Caray, Caray!

On the open—Dra. Loca walks in on Alfonsina visiting Don Loco in jail and saying she’ll do whatever to help him because she loves him. DL also secures her help in finding out about the secret of THE BOX from Hugo. Dra. Loca seethes with jealousy and accuses him of making women fall in love with him to do his bidding. Don Loco says that Alfonsina is just an employee at his canefield but Dra. Loca isn’t buying the explanation. She tells him she’ll see him in court shortly. DL shakes his head as she stalks out as if to say “Women!...”

In Mexico City, a nearly recovered Mariana is gathering up her things for her trip to Veracruz, supposedly to set her brother DL straight on basically the entire misunderstanding upon which this novela is based. She is completely able to communicate and now only needs a walker to get around. Malena and Ricardo are going with her.

In Puebla, the SA is getting Emilito from Thelma and begging her to let her know when the dinner with Rodrigo is coming off. She has a pretty boring life now and she’s soooo excited for this dinner party to happen. Thelma shooshes her away and as she leaves the maid comes in to announce that there is a visitor for the master of the house…It’s Coral. Thelma immediately flies in to a rage and starts screaming at Coral to leave—she got rid of Alina and now she’ll get rid of her too. [She calls her a “golfo.” I couldn’t find any slang term and I’m sure it doesn’t mean “gulf.”] Thelma slaps Coral and jumps on top of her. Emilio shows up and grabs Thelma off of her. He asks Coral why she came over, Angel already told him that she doesn’t want to see him. Coral says basically the same thing—that she doesn’t want Emilio to come over. Supposedly, because she’s still smarting over him dumping her but really because she doesn’t want him to discover that Alina’s not only alive and well but staying at her house. After Coral states her case, Emilio promises not to go to her house and quickly leaves the room. Coral sadly reminisces that he is one of her oldest friends. She leaves.

Over at the courthouse Elias is making his formal declaration. He affirms the charge that Alvaro imprisoned his wife plus he adds the charge that he tried to have him killed so that he wouldn’t testify. Dra. Loca is there, wearing her sexy librarian glasses and she looks surprised by this assertion. DL shakes his head as if to say, “Damn those incompetents! You outta be dead!”
Back in Sierra Escondida, at la Rinconada, a law enforcement official is trying to get a description of Luba from Jaime, Vera and ifigenio. “Dark skinned, Big, eyes, full of evil.” The official asks them how they knew (1) that the bottle was hers and (2) that it contained poison. They got nothing…mostly they say that they swear that is what happened. Despite the lame-o description the sketch artist comes up with a reasonable likeness. They’ll use it to try to find her, starting with the neighboring town of San Mateo.

At the courthouse, DL’s sleazy lawyer is now present for the questioning. DL starts shouting at Elias that he’s Soledad’s lover…yaddah yaddah yaddah. You know the bit. Elias gets ticked off and walks around the barrier to get up close and personal to DL’s cage and starts yelling back that he always respected their marriage and that this idea that he had an affair with Soledad is a figment of his sick imagination. The judge intervenes to get them both to knock it off. Elias calms down but repeats that he didn’t chase Soledad after she married Alvaro. At this point, the impartial and professional Dr. Aida Loca pipes up that she saw Elias and Soledad eating together at a restaurant. Elias says that they are friends, and only that. The sleazy lawyer says its true that he was a suitor of hers. Elias says that was before she was married. “So you don’t love her now?” he asks and nastily says to Elias to remember he’s under oath. Elias looks uncomfortable.
Over at the jail, Alina is talking to her Mom behind bars, trying to give her courage. She tells her that elias’ lawyer says that she has a good case for getting out on bail…if there are no complications…like if someone finds out that Max was going to testify on behalf of DL. They go on to have a metaphysical discussion about love and suffering. Soledad says that she once thought that in order to love, you had to suffer but now she knows better. Alina says that she learned the same thing and she hopes that both of them get the chance to put their experiences into practice when they are able to love again.

