Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Cuidado Con El Ángel #22, 21 Oct 08 Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

It is a dark night in the DF. Marichuy is nestled all snug in her bed, while visions of sugarplums or quite possibly Juan Miguel, who could be considered a sugarplum, dance in her head. Her door opens and closes, and a dark figure approaches her bed, accompanied by ominous music. Cuate is alarmed and awakens Mari, who screams and dives around and crawls under the bed to avoid the shadowy figure in the hat and cape.

Pat and Ceci are sitting in bed when they hear the screams. Patricio looks annoyed, because you know those orphans, they are always screaming in the night just to make his life difficult. They think she’s just having nightmares again and sit around discussing it calmly for a minute before Ceci finally gets up to go check on Mari. The witches get up, too. By the time they all get there, Mari is hiding under the covers screaming and there is no one else in the room.

Elsa eats a late dinner with my telenovio Eduardo in Benihana or its Mexican equivalent. She thinks JM must be angry at Mari about the party dustup, Ed says no. Elsa doesn’t understand why he’s engaged to Estefanía; she thought he liked Marichuy. Join the chorus, honey. Eduardo says he does, but there is too much class difference between them. He says that totally straight-faced, as though in any universe that would be a reason to marry Stef. Then he mentions sending out their wedding invitations and she looks grim, and the expression intensifies when he reminds her that she won’t be working at the theater anymore after they’re married. Why? Is being married to him such a demanding job that one can’t fit in some theater work? I may have to reconsider.

Ceci tries to comfort Marichuy as they sit in her bed, where she has pulled the sheets off for more to hide under. Mari tells them about the man in the hat, but they think she was dreaming. Stef tries to get Ceci to abandon Mari, but Mari begs her not to leave. Stef and Martirio smirk at each other.

Adrián helps Candelaria with the laundry as he tells her about the classes he’s giving Marichuy. He says she’s smart and eager to learn, but Cande says he must not know her; she’ll lose interest in two days. Adrián thinks she’s wrong.

Martirio and Stef finally leave. In the hall they run into Isa, dressed all in black with a hat and cape. Where’s your broom, witch? Ceci stays with Marichuy until she falls asleep. The three witches cackle hysterically in Stef’s room.

The next day, doctors JM and Ed enter their office, where some secretary lady and Israel, who does apparently work there, give them the day’s info. Seems today is pro bono day.

Marichuy is in the orchard where the apples are always ripe, petting the docile deer, while the birds braid her hair and the mice make her a dress for the ball. The first parts, anyway. The gardener gives her a rose.

Cecilia is in Stef’s room arranging her necklaces on strange ceramic heads when Mari comes in with a basket of roses and a vase, joking like she is selling tamales, which makes Ceci laugh. Mari admires the necklace Ceci is holding (she says “chido”, cool) and Ceci lets her hold it and tells her it’s very valuable. Marichuy says if she had a necklace like that she could sell it and buy lots of things. Oh, it’s the heirloom necklace.

Stef enters the curaloco office where the secretary and Israel are working. Israel asks if she has an appointment, and she says she’s JM’s fiancée. Israel tells her she may wait if she’d like, so she sits and promptly lights a cigarette, then tries to send Israel to fetch her more. He says that’s not his job (he’s not a mandadero, errand boy) and she repeats snottily that she is the FIANCÉE of Dr. Juan Miguel San Roman. He’s still not an errand boy.

Lots of flyover footage of ocean and islands, then some divers haul Viv’s boy-toy-gone-wrong onto the beach. From the bullet holes, they brilliantly deduce that he was murdered.

In Madrid, Viviana wears a swimsuit and hangs out on the balcony drinking wine, with no regrets over the murder and excited to be starting her new life.

Stef berates Israel for not following her orders, he repeats that it’s not his job and besides, she doesn’t even say please, so she says she doesn’t have to say please to him; he works for JM and hasn’t he heard she is the FIANCÉE of Juan Miguel. He calls her out on her bad manners and she leaves, threatening to have him fired. Let’s do hope the good doctor hears all about this.

