First, congrats to the cast of Vida on being renewed for Season 3. This means we will be seeing more of the Hernandez sisters in 2020. If the latest episodes are any indication, there will be plenty more chisme. Now on to the recaps.
Episode 9
The episode starts off with Emma and Cruz having a nice fellatio sesh. Let’s just say they are making good use of double AA batteries. Post cuddle Cruz invites Emma to a friend’s wedding. Emma reluctantly accepts.
Across town Mari is having a little post cuddle sesh herself, with her boo Trago. As they bond over breakfast burritos Johnny comes home. Let’s just say Johnny is not a fan of his sister’s boyfriend. Mari’s not having it, calling out Johnny on the two jobs she already has and ditches Johnny to go off and settle a debt.
In Lyn’s world she’s getting her cross-fit on, when surprise, surprise, she catches the eye of a new dude. Except this isn’t any cholo, apparently, he’s the local councilman – Councilman Rudy. Of course, he makes a move, but Lyn keeps her pledge of abstention. Congrats Lyn, looks like this pledge has legs.
Meanwhile, Eddy is still in recovery mode but getting better. As Emma is trying to get a nurse’s aide Mari, stops by to settle that debt. She drops the money she owes Emma for when they ended up in the clink together. Lightbulb moment, Emma can’t seem to find a right home aide, Mari needs a job and has experience. It’s a match!
After her gym class and Councilman Rudy encounter, Lyn saunters in beaming about her game night Loteria tchotchke’s that arrived, and Emma reveals she’s going to the wedding with Cruz. To which Lynn beams even more, inquiring if Emma is “end game” with Cruz. Emma is like nooooo, but says she’s trying. Lyn, being Lyn, asks if this means she can’t do game night because she’ll have to watch Eddy instead of Emma. Emma replies – its handled Lyn’s mortal enemy Mari is the new caretaker. Lyn’s beaming comes to a screaming halt. “Emma, she hates me. OMG she’s going to jump me”.
It’s wedding time. And it’s a fabulous Mexicana style, LGBTQ affair. For Cruz its clearly “end game” as she interacts with Emma and other couples as if they are an item. For Emma…mmm not so much. When Emma excuses herself to get a drink, she mistakes someone at the wedding for a bartender. Turns out that’s Nico, the best woman. During Nico’s speech to the newlyweds, Cruz reaches for Emma’s hand, but is rebuffed as if it were Melania and POTUS.
Drama only escalates from there. During table talk Emma gets called out as a “baby queer” and Emma’s chosen noncommittal sexual preference status – e.g., queer, binary? Nico saves the day, steps up and gets Emma’s back, but Cruz doesn’t, and actually puts their morning sex sesh on blast. Emma loses it and storms off – yeah, its end game for Lyn and Cruz alright, but not like we thought. As Emma storms off, Nico swoops in yet again, to talk her down. As luck would have it. Nico is in fact a bartender/mixologist. Emma invites her to stop by the bar sometime. Another match perhaps!!
Lyn’s game night aka Millennial Loteria does not go as planned. The new format doesn’t sit well the bar’s regulars. To add insult to injury, one of the locals Dona Tita, stops by after and tells her “your pretty, you should stick to that” As Lyn, sulks Dona Lupe stops by with words of encouragement. It really just makes things worse. Lyn takes out her frustration with an evening run, which brings her to the cemetery and Vidalia’s tombstone.
She lets her know they called the bar Vida.
Chingona Level Winner
Nico – She’s new and we don’t know much about her, but that speech she gave at the wedding. Then her schooling the guests at the table. Badass. Nico is operating at the highest of Chingona levels in Episode 9.
Get your Episode 10 Recap after the jump.
Episode 10
Episode 10 opens with the Hernandez sisters cleaning up Vidalia’s office at the bar. In typical fashion Emma’s grinding, while Lyn is reminiscing. When a rodent disrupts them both. And so, opens the episode.
As Emma calls for pest control they go over old boxes of family items, Emma mentions it looks as if Lyn were an only child, as Vidalia only seemed to save things of Lybn, when Emma uncovers a pic of Lyn from dance class. “You’re basically a Latina Joan Benet”. Emma earns the line of the episode.
She also breaks it to Lyn that she’s signing a lease for her own place. When Baco the maintenance man comes in. Emma barks orders for the next items to be completed – you can the tension with a knife between these two. Baco even offers to help with the rodent problem. Interpreting the help as eavesdropping, Emma doesn’t take to kind to it. But Baco gives as good as he gets. “You’ve got a voice on you, you have open doors, plus any idiot can see you have rat problem”. Go Baco!
On the other side of town Karla is prepping for her baby shower, when in comes Johnny trying to make things right. Good, get your butt down to the panaderia and get the cake fixed. Yes, ma’am! At the panaderia Johnny is having some issues doing just that, lots of double entendre going on here. Johnny trying to fix it – the cake and the relationship. But the baker is not having it and basically gives him a thrashing for what he’s done to Karla. Lyn happens upon the squabble. She manages to fix it with some charm on the young helper. Johnny is none too happy. Lyn up to her old tricks. Well, in the prior episode Dona Tita did tell her to use her looks. Look like she’s heeding the advice.
We cue to Emma opening the bar for the day when in saunters Nico. Taking her up on that drink offer we see. As she looks around Nico calls it – the bar is a safe space for LGBTQ. Emma calls out the irony, as it was never safe for her. Nico says the bar has “good bones”, it something that can’t’ be renovated and shouldn’t. Go dive, stay local she encourages.
Back upstairs we get treated to more awkward Mari, Lyn, Eddy interactions. When Eddy and Mari are flipping though an old photo album Mari comments on a baby picture of Lyn, “Damn she looks like a baby drag queen. It explains it all. I get it, if it’s the one thing you got going for you”. Another dig at the Lyn beauty sends her to the rooftop to cool off. When low and behold who should encounter, Dona Tita. who gave Lyn the beauty advice to begin with. Dona’s got a special tamale this time. It’s like they’re going to shroom together. By the end of the night Lyn and Dona Tita are in full edible mode. Lyn high as a kite, thinks life has passed her by, while Dona Tita counsels her, sometimes people take different paths. She doesn’t allow Lyn to go the self-pity route, “don’t’ come with mommy fucked me up. She made you a peacock. Learn to use your feather’s chingao.”
Downstairs, Nico and Emma catch up, learn a little more about each other. Before Nico splits, Emma makes offer. Come work for her. Come work for the bar. Help her figure out to shape this place. Nico resists, but Emma’s not taking no for an answer. As Nico leaves, Emma heads to the bathrooms where Baco is cleaning off the graffiti on Emma’s prior order. She tells Baco to keep the graffiti in the bathroom and follow Emma to her office. Next thing you know Emma is straight f*&cking Baco. Whhaaat! Post booty call, Emma tells Baco to order the rodent traps. At this point Baco is just confused.
Emma then goes back to cleaning and finds a box of all the childhood memories Vidalia saved of Emma, bringing her to tears.
Chingona Level Winner
Dona Tita – Her old school tough love with Lyn, mixed with her new school hash laced tamales shows this OG is operating at the highest of Chingona levels.