Opening Act
We start Episode 4 of Selena: The Series part 1 in 1988 at Corpus Christie. After the trailer incident, Abraham has gone all out to prevent that happening again with a new bus called Big Bertha. Because of how fixated they are on the band’s success, Abraham refuses to let Selena go out with her friends to the cinema. However, they have more pressing concerns to deal with when Abraham finds out their house is being sold. After the crash, the landlords intend to sell but Abraham manages to convince them to hold up for a few months given they’re about to head out on tour. The band travel from place to place, doing well to gain quite the following. Abraham continues to worry about their living arrangements though, even contemplating the family living in the bus too. Eventually he decides with Marcella that they’ll buy a place of their own. As the bus trudges through the bitter cold outside, the family begin to worry about Selena being exposed to the elements and becoming sick. They put together a makeshift barbecue inside, laughing when they realize it shouldn’t be used in an enclosed space. During these moments in front of the dancing flames, Selena talks plainly and tells them she doesn’t want to be anywhere else right now, believing this is her purpose. Those good vibes continue as the family continue to drive from place to place, with Selena being told to rest her voice while doing her school work. Marcella worries about Selena though, asking Abraham to postpone the gigs so they can rest her voice. Given they have stiff competition and their performance has been moved forward, Abraham decides to compromise and lets Selena do half the gig while bringing in a local band to help them. Abraham remains confident that this will do the trick and turn their fortunes around. That evening, Selena gets her hair done but Abraham struggles to find the right words to express how he feels. After a successful day of talking to the press though, Abraham eventually catches up with his daughter for a heart to heart. He admits that when he sees her singing on the stage he still sees the 6 year old from before, but knows that she’s changing and growing before his very eyes. The warm-up band, Los Bad Boys, gets the crowd completely rocking as the gig gets underway. Given how strong and talented they are, the band have a new problem to contend with – not letting the opening act be better than them. With this in their mind, Selena Y Los Dinos take to the stage and do their gig, keeping the rocking vibes going all night long. Among those in attendance happens to be a producer called Michael Lansbury from CBS Records. He hands over his card to Abraham, who remains calm and collected in the wake of this big deal Eventually the gig finishes and the group head back home, where Abraham buys not one – but three houses. Realizing their luck is about to change, he shows Marcella the business card from CBS Records and they try to keep their excitement in check.
The Episode Review
With Selena’s voice strained and the group heading out on the road, the drama continues as Los Dinas contend with rival bands and potentially life-changing offers. The various montage segments work well here to give a sense of time, reinforcing the grind of working on tour and the comradeship needed to keep things moving at a steady pace. The idea of family is central to the heart of this show too and the moments involving Selena and Abraham alone toward the end is a nice touch too. All of this builds up to an ending that hints toward bigger things to come.
