Caray, Caray!

Candy feels remorse for something! Como puede ser? (How can this be?) She regrets that she was harsh to her mama. Meño tells her that Pat asked him about Chava’s dad named “Patricio.” They recall that when Candy was little, she thought the water stain (mancha de humedad) in her bedroom wall was a monster. Meño helped her to not be afraid of monsters, and they cleaned up the stain together. Now she is afraid of another mancha named “Patricio,” but that one isn’t a monster either.

Ed is annoyed that Chayo is falling short on her “waiting on him hand and foot” duties, since he works a real job, as opposed to the girls’ club she calls a job. And as for what she does at the house, well that isn’t even work.

Santiago takes Raúl to his office to interrogate ask him about his so-called relationship with Candy – it doesn’t seem genuine. Raúl wonders why Santiago cares so much, and assures Santi that he is very satisfied, nudge, nudge, wink, wink, with Candy. Upon hearing that, Santi plays a game with Raúl called “Sadistic Chiropractor.”

Marissa is serving Rocío breakfast, all lovey-dovey, just like Hansel & Gretel’s stepmother was just before she took them for a walk in the woods. Roc says she wants Marissa to be her mother, not Candy, even though her papa kissed Candy at the movie theater. That news certainly gets a reaction from Marissa. Notice how nervous and stressed Rocío looks? She has more acting talent than some TN headliners!

At Marissa’s request, Candy goes to Santiago’s office to meet her. This time Santiago is on the other side of the interrogation, and he looks like he’s been in bed with the flu for the past three weeks. Candy sits down and Santi moves next to her – is it to protect her or hide behind her? Marissa wants to know why Candy kissed her novio in front of the children. Candy and Santi kibitz, trying to decide who is in the biggest trouble. Santi more-or-less discreetly begs Candy to cover for him, since he knows she’s a much more accomplished liar than he is. Candy tries the sincere approach, but every time she says something like, “You know I’d never do such a thing to you,” and Marissa almost swallows it, Santiago feels compelled to chime in, “Neither would I.” That just hurls the credibility of their defense right out the window! Candy leaves so they can work it out alone, but not before whispering to Santiago, “Suerte! (Good luck!).” After Candy leaves, Santi tries to claim that Marissa is the only woman engraved (grabado) on his heart. Even Marissa is not stupid enough to believe that whopper. Listening outside the door, Candy observes, “Lo del grabado, se le va a cumplir.” Or as Yul Brynner’s Ramses said, “So let it be written, so let it be done.”

Do you remember that we’re seeing a transition in Santiago? He is shifting from trying to get Candy into his bed, toward trying to get her into his life. It seems to be working. When she found out about the hamsters, she told him to leave her alone instead of screaming at him. When he kissed her in the theater, she left but didn’t kick him. And today when Marissa challenged Santi on his andanzas (running around), Candy covered for him instead of helping Marissa attack. Yes, the weather is getting a little warmer. Or maybe it’s just Indian summer.

Jaime meets with his son Ramón, who hasn’t visited him for a few months. They meet at Guadalajara’s kiosko. My friends tell me that all the older towns in Mexico have a kiosko in a park (or the town plaza?), and it is used for band concerts, etc. In fact, even the predominantly-Hispanic city near me in central California has a kiosko in the city park. Back in Guadalajara, Jaime shares his delight at finding love again. His charming son tells him to stop making a fool of himself. People his age don’t fall in love, and he should spend his attention on respecting his wife’s memory instead. Jaime’s wife has been dead for a few years, but his son would prefer to see his dad crying for her, rather than finding love.

Lulu tells Chayo her great news – that Meño is wild about her. Chayo tries to enlighten Lulu about Meño, but Lu charges blindly ahead. Lulu asks Chayo for advice on how to show Meño how much she likes him, since she has never had a boyfriend.

Candy asks Sven and Ole for a favor, but we don’t find out what it is.

At a café, Jaime introduces his son to Isabel. Ramón says, “Are you the one who is after my father’s money?” Isabel slaps him and walks out. Jaime just stands there feeling awkward and whines, “Why did you do that?” instead of tearing his fool head off. Is it any wonder his grown son is such a brat? Jaime takes the brat on a field trip to see Isabel’s mansion, outbuildings, lawn, gardens, and groves. He suggests that maybe he is the one suspected of being a gold-digger. The brat doesn’t even understand that his dad plays piano in hotel bars because he likes playing piano for other people, not just for himself, and he met Isabel because she liked his music. Ramón apologizes for being so stupid.

