Caray, Caray!

This seemed like an episode of traps. Is Marcos trying to trap Mauricio with kindness? Is Coni going to trap Marcos into an admission? Are Marcos and Jacqui trapped in the War of the Roses? Will Aldo be coerced into robbery? Isabel tries to trap her daughter with fake love. Estrella doesn't want to trap herself or Aldo into marriage and Aldo wants it but doesn't see it as a trap. Sal is trapped by Loriloca and they are both trapped by Oscar. Arni is trapped in love with Ximena. The rateros are trapped in a cage. There is more but ya basta! Let's see who is trapping whom tonight and you can make up your own minds...

When we left off from last night Marcos was offering Mau a job as President of Grupo Sermeño. Ya see, he wants to build a great family business owned by his daughters and run by his two sons-in-law. (Methinks he's figured out HE doesn't have time for it and his daughter who fired the entire staff is now too busy training to be a cut-rate boxer to run the biz. What do y'all think?) Mau is all about the family cuz GS was started by his dad, a stonemason who started from the ground up and turned it into a great business. OK, he accepts the offer and Marcos agrees to keep the name Grupo Sermeño. Wonder how Beto's going to feel about that? Poor dude is already lobbying for Grupo Ochoa.

Gabi is having breakfast with Xime and I must say, neither of these beauties outshines the other. They both have exquisite but very different features. And they are in color coordinated shirts! But I digress, Xime says Rolu is upstairs sleeping off his night of passion, Arni is nowhere to be found (poor sod), and she promises Jero isn't around either, he never came home last night. Gabi says he's probably with Oscar which makes Xime wriggle with delight, How marvelous! "No, not like that," corrects Gabi, "they are accomplices." Hablando del rey de roma y por la puerta se asoma... in walks Jero looking uncomfortably surprised at the sight of Gabi.

Marcos continues his role as the grand benevolent. He thinks Mau's bodega is too small and unseemly for his yerno and nietos. How about the keys to a penthous suite? (Easy there Mau, all this kind arranging may come with a price tag.) Marcos is also confident that for Valentina's sake he will eventually debilitate Isabel, have faith in papa Marcos everything is under control. All righty then, Marcos will see Mau at work first thing Monday morning, here are the keys and oops, almost forgot to give Mau the address of the penthouse! Mau smiles his dopy trusting smile. I hope for Mau's sake they find Salvador soon, I'm not sure he can run GS on his own.

Gabi puts the pressure on Jero, she wants him to tell her right now where Oscar is. Jero's a rotten liar but he does it anyway. He has no idea where that fugitive is, he's hiding from the cops and don't forget he stole all Jero's money too! Gabi doesn't believe a single word and she offers to pay Jero to tell her where Oscar is and any info on Salvador's murder. Any amount, name your price.

Over at the manicomio privado Loriloca makes Sal comfy while the nurse readies the next injection. Lorenza protests, no inyección please! Sal musters up all his strength to moan a pitiful "No, no." The nurse recalls Oscar's treacherous words, he doesn't like loose ends and Lori and Sal must die, so she agrees no inyección, but it has to be their secret. The nurse sends Loriloca to keep a watch at the door and she advises Sal that he must continue to act like he's drugged, then he and his wife must escape. "Graaaacias" he moans.

Gabi is still pressing Jero who seems to be interested in her offer. How much money is a lot? Xime keeps piping up that she knows he's hiding something. Gabi maneuvers around Ximena's interruptions and tells Jero she is prepared to sell everything, her car, her apartment, her family's property.

Nurse tells Sal he will feel some withdrawal symptoms but they will soon pass and he needs to try to cover them up. Señor Oscar is muy peligroso and Sal and his wife are in great danger if they stay. Oscar and Lori come in and Oscar ominously reminds the nurse that Sal must have his inyección every five hours.

