Giovanna is now certainly interested in being more like her aunt Vittoria. Free-spirited, mean, and bold, she believes every word she speaks and has taken her advice very seriously. In the last episode of “The Lying Life of Adults,” we saw Giovanna getting entangled in the idea that her mother is having an affair with her best friend’s father because Vittoria told her to keep a keen eye on her parents. She is getting more rebellious, more outrageous, and more argumentative as a comfortable teenager with a left-wing upbringing who is influenced by the ideas of a proletariat aunt. Admiration is one thing, but finding a personality of your own is another. What’s next for Giovanna’s family, and what will become of her relationship with her mother?
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In ‘The Lying Life of Adults’ Episode 3?
With the money Giovanna receives from Vittoria, she buys a hand-me-down Vespa for herself. She goes to pick her mom up as per usual, and when she sees the Vespa, she is confused as to how Giovanna can ride it. They share a sweet moment where Giovanna’s mother asks her why she always comes and waits for her, to which Giovanna replies that she loves spending time with her. They go shopping, and Nella (the mother) tries on a dress. When she asks her daughter how it looks, she says it looks terrible. Nella is hurt, and they leave the store. At home, Giovanna disrespects her mother when she calls Vittoria an indecent person, saying she’s the one who sounds as horrible as the terrible novels she proofreads. Andrea, her father, is extremely displeased by the mention of Vittoria and immediately takes it out on Giovanna for hurting her mother’s feelings. Nella tells Andrea that she is caught up with the idea of Vittoria and is taking out her anger on Giovanna, who is merely a child. They visit Angela’s family again, and Giovanna is constantly observing her mother’s and Mariano’s (Angela’s father’s) interactions. She can’t stand the sight of the two since she believes they are having an affair. The girls spend some time together alone, and Angela and Idea try to persuade Giovanna to get them to meet Aunt Vittoria as soon as possible. Giovanna finally talks to Vittoria and tells her that her parents think she’s ugly and indecent, but she would rather be like her.
When Vittoria meets Angela, Ida, and their mother, Costanza, she comments on how beautiful they are and how much gold Costanza wears. She then comments on a specific bracelet she is wearing, asking her if it is a gift. Vittoria says the bracelet is so beautiful that Costanza should be careful, or it may get stolen. An odd interaction, but then the girls leave with Vittoria. On their car trip, Vittoria is extremely mean to the girls and straightforward with her remarks to them. They talk about God and Christianity, something they don’t speak much about at home. Vittoria takes them to a chapel to meet the father and then to a celebration of the holidays. At the event, Giovanna tells Vittoria that she thinks her mother is having an affair. She makes her promise that she won’t tell her dad, but Vittoria says she never makes promises. She tells her she thinks Andrea doesn’t care at all if his wife is having an affair as long as they continue to lead their comfortable lives. One of Margherita’s sons is friends with a rich man who isn’t a good person, according to Vittoria, and she yells profanities at him and throws him out. Vittoria performs a happy Christmas tune with the band, and all Giovanna wants to do is go home. The episode ends with Vittoria telling Giovanna’s mother the real truth: it is Andrea who is having an affair, and Giovanna narrates how Vittoria ruined their family with just one phone call. Costanza visits, gives a confused Giovanna her bracelet, and leaves.
Episode 3: Ending Explained – What Does Nella Finding Out The Truth Means For Giovanna’s Family?
Vittoria tells Giovanna that for her to grow into a woman, she needs to fall down and get hurt; otherwise, she will remain a child, just like her parents. As a teenager, Giovanna faces many bullies at school, but she also faces them in the form of her parents and Vittoria. Everyone wants to make her conform to their own way of doing things. When the bully at her school asks for her number and ‘apologises’ she stabs him with the pen and gets away freely, a symbol of her being free to have her own thoughts. At the end of the episode, Costanza gives Giovanna the bracelet that Vittoria had commented on when they first met. It is the same bracelet she had gifted Giovanna as a baby; this was the clear sign that made her realise that it is Andrea and not Nella who was cheating. Costanza apologises to Giovanna and leaves, but Giovanna’s first question to Nella is, “Where is dad?” to which she replies, “He’s where he belongs.”
Giovanna is slowly losing patience seeing her family break and her aunt being the cause of it all. She’s finding it really difficult to figure out who’s right and who’s wrong. To separate into black and white is what children can do, but as a teenager, you start to see the greys more clearly. Giovanna’s life unravels in a very short amount of time, and she finds herself befuddled and alone. Even when she is at the Christmas celebration in the middle of everyone having fun, all she wants to do is go home because she doesn’t feel understood by the supposed person she’s most like—Vittoria. Now that Giovanna and Nella are alone, what is going to happen to her? Will she be able to live the same comfortable life she did before? Or will she start to work like Vittoria, even though she failed her classes? Will she find her own interests to survive this world? How much will she hate Andrea for ruining their family? Will she be able to accept Angela and Ida as sisters? With how things are going we think it would be very likely that all these questions will be answered in the next episode of “The Lying Life of Adults.”
