Caray, Caray!

"I've told you many times," they often say. WE KNOW. So, gentle readers, if you want "detail," ie all the repetitions, just read the recap three or four times.

Watching the meet-the-future-husbands lunch party, Oscar longs to break the knuckles of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. He fears losing Ximena's fine dowry (including his future title, Lordship of the Manor). Juan (in a very good humor after his dreamy chat with Sofia) and Franco (in a very good humor after his nekkid swim with Rosario) tease him. Juan: "Are you really in love with Ximena? Let's make a comparison: in this hand, a bag full of gold and diamonds. In the other (indicating curvaceous babe) Ximena. Which do you choose?" "Well, both!" Franco reminds Juan that Sofia's married to Furd, Juan points out Furd is on a business trip, Franco wonders how that can be since Furd never works. Oscar says Furd's work is to lick his mother-in-law's boots. "I wonder what he did before he married Sofia." Oscar will periodically be mocked through the episode for losing his chance to jump on the Elizondo gravy train.

They wonder about how "Cristina" or "Quintana" (the subtitles call her both) is doing back at the bakery. Long story short, this is how: she squirts a lot of lighter fluid into the oven, drops in a match, there's an explosion and a big fire, but since happy music is playing you know this is just comic relief and her sister Hortensia and family put it out. Quintana's face is all blackened by the blast, isn't that funny? Hah hah. "You don't even know how to turn on an oven, no wonder you never married." "Well, you've lit a lot of ovens but no man ever stayed at your side." Hortensia's recent guy Tobias has split, but her son Rigo has returned (he hugs her).

Through the telescope Gramps sees the "Beatas Mojigatas" (excessively devout prudes) arriving for the party: Maria and Maria, friends of Gabriela's who have made new clothes for all the saint-statues at church. Gramps dresses as the devil and flirts with the wet-cat Marias and generally irks his daughter Gabriela mercilessly. Sofia reminds him of Gab's "delicate health," he says "don't be deceived by appearances, she's lying, and she's trying to get rid of me, she'll send me to the asylum."

Father Bouffy suggests they go see the new cabana and greet the bricklayers. Gabriela is shocked that he knows them. He says everybody is part of his flock. He reminds her that Juan won a lot of money for the church during the fair.

Jimena and Sarita flirt with the Tweedles intentionally, watching the Reyes Bros. crack their knuckles in anguish...

Sofia tells the Padre she is so much calmer when Furd is gone. She (again) says she's worried her ma is marrying off the sisters without love. Gabriela butts in: "Padre, I hope you're reminding her that marriage is sacred and cannot be dissolved... one must please one's mate and provide children." Father Bouffy says there are exceptions, times when the bond should be dissolved. "Never! Take me, I always put the commandments before my best interests, of course I'm human and I failed at times -- but very few times, so why did tragedy befall me? I was the best of wives to Bernardo (Gramps coughs skeptically) and he betrayed me but I pray for him every night, now that's the comportment of a good wife."

All go off to ogle the bricklayers, uh, to inspect the cabana - Gabriela dallies a bit to knock back a bit more booze. The Marias (drunk) drool over the Reyes Bros. The Padre suggests he'd like to see the Reyes Bros. in church.

Gabriela (drunk) arrives and barks, "Put your shirts on." "We're workers, this is how we work, clothes get in our way." Oscar still has his shirt on, Ximena (drunk) chants that he should take it off and he's doing so when odd editing has the scene come to an abrupt end.

Rosario at the Bad Love Bar: again praying, wondering where her son is. Furd's goons tell her they know but can't tell - unless she puts out... she throws them out of her dressing room and heads for church.

Eva stands up for Sofia, Gab barks: "Shut up, you know nothing of being a mother, you're a bad mother!" Eva runs out and runs into the Padre, saying she can't take any more, he says he'll talk to her in church later.

The Tweedles, observing that Ximena is passed out on her bed, say goodbye thanks for the party. Gabriela oozes a goodbye, Sofia asks how she feels. "How you want expect me to feel if the arguments don't stop!?"

