A Storm is Coming

"**A Storm is Coming**" is the premiere episode of the first season of the Hulu comedy series *This Fool*. It, like the other episodes, was released on August 12, 2022.

## Synopsis

Julio has a new client as a case worker at Hugs Not Thugs: His recently incarcerated cousin Luis, who used to bully him. Julio’s also got a new roommate… his recently incarcerated cousin Luis!

## Plot

### Home life

At home, where he lives with his mother Esperanza and grandmother Maria, Julio Lopez prepares a relaxing cup of tea. He is interrupted by Esperanza, who tells him she needs to put a tarp on the roof. He says it doesn't look like rain, but Esperanza tells him a storm is coming, that she feels it in her boens. He sits down the tea. He goes up and the roof and installs the tarp, harangued by Julia and Esperanza, who needle him about where he's putting it and remind him that he's picking up his cousin. They warn him not be to be late, that his sisters are coming for dinner.

He heads out, only to find some groupies playing racecars in front of his car. He asks them to move, that he's late for work, but they tell him they're in the middle of an important race. He decides not to confront them, telling them he has room, that he used to valet. He pulls out, then tells them he'll just go around. He runs over his fence. "Good lookin' out," he tells them as he drives off.

### Life expectancy of a gangster

Julio is now at his workplace, Hugs Not Thugs. He narrates that there you get a second chance to decide who you want to be, regardless of whether you're a former gang member or previously incarcerated. He continues that the system may have left you behind, but they're there for you, and that they've removed more tattoos than anywhere else in Los Angeles. He tells one such gang member that they can wipe away his teardrop tattoo no problem and that they offer free legal counseling and even solar panel installation classes. He introduces the gang member, Fabian, the organization's founder, Minister Payne. Payne tells them that they just got a $10,000 donation from Richard Branson, ranting about how the guy has enough money to go into space, but can barely give them enough money to pay rent. As he stalks off, Fabian comments to Julio that he doesn't seem like a minister, and Julio tells him that he's a Unitarian Universalist, which is more like a hippie.

Fabian tells Julio that he doesn't think that Hugs Not Thugs is for him. Julio says that the understands, that he knows what the streets are like. He asks him how he could know, that it looks like he has a free pass to Disneyland. Julio tells him a story of his childhood, and he nearly got shot by his cousin Luis, who was mixed up in a drug deal gone wrong and thought he was someone else. Hearing the story, Fabian tells him it only makes him look like a punk-ass bitch. Julio tells him that he gets dental insurance and that the life expectancy of a gangster is only 24 years old, but for a punk-ass bitch, it's 76. Fabian walks out, apparently sold, Julio telling him that orientation is at 10 the next day and to not be late.

### The return of Luis

A car pulls away, blaring music, with a goth-looking woman inside. "Maggie?" wonders Julio, as the car is his. As she drives away, he calls her, asking if she just stole his car. She tells him not to use that word, that her car broke down and she's only borrowing it. He asks when he told her she could do that, and she points out she left him a spare key. She chastises him for a check engine being on and he tells her to just bring it back, that he has to pick up Luis. "They're letting your cousin out? The prison system is stupid," she laughs. He tells her he's going to be staying with them for a while, that he's taking him under his wing. She tells him she'll call another ex, Carlos, that they're talking again.

In the prison yard, Luis smokes a cigarette, the last of one of many. Julio rushes up to him, apologizing for being late. Luis tells him he should have brought his roller skates, and Julio insists they were roller blades. Luis asks where his ride is and Julio tells him about Maggie, but says that he's got it, that he'll call them an Uber. When Luis seems confused, Julio starts to explain, but Luis tells him he knows what an Uber is. He says they had one in prison, "Thumper." He asks him why his body looks 19, but his face 56. Julio tries to give him a hug, but Luis tells him not to get nasty, that they're family.

They go home, Luis staring at old photos. A boy, Aiden, rushes around and Luis tells him to be more careful, that he almost broke the photo of him and his Mom. He tells him that he'll forgive him because he's little, but if it were a level four yard, he would have stabbed him. He hugs him. They have dinner. There is a brief struggle over the chair at the seat of the table, but Maria tells Julio to leave it for Luis, that he is their guest. Dinner is fraught affair, with Luis saying that he can fix the roof and jokes at the expense of Julio. However, when Maria asks Luis just what his plans are, Julio announces that he's gotten Luis a spot at Hugs Not Thugs. Luis tells him he can "case manage these nuts," and they tease him about his own life. Maggie, however, tells Luis that Julio could really help him. Luis says he can find a job on his own, and he just wants to kick it. Esperanza pounds her fist, saying his mother would want better for him. She tells him he's not staying and doing nothing. "So I guess if he wants to stay here, he has to join Hugs Not Thugs," summarizes Julio. "That's right," agrees Esperanza.

### Tough love

That morning, Julio and Luis both enjoy some tea before Chris heads inside, only to find that Maggie took his car to San Diego. Esperanza, who is driving, tells Julio that Maggie is a good girl, but Luis points out that Maggie is just using him. "We still hook up," insists Julio. "Doesn't that make your boyfriend jealous?" asks Luis. At Hugs Not Thugs, Minister Payne greets the new group, telling them that they've escape the corrupt, for-profit prison system. He continues that they've taken the first step towards gaining control of their life. He says the second test is baking cupcakes. "What the fuck?" asks Luis, saying Julio told him they'd be doing solar panels. Payne says they can only afford that with the cupcakes and Luis shouts that it's exploitation and they need to unionize. Just then, a man comes in, Chef Percy Williams, wearing a chef's hat. "Shut the fuck up!" he tells them.

