'Selena: The Series' Part 2 Review: An entertaining watch focusing on Selena's life and dreams not just her tragic death
Spoilers for 'Selena: The Series' Part 2
Her life may have come to a nightmarish end but Part 2 of 'Selena: The Series' focuses largely on her dreams. Selena (Christian Serratos) certainly had plenty of dreams and they didn't just involve music. From her dream of marrying her boyfriend Chris (Jesse Posey) in spite of initial opposition from her father (Ricardo Chavira), to her dream of owning puppies, to her dream of opening her own boutique Selena Etc, to her dream of launching her own fashion collection, Selena never stopped dreaming.
The series, however, doesn't shy away from showing that Selena's dreams, didn't often make for the easiest reality for those around her. Particularly her husband Chris whose own musical ambitions often ended up getting sidetracked, as Selena rocketed towards superstardom. Considering Selena's sister Suzette Quintanilla is one of the executive producers on 'Selena: The Series' it is laudable, that Selena isn't portrayed as being simply perfect, especially after her untimely death.
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Serratos for those who have watched old footage of Selena is at ease in her role, even if the character she's playing is more out of her comfort zone than ever before. Part 2 of 'Selena: The Series' sees Selena trying to break out of her old box, and try her hand at a crossover album. But between trying to crossover to the global pop market, open a boutique and keep her marriage intact Selena is completely overworked and overstretched. This is where Yolanda Salvidar (Natasha Perez), who ultimately ended up killing Selena, makes her entrance into Selena's life. Initially, the President of Selena's fan club, the former nurse then takes on additional responsibilities and helps the overwhelmed Selena with managing her boutique.
While initially, Yolanda is a boon to Selena, when Selena is served for outstanding dues to vendors for her boutique, it becomes clear that Yolanda is embezzling money not just from Selena's boutique but also from Selena's fan club. While Selena initially tries to defend Yolanda, her family convinces her to let Yolanda go. The tragic incident where Yolanda finally took Selena's life, occurred when Yolanda convinces Selena to come and meet her claiming she was attacked by two men. Selena is furious when she finds out that Yolanda has lied about the attack and asks Yolanda to simply hand over the remaining financial documents she has with her. Selena then goes into the Days Inn where Yolanda is staying to get the documents and this is when she is shot.
Part 2 of 'Selena: The Series' focuses so much on Selena's dreams, so it is only fitting to mention that Selena's next dream before her life was cut so tragically short, was starting a family and building a new home with her husband Chris. Sadly perhaps the dream closest to her heart would never come to light. 'Selena: The Series' is a deeply moving watch and while the series may be centered around Selena, each cast member's character arc is well fleshed out and most of the cast do a commendable job in portraying their characters, particularly Ricardo Chavira as Selena's father AB Quintanilla, and Gabriel Chavarria as AB Quintanilla. But actors like Rico Aragon, who plays Jose Behar Selena's manager and Natasha Perez who plays Yolanda Saldivar come across as rather amateurish, compared to the rest of the cast. There are a few over-the-top scenes also, of Yolanda crushing a picture of Selena in what looks like a scene right out of a bad soap opera. However, even if you're not a Selena fan and can't name a single Selena song, Part 2 of 'Selena: The Series' is an interesting watch and listen if only to remind you how to dream big.
The series ends with following how the family is coping six months after Selena's death and how they all do their part to ensure that their sister's legacy lives on. It seems that for the moment at least there is no room for a Part 3 of 'Selena: The Series' but watch this space in case there are any updates on that front. Part 2 of 'Selena: The Series' premiered on May 4 on Netflix.