Sunday, September 21, 2008

Al Diablo Con Los Guapos Gran Final part 2: "Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it."

-W. Somerset Maugham

Hola Guapistas! Here we are at the final recap. Thanks to all my fellow recappers who shared their talents in this mix of translation and snark that is recapping. Thank you also to those faithful readers who stuck it out with us to this, the bitter end. Now settle in with your tequila or your hot chocolate, cause we've got a bumpy road ahead!

Karla lies in the hospital bed remembering talking to Hugo after sex that one time…okay, after one of the many times…about how she's really in love with him and doesn't care that he's using her for sex. Socorro walks in and Karla wants a hug. She cries about having her heart broken. Socorro says that Hugo really loves her and said he'd realized how she really is a nice girl. Socorro says she always knew it, but Karla always tried so hard to hide it. "Hugo just wanted to know if he could give you his heart." Socorro begs clemency for Hugo. She says she always prayed for a good man for Karla and she feels like her prayers have been answered.

Constancio gets wheeled in and Alejandro begs Dr. Aro, aka, the only Doctor in Mexico City, to save his daddy. Hugo and Horacio are in the same waiting room and Alejandro tells them what happened. Now everyone else comes over from the Rodeo. Alejandro explains to Hugo that Rigo was really trying to kill him. Valeria passes on the news that Rigo killed Florencia.

Break for PSA:
In the US, four women and eight children die each day as a result of domestic violence. Most domestic-violence related homicides, at least in the US, happen when the victim is in the process of leaving. We should not put the focus and the blame on the victim by asking "Why doesn't she/he leave?" What we should be asking is "Why does the abuser abuse?" The answer is power and control--it's not about anger management. Leaving is a dangerous business because it challenges the abuser's sense of power and control over the victim. The number for the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233. For more information about what constitutes domestic violence, go to http://www.ndvh.org/educate/what_is_dv.html. End of PSA

Karla tells Socorro that she needs to think about the Hugo situation, but really right now she wants to get out of there. Socorro tells her that the doctor wants her to stay overnight for observation. A nurse comes in with a wheelchair to take Karla to her room.

Hugo tells Mili and Alejandro that Karla's there also and that she lost the baby. Mili is surprised to hear that Hugo always knew where she was. Hugo fills Mili in on what's up with him and Karla. Mili looks either confused or constipated. He's all excited that Karla really fell in love with him, but sad that she rejected him. Mili gives Hugo a big hug while Alejandro looks on suspiciously. Dr. Aro comes out to tell them all that Constancio's going to live. Everybody's happy.

The next day Karla and Mili have a heart-to-heart. Karla says she used to hate Mili…did she, really? I never noticed…because she thought that Mili had everything and she had nothing. Karla appears to have decided not to give Hugo a chance mostly because she doesn't think he can ever love her the way he loved Mili. Um, you mean in that obsessive, controlling, potentially homicidal way that calls into question his use of the word "love"? I should certainly hope not! Karla doesn't want to feel like seconds. She tells Mili about Hugo's dress up games. She says Hugo will never forget Mili and she can't live with that. With Mau, however, she didn't have to fight to drive some other woman out of his heart--he was all hers. Mili has gone back to that confused/constipated look. Karla mourns the loss of her beloved Pandroso: "I never felt this before. I've never missed someone so much. I've never counted the hours to see someone again." Mili approaches cautiously, and gets up in Karla's face, as if she's trying to see if the tears are real. She hugs Karla and then says that Hugo told her that he was in love with Karla. Karla's surprised that Hugo said that to Mili. Mili says that he fell in love with her sincerely and feels bad about hurting her. "I've never seen so much love in his eyes as when he told me about everything he did to be with you." Karla looks a little more hopeful now. Hugo walks in.

Valeria and Rocky go to visit Constancio. Everybody makes up. Constancio even wants to hug Rocky. He tells them he quit politics because he loves and misses his family…and that's going to include Rocky. Constancio says he's going to show them that he's not the same guy he was. Constancio tells Rocky he wants him to be a prince because Valeria deserves no less. Rocky says he'll be a king.

Mili leaves Karla and Hugo alone. Hugo asks for forgiveness and says he should have done things differently. Karla says she started to feel things for him back when they were sneaking around. She didn't want to feel alone, but she felt alone every morning when she left his room. With Mau she felt loved and she thought she was getting the relationship she'd always dreamed of. Hugo says it was real, he is in love with her, and it's his fault that she fell in love with a disguise. He's sorry he threw it all away. He promises he'll never bother her again. Karla asks him not to leave quite so fast and to give her a kiss. It's one of those weepy desperate ones. She pushes him away and looks like she's going to cry some more, but then she says "hey, you really do love me!" Hugo jumps her on the hospital bed and they get to making up for lost time.

Alejandro and Constancio chat. Constancio jokes that "mala yerba nunca muere" ("bad grass never dies" in other words "I'm too much of a ratbastard for Satan to want competition"). He calls Alejandro "son" and says there's a part of him that still thinks of Alejandro as a son. Alejandro says there's a part of him that still thinks of Constancio as a father, and oh, by the way, thanks for saving my life. Constancio says he couldn't let Alejandro be taken out like that. He says he never hated Al, he hated what Al represented--a young man with courage and intelligence and the "garra" ("fighting spirit") and guts to confront his father--everything Constancio wasn't in his youth. Constancio wants Al to know that he was always proud of him even though he didn't say so, he admires him and loves him, but his arrogance ("soberbia") kept him from admitting it. He asks Alejandro not to stop calling him Dad. They hug and cry. Mili walks in and sees them and Alejandro asks if she doesn't want to join in. They all hug. Constancio jokes that he's going to be Alejandro's father AND his father-in-law. He wants to know when he'll have more grandkids on the way. Dude, recover from your gunshot wound first!