Xime is ready to donate an unbitten apple and the change in the bottom of her purse. Gabi is appreciative but forges ahead. What does Jero want? Jero sticks with the lies and tells Gabi when they find that treacherous rat Oscar she will be the first one at him. When he goes upstairs Gabi and Xime look at each other suspiciously. He's hiding something.

Estrella visits Mau at the bodega to tell him Moni doesn't suspect a thing although she (Estre) nearly had a heart attack. She still can't remember, is he sure nothing happened (she asks just a little too hopefully)? He's sure absolutamente nada happened. (Aw, poor Estrella.) They piss and moan about that traicionera Isabel. What are they going to do?

They are interrupted by a surly Aldo who is in an epic snit. Mau and Estrella are thrilled he finally came home. But Aldo lunges at Estre and yells that last night he found them in bed together! This goes on for a couple of scenes but in typical telenovela fashion Aldo won't listen and they can't seem to find the words to tell him the truth anyway. After lots of loud but impotent yelling our cachorro heads for the door never wanting to see them again.

Marcos gets home and finds Coni lying in wait for him. She's confused, what this big secret that her ma keeps talking about? Marcos tells her not to be fooled by Jacqui's craziness. Oops, Moni walks in and tells him to go ahead and tell her his big secret.

Luckily Marcos has a commercial break to get his story straight.

Coni tells Moni to beat it, she has nothing to do with her father, go back to her cage and leave them in peace. Au contraire, Moni has a prior engagement with Marcos. Coni tells Valentina to mind her own business and beat it because she's talking to her dad right now. Marcos corrects her, in point of fact he needs to talk to Valentina solo, he pushes a mortified and irritated Coni out the door. "OK Valentina, we're alone now."

Moni doesn't want Marcos to call her "hija". He says they have a lot to talk about. First up is the subject of her hating him based on Isabel's lies. Moni doesn't want him to call her Monita either, he has to stick with Valentina. He says he wants to start by being her friend, he just wants to see her happy.

Isa and Aliblahblah take their seats in the oncologists office, but then Isabel decides she doesn't want to wait for the test results so they get right up and leave. Weird, did I miss something?

Moni accuses Marcos of ruining her happines. He abandonied her mother and left her all alone, meddled in Mauricio's business, yada yada. He tells her he wants both she and and Coni to be happy. (What about Katia?) He wants Coni to stop her vengeance, to marry Beto and he wants the same for Valentina, to marry Mauricio and have a family and immense love. She looks slightly confused.

Mau and Estrella moan some more about that damned Isabel's perfidy and oh dear whatever will they do about Aldo?

Marcos tells Moni that actions speak louder than words, thanks to him Mau has the kids back. Moni accuses him of doing good deeds not to help people but to get them on his side. He makes the fatal error of mentioning Isabal and Moni goes on her usual rant and ends up yelling she's sick of him and his blood in her veins. "Me das asco!" (An old favorite, "you disgust me".)

Tere and the girls show up at the bodega and Mau tells them they just missed Aldo and guess what, they are moving into a new house. Danny likes it fine in the bodega where they were all crammed into one room, how sweet. Mau asks Tere to move in with them, just like old times.

Luisa slips away and follows Estrella outside to tell her she knows Estre is preggers by Aldo and what's up with him? Why is he acting weird and why has he disappeared? She's worried about everyone and everything. Estre tells Luisa to keep it a secret but soon she and Aldo will get married and everything will be fine.

All except the Aldo part because he's gone back to the cardboard pile and the sidewalk to sit with his creepy cuates. Creepies say they need to go to the store to get some money and want him to come. He's all bummed out and apathetic, doesn't want to go, so they give him a bag of drugs because that's what all good pals do, verdad?

Mau and the girls love their new place, it's huge and beautiful. Tere is reinstated as housekeeper. Ivan is there too and Mau, once again President of GS, offers Ivan his old job back. Dang, things are looking good again, all except those anvils lining up on the horizon like night squalls on the Pacific.

