The Paper season 2 ending is the strongest episode yet, but not for the reason you'd expect — it's all thanks to one 'uncomfortable' transformation

Spoilers for The Paper season 2 ending ahead.

<![CDATA[ <article> <p><strong>Spoilers for </strong><em><strong>The Paper</strong></em><strong> season 2 ending ahead.</strong></p><p>Regardless of whether you love or loathe Esmeralda (Sabrina Impacciatore), you can't deny that she's made<a href="https://www.techradar.com/streaming/the-paper-season-2-review"> <em>The Paper </em>season 2</a> ending incredibly memorable.</p><p>While Ned (Domhnall Gleeson) comes to Mare's (Chelsea Frei) rescue at The Cincinnati Chronicle, Esmeralda is on a mission of her own. Distraught by the news that her son has got C on his latest school exam, she undertakes an undercover investigation to get to the bottom of the "injustice."</p><p>As Oscar (Oscar Nuñez) tells us, these Esmeralda specials tend to be a regular occurrence. She's donned a fat suit to protest weight restrictions at a local playground, and disguised herself as a balding, older man to work out why those who "aren't attractive" are having problems dating.</p><p>This time, <a href="https://www.techradar.com/streaming/the-paper-season-2-star-confirms-divisive-character-is-a-work-in-progress-ahead-of-new-episodes-releasing-on-peacock-things-change-every-day">Esmeralda's transformation</a> comes in the form of a teenage boy, dressing up in a short brown wig, baggy football jerseys and a backwards cap — much like a member of N*SYNC — to infiltrate Matteo's (Zak Messinger) class, though she's immediately detected.</p><p>While Matteo is willing to indulge her ridiculousness (albeit for a short time), the sheer stupidity of it all makes it the best moment in the entire season. But which disguise did Impacciatore find the most uncomfortable?</p><div style="min-height: 250px;"> <div class="kwizly-quiz kwizly-Od2rZe"></div> </div> <script src="https://kwizly.com/embed/Od2rZe.js" async></script><h2 id="39-i-was-shocked-when-i-looked-in-the-mirror-39">'I was shocked when I looked in the mirror'</h2><div class="youtube-video" data-nosnippet ><div class="video-aspect-box"><iframe data-lazy-priority="high" data-lazy-src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/m0egsFCDTIo" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div><p>"I had so much fun with that," Impacciatore tells me. "The most uncomfortable was the woman.... but the older man was horrible.</p><p>"I felt so shocked looking at myself in the mirror, and that shock remained for a good few days. I didn't recognize myself... just a very shocking experience. It's literally just for a few seconds in the show, but the experience of it lasted."</p><p>Personally, I'd enjoy an entire episode dedicated solely to Impacciatore's old man, who tells a group of attractive younger women at a bar that just because he doesn't look like Marlon Brando — already an outdated reference — doesn't mean that he should be ruled out.</p><p>While Esmeralda is probably the least predictable character of the bunch, these episode 10 transformations do set her up for future undercover investigations if <em>The Paper</em> season 3 is greenlit. </p><p>If her more direct exposé has almost cost Esmeralda her job and status at the Toledo Truth Teller, then why not try alternative methods to do exactly what she wants to? Watch this space, is all I'm saying.</p><div data-widget-type="review" data-model-name="Peacock TV"></div> </article> ]]>