My Brilliant Friend – Season 4 Episode 9 Recap & Review

The Disappearance 

Episode 9 of My Brilliant Friend Season 4 begins with Nino, now a member of parliament, visiting Imma at Elena’s request. Elena worries about Nino and Lila’s relationship as she watches them talk in the street—just as everyone realizes that Tina has gone missing.

Several searches are conducted, but Tina seems to be a lost cause, even when the Solaras visit to extend their support to Lila and Enzo before being driven away. Lila progressively loses her sanity, drowning in grief as Rino is found dead as well from an overdose.

She becomes increasingly harsh with Elena’s children, as she is with the adults, and grows more paranoid about dangers lurking outside, which eventually severs her relationship with Elena’s children, especially Dede.

While out with Enzo, Lila and Elena encounter the Solaras, and Michele ends up badmouthing Lila. Elena stays with Lila and takes care of her while Enzo is away attending to a sick aunt. Talking to Lila ignites Elena’s creativity, and she spends hours writing.

The next day, while running an errand for Lila, who claims to be in immense pain, Elena finds that the Solara brothers have been assassinated in the street by unidentified masked men. She imagines the men arrive in a red car and shoot the brothers as the family enter the church. When she returns to tell Lila about the assassination, Lila cryptically tells her that Tina came out of her belly again to take revenge on everyone, as the episode ends.

The Episode Review

One of the most compelling elements of this episode is Irene Maiorino’s portrayal of Lila as she spirals into grief and madness after Tina’s disappearance. From her altered appearance to the subtle shifts in her expressions, Maiorino brings Lila’s descent into darkness vividly to life, delivering an exceptional performance.

Although the assassins remain unknown in the books, with many assuming them to be Enzo and Pasquale, the episode takes a different approach. However, since these events are part of Elena’s imagination and her reconstruction of what happened, the identity of the killers doesn’t carry as much weight, allowing us to speculate freely. Could the true culprits be rival mafia gangs, or perhaps Enzo and Pasquale seeking revenge for Tina’s disappearance?

As the penultimate episode, this instalment has been a gripping. While the series can’t capture every detail from the books due to the nature of adaptation, each episode succeeds in conveying the story’s essence. With stellar performances, strong direction, and nuanced storytelling, this episode really stands out just before the grand finale next week.