Caray, Caray!

Tonight's episode is brought to you by the Fateful Falls Tourist Commission of Mexidoon in conjunction with the Rape Forest Appreciation Society and the Dry Ice Woods Preservation Agency.

We rewind so far back that Raquel is still at the bungalow. She knees Darth Ricardo in the nuts and runs in the dumbest direction possible, towards a cliff rather than the hacienda or a road. He backs her up to the edge. She tells Darth that Feo was her lover, and he was hotter in bed than Darth ever was. Holding onto him for dear life, she also surprises him with the news that he has a son named after him (Darthito?), but leaves out that he's AKA Coyote, and also refuses to tell Darth who the son's mother is. She laughs like a maniac, but then loses her footing and falls from his grasp. She plummets to her death clutching a piece of snakeskin from Darth's jacket.

Darth screams at her to rot in hell. He is impactado... not because of his wife dead on the ground below, but because he has a son. "Where is my son?" he howls. The coyotes shout their reply, but their subtle hints float right over Darth's clueless head. (My question: will the coyotes feast on Raquel's corpse, or will her body remain undisturbed until it's discovered?)

Oscar gets the safe open. The first thing they notice is a big envelope full of cash, proving that Feo isn't as poor as he claims. Next, they look at the documents. Franco grabs for the little box that carries the nuclear anvil payload, i.e. Libia's necklace, but gets distracted when Juan finds the papers Ruth signed offering half of her inheritance from Gabi to Feo. This puts Gabriela's accident with the out-of-control car in a whole new light.

Franco disagrees; it was Ruth herself who saved Gabi's life. (Eh, isn't Juan the one who pulled Gabi out of the car? Never mind.) Juan says if Gabi dies, then according to this document, everything goes to Ruth AND FEO. Juan isn't crazy about getting in the middle of this mess, but he and Oscar agree that the document can help them.

They are not paying attention to Franco, who is opening the little box. However, even as he is opening the lid, Oh no! Hide everything! Rosendo's approaching voice sends them all into a panic. He slams it shut and gives it to Oscar, who stashes almost everything (including the little box) back in the safe and closes it, and hides Ruth's contract (and the envelope it was in) under his lap-blanket while Franco and Juan rush Rosendo and sing loudly so that Rosendo can't see or hear what Oscar's doing.

Rosendo is going into town and offers a ride. I think Oscar says he needs underwear (yes, that's one meaning of calzones; think about that next time you order dinner). Franco offers to go with, too. (I think the main thing is that Oscar probably needs a ride home.) Rosendo tries to wheel Oscar to the door. Franco somehow manages to ward Rosendo off for a moment so that Oscar can give the papers to Juan behind his back.

Juan brings the papers to Ruth and threatens to show them to Gabriela. Ruth claims that Gabi won't be interested in anything he has to say. He scratches at some invisible fleas and says okay, Gabi doesn't have to see them... he can take them to the comisario instead; maybe he'll open an investigation into Gabi's accident.

Ruth apparently hasn't been in this town long enough to realize that such an investigation would be way beyond the comisario's skills, so she agrees (reluctantly) to Juan's demands: she must tell Sofía the truth, that nothing ever went on between them.

Sofi and Eva are reviewing new Crap from Afar. Eva feels that Sofi is being too rough on Juan. Sofía is confused. Eva tries to explain to her that Juan was tricked. Sofi promises to think about it, but first she needs to deal with Ricardo, Ruth, and Fernando to protect her mother even though she doesn't want to be protected.

Eva is in favor of Gabi leaving for a while. Sofía is worried that Gabi will be in danger if she's with Feo. "Doña Gabriela knows how to take care of herself," Eva says. "She's very sharp and always turns a situation to her advantage."

Sarita tries to get her mother to stop drinking and go to bed. Gabi lays on the guilt trip so thick that I expect even gullible Sarita to see through it, but no. Gabi just piles on more verbal abuse. "I always believed that you were like me, but you fooled me. You've become a cheap imitation of your sister Sofía. I used to care very specially for you, Sarita, but that's all done." Sarita weakly protests. Gabi's lines ("you and your sisters are always against me"), Sarita's lines ("wee wee wee"). She wants her humble and obedient daughter back. Then she gets up, all feeble and weepy, and says that if Sarita wants to be forgiven, she must prove her love, come back to Mommy, and become obedient again and forget about her stupid love story with that baker Franco Reyes.

Ricardo is drinking and yammering to himself in the bungalow, amazed that he has a son, and delighted (in a crazed, drunken way) that no one will find out that he killed Raquel.

Coyote wonders where Raquel is. "Something tells me Ricardo Uribe found her."

