My Brilliant Friend – Season 4 Episode 10 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

Restitution

Episode 10 of My Brilliant Friend Season 4 begins with Gennaro doing well for himself after his stint with drugs. In the meantime, he delivers a present to Elena that turns out to be from Marcello. He’s had her bracelet fixed, accompanied by a note saying, “forgive me.”

Meanwhile, Lila continues to grow apart from everyone, wanting to sleep separately from Enzo, allowing Gennaro to do as he sees fit, and letting go of the company. She also broaches the topic of Dede having feelings for Gennaro, adding that he isn’t right for her. She reminds Elena how horrible the Solara brothers were, noticing Elena wearing her bracelet.

Around this time, Carmen brings news that Nadia has been arrested while Pasquale is on the run. Carmen worries that Pasquale, being from a working-class family, is likely to get a stronger sentence than Nadia, who, as the daughter of a professor, comes from a middle-class background.

Later, a news report states that Pasquale has been arrested, though he isn’t charged with the Solara brothers’ murder. Worried about Pasquale’s future in a corrupt institution, Elena visits Nino with Imma, hoping to ensure that Pasquale is judged fairly, but Nino is uninterested. After becoming a member of Parliament, he’s completely changed from the person Elena once knew.

When Elena returns home to visit Lila and update her on Pasquale’s case, Lila informs her that Gennaro has run away. Later, Elena finds Dede, who has openly confessed her love for Gennaro, weeping. Elena learns that Elsa has run away with Gennaro, taking money and Elena’s jewellery with her.

Elena decides to find her, but Lila isn’t very cooperative, although Enzo accompanies her. He asks Elena to be patient with Lila since she’s been suffering. After searching for the two at Gennaro’s friend’s house, Elena finally finds them at Pietro’s family home with his parents. Elena retrieves Elsa and allows her to stay with Gennaro for as long as she likes. Consequently, Dede decides to move to the U.S. with her father, unable to bear living with Elsa and Gennaro.

Two years later, Elsa breaks up with Gennaro, decides to study physics, and eventually moves to the U.S. to focus on her studies. Many years pass as Elena continues to focus on her career while Gennaro lives at her house. Imma grows up, and one day, they come across news of Nino’s arrest on corruption charges.

With everything changing, Elena decides to move to Turin with Imma and shares her plan with Lila. Lila reveals that for the longest time, she blamed Tina’s disappearance on Elena, believing that Tina was abducted in Imma’s place. She then tells Elena to go and live her life, and the two friends part ways, embracing passionately for the last time.

The scene shifts to the narrative from the first episode of Season 1, with Gennaro’s call to Elena about Lila’s disappearance. Elena then begins working on her book, laying bare Lila’s life. Many years pass as she works on the book, until one day, she receives the two dolls she and Lila played with as friends and lost in Episode 1 of the first season. The episode ends with Elena realizing she’ll never see her friend again, a melancholic smile on her face.

The Episode Review

The finale of My Brilliant Friend proved as beautiful as the story we have followed for four seasons. A friendship filled with the ups and downs of life. The episode also highlighted class politics, one of the major themes of the books, through Carmen, Elena, and Lila’s conversation about Pasquale’s future and Elena’s effort to ensure Pasquale isn’t disadvantaged due to his social class.

Although much of the season skipped many events to conclude the expansive tale of Lila and Elena’s friendship throughout their lives, it still manages to retain enough important details to effectively close the final chapter in this episode.