Caray, Caray!

On hearing that Grandpa got put in a home, Sofia says "then I'm leaving this house too." Gabriela complains that she's so much like Bernardo. "You're always against me, and you hurt me as if I were not your mother, as if I hadn't given birth to you." (Hmmm, a comment like that could re-fuel the babyswap debate.)

Sofi says she owes Gabi her life, but she's unfair. Gabi replies, "You renounce me? Well then I renounce you." (Wicked mature, Gabi!) She threatens that if Sofi leaves, she'd better not come back. "I dare you!" (Shouldn't she be swooning or having a fake stroke or something?)

As Gabi smugly ascends the stairs, Sofia coolly opens both doors and walks out, leaving the doors wide open. Gabi hears this and freezes halfway up the stairs. For once, that "I'm the boss of everyone" look on her face is gone. She goes to the doors and closes them. "From this moment on, you're dead to me!"

Sofia finds the brothers coming up the lane with their wheelbarrow. She begs Juan to take her away. He holds her and says they'll go far away where they can be happy, just the two of them. From a distance, evidently too far to hear, Oscar and Franco stare blankly.

The Uribe twits, who I don't hate so much any more, have taken Jimena and Sarita into town. They say they're looking for something to invest in. They're going to find out what kind of business would do well in the town, perhaps ask around in some place where lots of people gather. Jimena is eager to help and says she knows where. One of the brothers jokes that they're not taking her to church.

Their first stop: The sorry-looking Bad Love Bar. Sarita balks and wants to wait outside!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Eva asks Oscar and Franco if they saw where Juan took Sofia. All they know is that she was crying. Eva wrings her hands and hopes nothing bad happens. Oscar says Juan would give his life before letting something happen to her.

Juan and Sofia are now a little ways down the path and he's saying he can't go through with this because he respects her too much. He's worried about gossip and such. But he gets an idea - they'll go to Fr. Tadeo. Sofia likes this idea - he'll help them and advise them.

Sarita is still whining as Jimena drags her into the cantina; she's afraid their mother will punish her the way she punished Jimena. Jimena suggests that they not tell their mother about it. The look on Sarita's face is priceless as she glances around the rough-looking cantina.

One of the brothers (I'll remember which is which someday) asks the bartender if business is good. He gives a noncommittal answer and asks what they want. Jimena indicates that the mere sight of this stuff is nauseating her. Her date explains that she has a hangover. The bartender says there's nothing better for a hangover than a nice cold beer, so whichever twit orders four of them. Sarita crosses herself and protests, but they shove a bottle into her hand anyway.

Rosario and Ofelia cross through on their way out. The other bar patrons whistle and cheer. Rosario smiles graciously until she notices the Elizondo girls. Jimena starts toward her with a mean grin on her face; Sarita hauls her back and Ofelia nudges Rosario along as well. Sarita glares at Rosario's back and takes a huge, defiant gulp of her beer; it foams up and overflows. (The foaming was obviously unscripted, because even though Sarita pretends to cry, you can see her trying hard not to laugh.)

Now outside, Ofelia asks Rosario what happened just now - she's always been so friendly to the clients. Rosario tells her they're Fernando's sisters-in-law. She's got no problem with Sofia, but one of them - she's not sure which one - wants to take Franco away from her and he even serenaded her. Ofelia is speechless. Rosario wonders what they're doing there.

Juan, Sofia, and Juan's horse approach the church. (Drat, she should have taken Bernardo's horse.) She goes in alone.

Now the Elizondo sisters and Uribe brothers are outside the cantina. Evidently, they were able to get the bartender to talk, because one of the brothers says that the bartender told him that this is the ONLY fun spot in town, and it has only one entertainer, Rosario. Sarita says she's a terrible singer. Jimena disagrees and says Sarita's jealous of her. Embarrassed, Sarita wants her to be quiet and threatens to tattle to mommy about you-know-what (her little meetings with Oscar).

Sofia is telling Fr. Tadeo that she's left home. He is impactado. She says she had no choice and confirms that it's for sure that her mother had Grandpa institutionalized. The padre says the ways of God are mysterious but effective. He muses, half to himself, that God put Grandpa in the asylum to get Sofia to leave the house so that she'd be... so that she'd be safe, he finishes nervously.

Sofia wants to know, safe from whom? He says they'll talk more about it some other time, but for now he'll get her into a convent and go see her mother.

