Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Cuidado Con El Ángel #17, 14 October 2008: Gratuitous Swimming and Showering Scenes Would Have Greatly Improved This Episode

Also, have you HEARD what Marichuy did to Amador and why? Yes? Too bad, you’re going to hear again.

So, from yesterday, Juan Miguel is sitting in the parlor with the family (and fake family) ignoring Estefanía while she prattles on about her party. She demands his attention and asks whether he liked the book she gave him; he says he barely managed to leaf through it. She suggests they could read it together. I’m sure Juan Miguel would love to put her on one plane after another to go find it…

Marichuy enters the room and Juan Miguel looks alive finally. Ceci has to prod her to go say hello, as she is acting a bit shy. So she goes and hugs him…and they embrace tightly, and smile…and hug some more awhile longer while Stef glares and everyone else starts to wonder whether they need to leave the room. Eventually they break off (because Stef loudly says the coffee is getting cold), and Mari asks how his trip was and tells him things are fine for her, although it hasn’t all been roses (I think? I have trouble understanding her even when I replay it four times). They have a brief private chat about the stars (sweet nothings, basically) until Stef rudely interrupts.

At Vicente’s loft, Amador is still pretending to be blind and Vicente helps him move around. Amador mentions that Mari called him and is going to come visit every day. Vicente looks like he’d like to give Amador another blow to the skull, and tells him that Juan Miguel is back. Amador blanches briefly, then gets back to his macho posturing and says good, he needs to have a word with that curaloco about what Mari did to him.

Stef wants to know what JM and Mari were talking about, and they say it’s between them, none of her beeswax. JM changes the subject by asking Mari how she’s been doing. She says she thinks she’s been behaving pretty well, and Patricio scoffs at that and says he’ll have a word with JM later, which earns him a glare from Ceci. Stef sticks up for Mari while simultaneously belittling her, saying, “what can we expect? She’s never lived with decent people before.” Mari objects that she didn’t come from the jungle, and JM smooths things over by saying that he brought Mari a gift.

Vicente tells Amador that Nelson called and said that Beatriz is in the hospital, dying. Amador is muy impactado as he reflects on their post-lust fighting.

Mari opens the gift; it is the angel snow globe. She doesn’t know what it is and has to be told to shake it, and that it’s just to look at. Anyway, she loves it, and smooches JM on the cheek.

Amador denies any responsibility for Beatriz’s state, and says she’s long been addicted to sleeping pills. Vicente tells him if she dies he will be in big trouble. From the rest of the artistes, I would guess, if not from the police. I actually agree with Amador that it isn’t his fault she’s crazy enough to want him, but he doesn’t have to be such a prick.

Cande, Padre Anselmo, and Adrian discuss Mari’s run-in with Amador. They ain’t putting up with that slimeball. The Avengers are on the case!

JM has brought little gifts for everyone else, too. Stef is delighted with the perfume, and tells him she will wear no other perfume from now on, and she will wear it the night of her party, which will be such a special night, especially for HIM. He looks confused/freaked. I hope that perfume really, really stinks. Mari gets the attention back on her by giving him the roses from the vase on the table. He thanks her, laughing, and quite understandably decides it’s time to flee this experimental theater of the absurd. Stef clings to him as he tries to make his escape and asks if she can count on him for the party. He says sure, but I don’t think he knows that he will be playing chambelan.

As he drives home, JM tries to talk himself out of falling for Marichuy. How long can he fight it?

Mari sits in bed clutching her two most prized possessions, the picture of Juan Miguel and the snow globe, and calls Rocío. Rocío asks whether she told him about Amador, and she says she wanted to but didn’t know how (also, how could she possibly tell him without telling Stef, when Stef won’t take her hands off him?). Roc says it’s better that Mari tell him herself rather than letting him hear it from someone else, and Mari tells her how she was coerced into agreeing to see Amador every day, and she worries that if Patricio finds out he won’t believe her after the way he found them in the driveway. If Patricio ever paid ANY attention he would have noticed that Amador was attacking her in the driveway, as well. They discuss the whole sordid affair while Isabella eavesdrops.

Isa runs off to report to henchwoman Stef. They are delighted and make plans to report to Pat first thing in the morning.

Vicente visits Rocío at the castle and they say stuff we already know.

