Saturday, July 17, 2010

El Clon Friday July 16: Summary for Discussion

Nati continues her downward spiral; Jade travels to Fez, confident that she can outwit Said, but doesn’t know that Rania has betrayed her; and Daniel loses his innocence in a most unlikely way.


Said unlocks the door to Jade’s room, then retreats with ill grace. Jade greets Tío Ali joyfully, but Ali is worried. What would become of you, he asks, if I weren’t in this world any longer? (¿Que serías de ti si no estuviera más en este mundo?) She continues to protest her fate, but Ali isn’t prepared to intervene beyond what he has just done.
Ya eres libre, Jade… Va a Marruecos y cásate.
You’re free now, Jade (from the locked room). Go to Morocco and get married.

Ramon tells Gloria that Nati is awake. He’s ready to tag along with her but Gloria dismisses him:
Ya yo tengo una sombra, no necesito dos!
I already have one shadow, I don’t need two.
Gloria tells Nati quite bluntly that she wants her to stay far away from Alej.

In the street, Hilda complains to Consuelo that Karla is in love with some poor slob (un muerto de hambre). Hilda wants Karla to snare Roberto – and his money -- but Consuelo tells her that might be difficult. The guy may be a big flirt, but he’s truly in love with his wife. Apparently Hilda has in mind some way of convincing Roberto that he has impregnated Karla. And it seems Consuelo knows something about falsifying lab tests. ¡Guácala!

And back at Gloria’s, Nati is apologizing like the well-bred young lady that she is:
Perdóname si cometí alguna imprudencia…es que soy llena de problemas.
Forgive me if I behaved unwisely...it’s just that I have so many problems.
News flash, says Gloria. Everyone has problems. But not everyone resorts to drugs. You need to turn it around now, because later on, you won’t be able to. Then Gloria offers her taxi fare, but she declines and starts walking home.

When she gets there, she finds a welcoming committee of Lucas, Marisa and Rosa, all wanting to know where she has been and why she didn’t call. When Nati goes upstairs, her parents turn on each other with accusations of setting a bad example and neglecting their daughter. Upstairs, Nati holds her pillow over her ears to block out their voices.

At Empresa Ferrer, Fernando passes by Clara’s desk looking very glum indeed. Clara tells Caro that Escobar has refused to give Fer money for his university texts because he needs the cash to buy a cell phone for Malicia. The ladies figure it must be a pretty pricey phone he has in mind.

And Escobar phones Malicia to let her know he has gotten an appointment for her with the best OB in Florida, a personal friend of his, for the day after tomorrow. (pasado mañana). (And we can see the wheels turning in her head: Time to move on to the next stage of the plan.)

Julio asks Escobar if he knows why Luisa is crying. It’s got to be Albieri, he says (I guess it takes one patán to know another one.) They go out to the desk and join Anita and Luisa. In walks Albieri with this announcement:
Vine a despedirme.
I came to say goodbye.
Everyone is impactado

Albieri asks Julio to take charge of the clinic in his absence. You talk as if you don’t intend to come back, says Julio. Albieri admits that he isn’t sure; he has made many mistakes and now he has to face up to the consequences. Does this have something to do with Dora and the mix-up of embryos? asks Julio. You think Daniel might find out? Albieri says that fortunately he hasn’t discovered anything yet, but inevitably it will come out. And the consequences could be fatal.

And Daniel walks into Dora’s house and announces: Vine a despedirme. He assures Dora and Estela he will come back to them, but this is something he needs to do, to find his way in life (encontrar el rumbo de mi vida).

The questions continue for Albieri, this time from Luisa. Where did you sleep? she wants to know. In a hotel. Who is she? I told you, there is no woman, insists Albieri. Then who are you running away from? she wants to know.
Cuando resuelva lo que tengo que resolver, vengo por ti.
When I resolve what I have to resolve, I’ll come get you.
Luisa will not accept this. You’re not going without me, she says. Finally Albieri appears to relent. Go pack your bag, he tells her. Ok, says Luisa, and don’t you leave without me!

As Luisa is packing she confides to her friend Anita that Albieri seemed so afraid. But as soon as it was decided that she would accompany him, he looked relieved. He was just upset because he was going to be traveling without me!

The residents of Casa Ferrer continue their sport of bicker and blame when Nati leaves without eating anything.

And Nati really is weak with hunger. We see her lean against the trunk of a palm tree and then fall to the sandy ground. Daniel happens on the scene. He leans over her and says: Señorita, ¿estás bien? She looks up groggily at him. ¿Papá? Then Daniel has disappeared, replaced by Fernando (and a girl who is trying to help). Fernando takes Nati to his house. She tries to tell him she saw her father, but he assumes she just imagined it. She tells him once more how unhappy she is at home. His solution?
¿Quieres una probadita? You want a little taste? .

