East Los High: "The Bi+ch is Back" Review

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! 

East Los High: "La Virgen de East Los High" Review

Check out East Los High on Hulu!

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!