Wednesday, July 11, 2007

FS is on the lam, Esme tips off Diego about Mangle & Montero and the Ball must go on

Almudena demands to know who Esme is and what is she doing with the baby. Esme puts the baby back in the cradle, turns around and says, “Aunt, it is I, Esmeralda.” She pulls down her ridiculous bandanna mask. Almudena is impactada. This is a red-letter day for Almudena – not only does she have sex with her husband for the first time in at least 6 months, she finds out that Esme isn't dead after all.

SM asks Diego what's going on with Esme. If he believes she is alive in the mountains, why hasn't he gone to look for her? Diego says that he has to wait until Bernardo recovers from his wound and then there's the masquerade ball. He'll go look for Esme after that. [It's a good thing Esme doesn't need rescuing. She seems to be pretty low on Diego's priority list.] SM then tells Diego that he has serious money problems. He had debts in Spain and has come to America to get the money to pay them. Diego asks how he plans to do that and SM hems and haws and finally says that he wants Diego to loan the money to him.

At first Almudena can't believe that Esme is real but she finally realizes that her 'niñita' is alive. Both women shed tears.

Mangle tries to convince the two soldiers to snatch little Al from the de al Vega's hacienda. She tells them that Montero knows about this but can't order it himself. The soldiers are concerned about what will happen after they take the baby since the de la Vegas are a powerful family. “Not to worry,” says Mangle, “at the Masquerade Ball, all the de la Vegas will be arrested for treason.” The soldiers decline her request saying that they don't take orders from civilians – even those backed up by Commander Montero. Mangle doesn't give up. She appears to be about to exercise her feminine wiles on the soldiers.

MP and Dolores [this is second time I've noticed that the director has used a mirror to show one of the participants in a conversation.] rehash the good old days when FS was courting MP. Dolores asks what happened to the jolly prankster. MP says that it was ambition and vengeance. He corrupted his heart by killing so many Indians, including Regina and then he went crazy when MP shut herself up in the convent and didn't tell him why she wouldn't marry him.

In the prison, FS finds out that MP did not marry Alfonso and that Alfonso left town. “This changes everything,” he says.

Esme only tells Almudena that Montero kept her a prisoner for a long time and told everyone that she was dead. Almudena wants her to stay at the hacienda but Esme tells her that she has things to do. Al comes looking for Almudena and Esme begs her not to reveal that she is alive to anyone. Esme runs off. Al asks why it took so long for Almudena to come back. She spins a story about the baby waking up. Al says that seems upset about something but she hugs Al saying that she is the happiest woman on earth.

Montero is torturing Pizarro's confederate to find out who is behind the plot against him. The guy refuses to talk and Pizarro walks in. Montero asks where he has been and Pizarro tells him that he has been working on the security for the Masquerade Ball. Montero accepts this excuse and curses the ball as another of his growing problems. He rehashes for Pizarro what happened with Leroy and the attempt on his life. “Not to worry,” says Pizarro, “I'll make this guy talk.” Montero tells him to get on with it and leaves. The guy on the rack is looking hopefully at Pizarro.

DJ has woken up the Queen and insists that she leave LA as soon as possible. He describes a city falling into chaos and Montero is not able to keep things under control. The Queen says that if she leaves LA, the terrorists will win. Besides, conspiracies in a hick town like LA can't be as bad as those in Spain – isn't that right, Duke? DJ squirms but agrees. DJ reiterates that Montero has been unable to keep Zorro from getting access to the Queen and urges her not to put her life in danger for a whim. The Queen says that she'll sleep on it.

The gypsies discuss whether Laisha betrayed them on purpose. SK says that now that they have lost the element of surprise, only a few gypsies should be involved. SK agrees and says that they should take advantage of the cover of darkness and move towards the city.

Montero comes to see FS in his cell. He still believes that FS was behind the plot to kill him. FS doesn't know what he's talking about, of course. Montero hits FS a couple of times and tells him that one of this confederates is on the rack now. If he doesn't confess, it will be FS's turn. Olmos and Laisha witness this exchange.

SM tells Diego about how he got into debt. A few seconds of the scene were not broadcast but some of SM's problems came from being involved with the “Hermanos Cebollos” - the Onion brothers. Anyway, Diego refuses to lend Santiago money. He offers him a job on the hacienda but SM is insulted at the thought of being a 'farmer.' He says that he will find a way to return to Spain with the money he needs.