Luisa arrives at the clinic, suitcase in hand, only to be told that Albieri has already left.

At Empresa Ferrer, Clara is looking good. She's got a new hairdo and has ramped up the sexy on her clothes. Carolina asks her to come to the Club (I think Salamandra) with her – maybe she’ll meet the love of her life. My son is the love of my life, she says. Just then Leo comes through, too quickly for Clara to tell him that Amalia is waiting in his office.

This isn’t working, Amalia tells Leo. I’m going back to New York as soon as the book is done. He kisses her and asks her to marry him.

Speaking of marriage, Cristina congratulates Zein on his planned nuptials. She is surprised to learn that he has never met the bride. But he knows her name is Jade. Say, muses Cris, I know a Jade, she’s from Morocco too… Cristina accepts his invitation to come to the wedding. Their conversation is interrupted when Diana comes in to say that Malicia (you mean the receptionist? asks Zein) went home sick.

And sick she is, my friends, sick she is. She is on the phone with Escobar: Remember that imaginary baby, Ratoncito? Well I just lost it in an imaginary miscarriage! (Sorry, Clara, no backsies on the car!)

Alejandro has kept his important appointment at the gym. He has met big shot manager Michael Gonzáles, impressed him, and gotten him to agree to watch him fight this weekend.
Me parece que tienes madera para llegar a las grandes legas.
I think you have the stuff to make it to the big leagues, he tells a thrilled Alej.

Escobar has rushed home to comfort his love. No es justo, she wails. Here, he says, I brought you a gift. For a woman who has just lost a baby, she seems easily distracted by a smart phone, but Escobar doesn’t seem to notice.

We are back at Said’s house. Ali tells Jade that he can’t do anything about Jadiya since by law she belongs to Said. No es justo, says Jade. All I can do, Ali tells her, is try to convince him to let her attend the wedding in Morocco. And you brought this all on yourself:
Hiciste lo mismo como Eva, la primera mujer – perdiste el paraíso por culpa de una tentación.
You did the same as Eve, the first woman – you lost paradise because of yielding to temptation.

Said is laying down the law to Rania. If you want to continue to be my wife, you’d better not behave like Jade, he warns her. In her desire to cast blame on Jade, she goes too far. First she offends Said by telling him that Jade always manages to get him to do what she wants. And finally she shoots herself in the foot (and Jade in the heart) by revealing that she overheard Jade arrange for her lover to rob Jadiya and take her out of the country. Said is furious: Rania disobeyed him by allowing Jade to use her phone and then didn’t tell Said about this nefarious plan!
Definitivamente, no se puede confiar en las mujeres!
Definitely, you can’t trust women!
Then to Jade: Let’s go/We’re leaving. Nos vamos.

Alej gets an earful from Gloria:
¿A ti qué tripa se te torció?
Which I’m guessing means: What the heck is wrong with you? (But if you have a better suggestion, let me know.)
She tells him she knows drug abuse when she sees it. In any case, he answers, I’m not going to leave her when she’s in trouble. Then he gives Nati a call to share his good news: that Michael González has agreed to watch him fight.
Me alegro por ti.
I’m happy for you, she says. But she sure doesn’t sound like it.

Cris tells Vicki about Zein’s wedding and Cris’s plans to travel to Morocco. Dora called, Vicki tells her. She was all upset because Albieri took Daniel away to, of all places, Morocco!

The next thing we know, Cristina is sitting in the clinic with Luisa telling her it wouldn’t be so hard to find someone in Morocco. Let’s go together. I doubt that Albieri has another woman, but if there does, well, I’ll take care of it. It’s kind of my specialty. (We all need a friend like Cris!)

Unlike poor sweaty Albieri, Ali and company travel via the speedy AeroNovela, so they arrive at the house in Fez lickety split. All the women in the house, including Jade, ululate joyfully while Said glowers. Privately, Jade asks Zoraida if she thinks Said was convinced that she had accepted her fate. You seemed so happy, says Zoraida, even I believed you. (Of course now that Rania has spilled the beans about the kidnap plan, Said isn’t going to believe anything Jade says or does. But she doesn’t know that.)

And back in Miami, Hilda, Karla and Consuelo gloat about their plan to entrap Roberto with some sort of laboratory scam.

