Vida: Season 3 Episode 3 – Recap/ Review with Spoilers

As Lyn tries to see if old relationships can be renewed, Emma is trying to cleanse herself of Nico by going back to her old ways – and she isn’t alone.

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Directed By		Jenée LaMarque
Written By		Lindsey Villarreal
Aired (STARZ)		5/10/2020
Introduced This Episode
Victor	Jesse Borrego

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

Feeling Powerless – Mari, Johnny

In Mari’s young life, she has always tried to be everything for everyone. Like Emma, her way of showing she cares isn’t by cradling you and allowing pity parties, Mari shows love for her community and people by showing up and doing the work. However, seeing ICE drag someone out of their car, and filming it, this fires her up. So it is hoped and expected the social justice group she rolls with would do something. But, with being so disorganized, and a bunch of soldiers without a general, all there is, is infighting. The kind which makes them immobile, so Mari walks away.

Leading to her going home, trying to find peace through Johnny and it being revealed he is considering selling the house, mind you for $500,000, and that their father left nothing in Mari’s name. Meaning, the person who took care of him, got him to his appointments, and kept him alive, she got NOTHING!

The Tie That Binds – Lyn, Victor, Johnny

Despite Emma being against the idea, Lyn decides she is going to see her father, and it is a pleasant experience. He seems reformed, unlike how he paints his past, but with the reveal Vida is the reason he stayed away, and she got him deported, that leaves a bad taste in Lyn’s mouth.

This, of course, leads her not going to her boyfriend Rudy but instead Johnny. After all, going to Emma could lead to a fight, and Lyn just got in a good place with her – so she wants no kind of drama. As for Rudy? Well, let’s be honest. Rudy is this weird mix between her past life of associating with the rich and powerful as arm candy, if not a trophy, and her new life. So while they are dating, they aren’t at that intimate level yet. You know, where they can exchange more than bodily fluids.

Anyway, Lyn and Johnny continue to show there might be hope for a friendship as they exchange daddy issues and bring a little bit of calm to one another.

Trust & Desperation – Lyn, Emma, Nico, Eddy

It’s an odd time for Emma. Nico still works at the bar and is acting strangely. She’s drinking on the job, being aggressive with customers, and just seems off. This causes Lyn to call Nico a F***boy, and with Nico being in a car with Zoe, kissing, Emma might be inclined to agree.

But with a bartender who is a bit out of it, so comes the question of who to man the bar? Well, Eddy. After being triggered at the store by seeing the man who assaulted her, she goes to the last place she felt safe, Vida’s. And while she and Emma don’t get along, with seeing something was clearly up, Emma sets aside any ill feelings and is kind to Eddy. Granted, she does put her to work, but Eddy did volunteer first.

Leaving one last thing: Lyn admitting she saw Victor. This, with Emma not being the most expressive, you can tell isn’t taken well, but it isn’t clear if Emma is going to make this a thing or not. All we know is, as the ghost of Vida keeps appearing, Emma is bound to face something. It just isn’t clear what yet.

Highlights

Lyn Reconnecting With Her Dad & Learning The Truth

While Lyn has her aunties and far more people to speak to than Emma, you can tell she is someone who wants and desires family and community. Maybe it is because she grew up with some form of that, and has always sought that out with strangers, in the form of parties? Either way, you can see when it comes to her father, and based on the preview for the next episode, there is a chance she may try to integrate into her father’s church.

Which, in some ways, could be good, but it depends on what kind of Christian Victor is. After all, Vida is a queer bar, and Emma, while she doesn’t like labels, is definitely not heterosexual. So as she reconciles with her father, it should be interesting to watch how they try to integrate into each other’s lives and where there is conflict.

Mari’s Storyline

I firmly believe a show could be built around Mari. Whether we’re talking about her being a young Mexo-American girl in Los Angeles, her activism, her family life, or even the occasional opportunities she has at romance, there is so much when it comes to this one character. Heck, in this episode alone, she witnesses ICE snatch someone up, dealing with her father’s betrayal, and coming to terms that the social justice group she deals with is all talk. If not willing and able to go against people like Emma and Lyn, who aren’t much of a challenge, but ICE? Nah, that’s too big for them and real protest against the government? It’s too dangerous.

Which for Mari may lead to one of two things, either finding a more invested group, be it radical or one which has a firmer grasp on procedures, or saying “Screw It!” For lest we forget, while Mari may no longer have to worry about her father, that free time could go to a job which would allow her independence. Maybe the time to look for a job that can allow her to not depend on up to three to make ends meet?

Essentially, Mari is going through a “Coming Of Age” phase, and the question of what she may want to do long term is certainly on the horizon.

Nico’s Dark Side

Nico, in passing, mentioned they were better than they were before, but what that meant wasn’t necessarily gone into. However, with the drinking and going back to Zoe, we’re getting a glimpse into what was going on before Emma came into Nico’s life. Leaving you to wonder, between alcoholism and maybe having a dependent relationship with Zoe, rooted in some kind of illness, perhaps that is what Nico is going through?

After all, one of the issues that we regularly bring up is that, in this new era of diversity, it has led to a lack of focus on specific cultures. So with Vida being one of the few focusing on Mexican-American, and Latinx, populations without drugs or violence being involved, it has room to explore subjects beyond poverty and crime. Making the addressing of mental illness a possibility and how it is dealt with in that community. Never mind perhaps addressing the lack of veteran services?

Eddy Back In The Mix

With Emma and Lyn the focus of the show, there is sometimes this air of privilege. Something that Mari, seemingly, is supposed to counterbalance, but it is really Eddy who keeps the show diverse. Take note, Eddy is technically homeless, unemployed, and doesn’t have the same opportunities available to the women mentioned above. Eddy even notes Vida saved her.

So Eddy’s return becomes a nice reminder of those who aren’t the most educated or able to maneuver through social classes. She is an everyday person, trying to make it, with no real desire to cause waves, but just make it through the day with the least amount of trauma and every attempt to maintain her dignity.

Has Johnny’s Relationship With Lyn Evolved Beyond What It Was?

There is always this fear Johnny is going to devolve and have tantric sex with Lyn. Primarily because we’ve seen it before, not just on this show but also others, yet it hasn’t happened. Leaving me to wonder if I should add, “Yet” or not. But, as much as Johnny and Lyn seem end game, maybe it is time to expand that to mean they will end things in a relationship, but it may not be romantic?

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