Thursday, October 07, 2010

La Verdad Oculta #020: Let's Not Make a Deal

Juan José is delighted to have collided with Gabriela at the market. He gazes at her like she's an angel and wonders if she fell from heaven. Quick on his feet, he co-opts the stall vendor to help him make a little time with Gabriela and create an impression.

On the loading dock, Juan José recognizes one of the drivers as Pancho, whom he worked with at the hotel. After a happy reunion, Pancho brings up Juan José's unfortunate prison time and is glad to hear he's out; but sad his mother's dead. Juan José learns Carlos Ávila is now in charge of the hotel restaurants.

At Mario's, David examines his sore jaw from last night when Roberto enters and learns David doesn't want him around if he sticks with Carlos. But Roberto claims he doesn't hang with Carlos much, because he doesn't trust him. And he'll help David with Gabriela through Julieta if he likes.

Mario enters and recognizes Roberto as Carlos's longtime friend -- since way back to the occasion of the girl's death at the hotel. Roberto flashes back to the two of them chasing the poor, screaming room maid until he corrals her over an open railing looking out on the atrium far below.

By then Carlos is chasing Roberto, trying to get him to stop; but it's too late, and the struggling girl hurtles backwards to her death. Back in the present, Roberto reminds Mario they found the guy responsible and that Mario himself identified the man as having been with the hotel maid earlier.

At the loading dock, Juan José confirms to Pancho he did not kill the woman. He was tired and sleeping when he was arrested, after Adolfo Ávila claimed he saw Juan José kill her after apparently raping her. The worst was when Mario Genovés identified Juan José as having been with the girl that afternoon, he says.

At Gabriela's, Carlos visits to return an earring from his car belonging to Julieta and uses the excuse to ask Gabriela out. She won't go without her father's permission, but will ask; and they agree to meet later at work.

Roberto visits Alejandra at her office and bad mouths so-called deadbeat Elsa to dissuade Alejandra from committing to the house sale. He exits as Mina enters, and Alejandra assures Mina she's only friends with Roberto when Mina wonders about seeing him there again.

Mina convinces Alejandra that as long as the paperwork for the house sale is in order, there's no risk for them. They need money and should buy the house; it's worth $5 million pesos if they sell it. Alejandra will ask the architect, Medina, to help her with her part of the payment.

Abelardo brings Santiago to the new house, showing him the secret door to the makeup and costume studio. Santiago breaks down in tears, viewing all the old gear of his art, full of sorrow and regret for what he missed by being dogged for years for a crime he never committed.

Around them are everything Santiago would need to become Mario, including pictures of all the people who work with and are close to him and the latest electronic modeling equipment.

At the restaurant office, Roberto feigns to Carlos that he's marrying Alejandra and so must hang with David, whether Carlos approves or not. Then he explains the real estate deal Elsa is putting together and that Salomón will provide half the money if Carlos provides the rest: and they'll double their profit in three months, he guarantees.

Juan José brought some water from the park and is scrubbing the floor at his house when Elsa arrives to inform him about Roberto's interest in buying the property. Roberto only offers $2.5 million pesos, but Juan José has never even seen that much together in one place at one time, he says.

Elsa enthuses he can have his carpenter shop and a little house. She'd like to see him happy; and he'd like to also put a monument on his mother's grave. He wishes she were still with them; and Elsa imagines Piedad's looking down, hoping to see him have a home and family -- which Elsa ruefully remembers will not be hers, as the sisterly type.

Marcos is out of solitary and now bunking with the low life, and the two of them are still planning their imminent escape. At her office, Alejandra is ecstatic to hear on the phone that Medina will lend her what she needs for the real estate deal.

Roberto and Carlos arrive at Elsa's, and Carlos must apologize for behaving badly earlier -- especially when she tells him who owns the house. They brought some of the cash, and she and Carlos exit to pose their offer to Juan José and look at the property.

When Asuncio learns Juan José is cleaning the house to sell it, he insists $2.5 million pesos is nothing compared to what's buried in the kitchen. Trust him, he says; he's had a sense about things like this since he was little. He can always sense when there's something good in a trash can, he claims.

At Mario's, Bertha is thwarted trying to nail David down to some formal romantic commitment, when he politely points out there isn't anything yet -- and also that they are cousins. She nastily thinks to herself if only the moron knew he wasn't Mario's biological son.

Mario meets in the dressing room with a very agitated Santiago, who's not happy at all to think that David is toying with Gabriela's affection. Mario denies any such and insists David is a good young man without class prejudices and Gabriela wouldn't be marrying for money were they to wed.