After surgery, Ed asks Santiago to cover for him tonight since he told Chayo he’d be with the Abandonados. Santiago tells him he should be ashamed of himself, but by the way, is his date fair or dark? Ed only remembers what she looks like from the neck down. I wonder if she has a mole.

Marissa tells Raúl she’s worried about her novio because he kissed Candy in the theater. Raúl advises her to forget about Santiago. Marissa tells him she’s not about to quit. She has endured so much already, she can endure a little more. Raúl thinks he’ll never change, but Marissa recalls that he was faithful when he married Paulina. She knows he has a strong attraction to Candy, but she’s not worried because she knows Candy will never betray another woman. She won’t get in his bed, and he‘ll get tired of waiting for her. She assures her brother that she earned Santi, and she knows she’s going to win.

Candy calls to invite Santiago out for coffee. He fondles the bell cord and sighs. At the restaurant, Sven and Ole greet him with flowers and a drink, and they treat him like an illustrious potentate. Candy has reserved the restaurant for him alone. She brings another drink which he tries to turn down because he just finished one, but Candy is offended so he complies. She hands him a menu and asks what he’d like. “Tacos de ranchera, or caldo tlapeño (chicken-garbanzo bean soup), or to ask you to marry me,” he jokes. Don’t you just love that face?

Isabel is thinking about Jaime, trying not to cry. Donato brings her a cup of tea and a listening ear. As she starts to ask about his romantic progress with Tina, the doorbell rings. It’s Jaime’s son, Ramón, who brings her a rose and an apology. He asks that she not be mad at his father; it’s not his fault that he has a fool for a son.

Back at the restaurant, Santiago is looking a bit drunk Sven and Ole, acting like Funhouse extras, bring him a bowl of soup, and they all crowd around as Candy encourages him to drink it all. That’s some right-powerful soup! The voices get fuzzy, the faces get fuzzier, his speech gets muddled, and Sven and Ole step up just in time to catch Santiago as he passes out. Candy discovers that Ole put an extra-extra dose of knock-out drops in the soup, so did Sven, and so did she. Santiago will be separated from his senses for a good, long time. Candy needs him to be heavily sedated, so he doesn’t wake up while the tattoo artist decorates his upper back behind his shoulder. The artist tells Sven it turned out super-chido. Sven thinks he’s writing “Chivas.” On Santiago? Que horror! Chido means cool; but hardly anyone over 25 says it. Sometimes I use it just to get a reaction from my native-speaker friends.

There are so many things wrong with this tattoo scene, I don’t know where to begin. A tattoo artist who works on someone against his wishes. Candy gives Santiago a permanent inscription against his will, as a joke. They do such work in a food preparation area. Candy gained his trust by staging it as a date, with the two of them alone in the restaurant. The artist can hardly work because Santi’s shirt is in the way. The list goes on and on. When Santiago regains consciousness, he will drive his car while still heavily drugged, but with his seatbelt safely fastened, just like every telenovela actor. They can drive drunk, drugged, drowsy, or decapitated, but never without a seatbelt.

Jaime and Isabel note that adolescent novios have to watch out for their parents, while novios their age have to watch out for their kids. They reprise their “Somos Novios,” both in song and in relationship, and refer to Armando Manzanero, the lyricist who made it famous. I could’ve posted clips with Manzanero singing it, or clips of two young lovers, but instead I’ll post this one. The two people in the clip are not young, not lovers, and not Manzanero.

Mar thanks Raúl for his support. He feels like he has failed as a big brother because he hasn’t protected her. One guy hurt her badly (when she was 15 and got an abortion), and he isn’t willing to let Santiago break her heart again. In Tontas it’s a little hard to tell whether Raul is a good guy or a bad guy, but one thing is certain, he loves his sister very much and he’ll do anything for her. Marissa assures him that she’ll live happily ever after, rose-colored glasses and all, just like it was before Candy showed up. She pushes Raúl to make Candy his wife, the sooner the better, because you want to keep your enemies close.

At Meño’s dance class Lulu, in a spaghetti strapped sun dress, primps herself, comes waltzing salsa-ing in, and starts dancing with Meño.

