My Brilliant Friend Season 4 Episode 3 Review | Recap
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- Elena Greco, a middle-aged woman, leads a peaceful life in her house filled with books. However, things change after her best friend disappears under mysterious circumstances.
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For someone who swore not to be like his father and who hated him in his youth, Nino grew up to become just like him.
They are the same person and it’s so sad to see
@@alwayswatching2295 Elena finally realizes this too when she them standing together
@@alwayswatching2295but why does that normally happen? Is it merely due to learned behavior?
it all surprise de , so sad
I just watched the episode. You've given another terrific recap and your take on the characters is insightful. The scene with Elena and Nino's father was actually very tense and sad. The actress who plays Elena's mother is wonderful; she's so touching and she reminds me of the women I grew up with.
Thank you for this comment. The scene with NINO was tragic. the actress who plays Elena mom deserves all the awards she’s been phenomenal for years
These reviews are so enjoyable! Thank you
Thank you Linda 🙏🏾
The disdain you have for Nino in every recap always has me laughing. He deserves it 😂
He’s awful 😂
I didn’t even like Nino in the first book, when there was no objective reason to dislike him. Imagine how I hate this guy now. 😂
Nino's hatred for his father growing up only to become exactly his father.
They are the same person
Another arc in this episode is how Elena moves from being self-involved to being more involved/aware with what's going on around her. It was nauseating how Elena neglected everyone in her orbit that mattered, whether they were physically present or not: her mother, her children, her sister, her father, her brothers, Lila, the neighborhood! - I was committing violence (in my mind) to shake this woman up! Slowly, slowly the seeds were being planted: Lila's positive influence on Dede/Elsa (I'm not forgetting the positive influences from their Airota grandmother, but Lila has a contemporary/bolder spin); Lenu's interaction with Elisa through the bathing of her niece; the train explosion in Bologna; and finally, her mother's diagnosis and the scene in the car ride back to Naples (that was heartbreaking). I'm wondering if this awareness will instill a spine in Elena - that once she's aware of what's happening in her old neighborhood, that she'll want more for herself/her children than the scraps that Nino gradually doles out. The scene with Nino's father was so cringe, I thought Elena was so stupid to agree to meet with his family, as if THAT gathering would assuage her after their fight. Elena needs to stop putting herself (AND her children) in vulnerable situations but I think we've already seen that she doesn't think first. You've already mentioned that with all her intellectual pretentions, Lenu is not very smart, and her mother clocked that very early on! The preview shows a literal shake-up with an earthquake - I'm pretty sure that means death, but will wait for next week. Thank you for your recap, love hearing your insights, as always!
@@edwinatakasaki2258 it's a beautiful HUMAN story of a woman's journey discovering what really matters and what doesn't and shows how hindsight is 20/20 when it is you living it your emotions cloud your judgement. Love the connection between Elena and Dede. Her daughter seems to read her mind from a young age and subtly calls her in her BS funny how your children are smarter than you evolution of all these characters is beautiful
@@edwinatakasaki2258 can't wait to hear more about what's been going on in the neighborhood
As usual Edwina, thank you for this wonderful comment.
I don’t like that she places her children in so many vulnerable situations. She’s not around to watch them and won’t allow those who do to take care of them .
Someone with Elena education would never agree to be a second wife. To go from pietro family to Nino is such a downgrade. To add insult to injury he will not leave his wife because their family is way more valuable than hers.
At least if she was with Nino it maybe would’ve made up for this disaster but she’s literally a side piece to a man that’s worth nothing.
I think being back in the neighbourhood will allow her to slowly focus on someone other then Nino
Memorable moments of the episode: 1. Lila and Lenu share pregnancy news. A very sincere happy scene. It reminded me of the moments of their friendship from the first season. I'm waiting for even more Lila, I think the actress is well chosen. She combines the Lila of Gaia, and the Lila from the 4th book.2. The scene with Donato. You feel like you're in Lenu's shoes. 3. The final scene with the mother. My favorite actress of the whole series. All the scenes are beautiful.
I read the discussion And I would like to add that Lila has a naive part too. She idealizes the role of a writer. Idealizes the world that she dreamed of entering as a child, but which Lenu received a pass to. She perfectly sees and reads the people from her neighborhood. Understands the crime problems around her. But if i judge by the way she will listen to Pietro with her mouth open later, what hopes she has for Lenu... She also has this childish naivety in this area. Maybe if she had a chance to discover that world as Lenu, she would understand it better
Very good points. You see that in the latest episode when Elena remains calm about the earthquake and Lila feels like the world is ending.