Mili goes to church to bring her Cuatacho some vino. She thanks him for giving back her mom and for her dad being ok and for her having her family back, all thanks to Cuatacho. She says the vino isn't a bribe…well, only a little one…she wants Alejandro to be happy. Alejandro brings in his own glass of vino. Cuatacho says, "hey people, I like a little nip now and then, but what kind of lush do you think I am?" Alejandro tells Cuatacho thanks for Mili and sorry cause he's going to need to borrow her for a minute. He takes her outside the church.

A: I love you Carlitos
M: Carlitos las pelotas!
A: See, that's why I took you outside! I didn't want you to say that in the church. What would Cuatacho say about you?
M: That I'm a crazy, crazy woman!
A: Oh, so you are a woman? [he kisses her] That was to prove whether you're a woman.
M: Oh, yeah? Want me to prove whether you're a man.

Heh. That was fun while it lasted, but Alejandro remembers what happened the last time she said that and he's going to need his equipment intact if he's going to give Constancio all those grandchildren. He swears he's a man, so Mili kisses him. Padre Manuel and Sor Cachete come outside to ogle. PM says the story isn't over, it's just beginning.

Days later, Damian is being wheeled around the pool by Erika. In a bikini. He's pissed that he had to give Luciana all her money back. And that Hugo forbid him from coming to the wedding. And that his relatives are getting married to members of the unwashed masses and are happy about it. Erika says it's not so bad, it's like the two of them--she's a secretary who's going to marry her boss. An optimist, that one. Damian says he's fine as a bachelor. Erika starts yelling at him about everything she's done for him since the accident including certain personal hygiene tasks that shall remain nameless. She's aiming him at the pool and it makes Damian nervous. She says she can have any man she wants, but she stayed with him because she thought marriage was in the offing. She demands that he tell her right now that they're getting married and when he won't say it, she dumps him in the pool and walks off.

We next find ourselves at the wedding site, Estadio Azteca, home of "El Tri" (the Mexican national team) and Club América. This, my friends, is where the infamous "Hand of God" goal was scored by Maradona. They have the wedding tent set up at one end of the field. I wonder which one. The guests mix and mingle.

Padre Manuel tells Constancio he's gratified that all his prayers for Constancio's salvation have finally been answered. Well, his and Mili's.

Paolo asks Braulio what he's going to do now that he's not working. Braulio's feeling a little odd, having worked all his life with no vacations (except for that time he went fishing) and not knowing what to do. He says he's at least had Paolo's excellent company. He mentions that he's never been out of the country…he's never even seen the ocean! Paolo invites him, breathlessly, to travel the world with him. Braulio says that would be maaaaaaahvelous as they clasp hands and wonder how soon they can reasonably blow this pop stand and get to the hot monkey love.

Rosario I tells Constancio that the girls are on their way. She says she's happy he's better. After all, he is her baby daddy. Constancio would like it to be for more than just that reason, but Rosario I says he was very important in her life back in the day. Constancio says he still loves her, but he thinks now she must hate him. Rosario I says she no longer either loves or hates him. Constancio says maybe with time…but Rosario I shoots him down. "We've been down different paths." Constancio says that now that their paths have crossed again, maybe they only have one path left --together. He kisses her and I finally see that the miracle of miracles has happened. Yes, my friends, it took a long time to get to this point, but at long last Rosario I isn't wearing that same pair of FM heels! I'd like to thank the costume department for collecting that $10 and rushing to Payless five minutes before closing just to bring me this long-awaited moment. Rosario I tells Constancio that the kiss has confirmed that she no longer feels anything for him. She leaves and Luciana comes up and tells Constancio he still has a chance and don't give up. They laugh and hug.

Back at Casa Belmonte we see several wet spots on the carpet, leading to a drenched Damian who grins at his recovered ability to walk.

At the wedding, a horse-drawn carriage pulls up with Karla inside. Horacio waits for her. They're both carrying umbrellas and the path to the tent is lined with little trees and soccer balls. Horacio helps Karla out of the carriage and walks her into the tent. She's in a long, blue dress with a little sparkle around the bodice. It's got one shoulder and some gathering at one hip, but basically falls straight to the floor. I'm not usually a fan of asymmetry, but this works. She could wear it to the Oscars, I think. No veil, but a light blue flower in her hair. Horacio walks her in and hands her off to Hugo. She's all yours now, dude…no returns, no refunds.

Next comes Valeria's carriage. She steps out in a different wedding dress that we don't get a look at right away, since Constancio also has to wait for Mili. Or is it Vanilli? Mili's wearing a big white poufy dress with, I kid you not, a white pimp hat with a flower on one side and some tulle hanging off the back. As her carriage arrives we see that Valeria is wearing a pretty simple long satin-y pink dress with minimal bling and no pouf whatsoever. Oh, I get it, this is Mili's world and the rest of them are just living in it. Constancio helps Mili and her big pouffy off-white dress out of the carriage. Her skirt has a bunch of layers that I don't quite understand and some of the layers look wrinkled. And, oh my…the pimp hat is pinstriped with sequins. I need a moment.

