Previously on Rebelde Way: Mia used the power of mid-2000s pop music to slowly start helping Manuel recover his memories. Meanwhile, Hilda has cottoned on that Pablo’s grasp of Argentinian geopolitics isn’t good enough for him to have aced his history test.
Hilda confronts Pablo about cheating on his exam, and Marizza owns up to stealing the answers, then Pablo tries to take the fall for her, then Marizza insists that it was her responsibility, blah blah blah. Hilda sighs and says that it doesn’t change anything; the grade is Pablo’s, she just wanted to hear the truth from him. What? Hilda, most schools don’t allow cheating or plagiarism! This absolutely should change things! Hilda? Hilda???
Pablo says that he feels bad, and Marizza agrees. She’s like, “Usually when I fuck with people, I feel absolutely nothing, but this time I kind of do?” Hee.
Back at the hospital, Manuel’s warming up to Mia. He keeps pestering her about why he apparently doesn’t have a girlfriend, because not even a lobotomy can stop Manuel from obsessing over his dick. Mia tells him that he doesn’t have a girlfriend now, but he used to — after all, he wasn’t ugly; in fact, he was the smartest and kindest and hottest guy in the entire school. Somehow, Manuel doesn’t cotton on that Mia is his ex-gf. He asks who she is and why she’s here, and Mia says that he has to figure it out on his own. Then Manuel starts feeling pain in his head, so Mia tucks him in, then she wanders around the hospital room kissing him while he’s asleep and reading his medical records. You know, as you do.
Hilda comes into the office to listen to her messages on the lobby phone (hee! 2003!). Michi exposits that the juvenile court called the school yesterday and they want to meet with Dunoff about Lujan. With that out of the way, Hilda puts the phone down and leaves without saying a word. Heh. Really? They couldn’t have revealed that information any other way?
Mia falls asleep in the hospital room and Papa C finds her. He tells her that they have to talk.
In Pablo’s room, Pablo, Tomás, and Guido all gather, along with Marcos because I guess he’s in the club now. Pablo gets a call from Margarita — Papa B’s secretary — who says that she’s landed him a job interview. Pablo immediately takes her up on the offer even though…she works for his dad? Are we not going to even question this slightly? Pablo? Pablo???
Tomás gets another envelope from Pilar, which has a picture of her face and bare shoulders. The boys are all like, “Scandalous!”
Marizza calls Sonia, crying because she feels bad about hurting Hilda’s feelings. She doesn’t feel bad enough to find Hilda herself, though; she asks Sonia to talk to Hilda for her and see if Hilda will forgive Marizza and Pablo. In fairness, that’s the kind of emotional cowardice I expect from teenagers. Sonia mumblegrumbles to herself that Marizza is doing stupid shit and getting herself in trouble over a boy, but calls Hilda on her behalf anyway. Hilda doesn’t pick up, though. Sonia’s like, “How weird, she should be home by now. It’s not like old people have anything else to do.”
Against all odds, Tomás finishes putting together the photo of Pilar in a bikini, and then she sends him a box with her underwear? another bikini? in it. The quality is too low for me to tell, but it’s a two piece something, anyway. Tomás nearly passes out from all the blood rushing away from his brain at once, while Guido runs around shrieking PANTIES, GLORIOUS PANTIES! I don’t know why Pilar thought this was a good idea. It’s a miracle Guido didn’t take her underwear and run it up the school flagpole.
Aaaand I spoke too soon. Guido gets a brainwave over how to prank Javier, so they send Marcos to distract him (Marcos tells Javier that he needs help buying concert tickets online, hee) while Tomás and Guido steal the girls’ underwear from their rooms. I mean, I guess I can comfort myself knowing that it’s probably for some middle-school prank instead of Guido jerking off into it or something? It’s a cold, cold comfort.
Papa C tries to work up the nerve to tell Mia about Mama C, but he only manages to bluster about how he’s made a bunch of mistakes in his past before Mama C herself shows up. Papa C hustles Mia off — conveniently, she doesn’t look over her shoulder to see Mama C standing RIGHT BEHIND HER — but when he turns back around, Mama C is gone. Wow, she moves fast.