The scene with Elena and her mother at the end was beautiful
We must always remember that Divorce was not legal in Italy till 1970 I believe. It was not unusual for a man to have another household. I always think how Sophia Loren stood by Carlo Ponti all those years but as soon as divorce was allowed in Italy ,he divorced and then married Sophia.
It’s a really interesting show and I love hearing everyone’s viewpoints.
Actually, it was more complicated . They moved to France for a while and they married there. He would have been charged with bigamy in Italy. Crazy.
Hamza, your review is spot on! ⭐ You've echoed my sentiments precisely, alleviating concerns about my objectivity. Moreover, given Lenù's vulnerable psychological state, Lila's restraint is commendable. Lenù's self-esteem is already precarious, and excessive criticism would be unhelpful.
Thank you 💕 Elena has told herself whatever she needed to hear to maintain this relationship.
The fact that Lila was so patient and helpful I think speaks to how so much elena projects on to her
"like a vampire" 🤣🤣🤣 That's Nino, sucking the life out of all the women in his life!
The moment where nino is sitting by his father 😞 I hope elena n Lila become thick as thieves again during their pregnancies and happy lenus mom told her again she's really her pride n joy ugh the episode had me in tears
I think the fact they are both pregnant may be the trigger she needs to finally leave Nino.
Elena mom loves her so much but like any mother is sad to see what her daughter has become
@@alwayswatching2295 I think they do such a great job with the way they show how things were in that place at that time especially with the families pride and or disappointment, although I suppose even now in 2024 mother daughter relationships are still so complicated and beautiful at the same time
in that scene when Nino arrives late and tells Lenu that he was at dinner with some professor, i think for sure that probably he was even with another woman, not his wife even, for sure he keeps having different affairs around, that man is really not good. Lenu is living a fantasy in her own head, because just the fact that Ninos says that about his family being the background and so, is so cruel to put like that, how she cant see that he is a bad man, i wonder if any moment she will come to the point of realizing that and perceive him trough a critical lens, i never read the books, so i wonder.
Exactly ! He is probably with a new woman every night. What’s crazy is she assumes Nino can’t get any worse
It's clear that Lenù's feelings for Nino are genuine, even if he's far from perfect. Nino's ability to manage relationships with multiple women is noteworthy. He rightly established boundaries with his wife regarding Lenù's pregnancy. However, Lenù's self-delusion, as described by Lila, is troubling. If she accepted her position honestly, she would avoid appearing pathetic.
Well said! She will always be second to his wife and if she was ok with that their relationship would be tolerable.
I think she really loves him but she has problems accepting that he doesn’t love her in the same way
Great commentary per usual 👏🏽
But a musical tidbit ....they used the same music from series 2 when Elena's mom, Ima, travels via train to Pisa to aid a sick Elena.
That same music was repeated this episode as Elena was with a sick Ima in the hospital waiting room 😢.
Thank you! And great observation about the music !!
Brava! Another excellent recap and astute observations! The only nuance you left out is something that hit me pretty hard: My stomach turns every time I see Nino alone with Elena's daughters. Nino is such a despicable human being, from a despicable family of abusers and enablers, that I wouldn't put anything past him or his father. And imagine disrespecting Eleanora, the mother of your grandchildren by inviting the mistress to the house-- and celebrating her pregnancy!! Disgraziate!
Thank you 🙏🏾 Unfortunately I wouldn’t put anything past him either , it doesn’t seem like he would but with him you never know
@@mariannesmallbridge9753 good point I had the same thought especially seeing him buddy up to his dad all I could think was Elena vividly remembered her experience with Ninos father as an intelligent scholar she doesn't consider Nino behaving in the same despicable manner with younger women as he is also a respected professor mentoring young women
I am not sure what this says about me, but I empathize with Elena. Maybe too much. I interpreted Lila as the crazy one and I excused Elena's bad behavior because of how repressed she was. You're take is making me rethink that POV. Interesting. Great recap.
I used to empathize with Elena but her actions contradict her words a lot .
We have no other POV about Lila besides Elena’s so it’s hard to say if Lila is as unreasonable as she makes her out to be
I’m a big fan of the show and I love the way you summarize each episode.
Thank you 🙏🏾
I still hope that they will show less Nino but no😢 i am more invested in Lenu when she is around other characters. Nino is sucking away the joy😅
Eventually they will remove him as the main focus but sadly he will still be around
Excellent insights. I’m going to rewatch it in order to observe your perspective. Thanks.
Thank you Barbara 🙏🏾
@@alwayswatching2295 the most disturbing scene; the lunch with Nino’s family. Nino’s father recalls the incident in Ischia many years ago. Uggghhh.
A question: In the book, does Elena have a third baby? I only recall Lila’s third baby!
I love your analysis thank you !
