Netflix’s Mexican sitcom ‘The War Next-door’ explores two very different families who end up as neighbours because of a raffle ticket contest.
The series ‘The War Next-door’ starts with a fight between Silvia Espinoza de los Montero (Ana Layevska) and Lenor Salcido de Lopez (Vanessa Bauche) that ends with a blown away car door and a (mostly) stolen Balenciaga bag.
The said bag contains a raffle ticket to a house (mansion, as the family puts it) and with all the luck on their side, they win the raffle and shift there. Only for Lenor to realize that her neighbour was the Balenciaga bag owner.
Thus, chaos and commotion ensued. And to commence the war, the very first episode ends with fireworks in the kitchen and the two women jumping into a pool of detergent suds. While the last episode of the series ends with a sewage drain.
Here is the The War Next-door ending explained in detail:
Fantasy vs Reality
The last episode opens with the shot of Lenor putting up the ‘for sale’ sign for the mansion and Silvia exclaiming her delight at the news. In the middle of this quietly taunting conversation, we hear Lenor’s mom scream.
It seems Holy Mary has come to visit them. No really, there is a water stain on the wall in the literal shape of The Virgin. This visit of the Mother Of God then leads to a discussion of whether they should sell the mansion.
Indeed, the house is dreamy for the Lopez family but the upkeep, an absolute nightmare. Selling it would mean better lives for the children, an affordable house, and maybe even, a car.
However, the itching feeling of ‘belonging’ resides in all of them making the decision difficult for all of them. They cling to the idea of the miraculous appearance of Holy Mary because the house feels like a home now.
Even Lenor is in a dilemma. In a particular scene, she talks to the Virgin Mary-water leak and basically leaves the decision to the Gods: “Oh, Virgin, come on. We can’t afford to live here. So, either God sends me millions or I’ll sell the house. Hmm?”
Clearly, no one wants to leave. Everyone has something in the neighbourhood. Everyone’s mind fickle like a child asked to choose between their favourite toy. Wouldn’t the possibility of a better life with less struggle be a better choice? Should they go or should they stay?
Exasperation of Silvia’s family
Silvia is obsessed with status and fame. She aims for perfection but solely for society. This obsession with perfection makes her family feel extremely suffocated. While Silvia constantly seeks the status, she forgets that her family is humans.
In one of the episodes, she does not even notice a cut on Christa’s (Loreto Peralta) face who is her daughter. While Christa has repeatedly mentioned throughout the series how her mother does not actually care about her unless she does something that could possibly hurt her mother’s image.
Even Diego (Marco Leon), Silvia’s stepson, had expressed how she does not actually ever believe in his business endeavours and that is quite hurtful for him. Regardless of this confession, Silvia only attends his business party to ruin the progression of his app.
Even Silvia’s husband, Ernesto (Mark Tacher), keeps his blooming friendship with Lenor’s husband, Genaro (Pascacio López), a secret from. Actually, he also offered Genaro a job in his company and also hide that from Silvia.
Given these instances, it makes perfect sense that one day Silvia’s status-seeking behaviour will blow up in her face. And so it did in the second half of the last episode.
Her worst nightmares came true. Her husband was okay with being friends with her nemesis’ husband. Her daughter took refuge at Lopez’s place and was now, best friends with Lenor’s son, Pablo (Armando Said). And her son was in love with the Lopez elder daughter, Tere (Elyfer Torres).
And to her surprise, none of them cared about the social status of the other family or even their way of living.
Teaming up of the families
The very last scenes of ‘The War Next Door,’ show the families teaming up and expressing their dismal of the matriarch war. They want peace and they would achieve so.
In her last attempt at buying the house from Lenor, Silvia hires a truck full of sewage water to worsen the water leak at the Lopez house. But she accidentally connects the pipe of her house. Thus, causing her house to flood with the stinky sewage water.
This causes the entire Espinozas family to take refuge at the Lopez’s. Silvia’s plan had blown up in her face. This served as the last straw for her family. They refused to partake in this stupid war of the mothers.
After very surprising confessions of friendships and love, both the families collectively decide to stay at the Lopez’s house without the mothers. “The Lopezes and the Espinozas will be better without having to deal with the two of you,” Lenor’s husband says at the end while they go inside the Lopez house.
‘The War Next Door’ ends with Lenor and Silvia entering the sewage oozing house. While Silvia is babbling in annoyance at the situation she herself caused, Lenor is seen exasperatedly shaking her head and closing the door.
The last shot could be a possible set-up for the second season of the series where all the unanswered questions could be answered.
‘The War Next Door’ premiered on July 7 and is available to stream on Netflix.
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