At home, Chava asks Charly what novios do, since Chava now has one. Charly says they talk, they laugh, they kiss. Chava thinks that kissing girls on the mouth is really gross, but Charly assures Chava that he doesn’t have to at his age.

Santiago wakes up in the restaurant, muddled, with his shirt askew. He’s still so dopey, he has trouble remembering who Candy is. Marissa calls to beg him to meet her tonight for some excitement. He makes faces at his phone because he finds Marissa so annoying.

At his house, Raúl explains to Candy that he has left everything as it was when his wife died. It’s like a museum. Candy sees the shrine to his wife in the bedroom – a collage of pictures, her wedding dress, four lit candles, and fresh flowers. He invites Candy to try on the dress. She just wants to exit, stage left. Raúl begs her to stay; he likes Candy because she looks so much like his wife. She tells him he needs to get help; he can’t live in the past, and she thinks they should never see each other again. I figure Candy is Pat’s dead wife; why can’t she be Raúl’s dead wife too?

Lulu is putting the finishing touches on a pink heart cake (she had to do a heart because M’s are too hard to shape). She proudly shows it to Meño who congratulates her for her improving pastry skills. He hopes an anniversary couple comes to the restaurant tonight so her work won’t be in vain. Poor Lulu.

Beto and Pat decide to invite Chava to the Chivas vs. Club America soccer game.

Candy told Meño about the creepy scene at Raúl’s. She thinks Raúl is the living dead. Meño says, “Look who’s talking,” and Candy doesn’t have any legitimate defense, so she sticks her fingers in her ears and hums. Not really, but she might as well have. Lately people have been confronting Candy with her lies and her selfishness – Soledad, Meño, her mother, Santiago, etc. She is not willing to change, so she just refuses to hear them. Meño tells her he’ll never forgive her if Raúl drops his horoscope column because of her, but Candy only cares about Candy.

Santiago wakes up with Marissa pawing at him in the clubhouse, and he is stunned to find her zebra-striped lingerie under his pillow. Last night, he must’ve been too drugged to remember anything. She says “WOW!” and he thinks she’s impressed with his manly talents. He’s pretty impressed with them, himself.



Marissa is ecstatic about his tattoo – not the one on his arm, but the one on his back. Both Santiago and Marissa are impactados, but their impactadidadidades couldn’t be more different. Remember that Candy heard him tell Marissa in his office, “You are the only woman engraved on my heart”? Remember that Candy said, “So let it be written, so let it be done”?

Gregoria and Alicia compete for the “Cruelest Wench” title, and the venom snowballs quickly. It starts with “Why do you live with Meño? If you're lonely, buy a dog.” It quickly passes “Your marriage is going under,” and “I know what you did in Tijuana,” and it ends with a slap and, “I sacrificed my dreams so you could grow up in a family.” Suegrita scores more “Cruelest Wench” points in this round, but we all know, just like a rigged TVyNovelas Premios show, the only points that matter are in the final round.

Marissa is all over Santiago with appreciation, but he just wants to cover himself as if he’s been defiled. One might ask, if he feels that way about her, why did he meet her at the clubhouse? Remember, he was drugged last night. The other times, no, but last night, their first time together since he started changing, yes. Marissa wants to get a tattoo with his name, and he advises against it. When she goes to look for champagne, he acts like he never takes women to the clubhouse.

Santi tries to figure out how he ended up with the tattoo. Then he remembers Candy foisting the drinks and soup on him, and it all adds up. He calls an emergency meeting, Codigo Rojo, of the Cuartel.. oops! I mean the Abandonados. High treason has been committed within the club, and they cannot allow that.

Pat and Beto invite Chava along to the soccer game. Chava has to ask his mom, and Pat is intrigued. He suggests that Chava call his mom to come downstairs so Pat can meet her. Candy hides.

Tomorrow: A taxi abducts Candy. Talk about dumb heroines! Even a gringa like me knows it’s dangerous to take a non-secure taxi in Mexico!

We’ve all noted that this show jumps around a lot. Often one conversation is broken into three scenes separated by other plotlines. Taking my mentor’s advice, I tend to gather one broken-up parts into one paragraph. That means my recap will have a slightly different sequence than the show itself, but in exchange for exact sequence, you get smoother continuity. Please let me know if this works for you, or if it creates difficulties.

Labels: Tontas