The second episode of the final season, titled "The Prophecy," is where the fantasy of Elena’s new life finally begins to crack. Elena has always been a character who lives in her own head, a woman who writes her way out of poverty and away from the grit of Naples. But in My Brilliant Friend season 4 episode 2, the physical reality of her choices starts to catch up with her in a way that’s honestly hard to watch.
Elena is back in Naples. It’s a return she thought she could handle because she’s a famous author now. She’s sophisticated. She’s traveled. She’s with Nino Sarratore, the man she has desired since she was a literal child. But the neighborhood doesn’t care about her book tours. It doesn't care about her intellectual liberation. To the people of the rione, she’s just another woman who left her husband for a man who has a reputation for being a flake.
The Brutal Return to the Neighborhood
Lila is the first person to really puncture Elena's bubble. That shouldn't surprise anyone who has followed this series for the last three seasons. Lila, played with a sharp, weary intensity by Irene Maiorino this season, isn't impressed by Elena’s "liberation." While Elena sees her affair with Nino as a grand, romantic rebellion against the suffocating patriarchy of the Airota family, Lila sees it as a tactical error.
Lila knows Nino. She knows him in a way Elena refuses to acknowledge. In a particularly biting exchange, Lila basically tells Elena that she’s being a fool. It’s not just jealousy—though with Lila, there’s always a layer of that—it’s a warning. Lila has spent her life navigating the actual power structures of Naples, dealing with the Solaras and the immediate, violent consequences of bad decisions. Elena’s return brings these two worlds into a head-on collision.
The cinematography in My Brilliant Friend season 4 episode 2 reflects this shift. The lighting feels harsher. The streets feel narrower. The apartment they stay in is a far cry from the breezy, intellectual spaces of Florence. Elena looks out of place in her stylish clothes, walking through the dust of her past. She wants to be an observer, but Naples demands participants.
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Nino Sarratore and the Art of the Vanishing Act
Nino is, frankly, infuriating.
He manages to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. In this episode, we see the beginning of the logistical nightmare that is their "new life." He’s still tethered to his wife. He’s still making excuses. He’s still using his intellect to justify what is essentially standard-issue infidelity.
Elena’s daughters, Dede and Elsa, are the silent victims of this transition. The way they look at Nino—and the way they look at their mother—adds a layer of guilt that Elena tries to suppress with work and passion. But you can see it in her eyes. Alba Rohrwacher, who has taken over the role of Elena this season, does an incredible job of showing the flicker of doubt that crosses Lenu's face whenever Nino’s phone rings or whenever he has to leave for an "engagement."
The Ghost of the Solaras
You can't talk about My Brilliant Friend season 4 episode 2 without talking about the Solaras. Marcello and Michele are still the kings of the neighborhood, and their presence is a constant, low-frequency hum of dread. Elena’s brother and sister are now deeply entwined with them, which serves as a personal insult to everything Elena stands for.
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When Elena visits her mother, Immacolata, the tension is thick enough to choke on. Immacolata is dying, and the physical decline of the woman who was once the primary source of Elena’s anxiety is tragic. Elena wants a reconciliation, a moment of maternal blessing, or even just a clean break. Instead, she gets the messy, painful reality of a woman who is bitter, proud, and still fiercely tied to the old ways of doing things.
The episode doesn't offer easy catharsis. It’s not that kind of show. Instead, it forces Elena to realize that she can’t just visit the neighborhood as a tourist of her own life. If she’s going to live there, she has to deal with the Solaras. She has to deal with the judgment of the neighbors. And most importantly, she has to deal with the fact that Lila is no longer just her friend—she is a rival power center in a city that is rapidly changing.
Why the Prophecy Matters
The title of the episode, "The Prophecy," refers to the cyclical nature of life in the neighborhood. No matter how far you run, the gravity of Naples pulls you back. For Elena, the prophecy is the fear that she will end up exactly like the women she tried to escape: trapped by a man, burdened by children, and defined by the gossip of the streets.
She sees it in Lila. She sees it in her mother. And for the first time, in My Brilliant Friend season 4 episode 2, she starts to see it in the mirror.
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Elena is trying to write her way out of it. She’s working on a new piece, something that feels more "real" than her previous work. But the irony is that the more she tries to capture the "truth" of the neighborhood on paper, the more she loses her grip on the life she tried to build in the North. She’s caught between two identities, and neither one feels like home anymore.
Misconceptions About Elena’s "Freedom"
A lot of viewers think Elena is the "winner" of the story because she got out. But this episode proves that getting out was just a temporary reprieve.
- The Intellectual Trap: Elena thinks her education protects her. It doesn't. In the rione, being "smart" just makes you a target or a curiosity.
- The Nino Delusion: Elena believes she is the one who finally "won" Nino. She doesn't realize that Nino is a prize not worth having.
- The Motherhood Gap: There’s a misconception that Elena is a cold mother. She’s not cold; she’s terrified that her children will inherit her restlessness.
The episode handles these nuances with a level of maturity that few shows manage. It doesn't judge Elena, but it doesn't let her off the hook either. It’s a study in the consequences of wanting more than what you were born into, and the price you pay for trying to reinvent yourself.
What to Watch for Next
As the season progresses, the power dynamic between Elena and Lila is going to shift again. In this episode, Lila is the one with the stable (if complicated) life, and Elena is the one in chaos. This reversal is central to the final chapters of the story.
If you're watching closely, keep an eye on how the background characters react to Elena. Their silence says more than their words. They remember the girl who went to school, and they see the woman who came back. The gap between those two versions of Elena Greco is where the rest of the season lives.
Next Steps for Fans:
- Re-read the fourth book: If you want to see how the show is deviating or staying true to Elena Ferrante’s prose, go back to The Story of the Lost Child. The internal monologue of Lenu in the book provides a much darker context for her decisions in this episode.
- Analyze the fashion choices: Notice how Elena's wardrobe begins to change. As she spends more time in Naples, her "intellectual" Florence style starts to give way to something more practical and, eventually, more Neapolitan.
- Watch for the Solara influence: Pay attention to the small businesses and the interactions in the street. The show is very subtle about how the Solaras exert control through money and intimidation, and this episode sets the stage for the major conflict coming later in the season.
- Listen to the soundscape: The noise level of the neighborhood is a character itself. Contrast the chaotic sounds of the Naples streets with the relative silence of Elena’s life in Florence to understand her sensory overload.