Stef arrives at home and complains to Ceci about the horrible way that office guy treated her, not quite telling the tale the way it happened. Ceci just tells her to mention it to Juan Miguel, then walks off all buddy-buddy with Marichuy, to Stef’s dismay. In her room, Stef takes out the necklace and remembers Mari’s comment about how expensive it is.

Patricio tells Isabela that some money is missing from his desk. She suggests that maybe Ceci took it, probably knowing very well that she herself took it. Pat goes out to the rose garden where Ceci and Mari are cutting roses, and Ceci tells him of course she didn’t take it. Then it has been stolen!, he says. But who could have taken it? Isa acts distraught, then suggests Marichuy as the culprit. In a shocking twist, Patricio is willing to believe that. Ceci says she would never do something like that, because she sees a difference between taking milk for starving orphans and stealing money for no reason, but Pat and Isa say, once a thief, always a thief. Ceci says no puede ser.

Isa and Stef stir their eyes of newt and wings of bats while cackling over their success in convincing Patricio that Mari stole the money. Isa gloats that he already wants to send her back to jail, but how about a final blow, the necklace? There is no crack of lightning and roll of thunder, but there should have been.

Mari sits by the fountain and calls Rocío, who is exercising by the pool at the castle. They make plans to go out.

Stef appears to be actually thinking for once, as she is ruminating on the fact that Marichuy is the real daughter of Ceci and Pat, and if they find out she’s lied to them all this time she will lose everything, including JM. Isa tells her to just work on getting the wedding happening ASAP, and leave the guacha to her. She tells her, no pierdas la cordura. Cordura means prudence or wisdom.

Mari and Rocío are shopping, apparently buying a wedding gift for the half-blissfully betrothed, and naturally just must stop for a bite at Domino’s Pizza.

JM calls Israel at the office to tell him he can leave early. JM won’t be returning to the office, he’s going to visit his novia. Speaking of which, Israel has something he wants to discuss. JM says they’ll talk in the morning. Israel and the secretary grimace at each other.

JM arrives at the mansion and Ceci says she wants to talk to him about something serious.

Rocío and Mari hear all about the fabulous pizza specials and rave at length about the delicious options. That is quality drama at ITS BEST. Finally they sit down and Rocío says she doesn’t think JM is any too enamored of Stef. Mari says she’s seen them kissing, and Rocío says of course they kiss, but so?

Ceci tells JM about Mari’s nightmares.

Mari tells Rocío about the hat-wearing person in her room in the night, and wonders if it was the same person as before. She says she wants to be able to stop being afraid, and then maybe she could fall in love, like Stef, who seems so happy. Gee, Marichuy, if only you had a curalocos to help you with that.

Ceci suggests that JM could help Mari. Hey, what an idea! She doesn’t know whether the man is real or a dream.

Elsa visits Nelson and he tells her she looks sad. He calls her “hermético” or tight-lipped, impenetrable. She says it’s because she’s neither the classy person her parents and Eduardo think she is, nor the existential hipster Nelson thinks she is. They snuggle on his bed as she dumps him and he looks devastated.

Stef complains to JM about that chavo (from what I have gleaned from internet slang dictionaries, that’s like a greaser dude, think John Travolta in Grease. I don’t see how that applies to our sweet Israel. Anyone?). She says he was rude to her and calls him majadero (stupid, annoying). She thinks he should be fired. She tells him what actually happened and he looks like he is seriously reconsidering marrying this nightmare. He says Israel isn’t an office boy; he is studying medicine.

Isa works more on convincing Pat that Mari is the thief. Pat says he’s sure of it and he will set a trap to catch her.

Stef kisses JM and Mari walks in and is all, ooh, awkward. JM looks busted and Mari says she’s going to go get their wedding gift, but JM says he wants to talk to her. ALONE. Stef is every bit as thrilled about that as you would imagine.

JM and Mari go out to the garden and JM puts his jacket on Marichuy. He asks about her nightmares. She says she’s had them for a long time, and he asks her to tell him exactly what she dreams. She flashes back to the terror in the woods but tells him about the person in her room and says that wasn’t a dream, it was real, she’s sure. He says he can help her.

Nelson drops by Vicente’s loft, where Amador is hanging out as usual. Doesn’t the wolf get lonely, and why is Vicente still putting up with this loser? Nelson is sad because Elsa is getting married at the end of the month, and Amador is as sensitive as he always is and laughs at him. Vicente tries to comfort Nelson and looks annoyed at Amador.

