Caray, Caray!

Ooh, I missed that Paula had already mentioned Dead Lety before I did on yesterday's recap. Sorry!

Regarding Tomas's "look," I also noticed last night that his voice is deeper and less whiny when he's around Alicia. His posture is better. And of course, he's no longer wearing those wide neckties (or was he just tying them too short - I never could figure out). Those ties really drove me nuts!

I'm at home today, but haven't had a chance to watch these yet. I may save them for the weekend for better savoring.
 

I know! I know! This is just a story. These people are not my real friends. But Oh how sad I feel after watching this. What wonderful acting. Fernando's face and Pata's screen shots say it all.

Güera
 

Finally I can exhale!
I thought Lety did the right thing even if for the wrong reasons. The true financial state of conceptos would have come out anyway. She deserves someone better than Fern, I could not believe he heard her heart break and he just walked on!! He has not changed though compared to Omar he has some decency. How could Omar just sit there and not own up to his part in the whole fiasco. I loved when Lety leaned over and looked at him but nothing as Fern was taking the responsibility! Vale was amazing today! I hope she won an award for her performance because it was Bette Davis/Meryl Streep/Kathryn Hepburn quality. At least Lety is doing a lot of growing and you could see her inner strength come through. I hope she goes away heals comes back stronger and finds someone worthy of her because at this rate Fern is evolving like an amoeba and would never be worthy of her.
I was also hoping Hum. would say to Fer you got us in this mess get us out!
OK I vented. Now to other matters. Paula did Camil have a nose job? that photo you posted in which he looks like he is 12 showed a different snout than the one he sports today. Seeing that photo made me think that the passing years have been so kind to him. And after months of racking my brains trying to think who Camil reminds me of I got it!! There is this Egyptian singer really big in the Mideast Amr Diab. twins separated at birth?
http://www.fanoos.com/society/amr_diab.html
Thanks Pata for the head shots! Some meeting!
Jenn
 

In Cap 102, from Germany, Omar told Fernando, "If that letter falls into the worng hands, you're finished. It's the end of the world as we know it." Boy, howdy!

Did you notice that Marcia's dress is covered with zeroes today?

Jenn, my gosh, the similarity to Amr Diab is amazing. Camil looks VERY much like his father who is half Egyptian. In fact, Diab is from Port Said, and Camil's complete name includes "Said" which is the Egyptian part of the family name. I wouldn't be surprised if his family is from the same part of Egypt as Diab.

The nose. Reminder, board rules prohibit discussing actors' private lives, but it's usually not a big deal if we don't go overboard. I came to the same conclusion awhile back. But last year on his Twitter he denied the rumor, said that he'd admit it if he had, and boldly challenged anyone to provide evidence to the contrary. Remember, doctors, nurses, records clerks, receptionists, surgical staff - LOTS of people would know, and his face has ALWAYS been famous. Here's my explanation. When he was younger, his face was narrower so his nose looked broader by comparison. Now his face is broader so his nose looks narrower by contrast.
 

I hope that Marcia comes out of this OK. I actually like her a lot. She has one BIG blind spot and she is reacting to her fear of losing Fernando. She has loved him since they were kids when she protected him when even his parents favored Ariel. She has known all along that he didn't really love her but she is obsessed. Her dealings with Fernando have been shrewish and her hatred of Lety has grown as she was shut out of Fern's confidence. It's all illogical and self defeating but understandable. When she is dealing with others she is very fair and perceptive. I like the way she sticks up for the cuartel. Her affection for Humberto & Teresita seems genuine. She just needs to let go of her blind grasping for Fernando.

Güera from (Go SU) Syracuse
 

Such a sad episode.
It's "just" a novela, but my heart feels heavy for Fer and Lety.
It's like seeing a friend or sibling get caught and shamed , and you are embarrassed to be a witness. Or at least, I would be.

I felt sorry for Marcia at the party, but today I don't. She is so cruel to Lety.

WOW. What an intense episode!! :(
 

It's funny that you said that, Anya - I remember cringing in embarrassment on their behalf too, when I first watched this. Just imagining how humiliated they must feel.

