Caray, Caray!

Happy Thanksgiving! If you don't have a crazy woman stalking you with a gun, that's something to be thankful for right there.

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The taller nun wants to take some panques to their room while they give Lorena and Ernesto some privacy. The shorter nun warns her about the cardinal sins of gluttony and envy.

Ickturo's mother signs off on the home sale after being warned that there will be a 25% penalty if she changes her mind. The agent hands them an advance payment and says they'll get the rest at closing next week. Icky asks the agent if she can see about speeding up the transaction if possible; they need cash fast, and they can move out tomorrow morning.

Lorena runs out to greet Ernesto. They bask in each others' smiles for a moment; Sara hits the gas. Ern flings Lorena to safety, but doesn't get out of the way himself. Sara speeds away.

Lorena gets up and calls to Ernesto, but he's unconscious. She turns his head and he has delicious raspberry jam blood all over his face. She cries and her nose turns red.

Sara is having a better time with her real-life game of Grand Theft Auto. She gloats that after all the things she tried, it turned out to be so easy to get rid of those two.

Everyone from lesser house has come out to see Ernesto. Omar reminds Lore not to move him (too late, she already turned his head - a big no-no). Zulema is calling for help. Bystanders say the driver was a woman, who sped up when she should have been braking - she knew what she was doing. Snorty is sure it was Sara.

Vasco, Diana, Saulito, and Barb are hanging out in the park, where some great event is about to begin - a "Family Day" fiesta hosted by his eco-company. The family day fiesta was his idea. It'll start with a "rally" - some sports activities including a sack race.

Sack race vs. lunatic in a stolen car? Again, sounds like a video game.

Felipe sneaks up on Paty and tries to kiss her. She gets mad and says that what happened yesterday won't happen again, it only happened because of the beer. He says he's sober now and he still wants to kiss her. She says no again and turns away with a smile on her face. She admits he's not too bad of a kisser, but that doesn't mean she's going to die for him. Anyway, what about Diana? Felipe says Paty has magically made him forget. "Aw, you're making me turn red." "I'd rather turn you red with a kiss." He kisses her. She agrees that with some practice, he might convince her. They begin practicing right away.

Sara drives into a field and tells her hostage that all she has to do now is make sure those two are dead, and then she'll disappear. "Obviously I'll let you go first, but I warn you, if you say one word I'll come back and make you pay (cobrártela=take it out of you). You've seen what I can do.

"Or maybe I'll wait until the burial; after all, she was my best friend," Sara adds mockingly. She whirls on Ms. Fortuna with the gun; Fortuna winces. "What do you think?" Sara barks at her. She mocks Fortuna's terrified look ("Aw, you're touched!") and says yeah, she'll stay for the funeral, maybe she'll even use up the rest of her bullets. Bwahahahaha! She pokes the gun in Fortuna's general direction again and laughs some more.

The ambulance has arrived at clinic No. 23. The paramedics tell Valeria that Ernesto's vitals are poor, no visible fractures, possible internal hemorrhaging. (I cannot believe my eyes. They are thump-thumping that stretcher up a couple of steps into the clinic. Ouch, ouch, ouch! Hello, RAMPS, people! RAMPS!!)

Snorty says they need to notify the police - what, they didn't do that yet?? - whether it was Sara or not, they still need to investigate. Omar says he'll take care of it.

Lorena tells Alonso what happened - Ernesto saw the car coming, got her out of the way but took the hit himself. He's been unconscious ever since.

Alonso says his abdomen doesn't sound right, he needs to go in there right now to stop the bleeding. (Hopefully he won't give the guy a gastric bypass, just out of habit.) He promises Lorena he'll do everything he can to save Ernesto.

Ernesto turns his head (in the thing that's supposed to immobilize his neck) and moans. Some blood dribbles out of his mouth. Lorena's scared, but tells him Alonso's going to operate. "I'm in good hands," Ernesto says. Valeria warns Lorena that it's very bad.

Ernesto tells Lorena he loves her. "Whatever happens, never doubt it." Lorena says nothing's going to happen, he's going to be fine, he has to recuperate for her, so they can spend the rest of their lives together. He's the love of her life.

