This article contains spoilers for In Love All Over Again Season 1 Episode 8, “The Power of Words”, including an open discussion of In Love All Over Again Season 1’s ending.
As with any romance story, the key question of In Love All Over Again is whether its leads, Irene and Julio, will end up together. But that’s an even more complicated question than usual in this Spanish Netflix original, since the story plays out over many years, with the circumstances of our central couple constantly changing, and events often occurring out of sequence. Because of that jumbled-up structure, the broad sweep of the story might be a little difficult to keep track of, but luckily we’re on hand to deduce the how and why of the late-game twists and turns.
In Love All Over Again Season 1 Ending Explained
Irene and Julio’s relationship has always been battered this way and that by the twin competing forces of passion and resentment. They’re good-looking people with a fiery passion for each other, but Irene is also a struggling creative who has never quite been able to accept Julio’s success, especially since it has largely been based on his physical appearance rather than his talent.
Then there’s also the presence of Fer. His relationship with Irene hasn’t been faultless either, but he’s the safer, more dependable option who, crucially, doesn’t present any conflict of interest for Irene on a creative, professional level. Interestingly enough – and this sort of comes to matter in the end – it is established quite early and clearly that Irene probably isn’t that good of a filmmaker. The first thing Da does is make her short script workable, and several episodes are devoted to the ups and downs of that production. Keep this in mind.
Why do Irene and Julio split up in In Love All Over Again Season 1 Episode 8?
In the final episode, Julio and Irene are together, officially, and the former is nominated for a Goya (the Spanish equivalent of the Academy Awards). This proves to be a major point of contention because Irene imagines her attending with him is the equivalent of becoming an accessory for him as a star. That isn’t how she envisioned attending the prestigious awards ceremony. So, she doesn’t go. And consequently, she and Julio break up again.
This time, at least, there’s some finality to it. We know that Irene is due to marry Fer in the present day. She’s choosing the safer option but we also know that her relationship with Julio is far from being in the rear-view mirror. The night before her nuptials she watches the film that he made out of her idea and leaves a voice note for him. You could see this as a way of her letting go of him if you squinted a little, but things aren’t going to be that easy, and it once again comes back to the intersection of their personal and professional lives.
Do Irene and Julio end up together?
The honest answer is we honestly don’t know if Irene and Julio end up together.
So, Jimena takes Julio to the wedding where, right before the ceremony, he drops a major curveball. He has secured the leading role in an adaptation of a book that Irene loves, but he has only agreed to take the part if Irene is the director and has full creative control. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime and Irene is once again – quite literally, this time – stuck in the middle of these two men, which is where the season ends.
Will Irene choose Julio, and the pursuit of her dream, or Fer, and a less complicated life? Probably the former. As we have established above, Irene is perhaps not the best filmmaker, and one assumes that a part of her knows this – knows, too, that taking this opportunity will be the only chance she gets of making the big time. By choosing Julio she might not even be choosing him, per se, but choosing her own creative future.
However, there’s also an irony here. Irene was always resentful of Julio finding success through his looks rather than his talent, and yet here she is being presented with an opportunity by a man who loves her, clearly as a way to wrest her away from her potential husband. Julio does point out that Irene knows the book front to back and is best positioned to adapt it, but we know that isn’t his primary motivation.
Anyway, who do you think Irene will choose? Let us know in the comments.
You can stream In Love All Over Again Season 1 Episode 8, “The Power of Words”, exclusively on Netflix. What did you think of the ending of In Love All Over Again? Let us know in the comments below.
