Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion S1 E12

## Plot

While they're supposed to be on patrol, Violet and Cruz instead watch Maya and Catalina at a pizzeria. It's been two days since the previous episode. Maya won't return Violet's texts, and Cruz hasn't heard from Catalina since she stood him up at the last minute with a vague excuse. Just like episode 5, we only see the title. Violet decorates Maya's locker with stickers about friends and bunnies to try and win her back, but it doesn't work. Maya tells her that it's nice, but she just needs some space right now, and asks her to stop texting her, even if it's a really cute bunny video. Cruz returns a dish and asks Nina to wash it and then refill it, but she'll only do that if he tells her about his date with Catalina. He admits that she couldn't make it and hasn't heard from her since, but he doesn't want to talk about it. Nina says that women don't like it when you come on too strong, but Juan points out that they also don't like it if you can't commit. This is why Cruz doesn't date. He notices that Violet isn't there and asks them where she is. She's in her room, moping. She was quiet all dinner. Cruz accidentally reveals that she and Maya aren't speaking. Nina wonders how he knew that, since even they didn't know about it. It's bad that he knew and that he didn't tell them. It's weird for them to find out what's going on with Violet through Cruz. He leaves and decides to get something else for dinner. Tiago checks on Violet. She missed Maya's Esports competition because she had to do… stuff. Tiago asks her if it's the same stuff she's not telling him about lately. Violet asks him to stay focused on the problem. She's worried that Maya will hate her forever. Tiago tells her that he and Gabe once had a huge fight. They didn't talk for awhile and then they were fine. He advises Violet to just give it some time. Maya will remember how much she loves hanging out with her, and things will be good. However, Violet decides to try and make her remember how much they loved hanging out by forcing her to spend time with her to work on a group history project in Ms. Frizzell's class. She's not a very good project partner though, and Maya leaves. Cascada has a new disheveled hairstyle and is fighting a thief who stole from a nursing home. Violet shows up and distracts her though, and she gets a cut on her right hand from the thief's weapon. When he tries to escape, they knock him out with a mannequin head. Violet has been looking for Cascada to ask her for some advice, because Black Scorpion doesn't get it. Her best friend isn't speaking to her. She was trying to be a good superhero, but lost sight of what's important, and now she just feels lost. Cascada doesn't have a best friend. She doesn't like to let people get too close. Things are simple that way, but also sad and lonely. Everyone needs someone. She admits that there was a guy, but he was getting too serious. Violet tells her that if he's a great guy, then he's worth the risk, and she shouldn't give up so easily. Violet won't give up on her friend either, and she'll fix this… somehow. Catalina tries to take the advice and calls Cruz, but he doesn't answer. Nina comes over with a dish. She thinks that he's upset about what happened with Catalina, despite his denials, and tells him to give her another chance. After all, she knows someone else who is also a big flake, and she believes in giving him second chances. Cruz admits that he's a flake, and says it's too much of a hassle. It was going to end eventually. Why not now? Nina says it's because he still likes Catalina. She hasn't seen him this happy in a long time. Regardless of whether they work out or not, he'll only know if he gives her another chance, and he says he'll think about it. He thanks his sister for the food and all of the second chances. He's her little brother, and he's worth it. Juan finds Violet preparing supplies for her history project so she can actually work on it this time. Maya is coming back over. It won't be fun, but at least they'll be together, and she'll take what she can get for now. However, when she opens the door, she sees Luis. He reveals that Maya told Ms. Frizzell that she needed to switch partners, and Luis's partner agreed, since *everyone* finds Luis insufferable, teachers included. He also claims that Maya switched partners because she doesn't want to be friends with Violet anymore. She ignored her when she asked for space and got mad when she forced her to spend time with her. Luis compares himself to Violet by saying that they know what's best for everyone else. People don't know what they need until you tell them. He advises her to keep ignoring the boundaries her friend is asking for. Violet realizes that she's been acting like him, so she needs to do the opposite of that. She gives Maya space by avoiding her in the halls at school, taking the stickers off her locker, and even having Tiago keep her phone away from her so she can't text her. It's revealed that the music that's been playing during this montage is actually coming from Tiago's earbuds. He's listening to music while working on clothes at Cruz's gym. Catalina shows up and apologizes for missing the anniversary dinner. She admits that she freaked out because she doesn't normally get close to people. Cruz understands, because he doesn't normally let people get close. They both agree to try again. This time, Catalina will plan the dinner. She and Cruz kiss, which we see from a bird's eye view shot. Nina checks in with Violet, who has her phone back and is looking at pictures of herself and Maya. They haven't talked all week. She's worried that Maya likes the space so much that she'll never come back. Nina tells her that they both need each other. Just then, Maya shows up at the door, and they invite her in. Violet wonders if she's here to tell her that she likes not being friends. Maya tells her that they never stopped being friends. She just needed time to think. So much has changed since Violet became a superhero. It's amazing and exciting, but a lot of it is about Ultra Violet, and sometimes, Maya still needs it to be about them, and when Violet missed her tournament, it really hurt. Unfortunately, speed time travel a la *The Flash* is not one of Violet's powers. She apologizes again for not putting her best friend first. If it ever comes down to her or Ultra Violet again, she's choosing Maya. However, she says she doesn't have to choose. The city needs Ultra Violet, and Maya likes being a part of her adventures. They finally hug because they missed each other so much and go out for pizza that night. Catalina and Cruz are also there. Maya notices the cut on Catalina's right hand and asks her what happened. She claims that it was just a little cooking accident, and jokes that her hand modelling career wasn't taking off anyway… which is exactly what Cascada said to Ultra Violet. This makes Violet realize that Ms. Rivera is Cascada, meaning that, contrary to what Maya says, things are *not* back to normal. It sucks for Violet, but this revelation leads into the next episode, which is my personal favorite. I'm a fraternal triplet, and apparently, while I was in school, certain adults wanted to put us in different classes, but my mother refused. When she told me about it recently (in January 2023), I suggested that it might have been because siblings already see each other and get to spend time together after school, on vacation, and during the weekend, so separating us might have actually benefited us by allowing us to make more friends and be more independent, instead of only being around our "built in best friends". Our little brother has more school friends than the rest of us ever did, because the rest of us are so much older than he is, and he isn't shy, socially awkward, antisocial, or neurodivergent, so "normal" people actually want to be friends with him, plus he participates in group activities.