"I'd like to have your faith, to think that there's much to live for, but I feel so tired..."

Lorena tells him to be stronger than ever, because if he leaves her, she'll never forgive him.

He asks her to tell the kids that he loves them, and to look out of them. They'll pay attention to her; they're very fond of her.

Alonso's ready to operate. He asks Valeria to stay behind with Lorena. (This must be some clinic if they have enough doctors to hang out with non-patients!) "Don't let him die," Lorena requests." "I didn't become a doctor to let my patients die. Ask God to guide my hands."

Omar tells the family that the phone that was used to call Alonso belongs to a woman who disappeared, and her car matches the description of the one that hit Ernesto. "Damn Sara! Damn her a thousand times!" Snorty says. The taller nun says this is no time for cursing people; they should be praying for Ernesto. "And for catching Sara once and for all," adds the feistier short nun. The taller one wonders how the sweet little child that they cared for so much could become such a criminal. Zulema says it wasn't their fault she was a bad seed. "Only God knows where she came from."

Sara listens to the radio and grins with satisfaction as she hears a reporter confirm that the main suspect in the attack on the "Cooking with Joy" cohosts is none other than Sara de la Cruz, the show's original host. Then her gladness turns to madness as he adds that Ernesto isn't dead yet, and Lorena was unharmed (ilesa). The reporter says he's at Clinic No. 23, which makes her feel a little better. They also report her car's license plates (665-ARS, just in case it turns up in the Querida Enemiga edition of Trivial Pursuit). Well darn, that means no more Grand Theft Auto and no driving through the big family festival in the park.

Watching the news at home with her family, Betina worries about Ivan. Tori calls the clinic for news. Paula thinks it's ironic that Alonso is operating on Ernesto. Toribio defends Alonso's professional honor, and Paula apologizes. Beti hopes her uncle can save Ivan's uncle; if not, it'll be like he's getting orphaned a second time.

The internal specialist has patched up the damage to Ernesto's kidneys, but his liver is ruptured. The specialist thinks he can fix that too.

Meanwhile, Ernesto's kids are with Aunt Gladys in the park (I think not the same park as Vasco and Diana); Gina is bummed because the boys are playing without her. They're not patient like her uncle - they never let her have the ball. She wants to go home and see her uncle. "You have acute uncle-itis (tiitis), don't you?" Gladys asks, sounding a little envious.

The fun and games in the OR aren't finished yet. Ernesto's intestines are also hemorrhaging in multiple places, and Alonso's going to have to do a facetotomy (the captions were wrong, there is no pecetotomy) which is some kind of spinal operation. The specialist warns that it's very dangerous. "It's that, or let him die," Alonso says grimly.

Lorena worries that the surgery is taking so long. Valeria says that under the circumstances, the delay is a good sign. Lorena's upset she didn't tell Ernesto she loves him. "Why did I wait so long?" Now that she's so close to losing him, she's sorry she didn't tell him sooner. Valeria says sometimes we feel like life is eternal and there will always be time to say what we feel.

If there is one thing we should all learn from this telenovela, it's the importance of getting to the point! (LORENA!)

Lorena suddenly wants to call the kids and tell them what happened. Yikes, okay, you know, sometimes it's good to wait a little bit before giving people the news... Valeria advises her to wait till the surgery's done. Lorena thinks they should be there for him.

Gladys is trying to cheer Gina up. She offers to buy her something, but all Gina wants is to see her uncle. "I don't know why, but I want to see him." That's when Gladys gets the call from Lorena.

Now for the important stuff: Vasco wins the sack race! Also, Saulito calls him "Papa."

Julian's been at the studio all day, developing his game-calling skills. Afterwards, his coworker says Rosy called a few times, probably to tell him what happened to his sister, but she's fine, so he didn't bother interrupting the session, but her friend the chef got hurt.

Paty tells Jaime on the phone that she and Felipe have everything under control at the business and are taking care of the orders. She tells Felipe it's the best way they can help their friends. Felipe says they can pray too. More talk, and he kisses her, and she says he has to earn kisses, not steal them. She sends a supportive text message to Lorena.

