect plan! Now Mia will be mad that he didn’t come to her party!” “…Mia,” Nico deadpans. HEE! Manuel says that Papa Aguirre was the most transparent and upstanding man in the world; Blas isn’t going to find out anything shady. OR WILL HE? Oh, by the way, it must be Friday, as all the kids are in free dress.
Renata notes that Marizza and Lujan aren’t in class, and that’s because they’re out back, burying Mia’s dress in the ground. Oh, for fuck’s sake. What’s wrong with Marizza? She is the actual worst. As they walk back towards the school, Marizza sees Simon and she’s like, “Oh, it’s my age-inappropriate enabler!” She greets him and asks how he got them booked at the Gran Rex anyway, and he says his uncle is in with one of the theater owners. Oh, and he’s also the official school photographer! Oh, and he wants to take her to Machu Picchu! Maybe he’ll throw her off the top? I can dream.
Marizza comes back to class, and Renata thanks her for inviting all the teachers to the quince. Mia’s like, “Say what?”
Sonia goes to see Papa C. He’s casually nice to her, and she’s all twitterpated. I mean, she’s playing it up quite a bit because she’s come to ask him for a favor, but she also seems pleasantly surprised by his good mood. Anyway, that disappears once she tells him that she’s come to ask that Mercedes be uninvited from the party. Yeah, Papa C does not like that, at all.
Marizza delivers the news to the band (sans Mia) that they’re going to play the Gran Rex. Everyone’s all excited, although Nico doesn’t think he can continue on as their manager. Like, it was fine when he was just repping them at his almost-father-in-law’s tiny nightclub, but they’re going to need an actual adult if they’re playing the Gran Rex. Fair enough, but the rest of the band is like, “No, Nico, you’re the best manager we could possibly have!” Pablo is also a Negative Nancy about the whole thing, because he’s nervous about performing in front of such a huge audience. Also fair enough — I don’t think a crowd of three thousand would be as thrilled with their “play one song then go get drunk” schtick.
Mia comes in and yells at Marizza for inviting the teachers to their parties. Manuel takes the blame for Marizza, because for some reason everyone on this show thinks they have to protect her from all the consequences of her shitty decisions. Marcos then confesses to her that it was all on him, but Lujan’s like, “Look at it this way, we can make Mia even more miserable!” She and Marizza cackle at the thought.
“It’s funny ’cause she’s done absolutely nothing to deserve this!”
Manuel tries to calm Mia down outside, but she wails to him that everything is going wrong for her. And it kind of is. She gets a call from Blas, too, telling her that he won’t be coming back for her party, and Manuel’s like, “Yeah, I’m gonna leave before the screaming starts.”
Sonia rants to Pepa about how much she hates Mercedes, blah blah blah. Pepa cackles that Mercedes tried to harass Sonia on the phone, too, but Pepa hung up on her. Sonia congratulates her on a job well done. The Justice lady calls back and Sonia agrees to meet her, giggling with Pepa at the thought that they’re outsmarting Mercedes. I hope they both get arrested.
The chem/physics teacher is having class in the regular room, for some reason. She sees gift bags on Vico and Luna’s desks, and Mia chirps that she can explain: she bought them dresses because she wants everyone at her party to be happy, and she was mean to them so it would be a surprise. She even picked out styles that they would like (a fluffy pink thing for Luna and a slinky black one for Vico). Luna and Vico are all happy. Meanwhile, Marizza and Lujan realize they done fucked up. GOOD. Marizza runs off to go dig up Mia’s dress; Mia sees that Marizza looks weird and is like, “She’s up to something!” She sends Feli after her. Hee. Mia knows what’s up.
Feli catches Marizza with the dress and runs off to tell Mia. Marizza tackles her and is like, “Don’t say anything, I’ll give you a whole box of chocolates and a whole table of sweets at the party!” Oh, Marizza. She begs Feli not to tell and seems genuinely panicked. Aw! See, show, all I ask for is for Marizza not to act like a total sociopath all the time.
Pablo is still pouty over the Gran Rex thing. Tomás is like, “Is performing your music at the Gran Rex your life’s dream or not?” Man, when Tomás is giving you life advice, you know you’re in a bad place. Oh no, wait, now Tomás is back to believing that this has to do with the curse…somehow. Pablo sighs that between the band, his dad, and his lack of violent girlfriend, his life is really sucking. “Mine too,” Tomás whines. “I had to date Pilar, and now Dunoff’s after me, and all my grades are down.” Tomás? All of that is your own fault. Guido runs up with…God in heaven, is that his urine in a bottle? Sweet fancy Moses. Well, maybe it’s not, since Pablo and Tomás aren’t nearly grossed out enough by having it waved in their faces. Oh, wait, whatever it is, they have to bathe in it to break the curse. Pablo sighs that his life is shitty enough that he’s willing to try it now.
