Caray, Caray!

Well, folks, Romance in this one tends more towards criminal assault. We begin with an attempted rape of Vicky/Mari by Mauricio and end with what looks like another attack--Axel assaulting Delicia. Don't know about you, but I'm ready to go back to a slower pace. In between, there's the usual amount of sexual tension between Brandon and Ilitia, Emanuel and Vicky/Mari and , gulp...Manolo and Oliver. Even Muñeca seems to be fantasizing....about el Lirio de Plata. Other than Paula and Maximo who are like a cozy old married couple, the rest of the episode is pretty steamy.

We start at Mauricio's pad where Vicky's virtue seems to be in danger. Luckily she came prepared with a shiv which she holds to Mauricio's neck. Even though he could easily disarm her, he goes all soft on her (no pun intended) and hastily promises that he really just wants to discuss the proposal. She prefers doing it back at the office....proposal discussion, that is. And hustles back there to forage in her purse for an inhaler and get Emanuel all hot , bothered and worried about her again.

In the meantime, Fedra's engineering her own assault. On Netty and her boardinghouse. Fedra, who can barely manage everyday Spanish, is now babbling in English. "I'm so sorry Netty. Estoy muy sorry" but I'm taking over this property, throwing you out and turning it into a bordello. That way, you has-been two-bit actresses will be able to find another kind of employment. That ladies are all a-flutter. Oliver and Manolo are outraged . But just when Fedra boasts that nothing is going to stop her, Super-Hero Emiliano arrives. And announces that he has saved the day by paying off the mortgage to the very last penny. Now it's Fedra that's outraged. And Netty who's fluttering her eyelashes for all she's worth in a swoon of gratitude. But it's little Manolo who rushes in for a hug. An extended one. Emiliano's confused (well, when isn't he?) And Oliver is jaundiced. That little twerp wants to hug any man he sees, sniffs our troubled policia.

Netty promises to pay back every dime and Oliver steps forward to thank Emiliano and all hell breaks loose. Our Superhero suddenly changes into a Homicidal Papa and is busy throttling the bejesus out of Oliver while Manola clings to the latter and everyone else shrieks hysterically. The scene goes on far too long. Let's just say Oliver survives...albeit with a sore neck and another black eye from the punch Emiliano later landed. And further more, Emiliano threatens to come back to do more damage. After all, this is the monster who stole away his daughter, abused her and is responsible for her internment in an insane asylum.
That may be, sniffs Netty, but that doesn't give you the right to turn my house into a boxing ring.(Sounds a little bland, but I'm sure Netty finds it impossible to believe that Oliver's guilty of any of those things. And she's certainly not going to let Emiliano throw his weight around even if he DID pay off the mortgage. So there!.)

Let's leave this tender scene and see what's going on at Muñeca's place. Brandon has come back....with a proposal. He wants her to help him trap el Lirio de Plata. How? By putting him in charge of security at the charity bash she's planning. At first she protests, but then she sees she has no choice. Otherwise Brandon will think that she's an accomplice. Up front she agrees, but in the back of her mind she's thinking she'll warn el Lirio of the trap. But better yet, she'll finally find out who he is...see him...touch him...What! Seems that dream wasn't just a one-time thing. Our sadder but wiser married gal is dreaming of greener pastures.

Anyway, this cozy talk with Brandon is interrupted by a clearly jealous Ilitia. She doesn't like it that he's hanging around her mama. Is he attracted to her? Is she to him? Sure I like your Mom, teases Brandon. She's one in a million. He then accuses her of being jealous, and in a gentler fashion, later on, so does Muñeca. And also reminds her that she's a married woman; her husband deserves fidelity and respect; and there's nothing more dangerous that a married woman who's attracted to another man. Hey Muñeca, maybe this lesson is for you as well as Ilitia! Ya think? Of course, we'll cut Muñeca a lot of slack, given that her marido is the scrofulous unfaithful murderous Lorenzo.

Okay. Heavy breathing. Panting. Heaving. Wheezing. Nope, no sex. Just Vicky clutching her inhaler while Emanuel mumbles "just like Marianela...you're just like her..." Lots of people have asthma attacks, she retorts. And heads into the office, slamming the door in Emanuel's face. Literally. He should be just about as black and blue as Oliver by now.

