Holy Family puts to test the idea of motherhood through the course of its two seasons. For Julia, aka Gloria, motherhood surpasses morality, and she firmly believes that there is nothing more sacred than protecting one’s family. Gloria settled in Madrid with her son, Eduardo, aka Abel; her daughter, Aitana, aka Mariana; and her toddler, Nico. In Season 1, we learned that Nico was Natalia and Santi’s son, and Gloria was their surrogate. But after Santi’s death, she refused to let go of her grandson, claiming to be the mother of the child. Both the mothers wanted to hold on to Nico, and in season two, we watch Natalia beg Gloria to return her son. Natalia was held hostage in the basement, and Gloria tried to strike a deal with Fernando. Meanwhile, Gloria also had to mend her relationship with her daughter after Aitana figured out that she had killed Marcos, her lover. Was Gloria simply a manipulative woman who, in a way, held her entire family hostage, or was it just the love of a mother?
Spoiler Alert
What did Natalia do to get Nico back?
Natalia was held hostage by Gloria, and while her father tried to come to an agreement with Gloria, she thought of ways to get back her son. Fernando agreed to let go of his grandson in exchange for his daughter, but Natalia was unaware of it. Using the intercom in the basement, she managed to speak to Aitana and convince her to bring her son to her one last time. She begged to say goodbye, and Aitana sympathized with her. After realizing she was pregnant with Marcos’ son, Aitana perhaps felt all the more guilty for keeping Natalia away from Nico. She reunited the mother and son and allowed them to cuddle for a second, but when she asked Natalia to return baby Nico, she refused. Natalia got hold of a sharp object and used it to threaten Aitana. She demanded to leave with her son and was not ready to settle for anything else.
As a staunch Christian, Fernando was against the idea of surrogacy, and he did not believe Nico was worth risking his daughter’s life for. Gloria tricked Natalia into thinking that she had accepted her terms. Natalia had tried to convince Gloria that her son, Santi, planned on leaving for Argentina because he was afraid of the person his mother became. When Santi ran over a man after getting drunk one night, Gloria helped him erase traces of the incident, and to do so, she had to kill the victim. Santi had watched Gloria stab the man in front of his eyes, and it continued to haunt him. He was scared to think of how far his mother was willing to go to protect her children, and he ultimately decided to move far away from her to keep his sanity. The truth was heartbreaking for Gloria, but she also believed that a mother’s duty was to love their children, irrespective of how they behaved. Even if Santi had lost his respect for her, she still believed it was her duty to protect her grandson.
When Natalia walked out of the basement, thinking she was finally free and could spend the rest of her life with Nico, Gloria and Abel attacked her. She was drugged with chloroform and handed over to Fernando. Gloria assumed that she had won without realizing that Natalia also had maternal instincts. Just like Gloria was ready to make one mistake after another for the sake of her children, Natalia was no different. When she woke up to realize that her father had made a deal with Gloria that involved letting go of Nico, she refused to put up with it. Natalia faked committing suicide on New Year’s Eve, and when her father tried to stop her, she pushed him off the building. With her father out of the way, Natalia could do as she pleased, and she no longer had to rely on his approval. She pretended to be the bigger person in front of Gloria, but in reality, she conspired to find a way to get her son back. She used her father’s henchman, Chino, to keep a close watch on Gloria and her family.
How did the police connect Marcos’ death with Gloria?
Grief brought Aitana and Marcos’ elder brother, Felipe, together. They both were determined to find the truth behind Marcos’ murder, and deep down, Aitana was also afraid of finding the truth, knowing that her mother could be the one responsible for his death. Felipe recognized the picture of a woman that the investigator, Enrique, handed over to him. The picture was of Natalia, and he remembered seeing her talk to Aitana at the funeral. Felipe invited Aitana to Marcos’ memorial in the hopes of finding out if she knew anything related to his brother’s death. Aitana initially denied knowing Natalia, and she later accused Natalia of being obsessed with Marcos. While Aitana could lie about Natalia with a straight face, her heart broke a little when Enrique showed her mother’s van as another important piece of evidence in the investigation. He wondered if it belonged to Natalia, but Aitana lied about not knowing anything about it. Aitana refused to listen to Gloria, knowing how far her mother would go to get things done her way. Her goal was to leave Madrid, settle in a foreign country, and start her life afresh.
Meanwhile, Gloria realized that the van was becoming a liability, and she asked Pedro to destroy it. In exchange, she agreed to find a way to make sure that Claudia, the addict mother of the toddler Pedro was sheltering at his house, stayed away from him. Pedro was a novice and had no idea how to get rid of the van. She tried to drive it around to find the right post to destroy it, but instead, he panicked, and the police noticed the van. He left the van by the road and ran for his life. The police learned that the van belonged to Gloria Ramon, and to Felipe’s surprise, his brother’s jacket was found in it. Aitana was driving the van that day, and she left behind the jacket that Felipe had gifted her after Marcos’ death. With the van matching the description of the one found near the murder case and Marcos’ jacket in the van, the police deduced that Gloria and her family were involved in the murder of Marcos, and an arrest warrant was released.