Constancio walks his girls into the tent and does the handoffs. I'm distracted by the pimp hat. And the ponytail on one side and pulled over one shoulder. *sigh* No one else seems to care and they all smile and get weepy. Lina holds a blanket covered bundle that we're meant to assume is her offspring, but is probably just a ten pound sack of flour. We don't get any words in the ceremony, just the visuals of rings being slipped on, then Padre Manuel declaring them all husband(s) and wife(s). Rocky gets all excited and asks if he can kiss Valeria now. Alejandro says they all want kisses and Hugo adds "lluvia de besos" (a rain of kisses). To that I say, what you do in the privacy of your own five star hotel suite in Paris is your business. Padre Manuel gives them all the green light. Everybody sucks face. But first, Mili has to tell Alejandro she loves him. The band from the Rodeo starts up and everybody dances. Then they start trickling out of the tent in pairs…like going into the ark. Unfortunately, it appears that Rosella's FM shoes migrated to Socorro. Curse you costume department. Mili and Alejandro stay behind after everyone else leaves so they can mack some more. Oh, the pimp hat. What were you smoking, costume people? Now they head out, slowly. Alejandro stops outside the tent and picks up one of the soccer balls. "Jueges o te rajas?" ("Play, or are you too chicken?") Mili says she'll play and tosses her bouquet. Once again, I question the costume department's choice of mind-altering chemicals. Mili hikes up her (voluminous) skirts and we see that she's wearing white lacy knee socks and silver cleats. The run off to the goal area on the other side of the field. Mili tosses off the pimp hat and puts on a white baseball cap. Alejandro sets up in goal and Mili, of course, scores (as long as you ignore the angle of the kick, which, as Mr. 5ft informs me, would have gone waaaaay over the goal…actually Mr. 5ft has been complaining about Mili's bad technique, as aided by the editing department to look like she knows what she's doing, through the whole show). And Fin.

Well, all good things must come to an end. Thanks for all the comments and I'm sure I'll be seeing you around.

What?

Well, that's where they should have ended it, but it wasn't only the costume department who was getting out of hand. Mrs. Sanchez' 8th grade class had already handed in the final episode, but then, since Josh Lowenstein, aka "Josue," invited the whole class over to a party at his house while his parents were out of town the weekend before finals and they all raided his parents' liquor cabinet and ate too much pizza…

Five or fewer years later: There's a family reunion on the lawn of Casa Belmonte. Rosario II is old enough to walk and be tossed around by Constancio. Mili and Alejandro have a second baby. Rosario I is also there. Valeria and Rocky have a couple of toddler boys--twins, perhaps? Nestor and Luci are still into each other. Karla pushes Damian in his wheelchair and then lets him roll down a hill when Hugo distracts her. He crashes into a tree and everybody laughs--no one louder than Karla and Hugo.

Ten years later: People have aged to an alarming degree that only 8th graders would imagine is realistic (seeing as how they tend to think that 25 is "old"). Alejandro has grown an unfortunate moustache. There's a picture of him, Luciana, and Valeria, where they all look sad. Luciana's wearing a depressing grey jacket and glasses that are way too big for her. There are also pictures of Luciana with the grandkids (in that same hideous jacket and uncomfortable smile). I would guess the two in front are Rosario II and her younger brother and the two in the back are Rocky and Valeria's boys, who look less like twins in this picture. Luciana is dying of one of those vague diseases that afflict people in their fifties, cause, you know, that's ancient. It may be possible that all those years of drinking caught up with her, but once she stopped, her liver should have either healed or at least stabilized, unless it's from some disease she caught while living out on the streets. Mili and Valeria weep. Nestor has also grown an unfortunate moustache and gotten tanner than George Hamilton. Luciana dies.

On the soccer field, it's time for the next generation to play while Mili, Alejandro, Lina, Bobby (another one who grew facial hair for no apparent reason), Valeria, Rocky, Gloria, Chamuco, Karla, and Hugo coach. Yikes! It's not clear whether Karla and Hugo have a kid of their own or if they're just taking a picture with one of their many pseudo-nieces/nephews. Gloria and Chamuco have a boy.

Twelve years later: Karla somehow has a daughter older than twelve…or else she shouldn't be letting her twelve-year-old dress like that. Karla scolds Nameless Daughter that she doesn't care if she's got a party, they are staying here at Dad's gallery show. Karla helps an exhausted-looking Socorro onto a bench. Socorro's probably thinking "Like mother, like daughter" as Karla complains about how Nameless Daughter talks to her. Heh. Hugo and his moustache come over to give Karla a glass of wine and lead her over to a painting he wants her to see. I think it's a painting of Karla on velvet. What? That's what it looks like. Socorro sees a light come down from above and coalesce into Angel!Horacio. He flirts with her, as usual. She responds in a croaky voice and puts her head down in his non-corporeal lap. Karla cries over her dead body.

After re-thinking the math, they must mean another twelve years after the original ten, for a total of 22 years later, otherwise people's ages really don't make sense.