Rosy shows up at the hospital and says Julian is on the way. They haven't been able to contact Vasco yet - they know he's at his company's event. Lorena worries about Ernesto's kids. The taller nun tells her to have faith.

Lorena's boss at the studio is telling the police on the phone that people have been calling, worried about Ernesto, and they've also had a dozen calls from people saying they've spotted the car. Julian walks in on this and wants all the information so that he can catch Sara himself. Lorena's boss says they have to let the police do their job. Julian knows the place where they found the car, though, and he wants to see Sara get caught. Lorena's boss says he'll go with Julian and bring a camera. I think he says that if it hadn't been for Ernesto, he'd still be a reporter.

Vasco, Diana, etc. arrive at the lesser house, where the police are still investigating. The police tell them what happened, and they are impactados.

Julian and Lorena's boss arrive at the empty lot where Sara ditched the car. There's the car, with the same plates and everything. They debate whether or not the police have been there yet (one of them thinks they would have taken the car away if they had). They are also unsure as to whether they should approach the vehicle.

Ms. Fortuna sits up, they see her, she's not Sara, they run to look. Lorena's boss thinks it might be a trap! Julian isn't willing to leave her, and he opens the car door. She says Sara left, furious that she hadn't killed her friend.

The police arrive and pull guns on Julian and his friend. A while later, the confusion is cleared up, and Julian says Sara's sick and she's probably gone to look for Lorena. The cop disagrees and thinks that Sara simply fled - that's why she left the hostage behind. He doesn't think she would be stupid enough to walk right into the lion's den (or more literally, stick her head in the wolf's mouth). Julian says regardless, he needs to warn his family. The cop offers them a ride to the clinic.

Sara's at the clinic, dressed as a nurse, wheeling around a cartload of medical supplies.

The surgery isn't going well. Ern's BP is dropping. Alonso orders another unit of blood.

Lorena is still angsting about not telling Ern she loves him. Rosy tries to cheer her up and tells her to have faith, but Lorena admits that after all that's happened to her, she's feeling like she's just about done. She's going to the chapel to pray.

She barely makes it around the corner. Sara grabs her and threatens her with the gun.

Gladys takes the kids to the clinic, and Betina arrives with Toribio at the same time. Later, Tori tells Gina that Alonso is operating on Ernesto.

Sara and Lorena are in a storage room. Sara puts way too much effort into convincing Lorena that she can shoot her. Lorena says Sara's lost no matter what. Sara says that's why she's going to destroy Lorena. If they're going to lock her up, Lorena's going to have to disappear too. Lorena says fine, get it over with. If her obsession is that great, then when Lorena dies, that's the end of Sara's life too. "Then we'll go together," Sara says and cocks the gun.

Sara's hands are trembling. She lowers the gun for a moment. She deduces that if Lorena's so indifferent to being killed, it's because Ernesto's probably going to die. Lorena says yep, without him, everything else matters very little. Then Sara gets that crazy gleam in her eye again, raises the gun, and says no, Lorena's not going to get her to throw this moment away. She wants Lorena to be crying and begging for mercy.

Sara's a little miffed that this wasn't all about Alonso. "Look at the things we could have been spared if you had left him to me from the beginning." Lorena says that one time, Alonso gave her a hug and called her "Sara" by mistake. He told her that Sara had given him something that Lorena never could. This story makes Sara's day. "At last I win, because I'm better than you! Hah!" She points the gun and laughs like a maniac.

Julian arrives at the clinic and updates the rest of the family on his trip to the vacant lot. The police are watching the clinic outside. But she could be miles away from here - she wouldn't be so foolish as to stick her head in the wolf's mouth. (Pretty sure he's only saying this to make them feel better.)

Lorena is telling Sara that Sara's better than her at lots of things - she's physically stronger, she used to defend Lorena from the boys at school. (Yeah, and probably had sex with them afterwards.) Sara laughs at the memory of punching them.

Lorena says Sara's also better at math. (She doesn't mention the embezzling... actually, I guess they still don't know that Sara was stealing from orphans and nuns.)