Vicky and Doris are now in Vick's office musing about what an idiot that Kristel must be to cling to skanarón Malicio. Still, Vicky/Mari admits it took her a long time to realize Emanuel was a slimebucket. And she still struggles with him. Whereas dealing with the odious Mauricio is child's play in comparison. Could be but Doris misses the sweet, cheerful Marianela. The one with the dreams and the illusions. Vicky goes all dead-eyed again and says that girl is "muerta".

In the agency hallway, we have another boxing match coming up. Looks that way anyhow.
Emanuel and Mauricio are antler-bashing while Kristel huffs and puffs between the two, furious over their mutual interest in the "Espanola guanabi" and wildly swinging her purse at both of them for emphasis.

Mauricio's take on things: You're not man enough for your own wife, Emanuel, much less for that Spanish babe."

Emanuel's take on things: " You stay away from her, you hear me. If you ever go near her again, I'll punch you out."

Okay. For now, the boys are using their words. Kristel is much more impressive with her windmill purse assault. You go girl!

Let's check on the aftermath at the boardinghouse. Gladiola is all shivery and goose-bumpy thinking how Emiliano roared in to save Netty's home and virtue. Netty's playing it much cooler. She'll pay back every cent. And she's not going back to Emiliano no matter what he does. Gladiola looks sceptical but shifts her romantic fantasy to Vicky and Brandon. Wouldn't it be great if they got together? NO sez Consuelo. She knows Brandon better than Glad and it's clear that Spanish señorita is not for him. Mothers are officially right in all these stories (well, with the exception of bad moms like Fedra) so Consuelo's opinions are dismissed as the trifling fantasies they are. ( Sorry Consuelo.)

Did I say no romance in this one? Well, unless you count the cozy arm around the shoulders that Manolo lays on Oliver once they're at the police station. Yep, our guy looks so macho with two black eyes, he/she can't resist. The Comissario walks in and more confusion ensues. He's a modern man, without prejudice, but Jeez guys! have a little discretion! He doesn't want that kind of gossip in the office. He leaves the dossier on Mauricio Fonseca with them, and advises that they get cracking on that little item rather than each other. What an understanding boss!
After he leaves, Oliver begs Manolo to PLEASE act a little more manly. Manolo scoots to the other side of the desk, leans forward....and crosses his legs like the Gretel he really is.


Paula and Maximo are also looking somewhat romantic on his comfy bed. But she's fretting about Gretel and he's reassuring her that she's safe and sound and that Victoria de la Garza is quite trustworthy to look after her. That settled, good lady Paula bustles off to prepare a low-fat, low-salt vegetable soup for her longtime love. Cooking definitely trumps romance at this age. Leaving the field free for Fedra to bust in, ready to upend beds and tear apart bathrooms in her quest to find Gretel. Instead she finds more trouble. Maximo coolly informs her that Gretel told him everything about her sordid past and the baby switch she pulled with his sister Carlota. (don't you love it when these characters set themselves up for an early death?) SOON I will destroy you. (So much trouble could be saved if these characters could just keep their mouths shut and SURPRISE the villans. But no...let's telegraph our plans so they can be short-circuited.) Having pretty much signed his death sentence, Maximo triumphantly bids adieu to Fedra who storms back upstairs.

And storms are still brewing back at the agency. Emiliano, Vicky, Emanuel, Kristel, Lorenzo and Mauricio are all at the conference table and Eman is still trying to get Vicky to confess what happened at Mau's apartment. She stonewalls him as effectively as Ilitia did earlier and then snaps that Mauricio was a lot more respectful of her than He was. Lies lies lies. But Emanuel looks properly chastened. And Mau looks intrigued. Kristel immediately demands an apology for her much maligned baaaabeeee. And Lorenzo suggests that Emanuel should be more concerned about his own wife, Lorenzo's daughter, rather than this.....woman (insert Lorenzo leer here) Victoria.

