Sconcezze

Very unfortunate for Lenu to be obsessed with such a POS. And very relatable too.

Great opening for the new series - seems that we're heading full speed right into the mad year of 1968. Can't wait to see what Pasquale thinks of it all!

After what seems like forever (but in reality was almost to the day 2 years), we FINALLY get the 3rd season of "My Brilliant Friend", subtitled "Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay", based on the 3rd book of Elena Ferrante's 4 volume Napoli-based coming of age soap. As Episode 1 of the 3rd season opens, Elena has just done a book presentation and signing at the book store in Milan. Nino is there with her. Even though Elena is slated to marry Pietro, she can't help but still have a crush on Nino. Nino isn't least interested. As for Lila, she is till in Napoli working at the sausage factory... At this point we are 10 min into the episode.

Couple of comments: the best possible news is that everyone who was involved in Season 2 continues on into Season 3. This goes for the production team but more importantly this is also true for the cast, none more so that the lead actresses Margherita Mazzucco (as Elena) and Gaia Girace (as Lila). Whereas in Season 1 these two looked too old for the parts but were pretty much perfect for Season 2, we now go into the other extreme, where these ladies now look too young to be playing characters in their mid-20s. That aside, enjoy them in these roles while you can. If memory serves me right, I read somewhere they will be replaces by another actress at some point in Season 3. I've so far seen Episodes 1 and 2 of Season 3. Coincidence or not, but Episode 1 concentrated entirely on Elena ("Those Who Left"), whereas Episode 2 focuses on Lila ("Those Who Stayed"). I personally find the story of Lila far more intriguing than Elena's and hence my rating for Episode 1 is correctly noted as being 7 stars, but my rating for Episode 2 is 8 stars.

Season 3 of "My Brilliant Friend" premiered in early February on Italy's RAI channel, and it started airing in the US on HBO on February 28. New episodes air Monday evenings. Once aired, the episodes are available on HBO On Demand and HBO Max (where I caught it). If you loved Seasons 1 and 2 of "My Brilliant Friend", you will welcome Season 3 as if seeing an old friend after a long COVID-forced separation.

I may be wrong but changing the director may not have been the best option. I still enjoy the series ( I have already seen 4 episodes) but something was changed and not in good, I cannot pinpoint exactly what , but I will try. The colour is changed, the location and the interiors of the flats in the area in which the girls were born look different, the complex personalities and behaviour of Lila and Lenu are less nuanced. The revelation for me is the actress who plays Lenu's mother, Immacolata Greco, in all series, but especially in this one. It is fascinating to see the complexity of feelings and emotions on her face. In spite o these changes I do enjoy this series as much as I enjoyed reading the book, and I recommend it.