Adoration – Season 1 Episode 3 Recap & Review

 The Aftermath

Adoration episode 3 starts with Giorgio on a ride on his scooter. In his mind, he is thinking about what happened with Elena and Melissa. Meanwhile, Elena’s parents id her body and the coroner determine that Elena was strangled. She most likely died on the night she went missing, but the coroner needs to do the autopsy to confirm. It is also likely that Elena’s boy was dragged to where it was found. Everyone reunites outside the morgue to mourn Elena and find out what happened.  

The police start looking at the school, but the cameras were not working. Elena’s dad blames her daughter for being too trusting and the mom accuses him of turning Enrico into Elena’s watchdog. The autopsy reveals that Elena had amphetamines in her system, two sets of DNA and died on the night she went missing.

Vanessa confronts Giorgio, and he insists that he took Elena home and begs her to keep his secret. However, Vanessa finds his request selfish given the new reality. Enza talks to Giorgio, and he breaks down crying, saying he messed up everything.

He tells his mom everything. They agree to keep it between themselves. Giancarlo also drops by and talks to Giorgio, who maintains his innocence. He adds that all they need to do is keep quiet. Giancarlo has his car washed as an extra measure. As for Enrico; he tries to work –out his grief by staying at the gym. 

In the meantime, Vanessa and Giancarlo plan a memorial for Elena. When Chiara drops by, Vanessa lies about knowing who Elena met up with. She also denies the possibility of Enrico killing Elena. She tells Chiara the last time she saw Elena and the messages they sent to each other.

She notes that she saw Ricotta outside Elena’s house when she paid an impromptu visit to Elena. The town shows up to honour Elena at the memorial and everyone is shaken by her sudden death. However, Mellisa doesn’t seem sad, and Chiara informs her she will try to hide the fact she started the troll account. After the memorial, Enrico breaches the crime scene and leaves a rose for Elena. 

The next day, his lawyer explains the breach to Chiara and gives a statement. Enrico maintains he met with Elena, but she claimed to be sick. He then left her and went to Cassino, where he spent the night alone. He denies taking drugs and agrees to have his DNA taken. 

At Enza’s house, the tension rises as Giorgio and Enza try to keep Vera in the dark. Ultimately, Giorgio tells Vera everything, and she tries to talk Vanessa against reporting Giorgio to prison. Vanessa lashes out at Vera and walks away. She later vents to Giancarlo that, keeping the secret, is eating her up. The added pressure and the constant intrusion of her mom in her life are also getting to her. 

At the restaurant, Diana tells her dad she is not sad about Elena. She also starts flirting with one of the young customers and sending nudes to some artist on Instagram. She later meets with him but realises he is not all that and kicks him to the curb. Out of frustration, she hooks up with the young customer and decides to be more confident about her body. On the other hand, Diletta calls Chiara and reports that Ricotta has one of Elena’s hair bands. Chiara finds Ricotta and brings him in for questioning. News of Ricotta’s detainment reaches everyone quickly. However, the DNA evidence clears the old man, who is sent home. 

Elsewhere, Giorgio tries to contact Melissa, but she chases him away. He apologises, and she threatens to tell Chiara what he did to her. Later, Vanessa gets a tattoo to honour Elena and runs into Melissa. Melissa comes clean about the troll account and why she did it. She explains that she thought Elena ran away, and she envied her for finally being free. Vanessa is not angry but wishes she understood Elena more. Melissa also tells Vanessa what Giorgio did to her. 

As she investigates, Chiara discovers that Enrico has been lying to his parents about taking his law school exams. Unfortunately, no one can dispute or verify his alibi. He also refuses to spill the truth about the amphetamines. Later, Christian sees Ricotta getting off the bus and calls Enrico. The two of them, plus Enrico’s dad, beat up the poor guy. The episode ends with Vanessa telling Chiara the truth about Giorgio. In a flashback, we confirm that Elena was running away from Giorgio. 

The Episode Review

We have to agree that Giorgio is looking suspicious, and all evidence points to him as the killer. However, it also feels like Enrico is hiding something about the drugs. Does he know more than he is letting on? What other secrets is everyone hiding? I feel for Ricotta; I doubt he would ever hurt Elena. He didn’t deserve the beating he got. Unfortunately, he is poor and weak and has no one to defend him. Enrico, Christian, and Sergio deserve to pay for what they did to him. 

It is very brave for Vanessa to come clean and report Giorgio, but what will happen next? Many people, especially her family, will turn against her. She will also get Giancarlo into trouble and his parents might force them to break up. On the other hand, Vanessa only cares about justice and keeps fighting with Giancarlo. She probably wants out and won’t stop at anything to get justice. That is an admirable quality in a friend.