Alejandro and Mili are at Padre Manuel's church, all dressed up for their daughter Rosario's wedding, at which her Nameless Brother will be officiating. Alejandro now has grey hair in addition to the unfortunate moustache. Mili just has her hair pulled back into a giant knot. Rosario comes up in her wedding dress and gets hugs from her parents. Everyone walks into the church.

Five years later: okay, so 27 years total. Casa Belmonte has completely gone to seed. Constancio hasn't cut his hair in years and has grown a beard. Damian still lives with him and is still pretending to be unable to walk. A nurse comes in and gives Constancio his medicine. Damian takes advantage of his back being turned to shuffle over and steal Constancio's concha (a type of sweet bread, really good with coffee). Constancio busts him walking and gets pissed off. They shuffle around the couch and then Constancio clutches his chest and falls over. Damian freaks out. Constancio laughs at having faked Damian out, but now he dies for real. Damian begs him not to die because he loves him. Where's the nurse? And why did Constancio end up alone? And why is the house in such bad shape? What happened to the construction company? And why, in 27 years, does it look like no technological advances have been made? No robot butlers? No new, younger bodies?

Seven years later: 34 years total. Casa Belmonte is restored to its former glory, and no longer full of angry, bitter people. Valeria and Rocky watch their grandkids open Christmas gifts. There are four adults around, the parents, one presumes, but no way of knowing which grandkids belong to whom. Rocky has taught the grandkids to say "ay, papantla!" Aw, granddad, that's slang from, like, forty years ago. Valeria gives a grandmotherish "obvio, si!" They hug all the grandkids.

Many years later: in other words, enough to get to 90. Mili and Alejandro shuffle up a sand dune. Once again, I am amazed at the lack of technological advancement. No hover scooters? We get flashbacks of their time on the beach the first time. Meanwhile, future Mili and Alejandro sit down on a conveniently placed wicker bench in their love den (which is still there, for some reason). Future Mili's face seems to be stuck on one expression--slight confusion with an open mouth--including when she kisses Future Alejandro. More flashback to Past Mili and Al macking on the beach. Future Mili and Al look rather shocked as they remember having sex right on this very spot, many, many years ago. Alejandro dies. How ungentlemanly of him to go first. A few seconds later Mili dies. The screen reads "Un amor que perduró mas allá del tiempo" (a love that lasted beyond time) below "FIN."

Okay, people, that's all they wrote. If you missed it the first time around, it looks like there's a repeat next Sunday (check your local listings). Also, the cast will be on Cristina on Monday night.

Labels:


Comments:
Thank you for the recap, 5ftLatina, as well as the PSA on Domestic Violence.

Break for my own PSA: scroll on past this, if you like. I answered crisis calls at a local area battered womens' shelter for several years, and it is ALL about power & control. There are a lot of sicko people out there. Most women ignore the initial signs, thinking it'll get better, etc., etc., etc., where if they would get out of the relationship early on, so much emotional and physical pain could be avoided. Believe me, it does affect the children, too. The children (both sons and daughters) grow up thinking this is how loved ones are treated and the cycle continues. And yes, 5ft Lantina is correct; once it has escalated to a certain level, the woman is in more danger of being killed when she tries to leave. Sometimes the batterer shows up months, occasionally years, later after divorce or separation and kills her or hurts her enough to put her in the ICU. Ladies... if they harm pets in any manner, get the h*ll out of there because you're next. http://www.ywcanashville.com/domesticviolence.aspx
End of my PSA.

Great snarkiness in the recap, I might add. LOL

Constancio & Damien remind me of The Odd Couple.

Thanks again for all the great recaps.

doris
 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who had trouble with the math but chalked it up to the martini and two glasses of wine I drank watching and sobbing at the final episode.

Actually that hat of Mili's and all the tulle is kind of like the Regency/Victoria hats which minues the tulle I like but them I'm a hat junkie.

I did get a laugh out of Connie and Damian in the house at the end but let's get real Connie was way to vain to let himself look like a frazzled bum. There was always a weird love/hate dynamic between them.

Glad to see there is a replay which I'll watch minus the wine and can't wait to see Christina on Monday and see if Mili will look 16 or 30
 

Thanks so much 5ft! I sincerely hope I did not offend you by posting my comments on the entire episode before your recap post. I wanted to vent my feelings and since we all knew what happened already I didn’t feel it would hurt anything. This way, I vented and was able to enjoy your great recap and remember again the parts of the finale I liked!

I really liked your “Cuatacho says…” , the $10 at Payless, and the pimp hat quips! And I totally agree with the Josue’s party comment and I loved your descriptions of what followed. It gave me a chance to laugh at what had disappointed me so.

The time lapse was kind of weird, everyone aged incredibly poorly, except for Mili and Val. My parents are 62 and 68 and are very attractive vibrant people. My grandmother died this year at 88 and even though she had suffered from alzheimers for the last eight years she was still beautiful until the very last month when she completely stopped eating. The Belmonte clan must have had something really bad in their water.
 

Excellent as always 5ft. Thanks to all the folks that have given up their valuable time on this labor of love. Thanks also to the rest of the commenters (is that a real word or did I dream it up?) for all the fun snark and all the insight we've all learned from all the comments.

I took so long to type my comments, that they're on the previous post =(

Here's hoping "Cuidado" proves to be fun as well.
 