Esme returns to her house and tells Garcia that she went to the hacienda and recognized little Al as her baby. She is sure that Montero engineered the switch when Mangle's baby died to fool Diego. Esme says that Montero wants to take Diego's money and land but it won't be so easy. She is waiting [as are we all] for the Masquerade Ball. Many lives will change there, including hers.

Diego, Almudena and Dolores are all wandering the halls of the hacienda in the middle of the night but nobody is with the baby. Almudena is sure that the baby is well protected. She tells Diego that he doesn't know the blessing that the child is and what happiness he will bring. [Esme did not tell Almudena that the baby was hers. Has she guessed?] Diego says that the baby is what keeps him going.

Pizarro “accidentally” kills his confederate while torturing him. Montero is annoyed. After he leaves, Pizarro apologizes to the dead guy. He says that there will be other opportunities to kill Montero. [You should take care of it yourself, Pizarro and not send incompetent subordinates.]

The gypsies are traveling and for the 1000th time Renzo says that he is worried something will happen to NAC and he wishes she had stayed behind. Once again, she says that she married him for better or worse and they are a team. They will be able to enjoy their marriage after the Masquerade Ball.

Esme and Garcia are dining. She tells him that she had to tell Almudena that she was alive because her eyes were so sad. Garcia asks if she saw Diego. Esme says no. She didn't tell Almudena about her plan. She is waiting for the Masquerade Ball. There her life will begin or end.

Diego finds Esme's rose and note in his closet. The note says, “Do you know who your wife's lover is?” Bernardo comes in. Diego says that they need to find out who the WIB is and what she wants.

MP comes to see Montero and demands to see FS. Montero refuses and is insulting to MP. “Fine,” she says, “I'll go to the Queen.” Montero warns her to be careful about what she does or FS will pay the price. He makes a vague promise that she can see FS in the future.

The soldiers come to take FS to the torture chamber. Olmos is convinced that they are going to kill him. The soldiers put FS on the rack. He has a flashback to the mutual assertions of love between him and MP when she was about to marry him in San Diego. This memory apparently gives him superhuman strength because he overpowers the two guards. [It appears that FS's second conversion into a poor man of God hasn't taken any more than the first one did.] Somehow, FS gets himself out of the prison and hides in a cart.

The Queen refuses to cancel the Masquerade Ball. She has information that the plots going on have nothing to do with her. She tells DJ that he doesn't seem like the loyal servant he once was an if he doesn't shape up, she is going to take firm action against him.

FS escapes from the area where the prison is located in the cart. As he tries to leave the cart, the two soldiers driving it see him. They fight and one soldier appears to shoot FS as he hobbles away.

Al tells Dolores that Almudena was acting strangely last night when she came out of the baby's room. Almudena comes in radiant and Al is impactado. She says that she is a new woman. [Why doesn't Al attribute her happiness to his lovemaking?]

Garcia is concerned that someone will recognize Esme is she goes walking around town. She dismisses his fears. Montero has done such a good job in convincing everyone that she is dead that no one will recognize her. Esme says that she needs to out to get information on the security arrangements being made for the ball. So out she goes concealing her face with a fan. [Why doesn't she wear a veil both in town and as WIB? A woman in a veil is not as noticeable as a woman with a bandanna tied across her face.] Anyway, who should be striding across the square while Esme is out there but Diego.

FS is staggering around the woods. He seems to have lost the soldiers. He collapses by a tree when who should appear but Yumalai! She tells him that she is Regina's sister and she swore to avenge her death with blood but now she's here to help him. Out comes her miracle flask. She tells him that she is going to save him for the same reason that he forgave her tribe. She has completed her mission and now he has to complete his, which is to change his life and repair all the bad things he has done to people. Yumalai does some healing which appears to be painful and then Regina is there. FS asks for her forgiveness. The next thing we know, MP sees FS from her carriage.

Montero goes to see Mangle and asks where her father is. “You have him in prison,” she says and then realizes that he has escaped. She demands that Montero find FS or he can mess up their plans. Montero says that he will find FS. Montero wants to fool around. He is annoyed that Mangle has not been herself. They kiss and Diego walks into the room. Mangle and Montero are impactados and the credits roll.

