Caray, Caray!

Montero reacts badly to the news Esme gives him that she is carrying Diego’s child. Esme proposes a deal. She will go far away, Montero can keep her fortune, accuse her of adultery and annul their marriage. His military career won’t be harmed and he’ll be rich.
Montero has a counter offer: In a great celebration for the city of LA, Montero and his wife will announce the birth of their first born.

Alejandro is concerned that Almudena is sad. Almudena says that she is sad because of all the injustice in the world. Almudena says to Alejandro that she would like to tell him everything but it concerns Esme. Al presses her a little and she spills the beans that Esme is risking her life to stay with Montero so that she can free her mother from prison. Almudena tells Al that Fernando has put his wife in an iron mask and locked her up in a prison while telling everyone she died in Spain. Al is impactado.

Esme says that she will never say that her baby is Montero’s. ‘Fine,’ says Montero, ‘then get rid of the baby.’ ‘Never!’ says Esme. Montero then says that when her pregnancy shows, he will announce that his wife is expecting. When Esme objects, Montero says that he will kill her and everyone she is close to if she says otherwise. He will not be the butt of jokes in the town.

Alone, Esme swears that Montero’s plan will never happen. She has enough time before her pregnancy shows to rescue her mother and escape far away.

Almudena appears to be telling Al all these secrets in some public place, like a restaurant, so they have to keep lowering their voices and looking around guiltily. Not surprisingly, Al asks why Fernando would lock up his wife who had just given him a daughter. Almudena then tells Al that Esme is not Fernando’s daughter. Mercedes (aka Sara Kali) was preggers by another man when she married Fernando. Almudena goes on to tell Al that there is some big secret with Mercedes that she doesn’t know – something to do with the Spanish crown. Al then figures out that maybe Fernando and Montero had something to do with the death of the Viceroy who was looking for a particular inmate at the prison. Almudena wonders what will happen. She tells Al that now that Esme knows her mother is alive, she won’t rest until her mother is freed.

Fernando admits that the dagger is his but claims that he didn’t kill Regina. He shows Father Tomas that the dagger is one of a pair and claims that it was stolen from the hacienda before Regina was killed. Father Tomas is not buying this story at all but Fernando is prepared to swear before god and man that he didn’t kill Regina and therefore he can have Maria Pia.

Back at the convent to be, Maria Pia lets the slave hunters into the storeroom not knowing that Suplicios and two other nuns hid the slave in there. The dogs lose the scent and the slave hunters go away apologizing. Suplicios tries to stop the other nuns from telling Maria Pia that they hid an escaped slave in the storeroom. Finally, Suplicios admits that she brought the slave there. Maria Pia is upset that they endangered the convent with their actions. [I noted that there was a shelf of pineapples in the storeroom. Pineapples don’t grow any closer to California than Veracruz in Mexico.]

Diego is assembling his most powerful weapons to use in the prison break. He is concerned that he won’t be able to see much in the dark basement of the prison. [No worries – this prison seems to be very well lit.] Bernardo volunteers to go and reconnoiter. [This seems like a bad idea. We know that Zorro can fight his way out of almost anything – but what is Bernardo going to do if he gets caught?] but Diego agrees.

Al tells Almudena that Esme shouldn’t try and rescue her mother with the help of the gypsies. Gypsies aren’t warriors – they’re performers. Al wants to help Esme. [There’s going to be a traffic jam of rescuers at the prison!] Almudena is concerned that Al not reveal that she blabbed the whole story to him. Al tells her not to worry. Besides, he says, they are about to give him the Order of a Knight of the Royal Family. Al will be a powerful man who can better help Esme and her mother.

Maria Pia tells the nuns that they were right to try and help the escaped slave. Her only problem is that they didn’t tell her about it. The slave has disappeared but it is too late to look for him. They can search tomorrow. When Maria Pia tells Suplicios that in spite of all that has gone on between them, Suplicios must respect her authority. Suplicios says that she is only following Maria Pia’s example. Didn’t Maria Pia hide the Governor in the convent once?