It's really, really uncomfortable, but it's also satisfying because their secret kept getting bigger and more complicated and uglier. Such a relief that the lien, at least, is out in the open. It's still big and complicated and ugly, but at least now it'll stop growing!!
 

an episode like that can wear anyone out...
a couple little details... FI initial investment was 90K, not 90Million, and when Luigi noted that the cuartel were 'enchanted' with Tomas, not 'disillusioned'.

I T A with all commenters that said Fernando lost his last chance to man up when he chickened out in Lety's office and hid under mommy's skirts and asked Lety to wait for him... CHICKEN!!! CLUCK!!! CLUCK!!
I too could not believe Omar stayed quiet through the whole thing, including in the counterfit part of the story.
 

I have to check on the actual debt number Fer gave, I am pretty sure the debt taken just from the equipment they lost were several million...
 

Hi Paula, I just got home from work am watching this right now. Just finished the first hour.
I will try and comment more later, but just wanted to say thanks.
 

Fern deeply, perdidamente loves two "women," Lety and the presidency, and today he lost both. Two separate bombs exploded simultaneously. One bomb was the first page in some folders, and the other bomb was the first page in the remaining folders.

The first bomb was the letter. With it Lety, his secondary love, was lost to him. Omar built that bomb. The distrust, the seduction plot, the letter, the pressure to marry Marcia and send Lety away, all were Omar’s doing. Omar built that and Fern complied so he is ultimately responsible.

The second bomb was the embargo. With it the presidency, his primary love, was lost to him. The cooked books, the shadow company, and the embargo all were Fern’s doing. Can we blame Omar, since Omar’s Letter and Africa plan made Lety present the true balance? NO. Ariel would’ve exposed the embargo anyway. Fern built the second bomb all by himself.

And yet.. the two bombs built by two factories both served the same master – Fern’s tragic flaw, his single-minded love of the presidency. His obedience to that master took precedence over EVERYTHING else in his life – morals, decency, loyalty to his family, love for Lety, and even the company itself.
* He gave away the company in order to keep the presidency (how twisted is that?).
* He committed a detestable sin against Lety, and he knew exactly how detestable it was, to keep the presidency.
* He continued playing games with Marcia’s heart, mercilessly, to keep the presidency.
* He decided to forsake the woman he loved and marry Marcia, to keep the presidency.
* He betrayed his family to keep the presidency.
He gave up everything to serve that master, and now it has deserted him. He is left with nothing.
 

Guera, now I can speak. Yesterday I tried to fudge and you busted me, as well you should've. Yesterday Fern's marriage plans were still ambiguous. It wasn't until today's caps that we got solid proof that in the end, Omar convinced him to go through with the wedding. Fern asks how he can write a card today. "What can I say? 'I love you and I’m getting married'?"

ALREADY we can see miniscule changes in our galan. He tries to protest to Humberto that the company can regain its losses, but he quickly shifts to a humble tone. We've NEVER seen Fern humble before. When he's alone with PapaH, the first thing he does is ask forgiveness, taking responsibility instead of trying to juggle every situation.

He obviously has a very, VERY long way to go. The fact that he left Lety behind, even when he heard her crying from her office, demonstrates just how far.

But as Marcia said today, "Today, to me, Fernando is a different person."
 

Don't have time to read all the comments but wanted to add my thoughts. I could feel Lety's heartbreak. I thought for a moment that Fernando had hit rock bottom, but he hasn't yet. When he left Lety's office and Marcia and Teresita had gone back to the meeting, he heard Lety cry. He looked at her door and had a choice to make. Fernando chose to ignore Lety's pain and go back to the boardroom. He still does not understand that what he truly lost was not a presidency of a company but the love of his life. How long it will take for him to really realize the truth, who knows! But until he does, there is no hope for him. He is blind, egotistical, bad at finances, and downright stupid to listen to Omar. What was Fernando most upset about? Losing the presidency and that the truth of his bad management had come out. His face did not change when Lety said she was resigning. Fernando blames his losses on Lety and you can't convince me otherwise. Until he grows up enough to take responsbility for his own activities, he will continue to make these mistakes. The previews show an interesting tomorrow. Fernando still has more to lose!!
 

Hello all - I've lurked on here for about a week now and just wanted to say thank you for the weekly re-caps. I became a regular LFMB viewer about 2 months ago in an effort to try to improve my Spanish. I just have to say that I appreciate all of the hard work of the re-cappers to get them up each day. It's very helpful because although I get the general gist of what's going on in the show - generally I miss a great deal of the details so THANK YOU.

