Episode 2: "Part 2"

PLOT:

Julio comes to the aid of a drunken Javier after he loses yet another bar fight and can’t afford to pay his debts. In turn Javier warns Julio not to trust anyone in the hotel, especially those competing over the floor manager role (Cristina’s former position).

Alfredo, Sofia’s husband, is still upset Doña Teresa did not chose him to run the family hotel business. In an effort to change her mind, Sofia convinces Alfredo to talk to her mother once more in private. Unfortunately, being a man of status to be so quickly denied by Doña Teresa once again, only angers Alfredo. With a hurt ego, Alfredo hastily decides to leave the hotel to go back to his own family. While begging him to stay, Sofia falls down a flight of stairs— which results in a miscarriage and inability to have any future children. Doña Teresa threatens Sofia’s doctor to lie and say she's still pregnant so that Sofia's husband will not divorce her for not providing him an heir.

Alicia soon discovers Julio’s true identity as a waiter and threatens to turn him into the police. He confesses his true reason for his actions, and she agrees to help him giving him one month to find out what truly happened to Cristina. Right after his confession, a blind man stumbles upon the body of a dead girl in a far away area. Although the viewer suspects it to be Cristina, the identity of the woman is unclear, because her hair is red and she is wearing an elegant emerald dress— something a maid/floor manager would not be permitted (nor could afford) to possess.

Meanwhile, Diego receives an anonymous package with Cristina's bloodied uniform inside. He tries to burn the uniform, only for Julio to discover it in the stove, unaware that it was Diego who placed it there. In another suspicious moment, Belen comes into Diego’s office to tell him that she’s pregnant with his baby. He laughs it off as he casually tells her to get an abortion. She says refuses and demands that he provide for her and their child because— PLOT TWIST, ALFREDO SLEPT WITH CRISTINA TOO. (Is this why Diego received a box of her bloodied clothes, as proof her murder was successful? Did he really have a relationship with Cristina??) Diego in turn threatens her and has the head maid Angela, fire her. Distraught, unmarried and now pregnant, Belen exploits Andres’ love for her to save her from being fired. He lies to Angela (who is also his mother), and says that the baby is his, therefore Belen cannot be fired.

MY THOUGHTS:

Now that I am not distracted by the allure of a new show or daunted the subtitles, I feel like I can concentrate on the production value of the episode itself. The opening credits are a collection of old photographs of the lavish hotel and guests, as well as the hotel workers. The pictures are accompanied by classical music as one image fades into the next.

The cinematography of the show overall, is very professional, crisp and exceptionally modern— which is interesting considering it being a period series. The show relies heavily on the typical lighting and metaphorical techniques to display the true nature of each character or their current situation. (Andres’ face being half covered when he’s scared/hiding something) Sometimes, however I find them using these elements to the extreme, which to me personally is not too distracting, but at times can be unnecessary.

Perhaps because I was getting used to the show (not only the characters, but also the subtitles), that I never truly realized the large amount of soundtrack. It may have just been this episode in particular, but it seemed that music was constantly playing especially during stressful moments. It was definitely a noticeable (and welcomed) change of pace for me, since American shows tend to utilize pure silence or simply ambient noise for thrilling moments. Those moments of silence truly freak me out, so to have some music playing was a not so scary change. I came to realize the episode barely had any moments of silence.

Continuing with evaluating the episode’s production, it displays beautiful staging between actors and their environment (Julio walking down the street, actors standing outside the hotel). However, the show definitely favors tight angled shots. Actors are barely given enough head room, with the bottom screen edge not too far from their feet. The close ups were extremely close, and at times, I found it uncomfortable; being distracted by every pore I could see on Belen’s face.

So far, I find myself really engaged in this show. At first, I was worried that I may not be able to take it seriously, but in fact I find myself excited to watch the next episode. I even had to go back to rewatch some scenes because I realized I was watching the episode for pure pleasure, rather than analyzing it for an assignment. Either way, I am definitely a fan of the show!!

#granhotel #grandhotel #nexflix #downtonabbey