Freeridge – Season 1 Episode 3 “Cinnamon” Recap & Review

Where’s the Box?

Episode 3 of Freeridge begins with the group looking at the message on Gloria’s window, convinced it’s a ghost. They wonder if they need to keep the box as leverage or if they should just get rid of it.

While Tonio and his girlfriend Leslie make out in the background, Gloria suggests they go to a bruja named Cinnamon. Demi said she had this idea ages ago and sent her a DM, but she hasn’t replied. Rusty knocks on the door, making them all scream. Tonio reveals that he’s hired Rusty to take care of the kids while their father heals. Also, Gloria and Ines will have to pay Rusty what they owe Tonio. Gloria isn’t happy about having a stranger in her space and refuses to let him give them a ride to school.

While walking, she talks about how something feels off about Rusty. The others say that he feels familiar. Rusty’s car comes up and he offers them a ride again but Gloria tells him to leave. When Demi mentions Cinnamon likes a lot of the same bands she does, she figures out that they can go to the next concert she goes to and meet her there. Gloria agrees and tells her to get the box.

Demi tries to confide in Cam about the box but he’s not ready to talk about their situation yet. Instead, she confides in Ines who can’t remember where she last saw the box. Ines then blackmails Demi with this information and gets her to ask Rusty a bunch of questions like, is he single and ready to mingle? Rusty then gives Gloria her lucky pen that she left at home and she reluctantly accepts it. She then tells Demi that Cinnamon is going to a punk show. Since Demi’s sister and her boyfriend will be going too, they can get a ride with them.

A stressed Demi tells Cam that she doesn’t have the box. He thinks he remembers her holding the box as they left the house but turns out, it was a box of wheat thins. She tells him she wants to lighten Gloria’s load and also prove to her that she’s responsible.

At home, Rusty sees Gloria’s to-do list and shows her his own colour-coded bullet journal. They bond over their mutual hobby but then Rusty gives her his invoice, as directed by Tonio which sets Gloria off again. He offers to drive her and the others to the punk show but she refuses.

Demi’s sister Delvina and her boyfriend end up having a fight and the plan seems cancelled, to Demi’s relief. At the last moment, Delvina changes her mind and the plan is back on. At the punk show, they bump into Tonio, who is selling drinks to underage kids.

Gloria acknowledges Demi for planning all of this and tells her to get the box out. After wrapping layer after layer off a package, Demi reveals a box of Wheat Thins. Gloria reveals that Demi forgot the box at her house that night and she and Ines were messing with her the rest of the time. She says Demi needs to be more responsible. Demi simply says okay and when Gloria asks why there’s no reaction, Cam comments that Demi doesn’t react to things these days.

Inside the house, they meet Cinnamon who says she doesn’t do curses. Nevertheless, she feels a dark energy around all of them. All of a sudden she gets possessed by a spirit. She tells Demi that she will need to break something to fix what she is trying to fix. She tells Cam that the right choice for him will be to make no choice at all. And then abruptly hugs Ines. They leave Cinnamon but Gloria goes back in to pee. She meets Cinnamon who tells her that one sister will be the downfall of the other and also, someone will die.

When she comes out, Demi’s anger bubbles over and she and Gloria get into a physical fight. Rusty is there and tries to break it up but people begin to recognize him as Trusty Rusty from a famous kid’s show. The crowd encourages him to sing his iconic song and he does so, with everybody joining him in the end. As everybody cheers, the box is thrown in the air and breaks when it falls down.

As Rusty drives them all home, he and Gloria talk. He tells her that the show’s money didn’t last and he’s working for Tonio as he needs money to take care of his grandmother.

Back home, Gloria and Demi apologize to each other on the phone and make up. As Demi fixes up the box she remembers what Cinnamon said and finds a hidden compartment in it. There, she finds a torn invitation addressed to Marisola, written by someone named Mariluna.

The Episode Review

This was a great episode. The more I watch this the more I enjoy the quick dialogue and the crisp editing. Conversations tend to cover multiple storylines at once without feeling disorienting or confusing. The fast pace is really complementing the show and bringing out its best. Another virtue of the show is that I can’t really predict where it’s going.

The fight between Gloria and Demi was intriguing and short enough to be fun. It’s clear that they both have flaws and the message that sometimes you just need to get your anger out is a nice one. Rusty gets more endearing by the episode, which is a pleasant surprise as I didn’t think he would stick around. It’s worth noting that he makes an incredibly good foil to Gloria.