Four episodes left and it’s the final crunch! We’ve had an amazing time with My Brilliant Friend over these past three seasons and this final fourth one. It will be hard to say goodbye to characters I’ve come to love so much. But move on we must, so here we go!
- The Return
Elena (Alba Rohrwacher) returns to her Naples apartment after finding Nino (Fabrizio Gifuni) behind the help in a thrusting manner. Can’t imagine using that bathroom now and not picturing it constantly. But ding, dong. Antonio (Massimiliano Rossi) has stopped by for a chat. Lila (Irene Maiorino) was worried Elena would do something stupid so she sent him. Haha, oh, Lila. You do know your best friend. Sadly, he knows every single dirty thing about Nino and spills all the beans and then some for Elena.
Basically, Nino has sex with nearly every woman he comes into contact with and he never breaks up with any of them and just pops around to different women as is convenient for his cock. When Nino (Francesco Serpico) and Lila (Gaia Girace) were a thing in the past, Antonio (Christian Giroso) spied on them for the Solaras but eventually beat the ever-loving shit out of Nino and told him to stay the hell away from Lila. He couldn’t do that in Lenu’s instance because he wanted her to be happy even if the scum was what made her happy. Much like every other man in her life because we’re seeing a DAMN pattern here, Elena! You had no room for Antonio in your heart truly because of Nino. But now they have the chance to follow through 20-plus years later and boy, do they. Ring, ring. Oh, it’s Nino on the phone? Oh hey, Nino, yeah Antonio is here and we just banged and he’s the best I’ve ever had. CLICK.
The apartment under Lila is available and Elena intends to move back to the neighborhood; which she tells Nino when he comes by. He tried to make a move and she proudly stood her ground. His magic sex spell is over! But she also needs a writing spell because she said she’d send a full manuscript tomorrow and she doesn’t have one…or does she? An old one, and unliked by some but you promised something and I doubt you can write a whole novel in one night. At least not a good one. And if anyone knows otherwise, please comment and let me know. If there is an author out there in the world who wrote a good novel in one night I must read it.
Once they’re settled back in the neighborhood, we get to see more of Lila and Enzo’s (Pio Stellaccio) 
business and their fancy new computers. Life continues on. The girls are growing up. Even Marcello (Lino Musella) grows up and finally asks Elena’s sister Elisa (Claudia Tranchese) to get married. They already have a kid and everything. But why cut a cake when you can cut the tension? Two fighting girls on the floor, one femininely dressed Alfonso (Renato De Simone), and Michele (Edoardo Pesce) snapping at Lila. I guess that spell is broken too. The next time Alfonso walks over to the Solaras’ bar, Michele beats him within an inch of his life. But he’s not only mad at Alfonso but Elena too. She does a magazine shoot for her new book which is very influenced by the neighborhood and they don’t like it. I personally found it amazing they accidentally used little Lila’s Tina (Maria Vittoria Miorin) instead of Imma (Aurora Grimaldi). Poor thing. Her dad sucks, her mom’s barely around because she’s a famous writer and now you get swapped out on the mother-daughter pic. Ouch.
- The Investigation
Elena’s book hits it big. She’s constantly leaving the girls and it breaks my heart to see someone take such a cavalier attitude towards motherhood. I’ll admit she’s providing for her family, but I’d imagine you don’t need to be constantly going to and fro. The thing is that Elena likes being someone and I think she’ll always kind of value that over motherhood. And frankly, speaking as an eldest daughter, I would imagine Dede (Ludovica Rita Di Miglio) feels quite a bit of pressure to keep up with things with mom not around, even if they do stay with Lila. Personally speaking, your childhood was always worse than your parents remember. But Elena does jump into action when Lila gets in touch to say Imma is sick. Lenu wastes no time getting to the hospital. But illness isn’t the only bad news waiting.
Carmen (Lucia D’Ambra) is suing Elena. Of course, she isn’t personally behind it. I mean, she is, but it’s the Solaras obviously. They weren’t happy about Elena’s book having real-life events minorly obscured. But they need to be smart, or rather, legal about it. And speaking of connection to the Solaras, Antonio is leaving. He and Lenu run into each other and get a passing goodbye. He’s a threat to the Solaras and he knows it’s only a matter of time before something happens to his wife or his mother or him. He’s not wrong. “Lila thinks the two of you are invincible, but you’re not.” Ouch, but not wrong.
Lila even makes a scene with the brothers. Oh girl, they could never make me hate you. Lila has some dirt and she wants people to know. Alfonso is gone. Lila truly loved him and she wants to make them pay. She has the mother’s ledger and boxes of documents, but in the end, it amounts to nothing but a slap on the wrist and a decline to publish. It just isn’t enough to do any damage, but she does it anyway. Marcello tells Lenu he knows she didn’t want to publish. Why does that still somehow feel vaguely threatening? Everything truly hits the fan when Pietro (Pier Giorgio Bellocchio) comes to get the older girls, though none of it is his fault. He stops to spend some time with Imma, though she’s shy. He encourages some affection from Elena after they leave, but it’s more than just that. Imma is clearly behind in reading and writing. Even Lila notices a tic. But it’s a different tick tick BOOM waiting…
Lila and Enzo discover the heart-breaking news that Elena and her daughters had already witnessed and discussed: that Lila’s son Gennaro (Alessio Galati) is using the heroin that the Solaras have flooded into the neighborhood. Oh dear. Not good for varying reasons. Drug use: bad. Mom and stepdad slapping the shit out of the addict: also not great. Probably a little needed though. I don’t condone violence, but these are fictional characters so slap away! Lila tries with everything in her to fight these creeps and to now see her own son using the drugs they flooded the neighborhood with to make money off of… Absolutely shattering.
Two episodes left and I can’t take it. It’s been such a wonderful journey to be part of for six years. I’m just not ready to say goodbye. It’s making me want to take up learning Italian again. And I’m sure I’ll fare better this time around with Duolingo or something, rather than an Italian man who spoke no English to our seventh-grade class. Ciao! Arrivederci!