The sleazy lawyer is triumphant that Elias will not say that he does not love Soledad. He goes on to accuse him of showing up in SE just to steal Soledad and kill DL. Elias gets a baffled look on his face. Dra. Loca smirks at him too. Sleazy lawyer refers to Soledad already being a known adulteress since she had a kid with Jose, the foreman. Elias complains that that still hasn’t been proven and that Soledad never cheated on him that that whole story was created in DL’s own sick mind. DL starts shouting all over again. The judge tells him to stuff it. Elias goes on to accuse him of trying to kill him various times and also trying to kill Captain Emilio Valtierra a couple of times. Don loco bares his teeth at him, like a caged animal.
Meanwhile, Rodrigo is coordinating the bail with Elias’ attorney, for the release of Soledad. Alina walks up and he tells her the good news. Rodrigo wants to know if Max Valtierra was a relative of Emilio Valtierra. Alina shyly admits this. Rodrigo tells her that he has to inform Emilio, although he will try to keep her out of it.

Back at the hearing room—the charges are being read and they are a mess! Alvaro Montellano is being accused of the attempted murder of Elias and Emilio and the wrongful imprisonment of Soledad and alina, his non-daughter. Meanwhile, Alvaro Montellano is accusing Elias and Soledad of adultery. The prosecutor tells the judge that he is moving forward with the demand to have Alina’s DNA tested, to establish whether she was or wasn’t his daughter. DL’s sleazy lawyer starts protesting but DL pulls him aside and says he’s ready to have her DNA tested. He says it is because he thinks it looks bad to deny having the test done. He’s sure it will come up negative. Just then, the sleazy lawyer gets handed a note and tells DL not to agree to anything just yet—there is breaking news! Soledad just murdered one of DL’s key witnesses so that he couldn’t testify on behalf of DL. Elias is furious and says that he has mischaracterized the whole episode. DL is impactado at the news. Sleazy Lawyer continues with more innuendo about Soledad the murderess. He accuses Elias of having been in on it. Elias explains that it was self-defense, that Soledad killed max when, taking advantage of DL being in jail, he tried to rape her. DL shakes his head it’s not clear why--because he can’t believe that max would try to rape Soledad or because he’s ticked that he would.

Rodrigo and Alina are talking about her Mother’s case. She begs him to explain to Emilio how it came about that Max got killed. She doesn’t want Emilio to think badly of her mother. [I guess she doesn’t know about Emilio tossing Max out on his well padded butt.] Rodrigo tells her not to worry, there were witnesses to the whole incident. He stands up and says, in a voice that betrays his discomfort, that Alina obviously cares a lot about Emilio thinks. Alina looks uncomfortable herself.