Back at school, the girls are studying for their exams. You know, the ones that are ostensibly coming up and are super important, but they only spend about five minutes per episode on. Laura says she’s made a study guide for Guido, and they’re all like, “Wow, way to waste five hours of your life that you’ll never get back.” Laura says she’s sure Guido will study because she asked him to and all the girls are like, “Ooooh.” Then they switch the subject to Marizza, who has apparently eschewed all of their study sessions. Laura worries that she’s going to flunk the year — not that it would matter, since she’s a nationally famous popstar, isn’t she? — and asks Lujan to talk to her. Lujan snipes at Laura that her friendship with Marizza is OVER and she’s NEVER going to talk to her about ANYTHING, EVER AGAIN. Really, Lujan? Like you can’t just ask if she’s going to Laura’s study group?
Sol gushes to Belen that her meeting with the modeling agent went EXCELLENTLY and she’s going to be an international supermodel! But first, the agent has given her a whole list of things she has to do: waxing, yoga, tap-dancing, clown school…wait, what? Does Cris Morena know that actual models mostly just have to know how to pose and walk, and not every model is also churned out of a stable of teenage telenovela entertainers? Anyway, Belen frets that Sol won’t have enough time to learn everything on the list. Well, Elite Way is already a clown school, so she can check that one off! (Sorry, that was just too easy.)
Papa C calls Sonia freaking out about seeing Mama C again. Sonia’s like, “Wow that’s crazy. I guess you better tell Mia her mom’s alive then.”
Pablo tries to talk to Marizza about how Papa B is still trying to spy on him, via Javier. “Are you even listening?” he asks. Marizza’s like, “No, I’d rather talk about my problems with Hilda instead of your problems with your dad, because even when I’m feeling empathy for another person, I have to make everything about me.” Sigh. It’s always one step forward, two steps back with this girl. Pablo and Marizza have both left messages on Hilda’s phone begging for forgiveness, but she hasn’t called them back or come to school ever since.
I gotta say, Hilda is taking this WAY too personally. You’re gonna teach teenagers and quit your job every time one of them tries to get away with cheating? Just give them a zero and put them on academic probation, Hilda! It’s not that hard!
Pablo’s like, “Anyway, my dad’s old secretary might be able to get me a job, so I can support myself,” and Marizza’s like, “UGH, it’s SO ANNOYING how you keep talking about how YOUR DAD CUT YOU OFF and how you keep trying to FIND WORK to SUPPORT YOURSELF because YOUR DAD kicked you out!” Pablo’s like, “Well damn, that’s kind of the defining event of my young adulthood right now, what do you THINK I should talk about?” Marizza’s like, “My problems with Hilda, obviously!” WHAT?
I mean, sure, whatever, I know the point the show is driving at: we’re supposed to think that, by worrying over what his dad is doing at all times, Pablo is still letting Papa B control him. But like…Pablo is a minor who’s been abandoned by both parents. God forbid he spend his time worrying about how he’s going to support himself and wants to celebrate getting a job interview? Anyway, Pablo storms off, and rightly so.
Mia comes back to school, and Feli gushes to her about Lalo again, some more. Mia asks if they’ve been hanging out now that Lalo works at Elite Way and all, but Feli pouts that he’s busy all the time now. “Well, you’re going to have to put up with it, since he has a family to support,” Vico points out. Yeah, is FELI going to get a job? I would think it would really strain their relationship for Lalo to be the sole breadwinner. For the eighty-billionth time, I feel the need to point out that Feli’s storyline is so pointless and depressing: she isn’t learning to stand on her own at all; all of her happiness and self-esteem depends on Lalo’s interest in her. Even worse, now she’s going to be completely reliant on him financially. This would honestly be a set-up for a horribly abusive relationship if this were a more realistic show.
But whatever, reality has no place here. Feli brags to Mia that she stood up to her mother and all the girls have a good squeal together. Mia tells them that Manuel is getting better — AND she dropped the hint to him that he used to have a girlfriend, so soon, he’ll remember her and everything will be great. Er, does Mia remember that they were broken up before he got into his accident? Like, what on earth made her want to get back together with him? I don’t even know.