Next morning, the villainous vixens join Pat at breakfast and act very distraught to have to report such distressing news. He is impactado. When they tell him what’s up, he says he can believe that and more. He sends Martirio to summon Ceci and Mari to his office, and tells the dastardly duo to come with him. The deer must have the morning off, because the cat is playing on the lawn instead.

Martirio comes to Mari’s room and actually yanks her by the arm by way of summons, just like they teach in mayordoma school, I’m sure. As they walk they make a point of being snotty to each other and each saying she wouldn’t want to be in the other’s skin.

Adrian shows up at Vicente’s and totally sees Amador looking through the books through the glass door as he knocks. Amador puts on the dark glasses and makes a show of feeling his way to the door.

Patricio speechifies about how they wanted to defend and protect her and believe she is good, but what she’s done is shameless. Mari is impactada. Pat tells Ceci what Mari has done, and are we about done with hearing all the characters telling each other this same story? Let’s move on. Mari defends herself regarding the “kissing” in the driveway, but can’t deny that she did injure Amador. Tell them WHY, Mari! But she doesn’t yet.

Aside: I just noticed that Patricio has a statue of a horse on the shelf in his office. I thought that was a studly galan thing. JM has a knight-on-a-horse statue on his desk. Ernesto on QE has a horse statue on his sideboard. The hermanos Reyes on Fuego have actual horses. Are they trying to tell us something about Patricio? I’m not a studly galan, but I had a statue of a horse that was a coin bank when I was a little kid, and its leg broke off and my mom threw it away, and I still have not quite forgiven her. Maybe it is her fault I have not had a more heroic life. Also, I just saw a campaign ad and the governor of Washington was blathering about something and there was a horse statue on the windowsill behind her. SUBTLE.

Back to the show: Adrian is apparently not bright enough to notice that Amador is not blind. He tells Am that he is Mari’s novio, and he demands that Scamador leave her alone.

Vicente flirts with Rocío some more, then leaves, then Ornerylia mocks her taste in friends. Clearly she is blind. Vicente is kind of a hottie, and nice besides.

Ceci gets Mari to tell her side of the story finally, but for a judge Pat is really not very good at listening to testimony. He interrupts to yell at her for her insolence, but she finally stands up for herself and yells over him to finish.

Adrián tells Amador Mari shouldn’t have to visit him, Amador is indignant about “what she’s done,” Adrián says he knows it was Amador’s fault, Amador denies that it is any crime to steal a kiss from a young lady, that’s all he was doing, etc., etc. He cries about his “destroyed life” and throws Adrián out, then chuckles about his brilliant scam.

Ceci gets Marichuy to tell the whole story of the attempted rape. Mari is in tears and Ceci hugs her, but Patricio says that doesn’t excuse her crime, and he wants her out of the house immediately. Ceci is angry at him.

Mayita goes to the magic cartoon kingdom. Why does she put the trunks back every time? Abuela tells her that the space can be anything she wants it to be, so it turns into a circus. The episode must have been running short, because we watch the circus for awhile.

Amador smokes his pretentious pipe and goes to make a call. Adrián has come back in and sees that Amador is not blind.

Patricio says he will have to call Juan Miguel to tell him what we’ve all heard a million times now. PLEASE have that conversation off-camera. He tells Mari to go pack her things. Ceci tries to defend her, and then to go with her, but Pat tries to stop her. I wish Ceci would just laugh at him when he tries to tell her what to do. She doesn’t, but she does go after Marichuy. Stef comforts Patricio and tells him he did what he had to do.

Adrián eavesdrops as Amador calls the castle and asks for Juan Miguel, who is not at home. Then he grabs the phone and hangs up. Busted!

Ceci tells Marichuy that she believes her and doesn’t want her to leave. Mari wishes Ceci was her mother. They hug and cry.

Amador tells Adrián that one day Mari will enjoy making love to him. Adrián says, not while I’m alive. Rest in peace, Adrián.

Elsa smokes in the garden and Luisa asks her why she hasn’t gone to the theater. She says the play is on hold because one actor left to go to school, one (Beatriz) is in the hospital, and the director is blind. Luisa says it’s a shame not to see Elsa shining onstage etc., but she would have had to leave when she married Eduardo anyway (Hey! How about we stop talking about the same incident and join Eduardo and Juan Miguel at the gym for a swim!) because apparently married women can’t be part-time actresses. Elsa looks peeved. Her phone rings. “Nelson?,” she answers, but it is Eduardo. Unfortunately, he is just driving his car, not at the gym. He’s dropping by for a visit. Elsa calls Nelson to tell him she can’t see him now because Ed is back. He looks peeved.