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Comments:
“[It's a good thing Esme doesn't need rescuing. She seems to be pretty low on Diego's priority list.]”
Soooo right. Though I think he gets a pass for this one – Esme doesn’t seem to have him, or her SON, high on her priority list either…

“In the prison, FS finds out that MP did not marry Alfonso and that Alfonso left town. “This changes everything,” he says.”
No, no, a thousand times NO! I don’t mind him searching out MP, but as long as he was still on the Monk Fast Track, he could’ve been forgiven by Sara Kali and Esmeralda, which I really wanted for FS!

“The Queen says that if she leaves LA, the terrorists will win.”
ROTFL!!!!!!!

“Esme returns to her house and tells Garcia that she went to the hacienda and recognized little Al as her baby.”
This really gets my goat. After all of her talk of avenging her son’s death, she finds out he’s alive, and is content to leave him while she goes traipsing off. She seemed pretty nonchalant about leaving him. I thought her reunion would him would be much more emotional, but they only showed the tail end of the scene.

“She is waiting [as are we all] for the Masquerade Ball.”
I know!!!!!!!!! Hopefully it starts tonight (and I’m thinking it will probably last longer than a week of episodes). I’m SO tired of hearing characters talk about it, plan for it, look forward to it, worry about, and declare it the Most Important Moment of Their Lives.

“[Esme] dismisses his fears. Montero has done such a good job in convincing everyone that she is dead that no one will recognize her.”
I just keep looking at that sentence over and over. It boggles the mind that Esme actually thinks this.

One great thing about the ep – Diego walked in on Mangle and Montero – wooohooo! (of course, I would’ve loved for him to deduce it on his own, but…hey, at least he knows)

Wow – my comments look like a lot of snarking…but I’m really looking forward to seeing what FS does now that he’s been forgiven by the RegiPurnia/Yumalai twins, and MP has found him. Can’t wait to see Diego’s exchange with the discovered lovers. And Santiago now has the emotional push he needed to do something bad to his old friend and snatch Alejandrito. I got the sense that Santiago both 1) knew Diego wasn’t likely to give him a loan, but 2) held out hope that he’d give him a loan, so he wouldn’t “have to” go through with his little job for Mangle. He doesn’t seem to have the stomach for it. Really interesting emotional calculations on his part.

Thanks, Jean, for the great recap!
 

Jean, good observation about the mirrors. They've used the mirrors quite a bit in this novela. We first saw Sara Kalí's face in the mirror as she saw it herself after 20 years or so. (And we saw that her face had that phenomenally healthy robustness that Xenameralda inherited from here.) Selenia (please come back!) appeared to Mangle once in the mirror. Selenia had her own magic mirror she used with Olmos a couple of times. And I remember several shots of Mangle in the mirror and also one of Olmos seeing his handsome version in his own mirror once. Also, Olmos spent a lot of time raving excessively to himself in the mirror earlier.

Fernando has obviously reached the salvation stage. Or at least the threshold of the salvation stage. He'll probably have to sacrifice his life to make everything all right. Maybe he'll stop el Duque from murdering Sara Kalí.

I think we should give Xenameralda a break on her willingness to leave Baby Zorro at the hacienda while she seeks her VENGEANCE. Remember, both she and Baby Zorro are in the direct line for the Spanish crown. In fact, Xenameralda thinks her mother is dead, so she thinks she already is the rightful Queen of Spain. So she has dynastic duties to worry about, also for the sake of Baby Zorro to maybe one day become King. (He would reach majority just in time to lose most of his Empire, but that's another story.)

Plus, Xenameralda doesn't know about the potential weak link (Santiago) in General Alejandro's defenses. She most likely thinks the hacienda is the safest place for Baby Zorro.

I see Almudena is also willing to use her feminine wiles when the situation calls for it: she let Alejandro think he was the reason for her bubbly disposition.

I'm still a tad worried that the Queen is too good to be true. She may have her own dark secret plot going. But we haven't seen any real indication of that yet.

As long as the buildup for the masquerade ball has been, it may last for three or four episodes. But given how fast the Amazons trained Esmeralda to be Xenameralda the warrior princess, there may be some time-warps floating around colonial Los Angeles, too. So who knows?

Diego's expression when he caught Mangle and Montero together was great. It doesn't look like he feels "cuckolded". I'm sure he's relieved to have one more excuse to dump her.