Did Gloria kill Lorenzo?
Blanca’s son Lorenzo loved spending time at the duck park, and when he heard his parents fight, that was the spot he decided to go. Dressed in his superhero costume, Lorenzo walked out of his house at midnight, and Gloria noticed him from her van. She offered him a lift, and the next thing we knew, Lorenzo drowned in the lake, and his body was recovered the next morning. Because Gloria could do anything to protect her family, it was assumed that she killed Lorenzo since he was an incidental witness. But at the end of Holy Family Season 2, we find out that Gloria was not involved in the death of Lorenzo.
Blanca tried to live with the truth for some time, but it continued to haunt her, so she decided to confess to the police. That night, Gloria dropped Lorenzo home, but he headed out once again. Blanca followed him to the duck park and saw him trip and fall into the lake. But instead of helping him, she froze and watched her son die right before her eyes. Maybe a part of her blamed Lorenzo for her life taking shape a certain way, and her medication further led to her confused state of mind. It was not easy for Blanca to confess, but living with the truth was all the more tough. Blanca was ultimately taken into custody for the murder of Lorenzo.
What happened to Gloria and Natalia?
Natalia kidnapped Abel and German with Chico’s help to blackmail Gloria into handing over Nico. But she was unaware that Caterina was helping Gloria. Caterina’s theory was simple: she wanted the conflict to be resolved because it was causing harm to everyone remotely associated with it. Caterina knew Chico too well, and she went to the place where he was hiding Abel. She won Chico’s trust and tried to come to an agreement with him. At the end of Holy Family, Gloria agrees to return Nico in exchange for Abel. Natalia assumed she had won the war, but Gloria would never let that happen.
After Felipe accused Aitana of being involved in Marcos’ murder, she knew the only person who would be willing to help her was her mother. Aitana had no other option but to stick together with her family since they were all in the same mess. With their fake passports, Aitana and Abel arrived at the airport, and they waited for their mother. Meanwhile, Gloria stood right behind Natalia on the boarding line. She threatened to expose Natalia’s truth if she tried to run away with baby Nico. Natalia called Chico for help, but it was too late, and with the help of Pablo and Caterina, Gloria got hold of baby Nico and forced Natalia into her car.
At the end of season 2, Chico follows Pablo and tries to take Nico from him. But to his surprise, Caterina held her gun at him, and she did not hesitate to pull the trigger. Pablo handed Nico to Aitana, asked her and Abel to leave, and confirmed that their mother would take the next flight. Aitana noticed her picture at the boarding desk, but thankfully, the people at the counter did not take note of it. Aitana, Abel, and Nico made it to Canada, but Gloria had some other plans with Natalia. Gloria drove Natalia to a cliff, and while Natalia assumed she would be shot dead, Gloria dropped her gun over the cliff, to her surprise. She begged Gloria to let go of her, but Gloria knew that their enmity would never die, and the two mothers would continue to fight for Nico. Gloria admitted that they had hurt many people in the fight, and it was time that they paid the price for it. In the end, Gloria drives the car over the cliff, and both she and Natalia die as a result. Both mothers had crossed all limits to be close to Nico, but in the end, Gloria realized that none of them could be a good mother to him. Gloria believed it was her duty to protect her children, and at the end of season two, she protected baby Nico from his mothers.
What happened to baby Nico?
Nico traveled to Canada with Aitana and Abel. His name was changed to Samuel Velardo, and he grew up to become a Canadian citizen. Assumably, he learned about what had happened to both his mothers, and after growing up, he decided to visit Madrid to pay his respects. The version of the story he knew might not be entirely true, considering he heard it from Aitana and Abel. Nonetheless, Gloria’s sacrifice did not go to waste, and the conscious decision to end her life for the betterment of her children goes on to show Gloria’s devotion towards her family. Perhaps after finding out how Santi lost his respect for her, she realized that she could never be a mother capable of teaching moral values to her children. Natalia, too, had crossed the line after she killed her father to bring back Nico. Their motherly affection was almost an obsession, and they both would have suffocated Nico. Gloria was a master manipulator, and she had a strange sense of justice, which made it easier for her to convince herself that she was on the right track.
During Holy Family Season 2’s ending, we watch Aitana give birth to her child in Canada. But the toxic cycle does not seem to have ended. Abel loved his mother unconditionally, and he had imbibed her toxic traits as well. Therefore, it will be difficult for Aitana to introduce anyone else into their dynamics. Abel is the legal guardian of her child, and he will never allow anyone else to become a father figure to the baby, which will possibly lead to more chaos and conflict.
