Caray, Caray!

Hola todos! I did not get to see this show last season, but after watching the first 15 minutes of last night's episode I had the burning urge to recap it. It's so dark, there may not be a lot of snark involved, but there's always the possibility of some good vocabulary!

Beginning with the title: "Mujeres Asesinas" which Mr. 5ft kept insisting must mean "Woman Assassins." Eh, not quite, as "assassin" in English implies a certain level of expertise and/or doing it for pay. A better translation would be "Women Who Kill" or "Murderous Women."

In tonight's episode, Carmen Salinas plays "Carmen, honrada" (Carmen, honorable), a mistreated maid with one heifer of a "jefa" (boss lady).

As the episode starts, we are told it was inspired by true events. We hear crying and we see Carmen being handcuffed and led away while the CSI: Latina team places evidence markers and photographs the crime scene and the body. Carmen looks at a scruffy teenage boy and quietly asks him to forgive her as a streaky-haired teenage girl keeps up the sobbing.

Gloria Trevi sings the opening theme, Que Emane: "Let it come like blood, let it come, come, come, let it run, let it drain, let it well up, let it flow, like blood comes in an open wound…let it come, the pain, the disdain, the resentment, and all the humiliation and grief, let it come sweat and all humiliation, revenge, snubbing, and fears." In other words, time to get down and dirty!

Flashback: Carmen rings a bell. Her bitchy boss, Susana answers the door. Susana is played by Cecilia Gabriela, last seen in flashbacks as Altagracia Elizalde in Mañana es Para Siempre. Gee, uh, nice to see she's not being typecast. She complains about Carmen ringing the bell. See, Carmen was supposed to be there at 9am, but not supposed to wake Susana up. However, Susana refuses to give her a key: "What do you want keys for? So you can make a copy and come empty out my house?" After this tirade, she snuggles up on the couch under a blanket. Carmen solicitously asks how she's feeling. Turns out boss lady had a rough night. She asks Carmen to fix her breakfast. The usual, fruit, cereal. Carmen tries to tempt her with chocolate and Susana goes on about maybe also making a "torta de tamal" (a tamale sandwich)…yeah, what do you call them, "guajolotas" (tamale sandwich)…or no, wait, how about a "torta ahogada" (a fried pork sandwich dunked in chili sauce, literally "drowned sandwich")…yeah, all fried up in tons of oil. From the look on Carmen's face, Susana probably means this sarcastically, like "sure, you think I'm gonna eat peasant food," but it sounds damn good to me! As Carmen heads for the kitchen, Susana demands to see her hands, front and back. She gives grudging approval. Then she asks if Carmen is planning on fixing breakfast dressed like that, in her "ropa de pesero" (the clothes she wore on the minibus). Carmen says she'll change. Susana gives her a "you'd better" look.

In the kitchen, in uniform, Carmen prepares a pretty fruit plate. As she brings it over, Susana says "see how pretty," but I'm not clear on whether she means the fruit or Carmen's uniform (as in, see how much better you look when you're not wearing your own crappy clothes). Carmen timidly offers her coffee and Susana accepts.

Now we see Carmen in her own kitchen, preparing another plate of food. She calls her granddaughter, Jenny to breakfast. Jenny looks at the plate and says it's way too much food! But Carmen says she needs to eat, she's too skinny. She offers to prepare some strawberry "atole" (a hot corn drink). But Jenny laughs at the idea of having both "chilaquiles" (which have fried tortillas as a base for salsa or mole and eggs) and atole…too many carbs, I guess? Carmen says that Jenny is looking as delicate as her boss, Susana, and she'd rather she looked like a little nut, a little almond (uh, rounder and more tan?). She mocks Susana, "are your hands clean? Show me?" Then she's gotta sit down because her back is hurting from all that cleaning. Jenny offers to come help her once her school semester is over. Carmen's not sure, Mrs. Susana is kind of weird, so Carmen will have to ask her first. Jenny asks where her dad is. Carmen tries to lie and say he went out early, but Jenny knows he never came home last night. She assumes he was waylaid by a bottle of alcohol.

