Caray, Caray!

At the jail, Nabor and the padre bring a lawyer to meet with Fermín so that Fermín can tell the truth about the crime he's in jail for. Fermin is getting getting cold feet, but Nabor and the padre convince him to be brave. He's afraid for his life, but he agrees to go through with it.

Gabi rubs Feo's feet and asks him to kill Ricardo. A foot-rub? Really? Is that all it took to get Ricardo to kill the Robles? (Feo pretty much asks her the same thing. Stop stealing my thoughts, Feo!) For good measure, she asks Feo if he'd like Juan to find out that he killed Libia. Feo reminds her that he's got dirt on Gabi too - she planned the disappearance of Juan's child. (Can he prove it? He's the one who took the baby.)

She asks what he wants in exchange for killing Juan, then. He wiggles his feet at her and asks her to either name him as her heir, or at least put half of her things in his name. Gabi says she can't do that, since she's already named an heir. "Ruth?" he asks. She's surprised he knows. He admits that he overheard a conversation, and what's more, he knows that Ruth is her daughter.

The two Marias (not to be confused with the three Marias) bring robes to the church. This is obviously just an excuse to chat up poor Nabor. He does his best to graciously ward them off. They insist that he tell them something about himself, so he tells them that he was in jail for a crime he didn't commit. The Marias exchange shocked looks, then smile... after the next scene, the Marias defend Nabor, not that anyone was picking on him, and assure him that he's an okay guy, especially now that he's devoted his life to God. He says he didn't exactly devote himself; it's just that he couldn't find another job. Undeterred, they insist on being his friends, and invite him over for churros and chocolate. They crowd him and violate his personal airspace and promise that it will be a sweet, passionate night. He tries to beg off.

Eva's got a letter from Grandpa. It doesn't say when he's coming back, but he's having a nice time traveling, and Santita's making him happy. Eva asks Quintina if she's jealous. Q says that ultimately, she was just his squire, and they had lots of adventures. But there's a tiny edge in her voice as she asks Eva to read her the rest of the letter.

Ruth is ranting and raving at the cottage when Darth Daddy shows up in his dumbest-looking snake jacket. He tells her that her feelings don't matter right now. Having Juan this close is very dangerous for them; if Juan finds out the truth, Daddy's screwed. Brandishing twin guns, he says wants to get it over with. Ruth asks, what's the plan? "What we've planned from the beginning - revenge." (Huh, not so much a plan as a mere noun.) More specifically, they need to start doing away with anyone who's in their way. (Again, Darth, that's not exactly a plan.) Ruth whines that she thought splitting up Juan and Sofía would be enough to get rid of the Reyes, but it wasn't, and now Juan's closer to Sofía than ever. Sofía says she won't forgive him, and Ruth won't either.

Feo reminds Gabi that he said all along that he'd find out everything and she was wasting her time trying to hide things. She says she didn't tell him about Ruth sooner because she didn't have a chance before, but she's glad he knows.

He asks why she doesn't tell Sofía the truth. Gabi says that if Sofi finds out Gabi's not her mom, she won't be able to blackmail her any more to prevent her for turning Ricardo in for murdering Juan's parents. Also, she doesn't want to give Eva the pleasure. It's more fun to watch her suffer thinking that Root is her daughter. Feo thinks she'll find out someday. "Not if I can help it," Gabi replies. "But what's going to happen to Ruth?"

Gabi is very curious as to why he's so worried about Ruth. Now that he knows she's her daughter, he'd better stay away from her! He plays dumb and claims that he's never even looked at Ruth as a woman! Gabi says that's a good thing, for his sake. She's her daughter and he's her husband and she'd better not see them together. He promises to do as she wishes, as always. "If that's true, you'll kill Juan this very night. If you do, I'll think about naming you my heir. Anyway, being in the house, Juan's at your mercy. It'll be very easy to finish him. Or perhaps you're only capable of getting rid of weaklings, like that stupid Rosario?" Feo looks uncomfortable.

Darth Ricardo is pacing the cottage floor, still wearing that tacky jacket, twirling his gun, and worrying that Juan will find Raquel before he does. If so (in case you hadn't heard), Darth is screwed. He's gotta find her, and be careful too, because he's sure that whoever shot at him missed on purpose - to warn him that he's got him in his sights, and he can kill him whenever he feels like it.

Coyote is wearing his own snaky fashions - the cobra jacket - and remembering what Darth told him about the woman he loved and the son he wished he'd had. But Coyote doesn't believe any of it! If Ricardo had really loved Soledad, he would have looked for her and married her. He's just a lying hypocrite. Coyote swears to make him pay.

