My Brilliant Friend: Season 4 Episode 7 “Chapter 31: The Return” – Recap and Review

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Originally Aired	October 21, 2024
Network	HBO/ Max
Director(s)	Laura Bispuri
Writer(s)	Elena Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci, Saverio Costanzo
Character	ACTOR’S NAME
Antonio	Massimiliano Rossi
Nino	Fabrizio Gifuni
Elena	Alba Rohrwacher
Alfonso	Renato De Simone
Lila	Irene Maiorino
Michele	Edoardo Pesce
Marcello	Lino Musella

Storyline Recap

The End Of Dreams – Antonio, Nino, Elena

As Elena returns to the apartment, there is a sense of trauma. A rag on the floor makes her think of Nino having sex with someone else beyond his wife, and then Antonio comes over and confirms there has been a litany of women that Nino has slept with. From Lila’s gynecologist to many other women we’ve seen in minor roles, Antonio presents each one as an off-and-on lover of Nino’s.

As you can imagine, the confirmation of Elena’s fears is devastating but also pushes her to revenge. So, with Antonio having a thing for Elena in the past and present, she decides they should have sex, and when Nino calls, she tells him what happened. Then, months down the line, she makes it clear she meant every hurtful thing she said, and that makes it seem she is truly done and the spell is broken.

A Broken Spell Means A Return To How Things Were – Alfonso, Lila, Elena, Michele, Marcello

The power Lila held over Michele through Alfonso has been broken. It isn’t clear what did it, be it Marcello or Alfonso, unable to maintain being something akin to Lila, but he is back with a vengeance, and his power holds strong over the neighborhood. However, with Elena pressed to release a book, what may very well be what becomes “My Brilliant Friend,” Michele and Marcello take offense to the subtle accusations and stories about the neighborhood, especially as it becomes political fodder on the national level. The attention doesn’t lead to any harm to her or her children, never mind siblings, but it definitely has ruffled feathers.

As for how Lila feels? She still thinks the book isn’t great, but that’s only because she wouldn’t have preferred something biographical over historical fiction. Lila would like Elena to name names, say what truly happened like it was a police report, and not just use other people’s stories to boost her career. But, even if there remains a level of disappointment, she isn’t mad. Seeing Michele and Marcello upset, especially after Alfonso is rejected and beaten in the streets, gives some relief from the change in the power dynamics.

Review

On The Fence

Things Feel Very Rushed

Something about this season as a whole feels notably rushed. You can see time flying by as Elena and Lila’s kids, babies barely born in the last episode, are now talking, running around, and exhibiting clear personalities, and it’s throwing things off a bit. However, I think part of the issue is also knowing this is the final season and not feeling settled with the new versions of Elena and Lila—never mind the aging of all the supporting characters.

The combination has made it so that what was a show that took many paragraphs to summarize what happened and inspired many thoughts and feelings now feels like a cliff-notes version of what happens to the books, put into ChatGPT as a script that was told to cut out everything but the main story. Which, at this point, makes it seem “My Brilliant Friend” is likely to end in a whimper rather than with the same brilliance we saw in past seasons.

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Listed Under Categories: TV Series, My Brilliant Friend

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Related Tags: Alba Rohrwacher, EDOARDO PESCE, Elena Ferrante, Fabrizio Gifuni, Francesco Piccolo, HBO/ Max, IRENE MAIORINO, Laura Bispuri, Laura Paolucci, Lino Musella, MASSIMILIANO ROSSI, Renato De Simone, Saverio Costanzo

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