"But they loved you more!" Sara cries. Lorena says Mother Asuncion took Sara into Administration long before she let Lorena help in the kitchen. "And I made it a career!" Sara says proudly. Lorena says that's right, she had to go to the city to continue her studies, but at age 20 Sara was already a computer expert. "The best in my class!" She earned extra money at the orphanage for her work, and she spent it on gifts for Lorena. "I still have the earrings you gave me for my birthday before I left for the city."

Sara laughs and says she doesn't believe it. "Why won't you believe me? We were sisters."

Gladys, Toribio, and the kids ask Valeria for an update on Ernesto. She admits that he's in bad shape, but Alonso and a specialist are working on him. Alex asks if they should pray. She tells them where to find the chapel.

After the little kids leave, Ivan and Gladys ask Valeria how bad it really is. She says Ernesto's chances are minimal. Ivan doesn't feel well. Valeria goes off in search of some aspirin.

Lorena continues working on Sara's sense of sisterhood. Sara is getting increasingly unstable and has a hard time focusing. Lorena asks if what Sara wrote on that Christmas card was a lie too. "The one I painted by hand?" Sara squeaks. "Yes, it's inscribed in my heart, letter for letter, just as if I were looking at it: Dear sister, if there's one good in my life, it's you. I ask God that nothing separate us, and to make you very happy, and to let me share in that happiness with you."

Sara looks a little lost. She lowers the gun again.

"Sara, you loved me." Oops, that was a step too far - Sara lifts the gun again. "Because we were two poor orphans! I didn't understand anything then. That was sheer stupidity!"

"It wasn't stupidity. You believed in friendship, in affection, in love. You believed in things that were worthwhile, and though you don't recognize it now, in that time you were much happier."

Sara denies all of this and also notices that Lorena is approaching slowly. "I don't want you near me. Don't take another step." Lorena says even though Sara wants to kill her, someday she'll remember that Lorena was the only sister she ever had.

Sara cries. She lowers the gun and uncocks it. Lorena makes her move, and Sara snaps out of her brief moment of sanity. After a poorly choreographed and fruitless scuffle in which Sara loses the gun but gets it back a moment later, Sara cuts her hand on some broken glass and tells Lorena she'll pay for this! She's tells Lorena to put up her hands and prepare to meet her doom.

"You're hurt," Lorena says. Sara accuses her of being nice just to stall for time. "Nothing will save you! Not even a story about a happy little sister. Now you're going to meet the real Sara! On your knees!" She gives Lorena a shove, but Lorena doesn't end up on her knees.

Just then, Valeria, who spotted them through the window in the door right around when Sara cut her hand, bursts in and grabs Sara from behind. Lorena grabs the gun. Valeria throws Sara to the floor. Lorena points the gun at Sara and shoots her by mistake - I guess Sara re-cocked it when I wasn't looking. I'm not sure who looks more shocked - Lorena or Sara!

Sara sinks to the floor, apparently unconscious. Lorena is horrified, thinking she killed Sara. She runs for help. Valeria stoops to take Sara's pulse; Sara grabs the gun again and hits her with it. She flees.

Lorena tells her family she killed Sara. She just reacted... she didn't want to hurt her. Julian runs off to play the hero again. Valeria tells him and also the actual security professional. The security guy gives an order to seal the exits and search the hospital section by section. She's armed and dressed as a nurse.

Of course not. She's changed back into her regular clothes. (I can't believe that professional security people are unaware that nurses' uniforms can be removed. This subject has been exhaustively explored in numerous films and strip clubs.) Sara admires her reflection in the mirror and even holds up the gun like she's posing for the cover of the Soldier of Fortune glamor issue. She sneaks towards the waiting room, where Lorena is still upset thinking that she killed her former friend. Sara raises the gun and looks ready to shoot when Julian shows up and tells everyone that Sara got away, the hospital's been closed up, and they're going to hunt her like the animal she is. "I'd better get out," Sara whispers to herself.

Lorena tries to cheer up Gina.

The surgery is done. Alonso and the specialist don't look happy.

Sara easily walks out of the hospital with nobody noticing, but just to be on the safe side she threatens a woman with a baby to pretend that they're together. The cops open the gate for the new mother. Despite Sara's gun, the woman screams for help, thinking that Sara is trying to steal her baby. Sara easily runs through the gate. The police jump into their cars and follow her down the street.

