Emilio is juggling so much in the wake of his parents’ deportation. From taking care of his siblings to running a restaurant, Emilio is being pulled in all directions. HollywoodLife sat down with Party of Five star Brandon Larracuente and discussed whether or not Emilio is going to feel the weight of his responsibilities. “I think Emilio’s going to have a breaking point and it might possibly happen sometime in season one,” Brandon told HollywoodLife at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. “So much has been thrown on his plate and it feels like he’s plugging up the holes, but pretty soon he’s going to run out of fingers and then everything’s gonna come sinking in. I feel like he’s constantly under the hot seat and never has a break. And like I said before, there’s going to be a breaking point.”
In the first few episodes, Emilio has been in constant contact with his parents about everything. However, Emilio has learned that his father’s way of running things isn’t exactly the easiest. Emilio has faced a number of problems that his father can’t fix from Mexico, and he’s had to deal with them face-to-face. Brandon said that there is a “power struggle” right now between Emilio and his father. “For the longest time, Javier was the alpha of the family. But now that he’s not there and Emilio’s pretty much stepped into his father’s shoes, it’s tough not only for Emilio but also for Javier to relinquish that power that he had over the family and to accept the fact that he’s not there,” Brandon continued. “He cannot be running the restaurant. So I think right now there’s a power struggle but I think they’re both separately starting to realize that they need to just let things go and just trust in the other individual — trust Javier to be a father, trust Emilio to take care of the children because now it’s his responsibility. I think fans are going to be surprised how much their relationship blossoms. At the very beginning, Emilio and his father don’t see really eye-to-eye on the whole musician thing. He calls it a hobby and Emilio gets very offended about that. So their relationship does progress and gets better but I think it’s going to happen slowly.”
In the midst of everything, Emilio has found himself in a relationship of sorts with Vanessa. Emilio is known for being quite the ladies’ man but it seems like he might be ready to settle down with Vanessa. Brandon weighed in about the relationship: “I feel like their relationships kind of fell into Emilio’s lap. He was so focused on just taking care of the restaurant and being the parent and being the caretaker. That’s all showed him that what once was a priority of his in girls has become second fiddle. Vanessa kind of made the first move, so he’s kind of rolled with the punches. He’s kind of just seeing where the relationship goes for now, but I think he does like her. He is fond of her.”
But the relationship doesn’t come without drama. Emilio’s brother, Beto, clearly harbors a crush on Vanessa and even confronted his brother about it. “I don’t think Emilio knows bro code, which he needs to learn. I think the beauty of their relationship is that they are able to be very direct with each other,” Brandon said. “I think that might be a brotherly thing that they’ve established from a very young age. Despite them having differences, he’s still able to approach him and wait for them at the bottom of the staircase to address an issue rather than just squashing it. The fact that they are able to have that communication kind of says a lot about the relationship.”
Emilio’s music career has been put on the backburner in his life for the time being. However, Brandon noted that Emilio will be picking up his guitar again this season and will “kind of reimagine himself or relapse back into what his life could have been. Music is such an intricate component to not only Emilio’s character but the entire series.” Party of Five airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Freeform.