Caray, Caray!

Jean, thanks for this weeks mini-recaps. I don't know where the comments are going, but I them on Tuesday and Wednesday and both have gone missing in cyberspace.

Loved your comment about Cris being a hurricane.

I know that travel is superfast in TNLand but I want one of those suitcases they wheel around. I couldn't pack for an overnight trip from the looks of them, but they seem to be bottomless. I havn't seen anyone wear anything twice no matter how long they stay.

Rosemary
 

Jean, this was a truly marvellous summacap, complete with great photos, a lot of helpful Spanish, and first-class snark! I broke up over "Hurricane Cristina is making landfall" and "Luisa comes in and together they become a Category 5 hurricane," and I loved your explanation to Jade: "[because you're the heroine of a novela, that's why]." Perhaps she should have addressed her question to TN expert Zamira.

Yes, I too am very impressed with the speed of TN travel. I wonder whether Telemundo bought up all the SSTs that are no longer permitted to land anywhere (except in TN-land). Perhaps even more impressive than the speed of the flight is the ability to cut through all the bureaucratic red tape involved in getting passports and visas. I doubt that Zumaya had either one lying around.

Like Rosemary, I'm impressed with the endless capacity of the carry-on suitcases. Perhaps all the TN Moroccans should become travel consultants.

I can't decide what to make of Marisa's strangely sympathetic behavior toward Nati. I definitely don't trust her, though at least in this episode we didn't get any of the heavy-handed TN signs that she's Up To No Good.
 

So many goodies today, Jean! Among my favorites:

-- "Why is it that whenever I think that I am going to be happy, Latifa, something happens with my destiny and everything changes? asks Jade [because you're the heroine of a novela, that's why]"

-- Jean's Tips for Secret Drinkers

-- Catching Dora in a Classic Mother Moment: "And if he told you to jump off a bridge..."
*********************
I was struck by Jade's remark to Ali at the very end of the episode when she tells him she lies because she is left with no other choice. I've been thinking about lying and truth-telling in this novela, how very often the powerless (or at least the subordinate) person lies because she (it's almost always a woman) has no choice. And how the person being lied to expects the lie. Truth-telling upset the balance, as Rania has discovered and as her younger, but far shrewder sister has always known. Think of how often Zoraida has lied to Ali and under what circumstances.
 

Thanks all.
Sorry your comments on previous posts were 'cast to the winds,' Rosemary. Blogger went bananas for a while.

I think the person(s) who should get the 'latigazos' is/are the writer(s) of the original novela who keep making the story go around in circles.

You are right about the lying in this novela, Novelera. At base what is keeping the main characters apart is a religion, which as depicted here, gives a woman no right to decide who she wants to marry (or make any other decisions about her life). Jade's refusal to accept this with all her many bad decisions and obligatory novela bad luck have caused most of the lying by Jade, Zoraida, Latifa and the same issues will cause problems for Zamira.

It's too bad that Ali regrets letting his humanity get the better of his blind obediance to the dictates of his religion. A while ago, he said that he had made a mistake in forcing Jade to marry when she first came to Morocco.

If you get a chance, check out the latest issue of Vanity Fair that contains an article by Maureen Dowd, the NYT columnist, about her visit to Saudi Arabia to check out their latest attempt to encourage Western tourism. It's very amusing.
 

Does anyone understand why Malicia was ever brought into this TN? I'm so bored with her and her little rat! May they both suffer. Ditto with Roberto in shanksville.

Your advice about disquising one's drink really may not work. It may look like water, but the drinker is not going to handle it like water.

I hate Said. I feel sorry Rania. She sure didn't ask for this.

Your summary w/pics & translations as always is much appreciated. Lois
 

Jean, thanks for all the mini recaps. I love this TN altho I do not always comment. I love the translations and the back and forh between recappers and commenters. I appreciate all your hard work.

One thing i would like to say is what purpose do Karla (with a Ka) and her ditsy mother serve in this story??? They are both so irritating and between them they don't make a normal brain.

I too am wondering what the sudden change Marisa has made is all about. What's up her sleeve...er I mean her shoulder!!!

