Of course Sonia is a Scorpio. The sign of the scorpion is known for being intense, dramatic, and confident (or pushy, depending on how you look at it). They wake up every day and choose violence, as the memeified saying goes, just like Los Espookys’ most chaotic roommate. Scorpio season actually begins October 23, as astrology enthusiasts know — not exactly the same day as the Los Espookys season-two finale but close enough.
Along with serving as a cautionary tale about fiery sexpots born around Halloween, “The Eclipse (El Eclipse)” is the Los Espookys’ version of a very special episode. Keeping with the show’s absurdist spirit, none of the lessons learned really stick or even matter all that much. Nevertheless, our sweet Andrés learns about friendship, figuring out that sometimes, in order to get, you have to give. He also maybe learns about, like, perseverance and selflessness? I think? Whatever.
Andrés is rich again (always was, really), which means he doesn’t have to follow plebeian rules about “reciprocity” and “listening to other people when they talk” anymore. Plus, in a callback to episode three, he gives away and then gets back his dangly earring. As we learn this week, that earring is a magical talisman that protects him from having to feel guilty about anything ever. So if he does take anything away from his brief adventure in normalcy — if you can call trips to the moon and the ability to summon a horse with a magic flute “normal” — those morals, and their absorption, will be entirely voluntary.
The resolution of Andrés’ housing situation was one of multiple season-long threads that this week’s finale wrapped up, though some were more dramatically satisfying than others. I liked that this week’s adventure paused to spend some time observing the Los Espookys’ creative process, which includes an action-figure diorama and Tati’s mouth covered in paint. (Was she huffing it or eating it? You be the judge.) In terms of the logic behind said plan, there’s some serious yadda-yadda-ing involved in the transition from “an eclipse will distract the people from Mayor Teresa Lobos tugging on her tube top” to “and therefore, she will win the election.” But hey, whatever works.
One could argue that Renaldo’s werewolf plan would have been just as effective in terms of distracting the crowd, but then we wouldn’t have gotten the bemused observational joke of watching everyone rush inside to watch an eclipse on TV without looking up to see if the sky is actually darkening outside. Los Espookys isn’t a snob about TV, exactly. But it does consider it to be an opiate of the masses and a powerful brainwashing tool, as when the Mira Esto anchor declares, “We here at Mira Esto support the status quo and all its demons.”
For the time being, Úrsula seems to have evaded Mira Esto and its staff’s attempt to brainwash her into becoming Gregoria Santos No. 9. She’s also scored the small satisfaction of seeing all those sexy-lady silhouettes disappear, taking their subliminal messaging about women with them, once President de la Guardia leaves office. But she has made a Faustian bargain by backing (former) Mayor Teresa Lobos, whose Tweety Bird boob tattoo and love of tequila shots aren’t necessarily disqualifying. They’re not encouraging, either.
The election of Teresa as president also rather miraculously solves Renaldo’s ghost problem, which turns out not to be a ghost problem at all. The handwaving here was anticlimactic and kind of underwhelming, in my opinion, though I suppose Andrés’s haunting by the Water Spirit last season was resolved in a similarly neat manner. But Andrés played an active role in that scenario, even if all he did was rent The King’s Speech on DVD. Renaldo just got played.
Nevertheless, moving into season three, Los Espookys are more powerful than ever. They have the ear of the incoming president and a fabulous mansion to serve as their new headquarters. Sonia is preoccupied with harassing celebrities, and Tico has rediscovered his purpose in life after finding a copy of The Old Man and the Sea: Tati Edition on the beach outside of Andrés’s magical lighthouse. The printer in space is broken, so the moon can enjoy some slow weeks until her supervisor gets back from maternity leave. Renaldo’s attempt to stand up for himself actually works, and a butterfly lands on Tati’s nose. The only loser here is Isabella Rossellini, who’s stuck with an off-brand domain name. But she’ll be fine, too. Her IMDb page is easy to find.
It’s Me, Tati
• In the spirit of this week’s astrology humor, what’s your Los Espookys sign? I’d say I’m an Úrsula sun, an Andrés moon, and a Renaldo rising.
• The phrase “choose violence” actually has a traceable origin on another HBO Show. In Game of Thrones season six, episode eight, Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), is given the choice between surrender or violence. “I choose violence,” she says. There. You learned something today.
• Both Andrés’s contemplation lighthouse and his gorgeously dilapidated mansion in the city’s historic district match his hair color. Flawless as always, Andrés.
• “Tati, you can come in.” “You can see me?” “Jesus.”
• Tati was a relatively minor player in this week’s season finale — being hit by a car on a stationary bike can do that. But Ana Fabrega, who also directed “The Eclipse (El Eclipse),” won the episode with her amazing reactions: looking like she was going to cry when Andrés criticized the eclipse plan, leaning in for a kiss when the argument was resolved … That being said, Julio Torres holding his face like he had a headache while Fred Armisen explained how conversations work was pretty priceless as well.
• One more season-finale shoutout to the Los Espookys art department, this time for lining the walls of Mayor Teresa Lobos’s campaign office with branded merch.
• And another shoutout, this one to the wardrobe crew for Renaldo’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre T-shirt.
• Mayor Teresa Lobos keeping the “Hello, Minnesota!” in her plagiarized Barack Obama speech was a clever little wink to the show’s coy refusal to place itself in any specific location.
• We leave season two with one mystery left to be solved: the case of what’s inside Tati’s purse. Will Los Espookys survive what’s sure to be their most harrowing assignment yet? Tune in next season …