A nun is wheeling Grandpa into the common room at the San Jose Home for Eccentric Grandpas, encouraging him to make friends with the other eccentric grandparents. She says she's Sor (Sister) Martita. Grandpa jokes that she's Zorra Tita ("Little fox/vixen"??) or possibly Sor Ratita (Sr. Mouse). (The captions say the latter, but it sounded more like "zorra" to me.) She laughs, as charmed by him as everyone else in the world is except for Crabi and Feonando.

He complains that he's bored; the place needs some music, wine, and girls. Some of the residents cheer approvingly. He says they're not old; they're just confused youngsters. And the nuns are too demure, that's why they don't know much about this stuff. "But we'll fix that," he promises. He doubts that he'll be staying here long, but he'll give the place some atmosphere. (Sr. Mouse and the eccentric grandparents all applaud happily.) He says they have to dance and play lots of music. "The third age has arrived!... and the fourth and the fifth... all ages!"

Quintina arrives with some bread, fresh from the oven. She says something about setting the oven on fire, I don't really get all of what she says. Grandpa goes through the bags, rejecting a cuerno, then finding a concha. He bites in and says it's not bad, but it could be better and he'll give her his recipe!

A nun welcomes Sofia to the convent. Since she's not one of the novices, she can come and go as she pleases, as long as she respects their rules. Sofia thanks her and the nun offers to share "what little we have." The padre says he'll talk to her at the church later, but he has to speak with Gabi first. Sofia asks him for a blessing.

Armando is at the hacienda with Feonando. He's humbly holding his hat in his lap like a polite little boy. Feo tells Gabi he took the liberty of inviting him to dinner. Gabi is charmed and says Feo's friends are always welcome there. Armando smarmily says he envies Feo, because not everyone is so lucky as to see such a lovely woman every day as Crabi. She beams.

Feo asks about Sofia. Crabi awkwardly tells him they'll talk about that later. She excuses herself. Armando gives Fernando a "mission accomplished" look. Feo just looks uncomfortable.

At the convent (which has a helpful sign out front that says "CONVENTO"), Sofi prays (for a long time) for protection and the strength to know what to do, because she just can't take any more.

Jimena, Sarita, Benito and Octavio are at home now. Feo introduces himself (his last name is Escandón, in case you were wondering... he doesn't mention his mother's name, HMMMMMM...). Octavio says he and Benito have lived around here since they were kids, but have never met him. Feo says he has had to work ever since he was small. Benito says there's no shame in that. Crabi cuts in and says Feo's family had problems and lost their fortune, but he's always been able to do well thanks to his strength and his business skills.

Octavio says he and his brother want to start a business in town, maybe something recreational. He asks the older men if they happen to know who owns the cantina. Feo gives Armando a dark looks; Armando gulps his tequila in a hurry.

Eva saves the moment by announcing dinner. Feo says he hasn't seen Sofia yet. Sarita says Grandpa is missing too. Jimena asks where he is. "We'll talk later," Crabi says. But Jimena wants to know now about Grandpa, and Feo wants to know now about Sofia, so Crabi drops the bomb: Sofia has left home.

Juan and his horse are galloping through a field when they encounter a little boy. "Is it you?" the boy asks. "What if I am? And who am I?" The boy says he looks like... he can't remember who at first, then asks if he's Juan Reyes. The boy says he's Pablito Perez. He's got a letter for Juan from a fancy lady at the convent. Juan is happy to get the letter and says that from now on, he and the boy will be great friends. He notes that the boy is skinny, and offers him bread from bakery any time he needs it. The boy also wants bread for his puppy Mariachi. (So named because he's "musica" except there's a pun there that I don't get.)

Juan reads the letter from Sofia. She says she feels calm and safe, and explains about the plans for Tadeo to see Gabi and speak with Sofia afterwards. She says the moment they've been waiting for has arrived; she's going to tell Tadeo about her love for Juan. She promises to follow Juan's example of bravery and honesty, and to defend their true love. She finishes, "I won't ask you to come with me to see the priest because I know you have your own matters to attend to, so tomorrow I'll send Pablito with another letter. Don't forget I love you. Sofia."

Juan asks his horse how they should reply. The horse has no suggestions, but Juan figures out that he can send a message back with Pablito. Brilliant! Woops - that was the horse's suggestion after all. Juan thanks Capricho ("Whim") for the idea.

