We’ve arrived at the final season with our brilliant friends and I’m not ready to say goodbye. I’ve been along for the ride since the very beginning when Elena and Lila were played by Elisa del Genio and Ludovica Nasti respectively. I watched the girls throw their dolls, and grow up with every ache and pain that comes with it. Margherita Mazzucco and Gaia Girace took over and showed us those growing pains: school, work, love, hate, and everything in between. And while I did enjoy those two girls very much, it was hard to see them as thirty-somethings having had multiple children. So while I miss those actresses very much, I was quite pleased with the castings for the age-up. We now get Alba Rohrwacher and Irene Maiorino as Elena and Lila. Rohrwacher has been narrating as Elena all along, so it was refreshing to put a face with the voice. But now that we’ve covered that, let’s dig into the first two episodes and see what kind of journey this final season will take us on. Touting the subtitle The Story of a Lost Child, I suspect there’s even more pain ahead of us before the end.
- The Separation
We left off last season as Elena was jetting off to Paris with Nino for her book and that is where we arrive with our newly aged-up cast. Nino (Fabrizio Gifuni) is continuing his wooing streak. “You have to trust me.” Oh truly do eff off with that, Nino. You’ve never once proven yourself trustworthy and I surely don’t suppose you intend to now. But the times, they are a-changin’ and women have a new school way to do life. They don’t have to feel trapped by marriage. Some, like Elena’s mother (Annarita Vitolo), think she’s using her freedom to go a bit too far. To be honest, to an extent, I agree. It’s painful for children to be away from their parents, especially so young. But Immacolata comes in a bit hot with it and I don’t condone physical violence in that way. I mean, she’s also on point about Nino being a dick just like his daddy. So we agree on more than we don’t.
But Elena isn’t entirely alone in her ideas either. She has some support from friends like Franco (Stefano Dionisi) and her sister-in-law Maria Rosa (Sonia Bergamasco). They live in alternative ways and support Elena in doing things differently. Ultimately, the young ones end up with Pietro’s mother Adele (Daria Deflorian) as Elena takes off with Nino. We come to understand she’s gone traveling promoting her book for over a year. But Pietro (Pier Giorgio Bellocchio) is attacked and Elena comes back into town. The girls, of course, have little reaction to their mother. She’s been gone two years now during formative childhood. It’s going to take some time to heal that especially considering, you know, she left the family for another man. But Pietro is in love and happy, so maybe all things considered it ended okay. Even if Nino still sucks. But he’s trying to convince Lenu that he wants it all. – he and her and the girls being a family and everything. I’m suspicious…
Elena gets back in touch with the neighborhood, even meeting up with an old friend. But of course, someone else is waiting to ambush. Shockingly enough, if you don’t call someone back for over a year they might just surprise bombard you. Lila has something to tell Elena, and unfortunately, I don’t think Lenu is surprised one bit. Nino never left his wife. And as much as Elena hates to admit it, she knows Lila is right.
- The Dispersion
Of course, after challenging Nino on everything the truth comes spilling out. His wife was suicidal so he couldn’t leave her. Just like Nino to leave a trail of crying women in his wake. He would f*ck over anyone if it meant HE got to be someone. Elena says it’s over, and she moves her and the girls to Franco and Maria Rosa’s place. But Nino is a broken record. He can’t live without her. But he can’t leave his wife. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Grow some, Nino. And make an actual choice for once in your life.
Meanwhile, life at Maria Rosa’s has its moments. Education is a family trait, so she herself is a professor and having cops come into the whole room of women having a conversation on feminism and women’s identity as mothers was just priceless. While some would consider it a grade-A education for the girls, Pietro does not. He’s furious the girls aren’t in school, even if Franco insists they’re learning plenty. But Elena agrees to send the girls to school in that area.
Nino reemerges, and continues the old record with a new hit: his wife is pregnant. But he still can’t live without Elena. She’s so over it and I was so, so hopeful she’d be past this. It’s been three months without him. Life was finally finding a groove for everyone. But surprise! Here comes Nino and he’s really, really good at wrecking things! But it was Franco who shocked me most when he told Elena, “If you love him more than yourself, then take him as he is.” To an extent, yes. But when someone is as awful of a person as Nino, I rather think him worth walking away from altogether. But it’s the subtle undertone I almost missed. I don’t think Franco ever really got over Lenu. And so, he took her as she was, even though she didn’t love him back in that way. He would rather have her in his life than not. And really, no one ever had a chance with Elena. Nino was always there in her heart first. It could never be Franco or Pietro. It was always Nino. But even I couldn’t fathom what would come next…
Of course, if a character would go that way, it would be the one I’m most endeared to and shatter me into a million pieces. Franco was in so much pain, for so long. But of course, his last act would be to save the girls from seeing that tragedy. It also shakes Lenu to her core, but unfortunately sends her in the opposite direction. Waking from her nightmare, she’s in Nino’s arms, back in Naples.
Stay tuned for more as we dig through the final season of this amazing show!
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