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: Season 1 Critique
Since I’ve been looking for more shows and movies with diverse content, I recently decided to give “East Los High” a viewing. If you have Hulu Plus you probably have seen promos for the web based tv series between whatever you’re watching. I could excuse it away with I study what works and what doesn’t in the screenwriting of these shows (which I do), but honestly I have a guilty pleasure soft spot for soap melodrama. So that means turning a blind eye to some of the poor acting and contrived storylines to take the ride. If you’re ready to enroll and attend a class at East Los, you’ll get a lesson or two in love, violence, and revenge...and you don’t want to be tardy.
Jessie (Janine Larina) & Jacob (Gabriel Chavarria)
“East Los High” follows Jessie (Janine Larina), a good student who is socially awkward. She and her friend Soli (Noemi Gonzalez) are two peas in a pod. What could pull two best friends apart? A boy of course. Jacob (Gabriel Chavarria) is the high school stud that every girl wants to be with. His attention turns to Jessie after his girlfriend Vanessa (Tracy Perez) is caught red handed cheating on him via cell phone footage.
The show brings cultural music and dance into the lives of its’ teens through the Bomb Squad, the high school dance team. The squad is led by Vanessa and Ceci (Danielle Vega). Vanessa is your classic queen B, who runs the girls with an iron fist. That fist is actually Ceci, a vocally unfiltered, untamed teen with plans to take down the queen.
Vanessa (Tracy Perez) & Ceci (Danielle Vega)
What would a soap be without a stranger moving into town and shaking things up? Maya (Alicia Sixtos) comes into town to escape the past, but of course, that past follows her and puts a lot of people in danger. With the stage set, the students of East Los High deal less with tests and studying and more with their interactions with one another. Whether they’re hooking up, trying to avoid danger, or trying to tear each other apart, there is always something going on.
Numerous times while I was watching the show I kept thinking “this feels like a PSA for sexual health.” It actually is, but by the time you realize that, the message has already been delivered. The key to understanding the show is knowing who is really pulling the strings. Population Media Center (PMC), a nonprofit organization that creates serialized content to promote social change, is the creator of the show. Frankly, I think PMC is a genius for creating the show. “East Los High” puts the various outcomes of teen sexual experiences (or lack there of) at the feet of its’ viewers and asks them to make the decision for themselves. It also supplies viewers with online resources to help. It basically delivers medicine encompassed in dessert like your mom used to do.
Season 1 is clunky in its’ writing and very melodramatic most of the time. After finishing Season 2 I can say everything gets better, although it could still benefit from less foreshadowing...it’s entertaining. Like most online series, if you can get past the first few episodes, you’ll get invested in the characters and melodrama as you binge. It’s the kind of series that you love to hate at times, but with a worthy message for teens that may be the only “talk” they have...it’s worth supporting.
Check out my Top 5 characters of Season 1!