Acapulco Season 2 Episodes 1 and 2 Review: Taking it Back to 1985

Just when the heat of Summer has finally dwindled, Acapulco Season 2 is taking us back to the beaches of Mexico. Rather than just showing a quick run-through of clips from Acapulco Season 1, we hear Eugenio Derbez as “old” Maximo narrate and walk us through the “here’s what happened in Season 1” recap.

Part of the charm of Acapulco is its dual timeline structure — present-day rich Maximo is narrating his life story to his nephew, Hugo. We see his life played out as young Maximo, growing up poor in Mexico. Leaning into this plot device, Apple TV+ gave us a true-to-character season 1 recap.

It’s a fun, fourth-wall-breaking way to launch into Acapulco Season 2, which kicks off immediately where we left off. It’s New Year’s Day in 1985, and the dust has settled from all of the drama of the night before.

It was a bit of a plot twist at the end of Acapulco Season 1 to see Julia and Chad get engaged. There had been so much will they/won’t they tension between Maximo and Julia all season long, only for their relationship to move in the opposite direction in the end.

1985 Maximo is fresh off the heartbreak but is determined to take fresh energy into the New Year. This also includes patching his relationship with his boss, Don Pablo.

It’s a little too good to be true that they resolve their issues quickly on Acapulco Season 2 Episode 1, “Break My Stride.” It would have been interesting to see Maximo on his own at Las Colinas, but instead, Don Pablo brings him back under his wing quickly.

Who knows though? Maybe it will come back to a head later this season. It could also just be a narrative decision meant to contrast with Present Day Maximo’s reality — heading back to Acapulco for Don Pablo’s funeral/memorial.

Regardless, it does set Maximo up on a new Acapulco Season 2 path and what I assume to be the ultimate outcome by the end of this season – gradually taking over for Don Pablo. The resort manager is guiding Maximo to become indispensable to Diane, the resort owner.

If Maximo succeeds, it’s possible (and likely) that Don Pablo can step back to spend more time with his son and grandson. That leaves Maximo the first in line to take over.

It makes the most sense, knowing what we know of Rich Maximo’s lifestyle. How else is he to have gone from pool boy to a private plane? There are still some dots to connect between how 80s Maximo ends up as Present Day Maximo, but a huge promotion would be the first step.

The passion with which Present Day Maximo talks about Julia and their relationship makes it seem like her engagement isn’t the end of the road for them. However, in 1985, it leaves the love-interest role wide open for Maximo.

Enter Isabella. From what we’ve seen of the new character, she matches Young Maximo’s energy and charm. She’s funny, possibly a kleptomaniac, but also conscious of how the tourism industry in Acapulco affects the locals. That disparity is a real issue that I’m glad is recognized and hopefully explored.

There’s a really exciting dynamic unfolding between her and Maximo. Even more exciting is her friendship with Julia, which is apparently well-established despite Isabella’s (well-explained) absence on Acapulco Season 1.

Do I smell a love triangle unfolding here?

Or technically, another love triangle I guess? There’s the Julia x Chad, Julia x Maximo pairings to keep up with, and the Maximo x Roberta, Roberta x Sara love triangle to account for as well.

The latter, borne of the girls’ desire to keep their relationship and sexualities on the down low, breaks apart quickly on Acapulco Season 2 Episode 2, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.”

Sara’s storyline is the most intriguing in Acapulco as a whole. We’ve seen Present Day Sara when she came to meet her son and brother at Maximo’s house. With no talk about Hugo’s other parent, it’s a bit of a mystery how her character’s life turns out.

Since she is a fairly large portion of the story in the 80s, often with scenes on her own outside of Maximo’s, it would be nice to see more of her in the present day.

There’s a unique opportunity to bring her in on that side of the timeline now that they’re visiting Acapulco in the sophomore season. We’ll have to see how it pans out.

To that point, there’s also not much talk about what’s become of their mother in the present day. I fear the worst-case scenario — that she wasn’t able to set aside her homophobic upbringing and Maximo and his sister cut ties with their mother.

For such a light-hearted series, I doubt that’s the case. But, it’s also strange that their mother plays such an important role in the 80s and none in the present day. It’s not like she was old either! It’s totally likely that she’s still kicking in the present day, so where has she been?

There’s some secrecy surrounding Old Maximo’s journey back to Mexico with his nephew. The new addition of Joe, their security detail for the trip, is giving the uncle/nephew dynamic a fun Season 2 twist. Joe isn’t one to put up with Maximo’s BS, keeping him reigned in so far.

As much as I enjoy the 80’s aesthetic for the half of Acapulco that follows Young Maximo, it’s the present-day narrative that is going to really carry this season for me. There are so many possibilities, and now that they’re going back to the motherland, there are a ton of clues about Maximo’s life that can be revealed.

Acapulco Season 2 is starting strong. Enrique Arrizon’s Young Maximo is just as charming as ever, and his cast of supporting characters are all on fun new journeys in 1985. And I’m glad they’re giving Eugenio Derbez’s Old Maximo more to work with this season.

The classic storytelling on Acapulco Season 1 was a nice setup, but expanding the present-day timeline is going to really help expand on these characters. It’s going to be interesting to see what from the 1980s was carried into the present day in Maximo’s life.

Stray Thoughts

• Poor Hector gets a title bump but is stuck in the tiniest closet of an office I’ve ever seen.
• Maximo is such a good friend for taking a 50% pay cut to get their best friend a job in their department.
• I’m really curious to see how the bracelet debacle plays out. It doesn’t seem like there are any defining qualities about the jewelry, so I’m curious how Julia and Maximo will inevitably discover it making the rounds at Las Colinas.
• Part of why I love this show is its 80s aesthetic. The bright pinks and yellows, the 80’s music, especially the covers in Spanish! I look forward to them in each episode.
• To that point, we LOVE an ABBA moment.
• I’m curious to see how this gossip columnist storyline turns out. As a Mexican American, I can definitely say we love our chisme!
• “Take it from a woman who’s been married three times!” Diane not being on board with her only son’s quick engagement? Who’d of thought?!

What did you think of the Season 2 premiere of Acapulco? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Acapulco airs Fridays on Apple TV+.

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