'My Brilliant Friend' Season 2 Episode 5: Lila loses her sanity giving in to her desires and pushes Lenu away
Spoilers for 'My Brilliant Friend' Season 2 Episode 5 Chapter 13 'The Betrayal'
Lila (Gaia Girace) and Nino Sarratore (Francesco Serpico) are no longer hiding behind stolen glances and coy smiles. They are no longer keeping their wild attraction from the world.
Fully aware of just how much in the wrong she is, Lila is unabashed in her advances towards Nino. And even for the young Sarratore boy, knowing she is married to Stefano Carracci (Giovanni Amura) doesn't stop him from lusting over her.
Their affair takes new wings in the latest episode of 'My Brilliant Friend' and it is by far the most blood-curdling situation the series has supplied us with.
In what is perhaps the darkest installment of the Italian show, Lila and Lenu find themselves at polar opposites of the same boy — Lenu seeking Nino's attention and Lila giving in to the desire she has nursed for him.
You could have argued about her intentions in the previous episode. And we did — we couldn't really tell what her true feelings about Nino were. However, in Episode 5, Lila's plans about him are clear — she is no longer competing for his attention with Lenu, instead, she revels in it — losing her mind and sanity.
Is this all in the name of rebellion? Revolt in the face of the Carraccis and the Solaras who are dictating her life and her decisions? Does she look for some freedom in Sarratore's son? In another time, these fleeting feelings would be normal for Lila and Lenu's 15-16-year-old hearts. But not in Elena Ferrante's universe.
Was Lila unaware of Lenu's feelings for Nino? Probably not. As her best friend, it is highly unlikely that she has failed to notice how Lenu feels about Sarratore's son.
Just as the episode reached its midway mark, there was a surprise in store: the Solaras visit Ischia for a day off. There, Michele (Alessio Gallo) and Gigliola (Rosaria Langellotto) see Lila swimming in the waters with Nino and then emerge from the sea holding hands.
When she catches a glimpse of the couple on the shore, Lila abandons Nino's hands, now confronted with the dangers of the revelation.
There is a particular scene here — Lenu is desperately trying to conceal the fact that Lila is in the waters with Nino. When they emerge out of the sea, she and Michele share a quick glance - the cat is out of the box and now nothing will ameliorate this.
The horrors of episode 5 are not over yet. Tormented over Lila and Nino's affair, Lenu seeks the attention of the worst Sarratore, Donato Sarratore (Emanuele Valenti). She allows him to enter her - angry at her best friend and Nino's infidelities.
In a way, she also fulfills something she had said in the first episode of Season 2. Returning from Lila's wedding, she is ready to give herself to Antonio (Christian Giroso) — if Lila is losing her virginity so is she. But that never happens. Only now, Lenu gives herself to the person who molested her.
Donato, who feels like he had been in control of the entire situation - manipulating her by telling her that this must remain between the two, like any pedophile, this is their "little secret". But Lenu turns around to deliver a much-deserved slap in his face.
When Stefano returns to Ischia, he now knows what went down between Lila and Nino. His wife confesses that she has no qualms about giving herself to Nino and it is decided that they were to return to Naples the next day.
Lenu makes a decision. Once back in Naples, she is not going to seek Lila, nor is she going to seek Nino - she is going to live just for herself.
If you have read the books, Season 2 and the book that it is based on 'The Story of a New Name', documents the most tumultuous period of Lila and Lenu's friendship.
Written by Elena Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci and Saverio Costanzo, and directed by Alice Rohrwacher, Episode 5 presents only a nugget of what is to come. Episode 6 of 'My Brilliant Friend' will air on Monday, April 20, at 10.15 pm.