‘Little America’ Recap: ‘The Jaguar’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Perhaps the true beauty of The American Dream, is how it caters to the individual. Because when we seek out to obtain it and everything it has to offer, it takes on new life for us by becoming something supremely personal, to the point where it creates specific goals for us, the kind that will satisfy our soul as we work to achieve it. For some, those goals are grandiose in nature, such as becoming the most famous person in their field, so they are forever remembered as the greatest of all time. But sometimes, those goals are smaller and humbler in nature and that more intimate quest in regard to The American Dream, just so happened to serve as the focal point for the next episode of Little America.
 
For ‘The Jaguar’ introduces us to the Rosado family, a trio of undocumented immigrants who came here to find a better life. But young Marisol is starting to wonder why they bothered to come to America in the first place. Because she and her family are consistently mocked for their social standing and the opportunities, she thought the family would find here are outright nonexistent. For her mother works menial cleaning jobs and her brother takes whatever construction work he can find, just so they can keep the roof of the garage they live in, over their heads. And that lack of results, has sucked all the motivation out of Marisol at school and also prompted her to lash out at others because she feels so lost and so angry at her family being rejected by the country that supposedly would embrace her.
 
If anything, her iteration of The Dream is to have her family be seen and respected for the hard work they put in and oddly enough, she gets her wish in the most unique way imaginable. Because a chance encounter with an enigmatic squash coach, who sees some fire and potential in her, motivates her to give the sport a shot and it just so happens that she is a natural. And finding out that she is good at something special, motivates her like never before and suddenly she’s ready to dedicate herself to the cause and sacrifice everything to be the best. Because when she’s on the court, she’s the Jaguar and she’s respected by her peers and she is now someone that stands out above the rest, allowing for her version of The Dream to come to fruition.
 
However, while seeing her find what she so desperately craves is satisfying for certain, what this episode has to say about The American Dream in general is what makes this story so powerful. Because Marisol stumbling upon squash and discovering that it is her calling, speaks volumes to the fact that opportunity is everywhere in America, you simply have to take a moment and look for it when you think there’s no opportunities present for you and more importantly, her plight also serves to remind us that while The Dream is indeed quite personal, certain parts of it never quite change. Because in order to become the best at what she does, she still has to work at it ad nauseum, to the point where simple mistakes are not allowed and seeing those classic elements of The Dream on display is wonderful because it means that its overall spirit is still alive in America in the 21st Century, despite the disillusionment we sometimes see revolving around it.
 
But what matters the most about this particular tale, is that it preaches tolerance above anything else. Because seeing Marisol’s family take a lot of heat for being immigrants and poor ones at that, is infuriating for certain and it prompts the audience to root for her at every turn and that’s just beautiful when all is said and done. For it reminds us to lift one another up and celebrate in the success of others and that is a message we definitely need to hear in America in this day and age. In the end however, this really was another brilliant chapter in this already incredible series. Because it really does provide the viewer with an incredible story, one that once again demonstrates that citizens and immigrants really aren’t that different after all. Because truly, working hard to rise through the ranks in order to reach the top, is about as American as it gets. Until next time.

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