Marichuy tells JM about her bad dream, how a man is chasing her and she tries to flee but can’t, but stops when she gets to where the man grabs her. JM looks very concerned, but repeats that he can help her. She is sobbing, and he looks teary too.

Padre Anselmo goes to visit Marichuy. Isa hustles him back out the front door and lies to him about family problems to get him away from the house.

JM asks Mari about the man in the dream, and she tells him she never saw his face. He asks if there are any men like that in her life. Ummmm, you met him, remember, Juan Miguel? Your fist knows his face quite intimately.

JM goes inside and tells Stef why he’s worried about Marichuy. He assures Ceci that she can be helped.

Marichuy cowers in her bed and cries.

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Comments:
Hello there! Julia, you did a nice job of recap so quickly. I especially like the reference to sugerplums and witches.

I want to jump into the TV and scratch Isa's eye balls out last night. Poor Marichuy is already has experience some huge traumas to impact her life. She is a witch that deserve to rot in jail.

Finally they are discussing Martichuy and her nightmares. She is finally going to be helpful.. It ia ABOUT TIME.

The other scheming witch was rude to Israel and the secretary. I was glad when they call her on her behavior. She is stuck up bitch. She tries to be all that when she is a fake. Someday everyone will not that she is a fake.

I SAY AGAIN THEY ARE NOT FEEDING MARICHUY MUCH. I was thinking last night when Rocio took Marichuy out and feed her that at least she has eaten.

Genevieve
 

Awesome, Julia. You're really good at this. Thank you!

Just some thoughts, as I've been buried deep in writing and am getting caught up with the episodes I've missed (I'm up to Monday--woohoo!):

The Good: Amador stopping JM's fist with his face, again and again. JM came down on that perv like Tyson on Holifield! LOL What was up with AmaLoser's porcupine hairdo? * Marichuy. The actress really entertains me and puts me in Mari's corner, even when I don't understand her rapid-fire dialogue...

The Bad: Someone needs to help Patricio dig out that corn cob that's stuck waaaaay up his A. He's getting on my last nerve, being so damned mean and uppity, especially when he started out like a nice man.

The Ugly: Estefy and JM kissing. Blech! Doesn't look appetizing in the least. * Estefy and Isa. They're like a bad rash that just won't respond to Benadryl. Estefy's frown lines look more hideous every day, especially since she's supposed to be a teenager. * Viv, going DefCon4 on Bahama Boy. For the love o'pete, don't mess with that heffer. (She sure knows how to dress, though.)

The Dimwitted: JM. Now I see how he got married to Viv. If a woman likes him, doesn't matter that she makes him nauseous, hurting her feelings is not an option so to the altar we go. Whut?? * Vicente. If one of my male friends was forcing his advances on one of my female friends and terrorizing her, I wouldn't stand there like an idiot and watch all the time, and he wouldn't be my friend. He'd be told to step the hell off. * Everyone at Estefy's party, the whole crowd, who just stood there and watched a man force himself on a girl. WTH? Are you serious?

Hope everyone's having a great week! Back to writing, after these last two episodes...
 

Excellent recap. Stefi lights a cigarette in a doctor's office--the international sign of an evil character. I could see the necklace ploy was coming. I hope it is resolved quickly without Mari suffering serious criminal charges.

Loved your allusion to the birds making a dress for our Cinderella.
 

Hi Julia....did my usual post-recap visit with this tele and on a positive note, have to say I love Patricio and Cecilia's bedroom. Imagine waking up to an open window like that! I know you said the fenestration in the house was weird, but I loved the way the window framed the huge bed in that room.

Now the downside...just about everything else. However Steffie and her aunt or so over-the-top bad (ditto for Amador) that it does seem fairy-taleish, and therefore not so upsetting.

I think "chavo" has modified to just mean "guy" now, "chava" gal in current slang. Will defer to the native speakers in this but that's my sense of it.

Really enjoy your writing style, your personal asides and Shakespearian titles....keep on keepin' on, amiguita.
 