Dear 5 ft., Thanks for the PSA on domestic violence and for the useful translations. I never had a good one for "garra" and yours felt just right. I've read it in so many sports reports and of course finding the translation as "claw" never helped a bit.

I vented earlier on Maggie's line because I was SO upset Friday night at how the telenovela ended. Left a horrible aftertaste and can't imagine ever wanting to watch it again, but will check in on Cristina (if I can wrestle the T V away from my husband) to see what the cast says and how they relate to each other.

Alas, I will always remember those dreadful mustaches, the icky FM shoes of Rosario and Mili's trembling open-mouthed 90-year-old stare.

Those of us who have been at many deathbeds , because of our work, don't need scenes like this one as part of our "entertainment".

I found the end a total downer but have corresponded with Nina about it and since she feels differently I've balanced out my viewpoint somewhat.

But still....hope this style of finale doesn't become a trend!
 

Judy, I know exactly how you feel. First of all, it was painfully obvious that the writers had two hours on the last night of production to put the ending together. The original mistake was they started their descent way too early, and when they made an unexpected, albeit early, landing, they had to scatter like chickens with their heads cut-off to fill-up the pre-paid episodes.
 

Second, as I've said before, problems (boredom) started on this show when they fixed Luciana's problem as if it was as easy as "un, dos, tres." Ridiculous, of course, but they should have given her a bowlfull of her own medicine, killed off Andrea and Karla, and made Consti the victim of some government vendetta while serving as president of PUN.
 

My comment regarding making the original youngin's elderly:

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.
 

Thanks so much for the recap..being a sleezar, I didn't even bother to feign I would help out..Actually I had watched the ending on YouTube and the ending made me sad, but in a good way. I had trouble with the time line, I thought it was like 10 years, twenty years, fifty years and so on. I guess I can can dee Demian and Consti being 90 something

I thought Hugo & Karla were the best love story and indeed found them uber hawt. Maybe because they were human and flawed.

So I am left to ponder...90 years where is better fashion? Did global warming happen? Is the beach now at Toluca do to the rise of the oceans.

Al WTF happened to your blonde godliness? you look like Ned Flanders after 10 years..
 

It seems to me that Guapos peaked about 1 month ago, and since then it's been all downhill. The writers seemed to have the memory span of a seagull, with story arcs lasting 3 episodes before some other conflict arose and took its place. They just didn't know what to come up with next, or who to bring back up from obscurity. The final choice of the Florinda/Rigoberto conflict was WAY out of place since they really added nothing more to the plot except to stall the finale for another like 2 episodes. They had such other great villains they could have used for the finale (Robledo, Andrea, Damian, etc.).

I remember a time a long time ago when weddings in soap operas occupied the last 5 minutes maximum. But almost every soap I've seen in recent memory (La Fea Mas Bella, Juan Querendon, this one) had these stretched-out resolutions that added nothing to the story. Audiences are not interested in seeing more than five minutes of conflict-less plot; there's no incentive to keep watching as they know it's pretty much over and everybody lives happily ever after, but these writers know we're gonna be glued to our seats until the very last moment even if there is no compelling reason to do so. The main action was pretty much done 15 minutes into the second hour; after that, I kept checking the clock on my oven to see when this mess would end ALREADY! I get they wanted to explore that "we'll live till we're 90" thing, but it could've been done in way less time, and I wouldn't have minded it so much if they had made a good final conflict with a really sinister villain that wasn't made up like four episodes ago.
 

Another great recap, 5ft. I'm sorry you won't be recapping for a while, but we look forward to your coming back again in future.

Beckster, you really hit the nail on the head with the Ned Flanders reference. They seem to have given all the men facial hair to age them. But Al really looked ridiculous.

Anyway, I went on record yesterday as loving this back-to-the-future finale. I thought it was bittersweet, not depressing. It gives more closure if we can see what happens to the characters. I thought the kids' playing soccer was cute. I think they let Rosella reject Connie so he could grow old with Damian.

Two loose ends: I wonder if the girls ever opened a spa. They didn't show what happened to Braulio, and they really could have used his talents in the skin care line.

I have a feeling that more shows might try this type of ending in future and then it might become a cliche. But I liked it here.

This show had to grow on me at first, and I was not crazy about the secondary characters in the beginning. But then I grew to love them too. In my other favorite show, LFMB, I never got past being bored to tears by most of the secondary stories (except Alicia and Tomas Mora). I couldn't care less about El Cheque and Lola, Paola Marie and Simon, and that overweight woman who was married to Horacio. Not to mention that older seamstress who was abused by Luigi and her children and missing husband. (gee, look how much I remember . . . ) They padded that stuff unmercifully to fill out extra months.

Here, I don't think there was anything extraneous. I look forward to seeing Cristina tomorrow!
 

Well once again, Fuego trumps Guapos in number of comments.

This time a non-episode of Fuego has twice as many comments as the Gran Final of Guapos. So sad . . .
 

Hola Guapistas! I have been watching this show although as much as 5 episodes behind so no point in commenting. Finally caught up over the weekend so that I started Fuego but I bailed after it just got too silly and switched to Guapos which I found charming until the really violent turn it took in the last week or so. Still, endings are always dramatic.

Lots of surprises for me--Didn't expect Andrea to get flushed. I'd rather we never saw her again in any form. That was awful. I thought Floreenda and Karla were going to end up working at the spa/women's center but they kind of dropped that idea and never came back to it. For sure I thought Constancio would give his life for Alejandro. To have him survive and then have Rosario I just blow him off was kind of strange.

