The Grand Finale
Will Without Name be able to compete?
Episode 8 of Rebelde Season 1 begins with Esteban and Jana both dropping out of the band. This spells massive trouble for Without Name, who are now without two of their lead stars. By comparison, this is great for Sebas and their group, who find their fortunes are now favourable to win. With Luka hanging around there too, Esteban suddenly shows up and confronts his brother. Luka scoffs though, calling him a bad knockoff and not his real family. Esteban heads up to the office and hands over the USB of the real video, imploring Ferrerr to give the group a real shot. Unfortunately, they’re still disqualified from the competition. The only hope now is to call out the Lodge and Luka’s betrayal. MJ is confronted by her parents outside. They call her out for singing at the party and demand she head home. MJ though urges them to give her a chance, desperate to prove her worth at the upcoming grand finale. Only, given Without Name are not actually in the competition now, that’s easier said than done.
Emilia’s Choice
In the middle off all this, Dixon and MJ do finally kiss. It’s ben teased for a while in this season, but as they sit together, Dixon reassures her that Jana will come back and everything will be okay. Only, this rubs her up the wrong way and she walks off, convinced that Jana isn’t coming back. Of course, Sebas overhears and convinces MJ that Jana is jealous of her talent. With no real competitors to compete against, thanks to Sebastian’s sabotage, Emilia begins to exhibit regrets. She realizes that Luka was the one who messed with the video originally and sets out to try and right that wrong. It’s a decision that’s made all the more difficult by Andi growing impatient and refusing to stay in the shadows with her anymore. She wants a real relationship and the time has come for Emilia to make that choice.
What happens with The Lodge?
That night, Luka feeds back to The Lodge what he knows. This is a group that’s built on the reputation of your last name, which explains why certain kids are included and others omitted. Without Name became trouble because Anita and the others noticed their talent and couldn’t have them win the competition, sabotaging the chance for The Lodge to increase its illustrious reputation. As the group confirm all of this themselves, Anita’s inclusion in all this falls to coordinator of this school’s chapter. Every school has one, as it turns out, but this confession has much wider implications. Jana and the rest of the kids suddenly appear out from the trees, holding phones and recording the whole event. With Sebas and The Lodge outed, including Luka too, things seem to be on the up for Without Name. Of course, Marcelo arrives with a slimy proposition for Ferrerr, intending to play damage control in order to save his son. The result is that all of The Lodge is expelled… but Sebas is allowed to stay. He’s also able to attend EWS, despite being the leader this whole time. Luka however, takes the brunt of this and he’s expelled too.
What happens at the Battle of the Bands?
The grand finale of the Battle of the Bands arrives and Esteban, Jana and Andi immediately stir things up, telling Emilia that Sebas is part of The Lodge – right before they’re due to go on stage. However, this causes Emilia to make a bold decision, holding Andi’s handed and taking her out onto stage. She kisses her in front of everyone, and interrupts another band while they’re playing I may add! As she heads backstage, Emilia quits the band, leaving Sebas in limbo. MJ makes a bold decision, deciding not to be a backup singer and taking Emilia’s place, deciding to save Sebas the embarrassment of being on his own. It’s a pretty selfless choice but also one that ruffles Dixon’s feathers. Without Name eventually head out and perform their song, letting everyone know beforehand that the Lodge are responsible for all the drama this season and how they were forced to stay silent. Their song is eventually received well, with the whole crowd erupting into rapturous applause.
How does Rebelde Season 1 end?
As the episode closes out, Luka leaves EWS with the last laugh, telling Marcelo to worry about his other son as the car drives off.
The Episode Review
So Rebelde bows out with all the big plot points resolved and this reboot ending on a high. The whole Lodge subplot has felt a little lackadaisical at times but at least the ending resolved everything and tried to explain what their motivations were. This is something I wish the show had explored a little more, but what we get is sufficient enough across these 8 episodes. The series has had a nice ebb and flow to it at times, with the teen drama (despite being formulaic and cliched) working well to actually add some depth to the characters, There’s definitely potential here for a second season as well, but it will really depend on how well this one is received by audiences of course. Either way, Rebelde has been a turbulent but nonetheless enjoyable ride, with enough here to recommend. It’s not perfect, but the ending serves up a nice, feel-good treat.