Mia sighs that she wants to go visit her dress again, and both Feli and Marizza shriek, “NO!” Mia ignores them, and Feli runs off to stop her. Simon rocks up to Marizza and he’s like, “What’s wrong, and is it anything I can fix with my penis?” Marizza bemoans her impulsiveness, and Simon says they’ll find another dress. Somehow. They’re caught leaving the school, but luckily by Mansilla. Marizza tells him she needs to leave to get something from her party, and he’s like, “Oh, that’s a totally legit reason to skip school.” Marizza squeals her thanks and runs off. Renata comes up behind Mansilla and she’s like, “Man, what are these kids gonna do without you around to enable them constantly?” But like, nicely. I miss when Renata was mean 🙁
Sonia goes to meet the lady from the Justice Department, thinking she’s there on Mercedes’s behalf. She plots a whole thing out with a waiter to spill water on the woman, and tells her not to mess with Sonia Rey. The woman’s like, “You crazy, and you can talk with the person who sent me yourself.” It’s clearly not Mercedes, and Sonia’s all, “VOS?!” Then it cuts to another scene, then she goes back to Pepa and wails that this is the most terrible thing that’s ever happened. “WHAT?!” Pepa gasps. Then they cut away again. Okay, show? I don’t care about Sonia that much. This is not building any suspense for me. I’m literally forgetting that it’s happening the second you change scenes.
Mia is emo over Blas not coming to her party, but confesses to Vico that she wants to dance with Manuel tomorrow. (Tomorrow being the party. In my defense, they only mention that like halfway through the episode.) She asks Hilda if she’s coming to the party, and Hilda’s like, “Parties are for the young, not for the OLD and DYING.” Ooookay. Luna sighs that it’s too bad, because the party would be the perfect opportunity for Hilda and Hilario to hook up. Lujan’s like, “Pfft, like we’re going let her make her own decisions about dating him.”
Meanwhile, having bathed in whatever Marizza gave Guido, the boys are all itchy now and they smell weird. Hilda notices them fidgeting and makes them come up to the front of the class, where they proceed to keep scratching themselves. Everyone enjoys watching them get embarrassed, except for Marizza, because she’s not here. Missing out on your own revenge? Jesus, Marizza, get it together.
Lujan, Luna, and Feli all go to Mansilla to beg him to get Hilario and Hilda to come. He refuses, and suggests Renata can help them. Renata comes in and she’s like, “Are you talking about me?” Mansilla says that this is her opportunity to show how much she cares about the kids. They crowd around her instead, and Mansilla watches all amused. I can’t help but really be charmed by this, because it’s accompanied by what is lowkey my favorite Avril Lavigne song.
Guido, Pablo, and Tomás all run outside and spray their crotches with water to get rid of the itching. There’s a lot of standing close together and moaning in relief, which…yeah. Also, could they not just take another shower? I swear to God, these guys. Marizza and Simon rock up and they’re like, “This is very homoerotic.” After the boys leave, Simon tells Marizza that they’ve fixed everything, so she should relax and enjoy her birthday, and not be sad about Pablo anymore. Whatever, Simon. You don’t even go here.
Blas is somewhere in Mexico, looking very orange. He’s on the phone with someone, being shady about Papa Aguirre.
Is he trying to blend into his surroundings? I still see you, Blas, and I still hate you.
Renata corners Hilda and tells her that she wants her to be one of the chaperones at the party. Hilda doesn’t want to, and Renata snips that she’s not asking her, she’s informing her. OOOOH. Then Hilario comes in, and Renata starts, “I just wanted to inform you…” and Hilda’s like, “Aw, hell no.” Hee! Hilario cheerfully accepts, and Hilda storms out.
Mia can’t resist looking at her dress again, and Feli is too weak-willed to stop her. She’s also too weak-willed to cover up the truth any longer, and Mia storms off to go kick Marizza’s ass. She runs into Marizza’s room and PUSHES HER OUT THE WINDOW. It is the greatest thing I have ever seen in my entire life. I want this played at my funeral.
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