At Emilio’ house, Angel and Emilio are having a discussion about Coral’s visit. Emilio is feeling bad about the way he left things with Coral, and how badly Thelma treated her and he doesn’t care about what Thelma thinks.
DL is shouting about the death of Max that his trying to rape Soledad must be a lie. Elias goes on the offensive again and tells him that Max was a big phony, pretending to be his friend. There were witnesses to the attempted rape, Coral and Adela saw it and Coral got beaten up. [Actually, I don’t think Adela saw anything, she showed up after Max was a kabob on the carpet.] Sleazy Lawyer complains that none of these circumstances matter. The judge says that regardless, he wants to clarify the facts in that case. They will resume the hearing tomorrow with the testimony of Captain Valtierra.
Captain Valtierra is also the subject under discussion between Alina and Rodrigo. Rodrigo wants to know why his opinion matters so much to her. Alina still doesn’t want to talk about it. She tells him to have patience until all these complications work themselves out. Rodrigo sighs and agrees to let it go, for now. She tells him to under no circumstances mention her. Rodrigo agrees to this and says before he speaks to Emilio, he’ll take her home.
Emilio and Angel are still wrangling over the Coral incident. Emilio wants to see Coral again to put things right but Angel talks him out of it. Out of respect for their old friendship he should do as she asks and leave her alone.
In a hotel room in Puebla, Hugo is counting money in a suitcase—his ill gotten gains from DL and Sleazy Lawyer in advance of his testimony. He’s gleeful over having squeezed DL for all this cash plus, having done it in such a way as to not have to have split the money with Alfonsina. After he counts the money, he locks the suitcase and puts it in a desk drawer.
Next, we see Alfonsina, who by the way looks clownish in her campesina outfit in the middle of a modern, urban city, accosting Sleazy Lawyer as he’s leaving the jail after the hearing. She asks him how DL is doing, if he will get out soon, etc. SL is in a big hurry and tries to give her the brush off. Finally she asks him if he knows where Hugo is staying. He gives her directions to his hotel.
Inside the jail, DL is with his babe psychologist, Dra. Loca. She gives him a sedative since he’s all upset with the morning’s revelations. He can’t believe that Soledad killed Max. He’s starting to remember all the times that Max ran Soledad down to him, winding him up, getting him angrier about her deceiving him. All the time, Max was just trying to get into Soledad’s pants. Dra. Loca unhelpfully suggests that maybe Max got the idea of trying to sleep with Soledad because he already knew she was an adulteress. Don Loco truthfully answers that Max had no firsthand knowledge of Soledad’s transgressions. “He only knew what I told him.” On top of that, Max had decided to manipulate him “by throwing wood into the fire.” Dopey Dra. Loca tells him that “just because Max was a liar, it doesn’t mean that Soledad didn’t cheat on you.” She confesses that at First, she thought that Soledad’s cheating had just been a figment of DL’s celotipia illness. BUT NOW she really believes Soledad is a cheatin’ hussy ‘cause she saw Soledad eating at a restaurant with Elias. “And when I confronted them, they didn’t want to answer me.” [Yeah, that about proves that they are lovers…like it proves you are an impartial professional.] DL seems startled by this news and starts walking around the room and mumbling to himself.

Meanwhile, back at Coral’s swanky pad, Alina has arrived and talks to Adela about all the circumstances surrounding Max’s death. Alina has faith in the law, that Solead will be released. Adela is a bit more worried. Alina relates her visit with her Mom in jail.
Back to Dra. Loca’s conversation with Don Loco. Loca actually accuses him of being in love with his wife, Soledad. DL answers that he no longer knows what he feels toward her. She was his wife for so many years. “The best years of my life” he adds. Suddenly she’s got tears running down her face. DL notices this and confronts her about her feelings for him. He gets all poetic about how life isn’t black and white, there are darknesses of the soul. He grabs her face and almost kisses her. Instead, he caresses her face. Blech!

In San Mateo, Gaspar is having his daily beating, I mean training, with the mighty morphin power rangers while Luba looks on frantically. When he’s done, she cries and tells him she has to go back to Sierra Escondida to protect the secret of the BOX.
At this exact moment, Vera, Jaime and Ifigenio and the official are in Luba’s cave looking for her. Ifigenio leans against a stone and it moves which freaks them all out and gets them thinking that the rocks might collapse and trap them inside. They leave. Ifigenio’s movement has slightly opened THE BOX’s hiding place and it glows like the embers in a fireplace with the witchy music playing.
Next, we move on to Veracruz where Mariana and her small entourage have arrived. They inquire as to the whereabouts of Alfonsina and Hugo but the little boy who has been left in charge, apparently says they are gone, to Puebla. He lets fly with the story about how Don Loco is in jail and Hugo has gone there at the request of DL’s lawyer to testify on his behalf. Mariana is impactada.
In Puebla, Soledad is still behind bars, talking to Elias. Elias explains to her what happened in court and how DL and his sleazy lawyer are trying to make hay out of Max’s death. Although Soledad should have been granted bail, it looks like the process has been slowed down and she will have to spend another night in jail. She is unhappy about that but she’s unhappier still about the prospect of having Emilio know that she killed Max. She recalls that accused him of raping Alina and she treated him very badly.
Meanwhile, the Valtierra family are eating dinner at home. Angel announces that his doctor says he is doing better. Just then, the doorbell rings. The SA jumps up to get it. It’s Rodrigo of course who tells everyone about Max’s death at the hands of Soledad. The SA clutches her heart. Everybody is impactado into the commercial, which features a transition with Max smoking a cigarillo and looking grim in a spooky lighting.