Why why why then was Victoria so upset it brought on an asthma attack?! Well, she was angry and upset because Mauricio didn't like her proposal and she had to do it over again. But she's sure that if Mauricio does his part, they can get past this. Mauricio oozes that he's ready to do whatever she wants. Let's take an ad break, swallow some Pepto-Bismol, and then get back to this nauseous scene.

Well, it gets better. Everybody leaves but Emiliano. Vicky wants to ask him for a loan so she can help out Netty. He reassures her it isn't necessary since he's paid off the mortgage. Ecstatic, she leaps into his arms and gushes Thank you Uncle. Thank you....er, Fella. (We've been having a regular play on words. In Spain "tio" is used for "guy' or "fella". Gretel/Man also dashed into Emiliano's arms and called him "tio". So Vicky is trying to cover her and his mistake.)

More dastardly plans back at the Big House. Fedra's in a lather and wants Bernardo to kill Maximo right away. Or else render him so crazy he thinks he's Napoleon and Paula is Cleopatra. Her henchman counsels calm and discretion. We won't kill the old codger but let's hasten his dementia with these little drops, hauling out some handy ever-ready potion from his drawer. He goes to the kitchen, dismisses Nereida to go clean up his dusty room, distracts Paula by sending her to fetch some carrot juice for Fedra, and then dumps the potion in both the pot and the bowl of soup Paula's taking to Maximo. Hmmm. I'm no fan of the old coward, but I'd hate to see him go that way. Let's hope Bernardo screws up as usual.

Kristel meanwhile is groveling. Ugh. After causing a little scene with Mauricio about Vicky, she backs down quickly, promises not to fuss anymore, begs for some affection and gets brushed off by Mau. He's too busy for this. Kristel is so pathetic in this number you could almost feel sorry for her. Almost. She decides to go insult Vicky instead. Who isn't having any. Don't think you can come into my office and talk to me like that, sneers our slimmed down Marianela. I'll kick you out so fast your head will spin. Kristel is definitely on the downslope in this one.

And so is our sweet victimized Delicia. She creeps timidly into Axel's room with his laundry, turns her tidy little tush to him so she can put the clothes away in the drawers and oh dear...is attacked from behind, thrown on the bed and......CLOSE YOUR EYES!....


No, don't worry. For now it's all talk. And it goes like this:

So you like that old creep Bernardo, sneers our Mophead. We'll see if you still like him after you've been with me.

And on that disturbing note, we end.

Previews:
Vicky/Marianela sees a picture of Emanuel in a wheelchair and wants to know when he had the accident. On the very day that Marianela left for Madrid, he replies. Cara impactada....big-time...for Vicky/Mari. Is this the beginning of a thaw?

Vocabulary:
puñalada en la espalda = knife in the back, betrayal (Fedra about Emiliano and the mortgage)
rematar = to auction, to sell off (what Fedra planned to do with Netty's boardinghouse)
burdel = bordello (what she planned to turn the boardinghouse into)
guanabi = Kristel's insulting term for Vicky "guanaco" is an adjective meaning "dumb" but "guanabi" -gua- pronounced as a "w" evidently means "wannabe" (Thanks Carlos!)
propasar = get fresh with, get inappropriate with (Emanuel accusing Mauricio)
sacar a patadas = throw (a person) out (threats from various characters in this one)
no me da risa = I'm not amused, don't think it's funny (Netty)
poner de su parte = do his part (Vicky about Mauricio)
echarle mas leño al fuego = throw more wood on the fire, make things worse
el que calla ortoga = silence implies consent...or guilt..(Comisario about Oliver & Manolo)

cábulas = crooks (what the Comisario wishes they would chase, instead of each other)
expedientes = dossier, file (on Mauricio)
cañon = awful! (Oliver's reaction to Manolo crossing his legs like a girl)
fuera de serie = one in a million, really special (Bernardo about Muñeca)

Dicho of the Day
La verdad no peca pero incomoda = The truth hurts ( lit. the truth doesn't sin but it's uncomfortable) Bernardo speaking to Ilitia about her conflicted feelings and obvious jealousy.

Poor Emanuel. None of the women in his life will ever tell him anything. He's back nibbling around Vicky trying to find out what happened to upset her so.

Labels: llena