Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Eva Lasting’ Season 3 on Netflix, where Eva and Camillo struggle to stay together as they make plans for after high school
By the time a coming-of-age ensemble show hits its third season, the “found family” group of friends that are at the center of the story usually have a pretty well-established chemistry, to the point where they are simply fun to hang out with. That’s the case with the 1970s-set Colombian dramedy Eva Lasting, despite a sometimes-head-scratching romance at its core.
EVA LASTING SEASON 3: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: “It was still 1977, and the United States government was still testing the H-bomb,” says the voice of a grownup Camilo Granados (Emmanuel Restrepo) as he describes the pop cultural happenings in Colombia and abroad.
The Gist: It’s senior year for Camilo and his group of friends, and things seem to be going well with him and Eva Samper (Francisca Estévez Navas), just as he’s settled into fatherhood with the daughter he had with Luisa Salcedo (Sara Pinzón). The national test is coming up, it determines whether seniors can go to public university. While Eva’s family has the resources to send her anywhere to college, she’s studying with her friend group for support and solidarity.
As usual, Camilo has anxiety over his relationship with Eva, having dreams that she’s made them “friends with benefits” and other troubling scenarios. But those anxieties come to the surface when she tells Camilo that she wants to go to college in the United States. Camilo immediately comes up with the idea to go to the US as well, making the excuse that he can send more money back to Luisa to care for their daughter Antonia. He even goes so far as to seek out a shortcut to a visa via the Acuña brothers (Billy Heins, Alejandron Santamaria), who were unfairly kicked out of school and is now dealing in less-than-legal ventures.
Meanwhile, Camilo’s father Jose (Jaime Zevallos) is currently separated from Camillo’s mother Ana (Verónica Orozco), and resorts to playing romantic music over the phone and writing her notes to woo her like they were teenagers again. His ex Rosario (Judith Perez Segura) thinks it’s a good opportunity for him to bond with their teenage daughter Janeth (Juliana Garcia), who tags along as he babysits Antonia while Luisa and Camilo study. Janeth wants to learn to drive, which Rosario forbids, given the fact that Janeth has Down syndrome. But Jose can’t say no to the idea of getting to know Janeth better.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? We’ve described Eva Lasting as Minx paired with Never Have I Ever, and that still seems accurate.
Our Take: The tension and conflict in Eva Lasting always seems to be low-stakes; after all, at the center of the show is a pretty unlikely couple who always seem to be in the process of breaking up or getting together. Stuff is going on around them that’s more adult and serious, and the chemistry among the friend group is always strong, but Camilo and Eva are always going to drive the drama.
It’s mainly OK because Eva Samper is such a compelling character, who is progressive and feminist in a country and time period that didn’t encourage either from women. But every time she gets back together with the weaselly and dorky Camilo, you wonder what she sees in him. He does nothing but worship the ground she walks on and is constantly desperate to stay with her at all costs. He knows he’s outkicked his coverage with her, and lets her know it at all times. It’s a dynamic that has to wear on viewers at this point in the show’s run.
There are also times Camilo steps up and does the right thing, and during the first episode you hope he does just that, and not abandon his daughter and her mom to chase after Eva in the U.S. It’s interesting that when he does do the right thing, it pays off, but that payoff always comes with strings, as Camilo’s adult voice over says every time Eva does something to seemingly further their relationship.
We’re more fans of the Jose/Ana story, because it’s more mature. OK, Jose is acting as a teenager in trying to get Ana back, but he’s also trying to bond with Janeth, and it seems that by the end of the episode he’s going to concentrate on that for awhile, which will be a fun b-story.
Sex and Skin: Some vague nudity and sex during the aforementioned dream sequence.
Parting Shot: Eva tells the group that she ended up taking the test because she wants to go to college in Colombia, wanting to keep her “found family” friend group in touch with each other. But adult Camilo’s voice says that something about the seemingly happy decision didn’t feel right.
Sleeper Star: Sergio Palau, who plays Martin, is always the most cynical member of the friend group, but the most consistently funny, as well.
Most Pilot-y Line: One thing about this show that drives us nuts is anachronisms. And Camilo’s extensive collection of Members Only jackets are just that. Unless there were jackets designed like that in Colombia in the 1970s — without the MO label — they just seem like a 1980s relic that looks out of place in a ’70s-set series.
Our Call: STREAM IT. The third season of Eva Lasting shows the friend group at a crossroads. But by now the chemistry among the cast is pretty well established, and they’re fun to spend time with, even if there are aspects about the story that make us throw up our hands sometimes.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