The Chef tells the group that he knows why they don't want to bake cupcakes and it's because they're afraid they'll fail. He tells them they won't disrespect his world. Payne tells the group that Percy started out just like them and now he's a gourmet pastry chef. "Let's get our bake on," declares Percy. So they do, but Luis bolts. When Julio asks him why, he says it's embarrassing, like stuff his mother used to do and if he's going to be knitting a sweater next. Julio tells him that's art therapy and on his schedule for 2:30 today. Julio tells him he's ignorant and if he can't even bake a cupcake, he'll have to cut him loose, then he'll have to move out. "Tough love, playboy."

Back at home, Esperanza and Julio are doing laundry. Esperanza comments that it's nice to finally have a man at home to fix things. Julio just shakes his head. From the roof, Luis mocks Julio for doing "Captain Planet shit," saying he'll teach him how to do "man shit." As Julio waters plants, Luis tells him he's feeling energized. He asks where the weights are, but Julio tells him he mostly just runs. He puts Julio through a crash course workout routine, telling him he's like a little kid and that maybe he should be his caseworker. Back at Hugs Not Thugs, Julio apologizes to Luis, telling him he went too hard on him about the cupcakes and he's doing his best. He hands him a fire extinguisher, saying "just in case your best isn't the best."

### Motivation

Chef Percy tells the group that they have to figure out what their motivation is. He says that it could be spite, that America started out to spite the Brits, that Pepsi started to spite Coca-Cola. "Sprite, spite!" He tells them they have the power to make a difference. Luis puts the finishing touches on his cupcakes. He calls over Chef Percy, but Julio tells him not to worry, that he'll taste-test it. Luis tells him it'll be "bomb." Julio gives it a try. Julio tells him he tastes a lot of thug, but not hug, and to try again. Luis calls him a liar, and Julio tells him they have a high standard. Luis calls him a "gay boy" and Julio tells him that nobody finds it funny anymore. Chef Percy agrees that Luis has "10th grade ignorance." He tells him it's not 2005 anymore. Luis curses them all. He tells them that he's done and Julio says that this is what he gets for being nice and trying to help him. Luis tells him he doesn't actually care, asking him to drop being fake and swing on him.

"Fine," says Julio. He tells him that when his mother got sick, he wasn't there for her because he was in prison. Luis drops the cupcake and walks out. Fabian calls Julio coldblooded. Julio goes to see Minister Payne. He bites into Luis's cupcake, calling it delicious and asking Julio why he lied to Luis. Julio tells Payne that Luis won't listen, that he still sees him as a little kid. Minister Payne asks him if he ever told him about the worst thing he did in his life.

Payne tells him that it was when he worked for a bank, foreclosing on people's homes. He says he was ashamed, so ashamed, that he quit and moved to a village in Venezuela devastated by mudslides, rebuilding people's homes. He got bruised and battered, but was happy and fulfilled. One day, ever single house he built fell down because he had no idea how to build houses. "But I knew how to make pizza," he continues, saying he made so much, they called him "Hombre Pizza." Yet, everyone was lactose intolerant in the village and he was asked to leave. He says he learned something important: that he has a bad habit of focusing on other people's problems while ignoring his own. He tells Julio he may have the same problem. He tells him to go apologize to his cousin.

### Codependency

"You're welcome, by the way," Maggie tells Julio while driving. He tells her that *she* should be welcome, that it's *his* car. She says it's their car, that they've had sex in the backseat. He tells her he wants his key back. She says she's sorry, that she wanted a reason to hang out with him. He points out they broke up and that she only wants to hang out when she wants something from him. He tells her if she does it again, he's not letting her come for Christmas. She tells him she will beat him if he does that. He asks what's wrong with her. He tells her to pull over and she does.

Julio finds Luis sitting at a bus stop. He tells Julio about a time he and his friends once robbed some people. "Those were me and my friends," says Julio and Luis says it was good times. Julio admits that he lied about the cupcakes. He tells him he shouldn't have said what he did about his mother. Luis says it's cool, that they were throwing down. He says he's sorry, that calling him gay was the only thing that made him feel like thing's back to normal. Julio tells him that things have changed. Luis points out that they both still live with Esperanza. Maggie tells them to get in the car.

They return home and find the same group playing cars outside that Julio encountered before. Luis asks Julio if he wants him to talk to them. Julio tells him no, that he has this. "I'm gonna film this," comments Maggie. Julio tells them to move, and they say that they're racing. "Move your fucking car!" shouts Julio. They tell him they don't play like that, asking if he wants to die. "I'd rather die than let you fools walk all over me!" he shouts, saying that he read about codependency and it sucks, that he has a lot of work to do on himself and he doesn't want to do it. "Just shoot me, please!" he shouts and they tell him to chill, that they don't even have guns. "Then choke me, bitch," he tells them. Luis asks Maggie what he's doing. "It's turning me on," says Maggie. Luis gets out. It starts to rain. The storm has come. The crowd bolts. "Next time you fools better kill me," shouts Julio. Maggie takes off with the car.

## Cast

### Starring

* Chris Estrada as Julio Lopez
* Frankie Quiñones as Luis Hernandez
* Laura Patalano as Esperanza
* Michelle Ortiz as Maggie
* Julia Vera as Maria

### Guest starring

* Jamar Malachi Neighors as Chef Percy Williams
* Fabian Alomar as Fabian
* Lee Coc as Martin

and

* Michael Imperioli as Minister Payne

### Co-starring

* Sandra Marcela Hernandez as Ana
* Anna Lamadrid as Rocio
* Josh Hawkins as Neighborhood Guy #1
* Jimmy Valdez as Neighborhood Guy #2
* Ignacio Alcala Jr. as Neighborhood Guy #3
* Jamal Trulove as Ben
* Cruz Garcia as Michael
* Dylan Alvarado as Aiden
* David Skyy Alvarado as Young Julio
* Derrick Davis Jr. as Young Brian