Pat is in a hurry to throw Marichuy out. Ceci promises to visit her.

Adrián takes the bus to Pat and Ceci’s and reports that Amador is not blind. Relief for the non-villains. Pat asks whether he can prove it; he says yes. He also backs up Mari’s story. Ceci agrees that she had to defend herself, and tells Marichuy to put her things back in her room. Patricio reluctantly agrees.

Juan Miguel arrives at the castle and gets the message to call Patricio. I don’t think he actually does it.

Stef and Isa rail about this turn of events, and worry that their deceit will be discovered. Then Isa goes to try to pry into Mari’s past again some more and rather rudely. Has no one asked why Isa is living at the mansion? I think it is totally weird.

Juan Miguel and family sit in the castle dining room and Onelia is rude about the present he brought for her, saying she doesn’t use that perfume but perhaps she can give it to someone else. Fortunately, he is interrupted by a phone call. It is a bank representative, calling about some action on Viviana’s account. Juan Miguel tells him Viv died months ago, but the bank man says whatever check thing he is talking about happened only two days ago. JM is impactado. We see Viv shopping.

Avances: Debutante ball prep. And with any luck, we will not hear the story of the attempted rape/blinding again.

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Comments:
Great recap!

Thank goodness they revealed the fake blindness right away . . . I was going to freak if it continued.

Loved the funny scenes with JM ignoring Stef and I loved how simple Mari loved the snow globe.

Where did Stef and Isa learn their criminal ways? They had to be working as con artists for the last twenty years. Have the been hanging out with gypsy fortune tellers? Last week I learned that a friend of a friend gave $10,000 to a gypsy fortune teller here in New York for the proverbial "curse removal." She realized after that she had been conned but too late.
 

Hmmm Julia...you were having fun writing this, I could tell. Villainous vixens, dastardly duos, Scamador and Ornerylia....too funny.

I watched this trying to get my mind off the depressing events of last night's Querida but without much success. Was DELIGHTED though that Amador was busted quickly and that he didn't kill the poor little alleged novio to keep his mouth shut.

Although JuanMichel's castle is impressive, it sure isn't homey. That family dinner scene was depressing, even without mother-in-law's presence, and Marichuy's room at Ceci's was unbearably cold looking before she redecorated. I'd want to head back to my comfy little laundress' digs post haste.
 

Hi, again, JudyB.

Isn't it sweet how Marichuy posted a picture of Candelaria on her bedpost?
 

Julia: Thank you for the funny and quick recap.

Ditto on ending Amador's so-called blindness. Any more of that, and I would have to put him on fast forward. The pipe thing was also extremely annoying. He is just annoying. It's about time that ape got dressed.

At least Adrian used his one last brain cell and got on the bus to go the Velarde's hacienda. Did you all notice that he hops off the bus and is at the door in a moment while from the air it looks like the driveway is an airport runway.

I'm guessing - Isabel is staying at the mansion by invitation of Pat and Ceci out of gratitude for bringing their long lost daughter back home. They've also given her a blank check to go shopping. And, out of gratitude, she meddles in their lives and fills the position of resident witch. Oh, no, that was Martirio. Stefi is merely a witch in training.
 

Well we all need a Candelaria in our lives, comfy,affectionate, hard-working, wise and protective. She's a great fairy godmother even without a magic wand.
 

I just can't believe the gleeful way Isa and Stefi move from one anti-Mari plot to another. They have no idea that they are at extreme risk of being prosecuted for their criminal fraudulent behavior. I can't wait for them to go down!
 

Spoken like a true lawyer, NinaK. You go girl!
 

Thanks for the recap. I don't follow this show closely, but I saw it last night. Patricio should apologize for the way he prejudged Marichuy, but it doesn't look as if he will. Also, Amador should be arrested, or sued, or something (maybe slander against Marichuy's reputation), but again, I doubt this'll happen. For a judge, Patricio has a strange sense of fairness (and seems to have no understanding of violence against women).
 

