Grand Hotel Review: Dear Santiago (Season 1 Episode 12)
Grand Hotel Season 1 Episode 12, “Dear Santiago,” exemplifies why Grand Hotel is the best show of the summer.
It balances the suspense and shocking reveals with both deeply emotional and sensitive content and sassy, sexy, summer vibes.
It is like a perfect meal, the saltiness cuts the sweetness for a well-rounded and unforgettable flavor. Even though we are full and satisfied at the end of the episode, boy do we crave even more dishes to be served!
I will say it again, and again, and again. We deserve a second season of Grand Hotel.
It keeps true to its summer mystery soul while building in deeply affecting emotional storylines by investing time peeling back the layers of its characters’ relationships.
How it manages to dig deep into the large ensemble of characters while also weaving together buckets of plot points is a testament to the writing team.
Even though it at times has a luxurious feel, all of the relationship beats are actually doing work to advance plot points.
A stunning example of this is when Ingrid tucks Jason into one of the hotel’s beds and tells him to imagine that he is the owner of the hotel.
The moment is sweet. Anne Winters is so excellent as Ingrid that we get an understanding of the complexity of her feelings towards Jason from her smile to him.
She feels guilt, loss, attraction, affection, and it is all tied together with a very messy bow with a very messy lie stuck in the center. The scene hints at a future between the two, romantic or otherwise.
Jason finds the comfort and support he wanted from Vanessa with Ingrid. (long-distance relationships are SO hard, Jason! We get it!) This establishes Jason as the type of person who isn’t just pining after one woman.
He can grow and he can move on. As he finds himself spending time with Ingrid, it shows that there is a core love there that is like Malcolm’s love for his family.
Ingrid wants to spend time with Jason.
I don’t think this has to turn romantic for it to be meaningful and on-going. I hope Grand Hotel continues to spend time with the platonic connections on the show.
To get back to this scene as an example of the weaving together of plot and relationship development, we learn that Jason really is a biological heir to the hotel. So, Ingrid asking him to imagine this foreshadows the reveal and moves the viewers forward towards understanding the significance of the letter.
Sky and Jason’s fates are intertwined and the sweet little scene between Jason and Ingrid does work for their, and many other, storylines.
The penultimate episode of the season illuminates a core question the series asks: what is the cost of providing for your family?
On “Dear Santiago” this question comes into focus when the secret Santiago and Gigi have been keeping from Alicia and Javier finally comes to light.
The reason that they kept the secret is because of how difficult and painful it is to face when a family member, especially a parent, dies by suicide. They are trying to provide for their family by shielding them from the pain.
I admit I sob right alongside the Mendoza family when they learn the truth.
Santiago and Beatriz are careful to make it clear that the disease is what took Beatriz. She wasn’t being selfish or a bad mom. As Gigi says, she was sick and that is all they really will ever know, or perhaps need to know, about her death.
Yes, there is the significant wrinkle of that letter, but none of that deception dampens the emotional honesty of the moment.
Mrs. P tries to provide for her family by keeping the secret of her affair and Jason’s true parentage. She uses secrecy to keep together a group of people she loves.
On a more straightforward level, Mrs. P tries to provide for her family financially. She is hard on Jason and Malcolm because she cares deeply about doing a good job.
Gigi is motivated by protecting her daughters. Even though I think it is misguided, her effort to keep Caro from Byron is an attempt to make sure she is provided for emotionally in her marriage.
I would be shocked if the finale doesn’t reveal that Gigi’s blood-soaked clothes aren’t a result of some failed attempt to protect her family.
Grand Hotel is so much more than a tightly executed thrill ride with ample eye candy.
It is that but it also reaches viewers by giving words to unspoken sorrows in life.
The show gives us characters who go through miscarriages, bipolar disorder, chemo treatments, suicidal ideation, addiction, trafficking, and sexual identity struggles.
As they go through these important tribulations it is always authentic and moving because the show has invested time in developing character.
What did you think of this episode of Grand Hotel? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Room Service
- The finale better have some Javi and Ingrid goodness! They are the best ship of the summer.
- Is it too much to hope for a musical episode next season? Those few lines from Demian Bichir are simply not enough to satisfy. We need Denyse Tontz to join for a duet!
- Caro’s storyline with Byron is the only one that doesn’t for me on the episode. They seem equally shallow and therefore equally yolked to me. Gigi raised the girls to care about materialistic things. Why blame Caro now?
- Mateo is my kind of villain. He is hurting on the inside because Santiago is the only family he’s got and he wants him to leave.
- The costuming on the show is truly impeccable.
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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.