At the hacienda, apparently Gabi has also explained that Grandpa is at the asylum. Father Tadeo arrives and tells Gabi, "I know everything. We have to talk." Feo immediately asks for Sofia. Tadeo says the only person he's going to talk to is Gabi. He ignores Feo's protests and leads Gabi to her study. The rest of the dinner guests look around awkwardly.

A moment later, Tadeo and Gabi are wrapping up their meeting. Nothing has been accomplished. Grandpa's not coming back, and Sofia can stay gone too. Tadeo angrily disapproves, calls her terrible and prideful, and accuses her of not protecting her family, but he can't force her, so he says he'll let her think about it. (Oh, I forgot, he can't tell her what he knows about the rape, dammit!) But he'll come back in the morning to talk some more. She kisses his hand. He looks as though he wants to scrub it with hot bleach.

Naturally, the first thing Feo asks Gabi is where Sofia is. She tells him about the convent.

The Robles-Reyes brothers are eating their dinner. Oscar and Franco want to know what's going on with Juan; they thought it was strange he didn't come back to the hacienda to work. Juan says he was making sure Sofia was okay.

He thinks about it for a second and decides to go to the convent so that he can see Fr. Tadeo with Sofia. Privately, Juan and Oscar agree that they don't like what Juan's doing. They're all going to have problems.

Feo is already badgering Sofia at the convent. She says she's not going back to the house unless Grandpa can come back too. Feo says that's not up to him, and besides, she's his wife and should be at his side. She says she's his spouse in name only and nothing more. "Don't make me lose my patience, because I could..." he threatens. She invites him to elaborate. He doesn't, but he does promise that she'll regret this. She says the only thing she regrets is having married him!

She tells him to leave and says she's going to the church to see Fr. Tadeo. He casually agrees to this, but says he'll be back later. He even apologizes for getting excited. As he leaves, he turns to give her a creepy look. He mentally gloats that she'll pay on this very night. Just in case we forgot, a rattlesnake sound effect reminds us that he's Snake Man.

Sofia wanders alone down a wooded lane to the church. A thunderstorm is starting. "Someone" is following her in an SUV. It swerves around, blocking her path. Two masked men with no hats grab her. She calls for help and flashes back to the rape, when "someone" put a drugged cloth over her nose and mouth to knock her out, and later she saw the snake tattoo.

It's pouring rain now. She's struggling with the two hatless men. A third masked person gets out of the car. He's wearing a sombrero, which he steadies with his left hand and punches her with his right hand. A fourth man is wearing a black cowboy hat and a green bandanna over his face.

Juan shows up on his horse and starts whipping people with his riding crop. He gets off his horse, and there's some mud-wrestling in which the bad guys conveniently attack him one at a time. Someone has a knife, but it doesn't present a problem. The sombrero person doesn't participate and only watches.

Sombrero Dude shoots Juan, and now I can see that he's probably Feo, not that this is a surprise. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to recognize him or not, and it seems odd that he'd even wear a disguise, since there's no mystery as to who's behind this attack. Interestingly, though Sombrero Dude punches with his right hand, he shoots with his left. A clue? Probably not.

Juan falls into the lake. Sofia runs to the edge to see. Sombrero Dude comes up behind her and knocks her into the lake too. He watches them struggle in the water and tells his men it's time to leave - there's nothing else to do. He takes off the bandanna and now I'm not 100% sure that he's Feo. He looked more like Feo when most of his face was covered up! Sorry, can anyone else tell? The guys all get in the truck.

Juan sees Sofi struggling in the water and drags her to the shore. It's still raining and thundering. He gives her some mouth-to-mouth, but she doesn't respond.

Fr. Tadeo wonders why Sofia hasn't arrived for their meeting yet, and prays for her safety. Juan's next breath revives Sofia. He mutters mushy things to her. His sleeve is soaked in blood.

Feo goes back to the hacienda in his regular clothes, dark brown or black cowboy hat, tan coat, all soaked. He tells Gabi he couldn't get Sofia to come back. Gabi whines what a shame it is that Sofia can't see that he's the man who loves her the most. Someday she'll be sorry she didn't love him. He agrees! He excuses himself, saying he doesn't feel well.

