Eva Lasting – Season 1 Episode 7 “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” Recap & Review

Tess of the d’Urbervilles

Camilo is pissed about what he saw as Eva Lasting episode 7 starts. He cannot believe Guzman has come in from nowhere and is trying to steal his girl. Camilo rouses up the boys to give Guzman a lesson and they take him to a corner. Guzman plays it intelligently and asks one of them to fight him, as he is clearly outnumbered. Camilo comes forward and initially, he is beaten black and blue. But then he fights back and the duel mostly ends on an equal footing. Jose is critical of Camilo letting Guzman walk over him but the young man seems to have given it up.

Eva scores an almost perfect 4.8 in algebra whereas Camilo is lacking behind. While they’re playing at the club, Eva comes in crying and says Guzman broke up with her. He told her that since they completed their objective, they don’t need to be together anymore. And that he doesn’t want a girlfriend now. She drowns in self-doubt but the boys do not want to comment on her situation. As the evening goes in, she gets more drunk and self-critical. Rodrigo thinks Guzman did it to get back at the group. Eva officially asks them to beat Guzman up. But they repeat her words about solving conflicts through dialogue.
Eva gets upset. As she is leaving she asks Camilo to take her to his house.

But Martin thinks it is all an act. In the cab, Eva calls Camilo her best friend and they share a tender moment. Ana takes Eva inside and Jose once again admonishes Camilo. The young boy sleeps on the couch and replays every moment of doubt he has ever had about Eva; all the lies she has told him. She gets better in the morning and thanks Camilo for his help. He tries to fish for an answer about her father but she changes the subject. Jose asks Camilo to clean up his act and focus on school as he is failing four classes.

Alicia announces that Guzman is leaving school as he got accepted into a school in Munich, Germany. He might even have a chance at a scholarship to study at the University of Bonn. He gives a scathing farewell in the words of Nietzsche. Guzman once again reminds Camilo he has no chance with Eva. He’ll figure out why in due course of time. Since Camilo is grounded by Jose, he asks Rodrigo to help him out with Eva.

His task is to note down the number plate of the car that drops Eva back home. Jose also decides to have a prayer every time before dinner. It is written in the constitution of the country itself! That was the case until 1991, Camilo informs us. Eva gives a copy of Tess d’Urbervilles to Camilo for taking care of her. Rodrigo tells Camilo that Eva’s father left early in the morning that day and Eva wasn’t home: she spent the night at someone else’s house. The biggest revelation was that a neighbour told Rodrigo that the house belonged to someone called Chacon, not Samper and that the man had no daughter.

After dropping Eva off at the bus station, he follows her on a bike with Edgar Acuna. She gets off at the station and sits in a car. It drops her off at another house. Camilo confronts her at the house and she gathers all the boys to tell them the truth. She is actually not the driver’s daughter but the daughter of the engineer. The house that they thought was hers actually belongs to Miguel, her father’s driver. Her previous school, where angelica went too, cancelled her enrolment. Her father chose to send Eva to a public school instead. Eva told a lie so that the boys would not treat her differently.

Camilo stays inside to talk with Eva while the others wait outside. Eva concedes she was actually kidnapped that day and that she was working with the police to get them caught. Camilo is deep in thought about who was the real fool in this situation. Before he can ask about his conflicts, Alicia introduces another girl to the class: Luisa Salcedo, Martin’s sister, who will now be studying with them. A second girl at Jose Maria!

The Episode Review

Guzman was not the fool after all. We have seen him as a negative character until now. But in hindsight, Guzman seems like the perfect role model for teenagers. Well, perhaps not in all elements, but most of them. We have been so enchanted by Camilo and his friends that we fail to see what we must prioritize in that phase of our lives.

His departure from the show will not be felt by the viewers. But his absence teaches the students a lot. Literature has been used immaculately in the expository part of the narrative and credit must go to the writers for that. It is quite incredible how refined, rich, and expansive the end product has been.

Eva’s truth finally came out – or at least a part of it. Something was always afoot and the revelation was expected. She is not a perfect human being either but she has some serious flaws that e do not pay attention to owing to Camilo’s colourful narration. The boy has lost his marbles completely; perhaps one can understand that.