‘Vida’ Season 2 Episode 7 Recap: Tackles Machismo, Colorism, and All The Hypocrisy

In one of the best episodes of Season 2 of Vida, we tackle everything from machismo (and the hypocrisy of men’s opinions of how women use their bodies), to colorism within the Latinx community, housing insecurity, and (as usual) battling gentrification

June 27, 2019 - 22:00

In one of the best episodes of Season 2 of Vida, we tackle everything from machismo (and the hypocrisy of men’s opinions of how women use their bodies), to colorism within the Latinx community, housing insecurity, and (as usual) battling gentrification. Empecemos!

Mari and the Domino Effects of Machismo

Episode 7 starts without with a punch — literally. Johnny’s working on a car when he gets a text containing a certain video. You know, the one that Tlaloc took of Mari without her permission? With what was seriously one of the best sequences yet on the show, Johnny makes his way to Tlaloc (who’s hanging with some people at a park) and proceeds to clock him over and over again. I’m not exactly a violent person, but I won’t lie. It was satisfying to watch Tlaloc finally face some consequences for his lousy actions.

Unfortunately, every action has a reaction. First, Mari pays Tlaloc a visit who basically tells her they’re over because of the beatdown. Next, Mari confronts Johnny, but they’re accidentally overheard by their father. He demands to know what “video” they’re discussing, and Johnny eventually shows him. While Mari has been an amazing daughter to her father, not only staying home but dedicating time to taking care of him, he tells her that she now disgusts him for what she did. Let’s just go back for a second: Johnny impregnated his fiancé and then left her to fuck his ex, and he’s still okay to be home. But Mari was recorded without her consent and she’s slut-shamed and then kicked out of her house? Gotta love machismo.

Fortunately, Emma finds out about Mari’s housing insecurity (she tried to stay with Yoli but she’s also having housing issues) and decides to let her stay with her. It’s probably because she knows what it’s like to get kicked out of the house, but either way, a solid move on Emma’s part.

Lyn’s Revenge and Continuous Struggle

Meanwhile, Lyn’s struggling without Emma around. She goes to visit Doña Lupe to get info on where her sister’s gone. Lupe advises her to let Emma be, and that Lyn needs to change her tune because it’s currently not working for her. Lyn retreats to her new bestie Marcos’ apartment instead and proceeds to get shit faced while they vent about life.

They begin to have a discussion on colorism within Latinx communities (how his aunt hated him for being more morenito) and ends up bringing up how the aunt got rejected by a guy on a dating app who said he only liked white or light-skinned women. And who does it turn out to be but Nelson the Neighborhood Gentrifier? Lyn and Marcos put together the perfect scheme: they create a fake white girl Instagram to catfish him into incriminating himself. He takes the bait immediately and they’re “blessed” with a dick pic. Lyn ends up plastering photos of Nelson with the screenshots from the fake dating app to out him like the creep he is. Revenge is a dish best served with a side of public shaming.

Lyn finally sees Emma again by the end of the episode, but finds that Emma basically won’t talk to her, and is treating Mari better than her. She decides to take Doña Lupe’s advice and takes a ritual bath where she’s meant to talk to a mirror and then shatter it (without looking at the shards). But she does, which is supposed to mean she’s trapped in her porqueria forever. That’s if you believe in that sort of thing, though.

Emma and Eddy Still Butting Heads

Due to Emma’s new financial difficulties (Lyn’s $14k worth of debt), she decides to consider leasing the wall of her building as ad space, despite the fact that the wall has a mural that depicts her as some kind of revolutionary (among other things). Eddy won’t hear it, but Emma’s quick to put her in her place. It’s difficult to watch, and even Nico’s feeling badly about the whole thing. Later on, Nico even finds a very intoxicated and depressed Eddy attempting to drive drunk but is able to take away her keys. We’ll have to see if Emma ends up leasing the space or not, but even if she does, could we blame her?

Final Notes

– Johnny calling Tlaloc “Sideshow Bob” was a golden freaking moment.

– Housing insecurity is a very real issue many people face, but many others don’t realize how easily one can become homeless. While Mari’s able to rely on Emma’s kindness in this instance, it could have easily gone another way. She could have wound up on the streets, more susceptible to violence, even trafficking. Appreciate them throwing in this storyline.

– Marcos talking about his tia’s colorism and the idea that we as Latinx people (especially those of us with more indigenous or African roots) need to “mejorar la raza/improve the race” is a major issue most of us encounter at some time or other. Also, appreciate Saracho including this common and exceedingly problematic issue in this episode.