Holy Family, the Spanish Netflix Original series, is about four mothers struggling to live a normal life. All of them face their own issues and do not discuss them openly. They’re all friends, yet they choose to keep the real secrets to themselves, fearing judgment.
Spoilers Ahead
Who Is Blanca?
Blanca was one of the characters in Holy Family who seemed to have it all from the outside but in reality was struggling as a wife and a mother. She was introduced in the show as a woman who seems to have everything going her way. Even though her son Lorenzo has Down syndrome, she does not make a big deal about it. The boy was almost a teenager, and it seems Blanca had found a way to deal with his issues. To others, she does come across as a gossipmonger who seems to know a lot about others in the neighborhood but forgets her life was essentially flawed as well. She was judgmental of Gloria, who refused to throw a party for her one-year-old son, Hugo. She convinced Gloria to have a party for the kids, or socially, she would become an outcast for not considering the neighbors a part of the family.
Behind the walls of her perfect home, Blanca was struggling because her husband, Ramon, was a pilot. He was always out at work, which put her in a vulnerable position as a parent. She had to take care of the household along with Lorenzo’s well-being, and she never gave herself a break. Ramon visited only for brief periods, which frustrated her, but she chose not to speak about it. Since Holy Family is set in the late 1990s, separation and divorce were still not a widely discussed subject, especially amongst women who were full-time mothers. This could be the reason why she barely brought up her issues whenever her husband was around. She also did not want to raise Lorenzo on her own, and being married to Ramon came with money that allowed her to provide an education meant for a kid like Lorenzo. Blanca was probably not sure if she would get that after a divorce.
What Was Blanca’s Biggest Drawback?
Blanca and Alicia were good friends, but the latter also happened to be Lorenzo’s teacher at school. She had come forward to let Blanca know about how she needed to give the boy more attention. Blanca’s refusal to acknowledge Alicia’s concerns would lead her to assume she was an awful mother, and her ignorance caused Lorenzo to behave a certain way in school. Blanca was in denial because she was in no mood to be blamed for Lorenzo’s misdemeanor. Instead of accepting and processing that Lorenzo might need more help than before, Blanca chose to put a stop to Alicia concerns and chastised her for being ignorant about motherhood. Alicia was subjected to backhanded comments about not being able to conceive, and she always took it in her stride instead of reacting to Blanca’s mean words.
Blanca probably wanted to fit in and she felt unlucky that her child was not normal. She is happy to have Lorenzo around but Blanca ends up apologizing to Gloria and Caterina one too many times for his behavior, which proves that she is a good mother. Blanca was under the impression that Ramon was cheating on her, but she soon learned that was a false alarm. It made her happy only for a while because she remained miserable for a large part of her life up until Christmas and decided to snap out of the delusional life she was leading.
What Major Event Changed Her Life?
By the end of the first season, she had a breakthrough and allowed herself to be blunt with her husband about how she had given up everything to be a mother and a wife, something he never acknowledged. As a show of support for Lorenzo and finally agreeing to Alicia’s words of wisdom, she showed up at Lorenzo’s school performance. To her dismay, her boy never showed up. Blanca’s arc in season two began with her decision to walk out of the marriage. She demanded a divorce from Ramon and asked him to be respectful of her decision instead of making it a huge deal. Their argument over separation made Lorenzo walk out of the home after nightfall, and the boy never returned. His dead body was found in the lake by the police, and there was no end to Blanca’s bereavement. She not only lost a loved one but also a part of life she probably will never get back. Lorenzo’s untimely passing, followed by her separation from Ramon, added to the stress she was going through. The police were trying to find out if the boy’s death was an accident or if there was foul play involved in it.
Who Killed Lorenzo?
Blanca’s mental health was already in a tricky place thanks to Ramon’s insensitive behavior after losing their son. Unable to find closure concerning Lorenzo’s death made her miserable. Initially, a confession letter was procured, written by a school janitor who killed himself but stated his role in Lorenzo’s death. The letter offered no solace or closure to Blanca and Ramon. Blanca chose to go back to work as flight crew, which the audience assumed she left after she got married to the pilot. Blanca was hit by a severe panic attack on the first day, which made Ramon have a change of heart about the life she had led for the sake of the family. Her mental state was deteriorating as the days went by, and she could not come to terms with the fact that Lorenzo died for nothing.
At the end of Holy Family Season 2, Blanca finally gathered courage and headed to the police station. She confessed her role in not helping her son while he drowned in the lake. She admits having seen her son fall into the lake and not assisting him as her body froze and refused to move. As a mother, Blanca was probably tired of being the only parent taking care of everything in her home, including Lorenzo. With the divorce coming through, she wouldn’t have much means to help him. Blanca wanted him to go peacefully, but it ended up being a messy death, something she was living with every day leading up to her confession. She had no concrete reason not to help him, but no law could prosecute her as well. Ramon and Blanca have a sit-down about this, and it is obvious from this conversation that the dissolution of their marriage is imminent. Blanca will have to move on and live with the guilt for the rest of her life.
