Caray, Caray!

Greetings, friends. I’ll be recapping El Clon on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Jean will take the rest of the week. I’m at a bit of a disadvantage in that my TV carries CC-1 and CC-2, but not CC-3 which has the English. Plus I foolishly did not record tonight’s show, a mistake I will not repeat. I understood most of tonight’s cap, but certain scenes went completely over my head. Additions and corrections are always welcome.

In the women’s quarters, Jade and Lucas lock eyes, and for them, the rest of the world is invisible. Would that they were invisible to the rest of the world. In response to the noise, the men come in to find out what the fuss is. Albieri hustles Lucas out of the house quickly. Ali takes charge of Jade. When she protests that she did nothing wrong, he smacks her, and tells her he’ll come to talk to her in a little while. When the three women are alone, Zoraida tries to counsel Jade to hold her tongue and learn to disimular (conceal, disguise her feelings), IOW lie. Most of all, she must not confront Ali, and she must not defend herself to him.

Back at the hotel, Leo orders Diego to apologize to Bimbo. Diego protests – I had reasons you don’t know. Leo wants to hear those reasons (while Bimbo looks on), but Diego says he’s not ready.

Ali comes in and reads Jade the riot act. It’s a crime to exhibit yourself. Jade insists she did nothing wrong. Ali reminds her that the prime directive of Islam is to surrender your will (someone please correct me if I got this wrong; I wouldn’t want anybody to misquote the central tenants of my faith, and I don’t want to misquote anyone else’s). Jade begs to be allowed to return to the US, but it falls on deaf ears. (I think) he tells her it’s not an issue of where you are, but whether you keep the rules of our faith. He says that if she doesn’t know good from bad, it is not the fault of her environment, that she is responsible for herself. Women who are not appropriately modest get locked inside, away from public eyes, until they die. I think Zoraida said she could be executed for her crime. Ali orders Jade to memorize the portion of Koran that he has marked, and he will test her on it tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Albieri briefs Lucas on the severity of his crime. I’m sorry, most of this when over my head. Can anyone fill in?

Back at the hotel, Lucas tries to apologize to Diego for locking him in his room, but justifies it because Diego was out of control. Diego tells him to get lost. I guess I’m with Diego on this one. I’ve never put much stock in the “I’m sorry, but..” brand of apologies.

Back at Albieri’s clinic in Miami, Luisa, Albieri’s assistant, is briefing her manicurist, who is there for fertility screening. We find out that the woman is healthy and fertile, and there is no reason she can’t conceive. The doctor suggests that her partner should get screened. Luisa takes a call from Albieri, and goes to his office to speak to him in private. She gushes about how she has arranged everything the way he likes it, while Albieri just tries to get her off the phone. After he hangs up on her, the woman doctor counsels Luisa to give up; that her rival is a woman who has been dead for 20 years, and Albieri will never notice anyone else. The doctor warns that hanging on to one-sided love for years will embitter her. (BTW, in last night’s Los Exitosos Perez, Tomas warned that hanging on to one-sided love is like an addiction. Too bad other novela characters don’t catch on to those warnings, but then how could the writers fill up 200 cap’s?)

Diego asks Al-B what he thinks of Bimbo. Al-B says that she’s tonta (foolish) and she likes his power. Diego insists that is not the right woman for his dad, and asks, “Do you think she’s an aventura (perhaps ‘gold-digger’?)?” Diego doesn’t really answer, so the doctor concludes Diego just doesn’t like seeing his dad remarry. Al-B coaxes Diego to let his dad enjoy some company at this stage in life.

Luke is in a daze, mooning over Jade. Jade is supposed to be memorizing her verses, but she can’t concentrate. Zoraida brings her a Koran in Spanish. Then cousin Latifa comes in, and Jade talks about that man who watched her dancing. She said it’s as if she knew him all her life, or else that she was destined to know him for the rest of her life. Latifa, for her part, is excited to meet her fiancé.

As for the marriage arrangements, much of this went over my head.

Two brothers arrive at the house, short Muhammad dressed in yellow, and taller Zaid dressed in white. They are accompanied by a woman identifies as their sister, which raises eyebrows. I didn’t catch her name, so I’ll call her Bessie. We can’t tell which of the brothers is the suitor, but apparently neither can Zoraida. Zoraida warns Latifa to be careful about everything she does when she meets the men, and especially do not seem too eager. Men like to feel as if they have won (conquistar) the woman. Latifa brings out dessert and makes quite an impression on the brothers. After a few minutes, Ali dismisses her. When the men are alone, Zaid says that he approves, and the men start to bargain over the marriage contract. It comes out that Zaid will soon return to the US to operate his business. Ali refers to Latifa as his niece??

Bessie is in the women’s quarters with Latifa and Zoraida, and also Ali’s two wives and a few young children. The third wife isn't there because she had a baby yesterday. Bessie thought Ali had four wives, but one died last year. With that, she starts calculating how she can become that fourth wife. Latifa, Zoraida, and Jade quietly discuss their opinion of the pushy Bessie; it's not good. Bessie asks Latifa’s reaction to Zaid getting other wives. Latifa starts to protest, “I won’t allow it,” but then she catches herself and disimilates, saying “Well, I’ll always be the first wife.” Jade is surprised that men can have several wives, but Latifa thinks it’s great that they are limited to four wives. Peachy.

Back at the hotel, Diego again tries to talk to his dad, but Bimbo arrives and puts the kibosh on that. In Miami, the manicurist from the fertility testing is in a nightclub, and she seductively entices a man to dance with her. I missed a lot of what was said between them. Help, anyone? She tells him that she’s plenty fertile, so the problem must be him. This somehow leads to her accusing him of lying to her, and she thinks perhaps he’s married (?).

Scene shifts to the desert, where Leo, Bimbo, and Diego go out for a camel ride. The shadows tell us it’s about noon. I thought only mad dogs and Englishmen went out in the noonday sun. Diego gets Bimbo aside and tells her to leave and never come back, or he will tell his father what a whore she is.

Back in town, Al-B has taken Lucas to Ali’s house to apologize. Al-B excuses himself to go warm up Ali to the idea. He leaves Lucas in the foyer and orders him to not move. Latifa and Zoraida go outside so Latifa can practice soccer – she says men like women who know about soccer. They holler for Jade to hurry and join them. A few moments later Jade follows, but then Lucas sees her in the foyer. Once again their eyes lock; once again the world disappears.

Tomorrow: Zaid and Muhammad wonder about this marriage contract – if they take two wives (i.e. Jade), can they get a volume discount?

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