Case in point: over in the art room, Miranda compliments Lalo on the work he’s been doing. Lalo says that it’s still not enough, so he’s thinking of picking up some other odd jobs here and there. “When are you going to sleep?” Miranda asks. Lalo mumbles that he just wants to give Feli and the baby the life that Feli is accustomed to. Miranda’s like, “Ohhh boy, I’m not even going to try to unpack that right now.”
In Marizza’s room, Laura wonders aloud how Guido did on the history exam. Marizza’s like, “Why do you care? Do you liiiike him?” Laura gets all flustered and Lujan snipes that Guido was probably just using her to pass the exam. Marizza’s like, “How dare you, I bet their love is real!” just to be contrary. Before they can fight, though, Pilar and Fernanda run in shrieking that their underwear is gone. They all immediately realize that this was the doing of the boys, but Marizza says she doesn’t want to humiliate herself by asking them for her underwear back. They’ll have to find another way to get their things back. Oh, are we hatching a revenge plan? At this hour?
Mama C comes to Casa Colucci. She and Papa C stare all intensely at each other and talk in hushed tones about how they never thought they would see each other again, and O, the pain they have put each other through. Hey, you know what we should interrupt this quiet dramatic scene with? A wacky interlude of the girls getting their revenge! They steal all the boys’ blankets and then turn the thermostat all the way down. It’s convenient all the boys in this school sleep in their underwear. Like, none of them put a T-shirt on to go to sleep?
Sol stays up late working out, per the agent’s orders. The way-too-old-for-her agent calls to make sure that she’s doing what he told her to. CREEPY! I wonder how many more episodes he’s going to be in. Should I give his name instead of just calling him “the agent”? His name is Frances (Francis?). Just like, to get that out of the way. Anyway, he tells her that they have to plan her skincare routine, and she needs to go get her hair done, too. Sol says she has exams tomorrow and can’t leave, and Frances is like, “Well, then, I guess you can’t be a top model! Bye!” Sol caves and says she’ll be there.
Alright, back to Papa C’s drama. He asks Mama C if she wanted to be a singer THAT badly, that she would abandon her family over it. Mama C says that that wasn’t why she left, because she won’t tell Papa C why, because presumably we need one last mystery before this show ends. She’s like, “But it’s okay, since you did a really good job raising Mia by yourself!” Papa C’s like, “Actually, she really struggled growing up without a mother and she’s still traumatized, but sure, whatever.”
He admits to Mama C that he told Mia that she died in a car accident (how very Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia of him), but for the third or fourth time this episode, he realizes that that was the wrong thing to do, and he has to tell Mia the truth. OH MY GOD, WE GET IT, JUST TELL HER ALREADY!!! But no, Mama C doesn’t want Mia to know that she’s alive! She’d rather just stalk her from afar, I guess? Papa C tries to convince her otherwise, but Mama C says that it’s been too long, then runs off into the night.
The next morning. Marizza tells Laura that she’s going to apologize to Hilda before class — although she still doesn’t know why Hilda was so mad, shouldn’t she be used to students copying their work? Dude, I’m saying! I remember my high school algebra teacher told us she wrote her entire master’s thesis on all the ways she caught students cheating — allegedly kids at my school used to peel the labels off of plastic water bottles, write the answers on the back of the label, then reattach it to the bottle so they could read it during the test. (I was more of a “log the formulas for the math test in the memory section of your graphing calculator” girl, for what it’s worth.)
Lujan snipes to Laura not to bother helping Marizza — some people just lie because they can’t handle the truth! Marizza’s like, “How dare!” and they start yelling at each other until Laura tells them to quit it, and Marizza’s like, “Fine! I’m leaving anyway!” and Lujan’s like, “No, I’M leaving! I don’t ever want to see you again!” I mean! You guys live together, Lujan! Laura tries to convince Marizza to forgive Lujan, but Marizza just snipes that their friendship is over forever.