SA is weeping, the rest of them concentrate on calming her down. She cries that Soledad must pay for her crime.
Mariana is still impactada over the little boy’s [whose name is Tito] announcement that Alvaro is in jail. Malena for one is glad that he must pay for his crimes. Mariana knows that she has important information for this trial. She wants to go to Puebla.

SA is still blubbering. Rodrigo explains the whole self defense-rape thing. SA isn’t buying it. Emilio and Angel look pensive. Thelma drags the SA off.

Luba and Gaspar have a staring contest about whether she will go back to SE.
Angel and Emilio are still reeling from this news about Max. Angel says he’s sorry to say, but he knows that this isn’t the first time Max has done something like this. Even in the case of his illegitimate son. Emilio remarks that “the poor lady must be very upset.” In the background, Thelma slips in. Rodrigo mentions that Soledad is still in Jail. Angel says he’ll testify that his uncle was a bad guy who abused women. Emilio agrees that they will have to do what they can to help her. Rodrigo apologizes that the dinner party she is planning will have to be put off. Thelma agrees, no problem. Rodrigo starts to say that his friend is very excited about the prospect of the dinner party, but Thelma cuts him off so that he can’t mention that her name is Alina in front of Emilio. Rodrigo leaves. He’s quickly followed by Emilio who wants to go see Soledad. Thelma looks thoughtful. Max had a lot of her secrets. Now he’s dead. That’s not a bad thing in her world.

Back in the Jail, Don Loco is torturing himself with orange flashbacks of Max revving him up over Soledad’s supposed cheating. Why, he almost killed Soledad because of that jerk. Just then, Sleazy Lawyer walks up to his cell and brief him on Soledad’s case. She’s in the clear because there were witnesses present who saw him try to assault her. DL isn’t too sorry to see Max dead. He would have liked to kill him himself. The Sleazy Lawyer is bumming because Max was going to be a great witness. At least they still hold the Ace up their sleeve of Hugo, who apparently was quite happy with his “advance.” Don Loco rolls his eyes.

Speaking of Hugo, we are treated to a shot of him walking from his hotel room to the lobby where he requests the use of a safe to store his valuables. The manager takes him to the vault. Meanwhile, Alfonsina is stalking him, determined to get some of the money. She peers around the corner and thought bubbles that it will be hard to get her share but she’ll find a way.
Dra. Aida Loca and her creepy looking fiancé are sitting at a table in her apartment. She’s crying some more as she confesses that DL has detected that she’s sympathetic to him and she’s afraid he’s playing her. Mauricio helpfully points out that “that’s what happens when you lose your objectivity” and “you’ve gotten too involved.” Dra. Loca apologizes for not having listened to him before. He says it’s OK, he gets up and kisses her and tells her that he’ll always be there to support her.

Over at Rodrigo’s apartment, his daughter Gabby is doing some homework on her bed, with the Housekeeper sitting beside her. The housekeeper has a little chat with her about not being selfish and letting her Dad have a life. At first she resists the topic but the housekeeper explains that when she is older, she’ll be going out with friends, then getting married and having her own house and her dad will be aw awone. That wouldn’t be fair to him would it? He deserves to have a young hottie to keep him company.

Rodrigo is with Alina at the moment, relating to her that Emilio seemed to take the news of his Uncle’s death well and has actually volunteered to help Soledad. Alina seems buoyed by this news.

Emilio himself is walking down the corridor s of the Puebla jail to see Soledad. Soledad is contrite about Max’s death. Emilio said not to worry, his uncle was a dirty hypocrite. She then apologizes for misjudging his involvement with her daughter. Emilio says no worries there either. Soledad slips up and says that Alina explained it all to her anyway. Emilio is puzzled. How could Alina have explained it if she is dead?

Soledad will have to give a creative answer like, Alina came and told her in a dream or vision or something.

Labels: duelo