East Los High
Season 3 Ep. 2
“The Bi+ch is Back”
Starting where "La Virgen De East Los High" left off, Pedro catches Ceci’s hand and prevents her from killing him, but thank God for neighbors who don’t just ignore sounds next door. Another life lesson taught by East Los High (don’t ignore the rumble next door, even if you have to call the police to keep yourself safe), as the next door neighbors saved Ceci from another abusive encounter with Pedro. Camila tries to call Nick and clear things up. In his eagerness to drive away from home, Nick gets picked up by the cops for driving a stolen car.
Mean while, back at the bachelorette party, the bomb squad girls enjoy dancing the night away (are they in college or high school?). JACOB’S DAD!!!! He’s back, and I still don’t know his name. As one of the solid character actors from Season 1 (video right) in my opinion, it was great to see him back for season 3. Ceci interrupts a father and son moment as she turns to Jacob to help her in her current predicament. (I told ya'll Ceci only having high school girl friends is a problem!) Being the good man that he is, Jacob gets a hotel for Ceci and Isela (Julianna Gamiz) and stays the night.
As Camila’s world seems to be coming to an end over being caught with Jocelyn, I can’t help but think of how quickly she flipped on Jocelyn. The girls wake up from the bachelorette party in a somewhat funny stupor. Jacob wakes up to a cup of coffee from Ceci, who has already got the ball rolling for going to a women’s shelter (good job Ceci).
Camila meets Nick in a face to face convo behind prison glass. (Increased budget to be on location or at least make a new set! Whoop whoop!) The fact that Nick is so worried about Camila and Jocelyn’s fling, rather than how he’s going to get out of jail is a little strange to me. I mean, I don’t ever want to go to jail, and my first thought in his situation would be how do I get out. (Although he deserved it...he was riding around with and knowingly dealing drugs.) If the conversation between them had been anywhere else it would have been more riveting, but it felt out of place. Shout out to Ray Diaz on the heartfelt scene though!
Unfortunately, Camila feels extremely guilty about Nick’s arrest...because he was carrying drugs and got caught it was her fault?. Hello! That’s his fault! Her misguided guilt leads her to move out of Jocelyn’s place. Ceci is also dealing with misguided priorities as well, as she is more concerned about being at the almighty regional dance competition with the Bomb Squad. When the squad finds out that Ceci won’t be making it, they flip out. Which brings one of my favorite ELH characters, Vanessa (Tracy Perez), back into the fold to step in as interim Bomb Squad coach.
Maya (Alicia Sixtos) comes home after being in Sante Fe for a month for a chef bootcamp. She tells Jacob that she got a job and wants him to come with her. That would force Jacob to say goodbye to East LA. Does he love Maya enough to do that? After getting some good eats in his belly, and a semi-valid story from Maya, he decides it is!
Of course with Vanessa in, Ceci can’t be left out. As the Squad gets ready to perform at regionals, Ceci loses her mind and decides it would be a good idea to head over to the competition after receiving a text from her biggest little influencers. Guess who shows up in the crowd?!
East Los Addict Geek Out:
- What I love about ELH is that it educates while entertaining. In the past, many of the educational moments feel like PSAs. While this season does have those moments, the scene with Ceci talking about the women’s shelter educated me and I barely noticed it! I learned about what women can do to be safe in abusive relationships, which is beneficial for victims and friends being able to instruct. As always you can find helpful links on their website: http://eastloshigh.com/take-action/
- I hate to say it, but I have a love/hate relationship with the bomb squad. Although the dancing in East Los is dope (most of the time), I can never quite wrap my head around why the Bomb Squad is “life” to all involved. I mean, it’s not giving out scholarships and it isn’t putting them on a platform to be professional dancers. So why is regionals so important that it could break up friendships or is worth Ceci exposing herself to her abuser? Ya’ll fill me in in the comment section below please! "message!"
- I loved seeing Vanessa back on screen. She always has the good one liners. “1985 wants their dance moves back”! lol. I’ve got no desire to wear them, but those shoes looked killer! Were they a special pair of somethings?
- That older woman in blue playing the competition assistant was hilarious! “Don’t trip. Tuck your butt in hon.” She certainly played her role and got her 15 seconds in!