Vida wrapped up its second season on a high note. Although the Hernandez sisters reunited, plenty of bombs were dropped along the way and there are some landmines that have yet to go off.
The finale opens with Lyn and Dona Lupe in full on Santera mode, cleansing the bar of bad spirits. We will see if that works later on in the espisode. After cleaning the bad Juju Lyn heads upstairs to find Emma still in zombie mode. In a role reversal it is now Lyn who wants to get the place cleaned up. She stresses the importance of the concert at the bar. “It’s a life saver for Vida” she says. Still in boss mode Lyn heads down to get the equipment to clean the mural. All courtesy of Councilmen Rudy. They get spied on in a smooch sesh by one of Los Vigilantes, who continues to film Lyn as she power cleans the tagged mural. This can’t be good. But, more on that later.
Papa Hernandez
Eddy is hiding out Rocky’s until she makes sure that what she dug up is legit – i.e., Lyn and Emma’s dad is still alive – Whaaattttt? Inspector Eddie is on the case. She’s does some digging and finds that their father is a Victor Villanueva and a pastor at a local church. So, she pays a visit, and low and behold he is there in the flesh. This is going to get interesting.
Baco
Doing some digging of her own is Emma, who finally gets out of zombie mode and tracks down Baco. Emma is perplexed as to why she was not charged for his services. Baco did not want to be in debt to her in any way, shape or form. His own way of cleansing himself of the bad Juju Vida seems to bring. Yet, before he could school Emma on this, Baco’s mother comes out and interrupts them. She insists Emma stay for their family celebration.
Baco and Emma are like…mmmm guess where doing this? We learn a lot about Baco during his family gathering. The man is a craftsman, a father and budding entrepreneur. It’s a nice look into Baco’s world, provides more dimension to his character and its a great comeuppance for Emma, who so easily prejudges people before getting to know them. The two do not kiss, but definitely make up.
Coconut Becky
Remember that taping of Lyn? Well looks like Los Vigilantes are planning a two-pronged attack on the bar. First, a nice little bit of cyber bullying with Lyn aka “Coconut Becky” as the star of the show. Second, a protest at the bar to disrupt the concert. Looks like they are protesting with laundry detergent in hand – this can’t be good. Mari tries to squash it – but to no avail.
Cue to later in the evening as Lyn is prepping for the bar. Marcos shows Lyn the Coconut Becky video. Lyn just shakes it off, “what you think that’s the first time I’ve been cyberbullied?” Uh oh, looks like Lyn is operating on chingona level.
Emco
Upon coming home from her reconciliation with Baco, Emma comes upon Nico. Nico is a straight shooter and comes clean about what happened with her ex, but also calls out Emma on the passive-aggressive bullshit and there true feelings for one another. Then IT-IS-ON. They go AT-IT – outside, inside, every which way you can imagine. Looks like we have a new couple alert. Is it “Nima”? “Nicoma”? We like “Emco”. This story line has been developing all season, so it’s great to see it get just due.
Los Vigilantes
As Lyn continues to prepare for the music series she stumbles upon Mari packing to leave. Mari gives her a heads up that Los Vigilantes are seeking to disrupt the night. Mari tries to justify the actions, but Lyn isn’t having it. She also calls her out on betraying Emma. Literally telling Mari “I wanna watch you leave.” And screams for Mari to “walk” as she marches Mari out of the house. Lyn is in serious boss mode this episode.
As Lyn returns to the bar, she stops and surveys the area. The concert is underway, the bar is crowded, folks are drinking and enjoying themselves – it’s working. Then come Los Vigilantes. They begin to protest outside. Lyn goes to confront them and explain how they are not gentrifiers, both her and Emma are from the neighborhood and are looking to rescue the bar. It’s not working, she gets doused with detergent. Emma witnesses as this goes go down and goes all big momma bear on one of the protesters. Las Hermana’s Hernandez are reunited.
After she’s cleaned up Emma also sees how successful the night is. A manager of another band approaches and compliments them on the evening, saying his artist would love to play the venue. He asks who owns the place. Emma replies, “we both do, but give the card to [Lyn], she’s the one in charge.”
While season two ends on a high note, there is a lot of story unresolved. What will be of the love triangle between Lyn, Johnny and Councilmen Rudy? What about Mari’s betrayal of Emma? Mari’s place in Los Vigilantes? Perhaps the biggest cliffhanger – Emma and Lyn’s father. How will that impact everyone going forward? We will have to wait until Season 3.
Chingona Level Winner
Lyn is the clear winner. From stepping up to clean up the bar, run the music series and take it to Los Vigilantes. She was clearly operating on Chingona level.