Alonso comes out of the OR looking very discouraged.

Sara limps down the street - evidently Lorena only got her in the leg. From the looks of all the empty barrels here, she's probably at the dump. (Know what they have at the dump? Trash compactors!) The police have no difficulty catching up with her. She lifts the gun and points it at one of the many men who are all aiming at her. They tell her to drop it; as she realizes what's happening, she turns the gun on herself. However, her finger is nowhere near the trigger.

Oops! I was wrong about Alonso looking discouraged. It's just his usual look. Sorry, I forgot he doesn't emote reliably. He tells the family that Ernesto is out of danger and will recuperate well. Lorena gives Alonso a big hug.

Sara's finger has found its way to the trigger. A policeman tell her to put the gun down. She points it at him instead; I don't think she manages to fire it before one of them shoots her. (One of them thoughtfully kicks the gun away from her after she falls.) Her eyes are still open. Is she dead? I can't tell where she was shot.

Lorena pays Ernesto a visit. "You were right, I couldn't leave you alone," he says.

Lorena says, "Te amo." (BIG sigh of relief.) "These have been the longest hours of my life." Alonso pokes his head in, unseen, as Lorena tells Ernesto how sorry she is that she didn't tell him how much she loves him, she has no doubts, she can't love anyone but him. Alonso slinks away, looking stunned. Lorena says she'd never forgive herself for the time she wasted on doubts if something happened to him. Ernesto promises that for the rest of their days, he'll make her the happiest woman in the world. Lore says she already is.

Ernesto asks Lorena to marry him. Lorena nods.

Valeria finds Alonso sulking in his office. "I've lost her forever." He's condemned to loneliness. She was his life! How can he go on without her? He thinks back on that chance encounter on a rainy afternoon. Valeria says, who's to say you can't have other rainy afternoon? That chance won't put someone else in front of him, someone who loves him as much as he loves her?

She strokes his face, but he seems oblivious to her words.

Somehow, Ickturo and his mom have managed to pack up everything they own overnight. She touches the walls and scolds Icky for telling her not to feel badly. He promises that she won't be left without a home. They'll have a much better one.

He wants the check so he can set things up with his business partner. Mami does not want to give it to him. He grabs her bag out of her hands. (It falls open in front of the camera, so you can see that it is COMPLETELY EMPTY except for one piece of paper. I hate when I see women on TV with pocketbooks that obviously have nothing in them. It's not that hard to stuff a handbag.) Icky takes the check and leaves.

Some time later, Icky and his partner and a couple of flunkies are loading a van of pirated movies (not to be confused with pirate movies) when the police show up. The flunkies run away, but Icky and his partner are caught. "You told them, didn't you!" the partner accuses. "We're partners!" Ickturo unwisely assures the police, who remind him that anything he says can be used against him. The partner promises, "you'll pay!"

Alonso is now sulking in the dark. Lorena comes in and turns on the light. She says she's happy. Alonso says it was almost like a miracle - for a moment, they thought they were going to lose Ernesto. Lorena is eternally grateful. During the operation, he wasn't just thinking about Ernesto, he was also thinking about Lorena's happiness. He fought for her happiness with all his heart, and never would have forgiven himself if he'd left Lorena alone. He knew last night that she wasn't his, and couldn't be without the man she loves.

Lore says she would give anything to love him the way he deserves, but she can't go against her feelings. Alonso says it's very painful, but Ernesto deserves her more than anyone. Lorena says she'll always be fond of him for being such an awesome guy.

Alonso says he and Ernesto spoke last night, and Ern thought that Lorena was going to choose Alonso. Now Alonso's going to turn Ernesto's threat around: if Ern doesn't make Lorena happy, Alonso will make him pay. (He says this with a microscopic grin, so I guess this was meant lightheartedly.) She thanks him for securing her happiness and everything else he's done for her.

Alonso says: "One day I returned you to your family; today I brought back the love of your life."

Next time:
Nothing on Thursday.
On Friday, enjoy a rerun of this episode at the usual time, followed by the Gran Final at 8pm ET.

I'm going to miss recapping this show!

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