Just then, there's a ruckus at the door and Carmen tells Jenny to go to school. Jenny pushes past a uniformed officer dragging her father, Guillermo in the front door. Guillermo tries to claim that he weren't botherin' nobody. The cop rolls his eyes. Carmen offers him breakfast, but he says he has to get back to work. He tells her to keep an eye on her son. She sits Guillermo down at the table and says she was worried about him. He starts eating Jenny's breakfast, cradling his head. In response to Carmen, he says he didn't go to his AA meeting last night, cause he can do it on his own. Riiiiight. Carmen says he's not putting in enough effort. He comments that Jenny left without saying goodbye, but what did he expect? He wants to take her to the basilica to do a "manda" to the "virgencita" (make an offering to the Virgen). Carmen laughs it off "you really think the virgin wants to talk to drunks? You've already gotten Alcoholics Anonymous put in front of you. What more help do you need?" Guillermo says maybe he's not making enough effort. Carmen says maybe she and Jenny aren't either. Then he backtracks and says it's his life, anyway. Carmen really laughs now and says "your life? What kind of life?"

Carmen shows Susana some sheets. Susana says they're fine, but she doesn't want Carmen to take them. Carmen wants to lay them out in the sun to bleach, but Susana doesn't see why she can't do that here. Susana says she doesn't have control over things coming back. Carmen says things always come back. Sure, says Susana, until they don’t. Susana asks if Carmen got her pills. She did, and the girl at the pharmacy wants to know why she doesn't use stronger antidepressants cause the current dose doesn't seem to be working. Susana is about to go off on the absent pharmacy girl, but her son, Leo walks in. We get hit over the head with how Leo's not like his mom as he asks Carmen how she's doing and how her back is. Carmen tells him his dad called. Susana is upset that Carmen didn't tell her, but Carmen forgot and Susana was in the shower when he called. Susana reminds her she's supposed to be writing down all the phone messages…oh, unless she doesn't know how to write? Leo shuts his mom up…about that, anyway. So she starts in on how Carmen shouldn't be using "tú" to address her son. In the absence of her husband, he is the man of the house. Leo is shaking his head and he tells her to drop it. Susana says she's the one who gives orders and she expects them to be obeyed. Both Leo and Carmen walk off and Susana gripes at them both "oh, so sorry you don't like it, but I can't be controlling everything!" Carmen mutters something under her breath, so Susana calls her back to clarify that she's the boss here. Of course, if Carmen doesn't like it, she can leave. Not that she could get a job somewhere else, at her age, and just FYI, Susana won't even giver her a letter of recommendation. Now that she's been warned, she is dismissed.

Susana's body lies facedown on a table as a medical dude explains to the lead detective, Sofía Capellán, that she was struck 5 times, 4 of them piercing major organs. She died immediately. They don't have prints back from the weapon, but so far everything is pointing to Carmen. There were no previous indications of violence on the body, or on Carmen. Nor is their any evidence to dispute that Carmen is the one who killed her. The medical guy says there was no previous violence, no attempt at robbery, she never tried to flee and she accepted responsibility immediately. Det. Capellán wonders (as do I) if she could be covering for someone. The son, Leo, is the one who called the cops, at the request of Carmen. The medical dude says Carmen must have just had a sudden, momentary rage. Capellán looks only somewhat convinced.

Another flashback. Jenny is cleaning windows while Carmen vacuums. Susana comes in, demanding to know who this person is washing her windows. Carmen reminds her that they'd discussed this before, it's her granddaughter. Susana asks her name and when she responds with "Jennifer" Susana, in English, says "excuse me, oh my god!" She laughs as she asks what her brothers and sisters' names are, but Jenny says she doesn't have any. Susana says if she did, they probably would have been "Jennifer, Brian, and Donovan." Carmen doesn't get the joke. Susana, now letting a gringa accent creep into her Spanish tells Carmen it's fine if Jenny is there, but she'd better not even DREAM of getting paid. She walks off laughing and tosses off a gringafied "Bienvenido" over her shoulder. Carmen wants Jenny to explain why Susana reacted that way, but Jenny tells her not to pay any attention.