Ann-NYC
 

About lies and truths --

Let's not forget the biggest liar of all, whose lies have nothing to do with the oppression of women (although they contribute to it): Albieri has lived a lie ever since he created the clone. That lie is the unexploded dynamite that the whole novela is resting on.
 

Too true, Novela Maven, about Albieri. Unless the previews were a tease, we might have a big plot developement there.

(I meant Novela Maven in my previous post, not Novelera. Sorry.)
 

Shuffle, shuffle.
 

Excellent summcap and photos, Jean. All I have time for is a shuffle, shuffle, like Paula.

Hellzapoppin' in my company today!

But one thing occurs, wide viewing of this novela would cause significant reduction in the number of Muslims in the world.
 

Thanks Jean and NovelaMaven, I have been on vacation for a week and appreciate the summaries to catch up.

Again, I guess that I don't agree with the authors' presentation of Islam at all. They are not taking into account the culture of the countries. There is a vast, vast difference between Jordan and Saudi Arabia. I think that the authors are doing a disservice to the reality of life in Morocco.

Still in a traditional society, the father-figure does exercise a lot of control over the women. I live in the middle of one of the largest groups of Middle Eastern people from Morocco, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Pakistan. They are nothing at all as depicted here. But this is a telenovela written in Brazil. I do not think it gives a vaguely accurate portrayal of Muslims living in American. BTW, I think there are over 7 millions Muslims in the USA.

Lynne
 

Thanks Jean, that was very funny and the pictures really captured the extreme moments.

I noticed that some of the summaries have the "clon" label and some don't. If we can keep labeling them, that would make it a little easier for me to find them, since this is the only show I follow on this blog. But if it's complicated, don't worry about it.

Back to the show, "Hurricane Cristina" is right! I was excited to see her find out about Albieri hiding Daniel. Albieri has been an immovable object for Luisa and Dora, but Cristina is an unstoppable force. It's nice to see someone (especially a woman) get in Albieri's face. He abuses his position of power constantly.

I think the writers missed their chance to develop Albieri. No one would think the right thing to do is to make a clone and treat him like the return of your lost godson. So Albieri should be conflicted about it, which lends itself to more complex psychological drama. Unfortunately, since Daniel returned, Albieri has either been in panic mode, or with Daniel and too giddy to think.

I was also unsure what to make of Marisa's behavior. Has Nati's complaining (which seemed more appropriate in this episode, since it was directed at the right person) finally gotten through Marisa's thick skull? She at least listened to Nati, which is new. And she did what Nati asked, although I'm not sure why. Marisa has been a one-note character for almost the whole novela, so it's hard to understand the switch, if it really is a switch.

And in another confrontation, Alejandro puts it bluntly to Fernando. I like that he is pushing back against Fer, who has always been the worst kind of friend to Nati. And I like his style: he says it calmly so the confrontation won't escalate, but you can tell he's dead serious. On the other hand, it's not Alejo's place to run Nati's life. If she won't get her act together, he should leave her.

Lois: In Alicia's first appearance, she seemed to be hunting Leonardo, but we didn't hear why. The writers forgot about that until a brief mention recently.

Lynne: Thanks for the comments on Islam and culture. You're right, this show was written in Brazil, before the 2005 reforms that increased women's rights. And I doubt it was entirely accurate in 2001. But even if this isn't a good general representation of Moroccan or Muslim culture, I think it's close enough to how some people live to represent parts of those cultures. And I agree with novelera that much of the behavior represented is off-putting. But I think it's also good that shows like this represent Muslims and Moroccans as people, not as one-dimensional villains or museum pieces.

The one thing this novela will scare people away from is marriage! All marriages are terrible in this show (except maybe for Latifa and Mohamed, who are somewhat happy together, sometimes.)

OK, I spent too long writing and now the next episode is on out East! But I'm having fun discussing it with all of you!
 

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Jean, this summary had so many great moments, you did it justice and then some.
Thanks.
This is one of the only novelas I've seen where we are shown some redeeming qualities in the "villains", and some human weaknesses in the heroes/heroines. They are not, as Luke M points out "one-note" characters. Think back to FELS: mostly the characters were either all good or all bad. This is much more interesting.
Joan