Caray, Caray!

Hey folks, this recap is less than half as long as I usually do, though I think I got all the good stuff. I've got nerve problems in both hands - apparently have had for a while, but they creep up on you so it takes a while to realize that things aren't supposed to be weak, sore, and numb.

I've ordered some voice software, but even if it works well I'm going to try to keep my recaps shorter - no more super-late nights. Please feel free to fill in anything I missed!

This wasn't a completely depressing episode... at least not if you watched Querida Enemiga first.

The girls try on their wedding dresses with no enthusiasm. Gabi affirms that they will be married in a week and Feo will be at the hacienda forever. Joy.

Armando, his hair, and his henchmen show up wanting to shoot Juan. "No, please!" cries Juan's miniature, pregnant bodyguard. Feonando, of all people, shows up to save the day, slugging Armando when he doesn't lower his gun quickly enough. (Armando loses his hat, but this time his hair stays on.) Juan finds the timing of Feonando's arrival suspicious. Feo says Juan owes him his life, regardless. Juan says in that case kill me because I don't want to owe you anything. (Sofía is still trying to hold Juan back.)

Feo catches up with Armando and scolds him for threatening Juan in public. Not interested that Juan tried to strangle Armando, he's more concerned that Mapache may have said something to Nabor before dying. He throws his cigar butt on the ground (so now he's a litterbug too).

Juan's still grumbling that Feo saved his life. Sofía tells him to relax. His wounds are healing amazingly well.

Feo is mumbling to himself about getting closer to Sofía by saving Juan when he encounters yet another gangster roadblock. This time Coyote & his pack aren't fooling around. Feo is whisked away, his own truck abandoned on the road with its door still open.

Franco grumbles to Oscar about Gabi. He'd like to tell her off. Oscar tells Franco of his and J's plans for him to run the hacienda. Franco, being the intellectual one, finds this improbable.

Eugenia, who has made enough money in tips to get a really powerful pushup bra, is impactada to see that Benito has discovered where she works. It saddens him that she calls him "usted," but she says he broke her heart and made a fool of her. She still loves him, but his family won't accept her.

Rigo shows up with a rose. He takes one look at Eugenia and Benito, and decides to throw in the towel for good.

Armando tells a minion they need to make it clear to Nabor that if he doesn't keep his mouth shut, they'll shut it for him permanently. After they leave, the bartenders worry that Armando will find out that they turned Mapache in. One of them wants to turn in Armando, but the other is afraid to awaken more suspicions. He wants to wait.

Bobby serenades Rosario with roses. She is charmed.

Hilario is yelling at Hortensia for meddling... what if the school investigates? Rigo shows up looking depressed. "Eugenia doesn't love me, so I set her free." Group hug.

Juan is giving Pablito some clothes from the Trunk of Robles-Reyes Past, including hand-me-downs from his childhood. Pablito thanks his "Papa" and proudly shows them off to his "Mama." (Juan puts the blanket over the trunk before Sofía can see the big "FR" on the front.) "Wow, you'll be a total cowboy," Sofía says. "And I'll be a total Reyes," Pablito says. Quintina says if they're Reyes (Kings) then she is their Reina (Queen). Kissing fit.

Bask in the warmth of this moment while you can.

Armando's minion is at the jail, telling Nabor he has a "message." The minion sneaks out unseen while the padre is telling the comisario that a lot of innocent people are in danger. The comisario agrees to talk to Nabor.

Nabor says Mapache never said anything. He tells Tadeo he was confused. "I never mentioned the name of Feonando Escandón, never."

Somewhere in the Boss's lair, Feonando is getting worked over by four men. The Coyote tells him that if he doesn't pay up by the weekend, he'll be dead.

Feonando drags his sorry butt back to the cantina and shares his news with Armando and friends. They've got to find a way to get that money from Crabi. The bartenders are there but I'm not sure how much they hear.

Crabi is listening to the scary choir music. She picks up her Bible, perhaps planning to write in her name wherever "God" or "He" appears. She kisses her rosary. Then Feo just sort of pops up behind her and kisses her. She acts irritated for about six seconds. Then the Bible slips out of her hands and she throws the rosary on the floor.

The scene is cut funny, so there's probably a less wholesome version online. Ah yes, here. The fun starts four minutes in and lasts less than two minutes, but I assure you that these two are very thorough. (To cleanse your eyes afterwards, try this or this.)

The brothers commiserate about being in love with the sisters and hating the mother and feeling like they're betraying Libia. Oscar gets mysterious about something that will happen in a few days. Juan is frustrated that Oscar won't tell. (In telenovelas, it's bad luck to tell people about your plans. Unfortunately, it's also bad luck not to tell. Or to be in a telenovela at all.)