I have to say I'm way more into this show than I've ever been for any show and I think it's in great part to the passion of the folks who re-cap and comment on this board!

Now on to my comments - I was so glad to have the BIG MEETING finally happen today - was so hoping it would happen yesterday. I really felt horribly for poor Lety. She really deserves happiness after such a rough few months (weeks?).

I agree with Paula H's comments - Fern definitely lost his two loves to some very effective bombs today. He didn't deserve either of the loves - because he treated both of them so shabbily and I really was proud of how Lety handled herself - I think I would have been far nastier. :(

I can't wait for the rest of this story to unfold...
 

Georgia Peach (may I call you GP?), welcome aboard! The more the merrier!

I commend your efforts to improve your Spanish. Animo! Fea is how I learned most of my Spanish back in 2007. It really works, if you work at it. And you can say, like I do, "My Spanish teacher is Jaime Camil." Did you see my post to Stephanie Monday, of the web page where I laid out a method to study Spanish via novelas?

Also, let me know if you need any gaps filled in, from before you started watching. Last week I wrote up a brief (less than 1 page) summary of the show up to this point for someone who just started watching and was confused about what she missed. I can shoot you a copy if you'd like; you can e-mail me at paulah88@hotmail.com . That goes for anyone else, too.
 

Barbara, last week several people said Fernando had hit bottom when he punched out Tom. I had to bite my tongue so hard, I think I bit holes in it!! At that point, he wasn't even close to bottom, sadly. And as you can see from tomorrow's previews, he's still got some ways down left to go (what a sentence! geesh!). Don't throw out the Chunky Monkey just yet. But hmmm. Julie makes a good point. With most of the country blanketed in snow, maybe ice cream is not the best comfort food. Bean soup? No, too healthy. How about chocolate brownies that are warm and fudgy and make the house smell of chocolate? Or maybe bread pudding with lots of cinnamon and raisins?
 

I think Fernando's tragic flow is he never takes a stand on anything. He cannot make a decision and stick to it. He is spineless and insecure esp. in his own deductive powers. He is not stupid but intellectually lazy and he cowers under just about everybody, his father, his mother, Marcia, Lety's tears when he was protecting her, and for heaven's sake Omar who anyone with anything remotely resembling a brain would not listen to. I am not sure why Omar is even VP. What I think came to light today is that Fernando does not know how to stand up for what he loves. I am not even going to say what he believe in because I am not sure up to or at this point he believes in anything. this I believe is the tragic flaw of Fernando like the country song that says if you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything.
Having just said that I have to give credit to Camil for making such a cad so likable part of me wants to root for Fern but not very loud right now.
And Guera I too like Marcia and other than her obsession with Fern and the fact she can't blink she is not bad. She is the only executive that actually executes. As for being mean to Lety her woman's intuition must be telling her something.
Jenn
P.S. Paula Camil could have gotten the procedure done in Switzerland. they are very discreet there! Just kidding he could do whatever he wants to his face it is his own business. On a side note in Lebanon when I was there several summers ago people with nose jobs were walking the street with the bandages on and bruises visible. I was not sure what was going on until someone pointed out it was a status symbol. You can afford to get a nose job and you wanted everyone to know. Go figure.
 

Fernando is not doing all this just for the presidency. He is desperate to not fail in front of his father. Ariel has always gotten all of the parents attention and this was the one chance he had to prove himself to his father. Teresita understands it best -- but even she doesn't realize the hurt left from his childhood.

Yes he is egotistical. Yes he has no idea how to give love. But it is not ambition that drives him it is the rejected little boy inside trying to get his father's love.
 

Hi--I am new here--only my first week, but I am so happy to have found this wonderful place, as well as LFMB. I just bought the 4 DVD set, so I can catch up!
And I keep hearing Alicia's 'AYYY, Marcia' and 'desgraciada'. i keep my spanish dictionary handy when i watch and look up things.
 

Oh. My. Gosh!

What a great episode; I was mesmerized throughout the entire second half. I don't really have anything to add to the discussion, but I commend Pata on her amazing screen shots. Also great recapping from Paula, Julie and Kris. My goodness there was a lot of talking in these episodes! Tomorrow's episode looks very thrilling as well.

