Between Lands episode 2 recap: a shocking murder confession

Maria looks scared as she brushes her hair in the dark in Between Lands episode 2
María is in danger in Between Lands episode 2. (Image credit: Netflix)

Between Lands (Entre Tierras) episode 2 sees María investigate Llanos' mysterious past as she struggles to bond with Manuel's troubled young son Nicolás.  

Meanwhile, Ramón seeks help from housekeeper Justa over an issue involving Manuel as a forbidden romance comes to light.

Here's everything that happened in Between Lands episode 2...

Despite desperately wanting to go home and missing her family, a determined María gets on with her new life at La Mancha by doing the chores Ramón has ordered her to do. Meanwhile, Manuel wakes up from his drunken night at the bar.

María is introduced to the housekeeper Justa, who tries to hide her emotions when Ramón reveals that she is Manuel's new wife. Ramón insists that she's not needed anymore as María is now there to take over her job, but orders Justa to stay a few more days to teach María her tasks.

María continues to have a turbulent relationship with land worker Claudia and Ramón criticizes Manuel for avoiding his wife. Manuel clashes with Ramón and his uncle warns him that if he doesn't start to comply there will be consequences. Manuel insists that he's not afraid of him, but Ramón takes it one step further and threatens that he will lose his lands and his son.

Later on, María goes to Pepa's Bar and strikes up a friendship with bar owner Pepita who was once in a similar situation to María. María confronts Claudia at the bar for staring at her and she makes her dislike towards the newcomer very clear.

María tries to offer an olive branch to Claudia by bringing up what she said about Llanos' murder. To prove the rumor that Manuel killed his wife, Claudia tells María to follow Manuel to the country as he goes there every day to check nobody has discovered her body.

We then see Manuel suspiciously driving out into the country alone and destroying an animal trap hidden underneath some leaves.

Justa in Between Lands.

Justa in Between Lands. (Image credit: Netflix)

There's sparks between Manuel and Justa as he reassures her that she's needed in the house and that María won't last long here, leaving Justa smitten after their exchange.

María meets Manuel's son Nicolás once again and offers him a sugar cube. As Nicolás limps over to her, she notices his bleeding knee and a concerned María attempts to look at his wound but he bites her and runs away.

Later on, Manuel interrupts Ramón and María's conversation about Nicolás to tell him that he spent all day removing traps and the land is full of them.

Ramón blames the poachers and Manuel suggests they contact the Civil Guard again, but Ramón refuses saying: "Wait for them to make a mistake. We'll resolve it as we always have. And we'll be glad we didn't tell anyone."

The next day, Ramón instructs María to choose six women out of the seven to work on the lands, but she goes against his orders and picks all of them. After their shift on the fields, Claudia points out that they haven't been paid enough and Ramón puts the blame on María, saying that it's six wages divided by seven.

María pays a visit to her new friend Pepita, who shares her suspicions about the mysterious Justa. Pepita reveals that Justa has lived there her whole life, but nobody really knows her and that her late husband was Ramón's right-hand man.

She adds that Llanos was Justa's only friend and not to be surprised if she's some kind of spy for the Cervantes family.

Ramon having a drink in Between Lands.

Ramón continues to make María's life hellish. (Image credit: Netflix)

Failing to shake off the gossip, María brings up the rumor that Manuel killed Llanos and mentions that there's something wrong with little Nicolás. However, Pepita confesses that she prefers to think that Llanos ran away with a lover and left an unhappy life behind. 

María asks Justa about her friendship with Llanos and as María goes to sew Manuel's shirt, she finds a love letter to a man called Jorge hidden in Llanos' sewing kit. 

We later see that Claudia is the one who has been secretly putting traps on the Cervantes' lands, while María sneaks away to read Llanos' love letter which reveals that she was pregnant with Jorge's baby and wanted to start a new life with him, but was scared of how Manuel would react if he found out.

After trying to start a fight at the bar, a drunk Manuel shows up at Justa's house for a night of passion. He shows his violent tendencies when he notices that she is wearing Llanos' perfume and the pair sleep together. 

The next morning, Ramón has a flashback to his troubled childhood, where he was tortured and branded.

In a bid to convince Ramón to let Justa stay in the household, Manuel criticizes María's "inedible" breakfast and Ramón shows a softness to Justa when he admits that she's appreciated in the home.

He asks her to remove Llanos' belongings from the main bedroom to help María settle in, but when Justa refuses, he makes it clear that he knows all about her affair with Manuel. Ramón reaches a vile new low when he tells her that Manuel needs to be with a "real" woman who can have children.

After another nightmare run-in with Ramon, María goes to the bar to call her family and lies about her relationship with Manuel to stop them worrying. 

At a gathering, it's clear that Nicolás has warmed to María as the young boy smiles and waves at her. However, when he sees Manuel sharpening a knife for the first slaughter, he suddenly becomes traumatized and has a seizure.

Nicolas lies on Maria's lap as she holds a cold flannel to his head.

María (Image credit: Netflix)

As María comforts Nicolás, Justa informs her that he's been having seizures since his mother Llanos disappeared and when he wakes up from a bad dream, the frightened child shouts at María to not touch him.

Nicolás tells her that he was dreaming about the last time he saw his mother before his father came and took her away to the woods. 

After Justa reveals to Manuel that María has been asking about Llanos, Manuel storms in and takes María into the dark woods to "show her something." When Manuel is distracted, a terrified María jumps out of the car and runs away.

Manuel pursues her in the woods and as María escapes to his car, he catches her and attacks her. As he strangles María, he confesses to killing Llanos with his bare hands and she manages to fight him off before fleeing for her life.

Between Lands is available to watch on Netflix now.

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Grace Morris
Staff Writer

Grace is a freelancer writer with WhatToWatch.com, and she now writes for our sister site TechRadar. She graduated from Anglia Ruskin University in 2020 with a degree in Writing and Film Studies, which only made her love for creative writing, film and TV grow stronger.

You'll usually find her watching the drama unfold in the latest reality series or much-loved UK soaps (usually with chocolate by her side!). She's an expert in EastEnders, Emmerdale, Coronation Street and everything reality-related from Selling Sunset and Married At First Sight UK to 90 Day Fiancé UK. Plus Netflix megahit Virgin River!

Grace also likes to explore new places with her friends and family and, of course, watch and read about the latest films and TV series.