Saagar Kote
Apple TV+’s ‘Acapulco’ is a tale of memory, love, friendship, and family. Narrated through the experiences of Máximo Gallardo, it shifts between past and present while tracing the protagonist’s journey from an employee in the Las Colinas resort in the 1980s to his owning it in the present day. The previous episode ended with Chad making a shocking discovery after hooking up with Gloria, the senior events coordinator at El Alma del Mar. He finds out that Don Pablo is the reason behind the rival resort’s success. Meanwhile, Máximo and Julia move into their new apartment after initial misunderstandings about each other’s purpose in life. Esteban and Nora continue to investigate Juan’s case, with no end in sight. However, a new suspect named Dalia, who is Juan’s daughter, intrigues Esteban. These developments set things up perfectly for the next episode titled “In the Air Tonight.” SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Las Colinas Team Approaches Don Pablo
The episode begins with Memo successfully completing the painting work for the renovation of Las Colinas under Máximo. The protagonist thanks his friend for painting the resort walls with the classic pink color it was known for. When the owner senses that Memo is hiding something and worried, he starts narrating another story from 1986. In the past, a week after young Máximo and Julia move into their new apartment, Nora hilariously invades their personal space by bringing in laundry and treating her son like he’s still a child, much to Julia’s annoyance. At Las Colinas, the HOO has a conversation with Vera, during which the owner reveals that he’s considering selling all the units of the resort.
To prevent the plan from moving forward, the young protagonist starts to talk about his “18 Step Plan” to bring Las Colinas back to number one in the rankings. However, he is interrupted by Chad, who reveals that Don Pablo is behind El Alma del Mar’s success. Meanwhile, Esteban creates a fake water bill to get Dalia to return to the area, hoping to interrogate her, much to his partner’s confusion, who asks him to stop obsessing over Juan’s death. Later, Nora heads over to her son’s apartment and delivers a fruit basket, which irritates Julia, who tells the older woman that Máximo is an adult who can take care of himself. This offends the mother, who tries to leave. To calm her down, the young girl tells her that she and Máximo will host her and Esteban for dinner the next day.
The trio of Chad, Vera, and Máximo heads to the rival resort to meet Don Pablo, who warmly greets them. Vera offers money to the older man, asking him to reconsider his retirement and work for Las Colinas again, but faces refusal. Don Pablo tells the owner that no amount of money will make him step down from his position at El Alma del Mar, and asks his guests to leave. Chad and Gloria discreetly continue their sexual adventures in the closet room of the rival resort. Vera orders the HOO to use his past with Don Pablo and emotionally manipulate him to step down, which makes the protagonist uncomfortable.
Esteban Discovers a Shocking Truth
Nora funnily tries to spy on Julia to judge her cooking skills, while Sara gets accepted into Gurrerense University, but continues to hope for NYU. However, her mother expresses immense pride when she learns about Gurrerense and heartily congratulates her daughter, while intending to throw a celebration for the same. This leads to another tussle between Nora and Julia, who clash over who hosts the dinner party. Looking at the argument, Máximo plans something clever and asks the two of them to co-host the dinner, as he hopes to invite Don Pablo as well. Dalia visits Esteban to talk about her father’s bills, during which he hides a tape recorder to record their conversation, hoping that he will get a confession regarding Juan’s death.
Dalia offers a perfect alibi, saying that she was attending a concert on the day of Juan’s death. Before leaving, Dalia reveals that her father had a severe peanut allergy. It suddenly occurs to Esteban that his mother, Doña Rosita, and he inadvertently caused Juan’s death by putting too many peanuts into the romeritos that they served to Juan during a celebration before his death. After all the investigations, the Agatha Christie fanatic hilariously finds out that he was responsible for his neighbor’s death. In the present, Memo is shocked when it is revealed that Esteban was the inadvertent killer. The contractor compares his friend to M. Night Shyamalan for his storytelling skills. Paloma worries about her dad’s obsession with making Las Colinas look exactly like it did in the 1980s.
Máximo Fails to Convince His Mentor to Step Down
The narrator continues the story after the point of Esteban’s realization. Young Máximo worries about impressing Don Pablo. When Aída arrives, Sara discreetly tells her that she got into NYU. The young girl expresses shock and happiness at her lover’s achievement. However, Sara doubts whether her family has the money to send her to New York, and asks Aída to keep the information to herself. But, it is revealed that Doña Rosita is eavesdropping and has learnt about Sara and NYU. After Don Pablo’s arrival, everyone sits down for dinner, but with their own secrets to hold. Nora and Julia clash over each other’s definition of personal space, while Doña Rosita tries to flirt with Don Pablo. The HOO has a private conversation with his mentor, during which he asks him to consider the cost of his vendetta against Las Colinas.
But the older man recounts how he was sent packing by Vera after loyally serving the resort for four decades. He tells his mentee to beat him if he can, and not rely on emotional manipulation. As the young man chases his mentor to prevent him from leaving, Julia and Nora disrupt his movement, arguing about eating spoiled bananas and fruit baskets. When Julia forces Máximo to eat a partially spoiled banana, he throws up, which leads to others suddenly revealing their secrets. When Sara openly tells the family that she wants to go to New York, Nora expresses disapproval. All the individuals except Esteban start arguing loudly, which ultimately leads to Esteban collapsing to the ground, worried about his role in Juan’s death.
Read More: Acapulco Season 4 Episode 4 Recap