I totally agree, Hombre, re: "Judge" Patricio's sense of fairness. First of all, he humiliated Mari by holding the inquisition in front of Isa and Stef. And then didn't have the good grace to apologize for having pre-judged her. It is so unwholesome for Mari to be living in a house with someone who detests her the way Patricio does. I guess I need to calm down, but I can't think when the last time was that I cared about a novela character as much as I do Marichuy. There's just something about her combination of vulnerability and spunk.

Stellar recap, Julie. I look forward to them.

J.J.
 

Yep, Patricio is a jerk. It is amusing that we see the lady-with-scales statue, the symbol of justice, prominently featured on his desk while he is being so unjust to Marichuy. Aren't judges supposed to hear all the evidence before they make decisions? I do not see why Ceci loves him.

But, big points to Adrian for putting an end to the blindness plot and quickly. I hope Amador gets some kind of good punishment.

I don't know why Ceci and Pat were so appalled by the way Mari decorated her room. Their house looks so institutional; I thought it was a big improvement. It is certainly no worse than what Stef did to her room. There are parts of JM's castle that are cozy; I really like his office. Onelia just makes any place seem hostile.

What I don't get is why JM and Mari can't seem to get any time alone. He is supposedly the shrink in charge of her rehabilitation or whatever; you'd think that would be a good excuse to say, "we need to talk privately for awhile" and get away from Stefi. Not that they really need an excuse; they should be able to do as they please...
 

Outstanding recap, Julia! Great humor and observations.

By the way, when I was growing up I had horse statues all over and I don’t have a castle or a stack of dough, so maybe your mother’s throwing away your horse didn’t have any effect. Of course, now that I think of it, I didn’t have any horse statues when I grew up, so maybe they only work on adults. Hmmm.

I agree about these lonesome rich-folks homes. To me the judge’s digs are the worst, miles of vast sterile rooms. At least Castle San Ramon has some cool architectural details.

I too was glad that Amador got busted so quickly, as this whole thing about Mari’s being attacked and then not being believed, and also being further threatened by her attacker was really stressing me out.

There are two interesting plot features that I like a lot in this show: One is that the marriage of Ceci and Pat was very blissful until Mari arrived and now we see them in conflict. The other is Mari’s saying that when she isn’t believed, she just doesn’t talk. In so many novelas, most of the problems come from characters simply not telling what’s up, but in this case, the writers have given Mari a good motivation for not speaking out, which gives the whole thing more credibility, I think.
 

Hi there! folks. I enjoyed reading your comments. I agreed with you, guys. Some of your questions are also likw mines, but I forget to asked about them.

GreaT SuperB Recap! Julia.

I totally agreed and second you called those FRAUDS (Isabela & Estefania) names! I say YEAH!

Those two FRAUDS just get under my skins. At times, I don't want to hear what they say because I know it is lies, deceit, and about greed. I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THEY ARE DISCOVERED. Patricio, the "moron & stupid" judge I also totally dislike. Like I said in other comments I made he is a stuck up old fart. Even when it is discovered that Marichuy is the real daughter, Patricio doesn't deserve her. He can be stuck with his fake daughter. For a judge, he is "stupido".

This series has me yelling at my TV. I root for Marichuy. Like you, J.J., I agreed with this statement you made, "It is so unwholesome for Mari to be living in a house with someone who detests her the way Patricio does. I guess I need to calm down, but I can't think when the last time was that I cared about a novela character as much as I do Marichuy. There's just something about her combination of vulnerability and spunk." I share your feelings. I even think Marichuy should get the hell of there. She is unwelcome by everyone except Cecilia and the nice young maid Nora. To me, it is like a jail where other crazy inmates and distorted officials are out to get you.

What I thought and said last night was if Marichuy get kick out I can highly guess she will go back to Juan Miguel's house. This would be a backfire for FRAUDS. They don't even think about this. We know that Estefania, the witch in training, wants Juan Miguel for herself. Does she not think that she will be found out? Her and her other dastardly duo?

I like your words, Julia. I hope that I can use them.

To me, Adrian is the hero of the night last night. He came to the rescue for Marichuy. He care and loves her. I feel sorry for him that Marichuy is not for him, but I hope he gets someone in this novela. He deserves it.

I was yelling for joy when Amador got busted. He is a slimeball. He needs to be taught a lesson. Maybe have his "you know who" stabbed. I got this thought from a scene from the novela "Bajo La Misma Piel" where one of the female character got raped. She got even by stabbed him in his "you know who".