Speaking of Mangle, I hope that poor soldato has better sense than to run a suicide mission to the hacienda on the assumption (or even reality) that she would sleep with him. What happened after Olmos did that is a good warning of what can happen to a guy with Mangle. Plus, sleeping with the military dictator's girlfriend is always kind of a risky bet.
 

Can someone refresh my memory regarding the relationship (not familial) between La Reina (Queen) and La Marquesa - good, bad ...? If it is good, why isn't she in el Pueblo de Los Angeles? She had a good information network, surely she know that La Reina is there.

Thanks ever so much for these recaps - my saving grace, as I am visiting in western Mass. and have no access to Telemundo broadcasts. I am looking forward to ALL of your comments and insights, blog readers.
Thanks again
 

At last, Diego has the gleam back in his eye! Did you notice his double eyebrow lift when he told Bernardo they had to find out about the WIB? I have really missed the old devilish Diego. The grumpy sad Diego was a big bore.

OK, I would like FS to become a good guy, but I thought his escape rocked. Go FS! Yes Bruce, he might very well die saving Sara Kali, that would be the usual telenovela exoneration.

And why oh why doesn't Esmy wear a veil? Is it in her contract that the actress has to show so much face time or what? This doesn't make sense to me. Add to that she's walking around with the only african american in old LA, like THAT'S not going to attract attention.

Wow, I loved the ending. I whooped when Diego strolled in looking like the cat who ate the canary.

I agree with Bruce, I'm still not convinced the queen is on the up and up.

Man oh man, I cannot wait for the masquerade ball. Did y'all catch Tobias in the wig in the advance?

Excellent recap Jean, with some classic comments from you.
 

If La Reina has evil intentions, atleast Sara Kali will be safe with Renzo at her side . . . no, wait . . .

Jean, as always, thanks for the funny recap.

Marie from Mass

P.S, Sylvia, yes, Toby looked quite fetching as a blonde in the previews. Maybe he can borrow Esme's magic "fan
of anonymity" to conceal his true identity at the ball.
 

Wow, am I ever grateful for this blog. I was watching the early part of Zorro while the DVR continued recording it. I usually start watching 20-25 minutes after the time it begins in order to skip through commercials. Suddenly my DVR and/or satellite hiccuped, had to reboot itself, and lost the Zorro recording. I was able to watch the last 5-10 minutes in "real time". I had no idea how Fernando got out of jail. Boy the foreshadowing was pretty intense when Diego refused to give Santiago (alias el vividor - a man who sponges off others) any money. Looks like the poor kid may end up with Mangle for at least a time. And it's going to be great when Diego confronts Mangle with her infidelity.
 

Jean, thanks for the great recap!

Wow, Dena has something to live for, finally. She’s going to have a hard time keeping still about Esme, though. She’s going to be bouncing around way too much for someone still in mourning.

The Queen is doing a great job of handling the Duke. He deserves all the anxiety she can heap on his head, the traitor.

“Diego, Almudena and Dolores are all wandering the halls of the hacienda in the middle of the night but nobody is with the baby.” What about the nanny with the knife? Is she still around?

Oh, it is fabulous that Diego found Mangle with Montero, but what if he thinks his baby is theirs? Or worse, what if they tell him it is?

“What happened after Olmos did that is a good warning of what can happen to a guy with Mangle. Plus, sleeping with the military dictator's girlfriend is always kind of a risky bet.” ROTFL, Bruce! Your comments were great.

The relationship between the Queen and the Marquesa was not stated to be familial, as I recall, but one of sovereign and noble, which would give the Marquesa access to the Queen unlike most people’s.

“And why oh why doesn't Esmy wear a veil? Is it in her contract that the actress has to show so much face time or what?” Sylvia, maybe it’s “eye” time and not face time. Her eyes show all the time. I agree that it bothered me that she’s running around with Camba. One of the sisters is going to recognize him before long, guaranteed.

“yes, Toby looked quite fetching as a blonde in the previews. Maybe he can borrow Esme's magic "fan of anonymity" to conceal his true identity at the ball.” ROTFL, Marie!

Jeanne
 

Great recap, as usual, Jean!

I have little doubt that baby A. will be stollen for a while.

The Marquesa is such a neat character, I hope she comes back. It seems like she would.

I'm going to record July 12th's episode for my husband because it looks like a free-for-all at the ball. He's in Guatemala brushing up on his Spanish. Maybe he'll return ready to do some recaps! (Nah.)

AliceC.
 

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