Jenny explains to Det. Capellán that she doesn't really pay attention to whether people are rich or poor or how they dress. She doesn't care, as long as they're good people. She doesn't judge people on appearance. She didn't look at people the way "that woman" looked at her.

Flashback to Jenny bringing Susana a fruit plate. Susana asks if she washed her hands and demands to see them, front and back.

Det. Capellán wants to know how Susana looked at Jenny. "With disdain. Not like you. Or my grandma. Or Leo." Her son?

Flashback to Leo walking into the kitchen. Susana is surprised to see him. She thought he wasn't going to make it home for lunch because he'd be at his lecture on "becerros" (calves). But no, it was "borregos" (sheep) and he is, in fact, home for lunch. She calls "Jennifer," and Leo is surprised to hear that there's a Jennifer running around the house. Jenny comes in and Susana tells her to serve lunch to "el señor" (the gentleman). Leo says no way, he's just Leo. He wants Jenny to address him with "tú", you know, like all the pretty young things his age do (no thanks, mom, for trying to make me sound older). He asks where Carmen is. Jenny gets flustered and says Carmen is ironing…"uh, should I call her?" Susana says yes. Leo makes the mistake of commenting to mom that Jenny's, like, hot. Susana swats him with a napkin and says she's sick of his "aires de proletario" (proletarian airs, i.e., acting like a peasant). Carmen and Jenny come back in. Leo says hi to Carmen and asks how she's doing. He asks how her telenovala is going (awww, that's sweet). She's obviously uncomfortable answering in front of her boss. She asks if he wants her to fix him something to eat, but he says she can go back to ironing if she wants to and Jenny can do it.

Det. Capellán asks if Jenny fell in love with him (nod) and if his mother knew.

Flashback: Leo is working on his computer as Jenny comes in with freshly laundered shirts. He shows her where they go in the closet. He gets up in her personal space as they chat about school. They both like math. He's into engineering, though, and she's into accounting. As he starts putting the moves on her, Susana's Virgin Alarm (TM Mel Brooks) goes off and she comes storming into the room. Just before Jenny can make her escape, Susana demands to know what she's doing there. She continues that Jenny has no business in Leo's room. "I know it doesn't matter to you people…." Jenny runs out and Leo tells Susana to shut it, already. Susana says "that's how they are. They sleep with a bunch of people all in one room. Who knows what kind of things she's learned!" She says if you don't control the maids they steal from you. And her proof of it is that she keeps her maids controlled and so "nin-gu-na" (not a single one) has stolen from her. Leo tells her to quit trying to control things, "that's why dad left." "Oh, you're blaming me for your dad leaving?" She point-blank tells him that he's both the man of the house and a child. A five-year-old at that, in terms of taking care of himself, "you saw how that girl was looking at you!" Sure, he says, I need to worry that she'll rape me. Susana says Jenny will open her legs for him and next thing he knows he'll be a dad. "And I don't want to have a gross, ugly grandchild."

Jenny complains to her dad about how crappy grandma's boss is. Carmen is too tired to talk about her. And besides, the poor woman has been sick since her husband left her. She says if she's put up with it it's to put bread on the table. At least, until Guillermo gets a job. He says he might get a job tomorrow. A fellow AA member might be able to get him some part-time work. Jenny is thrilled that he's going to meetings again. He tells both ladies that he's really trying. Carmen says she hopes God helps them all.

As Carmen counts her week's pay, Susana tells her to be back at 9am sharp on Monday. "None of this going out and getting drunk with your son and then I have to put up with your hangover." Carmen says her pay is 200 pesos short, but she didn't miss a day. Susana claims that Jenny washed the windows so badly that she had to hire a professional person to do the work over. And she's certainly not going to pay twice for the same work. Carmen tries to argue that Susana can't do that. Susana laughs and says of course she can, pointing at Carmen's pay as proof. "So, early Monday, then, at 9." Before she can go, Susana stops her and demands to see what's in her bag. Carmen says it's just her uniform, a couple of buttons are loose and she wants to fix them. She turns the bag upside down to show that there's nothing else in it. Susana shoos her off.