I feel strongly about rape because of my own experience with it when I was young. This is also where I don't like judge and the justice system because I reported my abuse, but it was never tried.

Thank you! folks for letting me ramble on. I enjoy this and reading your comments. Keep commenting. Thanks.

Genevieve
 

With regard to Isa living at Casa Velarde: She set that up when she first told Ceci that she knew where her daughter was. She told Ceci that Estef had been raised by her Sister and knew her (Isa) as tia. And that Estef would feel better if she had someone she knew around while she got used to to the Velardes. Ceci said, si, como no, you will of course come and live with us.

A principal dramatic device is the "denouement," or revealing, and the emotion (joy, shame, horror, etc.) that comes from it. The writers are creating tremendous tension between Patricio and Mari so that when he comes to know she is la verdadera hija his shame at how he has treated her will be more intense.
 

Riberajoe, thanks for explaining how Isa came to move in; I had missed that. What a leech.

Genevieve, I'm so sorry about your past experiences. Unfortunately this kind of violence is very under-punished. It's really sad.

I agree, if Stef had gotten Mari thrown out and then she moved back in with Juan Miguel, that would have been SWEET. Well, at least regarding Stef's and Isa's reactions; Mari would have been stuck dealing with Onelia, so six of one, half dozen of the other for her. She really should just go back to Cande's...it wasn't the home she was living in that was the problem in her life, it was that she had money problems and men issues, and the men issues were compounded by the attack in the woods. What Juan Miguel needs to do to help her is not put her in a different home, but give her counseling to deal with the trauma (ideally, he should send her to another shrink) and help her get some education and job prospects. All of which he might figure out if they ever managed to have a good long talk. Then he needs to put Onelia on a one-way cruise.
 

Genevieve, I am also a social worker and work with children and adolescents, and at times I have to remind myself I'm watching a novela as a form of relaxation and to improve my Spanish. I think it's a testament to the writers and actors that Mari's situation resonantes with me so strongly. In real life, I wouldn't approve of Juan Miguel's relationship with such a vulnerable young girl as it's obvious she's hungry for love and acceptance. But in my novela world, I think they make such a cute couple and can't wait to see them get together. I love that shot of them all dressed up at the end of the opening credits.

J.J.
 

Thanks for the fun re-cap.

I was so peeved at Patricio last night, what a jerk and what kind of a judge?? I agree that this makes the relationship with the verdadera hija very tense, and we will get a satisfying denoumet but meanwhile the Casa Verlarde is a hostile place, no wonder Mari spends all her time in a fetal position in her room!

I agree that it is partly because the Velarde house is cold and sterile, all that hard white tile, and stark white paint. Very uptight.

I hate, hate, the exterior of this house too! It's sort of like "let's try to recreate an american style McMansion (don't get me started...) without really getting the details right. Is it modern? Tradtional? It's plain and big with cheap white windows, yucky beige dry-vit stucco. Guess I'm betraying myself as a decorator.

The "Castle" on the other hand: yes it's bigger than God's own house and doesen't make for warm family living, but, it's truly spectacular. Real wood, stone, metal, historically accurate details, and hand worked craftsmanship.

It's not a cheesy disney version, it's obviously real. I would be intersted to know what this place is IRL.

The "artists loft" is great too. The facade of this place is probably famous, I think Diego Rivera's house has the same intense blue painted exterior, but I think it's modern in style.

It's very appealing to me that the shooting for most of the locations seems to be in real places, rather than in a studio, love it, and love the good acting.

I'm this close to bailing on Fuego and sticking with Cuidado (that is if I should feel the need to cut down haha)
randy, sea.
 

Randy, sounds like you and I have very similar thoughts about modern building practices! I spend a great deal of time ranting about the horrible things people build and all the fakey fake pseudotraditional housing developments. I could go on for hours but I won't here.

But, yes, Pat and Ceci's house looks cheap. The fenestration is bizarre. I really don't know what they were going for other than "huge."
 

Also, I think the real problem with the castle is that it's meant for a different lifestyle. Viv's witchiness and disappearance and Onelia's nastiness put a downer on the whole place; it's meant for a big family and lots of friends coming over. I think the house would seem a lot warmer and cozier with some happy people in it.
 

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