Written by John Edward Betancourt LOPEZ VS LOPEZ -- "Lopez vs Elsa" Episode 312 -- Pictured: (l-r) Terri Hoyos as Elsa, Mayan Lopez as Mayan, George Lopez as George -- (Photo by: Nicole Weingart/NBC)
Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 312 of ‘Lopez vs Lopez’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
If there one particular hope we all carry when it comes to the human condition, it would be that people can change for the better. Which we hold to, for several reasons. Some of which are global in nature. Because the belief that people can change, gives us hope for a better tomorrow, for a world not filled with hate and pettiness. But more so, we tend to hold this hope close to our chest because there is someone in our lives that we want to have a relationship with but cannot because of their toxic nature. But if they changed, if they embraced being better… then maybe we could have what we want and what’s wild… is that this is a hope that can in fact become a reality. Because sometimes, people do change, and it fuels us to believe that others can, and that real wonder can be done. Which is why, we are so shocked when we learn that sadly… not everyone can. Despite our efforts and well, this complex hope and its sometimes-sour outcome is top of mind today, because it was the focus of this week’s episode of Lopez vs Lopez on NBC. For ‘Lopez vs Elsa’ picked up shortly after last week’s tale, where it was revealed that George’s mother, Elsa, was not in fact, dead. But shunned, because of the many years of abuse that George endured under her watch, and well… her arrival and quick exit, left the family reeling. Simply because this was a big surprise, a life-changing one even, despite George’s justification for keeping her at bay. Which related to that hope. For George wanted her to change the way he did for Mayan and held out hope for many years that she would. But he believed it was impossible for Elsa, and Mayan saw that as a challenge. For if her father could be better, so could Elsa, and that put her on a path to see if that could be the case. To the point where she and Quinten dropped by her thrift store to just… observe a family member they knew nothing about, and the kindness she displayed gave Mayan that hope. Enough to invite her to a tense family dinner. One where George made it clear that while he appreciated his daughter’s efforts to do right, there would be no peace. But Mayan still pressed on, because she genuinely wanted there to be peace and healing. That brought about… some stunning moments. The kind that took that hope to its top heights before shattering it. For in a surprising move, Elsa took the time to drop by when George came down with a cold. To drop off some pictures of George as a baby and to care for her son. A move that seemed to reinforce Mayan’s thinking. But when the time came for her to leave, what George warned everyone about arose. For Elsa suddenly changed before Mayan’s eyes and offered up a sour and spiteful tone that spoke to how the scorpion will always sting. All of which showcased that hard truth. That not everyone can come back from the brink and truly change. Because one has to want to change fully, and one has to recognize a need for change and sometimes… they’re just too far gone. Which made for a powerful episode that offered no easy answers for the Lopez-Van Bryan household and set up a real struggle. Because Elsa is now comfortable and feels welcome, and what does one do when a toxic family member is empowered and ready to impart themselves upon the next generation? Time will tell of course, but in the meantime, we can celebrate another brilliant story from this series. One that made a lot of good and complex points about a kind of mess, we have faced or will face. Since it spoke to how our hopes for change can be fleeting since not everyone is ready to embrace it. But that they do deserve a chance to do so because one never knows, and truly… it will be interesting to see what lie ahead for this family with old wounds reopened and hope for more change, shattered. Until next time. Watch ‘Lopez vs Lopez’
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