Wandering around the village, Ricardo just happens to see Soledad getting into a truck. Their eyes meet briefly. He drops his saddle, impactado. The truck drives away. (I have no idea where this is. Is it near the San Agustín stables? If so, what is Soledad doing there? If it's anywhere else, why isn't his saddle on the horse?)

Eva brings Grandpa's letter to Sofía and tells her exactly what she told Quintina. It strikes me as odd that Grandpa wrote to Eva rather one of his granddaughters, but I guess we've established that he's eccentric. With her yet-unrecognized secret mommy powers, Eva senses that gloomy-faced Sofía is bummed. Eva thinks Sofía should listen to Juan, but Sofía is stubborn.

Meanwhile, Hortensia visits with Quintina. Q is worried that H seems upset. H admits that she's worried Saul will dump her because she fell asleep on their wedding night. Q teases her gently yet unsupportively.

Padre Tadeo encourages Nabor to visit the Marias. Nabor has a slew of excuses prepared: It won't look good for two women who live alone to be visited by an ex-jailbird ("for a crime I didn't commit," he adds as usual). He's not sure what their intentions are - they're a bit shifty. He doesn't want to start any gossip. He's worried about his reputation.

The Padre counters all of these excuses: The Marias are religious and generous, so no one will put them down on Nabor's account. As for gossip, he's not married. They're a little crazy, but they're good people, and harmless. But he'll leave it to Nabor's judgment. If he wants to go, he should go; if not, he should tell them and be done with it.

Finally, the punchline: Nabor is worried that they're going to want him to dance like the guys they went to see in Puebla.

Night time. Full moon!! Big surprise!

Feo puts a silencer on his gun as Gabi's promises of an inheritance echo through his head. (Who does he think will be blamed for this murder?) Just as he reaches for Juan's door, Rosario's cartoonish ghost reminds him that he'll pay for every one of his crimes. Feo nearly falls down the stairs in his haste to get out of the house. After the next scene, he blubbers outside the hacienda's front door and tells himself that he killed her because she deserved it. Coyote pops out of nowhere and asks who he killed. "Nobody," Feo says, but with tears on his face, a bright red nose, and a gun in his hand, it doesn't look good. Coyote says he's here to see a woman who interests him. Feo threatens him with the gun and tells Coyote to leave his wife alone. Coyote shows his teeth and says no, he's here to see Ruth Uribe. Feo giggles in disbelief. We're all giddy!

Ruth wants to know why Daddy has been sitting and drinking ever since he got back from the pueblo. "You wouldn't understand," he answers. Ruth says they don't have any secrets. He tells her to leave him alone and go away. She leaves him alone, but angrily tells him she's not Raquel.

Franco sings to himself and thought-bubbles that Sarita and he will go on loving each other and no one will break them up. Meanwhile, Sarita writes him another inky feathergram saying they're in love even though their brothers and sisters are apart.

At Crap From Afar, Jimena fumes silently in bed about how much she hates and loves Oscar and needs to get out of town and forget him. At home, Oscar rubs his leg and says he won't give up until Jimena forgives him.

Sofía closes her Bible and says she can't forgive him. Juan He doesn't deserve it. But she still wishes she could be in his arms, because she loves him, as much as when she swore at the altar that she loved him. In the next room, Juan muses that she's so close. He'd like to have her in his arms, but he has to be patient. He won't leave until she listens and believes him.

They all have kissy flashbacks. The picture divides into a six-pack of longing and insomnia.

Juan is visiting with the three little Marias in the nursery, who are all wearing the same outfits. Man, I bet that's embarrassing! There are also at least two rent-a-nuns there, also wearing the same outfits (as each other, not as the kids). Sofía arrives and has a mixed reaction on hearing that the kids have already been fed and bathed. Maria G and Maria J seem happy enough, but Maria L starts crying as soon as Juan picks her up. Maybe she's annoyed by Juan's loud voice, or the even louder music box. He cheerfully suggests that they be a happy family. Now Sofía is yelling (in the child's ear) at Juan not to talk that way in front of the girls because it's not true. She hands the baby back at him and says she will never forgive him. (He puts the baby back on the bed and she stops crying.) He kisses her and she cracks a smile when he looks away, then erases it when he looks at her again. Juan lectures the kids not to grow up grumpy and awful like their mother, always smile, and especially don't be stubborn or they'll meet a guy like him, who's also stubborn - stubborn and a half! We'll see which of these fools turns out the most stubborn!