Jenn, that singer sure does look a lot like Camil. Thanks for the link.

Welcome Georgia Peach!!

Have we heard from decie girl in a while? I wonder how she's doing?
 

Thanks for the warm welcome all! It's fine to call me GP.

@ Paula H- I'm mostly caught up with the older re-caps (there are a few that I haven't read) but I have the general background now - I'm so happy I found this site. I'll have to take a look for the links you recommend to aid in learning. You're right Jaime is a great spanish teacher.

Good point Guera - Fern has a lot of underlying Daddy/jealousy issues which makes it a lot deeper than just wanting to be President. It's still no excuse for how terrible he's been towards Lety. He's all talk and no action and that drives me up the wall.

Poor Lety is going to need years to recover from the hurt he's caused. I really hope she comes out of this whole situation stronger - like a diamond, but not too jaded. :(

PS - Choc brownies sounds great for tomorrow's ep! hahaa
 

Paula, you are so thoughtful! Thanks for the webpage to help with learning spanish through LFMB, etc. I love reading all y'alls thoughts about the episodes. Very insightful and entertaining! Stephanie
 

My No Pudge Fudge brownies are in the oven as we speak. Since they're "no pudge" I get to eat twice as many, right? I think I'm going to need them after tomorrow's episode.
 

Paula,
I believe Fern said "what am I going to write in the card? That I'm getting married tomorrow?" in a SARCASTIC tone. And it was at that point Lety fled from the door she was listening in on. THEN, Fern goes "Por favor!!! I'm not doing that", or something to that effect. He sticks to his conviction of NOT marrying Marcia. He even said she was repugnant. Yeeshhh. No way he wants to marry her.
I was very drained after Cap 166, I felt exhausted, and took a while to recover. My word!!! No other TV show has had this kind of impact on me. Wonderful writer, directors, and especially actors. Its like a book that you want to stay up all night and read all the chapters until you get to the end, but with this, we have to wait 24 hours between each chapter!!!!

I loved the look Lety gave Fern when he realized his world was crashing, flipping, burning. Lety's look still was one of love for her novio. Yippee, she still loves him.
I cheered him on when he went after Lety when she left the sala and ended up back in her office. He was trying to talk to her, but she wasn't listening, and it seemed as if he was going to fess up to Marcia when she burst in on them. But noooooo...
I could have hit him upside the head when he walked out on her crying in her office, and he followed stinky Marcia and ice-cold Mama back to the sala. WHAT was he thinking asking her to stay and wait for him??? Lety wanted to come first. But if he had, then story would be ending too quickly, and I am sure there is plenty more of this tale for everyone.
I hope the story will move along with more detail and not so much filler, we are more than half way through the series and they have to make it back together.
I so sorely miss the happy days of Fern and Lety....Waaaaa!!!
Diann
P.S. Paula,
I received my 60 DVD LFMB!!! But I refuse to watch ahead, I love it here on this site and I don't want to know what happens until it airs. (But that doesn't mean I haven't started rewatching from Cap 1! HeeHee)
 

Goodness! So many great comments, I don't know where to begin.

Jenn, ask me about the nose next week when the show settles down a bit. I can give you at least four reasons I believe him.

Marie, I'm glad you found your way to the board! It sounds like you're well on your way to a passion for Fea like the rest of us. Stephanie, I'm glad that helped. I hope we get to read more posts from you. And Georgia Peach, here is the link to the page for Learning Spanish by Telenovelas. I'm glad you three will be joining us. Our Club is growing. BTW, the cuartel on LFMB is La club de laS feaS. I consider us "La club de La Fea," i.e. followers of the show, Fea.

Jenn, great analysis, that Fern's tragic flaw is his lack of strength of conviction. The fact is, if I counted all his tragic flaws, I might have to take my shoes off! Guera, I agree, Fern's mother has only the slightest glimmer of understanding. But Lety understands completely. Remember her fantasy when she surrendered Fernando into Marcia's hands? She told fantasy-Marcia, "Take care of him. He needs a lot of love." Lety knows.

I had another thought on the two bombs. The embargo was because Fernando trusted Lety. The romance plot was because he stopped trusting her.

