Gentefied is finally back. Fans of the Netflix show have long been waiting for the return of the Morales clan and their second season. The end of season one left the family grappling with patriarch Casimiro, a.k.a. Pop (Joaquín Cosio) being detained by ICE and cousins Erik (Joseph Julian Soria), Ana (Karrie Martin), and Chris (Carlos Santos) left to deal with the potential loss of Boyle Heights favorite taco shop, Mama Fina’s.
While last season spent most of the time bringing the family together, this season spends most of it with the cousins in their own world dealing with their own lives.
At the center of it all is Pops and his possible deportation. Even though the three primos are seemingly living separate lives, it’s Pops that keeps them connected, always. It’s his storyline that offers up the perfect blend that us Latine have come to recognize a million miles away. The strong abuelito, prideful but tender in ways that only a patriarch can be.
That’s the absolute beauty of Gentefied. The pure and absolute recognition of us in them. That was evident in season one and carried over into this second season with a perfection so pure it’s invisible while being felt in your bones.
The growth from when we first met the Morales family echoes our own. Erik and Lidia have relocated to a new city and are not only struggling to co-parent their new baby, but also find any semblance of home.
Chris no longer has imposter syndrome and instead has a new love in his life. Not that we didn’t love seeing a bare cheeked and high Chris at a rave last year, it does give us some relief that he appears to be less lost this year and more grounded. Not that his life is all roses. The appearance of his father brings along with it the tension that is relatable.
As for Ana, she is working her way through finding herself after losing Yessica (Julissa Calderon). And her art remains important but only becomes front and center at the end of the season spent soul searching on her own for the first time in ages.
Gentefied was good in season one, really good. Season two is rich with emotion that feels familiar. It is sentimental in ways that are ridiculously authentic and bold in its episodes where they are all on the cusp of dramatic changes that will change them forever. That’s true in episodes like “Sangsgiving” and “No More Band-Aids” where it’s fun to watch but the consequences are simmering beneath the surface.
Basically, Gentefied may just be the best show on tv that reps our people. And it’s why you should be watching it.