Lucia’s ramblings to Marisa about the wonderful irresistible Roberto are interrupted
by Rosa’s announcement that Nati is awake. For some reason, Marisa has decided to try being someone’s mother today. She marches up to Nati’s room (wearing an exceptionally unflattering black broccoli band, I might add) and demands an explanation for her daughter’s failing grades. It’s all your fault, shoots back Nati. You don’t love me! I don’t matter to you!

I told you she wasn’t well, Rosa tells the exasperated Marisa.
No inventes, Rosa, no inventes!
Stop making stuff up, retorts our Mother of the Year.
But Rosa won’t leave it alone. She is lost, she tells her. It’s time to stop looking at yourselves and start worrying about your daughter.

(Now I thought that Daniel and Albieri had left for Morocco, but it seems not. The final scene -- as well as the previews -- take place in Miami.)
In the final scene, Daniel is praying to an image of the virgin. He tells a woman in the church that the black virgin reminds him of his mother, who is black. You’re adopted? asks the incredibly nosy woman. No, says Daniel, my father is white.
Si tu mamá es negra y tu papá es blanco, no hubieras nacido tan blanco como eres, a menos que tu mamá no sea tu mamá.
If your mother is black and your father is white, you wouldn’t have been born as white as you are unless your mother’s not your mother.
Whoa!

Previews for Monday:
Daniel demands answers from Dora: ¿De dónde vengo?
Jade is going to try to win Zein’s heart.
Daniel tells Albi he knows Dora isn’t his mother and demands to know what is going on.

Labels:


Comments:
Thanks NovelaMaven. Funny as usual. It's also helping me build up my Spanish skills a bit. I recently turned off the English captions. I had them on mostly because I was watching with a friend who knows very little Spanish. He's away for a while, but he'll be following the summaries here. So thanks to you and the other hardworking cappers!

I'm guessing "¿A ti qué tripa se te torció?" means something like "What's got you all twisted up inside?"

We had a couple cases of "suspiciously happy". Alicia with the phone was pretty funny. She's usually a good faker, but this was pretty transparent, to anybody but Escobarde. Is he getting stupider or what? I guess we already knew that he can't read women (or people in general, probably).

And Jade was strangely happy in Fez. I find it hard to believe she's faking it. She is absolutely incapable of concealing her feelings. She must have been thinking about one of those classic Jade plans. Step 1: I do something crazy. 2: ??? 3: Jade + Lucas 4-EVER!!!

Also, I agree we all need a friend like Cris. She has her problems, but she's mostly a force for good, and she's always interesting. She's been my favorite character for most of the show. (Gloria reminds me of her. They should meet.)
 

Excellent job, NovelaMaven!

Unlike poor sweaty Albieri, Ali and company travel via the speedy AeroNovela, so they arrive at the house in Fez lickety split.

I went back and checked and Said changed his mind on divorcing Jade and thus initiating the whole marriage in Morocco thing after Albi was told all tickets to Morocco were sold out for what seems like weeks. But Ali, Said, his wives, Zoraida and Amina zipped off to Morocco with no problem. Maybe they buy seats on every flight just in case they might need to go at the last minute.

I loved the 'imaginary baby' and the 'imaginary miscarriage' and no 'backsies on the car.' What a moron the Chump is. He deserves all that is surely coming to him.

Could there have been a sillier way for Daniel to suspect that Dora isn't his mother? First, Daniel, who apparently had never heard about Adam and Eve is in a church and praying to the Virgin of Guadalupe and then a complete stranger tells him that he can't possibly be the child of a white man and a black woman. While people can be incredibly rude, what is more surprising is that apparently no one had pointed this out to Daniel before in all the years that he was living with Dora. When Daniel was a toddler, people mentioned it to Dora all the time. I'm sure we will see the double standard - Daniel who believes every improbable thing that Albieri tells him will refuse to believe anything Dora tells him.

Poor Dora and poor Luisa. It was incredibly mean of Albieri to deceive her the way he did. She should just leave the bastard but, of course, she won't.

And what happened to Ali? He rightly used to take some responsibility for what happened to Jade. Now he's comparing her choices to the fall of Eve! Although Jade's inability to understand that according to Islamic law, her child belongs to Said's family after being told that 1000 times would try the patience of a saint.

It's weird that having brought the whole cast of the novela to Miami, they are practically all going back to Morocco.
 

NovelaMaven, Thanks for incredibly amusing and insightful recap. I agree with all the points brought up by Luke and Jean, and want to add my personal pet peeve: whenever Ali lectures Jade about living strictly according to the Holy Book, she whines "but I just want to be happy!" This seems to be an acceptable reason to do whatever selfish thing she wants: lie, cheat, even consider breaking the law? And she expects Lucas to lie, cheat, and break the law to make her happy.
Joan
 

Muchas gracias, NovelaMaven. Once again, your summarcap is a lot more interesting than the episode. And it is also helping me with my Spanish. Since I claim that that's why I'm watching TNs, I guess I can't complain :-). But, of course, my excuse is about as true as Malicia's pregnancy.

