Vida - S1E3 - Episode 3

Previously on Vida, “Episode 2”

Episode three opens with a bit of heat. Looks like we are getting down to the nitty gritty when it comes to Emma and her sexual preference. She prefers to dominate and that is the path she takes throughout this episode. We also see the way everyone is dealing with loss and responsibility.

As Emma forcefully obtains her mother’s financial books, she tries to make sense of what happened to put her mother in this soul-crushing debt. It seems no one but Emma is willing to address this huge elephant in the room. Eddy is trying to deal with Vida’s (Vidalia) death, but it is too raw for her right now. Lyn is so self absorbed that she is just floating around without aim or empathy. This leaves Emma feeling justifiably short tempered and like she is the only adult in this situation.

Lyn and Johnny are still sleeping with each other, but Johnny is beginning to realize that he has a responsibility and that Lyn is not part of that. There is clearly a tie that binds them, but Lyn is not ready to grow up. When Johnny’s very pregnant girlfriend, Karla, arrives at the bar, it becomes clear that Lyn has no regard for the lives she is affecting. Emma shows empathy towards Karla, but not before giving her a stern voice when Karla starts to get out of hand. The result, Johnny breaks it off with Lyn. Hopefully, this marks a turning point for Lyn as she has self esteem issues that results in others always cleaning up her mess.

It has not been that long since Vida has passed away and it is clear the depth of love and closeness Eddy and Vida had. We see Eddy spiraling and with Emma constantly on the attack, Eddy is feeling isolated. What started as a tenant, Tita, needing Eddy to take a look at the kitchen sink, turned into a good time spent. This seems to be the moment that Eddy needed. Someone to listen, someone to listen to and to share a good cuban cigar with. Though Eddy did not dip the cigar in rum, like Vida usually likes it, she is beginning to think that there needs to be more moments to enjoy a good cigar; embrace life rather than awaiting the “right time”. Eddy is not sure how to deal with the responsibility of Vida’s daughters and the looming loan, but she may be ready to start accepting life without Vida.

Mari looks to be the maternal voice in her household. She confronts her older brother about seeing him and Lyn at the shop, but she is quickly shut down by her father. She is young and full of passion but she is not yet an adult and this was made clear when her father sent her to her room for yelling at her philandering brother. When Mari is at an activist meeting at Tlaloc’s she is eager to help and show how grown she is. My fear is that Tlaloc may not have the respect for Mari that she deserves. Their first moment alone quickly turns into Mari giving Tlaloc a blow job and it seems he may be recording the act. I hope this does not end up being a bad situation for Mari.

Everyone is responsible for something or someone. Eddy feels responsible for upholding the future that her and Vida talked about, but she is so riddled with pain that it is hard to see the light. Emma is inching towards respecting Eddy, but Emma is a pillar that is made of iron and for this, she has made herself responsible for Eddy and Lyn. Lyn is floating around with lofty ideas of love and relationships. She is denying her responsibility for her actions.

I found myself relating to Emma more so this week than the previous weeks. She is clearly the go getter and is not afraid to get into someone’s face or to say what is on her mind. Those around her look to her to take care of the things that they do not understand and are not bothering to. Because of these expectations, Emma presents as though she does not have time for trivial things like relationships. She needs to get in, get off, and get out because there are many things to get done. By the way, what is her role at her job in Chicago? Because they seem to have given her space and are letting her take care of her mom’s affairs. Is she working from home or is she on leave? She appears to be the type to not have taken any vacation so maybe that is the loophole.

This week, every moment is shot in a way to make us feel as vulnerable as the main characters feel. We get a lot of frontal nudity that puts us in their frame of mind and makes these characters live and breathe. As with the previous weeks we get sex in a way that we do not see often. Even within cable television, sex is depicted in a novel way yet this show makes it more realistic. No apologies, no explanations, just what people do at their most vulnerable. The writers are getting right to the point each episode. This may speak to the fact that there are only 6 episodes, but the storytelling is still almost seamless. Within the next three episodes, Eddy may be the one to step up and help Emma with the property. Only time will tell.