There’s a sense about Gentefied Season 1 that absolutely translates to Season 2, in the best way. It’s this feeling that the stories being told aren’t trying to exclude anyone, but they’re also not trying to include everyone. Familial love, the struggle to find your place in the world and even to find that other half, aren’t inherently latine stories, of course, they’re human stories. And the show is telling them in a way everyone can relate.
But the show is also, very specifically, telling stories about the latine community. And as a Latina, it’s not just incredibly refreshing, it’s also more than a little emotional.
Gentefied season 2, just like season 1, is a story about family. And though this family in a much better place with each other than they were when we first met them, that doesn’t mean there aren’t stories to tell, journeys to go on, lessons to learn and of course, fights to be had. That’s what family is, after all.
The emotional backbone of the season once again, is Pop, this time his fight to stay in the country. We go through all of the emotions with Pop, and we identify with each and every one of them. Pop is home, or at least he feels like he is even if his papers might say otherwise. And as the proud man he is, it’s hard to reconcile the idea that he’s gotta beg to stay in the country that he feels he belongs to.
While that’s going on – and I’m not spoiling the resolution of that emotional arc to you, but I will say there’s a scene in episode 10 that had me sobbing – the rest of his family is just, trying to live their lives, while dealing with the hanging threat of loss, and the show handles this perfectly. It’s not just Pop that stands to lose a lot, it’s the entire family, and yet life doesn’t just stop. Life still goes on, the good things, the bad things and everything in the middle.
And there are some hardships in this season, separate from Pop’s struggles. There are points where it feels like this family cannot get a break. But Gentefied never truly feels like a tragedy, despite that. Perhaps it’s because, deep down, no matter what they lose, or what worries might be hanging over them, this is about family, and not just any family, but the kind of family that rallies around each other.
Plus, the kind of family that sometimes doesn’t see eye to eye, and the kind of family that makes mistakes, and yet, when you need them the most, are always there.
There are some individual stories that are worth mentioning this season, too, and some relationship journeys that will make you laugh, cry and some will deeply surprise you. I found myself rooting for a couple that I wasn’t sure I was ever going to invest in and celebrating a decision about another couple that I spent all season wishing against. But that’s the beauty of good storytelling, it draws you in.
And at its core, that’s what Gentefied is. A story about family, yes. A story about people that feel real, that feel like my people. But overall, it’s just a really, really good story, told by people who clearly care not just about the messages they’re sending, but the characters that inhabit this world they’ve created.
That makes all that difference. That’s the kind of thing you feel. And that’s why you should absolutely give season 2 a chance.
Gentefied season 2 is available to stream on Netflix.