Caray, Caray!

Maldita Alfonsina!! DonLoco curses the damned Alfonsina to his sister. Mariana further reveals that Alfonsina tried to kill her more than once. Alfonsina and Hugo are in everything together.

DonLoco blows a gasket. He gets red in the face, jumps up and pounds the table, frightening Mariana. "They should have done it," he screams to her, "they should have ended you. It's what you deserve after all the lies you've told!"

Emilio, seeing Angel in the mafioso's neighborhood, immediately wants to confront him. Frank, ever the voice of reason, sends Emilio home to wait for Angel and interrogate him there. Frank will remain at the stakeout.

Meanwhile, Angel tries to convince Claudia to out her ugly padrastro to the police. She says even though her life is hell there's nothing she can do about it. She's afraid of what Rosendo will do to Angel. Angel says he's not afraid. (Does the wimp think he can cough Rosendo to death? Maybe he plans to run behind his brother. Oh, or maybe he could wave his hankie at him and frighten him!) Angel kisses Claudia goodbye. As Margaret says, it's a decent kiss, much better than his lamprey of a brother.

Alina and Rodrigo gaze at each other sadly: "Poor Rodrigo," she thought bubbles, "he's devastated by this, I must stay by his side. Oh Emilioooooo, I'd like to know how you're doing." "Ah Alina," Rodrigo thinks, "thank goodness you arrived in my life, and just in time." Poor sap, he doesn't realize that if he hadn't hooked up with this loser and her sick family Thelma wouldn't have kidnapped his kid in the first place.

Elias is with Soledad, trying to twist her arm into getting 'serious' with him. She's worried about what others will think. Well...not actually others, more specifically what Alvaro will think. She's afraid of what he'll do.

DonLoco shakes Mariana and curses her. He always thought she was a decent woman (a woman in one piece), but she dated the foreman behind his back! She shouts back at him, it was her life! DonLoco says her lies caused all his problems. Mariana corrects him, Alfonsina caused his problems, and all his problems happened because he is Sick In The Head. "Yes, I'm loco," he yells as he breaks a chair. He grabs Mariana's throat and says he'll kill Alfonsina with his own hands. She has a moment of fear wondering if he thinks she's Alfonsina, but he lets go and orders her to leave. He goes into a red-faced fury and rants while the guards restrain him.

Cut to Dr. Love telling Malena that right about now DonLoco must really be feeling bad for behaving like such an asshat all this time.

The lucha manager comes from behind the privacy screen on a fact-finding mission. He introduces himself as Pepe Tropicasas. (I thought that was a cool name so I looked around and discovered that this guy really is in the world of Lucha. His name is Pepe "Tropi" Casas and you can read about him here. He was a fair luchador but a better coach. His sons Felino, Heavy Metal, and Negro, are also luchadors.) Dr. Love introduces himself and Malena. Luba, eavesdropping, doesn't recognize them from Escondidaville. She scratches her head...how do they know her?

General Ochoa has told Thelma that he assigned Orlando to Escondidaville because Orlando wanted to help Emilio. Thelma scowls, or maybe she's just sitting there, or maybe she's smiling, I can't tell because she always looks like she's scowling. Ochoa says she looks "pensive." He tells her not to worry, Orlando paid his debt to society. She thought bubbles, "surely he's gone to look for Gaspar. I hope they lynched that idiot and his witch of a mother. That's my only salvation."

Alina tries to console Rodrigo by telling him she has confidence in Emilio's plan. She's clueless. Rodrigo reacts, of course, by saying Emilio's just using all this as an excuse to be close to Alina. She diffuses him, tells him to think of his daughter and nothing else. It's time to call General Ochoa and tell him to go forward with Emilio's plan.

Elias is STILL following Soledad around the boutique trying to talk her into getting serious. Enough already you drip, have some pride, give it a rest, she has too much baggage anyway. But no, he keeps pressing, "Don't worry about what Alvaro thinks, I already told him I love you." Soledad is impactada, "That must be why he called me from jail."

Elias has a flashback of DonLoco strangling him, he realizes he dropped his address book. "Doh!!!" he says, except in Spanish. Then he actually admits this stupid maneuver to Soledad.