Something I've noticed about telenovela multiple weddings, the brides always seem to wear different dresses that fit their personalities. Mili's reminded me of Ana Layeveska's top hat with veil in La Madrastra(she also wore a white pantsuit rather than a dress). I guess when they want to highlight a young woman's irrepressible individuality, they have her wear something odd. Like silver soccer cleats.

Whoever said the final reel reminded them of Six Feet Under--yeah that's what I was thinking. But this was a cheap version--disconnected scenes, TERRIBLE makeup and stuff that didn't make sense. Everyone seems to have aged REALLY badly except for Valeria. Maybe it was those creams of Ramses? And Rosario II must have married a bit older than her Mom if her younger brother was old enough to be a priest and marry her.

Ah well, as compared to other Novela endings, IMHO, it wasn't the worst and it wasn't the best. They are almost always longer than they should be. If they'd ended with Mili scoring that goal, I would have found it perfectly charming.
 

One other thing--I really enjoyed the Hugo/Karla final phase storyline. It was the best example I can think of of taking two "bad" characters and rehabbing them. It was kind of like a fairytale where the prince disguises himself to test the fair maid. It would have been easy just to kill these characters off or have them get some dreadful fate. And I disagree with whoever thought Luci should have gotten the shaft too--when she hit bottom as as an alcoholic, that was pretty dreadful. It was nice to have her come back, get forgiven and enjoy a few years with loved ones before her untimely death.
 

I agree with Ninak, I thought the ending was bittersweet. I liked the fast forwarding, but I wish they had not gone as far as aging Alejandro and Mili to such an extreme. It was a bit too much.Rembember how everyone complained after La Fea that we did not get to see Lety and Fern 5 years later? YOu just can not please everone. At first I did not like Mili's "wedding hat", but it grew on me and she looks good in anything and she always had a penchant for funky hats anyway. Loved the fact that Constancio did not end up with Rosario and loved the soccer scene between Al and Mili after the ceremony.
All in all, I really enjoyed this novela.
Miranda
 

Ninak, I went over to see what was happening with the Fuego comments on the non-episode and I wouldn't really compare that thread by the numbers. At least 6-8 comments have to do with the Guapos Finale and a whole bunch are recommending other books and one commenter has started writing their own novela right there in the comments! I guess things haven't changed around here--the worse the novela, the better the recaps and comments!
 

Margaret, I noticed all that too, but that's exactly my point--people would rather talk about anything else but Guapos! (other than those few comments about Guapos that showed up there).

I really thought it was hilarious that people started writing their own telenovela!
 

Nina - Just a wild guess, but I've always kind of thought the seemingly inexplicable number of comments for Fuego had much to do with the time slot. Traditionally it seems that the most popular novelas are on in this slot and so people get used to making room in their schedule for it. Plus maybe it's just easier to make room for it since it's later. The few times I've checked out the comments (trying to figure out how this absurd novela has such a following)it seems there are multiple comments by the same people and many off-topic comments. It seems more like a social thing. Just my thoughts, maybe I'm way off.
 

If it wasn't for Caray Caray, I probably would have bailed on FELS a long time ago. Same thing with La Madrastra ... the TelenovelaWorld forums kept me watching and I enjoyed the circus ride with the foristas. Nothing could keep me watching LFMB after four months of it, though. Isn't Ben's slogan "Better Living Through Forums" ? ;o)

I read the recap before watching my recording of the last 45 minutes of the Final. Even though I cried through most of those last 45 minutes, I was LOLing at the same time at the bad moustaches, etc. thanks to 5ftLatina's wonderfully snarky comments in the recap. For a telenovela that I casually followed due to lack of time, I really liked the ending.

I rather liked the unofficial epilogue ending. It was different. I've seen similar things at the end of movies, but only text and not acted out. Remember "American Graffiti"? That was the first movie I remember them telling us what happened to the characters.

The 'años despues-ing' in ADCLG was a little confusing to me, though. I quit trying to count the years and just took it at face value.

doris
 

My first novela was LFMB, which was on in the 8 o'clock slot, and it was the one drawing the most comments at that time. Since then, the 9 o'clock slot has always had the hottest show. Maybe it was that way before Fea also. In any event, sometimes people really do get involved in the social aspect of commenting and explore tangents of all kinds.
 

NinaK – I noticed when I was watching Pasion (not very long) that the 9 o’clock comments sometimes were like chatting – like IMs. Which is fine, just interesting that different comment groups seem to have a different rhythm.

I’m pretty sure that a lot more people are reading the recaps than are commenting. I followed along for months before getting up my nerve to jump in. My husband’s co-worker, who is more comfortable in Spanish than in English, reads them on the days she’s had to miss the show, but never comments.

I’ve been thinking about the ending and all the comments about it. It seems to me that a person’s death is not the most important part of a life that has lasted decades. I would like to have seen more of what the people were doing in later years rather than have watched them die off. Mili and Al on the beach at 90 were part of the plot, but the rest weren’t necessary, I think. Maybe Connie’s death where Damien shows his affection for him was useful, but they could have just showed an old-age comic bit between them to the same effect.