I was somewhat surprised by the woman who claimed to Daniel that he couldn't be the son of a black mother and a white father unless he was adopted. I think that's simply not the case. Skin color and features are often unpredictable. African American literature is full of stories of people with mixed ancestry who look white and decide to pass for white. Sometimes they have siblings who have very different skin color and features. It's quite possible that the rude woman in the TN believes what she says, but she's simply not correct.
 

That's true Juanita, especially when the rude woman has never seen either of Daniel's parents. 'Black' is a pretty subjective term that could cover many skin tones and physiognomies (thank you Google, for telling me how to spell that).

It also occurred to me that if Luisa and Cristina get together to track Albieri down in Morocco, Cristina might get to hear Luisa's take on Malicia. Cristina doesn't know about that connection.
 

Hey guys, thanks so much for your comments. Lately, not only have more people been contributing here, but the comments themselves have been smart and funny and have set off some great discussions. Clonies rule!

[Fair warning: Even though last night I got carried away and wrote a full recap, I'm not likely to do this consistently. During the week I don't have that much time, so more than likely we'll be back to the short and -- dare I say? -- sweet summary format.]

Luke, I like your translation of "A ti qué tripa se torció?" as "What's got you all twisted up inside?" What intrigued me was that Gloria seemed to use it as a reproach when she was laying into Alej for bringing home a drugged-out Nati. It seemed like a more colorful way to say: ¿Qué te pasa? or ¿Qué traes?

I also love your analysis of a classic Jade plan ending in step 3: Jade + Lucas 4-EVER!!!

Jean: You are right about the Virgin de Guadaloupe scene being bizarre in many ways, and yet in some ways it makes sense. We have seen Dora in church, even if we haven't seen Daniel there. And he's been living a Catholic 'immersion experience' with Padre Andres for the past few days. He is so blank, so empty, that he is primed to be heavily influenced by Andres. And I don't find it far-fetched that he would feel affection for the dark-skinned virgen because she reminds him of his mother. What I found harder to accept was the earlier scene where he seemed unfamiliar with the Adam and Eve story.

Juanita, of course you're right about the unpredictability of skin coloring. On the other hand, I wouldn't expect careful scientific thinking from a person rude enough to accost a total stranger in a church and question his parentage!

Joan, Thank you for your nice words! I agree that Jade can sound childish when she repeats again and again: I just want to be happy! But I think that with certain religious and cultural beliefs, you are either inside them and you accept them as true (like Ali) or you are outside them and you can't quite believe that people allow those beliefs to rule their lives.

So even though Jade is nominally a Moslem, she is a cultural outsider who rejects the rules that tell her she has no right to choose to be with the man she has been in love with all her adult life and no custody rights over her daughter. To me, that's what she is saying when she says:
I just want to be happy!
 

Thanks NovelaMaven especially for the Spanish and translations. I can accept Jade's motivation. She loves Lucas. But she has no common sense about how to achieve this. Chris is turning about to be a really likable person.

Lynne
 

Jean: you're right about it being silly how Daniel comes to suspect his parentage. A somewhat important plot point like this would be more interesting if it involved an important character. People were willing to question his resemblance to Dora when he was a kid, so why not now? I guess it's hard to find someone who (a) doesn't know Lucas, and (b) would tell Daniel something like this (many are either too protective or unaware of the possibility). Still, I would have preferred even Ramon to a complete stranger.

NovelaMaven: Daniel's Catholicness is an interesting issue. He was baptized, and to some extent brought up in a "Catholic culture" (mostly among Spanish-speakers in the US). He has obviously never been to catechism. But he did go to pray, at the church where he was baptized (probably the only church in Miami), and knew how to cross himself, so I guess he has soaked up a little religion from the surrounding culture. But it's weird for us to see an otherwise nonreligious person praying, without knowing what he's praying for. Perhaps for Dora, or Albieri, or a good trip?

Also, are we "clonies"? I was calling myself a clone, thinking of Alice Cooper's song "we're all clones".
 

Ever since Daniel was a toddler, I thought the suspension of belief (that he’s mulatto) had been stretched to the limit. Some mulattos are clarísimo, but it’s possible that he just doesn’t appear very mulatto to many observers. Octoroon would be more plausible to me. While a tad rude, I think that stranger was simply pointing out what seemed to be a longstanding elephant in the living room. (I believe Estela was one of the first to blurt about it, but she was poo pooed)

Rosemary, Amina needs a husband like Said = “Yoplait good.” “LOL good.”

