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East Los High
Season 3 Ep. 1
“La Virgen De East Los High”
The much anticipated season 3 of “East Los High” starts off right where Season 2 left us, yelling at the TV screen! Your favorite cast is back with some fresh faces. Most importantly, “East Los” has now entered a new realm with Emmy nominations under its belt, a seasoned cast, and a clear vision for where it’s heading.
“La Virgen De East Los High” opens with Ceci (Danielle Vega) answering Pedro’s question (Rene Alvarado) with a yes. We all probably threw up our hands and debated shutting off the TV, but that was followed with Camila (Vannessa Vasquez) seated with her “keep it on the DL boo” Jocelyn (Andrea Sixtos) and fresh cuts on her arm. Last season’s incest/molestation reveal was a shocker, and took the show to a serious level. Nick (Ray Diaz) is dealing with the fallout from Remy’s (Robert Paul Taylor) death.
The episode jumps forward a month and doesn’t spell out what we’ve missed. Ceci gets fitted for her dress with her bomb squad girls: Filli (Vivian Lamolli), Tiffany (Ashley Campuzano), and Jazmine (Olivia ‘Cachi’ Gonzales). I still kind of question why she hangs with high school girls when she clearly is a couple years removed from them.? The bomb squad girls make it clear that they’re family though, even equipping her with a jacket.
Camila attempts to tell Gina (Alexandra Rodriguez) the truth about their father. Gina thwarts her semi-admission. Camila finds herself face to face with her father in the school parking lot. While her father acts like he doesn’t remember molesting her, Camila makes it clear that she’ll kill him if he touches Gina.
It’s clear that Jacob (Gabriel Chavarria) is still a thorn in Pedro’s side as Ceci avoids Jacob at school. She stops by Tio Pepe’s to pick up food, and has an awkward conversation with Jacob as Pedro enters the restaurant. Pedro puts on the machismo performance and throws a couple low blows Jacob’s way and proceeds to make it clear that Ceci is his girl physically by wrapping his arm around her on the way out. Insecure much?
Later that night, the bomb squad surprises Ceci with a bachelorette party fitted with a cute dance number, but we all knew it would probably come back to bite her. Camila and Jocelyn have a moment in the powder room, letting us know that Jocelyn still has a soft spot for Camila that's likely mutual. As the two leave the party to go home, we see Pedro creeping outside of the dance studio, watching Ceci.
Nick gets a call that the Vegas deal is off, which sends him back home. Camila and Jocelyn are in the midst of getting "reacquainted" when Nick busts in on them, sending him off in a huff. Ceci returns home to Pedro asking how things went. After telling him a lie, he beats her, but Ceci comes at him with a knife to end the episode with on a cliffhanger.
East Los Addict Geek Out: (This is where I get to go a bit deeper for the episode.)
- Rene Alvarado gets the acting salute on this episode. After seeing Ceci in the dance studio, Pedro looks like a lost boy in his thoughts sitting on the couch when Ceci comes home. I gave him a shout out for his performance and character arch last season, and his crazy this season is full throttle. He truly appears to have issues, and you can see them on his face.
- The budget has gone up for season 3! With new locations, a beefed up cast, and a clear advancement in cinematography/camera moves, “East Los” seems to be in its zone and on a grander scale.
- Camila has matured, and now that the truth is out you can tell that her past is sitting on her shoulders. Vannessa Vasquez has had some time to live with the character in between seasons and it shows.
- I didn't know who Chachi Gonzales was until I was looking at various ELH YouTube videos. Come to find out she's kind of a big deal (almost a million subscribers on YouTube for starters...can I borrow a couple..hundred...thousand Chachi? LOL), and it looks like she'll be talking a lot more this season! So her fans should be excited about that!