It's night and Aldo and co. make their way to a convenience store. They tell Aldo to wait outside, one guy hangs out at the door and the other (the ratero who stole the jewels) goes inside. It's highly suspicious but Aldo is oblivious.

What's this? Xime and Arni are doing a stakeout? What's up with that? Actually Arnie doesn't know because Ximena's in charge. This is a super dangerous mission they are on. They are following her brother to try to find Oski for Gabi. Arni has a fit, the guy is a murderer! She says it's OK because they are super smart they will be heroes like Sherlock Holmes and Watson! Their subject exits the building. Shirley Holmes tells Watson to drive in pursuit. Glad to see she buckles her seatbelt.

Now Marcos is at Coni's trying to keep his other hija from being mad at him. It's going well until Jacqui casually strolls in with a snifter in her hand...is he going to explain to his daughter what's going on? "What is the damned secret papa?" Go on, tell her, urges Jacqui.

Aldo waits outside, ignorant of the holdup ocurring inside the store. The rateros have a knife to the clerk's throat and demand money. The clerk pushes a button and steel doors slam shut. The little creeps are stuck inside the store with the clerk who now wields a dangerous looking sawed-off. They are trapped like, dare I say it, rats in a trap. Three police cars scream in and Aldo hides.

Mau is at Estrella's house. They figure that Isabel is systematically attempting to separate Monita from everyone in her life. She did it with Mau and is trying it with Estrella. If they don't want to lose Monita they have to change tactics. Estre thinks he and Moni will end up together in spite of Isabel. What they need to do is get Mau and Moni into a place where Monita can't escape. During this scene Estrella keeps aproaching Mau then running back when she gets too close. At the end he wants to give her a hug for her good idea but she squirms away and squeals, "no more arms on this body, principe, after what you and I saw I'm a little nervous." He leaves and she squeals once more "NOOOoooo" and fans her hot bod.

Back at the holdup the cops are putting the rateros in their squad car. Aldo, hiding behind some cars, watches then runs away looking over his shoulder. Cachorro, you escaped by the skin of your teeth this time. Whatcha gonna do now?

Jacqui and Marcos are giving each other a hard time ad nauseum until Coni finally begs them to stop. She hates being stuck between a couple of insane ancianos! "Elderly, me?" demands Marcos. (Guess he doesn't mind the insane part.) Coni wants to know once and for all what they are hiding? Marcos tells Jacqui to go ahead and tell if she wants Coni to know so badly.

Isabel frets about her visit to the oncologist and of course Moni tells her everything will be all right. Isa says she loves enjoying Monita's silence and tranquility. (I'll bet after living with Ali.) They go to bed and Moni replays in her head Marcos saying he loves her and wants her to be happy.

Back at Los Bickersons Jacqui says Marcos is hiding his secret all because Nieves his lechona (suckling pig? because of they way she stuffs herself into her clothes?) asked him to and he can deny her nothing. Coni is beside herself that he would put that woman and her rabble before his own family! More bickering and Coni tells them to stop changing the subject. What's the secret?

Marcos says OK, since she keeps insisting and in point of fact, what he's been hiding is...he proposed marriage to Nieves and she has accepted. They are going to marry as soon as possible! Caras muy impactadas de Coni and Jacqui. Cara victoriosa de Marcos.

Tomorrow: Aldo is sleeping under an overpass and eating fast food that somebody threw out the window into the dirt. Jacqui vows "That Woman" will never marry Marcos, not while she can stop it. Surprise, Mau traps Moni on a boat.


los actos dicen mas que las palabras = actions speak louder than words (what Marcos thinks)
albañil - stonemason or bricklayer (Mau's dad)
cabos sueltos - loose ends (what Oscar doesn't like)
cuanto antes = as soon as possible
disimular = to cover up, hide, suppress (what Sal needs to do to fool Oscar)
efectivamente = in point of fact (Marcos says this a lot)
estafar - to swindle, rook, cheat, con (what Oscar did to Jero)
por el contrario = on the contrary, au contraire

Labels: gancho