The Tweedles have made it to their car, nervously eyeing the Reyes' approach. Oscar, choking a Tweedle, queries: "Which of you is going to marry Ximena?" "We don't have to talk to guys of your class. Neither of us is marrying her." "Well, which of you does Gabriela plan to have marry Ximena?" The boys seem very surprised that Gabriela has any such designs.

Juan says: "Sofia, get your stuff and we'll leave." "No, I can't leave my mom when she needs me most, I'd be unhappy for the rest of my life. "OK, but know you'll always be protected at my side."

In church, Rosario is praying aloud as Eva eavesdrops: "Holy mother, I made lots of mistakes, I'm desperate, but I'm not a bad person, I have nobody but you, AS YOU KNOW I never knew my own mother, she abandoned me when I was little..." Eva approaches, muy impactada ... she'd like to reveal ... but Rosario leaves. "Could she be mine?"

Nice horse-riding scene! Franco and Juan gallup up, meeting Oscar, who's on foot, now somehow he got ahead of them without having either a horse or a truck. ¿Como asi? All three strip and jump into the water, having first guessed that Franco is smirking cause he went swimming nekkid with Rosario in this very spot. All their nekkid bums are artfully blurred by digital magic. Sarita, after dreaming about Franco vs. a Tweedle, gets on her horse and rides directly to this very place; she hides behind a stone and watches the guys playing in the water.

Ximena wakes up, still drunk, sings in her room, Gabriela locks her in and then goes to have a repeat conversation with her dad (who is writing about how the prudes were drooling over the bricklayers). You want to kill me, dad, like you killed ma, no I didn't do it yes you did, it's your fault, no it's your fault, you assassinated mother, no you did. Gabriela says we won't fight, soon I'll bring you a very disagreeable surprise to pay you back for everything. He cries.

Eva tells her sob story to the padre and says she thinks she's found her daughter -- when she's sure about it, he'll be the first to know. Meanwhile Rosario tells her dresser how oddly Eva was treating her in church, "She looked at me like a mother with her daughter!"

Knock on Gabriela's door - she swigs more wine and gets in bed. It's Sofia: "Do you feel better?" "I feel worse, your sister is drunk, my father fought with me, everybody wants to kill me, Ximena chanted ribald suggestions to the workers in front of the Tweedles, so just go away!"

The Tweedles wonder if Gab really wants them to marry the sisters. "You know this will never be!"

Sofia gets Gramps to promise good behavior towards Ma and asks what he thinks of the Tweedles. "As far as I'm concerned, they could go up in front of a firing squad, I like the bricklayers much better."

Father Bouffy finishes with Eva, then remembers Furd's confession of rape and worries that he hasn't gotten a response to his letter (to the higher-ups I guess) recommending the anullment of Sofia and Furd's marriage. "Furd has to leave the hacienda as soon as possible, Sofia is in grave danger."

And there he is, fresh back from his business trip - Furd! He snatches Sofia, she recoils in disgust. He points out to her: "You recoiled in disgust." She says it wasn't disgust, just surprise. He goes and tattles to Mommy: "Sofia recoiled in disgust." Mommy: "Don't worry, things are going to be going your way very soon."

Eva asks Gramps, "Are you sure? This is going to complicate our lives." "Go to the village and find out." Ooh a mystery!

The Reyes, post-skinny-dip, ask Oscar if he'd really marry Ximena. "Why not? And after the wedding Gabriela would pardon us and I'd be lord of the hacienda!" Juan says Sofia turned him down. He's having a hard time believing in Gab's illness. They wonder if Eva is guilty of Libia's death. "What if it was an accident, what if nobody is to blame, then what do we do?"

Juan: "It's time for you to know who we really are. We were rich folk, our parents had lots of money, but they lost it all, it was probably taken away from them wrongly, that's why they were killed."

Tomorrow: Juan says it's time for the boys to get back what's rightfully theirs, the Reyes Oaks Hacienda. Gabriela insists Sofia go back to sleeping with Furd. Rosario tells Furd if he hurts her son she will reveal all to the Elizondos.

Labels: Fuego