Back to DonLoco who is still yelling at Mariana. Why haven't those guards dragged him off yet? Oh, I see, it's because we are all waiting for Dra. Loca to show up. She arrives in time to see her guy in a rage. After he's hauled away Dra. Loca asks a rather shocked Mariana to explain what happened. Poor Mariana's still in a state, he just went crazy, she's his sister, she came because the lawyer asked her to come and confirm that DonLoco was wrong about Soledad and Alina. "But," she adds, "he didn't seem to care much for the truth."

Dra. Loca assures Mariana that his reaction is normal. (?!?) He's going through a rough patch. They are at the precise point where she 1) has a possibility of curing him, or 2) where he will lose his sanity forever. "No puede ser," gasps Mariana, "my brother is completely loco!"

Rodrigo and Alina are in Gen. Ochoa's office. The General tells them they are about to begin radio and TV broadcasts about the missing Gaby, half a million pesos reward, yada yada. Good gosh darn time on the search asshats! Rodrigo frets, he doesn't want Emilio looking for her alone.

Back at Casa Valtierra Emilio asks Angel where he's been. "At the doctor," answers the man with only one excuse. Emilio calls him on it, he saw him in "that" neighborhood. He wasn't following Angel, but rather Rosendo Luna, a mafioso who traffics minors. Angel stops thinking about Angel and is interested.

Singing Auntie sings and dances for a captive audience, little Emilito who is trapped on a bed and can't escape. He sucks his pacifier loudly, probably to drown her out. Suddenly the radio music is interrupted with the announcement about the missing Gaby.

Angel tells Emilio that Rosendo is the father of his girlfriend Claudia. (Already with the girlfriend.) Claudia told Angel that Rosenda "bothered" her constantly. No doubt he's the type who would traffic minors. Emilio gets angry, why didn't Angel tell Emilio his new girlfriend's private and anguished secrets earlier? He needs to ask Angel's help...

Back at the boutique Elias is like a terrier with a dirty sock. He is still bugging Soledad. (Elias, you are pathetic, be a man and leave.) He says he wants to protect Soledad. (Dude, you are the human piñata, born to be beaten.) He asks her if she wants to stop seeing him. She shakes her head No, but not convincingly.

Emilio tells Angel that Claudia's stepfather might be involved in Gaby's kidnapping. Angel should try to get important info out of Claudia. The brothers leave together.

Luba tells Pepe Tropicasas that she doesn't know those two people on the other side of the screen. Pepe says there was another woman there earlier. It must be she who is from Escondidaville.

Two bald, shiny headed villains go into Rosendo's office and tell him about the Gaby announcements. They're freaking out that there is a half million peso reward. Oh wait, the guy behind the desk isn't Rosendo because he says he needs to ask Rosendo what they should do. I think the bald guys might want to find Gaby and turn her in for the reward.

Auntie frets to Thelma about Gaby. Thelma has more important things to worry about than 'that brat.' Even Auntie is appalled by Thelma's hard heart, so appalled that she's going to tell Emilio everything. Thelma reverts to the usual threat, Emilio will throw them out into the street. Furthermore, she's not going anywhere without her son. They'll have to kill her first. This no doubt portends a future baby-napping.

Alina and Rodrigo get into another tiff about Emilio. She tries to leave in a huff but he pleads that he's just worried about his daughter.

Cut to Gaby asleep on a dirty blanket. She dreams of seeing her mommy playing with flowers in a beautiful field. They hug. Big bad guy roughly picks her up and she wakes, screaming for her mommy not to go. Bad guy tries to say something to her, points to a bag on the table. I think he wants her to eat.

The Bros. Valtierra go to the boutique looking for Claudia. Emilio tells Soledad and Coral they believe Claudia's stepdad is involved in trafficking minors. Naturally Claudia overhears and is muy impactada.

We get another lead-in of the mystery woman after the commercial.

Claudia rushes is, "My father is a criminal?" Emilio introduces himself and explains the situation, the police have been investigating Rosendo for a long time. Claudia is beautifully impactada. She agrees to help the Bros. Valtierra trap her stepfather and put him in jail.

Sierra Escondida- Hugo searches Luba's cave. He throws things and cusses because he can't find The Cofre. He calls Luba a third-rate witch and he'll make her tell him everything if he finds her.

Hugo is interrupted by Vera who just happens to be wandering through the cave. She tells him she works at La Rinconada, is he the police? Hugo remains silent so that Vera can run her stupid mouth. She babbles, has he found that pig of a witch? She hasn't seen Luba since she killed Florecita and split town. Hugo is interested in hearing more. As Vera yammers on Hugo thinks it will be difficult to find Luba if she's on the run from the cops.