Mario wishes the two to marry so both can inherit the family fortune; and if Santiago blocks it, Mario will simply tell all and put her in the will. But Santiago has the hole card: what fortune? If Santiago refuses to play the part of Mario, all the fortune will to go Adolfo. Santiago exits angrily; and poor Mario sinks down at the dressing table, face to face with the plastic head wearing his own wig.



Elsa brings Carlos to buy Juan José's house; but despite his apology, Juan José will have nothing to do with him the moment he hears Carlos's last name. The deal is off, and Juan José orders Carlos out of the house. He explains to a perplexed Elsa that this is the guy whose father sent him to prison!

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Comments:
And here are the You Tube links for Episode 20:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5
 

Jeri, your crystal clear imagry is illuminating: "Santiago breaks down in tears, viewing all the old gear of his art, full of sorrow and regret for what he missed by being dogged for years for a crime he never committed". You capture the essence of the actions, their backdrop and the emotional components perfectly.
Wonderful!

So the poor woman who died fell from a balcony after being pursued by Roberto. I didn't see this but I gather he was the one who attacked her (with Carlos?) Also, what part did Adolfo have in this? But how is Mario involved in all of this and why did he lie? If anyone could let me know, I'd appreciate it.

So, "Marcos is out of solitary and now bunking with the low life and the two of them are still planning their imminent escape". Excellent! Now that I know what happened, I want him to get out. I am sure prison hardened him but sense (and hope) redemption is ahead.

I'm delighted someone is looking out for Juan: "Asuncio...trust him, he says; he's had a sense about things like this since he was little. He can always sense when there's something good in a trash can". Most excellent!

Thanks again Jeri.

Diana
 

Thanks, Jeri, for the excellent recap and links.

It's official...Roberto is a psychopath with not even a smidgen of a conscience.

More comments later, since we have a four day break until the next episode. I'm very tempted to take a peak ahead but I l enjoy watching it on the big screen and reading the great recaps after.

GinCA
 

Jeri,incredible imagery.Mario bowing his head to his own wig.I still say this is the best novela in town.Here these people don't respect or trust Roberto,but allow him to hang around.The question is why? He is nothing but a slimy creep and after he killed the girl,Carlos should have distanced himself from him forever. Poor Gabbie, she has no idea the drama unfolding around her and could someone please tell me why Julieta is attracted to Roberto? EWwwwwww.
Leonardo is the first policeman in telenovelaland who connects the dots.I love it,it is so refreshing.

Hanna
 

Thank you, ladies. We do indeed have a leisurely break between episodes.

Diana, Carlos and Roberto were together in accosting the maid at first; but after chasing her for a while, Carlos was then chasing Roberto to stop him.

As usual, Carlos is in a gray area; he's a gray character, like Yolanda.
 

Thanks Jeri for the great recap and links.

I must say I am really liking EY in this role. This role really suits him. He character is like a big boy fooling around. He was so cute when Caramelo kicked him and then Juan was limping as if it really hurt a lot. Great scene.

So now we know what happened to that maid that Juan was accused of killing. Adolfo wanted to protect his son so he had to put the blame on someone else. Maybe also that explains why whenever Adolfo would run into Roberto he would sneer at him, hmmm. I think Mario just stated a fact when he said he saw Juan with the maid together before she died, and then also with Adolfo accusing Juan (to protect his son) the evidence was against Juan and he had no chance (a poor boy against money). I doubt if Mario was in on the cover up with Adolfo.

The question for me is why doesn't Carlos rid himself of Roberto. The only thing I can think of is that Carlos is stupid and is still being led around by slimy Roberto.

I wish I could have stuffed that lollipop up Roberto's nose. Then he actually put the lollipop inside his jacket pocket when he sat down at the breakfast table. Another question comes to my mind, how on earth was Ale attracted to him and also engaged to him. That man is pure slime.

Margaret
 

Thank you Jeri. I love how all the dots are connecting with the characters. So it was Roberto who killed the woman. Carlos apparently covered up for him and they framed JJ for the crime and Mario was instrumental in JJ being wrongfully imprisoned. Poor JJ couldn't stand a chance to prove his innocence. I hope he can find that treasure soon. I'm worried that with Marcos getting ready to break out of prison that may complicate things for JJ if he finds out about the hidden treasure. Keep digging JJ.
 