Ruth is waiting sullenly in Sofía's bedroom with Juan. In fact, they're actually sitting together on the bed, much to Sofía's annoyance when she finally shows up with Eva. Ruth confesses all (she needs some prompting from Juan). She drugged him and put him in the bed, and then she got in the bed, and that's it.

Eva is so happy that Ruth has done this wonderful thing, admitting the truth. Ruth is repulsed by her display of motherly pride. Sofía is confused as to why Ruth is admitting it now. Ruth says it's because her plan failed. Sofía wants to know who helped her. Ruth refuses to say, and Eva is still so over the moon with joy about Ruth's confession that she feels that nothing more needs to be said. Sofía seems a little miffed by Eva's dismissal of her concerns, but Juan also seems to feel that the case is closed. Ruth mutters about their mushy displays and spits. Classy!

Eva follows her into the hallway. Ruth begs Eva to leave her alone. She doesn't want to yell at her or be mean to her, but she doesn't want to be around her, either. "The day you become a mother, you'll understand," Eva says. A mother must fight for her children and never give up.

Struggling, Ruth starts, "It's that you're not..." but Eva interrupts, yeah I know you can never see me as your mother, but I still have hope in my heart that someday the time will come when you call me "Mama."

Ruth hesitates, but prudence wins out and she denies Eva again. More Eva's lines. Ruth struggles to keep her secret and avoid being hateful - you can see the strain in her face and posture - and says there's no reason for Eva to feel badly on her account. Eva says a mother will give her life for her children, so if Ruth ever needs her or decides to forgive her, she'll be there to give her the love that she didn't have before. She'll save it for Ruth.

Coyote watches through the window while Ricardo drinks and broods silently. He muses that he doesn't feel anything for his father and wonders where Ruth is.

Juan asks Sofía what he has to do to get her to forgive him. She wants more time. She's not satisfied with Ruth's bizarre and sudden explanation. Juan says, "Okay, fine. When your mother and Feo leave here, I'm gone too. You and your sisters don't need me for anything, so there it is. But think it over, because if you don't forgive me, then Ruth and her accomplice will have gotten their way. Don't you see?"

Franco's in Sarita's room. Sarita is crying her head off over the things Gabi said to her. Franco says Gabi is very selfish. Sarita struggles - she has to choose between her mother and Franco. He says it's not fair that she thinks more about her mother's whims than about him. She's the one who has to understand! He loves her with all his heart, with all his blood and fire. But if she's going to sacrifice their love, then it's best that they separate forever.

He kisses her and exits via the balcony. Have we ever seen these guys get in or out of a motor vehicle? Something tells me that they'd hop in over the open window, Dukes of Hazzard Style, rather than use the door.

Coyote asks Gabi's maid if she's seen Raquel. Fatima hasn't seen her in ages and doesn't know where she might be. She runs off to find Gabi.

Gabi strong-arms a helpless painting while Feo watches. It's a one-fisted fight, because Gabi is still holding hands with Brandy. She's drunk and grumpy. Feo says he can't go on putting up with her mood swings. "You don't have to put up with anything if you don't want to," she informs him. "I told you I've got enough money to get out of here and live ALONE if that's what I choose. Don't think I'm going to die if I don't have you at my side."

Feo asks her to either tell him what's going on, or he'll leave. She looks as though she's about to dare him to go, when Fatima announces that Coyote's here. Gabi smirks and tells Feo that Coyote's always been sweet with her; perhaps she'll ask him to go away with her.

She staggers down to the parlor. Coyote is just as suave and gallant as ever. Gabi woozily confides that she's fixing to take off for a while. Her kids have betrayed her and she doesn't trust anyone. She pours drinks and tells him she doesn't even trust Feo. This brings a big smile to Coyote's face.

Upstairs in the hallway, Feo tells himself that Gabi's mistaken if she thinks she'll be free of him, but she won't see him until he relieves her of the rest of her fortune.

He goes to his old bedroom, but it's locked. Juan pretends not to know who's at the door. ("Feo who?") Feo tries to put him on the defensive, asking why did he lock the door. Juan says it's to keep out the icky creeping animals that they both know could come in.

Feo says he needs to pack because he and Gabi are leaving tomorrow. Feo is surprised that the wardrobe is locked too. "I told you I'm distrustful," Juan jokes (and adds a crack about them not liking each others' clothes). He drops the keys on the floor. Feo warily picks them up, being careful not to turn his back. He keeps an eye on Juan in the mirror as he unlocks the wardrobe.

Coyote says he can't bear the thought that Gabi might have left without saying goodbye to him. He asks if Ricardo is going with. Gabi laughs; no, it's just her. And Feo? Haha! Hellz no, he doesn't deserve it. Coyote is glad she has finally realized that she deserves someone better than Feo - "Someone like, say, me." She gives him a happy drunken smile.