Gabriela wakes up smiling. Feo is gone, but there's a rose on the pillow. (She deserves a horse's head.) I guess the rose is there to let us know that it wasn't a dream - weird that she didn't notice his bruises though. She seems to pop from one side of the bed to the other. Whatever. She flashes back to an intense moment and takes off her old wedding band. She's all "Don Feonando, tan divino!"

Jimena and Oscar meet by the old stone wall. They're all ready to get married. Civil ceremony right away, then a church wedding. Jime says Mom will be mad at first, but then she'll forgive them. (Hahahaha) Despite the fact that she knows Feo will never leave, Jime still thinks Mom will let him run the hacienda!

She goes back to the room to play with her gown. She doesn't hate it so much now!

Oscar tells himself in a lizard-rimmed mirror that soon he'll be working at the hacienda. He won't like working for Gabriela. Juan and Franco won't like it either. Neither will Oscar. Hmmmm...

Tadeo is hearing confessions. Something rattlely slithers up to the open-air confessional. Feo wants to talk about Nabor. Tadeo realizes that Nabor was warned not to talk. Tadeo doesn't want to hear Feo's "confession," but he's stuck. Feo tells the padre he caused the accident that killed Bernardo.

Maracuya sets a plush trap for Oscar in her dressing room/tiki hut. Candles, rose petals, champagne and tequila... Oscar shows up, not sure why she asked for him. Sucker! Tonight's her last show and she wants him to give her a proper goodbye. He tries to beg off, but she offers him tequila and says she wants him to be happy with his girlfriend. He'll drink to that! She flatters him, gives him another drink, assures him that it's okay... but doesn't let him go. She offers a third drink - she promises it will be the last.

Time passes. It's getting late. He wants to go, but he's hosed. He can barely walk. She chucks her glass, positions him on the chaise, takes off her robe, and starts unbuttoning his shirt. He tries to talk her out of it - "I love Jimena, I can't betray her" - but she's too big and strong for him.

Pablito is trying on a fancy little outfit when the real outside world makes a rare and rude intrusion in our nutty magical village. The school superintendent arrives with a social worker. Juan, Sofía, and Quintina resist, Pablito cries like crazy, and the dog even barks in protest, but the law is not on their side. Sofía says they have to give him up. Juan tells him it will just be for a few days and he'll be home soon. Pablito feels betrayed, "you told me I'd never be separated from you." Sofía tries to tell Pablito the same thing, and Quintina too, but he doesn't believe any of them. He says they failed him and lied to him.

The real-world people take the boy away. The grownups all cry.

Maracuya is getting dressed and giggling. Octavio sticks his nose in, sees Oscar passed out naked on the chaise, and pulls his nose out pronto. Oscar wakes up and is horrified when he realizes what happened. She tries to cheer him up, "nothing bad happened," but he disagrees. She tells him not to tell anyone. He says he'll lose Jimena forever if he tells her, but he can't deceive her. He storms out with his spurs and hat in hand. Maracuya is very pleased with herself.

Tadeo is still hearing Feo's confession. "Truly, it wasn't my fault," he says of Bernardo's death. They had been arguing. Feo knew Bern had a lover.

"You knew that?" Tadeo asks... I think he just put together the puzzle of Libia's death. But maybe not.

Feo says that Bernardo said he was going to tell the family about Libia himself. Feo tried to stop him, the horse got nervous and bucked, and Bernardo fell and hit his head on a rock, dying instantly. (Head-throbbing flashback.) Feo giggles as he tells Tadeo how he framed Nabor. Tadeo crosses himself and says that you come to confession to repent. Feo says no, he did it for his own amusement and also to let Tadeo know what happens to people who get in his way.

Tadeo says if Feo's not sorry, he can't be absolved or take Communion. "Really? Look how mortified I am," Feo replies, not looking very mortified. "All I can do is pray for your soul," the padre answers. He says the evil in Feo is even deeper-rooted than he had feared. If he doesn't repent, he won't be saved. He'll be condemned.

Feo simply tells the padre that he can't tell anyone what he said. (I'm not sure if this is true. It's not a confession if you say you're not sorry, that you're just amusing yourself and making threats.) If Tadeo keeps meddling, Feo will be tempted to get rid of him. "I'm not afraid of you," Tadeo says. "Jesus is with me, and together we'll defeat you."

Rigo, praying nearby, notices the intense conversation and asks the padre if he needs help. Feo squeezes the padre's hand, wrapped around the fat bars of the confessional, and kisses it. "May God be with you."

Next time:
Dr. Gomes (the crooked doctor) tells Gabi that she has an arrhythmia that wasn't there before. Should Gabi believe him, or did Feo pay for the diagnosis?

Oscar tells Jimena what happened with Maracuya. That's when the Tumbao premieres an impromptu attraction - mudless mud-wrestling.

Feo acts like a jerk.

Labels: Fuego