This is a rewarding novela. As Jeri states, it's because the characters display gray areas in their personalities. No one seems completely estupidez or completely over the top evil, well maybe Adolfo and crazy Roberto. I enjoyed how the writers revealed Elsa's history so now we can understand why she is so devoted to her brother and why she is a bit of a control freak (over Juan besides being in love)) since she has had to take care of herself for so long.

Carlos is weak but perhaps it's due to his overbearing and deprecating father. Roberto, I think, is a childhood friend but it is difficult to see why he didn't drop him after Roberto terrorized the maid and caused her death and caused trouble for him.

I'm still not sure of the basis of Yolanda and Adolfo's relationship. Does she just know too much about him and did he need her to help raise Carlos?

Withdrawal symptoms over the next four days.

GinCA
 

Jeri, thanks for making all of this easier for me to follow. LVO has more twists than I'm accustomed to.

The actor playing the dual role of Mario and Santiago is quite good. Mario is a sad figure. He probably did simply testify that he saw Juan Jose with the girl eartlier. But I get the sense that Mario is a good judge of character and sensed that Juan was innocent.

What Alejandra ever saw in Roberto I'll never know. I don't even know how she can stand to "just be friends" with him now. Ick. Julieta, I understand. She's young and sheltered -- never dated anyone before.
 

Earlier on Alejandra told someone that she was just going out with Roberto for fun.

She was never looking for anything serious with him, and Julieta seems to think he's fun, too.

I guess he makes some girls laugh; but to me he's just too creepy to be funny.

But most of them probably don't see the side of Roberto that we do; he's a facile liar.

FYI: It's hard to believe with the show already on Mon-Tue-Wed, but we are scheduled for a sports PRE-EMPTION ON TUESDAY NEXT WEEK.
 

Thank you, Jeri, for the great recap.

And also thank to you, ladies. Your intelligent, enthusiastic comments keep us motivated. :)

Another pre-emption: oh nooo, someone at Univision must have a very bad humor. :)
 

Okay, I watched the episode.

The first scene was very cute and funny. Juan José, who hasn't seen women (except his mom and his underaged fan) for 11 years naturally fell to Gaby's charm. I can imagine two possible outcomes: they become friends (I'd love it) or he'll be her 10th suitor until he finds Alejandra (boring cliché).

LOL, Caramelo kicked JJ! I like this kid. :)

We've been watchin this show for at least 6 weeks and got 20 episodes so far... Thanks, Uni. But at least many of the secrets have been releaved, and now we know how that maid died. It was an accident, though the was Carlos and Roberto were chasing her was very disgusting and frightening. I'm glad that Carlos's conscience alarmed and tried to stop Roberto raping the girl, however, he helped him cover up what happened and the sent an innocent man to jail.
The makeup artist did a great job, in the flashback scene the boys did look like they were 18-19 years old idiots.

Margaret:
I wish I could have stuffed that lollipop up Roberto's nose.
LOL. Me, too. :)

Hector Ortega (Santiago-Fausto/Mario) is a talented crier. Better than Bambi Noriega. :)

Roberto feigns to Carlos that he's marrying Alejandra and so must hang with David
Man, did you miss the "Roberto, I won't marry you and please don't touch me anymore" part?

Trust him, he says; he's had a sense about things like this since he was little. He can always sense when there's something good in a trash can, he claims.

It was amusing and in the meantime very saddening. Asunción had a hard life. I work with people who are on the edge of impoverishment and some of them have to look through trash cans sometimes.
 

New screencaps:
link
 

Thanks. Aribeth. The screencaps are great especially #33 of E Y with his beautiful smile. You also captured the look of demented glee on Roberto's face when he was assaulting the poor maid. Carlos isn't completely innocent as seen by his broad grin when they were cornering the poor woman.

So two whole nights of LVO this week. Well, at least it's a worthwhile novela even if it Uni punts it around like a football.

GinCA
 

I would describe the maid's death as aggravated manslaughter:

A person is guilty of aggravated manslaughter if (he/she) recklessly causes the death of another person under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life.

In order for you to find the defendant guilty of aggravated manslaughter, the State is required to prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

(1) that the defendant caused (insert victim's name) death, and

(2) that the defendant did so recklessly, and

(3) that the defendant did so under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life.

One element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the defendant acted recklessly.

A person who causes another's death does so recklessly when he/she is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death will result from his/her conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that, considering the nature and purpose of defendant's conduct and the circumstances known to defendant, (his/her) disregard of that risk is a gross.

 

oops, cut off the end there:

The risk must be of such a nature and degree that, considering the nature and purpose of defendant's conduct and the circumstances known to defendant, (his/her) disregard of that risk is a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would follow in the same situation.
 

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