Jimena shows up in Oscar's bedroom. Unfortunately, the Reyes do not seem to have balconies outside their bedrooms, so she had to come through the door. She's glad that he'll be walking soon, and she needs hugs. Oscar is happy; he missed her so much. He asks her to stay the night - he's scared and needs her to protect him. Smoochisimos!

With trembling hands, Quintina and the grownup Marias are measuring the dancers' inseams and chests. The meager appeal of this scene is mostly visual (it's at 8:00 in this clip).

Soledad wonders where Raquel and Coyote are. She's getting worried that she shouldn't have told Raquel to put her fear aside. She'll never forgive herself if something happened to her.

Coyote comes home and reports that he didn't find Raquel. He promises to find her if it's the last thing he does. (¡Últimas palabras famosas!)

Feo's still packing his bags. Juan encourages him to pack everything, including the contents of that safe. "What have you got in there? Lots of money, jewels, important documents?" Feo says no, he's totally broke, he has nothing. Juan asks, "then why do you want a safe?" "I told you, I'm broke!" He leaves without touching the safe. Juan wishes him bon voyage.

Coyote hands out guns to his posse and tells them to find Raquel. "Don't come back without her!"

Ruth comes home to find her dad quite drunk. "Something happened that I didn't want to happen," he explains. (To his credit, at least she didn't become invisible to him the moment he found out he had a son.) He got Raquel to sign the papers. Ruth doesn't get why he's so out of sorts. He tells her about Ricardo Uribe Jr. Ruth wants to know who/where he is. Raquel wasn't able to tell him who/where the son is because she's dead. Ruth puts her wrist to her mouth, horrified. Ricardo covers his mouth too, but I think it's either because he's giggling or he's going to barf.

Ruth accuses him of killing Raquel and pummels him with little girly punches and slaps. He says it was an accident. She confessed to being Feo's lover, too. (Ruth is having multiple impactadas tonight.) "Always Fernando Escandón," Darth mutters as he staggers out the door. She follows him outside.

Sofía stands in front of a stage fan and remembers all of her lines and Juan's lines. "I can't lose Juan!" she concludes.

Guess what phase of the moon it is?

Juan tells himself that Sofía doesn't love him as much as he thought. He decides he's going to leave the hacienda forever tomorrow morning.

Drunk Darth Ricardo confronts Feo, who is lurking on the lawn for a smoke. Darth wants Feo to pay for messin' with Mrs. Darth. Feo isn't interested, but Darth throws both of his guns on the ground and waves his nasty knife at Feo. Feo easily dodges a few wild swings and disarms him. Then he threatens to kill Ricardo "for what you did to my family." But first, he wants to know who was Darth's accomplice. Ruth tries to intervene, but Feo really wants an answer from Darth. "Tell me or die!" Ruth picks up one of the guns. Feo protests that she can't do this to him - they're accomplices! Darth Rico hits him from behind. Feo hits him. Ruth hits Feo. Rico threatens to tell Gabi about Feo's affair with Raquel and runs toward the hacienda.

Feo gets the gun away from Ruth and warns that if Rico tells Gabriela then their own little games will be revealed as well, so she'd better go and shut him up. She takes this advice to heart and goes running for the hacienda. Feo has a weird anguished fit.

Oscar and Franco talk. (Wait, where'd Jimena go?) Franco is ready to break up, so as not to get between Sarita and her mother. Oscar disagrees. Since when do the Reyes have to ask permission for what they want? He tells Franco to fight and win, and show Sarita how much he loves and respects her. "If you don't want to do it for yourselves, the do it for me, for Juan, and for the whole pueblo!"

Ricardo comes into the hacienda screaming for Gabi. "She has to know everything!" Ruth tries to shush him. He tells Gabi (also still drunk, calls him "Ricardito") about Raquel and Feo. "Don't pay any attention to that guy, he's drunk," Feo offers.

"Drunk, but not stupid," Ricardo replies. Sofía reminds her mother that she warned her that he was cheating on her, "and not only with Raquel." Gabi isn't interested in S's testimony. Feo goes up the stairs and tries to reassure Gabi. She tries to shake loose from him and falls down the stairs.

Unfortunately, she does not die. Not yet, anyway. Of course not. Nobody ever dies on my night. I mean, there was Raquel tonight, but that was a rerun. And there was that head of the guard that El Chino killed in Pasión. That's it for me and fond farewells. Oh well. I've still got a few more weeks.

Mexico airdate: 1 de octubre
Next time: No more avances, now that we're in últimos capitulos! Waaah!

Labels: Fuego