Quintina is scolding Oscar and Franco for letting Juan go out in the storm. Oscar suggests that they go find him, but she says Juan's big enough to go out by himself. Franco agrees and thinks they should stay home and have some coffee. Oscar suggests tequila and asks Q if she knows how to play "Liar." She says something about dice. (For some reason I always have trouble understanding her.) She says something about still owing them for burning their oven.

Juan carries Sofi into the barn, or whatever it is, that has lots of hay but no horses. He gathers up some straw and holds her for a while. She is shivering and not looking well. He builds a small fire using lamp oil and some other stuff he scavenges from around the room.

Back at the Reyes home, Oscar daydreams about Jimena's pleas for help when she was locked in her room. Quintina whistles to bring him back to reality - it's his turn to roll the dice. He says he's gotta go rescue his princess - she's locked up! Quintina reminds him that it's raining. ("Raining! Llueve!") Oscar says he's not going to let a little rain stop him.

Q tells Franco she's not being nosy or anything, but in her opinion Oscar's on a lover's errand. He agrees. Q rolls the dice and wins again. "I thought you didn't know how to play, Quintina!" She tells him it's just beginners' luck. She recites some rhyme about games and laughter being her Mass, and lunch and dinner being her novenas (special nine-day prayer campaigns). He says it's a good thing they weren't betting, or he'd lose his shorts. (No thank you!!)

Quintina likes this idea and thinks they should make a friendly wager. If she wins, he takes off his shirt and sings her all the songs she asks. She begins singing, and he whistles. She says he sounds like Pedro Infante. He sings for her. She is enchanted.

Sarita writes a letter to Franco. She says the pain of not having his love is worse than the storm that's whipping at the hacienda. The intensity of his memory is stronger than the lightning. She feels foolish for trying to make him jealous by flirting with Benito. She wanted to make Franco angry and scream that he loves her the way she loves him.

Sofia is still shivering like crazy, and now coughing too. He tries to cover her up with a bunch of small blankets. He starts removing her wet clothes.

Quintina has become gloomy. Franco tries to cheer her up and asks if she doesn't like his singing. She says he sings like an angel, but love songs bum her out because she's never been lucky at love. That's why she's lucky at games. ("Unlucky at love, lucky at cards.") Then she laughs and says it's not the end of the world. In bad times, you put on a good face. She downs a shot of tequila. He says it's never too late; maybe someone will steal her heart. ("Saltar" is really hard to translate; what he says is closer to "knock your heart's socks off." Sounds much better in Spanish, sí?) Never lose hope!

Now he's going to the cantina to see Rosario. Q tells him you only get one life, so take it easy. He leaves and she tells to a large decorative rooster that the Reyes are good roosters and they sing better than regular roosters, or somesuch.

Oscar rides up to the hacienda, ties his horse to a flimsy-looking shrub, takes a deep breath, and approaches.

At the cantina, Rosario sings Ave Maria. Kidding! It's the bonbon song! There's a drunk guy that Armando has to push away from the stage.

Rosario notices Franco. He gives her his usual horny smirk. Another guy hands Rosario a drink. She takes a sip. Franco scowls at this. She sees him scowling and gives him a dirty look.

Oscar is in Jimena's room. Gabi had locked the balcony door, but Oscar has a magic key that opens all doors. He presses his ear to her chest, to make sure she is in excellent health. Ah, kissing.

Fernando looks at a piece of paper (I don't know what this is), gloats that he warned her, and warmly remembers the night he raped her and she begged for mercy. He smirks at the memory, "you were mine, and nobody else's."

Rodrigo has his shirt off, Sofia is wrapped in dry blankets and still shivering and coughing. (It occurs to me just now that this could actually be the very same building where she was raped.) Juan snuggles up to her. He kisses her face all over and rubs her bare shoulders. I guess this restores her health. She becomes lucid and asks what happened. He says he felt her cry and came for her.

She's not at all upset to have him on top of her. He's grateful that she has recovered. They start doing some serious kissing, but his gunshot wound (which seems to have only grazed his arm? otherwise I don't think he'd be able to use it) hurts. She kisses it - a sophisticated medical treatment not covered by most insurance plans. He says it doesn't hurt any more, so she kisses it some more.

He asks if she loves/wants him. Oh Juan, what a question. She gives him an intense look and kisses him again, and again, and again.

They still have their blankets on, but there's definitely a haystack inspection, and they definitely find the needle.

Next time:
The machine didn't get this, but all I remember is seeing Feonando looking mad. That doesn't give us much to work with.

Labels: Fuego