Another thought before we move on to the next show: There was some discussion about the naco-talk being equivalent to Valley girl talk, but I’m wondering if Vale’s speech patterns at the beginning of the show (ob..vio!) weren’t more an equivalent, and that the naco-talk could correlate to our ghetto slang..
 

Not sure if my comment posted,so I will try again. Sorry.


Hi there, I always read but never comment. Thanks for the recaps, great to have them here when I miss a show.
A few things-
I for one thought the ending was beautiful and cried the whole way through.
Florencia had to die because her living would mean both Ale and Mili hadn't been totally absolved of their sins at the end.They'd be keeping her from her baby.
Why she didnt remain absent? Well, telenovela rule means u get punishment equal to your crimes, but being a victim mitigates that. SHe was a victim of her family and to some extent Ale and Mili.
BTW her death wasnt a punishment. To a Latin American audience a woman who goes back to see her child then chooses NOT to seek safety near that child, to protect it from those hunting her, and then dies. That woman is a saint and a martyr. Her reward was that she would not be remembered as the mother who abandoned her baby but the woman who gave her life defending her.

I loved Karla and Hugo. And same thing, Hugo did sort of get the short end of the stick and if this ended with him unhappy that would have been a blot on the record of A&M, and the rules state that they have to be GOOD.
I always loved Karla and suspect the actress caused the character to get a happy ending. BUT they did get their punishment in the way of their kid.

When Constancio died I cried. I think he and Damien deserved one another.
Rosella? Why would she go back to Constancio? It had been a lifetime, and she'd had a man who gave her everything- love AND money. She didnt NEED him.

Novelas arent only love stories, they represent the aspirations and dreams and character of the intended viewers. This was more about class struggles than love.

Every character who put love before class ended up happy, even if they were late to the party. Those who didn't, got a big dose of misery.
Its, to me, another tale of the older generation and their outdated views and how the new generation learns to put class on the back burner.
All of the servants became free of servitude, the women had their own careers and weren't dependent on the men, and in the end the rich and the poor became one big happy family.
That, I suspect, is the dream of most poor-middle class latin americans.
As far as the death of everyone. To ME it was great. We got to see how it all turned out. And there was no chance for a sequel to ruin it. Mili and Alejandro lived together their entire lives, to the last minute. ANd at the moment of their deaths, she knew that that man had kept her promise to her- he never left her and was with her every single day of his life. And she only had a moment or so of life without him, so I hope she was happy that she has been with him forever and not sad that he was no longer there.

Was I sad to see them die? Not at all. They died happy and in love after a very very long full life. To me, thats beautiful, not sad. And for Christians, as they were, that is not sad but the time when they joyfully go to the light to see Regina and everyone else and be together again.

Id rather this ending that one like the end of Gone With the Wind, when later someone makes a crappy ass sequel and destroys the love story.
 

afrodescendiente - great insights. thank you!
 

Thank you Ninak and 5ftLatina for your wonderful recaps. 5ft, I was sickened that so many die daily as a result of domestic violence. Thanks to you and to Doris for your informative PSAs and for your work in trying to combat domestic abuse.

Having seen only a few telenovas, this was second only to Pasion for me. I thought the acting and storyline was superb. I loved the finale up until the wedding scenes began. Thereafter, except for a few notable moments, I was disappointed. It would have been nice to see more present day scenes. Hugo and Karla had just gotten together, Consi had just been redeemed. There was so much uncharted material and so many places the ending could have gone. I loved the scene where Karla's daughter was giving her a hard time, but did it have to happen during Socorro's death scene? I would have liked more of the family gatherings, perhaps more like Rosario Jr.'s wedding scene. There were a few great comedic mmoments. Ninak, I think you were the first to reference Al's likeness to Ned Flanders. LOL!! I liked the fact that Consti and Damien grew old together. When Consti died, Damien knew he had lost his one true (and only) amigo. And finally, I would have liked to have seen Mili and Al looking more dignified for the final scene. Not everyone who is 90 looks like they just wandered off the Tales of The Crypt set. My aunt is 89 and has a beautiful complexion and is in full possession of her faculties. Any chance for the poignant ending this strove for was ruined by the hideous makeup.

That said, thank you to all the wonderful recappers who brought this to life for me each day. Except for the finale, I will continue to have a great fondess for this show. Diana in MA
 

I enjoyed your comment, afrodescendiente, a very interesting way to look at it.

I have the week off and just caught the last ten minutes of Muchachitas como tu. The actors that played Rigoberto and Florencia are on this novela, and apparently their characters are a couple since he just asked her to marry him. Talk about weird! Ex-Rigoberto was in a suit and appears to be a nice guy.

To introduce an off-topic, I picked up the October issue of People en Espanol - a really great picture of Eduardo Yanez is on front with a story on him inside. Anyone who is a fan should get it! The picture made me walk over two aisles to grab the magazine while I was waiting to check out at the grocery store. I never do that.
 

I didn't come up with Ned Flanders, it was our wacky wonderful Beckster, as I earlier pointed out.
 

I'll keep this short, since everything I thought about the finale has already been expressed by others, but I just want to cast my vote for "they should have ended it and not shown their whole lives." I'd rather imagine the happily-ever-after. Or, they could have shown the ladies getting their business off the ground, and btw what happened to Braulio? I found the ending rather disturbing, and it shouldn't have been; death isn't tragic after a long and happy life. It would have been more satisfying if they died looking all content, rather than with those strange desperate expressions frozen by makeup onto their faces.

