Caray, Caray!

Thank you for your patience, readers. Not only was I busy today, but I have been robbed of one hour by the start of Daylight Savings Time. Our friend 5ft avoids this by living in Arizona, right?

Anyway, on with the show. This is the best episode yet of this novela, I think. There were so many touching revelations and not really anything to mock. Even Rorgan was less stupid than usual . . . but that's not saying much. I nominate Braulio for best performance by a supporting actor, with Mili, Connie and Regina holding their own.

We start with a reprise of Thursday's end. Mili and Alex discuss Andrea's "pregnancy." Alex wants to stick with Mili, but she is having none of it--if he's going to have a baby, he must not make the mistake of her father and leave her alone to hate her missing pop. He must forget her. She cries. I could only think that she is a wonderufl actress for 15, as it didn't seem melodramatic but really sad.

Meanwhile, Horacio is looking for Mili to tell her the good news.

Mili is crying in the dorm, and Alex comes in. They kiss, and he tells her that he knows she really wants him. They will find a way. But she reminds him that a child needs parents, and his place is with Andrea.

Braulio is in Luci's room. She needs a more efficient gardener--or Horacio needs help. Braulio will look into it.

Stupid comic relief for the day: Horacio can't figure out how to break the news to Mili. Rorgan suggests that he first tell her that he has a bad disease. Then when he tells the real news, she'll be relieved. Even Horacio the dim bulb has the sense to know this is a bad idea.

Another one of those tense family dinner table scenes. Connie asks Alex when the wedding will be, and Andrea answers that they don't know yet. Connie wants to know why Alex can't be a man and answer for himslef and says: You idiot, stop being a kid and put on some pants. Regina says he shouldn't talk that way in front of strangers, referring to Sergio. No, pipes up our gal Val--he's my boyfriend! Sergio stands up and says he wants to says something. Val says that maybe this is not the right time, but no, he forges ahead. He has never felt this way, etc. -- Sr. Belmonte, I want your daughter's hand in marriage. Connie says it is an honor.

Luciana offers congratulations, but Alex asks if she's sure she wants to rush into this. Val says, Alex don't start.

Now someone asks how the house in Cuernavaca is. Karla, standing by with a pitcher of water, and forgetting that servants aren't supposed to interrup the conversation, says "oh it's beautiful." Uh-oh. Que the heck, they all wonder. She says, Oh yes, I imagine it's beautiful. Connie says that he and Damien just concluded a wonderful deal there.

Hugo congratulates his cousin on her engagement. Now Luciana pipes up that Alex should make sure that Andrea has a pregnancy test and a paternity test too (although I imagine the latter would have to wait till after the baby is born). Finally someone has some sense!

However, Val is shocked that Luciana is insinuating something so bad about her good pal Andrea. Connie asks if she's drinking again, and Luciana says she knows from experience. Regina says don't bring up the past like this. Alex actually agrees with his mother, however.
Alex says that after they have tests, he will set a wedding date. Connie smirks.

Rocky, testing the waters for Horacio, asks Mili what she would do if her father showed up. She says she'd hit him in the head. Oh well.

Sergio makes out with Val in the living room. Rorgan watches creepily from behind a pillar. He says that Sergio is sucking Val's soul out.

Now over at the orphanage, the nuns tell Gloria that it's time for her to leave. She is upset, but then they tell her that they got her a position at the Belmontes'. She is thrilled.

Horacio has sneaked into the house to talk to Mili. Caught by Braulio--go back to work he is told before he can make his big announcement.

Alex corners Mili now. She is still not changing her mind. She says that her "jefe" (using the word for boss to mean father, apparently) abandoned her. Alex can't do the same. Do you want your child to hate you the way I hate my father? she asks rhetorically and flees.

Luciana and Val are planning the wedding out in the garden. Morgan is again eavesdropping and pops in. Luciana trips and falls. She vows to speak to Braulio about disciplining the servants. Rorgan should just be locked up with Frenchy, as far as I'm concerned.

Rorgan rushes into the kitchen, where he finds Mili huddled on the floor crying. He tells her not to worry--she's not really abandoned, she has a papa. HUH?

The padre now introduces Gloria to Braulio, who is not surprisingly dubious, but he agrees to give her a probationary period. Revealing that she will henceforth function as the Gomer Pyle of this show, she says: Shazam, Braulio--your eyes aren't really so "apipisca" as Mili says. This seems to be an insult, but I don't know what it means--maybe cross-eyed, or beady eyed? I can't find a translation. Braulio sighs with the weight of the job ahead of him.