Didn't you love MamaT's warm fuzzy speech as the meeting started? "This must not turn into a pitched battle. I want a peaceful meeting. If differences arise, handle them like family which we are. With kindness and affection." Yeah, that lasted about 30 seconds, until they found out Fern screwed up, and with "kindness and affection" they drew and quartered him.

Yes, Cap'n Sylvia. 1 regular brownie = 2 no pudge. I'm sure of it. BTW, OT. TJ's just started carrying sweet potato gnocci in sage butter sauce, frozen. It's to die for! And as for the brownies, if you can't endure the wait while they cook, here's a quick fix. Pour some of the brownie mix (powder) into a small bowl (like a 1/2 cup ramekin [sp?] or a teacup). Mix in enough yogurt to moisten it to batter consistency. Eat! If you want to get up-town, you could add PB. or raw oatmeal. or thawed berries. I call it "finger pudding" though I'm not sure why!
 

Paula, you are a bad influence on me. Finger pudding indeed! I will definitely pick up some of that sweet potato gnocchi, it sounds yummy.

So sitting here being an insomniac and re-reading the comments, I can't help but recall the moment when Marcia stomped out of Lety's office and Lety said "[oor woman". What an interesting reaction. I would have had steam coming out of my ears and I doubt "poor woman" would be on my lips.
 

Okay, a couple more observations, now that I've seen #165 and some of 166:

- When Ariel shows up, Lety doesn't bump into him as usual. A long while back, someone (Paula?) observed that Lety always seemed to be getting in his way. Not so this time. She leaves the way free and clear for him!

- Notice how respectful Luigi is to Lety once he knows everything's in her name? That really took me by surprise. He doesn't show that much deference to Fernando!
 

Ack, after rechecking the recap I think I must have watched a scene out of context and misunderstood. Luigi wasn't respectful to Lety at all. No wonder I was so surprised. :)
 

I lost it laughing when Fernando yelled at Ariel to not call him stupid and Ariel rebutted then what should I call you? (after a couple of other nasty names he called him PERDEDOR... and while he was saying the word he brought his hand to his forehead and the hand had the "L" sign on it as we usually signal LOSER... That was hysterical!
It was a great added touch to have Fernando stick around after Marcia and Teresita headed back to conf room to let him hear how much Lety was suffering... Again he stopped in his tracks, and thought about it, and again he dissappointed everyone by deciding to go back to the conf room... I would have gone back in her office, grabbed her and left through his own office door and left everyone in the board room... that would have been GREAT beginning to his salvation.
But like many of you have said, he has given up everything to keep a presidency that just slipped from him anyway, so he has indeed lost everything.
 

btw, the amount of debt Fernando mentioned was $6.5 Million, or about 15% of the total value of Conceptos.
 

Now that I have rewatched that 'meeting' and Lety's demeanor, I know now that Lety's demeanor and Betty's demeanor were somewhat different between the novelas. Lety is deep in pain, but she knows after today she will leave Conceptos behind and yes, she will miss Fernando and everyone else, but it is a new beginning for her and she knows it can only be positive.
Betty, otoh, was devastated. Period. She had no real hope of getting her soul back, even if she was going to go work for Catalina at Miss Colombia (or Carolina at Nuestra Belleza Mexico). At least Lety seems a bit optimistic she will be able to 'live on'.
Betty does not realize YET she has to 'die and be born again and move on' until Catalina begins to tell her that.
 

Lety knows she has to 'start over away'. Betty just knows she has to 'escape' from there and from him.
 

Julie, I think you were right the first time about Luigi. When he says, "You mean this platypus owns the company?" he was boggled but not disgusted. When he fell into a mimiski, it was again amazement, as if his cat had barked. But a bit jovial; none of the sharp edge he often takes with her. And when he asked about Tom, he stuttered because he suddenly realized he had to change his language, and he's having trouble adjusting. He says, "Le.. aver, Doña Leticia," like when your friend gets married and your mouth still wants to call her by her maiden name. He has to force himself to say "usted" but not from disgust, rather because it was new to him.

In fact, in the past, did he ever even address Lety by name? I think he just called her tú or spoke of her in the 3rd person because he couldn't lower himself to speak to her. Overall I thought Luigi was pretty respectful to Lety, all things considered.