Does Lino die in From Scratch? (What happens to Lino in From Scratch?)

Netflix has truly outdone itself with its newest limited series From Scratch, a beautiful cross-cultural love story told across an eight-episode season that is so eloquently crafted.

The series follows Amy, an American student studying abroad in Italy chasing her dream to become an artist whose life is forever changed when she bumps into a charming Sicilian chef, Lino, during her time in the city. While she at first pushes him away while pursuing another suitor, fate has other plans and the two are quickly drawn back to one another.

Once they finally give in to their feelings, the pair find themselves swept up into a whirlwind romance as Lino moves back to the US and the pair chase their dreams. However, when life throws an unexpected curveball their way in the form of an unimaginable health challenge, the pair’s bond is tested in new ways.

Warning the following post contains spoilers from From Scratch. If you don’t wish to spoil the show and its bigger plotlines, this might be a good place for you to bounce. 

Does Lino die in From Scratch?

If you’ve just begun watching From Scratch, chances are your curiosity has been piqued due to the way in which the series begins. In the opening shot of the premiere, we see a teary-eyed Amy wandering into her kitchen where she is hit with a wave of flashbacks before picking up a brown journal sitting on the counter. As she picks the journal up, we flashback to the beginning of Amy and Lino’s story as the series dives into the pair’s relationship and emotional love story.

The scene seems to be used to foreshadow what’s to come and creates a lot of curiosity among viewers early on regarding what will happen to Lino.

Sadly the moment did indeed foreshadow a tragic end to Lino and Amy’s relationship as the opening scene takes place at the end of the couple’s story after Lino passes away. Yes, Lino sadly dies in From Scratch, and trust us when we say his death is going to hit you like a ton of bricks even though it’s foreshadowed in the very first scene of the series.

What happens to Lino in From Scratch?

In the fourth episode of From Scratch, Lino seeks treatment for some pain he’s experiencing in his knee which is when the doctors discover that he has a rare soft tissue cancer called leiomyosarcoma, an aggressive cancer that requires aggressive treatment.

Lino begins treatment and, in the fifth episode of the season, he undergoes surgery to remove the tumor from his leg. While the doctors are able to successfully remove the tumor, after surgery the doctor reveals that the cancer is like a weed, you pull it and it can come back. He says they can continue the treatment or enter clinical trials which could help to give him a better chance of beating the cancer.

With little thought, Lino and Amy decide to give the clinical trials a try. Fortunately, Lino gets the real drug, not the placebo. As episode 6 arrives, we skip ahead several months and discover that Lino is in remission and doing better following the clinical trials.

After going into remission, Amy and Lino begin a family and chase after their dreams as the years begin to speed by and it looks like the pair might get a happy ending after all. However, as the episode ends, it’s hinted that Lino’s cancer has returned — a diagnosis that is confirmed in the seventh episode.

We learn that the cancer has not only returned but has now moved to Lino’s lungs and the doctors begin treatment right away. Sadly, the course of treatment does not go to plan after they have to pause on chemo when Lino gets an infection. His health continues to decline as time goes by and it becomes clear there is nothing more the doctors can do for him.

As episode 7 nears its end, Lino goes home to spend his final days surrounded by family and friends before he eventually succumbed to his illness and dies at the conclusion of the seventh episode.

While we knew there was a chance Lino’s story would end tragically, watching the journey unfold was a truly emotional journey filled with tears but also full of love and laughter as well.

From Scratch is streaming now on Netflix.