This recap of Amazon original With Love season 1, episode 5 — the finale and ending explained — does contain spoilers.
Taking place four months after episode four, at around Día de los Muertos, the fifth and final episode of With Love begins with a massive twist. Lily and Santiago are now broken up. While Santiago is taking their split pretty hard, Lily is out partying and unabashedly swapping spit with a stranger. Because this is a series about fate, it isn’t long before Santiago magically shows up to the same party and the two get into a shouting match.
The audience comes to learn that the two didn’t work out because of their differing opinions on love. Even though they seemed to table their argument at the end of the previous episode, the truth is that it eventually caught up with them.
The same can be said about her parents, Beatriz and Jorge Sr., who have grown even further apart and don’t even sleep in the same room anymore since July 4th.
With Love season 1, episode 5 recap – the finale and ending explained
In a surprising turn of events, Jorge Jr. has moved to California after Henry accepts a new job there. The food truck has accompanied them and business is booming too; however, Jorge secretly misses his home and is scared to say anything.
Sol’s relationship with Dr. Miles continues to flourish, and it’s even revealed that Charlie has warmed up to her too. While her arc slowly comes to a close in this episode, it does end on a high note with her realizing that she is worthy of love and that her definition of family, however different it might be, only matters to her.
Over the course of the day, while being tasked to track down several items for her family’s annual Día de los Muertos celebration, Lily has A Christmas Carol-esque arc that leads her to some past love interests. First, she bumps into her ex-boyfriend. In their brief exchange she learns that over the last year he’s actually gotten married. She holds no ill will towards him though, and she actually later acknowledges how happy she is that they both moved on.
She also runs into Jorge’s (now) ex-roomate Nick. While awkward at first, she acknowledges that the two “used” each other at a time in their lives when they had no one else. Nick joyfully agrees and the two exchange a hug. This isn’t the last time we see Nick in the series, though it is the closest we get to a proper sendoff.
Despite being mostly convenient, these visitations are meant to help Lily realize her own growth. She is no longer the same person she was nearly a year ago, nor does she want the same things. But then what does she want? And does that mean she made a mistake by being so stubborn with Santiago?
Speaking of Santiago, he also gets to do some soul searching in the finale during a visit to his mother’s grave with his dad. Earlier in the series, Santiago mentions that his father divorced his mom when he was young, but then later came back and remarried her. In this episode, Santiago finally musters up the courage to ask him why. The answer? His dad tells him it was because he was a fool. And he hopes that Santiago is smart enough to know when he’s being a fool before it’s too late, hinting that he should get back together with Lily.
The episode reaches its climax when Jorge Sr. has a heart attack. While he ultimately pulls through, Lily’s final lesson for the day is from her mom who tells her that the strain from their marital problems likely caused the attack.
Up until this point in the series, Lily has only ever seen her parents as picture-perfect. When her mom shatters the glass for her, you can almost literally see a weight lifted off of her shoulders. Throughout her entire life, she’s felt like she’s needed a perfect relationship just like her parents. After seeing things for what they really are, she eventually swallows her pride and decides to reach back out to Santiago and apologize, but not before he finds her and apologizes first. Santiago surprises Lily at the hospital, revealing that he ran there when he found out about her father. The two make up, and the series comes full circle by ending on Christmas Eve in 2022.
In the show’s final moments we see that Jorge Jr. and Henry have moved back home, Jorge Sr. and Beatriz have put their past in the rearview once and for all, and Lily and Santiago are still going strong, as are Sol and Dr. Miles.
Regardless of a happy ending, there is one major cliffhanger though. On the evening of Christmas Eve, Lily’s grandmother finds a wedding ring and asks Lily’s mom if she knows who it belongs to. As the family continues to celebrate, it’s left unclear as to whether Lily, Jorge Jr., or Sol will be asked the big question.
What did you think of Amazon original With Love season 1, episode 5 (finale), and the ending? Comment below.