Al and Almudena speculate that Fernando must be crazy to have put his wife in an iron mask and locked her up in prison for 20 years. Almudena says that she can’t help but love him – he’s her only brother. Al and Almudena agree that deep down there must be something good in Fernando or Maria Pia wouldn’t have fallen in love with him.

Maria Pia tells Father Tomas that she is worried about Suplicios’ behavior now that she has been named Mother Superior and Father Tomas tells her to be careful. They discuss the ritual of consecration and Padre Tomas tells Maria Pia that sometimes one makes a decision based on lies. Maria Pia asks what Father Tomas is referring to and asks if he has spoken to Fernando. Father Tomas says it’s too late. They’ll discuss it in the morning.

Father Tomas doesn’t know whether to believe Fernando that he didn’t kill Regina or not. He asks for Divine guidance.

Diego and Esme (in a sexy little Teddy that could have come from Victoria’s Secret) go to bed separately, of course, and have flashbacks to previous encounters to the Corazon song.

Catalina encounters Diego in the town square [where there are more pineapples for sale in a booth]. She congratulates Diego on his engagement and reveals that she knows that Diego got drunk and ended up in bed with MA. Diego tells her that can’t understand how a bottle of champagne made him that drunk and maybe it was drugged. Catalina is shocked and suggests that maybe Diego was despondent because of what Esmeralda did to him.

Father Tomas tells Maria Pia that he found the escaped slave in the church. Maria Pia explains what happened with the slave at the convent. Maria Pia asks Father Tomas if he is going to tell her what Fernando said about the dagger. Father Tomas then asks Maria Pia if she became a nun because the man she loved was unworthy or because she got a sign from God. Maria Pia says that she came to the convent to escape from Fernando but has learned to love God’s work. Father Tomas then tells her that Fernando claims that the dagger was stolen and from him and therefore he did not kill Regina.

Fernando gives his henchman money to recompense the men that were hurt at the village that Fernando’s men attacked. The henchman is surprised but he obeys. Fernando tells himself that he is a changed man.

Maria Pia doesn’t believe Fernando’s ‘stolen dagger’ story. Father Tomas asks her if she has any other proof that Fernando killed Regina.

Esme and Almudena (all dressed up in mantillas for church) meet in the square. Esme tells Almudena what happened with Montero. Alumdena is concerned for Esme’s safety.

Montero tells Pizarro not to let Zorro get the tax collection again. Pizarro notes that Montero looks a little peaky and Montero says that he was in his study all night after Esme gave him bad news. Pizarro offers to help but Montero just wants to be alone. When he is alone, Montero says that he will have fun when he gets his hands on Diego’s child and he will make Esme shed tears of blood for him.

Diego runs into MA outside the church. She asks him to accompany her and they can practice walking up the aisle of the church as they will on their wedding day. Diego is not enthusiastic until he sees Esme and Almudena go into the church. Then he decides to go into the church with MA.

Olmos is writing a letter. He writes that soon he will have Mercedes in his power and will be able to confirm His Majesty’s suspicions. He tells himself that when Mercedes is freed, Olmos will have a grand fortune and everything that he wants – including MA whether she is married or not.

Maria Pia completely loses it when Padre Tomas suggests the possibility that Fernando might be innocent of Regina’s murder. She had been so sure and now she has doubts. Father Tomas asks if there were any witnesses to the killing. Maria Pia says yes, but they were old and are dead now. The only living witness is Diego and he doesn’t remember the killer’s face.

Fernando buys flowers and finds Maria Pia staggering around town. He asks her to marry him. Esme and Diego are eyeing each other in church. Diego sneaks away from MA and find Esme in a chapel. He tells her that he can no longer deny it – he loves her.
The credits roll.

Labels: Zorro