Mariana In ‘Holy Family’ Season 2, Explained: Is Mariana Alive?

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Holy Family is one of those female-led drama thrillers where the cast takes on the mantle of saving themselves and their families from trouble. It features five women who are essentially parents, and there is a young teenage girl named Mariana. She was essentially a caregiver too, because throughout the two seasons, she was a young girl who had to grow up too fast.

Spoilers Ahead


Who Was Mariana?

Mariana, aka Aitana, was the young, teenage daughter of Gloria Santos. There was no information about her father in the show, but she and her two siblings have been single-handedly raised by Gloria, whose real name is Julia. The show begins with Mariana being introduced as Aitana, a nanny hired by Gloria to help with Hugo. To the world, Hugo is Gloria’s newborn baby, but to the family, Hugo’s real name is Nico, and he is the son of Gloria’s oldest son, Santi, who had died while trying to save a person from drowning.

Gloria was not willing to let Mariana come out to her friends as her daughter. Mariana, on the other hand, was heading to school as well and wanted to lead a normal life like every child her age. Behind the doors of her home, her situation was claustrophobic. She was not allowed to make any decisions or leave the house without Gloria’s permission. Her mother was paranoid, and she could see her spiraling as things slowly started slipping from their hands, in the run-up to their migration to Canada.

Gloria had faked her family’s deaths to make sure Santi’s wife, Natalia, and her father never came looking for any of them. Her identity was hidden until Caterina moved next door with her make-believe husband, German, who was hired by Natalia’s father to get Nico back. Mariana was not oblivious to any of this, but amidst all the chaos in her life, she wanted to date like a normal teenager and fall in love as well. She was horrified by the way her younger brother Eduardo, aka Abel, was locked in the basement so that none of Gloria’s friends could know of his presence. They wanted him to have the kind of freedom Mariana had, but the boy had gotten used to living away from civilization.


Could Mariana Witness Her Mother Spiraling?

Mariana was a brilliant pianist, and her talent was spotted by her classmate Marcos. His entry into her life changed the perspective of things around her. The young girl began questioning her mother’s decision-making abilities and started wondering if she was maybe becoming paranoid. Mariana also could not trust her mother anymore because she had not obtained a passport for her daughter. It also made the audience question Gloria’s intentions.

Mariana noticed her mother’s love was borderline turning into an obsession about saving her kids. Mariana was unable to understand her mother’s idea of trying to do anything and everything for her, Eduardo, and Nico. Gloria managed to commit a lot of crimes, which Mariana did not agree with. Gloria killed Marcos in the process so that he would not thwart their plans to migrate to Canada as a family. Marcos was also murdered because Gloria was under the impression that he had revealed Mariana to Natalia.

Mariana had a hunch her mother was behind Marcos’ death, but she could not find evidence backing her suspicion. At the end of the first season, Mariana hoped to put an end to her mother’s obsession and give Nico away to Natalia in the hope that sanity would prevail in her family. Gloria’s obsessive behavior to keep Nico to herself made her stab Mariana out of sheer rage, followed by a breakdown.


Was Mariana A Rebel In Season Two?

Mariana was unable to protect Nico or Natalia from being made hostages by Gloria. The young girl was under a lot of pain and trauma from losing Marcos, and it was taking a while for her to forgive her mother for the stunt she pulled that could have exposed their elaborate plan. Mariana and Eduardo were a bunch of confused children who had no clue how to move forward. They did not have a sane adult at whom they could channel their anger and frustration in a way that would not affect others. Since Gloria was always busy protecting Nico, Mariana’s mind quickly went wayward. Mariana’s trauma from losing Marcos led to her developing feelings for his brother Felipe, and he reciprocated her affection.

Mariana had not realized how troublesome it was for her to be involved with a family that was actively looking for Marcos’ killer. To add to her difficulty, she had become pregnant with Marcos’ child and was very close to going ahead with the abortion procedure. Mariana, as a young girl, did not want to turn into her mother, who was looking at Nico as a replacement for her deceased son. She wanted to get rid of the unborn child solely because of this reason. However, Felipe was obsessed with the idea of having a child that could be the last remaining part of his brother, which Mariana found problematic.

Mariana also did not want to become a single mother because she had seen her mother struggling to raise three kids. But somewhere, her feelings for Felipe took over, and she did not go ahead with the procedure. Both were close to forming a strong bond as a couple when the investigation into Marcos’s death intensified, and Felipe was forced to bring in Mariana for interrogation. Mariana had no option but to cook up a story to save her family from doom. She also ended up throwing Natalia under the bus for her family’s sake. Mariana’s characterization was indecisive. She was at one point against her mother, and in the second season, she was willing to save her family. This could be a result of a trauma-based attachment or years of brainwashing that led to an instinct to protect her family.


Did Mariana Board The Flight To Canada?

Felipe was under the impression that it was Mariana who had killed Marcos, and he threatened to have her arrested. Mariana was hardly worried about this situation because the family’s plan to leave for Canada was set in motion. Mariana at the airport didn’t want to leave without her mother. She felt that they inherently could not start a new life without Gloria by their side. Even though Felipe came close to arresting her, she quickly headed for the boarding gate with Nico.

Mariana had to leave because Gloria sent a message requesting her kids to leave, saying she would join them in the coming days. The young girl was unaware of her mother’s whereabouts and moved on. Mariana, Nico, and her brother had to believe in her words and follow Gloria’s instructions. Mariana delivered her child in Canada with Eduardo by her side, who claimed to be the father of her newborn baby. Even though she hallucinated Marcos at her side as she gave birth, Eduardo, in a bid to bring their family together, came forward to help Mariana raise a family. Mariana probably did not receive any closure regarding her mother’s death in the accident, and her only option was to make a life of her own in Canada away from all the drama, something Gloria wanted for her.


Smriti Kannan
Smriti Kannan
Smriti Kannan is a cinema enthusiast, and a part time film blogger. An ex public relations executive, films has been a major part of her life since the day she watched The Godfather – Part 1. If you ask her, cinema is reality. Cinema is an escape route. Cinema is time traveling. Cinema is entertainment. Smriti enjoys reading about cinema, she loves to know about cinema and finding out trivia of films and television shows, and from time to time indulges in fan theories.


 

 

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