As Carmen walks out, Leo walks in, having heard at least part of what's going on. He tells his mother he doesn't know how Carmen puts up with her. "Ha! You mean how I put up with her…every day she gets worse. I'm supporting her and her useless son, and now that Jenny." Leo hands her the phone and says to just get it over with, call his dad and tell him what she thinks of him so she can quit taking it out on other people. Susana asks him if he ever returned his dad's call. Is he still with that "piruja" (ho)? Leo says he's been with her for two years now. Susana says she's still a ho. And what's more, she's only a couple of years older than Leo. She could be his sister! So what, says Leo, she's not, she's dad's girlfriend and that's neither my business nor yours. Susana laughs this off. She says "Just wait and see, when one of them gets tired of the other, your dad's going to come crawling back crying and begging forgiveness, but he won't be able to get back in." Leo says that's not going to happen. He has to be the one to break it to her that Dad's call was to tell him that he's going to have another kid. His girlfriend is six months pregnant. "So if I were you, I'd get over it and start putting my life back together."

Det. Capellán asks Leo if his dad was in the house when "the tragedy" happened. Leo recaps the living situation. He says he shouldn't have told Mom about the new baby on the way. She didn't take it well. Capellán asks about the relationship between Susana and Carmen. Leo says Susana didn't treat her well, she was always rude to her, she insulted her. He says Carmen is one of the best people he's ever met. "Then your mother must have done or said something really terrible for her to react like that." Leo says that his mom was severely depressed and was taking it out on everyone else, she was completely nuts.

Flashback: Susana squirts cleaner on a mirror and wipes at it. Yeah, you read that right. She complains that she can't believe she's having to do the cleaning in her own house. Meanwhile Carmen is steaming the curtains, but Susana thinks she's going to burn them and asks if Carmen knows what she's doing. "Sorry, it's just that I know you people don't put curtains up in your houses, you just put newspaper over the windows, so how would I know…it just makes me sick to have to be cleaning and running errands like a maid." In the background, Jenny is dusting some wood shelves. Susana gets upset and comes over to take over the cleaning, cause Jenny's doing it all wrong. She keeps spouting crap about how "they" need to use their brains a little "I know it doesn't bother you people to live in filth, but there are people like me who want things clean and want things done right." (Okay, that's it, I confess. I killed her. With a rag soaked in glass cleaner. The stab wounds? Oh, those were self-inflicted, yeah.) Leo comes in, in shock, and asks what's going on. Susana says they're cleaning to get ready for a dinner party next Friday, uh, for some friends from the club. But those are friends of dads, says Leo. Susana rants about how she wants them to come over to see that she hasn't let the house become crap. Her marriage might be crap, her life might be crap, but her house…. Carmen motions to Jenny and the leave the room as Leo tries to calm Susana down.

Carmen and Jenny get off the minibus. They see Guillermo drinking and Carmen just pretends not to see him. But he comes running up, asking where they've been. He tries to say he was at work too. They question his choice of friends. Carmen tells Jenny to quit needling her dad and she swats Guillermo on the arm and tells him to come home with them. She mentions having him do some plumbing over at Mrs. Susana's place. He says no way and the ladies stare at him. Their stares guilt him into saying he'll get up early tomorrow and go with Carmen. Jenny wants to go too, but Carmen mentions Leo. She tells Guillermo who he is. Guillermo laughs at her and says she's trying to fly high. He makes fun of her hat and pulls it off to reveal the streaks of blonde she put into her very, very dark hair. He laughs and says she's trying to be a "guera" (white girl) and Jenny runs off. Carmen tells him to stop making fun of her.

