Grand Hotel Review: Smokeshow (Season 1 Episode 2)
Holy Yoli!
Grand Hotel has a really, really good thing going with Justina Adorno as Yoli, but it is on the brink of messing the whole thing up by pretending that Yoli is not drop dead gorgeous.
Grand Hotel Season 1 Episode 2, “Smokeshow,” continues the problematic falsehood presented on Grand Hotel Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot,” that Yoli is ugly. When Gigi is at a loss to identify Yoli’s best feature I have to pause my TV to recover from how hard my head shakes in disbelief and my eyes roll out my head.
WHAT?!
Yoli is stunning, fashionable, and luscious. She is being coded s “ugly” because she has a wide-set nose.
At first, it was that she is fat, but that doesn’t hold water because 1) she’s clearly not and 2) her clothing design doesn’t reveal much about her shape one way or another, so it doesn’t make sense for her size to be a part of her character.
It isn’t her boldness or some annoying quality because we only see Yoli being badass. She has clear, goddess-like skin, curly, shiny hair, and perfect teeth.
The only thing that makes sense is her facial features that are different from Gigi’s and Carolina’s.
Historically, Latina characters have been played by Italian actresses. This has led to confusion, I think, about what being Latina looks like. The narrow noses and faces that Gigi and Carolina share are traits that are what media has shown as being Latina, but are actually more Italian.
This history of erasure of Latinx facial features is problematic and certainly didn’t come from this show.
But, Grand Hotel is making a mistake by relying on these erroneous and outdated ideas of what Latina beauty is. It is impacting my favorite storyline on the show and I look forward to the show moving away from it and onto the much more rich conflict between the three women.
The most emotionally impacting moment on the episode is when Gigi relates to Yoli about being undervalued and overlooked. That is a common experience for many people, especially women of color.
The tenderness and reflective tone of the conversation and performance by Roselyn Sanchez, that is pleasantly pierced by Yoli’s insistence that Carolina gets bangs, is a sweet spot for the show.
That blend of authentic, but not very dark, internal conflict, with the sassafrass drama that is so fun in telenovelas, is exactly what I want from this show. And, of course, the ever unpeeling mystery!
If the show can manage to hit that sweet spot more and more as the season progresses, it is going to reach us in the feels.
To be honest, though, I don’t think Danny and Alicia is ever going to capture my feels. I don’t sense any chemistry between the two and it’s all just too pretty.
Like I said in my previous review, there isn’t any lingering and smolder.
The thing is, the ship on the original Grand Hotel was so incredible, I’m not that mad at the fact that in THIS version, I have to fill my lust tank elsewhere.
Javi is ready to fill me up.
Bryan Craig is juicy and sexy as Javi. Ingrid is not my type of person usually, but she actually wins me over on the episode.
Yes, the deception regarding her pregnancy is not a good look.
But, her devious nature and willingness to be bad is fun to watch. Her and Javi together are fire and I would be very open to them accidentally finding out that they have a genuine connection, even if it’s less romantic and more just human.
I want to see Javi and Yoli together. Together, together.
I mean, YUM.
Even given some of the lackluster relationship development (that whole “running into a pole” bit just feels lazy), there is such talent on this show, that I would watch just to hear them perform their lines.
Demián Bichir is fantastic. I hope that we get to see more interiority for his character, but really, his voice is a gift and I’m so glad he’s back on my screen on a weekly basis. Same goes for Roselyn Sanchez.
“Smokeshow,” gives her much more range and depth than the pilot, and the entire episode benefits.
The plot is thickening and getting juicier by the second. There are still major tweaks to be made to the show, but if it continues in the direction the second episode goes, it is going to quickly hit a four-star stride.
Room Service
- I’d like to hear much more Spanish, more than just a couple of phrases here and there.
- When Ingrid falls asleep on that bed, I FEEL THAT. Pregnancy is insanely exhausting.
- That little dig at Trojan condoms is magic!
- Queer watch 2019 still shows no signs of a queer character.
- I’d like to see more of Javi’s disability and how it impacts him. Fires and emergencies can impact people with disabilities in a marked way and it would have been cool to see this on a show.
- The darker side of Danny is a yes for me. I’m hooked!
What did you think of this episode of Grand Hotel? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Grand Hotel airs Mondays at 10/9c on ABC.
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Janelle Ureta
Janelle Ureta is equal parts Veronica Mars, Raven Reyes, and Rebecca Bunch, but she aspires to add some Tammy Taylor to the mix. An attorney turned teacher, Janelle believes in the power of a well-told story. She is currently exploring how to tell short stories, 140 characters or less, on twitter. She loves to talk about TV, and right now she can't shut up about Timeless, Dear White People, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The 100, or Younger.