Q asks Tio V to go with her to sell the daily bread. She admits she doesn't have a driver's license. He says she needs to work legally, but he gets into the sidecar anyway and she hands him the gigantic basket full of bread and warns him to strap himself in good. There is no follow-up to this scene, so I assume that they don't have an accident and spill beautiful bread all over the road.

Juan tells Eva (why is she still there?) that he's going to take the girls with him to the RR hacienda while he gives his brother his physical therapy and bake the bread. No, Sofía doesn't know, but he can take care of the girls just like she does (I'm stifling a sarcastic comment). He invites Eva to go with him and help. (Since she lives at the RR hacienda, it seems like an odd question.) The nuns go too. Juan has an entourage!

At the store, Sarita tries to talk Sofía into giving Juan a chance, while Jimena is mad that Grandpa sold his share of the hacienda to Juan so the Reyes can bug them forever. She wants to leave as soon as possible. Sofi tells her that if she doesn't want to see Oscar, then don't look at him. Sarita reveals that she and Franco are talking about getting married, but she's having second thoughts - their lives would be hell with her sisters fighting with his brothers. She'd feel like a traitor. Jimena and Sofía say they won't allow that and neither will Franco. They encourage her to be happy.

Juan is watching dough rise when Coyote shows up. Juan says he was looking for Raquel, because someone had seen them talking before (I think it was Eva and Rosendo a few weeks ago) and he has a feeling that Coyote's protecting her. He's found some documents that say she's the sole owner of the Uribe fortune. Coyote agrees to take Juan to Raquel.

Oscar goes to the store, saying that he wants to buy dresses for his daughters. Jimena pretends not to know him. He says he has three adorable little girls, but they're driving him crazy - maybe it runs in the family, could that be it? "I don't know, sir," she answers haughtily. He teases her for somehow knowing how old/big his kids are when she reaches for some dresses. She loses her temper and addresses him in the familiar form. He says their relationship is over, therefore she can no longer tutear (use the tú form) with him.

He asks to see a dress on a high shelf. Reluctantly, she gets on the ladder to reaach it. He wheels over and tries to take it out from under her. "Do you love me? Do you love me?" until she gives in. She climbs down carefully and he pulls her onto his lap and begs her for another chance. She says it's too late. He calls her his jewel in heaven and tries to kiss her. She gets up and asks him if he's going to buy the dresses or not. He leaves.

Eva tells the Padre about Juan moving into the hacienda to annoy Sofía. Padre says Juan conquered his pride to live in the house of his enemy. The padre has faith that Sofía's anger will end when she realizes how brave he was to do this.

Eva's also still upset about Ruth (Eva's lines, Eva's lines, nothing new here). The padre says maybe they can save Root. He'll talk to her.

Juan's at Coyote's house, telling Raquel about those papers. She wants him to hang onto them and keep them safe. He tells her to get ready (literally, ponerse trucha=to make like a trout, i.e. get ready for a tough run, as trouts swim upstream) because the documents are a strong weapon against Ricardo. She's not sure she can face him. She's afraid of him. If he knows she's plotting against him, he could kill her. She runs out of the place screaming. Soledad tells Juan to let her go.

Gabriela is remembering Soledad's recent visit when Coyote shows up. He acts surprised that she's startled, and asks if something's wrong. She insists it's just something silly. Someone warned her that she has an enemy who hasn't shown his true face yet, and she has to be careful. Coyote promises she can trust him and offers his help again if she ever needs it. She says she trusts very few people, and he's one of them.

Juan introduces himself to Soledad. She knew his parents. What she remembers most is how much they loved each other. His father was a one-woman man, but Gabi had a thing for him. She confirms Tio's version - Gabi liked JJ, but he rejected her and that's why she hates the world.

Soledad asks Juan to protect her son. "He doesn't need my protection, he has other people to do that." She says they can't protect him from himself; only Juan can. Coyote wants revenge against the people who hurt her. Who hurt her? It's a long story involving Ricardo Uribe and Gabriela Acevedo.

Mexico airdate: 24 de septiembre
Next time: Oscar wiggles his toes. A masked intruder attacks Jimena in bed - evidently she's the only thing in the store worth grabbing, including the cash register. Gabriela walks in on Ruth and Feo, or does she? Ricardo also gets a blanket party of sorts, except no blanket and lots of guns. Ruth turns a snake on the little Marias while they sleep - lamest murder plot ever; does she think it will kill even one of them, never mind all three? Strap on your foil-lined beanies and get ready to laugh right in logic's big stupid face!

Labels: Fuego