Julia: You did a great job with this recap. I missed so many of the details that pull it all together.

You'd think by now that Patricio would begin to see a realm of possibilities out there. Every time something goes awry Isa is right in there feeding him ideas. Can't stand Estefi, but Isa is far worse because she's the puppetmaster.

Also - why is she so trusted? She was living on the brink of poverty and somehow convinces her "old" friend Ceci to take her and her niece in as Good Samaritan and long-lost child. Somebody, somewhere has got to help Mari out. Maybe the young maid will come through.

Then there's JM - he is the best looking dumbest curalocos in telenovela land. He is so wrapped up in his own misery that he can't relate to what's under his own nose. For crying out loud, he's not a crown prince who has to marry an ugly princess just to continue the family name.

I hope Viv returns. Then it'll really hit the fan. Mari has to be sent to finishing school. I have to root for her; she's so appealing.
 

Maggarita here, slipping across the border from Mexidoom...

I've been watching more of this & less of FELs. A little overwrought but the scenery (wink wink) is mighty fine.

Thanks for the recap, Julia, because I usually come in mid-episode & I cannot keep up with the rapid fire dialogue of Mari.

;-)
 

I am sorry for my grammar this morning. I wrote my comment at 1:30am after waking to get something to drink.

What I want to add is I thought good dumb was Estefania, the witch, wearing ribbons in her hair. Ribbons are usually worn by little girls. To me, it looked stupid on her. Another thing she was too clinging. Here she shows up at Juan Miguel's work expecting everyone to drop everything for her. I thought let the man work. I thought she might try to work herself instead of living off the judge and Cecilia.

I can't wait for Marichuy to leave the judge's house. That place is unpleasant. She is not wanted there. I will be glad when she leaves. The two witches can have it.

Genevieve
 

What did you all think of the egregious pizza product placement? Must be something to do with the 8 pm hour. Same thing happened on Diablos.

Judy B., writing from public library computer
 

Judy, I was also laughing at the Domino's Pizza product placement, 'cause I remembered the one from Guapos. They must have a link with Televisa.

Stefi acted horribly in this episode, esp. in the doctor's office, but there was one moment where she seemed to have a bit of regret, or at least she recognized the danger in their game and seemed fearful. Isabel, on the other hand, is indeed much worse as the "puppetmaster." Dressing up in that Zorro costume to scare a poor young girl was kind of a monstrous act.
 

It's interesting that they never seem to think of DNA testing for awhile. On Querida Enemiga, they finally did it, and the bad Sara was outed. So maybe after about 6 months, they'll do it on this show, to show that Estefania is not the daughter.
 

Thank you so much Julia for your hilarious recap (sugarplums, witches, etc.) You gave me a really good laugh.

ITA with Stephe's list. Patricio really needs a clue and quickly. We know its a plot devise but his cruelty to Mari make me question his character.

LOL Pasofino - Then there's JM - he is the best looking dumbest curalocos in telenovela land. That sums it up but at least last night he was actually being a psychiatrist and trying to help Mari with her problems.

I'm with you Genevieve on taking Isa down. That was really cruel and hopefully her demise and punishment will reflected in this novela soon. And you are right, they still aren't feeding Mari.
 

Thanks for the wonderful recap.

I can't stand the characters of Stefania and her aunt. They'll do whatever it takes to get rid of Marichuy. I did enjoy watching Cecilia and Marichuy bond. Those were nice scenes. It seems that JM will now try to help Marichuy with her nightmares. I have a feeling that it won't take too long before that whole nightmare plot secret is revealed.
I read that due to its success in Mexico, the telenovela has been extended. I wonder how it is doing here in the USA.
 

Stephe, agree with everything you said. Patricio is a well-stocked toolshed. I think maybe he really prefers a very dull life, and now he is suddenly saddled with not one but two daughters sucking up his money and his time. Doesn't excuse his behavior, but it might explain it. Also I'm not sure he's really forgiven Ceci for not telling him about the child sooner.

I hope Patricio's trap catches Isa. Then the gravy train will derail so fast it will send wreckage to China. But for real, the trap has to prove WHO is stealing the wallet, otherwise you've just proved that SOMEONE is stealing which you already know.