Thank you for always watching 🙏🏾👏🏿
I love the series/ books and you discussing it. Elena, like Nino, is a very grey ( but realistic) character. From the books, it is clear that she is aware at this point of her life of who Nino is, but she has this fantasy of her being the one who he will want above anyone else (because of how fragile her self-image is and his ability to BS evreyone who craves attention). Elena's view of people during her entire life is honestly all about how validating they are to her which is both sad and scary. She is vindicative and paranoid about Lila evrey time she does something she feels can not , she demonized and mocked her husband for being boring and a bit repressed ( Pietro is all the way decent with her and the girls and he did love her). Her views on Galiani, Franco and Adele turn negative as soon as they do not see her as great ( Adele did like her, she just expected her to have affairs and keep her famility for her kids as she did - quite liberal for the time- and she felt betrayed) She has all these depreciative thoughts about her mother for being a limp and fears becoming unatracttive like her since she is a kid utill her mother dies. All the characters in the book are tourmented, grey and self-interested. Elena is perhaps the only one who is selfish without ever admitting it. Even Nino admmits that in the end
You raise maybe great points . I think Elena craves external validation . You saw that when she came back to the neighbourhood from school and all the attention was still on Lila.
I think the way Elena rationalizes her behaviour is scary because on one hand I understand how she got to that point but at the same time it doesn’t excuse her behaviour
im so tired of Nino ugh Elena pls stand UP
lol she gets worse every episode
A reminder! Please…
Did Nino andElena go to NY in the final book? And, did Elena have a third baby? I read the books ten years ago.
Yes, they went to NY, and they had a baby
Cada vez me deciluciona mas Lenu y que pone primero siempre a un hombre antes que ella y sus hijas y me cae mejor Lila ,lastima que parece que su sufrimiento no acaba ya que parece que en el proximo episodio muere Enzo y el hijo que mujer tan sufrida y siempre se levanta y sale adelante
Always Witty, you are so insightful! I can't get any of the nuances of this show, nor people's motivations or duplicity.
You ❤should do live may be before the show start as a review with your subcriber
I wish the actors were not recast. It is not much in the future in time.
@@joannegalante5813 I was upset too and miss young Elena's piercing blue eyes
I just rewatched the first and second season, beacuse there were many things I didn't remember quite clearly. Nino's father didn't force himself on her. She didn't do anything to suggest to him she wasn't interested in having it with him. She was in a very horrible place as it was the night Lila and Nino got togheter(which she facilitated) and she wanted something horrible to happen to her. She came across him and she imposed this thing on herself.
This episode is so sad. Too many things which one way or another we can recognise from reality.
Many of us who grew up in poverty were ashamed with our origins and thought ourselvs to be better than the rest just beacuse we owned some sort of awareness that what was going on was wrong.
I think that's why I dislike Lenu and Nino so much. They both felt like they were better than their families or neighbourhood. Lila at least was openely unlikable.
These people who seam harmless are I think the ones which dissapoint the most.
I can't think of anything more infantile than being ashamed with your family as a full grown person and not a teenager anymore.
I remember after Pasquale left her and Pietro' s home in season 3, Lenu told Pietro that everything he has is due to his name. Maybe it's justme but it seams Lenu's and Nino's drama is thst they are neither from the slum, neither from the upper class but forevar balancing between the 2. Despising and hating their origins yet resenting and admiring the upper class. At the end I don t think you can trully be a full rounded person if you hate your orgins and your family. It s like despising yourself. It all ends in mediocrity anyway.
By contrast Lila, who was not educated has a more rounded personality despite all her adversities.
@teoandreea4309. I'm stunned that you're blaming the victim here. No matter how shallow Elena is, she was a child and he was a grown man. HE is responsible for taking advantage of her, just as his son is now doing. I can't but wonder if you're a guy....
@@teoandreea4309 Nino's father is a sexual predator and was grooming Elena. She was a child and was abused by a slimy man with position of power.
@@mariannesmallbridge9753 This is a very automatic view of what I am saying. I am definetly a woman and I know what I am saying here. I too put myself in stupid situations. She was a child compared to him yes but if you are to put all responsability on him, isn't that your taking all power and responsability from her also? She was smart enough to see how full of himself he was that's why he was conpletely speachless when she said to him at the end that if she wants to, she will tell the Solaras what he had done and destroy him. After, she literally says in the episode something along the lines of:" I forced it on myself".
Watch the episode in the second season when it happenes and see it's not what I am actualy saying here.
@@mariannesmallbridge9753 Just to be clear, Nino's father is like the archetype of disgusting self agrandising man. He is really disgusting to me. Same as Nino.
But remember at her first trip to the Island at 15, Nino's father molested her, and that was one of the reasons she left early.