Det. Capellán asks Guillermo why his mother did what she did. He says "ask her." "I'm asking you because I want to know what you think." Guillermo says he doesn't wish harm on anyone, but that woman deserved it. What's more, if Carmen hadn't killed her, he would have done it.

Flashback: Carmen dries dishes as Susana walks into the kitchen. She goes over to where Guillermo is working on the plumbing and sniffs. "Hey, if you were a plumber I would think you'd have put hot water in your house." Carmen, uncharacteristically, says they have hot water in their house and her son bathed this morning. Susana says he must not have changed his clothes then. She can't understand why they would bathe and then put dirty clothes back on. She asks "whatever his name is" what he's going to charge her for the work. He says he can't tell until he gets it taken apart so he can see what needs to be done. Susana laughs and says no way, once it's all taken apart then he can charge whatever he wants to. Guillermo gives Carmen a look. Susana asks Carmen if it wasn't just a seal that needed to be replaced. She says that's why she asking, so she'll know up front. She doesn't want to have problems later. Guillermo says she won't. Then he ignores her and asks his mom to hand him a tool. There's an argument when Susana insists that she'll do it since she needs Carmen to keep working and she's not paying her to be a plumber's assistant. Meanwhile Leo is shouting from upstairs that Mom was supposed to bring him a drink. Jenny comes bouncing in and says she'll take Leo his drink. She pulls a juice bottle out of the fridge. Susana comments on her hair, which Carmen brushes off as "kid stuff." Susana laughs maliciously as she pronounces it, in English, to be "very very natural." She ends up handing Guillermo the right tool and then suggesting that he just get up to get whatever other tools he's going to need instead of asking someone to hand them to him. Guillermo hasn't been in this house a day yet and he already has that "long-suffering" look.

Upstairs, Leo is working on his computer. He admits to Jenny that he doesn't care where she leaves his drink, he just wanted her to come. She says she wanted to. They do what cute kids their age do when left alone for longer than 30 seconds.

Guillermo thinks he needs a different tool. Susana gives him grief about it so he gets up, puts the wrench he as holding on Susana's hand and tells her to fix it her damn self. He says something that gets bleeped out. Susana calls him a "naco igualado" (uppity low-class trash). He leaves and Susana calls after him that he'd better not be drunk, cause she'll call the police. Carmen tries to calm her down.

Carmen goes after Guillermo. He argues that they shouldn't be treated that way, but she says they've got to eat. He tells her they need to have dignity. She repeats "dignity".

Jenny and Leo are not at all dignified. Jenny pries herself away from him before the clothes can go flying.

Carmen tries to apologize to Susana. "If you know he's like that, why did you bring him? Don't you realize he's dangerous!" Carmen says he's not dangerous, just sick and desperate because he can't find work. Susana says she's so upset she even wants to fire Carmen now. She demands that Carmen give her Guillermo's full name because she's going to call the cops on him so that he can't come back to the house and try to get revenge on her. She has flipped her wig. She says she knows them well, he's a drunk and a thief, just like Carmen. She knows Carmen is stealing from her. Jenny walks in on this tirade and Susana turns on her, saying that she's a ho who streaked her hair. She tells them she's had enough and she wants them both out. "Go back to your crap hole and think about what you've lost." Carmen starts crying. She and Jenny turn to go.

Jenny and Carmen are walking around the neighborhood putting up little flyers for cleaning services.

Susana, however, has extremely generously allowed them both to come back to work for her, but only because she has her dinner the following day. She wants to get Jenny into a uniform, but they can deal with that later. For now, she needs them to wash all the stemware--and they'd better be careful not to break any because there's already enough coming out of Carmen's paycheck for what Guillermo messed up and if they break a glass she'll have to take that out of Carmen's paycheck too. Susana says she's going out to buy flowers for the dinner.

The ladies commence to the washing. Leo comes in and greets them both. He apologizes for his Mom's crazy behavior. Leo tells Jenny that he got the scholarship information that she was asking for and it's upstairs at his desk, if she wants to come up and look at it. This is Kid Code for "let's snog." Carmen quietly tells Jenny to leave the door open and goes back to drying glassware.