Tomás corners Pilar in the bathroom and starts slobbering all over her. She tells him that they can’t have sex here and now (she hasn’t even washed her hands yet, gross). Some random girl comes in and shrieks that there’s a boy in the girls’ bathroom, which…is this bathroom not unisex? Weren’t all the kids just dicking around in there with each other in season one? Whatever. Anyway, Pilar freaks out that her dad will find out about them and runs away. Why was she even trying to seduce Tomás, then? WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ANY OF THIS?
The boys complain to Dunoff that the girls stole their blankets while they were sleeping. Dunoff’s like, “If you were sleeping, how do you know it was them?” Heh. The girls fess up to it, though, saying that they only did it because the boys are a bunch of panty thieves. Dunoff’s like, “Don’t say that word out loud!” Heh.
Someone from the juvenile court comes to school, looking for Lujan. He tells Michi that now that Blas is dead, Lujan doesn’t have a legal guardian. Michi’s like, “Is this school not her guardian?” and the guy is like, “…legally, no.” He says that Lujan is going to have to be pulled out of Elite Way and placed with a foster family while the judge figures out what to do with her. Er…this seems counterproductive? Why would they remove her from a (relatively) stable environment, where she’s getting an education, food, and a place to sleep? Whatever. Just then, Lujan comes in, and the guy asks her name, but Michi hustles her out and is like, “Oh, that was just some random student who definitely has parents!” She tells him that Lujan is away on a school-related trip and won’t be back for another month. What? Why does Michi even feel the need to do this? Removing her from school right away seems extreme, but regardless — Lujan’s only legal guardian is dead, and she does need her situation looked at so that she doesn’t fall through the cracks of the system. Is Michi just stonewalling authority for the hell of it?
At breakfast, Papa C tells Sonia about Mama C’s visit. He says he doesn’t know how he feels about seeing her again; only that it was like there was something heavy in his chest. Sonia doesn’t like that at all, but before they can talk more, Hilda finally calls her back. Sonia wants to meet up and talk, but Hilda insists that she’s fine. She tells Sonia that she loves her before hanging up, and the camera pulls back to reveal that she’s…at a bus terminal? It’s unclear. She’s got a suitcase, anyway. I’m sorry, what? She’s leaving town because two of her students hurt her feelings? How the hell has she survived as a high school teacher all these years?
Pablo and Marcos stage another bullying scene for Javier’s benefit in the cafeteria. After Pablo leaves, Marcos gossips with Javier and tells him that Sonia is bankrolling Pablo now that his dad has cut him off. Javier is intrigued, but they get interrupted by some kid telling them that Dunoff is calling another meeting. He’s going through all the boys’ lockers, looking for the girls’ stolen underwear…and he finds it all in Javier’s locker. Javier protests his innocence, but Dunoff’s like, “Idk, you’re pretty creepy, it checks out.” The girls all recover their underthings — Fernanda owns a pair of underwear with the Union Jack on them, because as you’ll recall, she found out she was vaguely related to minor British nobility over the summer and has since made it her entire personality.
Maxi comes to school to see Sol, and he’s all salty with her for ditching him at the modeling agency. She BSes that she had to go off for a meeting and she totally didn’t mean to ditch him. She pouts at him until Maxi believes her, then she convinces him to go out and buy some of the skincare products she needs.
Mia gushes to Vico and Feli about the progress Manuel is making. Any day now, he’ll remember that he used to date Mia and they’ll fall back in love! So…she’s banking on him not remembering that they broke up because she wouldn’t put out? I’m confused as to why she thinks his brain surgery is like, going to fix all the problems with their relationship. They were barely on friendly terms right before his operation! Anyway, Manuel calls and tells Mia that he’s recovered more of his memories, and he’s been thinking about what Mia said, about how he had a girlfriend: “Who’s Sabrina?” Mia’s like, HOW DARE! Vico grabs the phone from her and hangs up on Manuel, snapping that it’s better for him to stay amnesiac. Heh.
Mia runs out of the school, but she ends up just running into Papa C. He finally gets his shit together and tells Mia that her mother is alive. Mia’s just like, “You know, I have gotten a lot of information dumped on me in the past two minutes.”
Leave a Reply