*Spoilers for episode 4.*
Excellent penultimate episode, with some important answers and good emotional catharsis. On the one hand, I’m sad that there’s only one episode left, but on the other, I’m so excited to see how this story ends!
After Esteban’s session with Sixto in the last episode, he went to Irasema’s house and took his two sons on a trip. Irasema doesn’t know where he and the boys are, and she calls on Andy for help. While they search, Esteban takes Estebancito and Walos back to the place where his story began.
Look, the deeper we get into the story, the bigger and scarier this whole Boxing Illuminati thing gets, and that makes it all a little silly. At this point, there may be no force in the world more powerful than the mysterious figures who rig fights from the shadows, and that’s like some Riverdale shit—but good Riverdale shit, the cracked/fun stuff like maple syrup blood feuds. But for all the incredulity, the character stuff is so rock solid. I absolutely love this show!
There are two things going on here for Esteban. First, his session with Sixto prompted the admission that he thinks he’s a bad father who’s failing his family. So he’s desperate to connect with his sons and spend time with them, which he does—he could’ve avoided so much grief if he’d just, you know, told Irasema instead of taking the kids out of their bed and stealing off into the night with them. Like, man, I know how much you’ve been going through right now, but take a beat! Second, Esteban’s feelings about his failings as a father are intricately entwined with his relationship with his own dad, and that’s tied to his origins as a boxer. So when he takes the boys to La Fonda, a carnival in Jalisco where he boxed as a child, they play games and eat candy and ride the carousel, and the boys hang on his every word as he analyzes the amateur boxers fighting in the outdoor ring, but he’s on his own personal journey too.
In his previous hallucinations, we’ve gotten brief flashes of Esteban’s past, but here, the backstory plays out in an extended fantasy sequence that’s wonderfully well done, both dramatic and emotional. We see Esteban’s past in a dreamlike ring, where all the characters—with the exception of his dad—are played by other characters on the show. Estebancito stands in as young Esteban, Irasema is a sports analyst, and Esteban himself plays the ref, while also watching the story play out from the deserted stands.
In this dream sequence, Andy plays the announcer. He commentates, not just on young Esteban’s fights, but on his unfolding life story. “The asshole will squeeze him dry,” he remarks about Esteban’s demanding dad. As the ref, Esteban retorts, “He won’t be the last to do so.” An added piece of interest here is that the announcer isn’t Botoxed and tweaked like Andy is—for the only time in the miniseries, we see Diego Luna without the facial prosthetics he wears as Andy. Now, I obviously know what Luna looks like in real life, but while watching the show, you get sort of acclimated to Andy’s face, and so it’s startling to jump from that to Luna’s real appearance. Besides the costumes, he’s the only character who looks markedly different in the fantasy—I’m not sure why, but it’s an interesting choice.
Out in the real world, Andy is going through it. At the end of episode 4, Carlota told him she wanted a divorce (she’s guessed that he was in some way responsible for her brother’s death,) and at the start of this one, he has it out with his mom. There’s a shouting match and his mom throws plates at his head(!), but Andy manages to get out of the house, taking a single bag and his samurai helmet. This is a huge step for him and will obviously be so much better for his well-being, and it’s great to see him have enough self-awareness to leave. The show strikes such a good balance of not sugarcoating how mean and toxic Andy’s mom while also allowing these bits of gallows humor in their unhealthy relationship. I love the moment where he storms out to his car—as his mom yells, “Don’t come back, you son of a bitch!”, he screams back, “I’ve already left, asshole!”
That’s the state Andy is in when Irasema calls him in a panic. It’s a testament to just how messed up he is that Irasema’s kids are missing, yet she’s the one who drives as they race to La Fonda. They both probably realize that not much good will come from Andy driving at the moment. Up until this point in the series, Andy and Irasema have only really related to each other on opposite sides of Esteban. They argue with each other over what he needs and who has his best interests at heart, and it’s easy to get the sense that their relationship is purely tangential and only exists because of Esteban. So it’s great to see the two of them together without him in this episode. Yes, they’re in this situation because they’re both looking for Esteban, but here, we finally get a good look at them as actual friends. Irasema is sympathetic to Andy’s situation with his mom while also helping him to see how ridiculous she is. Andy reassures Irasema that Esteban would never hurt the kids. Back in the first episode, I remember getting just a flicker of a Three Musketeers/trio vibe during the karaoke scene, so I’m glad to see that feeling validated as Irasema and Andy support each other here.
As usual, though, Luna’s best acting comes in the scenes where he’s playing against Gael García Bernal. Andy and Esteban continue their pattern of getting into loving fights, with the balance shifting even more towards love this time around. Andy has spent most of this miniseries on the ropes where their relationship is concerned—because he’s the one who first made the deal with the Otras Personas, Esteban has understandably been viewing this whole shitstorm as Andy’s fault, leaving Andy in a position to constantly defend himself. But here, he stands up for himself more. Andy tells Esteban, “What the hell have I done all my life? I’ve protected you. I’ve put myself on the line for you, asshole!” Throughout his mistakes and dumb moves and selfishness, he’s never stopped caring about Esteban and trying, in his misguided way, to help him. Not to mention, he’s also stayed with Esteban, as a friend and a manager, through Esteban’s addiction issues, keeping him on as a client when plenty of managers would’ve cut their losses.
This time, the fight culminates in some really sweet moments between the two. Andy comes through for Esteban in an important way, and Andy is able to unburden himself to Esteban, who’s in turn supportive and affirming when his friend is in a vulnerable place. You love to see it!