Yo, también, gustaría ver lo qué ocurre entre Sain y Jade. Frotando mis manos juntos para la boda…
 

Erin, I suspect you're right about Amina. I see her as The Naz: The Early Years or maybe a character in a lost "Just So" story: How the Naz Got her Teeth and Learned to Curse.

Thanks, Lynne, I'm glad you like the Spanish.

So Luke, ARE we clonies? Only if we want to be, I guess. But me --

I'd rather be a clonie than a clone, yes I would, if I could I surely would... (apologies to Simon and Garfunkel)
 

Really great recap, NovelaMaven. You were snarking on all cylinders!

Actually, I just figured out that you and Jean could just cut and paste this simple sentence over and over: Said glowers.

I was VERY disappointed in Rania throwing Jade to the wolves that way. Of course that threw a big money wrench into whatever Jade's plan is. The only thing we know so far is that Lucas is supposed to show up with 3 tickets to Miami. I doubt Said will let Jadiya out of his sight now.

Great quip about Amina being The Naz, the early years!!!

Boy, Natalia is really doing the addict thing to the hilt. She's pretty believable telling Alej she's never going to slip again. And then either she calls the dealer herself or that low-life Fernando gives her something. I predict rehab for our Nati.
 

Whoops! Rania threw a monkey wrench, not a money wrench!
 

Hey, sometimes that "money wrench" works too!
Joan
 

Thanks, Novelera! You know I have a hunch that they are pushing Nati to the breaking point because they want her to be in crisis mode precisely when Lucas is ready to join Jade. Then he will be forced to choose between the two loves of his life, Nati and Jade. And I bet he chooses Nati, hoping that Jade will understand (which of course she won't). ...just speculating...
 

Thanks for another entertaining romp through an otherwise frustrating and dark part of life. I don't know, but I felt like slapping Nati when she laid all her problems on other people. Malicia and Escobarde are both a piece of work, too. He deserves what come-uppance he gets but Clara certainly doesn't deserve all this grief. If she goes back with the rat, then I totally wash my hands of her.

Getting everyone back to Morocco provides some interesting possibilities. I'm with Erin, rubbing my hands in anticipation of the next "etapa". Let the wedding begin!
 

NovelaMaven, thank you once again for a great recap.

I hope that Nati does not OD. If she had proactive parents like Roberto or Gloria instead of Lucas and Marisa, this never would have happened.

I can hardly wait for the wedding. I hope they fall really hard for each other, it would serve Said right.

I was appalled with the scene in the church. That women was so rude to say what she did in a church. She had absolutely no respect. I have to give Daniel a pass, he was obviously raised with no religion in his life.

I am ready for the anvils to fall on Escobar and is strumpet.

Rosemary
 

A million thanks for a GREAT recap, wonderful comments. Still haven't seen my tape, but all of you have paved my way to understanding it better.

Meanwhile, I'm bored to tears with Nati's drug problem. Alej doesn't deserve the person she's become.

And I CANNOT stand Malicia. Can anyone explain what she is ultimately after? Destroy all relationships of everybody you come in contact with doen't seem it would buy happinesa/satisfaction of even the meanest villian.

Lois
 

Erin and All: I too am rubbing my hands in anticipation of what should be the biggest baddest homecoming party ever--i.e., "Return to Morocco". Sort of like "Return to Peyton Place"....
Joan
 

LeeAnn wrote on Tuesday:

Here's a question. If Jade and Zein get a divorce, wouldn't Jade have to be locked up for 30 or 90 days to make sure she wAsn't pregnant?

Great question! Remember that when Said asked Zein to marry Jade, he said the marriage would not be consummated. If that's the case, maybe the 3 month Iddah doesn't apply. (Of course we are all hoping that there will be good reason for it to apply!)
 

Let's hope that something happens! If Zein marries Jade and promptly returns her to Said, we'll be exactly where we were before. I'm guessing that Zein won't be willing to divorce Jade.
 

Jean, that's also my guess: that Zein won't divorce Jade. I can hardly wait to see Said come unglued.
 

NovelaMaven
I cannot receive El Clon in the summer and your summaries are vital to me in order to keep up.

Un mil de gracias.

Ernie S
 

Ernie S, Thanks so much for your nice words. It's a lot more fun for Jean and me to write these summaries when we know that people are actually reading them and getting something out of them!
 

Post a Comment



<< Home

Newer›  ‹Older

© Caray, Caray! 2006-2022. Duplication of this material for use on any other site is strictly prohibited.

Protected by Copyscape Online Plagiarism Finder