When Susana comes home, Carmen is downstairs cooking a vegetable soup. She asks about the glassware, but it's not quite finished yet and, uh, she sent Jenny out to get sodas, yeah.

Leo shuts his door as he makes out with Jenny.

Carmen tries to stall Susana from going upstairs by asking of she doesn't want her to make a little bit of pasta. Susana snootily says she doesn't know if Carmen will know how to cook it al dente…so no, nevermind. She says she's going upstairs to rest. Carmen then tries to tempt her with empanadas, but Susana laughs saying they'll probably be swimming in oil like her quesadillas. Then Carmen tries to offer her some Michoacan-style enchiladas. Susana says there's no way she's serving enchiladas at a big important dinner. "What is wrong with you? I told you we'd discuss the menu later!" Susana goes upstairs as Carmen visibly worries.

Susana hears heavy breathing coming from Leo's room, so, like any mother with a complete lack of boundaries, she opens the door. She starts physically pulling Jenny out of bed as she insults her. Then she starts smacking Leo and they argue about who's showing disrespect to whom. Jenny comes flying down the stairs wearing her jeans and holding the rest of her clothes in front of her. Carmen asks "What have you done?" as if it isn't obvious, and continues, "You stupid kids! What have you done!" Well, I'm glad she's not laying this entirely at Jenny's door. Susana comes downstairs now, calling Jenny a ho and accusing Carmen of trying to distract her with food while Jenny was upstairs trying to get herself impregnated to see what they could get out of Leo. Again, with the wig flipping. Leo comes downstairs, finally, and tries to calm Susana down. In the course of her tirade, she eventually gets to "you're just like your father." Sigmund Freud rolls over in his grave in London and gives a hearty "I told you so!"

Carmen thanks Susana as she and Jenny prepare to leave the house. Jenny is carrying Carmen's bag and Susana insists that it's full of things they stole from her. She says they're not leaving until she calls the cops to turn them in for robbing her. Jenny is freaking out cause she has no idea what Susana's talking about. She goes on and on about various things being missing, including some jewelry, tools, and knives. Leo asks her what she's talking about. "You wanna see your knives?" asks Carmen. She pulls a bunch out of a drawer, throws them out on the counter and says, "there they are. What else?"

Det. Capellán asks Carmen, "And were the knives there?" Carmen says, of course they were. "And what was in the other drawers?" Carmen says when she opened them, they were full of years of insults, humiliations, jokes, denigrating words…that's what was in the other drawers.

Flashback: Carmen and Susana continue their argument. Susana is complaining about a bunch of things being missing that Carmen says were never in the house to begin with. Carmen has had it. She tells Susana that she's not a thief and she's not ungrateful, and she's spent years taking care of her and her son. "You're the one who's sick, sick with hate and stinginess and haughtiness and you know what? You're a poor crazy lady who doesn't know how to be grateful for what she has." The two teenagers are looking appalled. Jenny reaches out her hands towards Carmen. Leo tries to restrain his mom as she picks up a frying pan and brandishes it at Carmen, saying no maid is going to insult her like this in her own house. Carmen picks up the pot of soup and flings it in Susana's direction, but Leo grabs her by the arms and most of it ends up on the floor. Susana tells her now she's taken it too far, she's going to regret it, and the cops are going to come lock them up and they'll rot in jail. Carmen picks up a knife and stabs Susana in the back as Susana is picking up the phone. She screams "that's enough." A CGI blood butterfly flies away from Susana's body and upstairs. Carmen drops the knife and looks up.

The aftermath rolls past on screen (with a few letters on the right margin missing, so this is the best I can piece together!): "The judge took into consideration the extenuating circumstances recommended by Det. Capellán. The physical and verbal abuse of servants is considered abuse. Carmen Jiménez was sentenced to five years in prison for unpremeditated murder. Jenny and Leo never saw each other again. In Mexico, discrimination based on social status and violation of rights are the principal causes of crimes of passion."

Next week, prostitution. Yay?

Labels: asesinas