Mili now has a wonderful conversation with Regina. She kneels in front of her, so they are eye to eye. She asks Regina if she remembers when they discussed Romeo and Juliet. She is afraid of losing her love. I was a little confused by some of this, and I don't have time to rewatch it, but Regina says that sometimes love cools down with the little daily things of life anyway. She tells Mili that little by little she will forget. Here, Regina seems to be remembering something sad in her own life--more than just the loss of her grandchild. We had noted a few episodes ago that Regina had alluded to some love problem of her own, so this may be another reference.

Mili feels she is dying of love, like Romeo and Juliet--and her own mother. Is life worth living? She wants to do something great to make it worth the pain of living. Grandma gives her a motive. She asks Regina never to leave her, and Regina promises not to.

More silliness between Rocky and Horacio.

Connie is now having a revealing confession with the Padre. First the Padre wants to know what to do with the medallion--surely they'll have to give it back to Mili eventually. Connie wants everything kept secret for now because of the election. Padre confesses how he's worried about keeping Alex and Mili apart. Connie now reveals there's no improper relationship to worry about, because they're not really brother and sister--Alex is not his son! He rehashes the back story. Padre is impactado, but he is keeping the secret because of the sanctity of the confessional, and because Alex is going to marry Andrea anyway. Connie confesses that he feels like Rosario's killer. It is incredibly tragic.

Braulio now brings Gloria home to the mansion. In the kitchen, Mili is thrilled to find out her friend is moving in. Mili says, isn't it great that apipisca eyes gave you a job here! While the girls screech and high-five like two tweens who have just been handed free tickets to a Miley Cyrus concert, they don't notice that Braulio is rolling his apipisca eyes behind them. In fact, Braulio's performance here is brilliant--he just moved his eyes the slightest bit, yet conveyed volumes. He leaves them to their reunion while he takes the bags to the girls' dorm.

Mili introduces Gloria to Socorro. Soco says that any friend of Mili's is a friend of hers. Gloria says that any cook of Mili's is a cook of hers. Guffaws all around.

Mili tells all assembled that she has a new photo of her mom--first time she'd ever seen her! She goes to get it from her room. Meanwhile, Horacio hears this and doesn't understand, because he knows she's seen Roxana, so what gives, etc.

Meanwhile, Braulio is putting away the luggage and spies Mili's Bible and opens it to the photo: Rosario! Why does she have a picture of my sister, he wonders. Mili comes in and catches him. What are you doing with my things, with that photo of my mother? Your mother? Cut to commercial. Here comes another brilliant scene.

Back from commercial, Braulio attempts to compose himself, but he can barely hide his tears. Your mother? He holds the bunk bed for support.
Yes, says Mili--that's my "jefecita" (using that jefe expression again, this time in the feminine). Braulio asks her if she is sure. Yes, she says. She does not like him going through her things, and he may be the major domo, but he should not put his nose where it doesn't belong.

He says he is sorry, but the Bible was just there on the dresser and he's protecting it. She is dubious and says who'd steal a Bible? He says, yes, my sister . . . She says your sister stole a Bible? No he says, my sister had a Bible. Now he calms down a bit and asks her if he may ask one more question--has she had that photo a long time? No, she says, she just got it--but the first time she saw it, she knew it was her mother. Where is your mother, he asks. She tells him that her mother died at the convent when she was born. Braulio really seems not to know. Mili wishes she wouldn't have suffered, and Braulio cries. Rosario, he whispers. What? says Mili, obviously wondering how he knew her mother's name. Braulio says, er, I mean we should say a rosario (rosary) for her eternal soul. Mili leaves with the photo, and Braulio remains behind, clutching the Bible and whispering his sister's name.

Now I'm going to give short shrift to the Horacio story, because I can't stand that mistaken-identity plot line for one more minute. Horacio tells Mili he's her father, and Roxana is her mother, and she says no, my mother is dead, and then they realize that Lina is his daughter. Yay!

Over at the manicomio, the doctor is giving injections to Frenchy. The nurse says that if they knew more about him they could cure him. She tells the doctor that Mrs. Belmonte is involved? You mean those really rich Belmontes of Belmonte Industries? Sure 'nuff. The wheels are turning.

Horacio now has a happy reunion with Lina, but she insists still that she has no mother. She realizes her mother is "that girlfriend of Damien's." She will never get over being abandoned.
All the girls get together and are happy, however--Lina found her papa, and Gloria has a happy new home, and Mili has a picture of her mama. They all admire the picture and think that Mili looks just like her mother.

Braulio now goes to see Regina. He seems perturbed, and Regina can tell. He asks if she remembers that she thought Mili reminded her of Rosario--yes, she says--sometimes they seems surprisingly alike. Why is he asking? He has no answer. Regina is not fooled--she knows something is up.

In our last scene, over at the office, the doctor arrives and asks Andrea if he can see Connie: He has something very important to tell him about his mother . . .

Labels: guapos