Genevieve, Ceci keeps trying to get Marichuy to eat, but every time she's upset about something she says she's not hungry. The rest of the household except Dora would probably be glad to see her starve.

JudyB, thanks for the word help. Maybe it's the same way "dude" used to mean a specific kind of guy, and now it's more general. I agree with you on the window, too...that would be nice to wake up to. It works on the inside of the house, but a lot of them look strange on the outside arrangement.

I thought about leaving the Domino's placement out entirely, but it was so funny after the Domino's episode of Guapos. At least this time they didn't recite the prices and give us the phone number for delivery.

Amador must wield some strange power to keep all those people from stopping his horrible behavior. I can't figure it out.
 

Okay, I looked up the ratings. Cuidado is right neck-and-neck with Fuego at the top of the Spanish-language shows, with about 5 million viewers. As a comparision, the top-rated English-language shows like CSI and Dancing With the Stars get about 17 or 18 million viewers. So this show is doing pretty well.
 

Julia, Thanks for the great recap. These are more fun to relive than FELS just now although we get a lot of cheap laughs off FELS since it is so outlandish.

I think the Domino's placement is annoying, funny but so typical. Only Alborada and Pasion have been too historical for any product placement. Over all I think it is an unfortunate trend in the Mexican TN's. US movies do it but with much more subtlety, I still don't like it in TN's or movies.

I wish they would do PSA on the cigarette routine. Stefania should be cast aside and publically humiliated for lighting up in a doctor's office especially. It seems that smoking is still too acceptable they way they played that scene.

I can't wait to see Isa, the matron grifter and her snobby spawn outed later in this show. She has insinuated herself like a snake in the grass into Pat's consciousness. Ugh! They are so creepy.
 

CherylNM, nice of you to join us here! I can't believe a doctor would allow smoking in his office. Gross! But we've seen him allow Elsa to smoke in there too. We haven't seen Stef smoking before, I don't think, so it's not like she's a chain smoker and just had to have her fix then and there. It was just a power play, and she is awfully confident to cop this kind of attitude before she and JM are even married, especially given that he's not that into her in the first place. I hope she gets her way and JM spends lots of time with her (offscreen, so I don't have to look at her) because the more he gets to know her the more he will hate her.
 

Julia – LOVED your recap. Thank you!

I was kinda startled that JM would send Stef off that way when he wanted to talk to Mari – and then take Mari outside anyway. His social skills aren’t the greatest.

I’m confused about Israel. Is that the same guy from the art crowd who visited the girl in the hospital?
 

Yes, Israel is the same art crowd guy. Amador yelled at him on Monday for "selling out" which I suppose means getting a real job working for Juan Miguel. I can't remember, but I think a few weeks ago we saw in a flashback Israel in Juan Miguel's office explaining that he couldn't pay the fine from the club brawl.
 

Thank you Julia for looking up the ratings. From the numbers it does look like it's doing very well. I give credit to the chemistry between the protagonists as well as the fact that the story seems intriguing as far as what happened to Marichuy in the past (her nightmare). Also the the older characters are excellent in their acting.
 

Thanks Julia for the info on Israel. But I find it confusing that JM would think that her crowd is bad, if Israel is one of them and studying medicine. Also, I don’t recall JM, when they were all arrested, recognizing any of them except Mari.
 

Maggie, JM also recognized his cousin Elsa, who was with them. I think Israel met him later. JM must have had more dealings with them all than we saw, because he was sent there to do something about them. Israel must have asked him for a job in some follow-up meeting.

Odd though that JM doesn't seem to remember that Amador's attacking Marichuy was what started that whole fight, making this now THREE times that they should all know of that Amador has attacked her and she's tried to fight him off. Why does Patricio still believe that everything Amador does is Marichuy's fault? If Amador tried those antics in my hometown I think he would have been lynched by now.
 

hey do you guys know that song that is always played when JM is shown...it's like a love song sang by a guy..I really like that song and I wanna download it..but I don't know the name..please help
 

The song I think you are referring to is "Digale" by David Bisbal.
 

I just starting watching Cuidado con el Ángel this summer (hooray Netflix!) and I'm so glad to find these recaps, albeit a few years late. They're wonderful!
 

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