I loved the wedding, but thought it a little unfair that a triple wedding was kind of All About Mili.

Anyway, on to Cuidado! I don't think there is anyone to do the recap tomorrow night (Tuesday); I won't be starting until next week due to some work stuff going on. Anyone want to do it? Otherwise we will just post a blank page so people can discuss.
 

I don't think there's anyone for Wednesday yet either.
 

Afrodescendiente: Thanks for your comments, they were so interesting, and it's nice to have them even at the very end.

I had always thought this novela was about class and family dysfunction more than just ordinary love story. But unlike the cartoonish dysfunction of the families in Fuego, the problems here were very real.

If Florencia had lived, I think Al and Mili would have made some accommodation, like open adoption. I'm so sorry she had to die. Mili was at heart a good character and was horrified when Flor wanted to abandon the baby at first.

It's amazing how we can talk about these fictional characters as if they were real.
 

Julia, I think you captured why I was so bummed out and turned off by all the deaths at the ending. Those desperate, unmoving stares. Alex and Mili were the worst. And also the heartbreak of all those around them, not a sweet rememberance of what had been, just brokenhearted tears and pain for those remaining. Socorro had a momentary smile when she saw Horatio, but that disappeared when she died (my uncle actually died with a smile still on his face) and all we got was Karla's wailing. Constancio's death was the least upsetting because he was at least laughing until the very end.

And as many have mentioned, what happened to Braulio? He was a big part of the show and he just disappeared along with Rosario.
 

afrodecendiente you raise some good points about this novela being mostly about class. Constancio bends to his father's will and abandons Rosario for class. It takes the next generation to start shattering the class barriers. It is a huge huge deal for Constancio to even acknowledge Mili (even when he wants to) and he doesn't do it until pretty much the very last minute.

Class is a big deal in an obvious way in LA (not often so visible but still a factor in the US.) Even in the final epis, Val is telling the other girls to use the tu form, not Ud.
 

Braulio rode off into the sunset with his prince! LOL
Anyway,thats what I imagined.
Open adoption? This is for a latin american audience. If she is alive and left her baby, the majority of fans aren't going to be able to forgive that.

Re- who the story was about. I agree with whoever said that it wasn't really about Ale and Mili. Mili was sort of the person who was both servant and employer and rather than choose between her families, brought the rich and poor together. She was the catalyst.

It is interesting how peoples perceptions vary. Art is art, so I wont say that anyone's perceptions are wrong.You see what you see. In the end when Socorro died and Karla was distraught, I saw it as proof that she did ultimately become human and the love she found for her mother remained.

And M&S when they died, well they were old and tired and ready for their reward. I'm just never sad when people die old after a happy life.Being Catholic may have a lot to do with that.

Like many here, I do NOT intend to watch Cuidado. I'm already sick of Marichuy. Even her name bugs me.The sight of her, Pippi Longstockingsish on that fence bugs me. Ick.

Oh, FETS is so horrible that sometime I watch to laugh at everyone and the sheer campiness of it. How many ways will they try to kill Sophia. (For the longest I wondered how Marlene Favela aged so badly, then I realized it wasn't her.)

Excuse my typos and longwindedness, Im sneaking here as I work!!!
 

It's funny how some people are saying they aren't going to watch "Cuidado" because of the Marichuy character and how's they are already annoyed by her. I felt the exact same way about Mili when I started seeing the previews for "Guapos". I thought the show was going to be overly campy and the only reason I tuned in was because I saw Eugenio Siller and Altair Jarabo were in it, who I loved watching from "Codigo Postal". Throughout that first week I was debating whether or not to continue watching. I can say now that I never missed an episode. and enjoyed every minute.

I haven't gotten annoyed by the "Cuidado" previews, it's kind of intriguing to me. I just hope the opposite doesn't happen and it turns out to be really bad. I am keeping an open mind and I'll see how it works out.

I am looking forward to the latest novela that Allison Lozz will be in "En Nombre del Amor" as she has really won me over as a fan. I read that it is scheduled to start airing in Mexico in October so perhaps 2-3 months from then it will air in the states.
 

afrodescendiente - we watch FELS because it is so awful-bad and campy. I need a no-brainer telenovela right now, and FELS is perfect. ;-D

doris
 

Except for the Betty/Lety shows I have trouble getting settled into a new show and usually bump along for a number of weeks before I get used to it. Only twice have I bailed on a show and that was because I didn’t go for the acting. Otherwise, after a bit I get sucked in. But for the longish time I couldn’t take Mili when she was being a pain, which fortunately wasn’t always the case.

I couldn’t decide between Guapos and Fuego and I ended up with Guapos because of its fast pacing and humor. Fortunately the Guapos matured and got really good.

The previews on Cuidado show a lot of exterior shots and I’m hoping the show has plenty, since it’s nice armchair travel.
 

Hello Everyone, I have been 'lurking' on this site for a few weeks and totally enjoyd the recaps and the snarkiness. Being raised bilingual and bicultural, it was hilarious to read about this telenovela from your perspective. I will fondly remember 'pimp chicken' among other assorted goodies. Congratulations on watching these shows and trying to improve your Spanish language skills. I am very impressed and wish each of you well.
 

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