Women in Blue – Episode 3 ” Norma” Recap & Review

Norma 

In this recap for Women in Blue, episode 3 starts with a journalist doing street interviews to gauge the public’s reaction to the arrest and death of the Undresser. Most of the people are happy and relieved that the police finally got the serial killer.

However, the journalist is pissed when Maria questions if Tito was the real suspect and whether the police messed up. He blames Maria for dampening the mood and ends the interview.

Maria is not the only one who feels the police are wrong. Gabina, Angeles and Valentina are also suspicious. However, Maria is more on edge and keeps getting triggered every time she sees a Cadillac. She is even having nightmares about it.

After being kicked out of the house, Gabina moves in with Valentina. However, she is still hopeful that her dad will forgive her soon. Valentina finds Gabina’s optimism naïve and asks her to grow up. On the other hand, Angeles’ grandma tries to encourage her to date. 

The next morning, the women report for their second date and find Romandia nursing a nasty hangover. During the briefing, he informs them that they will be dividing their time between the park and the office.

The women are not pleased, but he asks them to stop arguing. The teams start looking for some work to do around the office. They offer help to the other senior officers, but they are given menial work such as fetching coffee and helping with filing. Valentina is pissed but tries to maintain her cool. Since the commandeer refuses to give them an office to work from, they are forced to work at the parking lot. 

While there, Maria informs the girls what Jessica said about the Cadillac. Valentina asks if they can look into the case further and they all agree to do it. However, Gabina opts to hang back and finish the filing while covering for the others. Maria asks Angeles to check if Tito’s prints were found on the other victims. Angeles is scared of breaking protocol, but Valentina emotionally blackmails her into agreeing. 

Maria tries to get more information about the case from Gerardo, but he sends her away. She then teams up with Valentina and visits Tito’s mom. Initially, the woman refuses to talk to them, but they convince her that they think Tito was innocent, too. Tito’s mom tells them about the horse accident that left Tito mentally disabled.

She explains that Tito never meant to sexually harass anyone. It was a misunderstanding that happened when he was a teenager playing at the park. She also adds that Tito couldn’t have driven the bodies back and forth, as he couldn’t drive. He wasn’t even able to get on the train by himself. Lastly, he certainly couldn’t afford an expensive car. 

After combining all the evidence and learning that Tito’s fingerprints were not on other victims, they bring their case to Gerardo. At first, Gerardo thinks one of the officers sent the women to prank him. He gets angry when he realises they are seriously questioning his work. He calls Romandia and threatens to report the ladies for insubordination and suspend them. Romandia asks for understanding, promising to talk to the ladies and get them in line. 

He later confronts the women and asks why they went over his head. He cautions them that they will have to face consequences if they ever repeat the mistake. He understands why they feel passionate about the case, but argues they can’t ruffle any feathers. He warns Maria to be more careful as the eldest. 

Meanwhile, a man randomly tries to get the attention of an attendant at a boutique. The female attendant turns him down, but he insists on pursuing her. By all accounts, he fit the description of the Undresser and he might be on the prowl looking for his next victim.

After surviving the anger of Gerardo thanks to Romandia’s quick interference, the women are ushered into their new office. It turns out Escobedo called the commandeer and arm-twisted him into giving the women a place to work.

The commander sends the women to the mouldy basement. The commander is also pissed because he realises that Romandia reported him to Escobedo when he initially refused to give the women an office. He sends Gerardo to give a message to Romandia and rough him up a bit.

After their second shift, Maria returns home and gets ready to have dinner at Aldo’s boss’s place. Aldo specifically asks her not to mention she joined the police force. He is hoping this dinner will seal the promotion deal and is excited about it. However, Maria mentions her new job in confidence with the boss’s wife when they talk about their secret passions. Aldo gets angry after learning Maria did the one thing he asked her not to do. He opts to sleep on the sofa. 

In the meantime, Valentina visits Luca’s place and finds his new girlfriend. Valentina is shocked when the woman warmly welcomes and congratulates her for joining the force. 

As for Angeles, she gets close to another one of Gabina’s brothers when he offers to escort her home.

The following day, Maria attends Paola’s funeral and stops by Natalia’s grave. It looks like she blames herself for Natalia’s death and is still hurting from the loss and guilt. On her way back, she gets spooked after spotting a Cadillac at the cemetery. She worries it might be the Undresser.

The Episode Review

The toxicity and patriarchal power play in this show are mind-blowing. The men expect the women to follow tier leads like puppets and never get questioned. Gerardo knows he made a mistake but would never admit it. Instead, he threatens the women because they are brave enough to call him out.

Romandia knows the truth but keeps quiet because of bureaucratic politics.  The women have no one watching their backs. They only have each other and will need to rely on this to survive.

It will be interesting to see how Gerardo will explain the next victim. Will the media question the first arrest and will the women get to the culprit before he does? Lastly, will Angeles find her happy ending with Gabina’s brother? I am not sure the commandeer will approve a daughter-in-law who is in the force. He kicked out his daughter for the same reason!