At Casa Valtierra Thelma continues to work on Auntie, how could she think of betraying her own flesh and blood? Thelma says her aunt has "gone to the other side." Auntie acquiesces, says she won't say anything to Emilio, but she can't imagine what they'll do if the kid tells her dad it was Thelma who stole her.

Alfonsina, still in her "disguise" of peasant duds, wonders what's keeping that idiot Hugo? She figures if she can only get The Cofre in her hands she can get ten times the amount from Don Loco than Hugo did.

DonLoco is in a cell. He rants for his doctora, somebody call his doctora! Mariana's voice haunts him..."Alina is yours, yada yada everything everybody already knows ad nauseum, Alfonsina and Hugo know what's in The Cofre..." DonLoco tells his head to shut up but it continues taunting him in Mariana's voice.

Dra. Loca and a nurse round the corner. The doctora blabs on about poor Alvaro. She says she's not going to sedate him because he needs to confront the truth. "Oh, and nurse, no way am I going to transfer him to a nut house because...(smug smile on the Dra.) I'm going to cure him myself!" Oh Gawd help us.

Thelma and Auntie argue some more. Thelma accuses her aunt of abandoning her at the worst moment of her life. (What about the worst moment of Gaby's life? Thelma really needs to visit the whirlpool!) Thelma storms out and Auntie sobs. Outside the door Thelma mutters "Little by little I'll get you on my side Tía."

The big kidnapper stuffs his face with a burrito while Gaby huddles in the corner. She says she's not hungry but thought bubbles that she's starving. The guy taunts her and she says her daddy's going to put him in jail. He stuffs more burrito in his mouth.

Rodrigo and Alina arrive at the boutique just as Emilio, Angel and Claudia are leaving. Emilio introduces Claudia saying the main bad guy just happens to be her stepfather. Rodrigo wants to go with them, Emilio says no he's too emotionally involved, Rod says yes he doesn't want to lose another loved one due to his lack of control, they eye each other, Emilio relents, off they go.

At the hospital, Mariana walks by a praying Luba. She cries on Dr. Love's shoulder. Luba hears and thinks it must be the other woman from Escondidaville. She eavesdrops as Mariana relates to Dr. Love and Malena that her brother is a real nut case. The DNA proof that Alina is his daughter only served to drive him over the edge. Luba figures she must be listening to DonLoco's sister, Mariana Valtierra.

Alina tells Soledad and Coral that she has a lot of faith in Emilio. She doesn't mention Rodrigo.

Hugo strides through the countryside with his fake cofre. It looks like a lunch box from the Spanish Inquisition and not a bit like the real cofre. Oh, OK, he says it doesn't really look like the original which is made of wood, thank goodness Alfonsina has a worse memory than he. (What, they couldn't get props to make a cofre that remotely resembles the original?) Hugo adds hopefully it will be enough to trick the traitoress long enough to get all his money from her.

Rodrigo, Emilio, Frank and Angel drop Claudia off at the hood. Rodrigo is ready to rush in and bust the padrastro immediately but Frank talks him down. Claudia needs to go in alone. She kisses Angel.

Coral, Soledad and Alina go home and update Adela on the news. Margaret called it again - Coral the food destroyer is starving and asks Adela to make a plate of sandwiches. They have filler conversation regarding what might happen if the rescue goes awry. I think this is supposed to create tension for the audience. The only tension I have is Where In The Hell Is Tonki?????

Dra. Loca enters Loco's sickroom. He asks why she didn't give him a tranquilizer? Does she think it's better that he hears voices? (Is our crazy guy turning into a little addict?) He tells her nobody can understand what it's like to be a monster like him, a damn beast who hurts those he loves most in his life. "Do you mean Soledad?" asks Dra. Loca? But DonLoco's on a roll and ignores her. He tells her about the pain he will live with all his live, "You have to help me Aida, I have to see Soledad and ask her forgiveness." Dra. Loca caresses his hand and we get a multi-dimensional close-up of DonLoco's head.

Advance - Gaby calls her house and reads (to Alina) a ransom note written by the bad guy. Claudia gives the soldiers a tip. Rodrigo and Frank draw their guns and point them at someone.

cordura = sanity
es de una pieza = she's a really decent person
pacotilla = junk, trash
de pacotilla = third-rate

Labels: duelo