Caray, Caray!

Julie,
Are you the same Julie from 2006 who wrote the old recap?
Diann
 

A great quote from the old recap: "When [Alicia] looks at this photo, she's not looking at Aldo, whose frightened eyes say it all. No, she's looking at herself - all happy and clueless - and reliving that magical moment in her own secret parallel universe where she's irresistible and everyone likes her."

Hi Diann. Yes, our current Julie is the one who wrote many of the old recaps. She is also the one who mentored me into recapping. She is also the one who wrote some of the funniest lines in the old collection of recaps.

Diann, sorry I haven't answered your e-mails. I'm not ignoring you. Just too busy. Sorry!
 

Thanks Paula!
Julie's recap was hysterical! I literally was laughing out loud during parts.

These 2 caps were kinda boring, but Julie turned them into fun.
The comments are very enlightening also. I didn't catch the part where Fern tells Omar "last one to the car has the face of a upite" Gee , that line just sailed over my head. And in the boardroom when they whisper about Tomas blue eye/brown eye and it gets to Lopez and he says,"everyone's eyes are on one side or the other" because of the misinterpretation of "otro ojo lado" The part where Omar asks if Aldo is going to casar (wed) or cazar (hunt) Alicia. Needing to use an oil drill to bury Sara because she is so tall. This 2nd cap was full of Spanish play on words. It really shows how well LFMB is written. If only I was fluent, and able to decipher accents other than Mexican, I would be able to fully enjoy the writing. But watching our galan es muy spectacular.
(In case anyone is wondering--->
galan=Jaime Camil) Jajajaja Ah Caray!

Diann
 

Yes, it was me. Thank you for your kind words!

I have a hard time resisting wordplay, so that recap took FOREVER to do! I missed "upite" entirely - I figured I could afford to miss a joke or two and didn't bother looking up the word, so I'm glad someone else caught it!

In retrospect, I think I got more fun out of the boring episodes.

I always enjoy reading the comments on the old recaps, too - people come up with thoughts and ideas that I never could have come up with on my own.
 

In Aldo's defense (thinking of some comments on the old recap), I think Aldo was going to talk to Alicia about NOT marrying her at the start of the second episode, but was waylaid by Tomas's bad hair crisis.

Aldo could save a lot of time by writing notes to Alicia and Luigi explaining that he's not interested. And another note to Lety explaining that he IS. Then he doesn't have to worry about getting interrupted, or people hearing what they want to hear instead of what he really means.

But then it would be just his luck for the three notes to get mixed up, with Lety getting Luigi's, Alicia getting Lety's, and Luigi getting Alicia's.

Hmm. I wish we could have seen that.
 

Great recaps today, much better than the episodes. Special shout out to Julie for her original double-header. ITA with Diann, thanks a million for translating all those double entendres and plays on words, it makes watching so much more fun.

I thought Aldo was very sweet to Tomas. OK, OK so he's sucking up to Lety's pals, but if Tomas feels better for it what's the harm? I imagine he's thrilled to find out that Aldo doesn't have designs on his special lady.

When Aldo was waxing poetic (yawn) about food at the end of the episode and Luigi sighed "Wow" I had to laugh out loud. Sergio is so funny that even an over-emoted "wow" is hilarious. No wonder his cast members have a hard time keeping straight faces.

Thanks to everyone for the screen shots and recaps.
 

@ Julie - I missed your comments when I was posting mine. I like your twisted idea about the notes. Nothing on these shows goes according to plan and it takes them forever to spit out the simplest sentence. "Alicia I don't want to marry you" would take at least two weeks, not that she would believe him anyway.
 

Today's eps were funny although Fern was sort of a tool today for no reason. He'd actually learn more about what's really going on if he just shut his mouth and listened. Although I still laugh at his antics (with Fern) and even alone, I find myself really hating the actions of this character on a personal level. I hate douche bags and he really has become one in the past few weeks. It's only because of the talents of Jaime Camil as a comic actor that I can even stand it.

I really liked seeing Aldo finally show his irritation with Fern today after the meeting with the Restaurant Society (or whatever they are called). Finally his humanity is showing through a little bit and he's not so perfect. Things do bother him. I wonder when he realizes he's going to have to step his game up in wooing Lety.

Good point Julie about Aldo just sending the notes, yep because it's telenovela land I'd bet they'd get all mixed up. BTW- the re-cap was so much fun loved it! Loved your rating of what everyone was wearing! haha

Poor Tomas, what is it with this show that the makeovers are always so much worse than what they were originally trying to makeover.

I thought Aldo helping him wasn't really him trying to suck up. I think he genuinely felt bad for Tomas and likes to stick up for the wounded, underdogs...remember it's what originally attracted him to Lety (I think). I'm just glad Tomas recognizes that Aldo is a friend - it was getting a little tired for him to keep fighting against Aldo.

Can we just say that if I were Lety the cuartel would have been fired long ago? Those women are the laziest, most gossipy bunch of women. Sheesh! Plus they regularly ignore her way too gentle requests for them to shut their yaps!! I missed the dialogue when Juana reminded Lety of her psychic predictions...I think I prob got a phone call around that time.

I also missed the last 15 mins of cap. 218, I'll have to try to watch it on my dvd's later.

Question for you Julie (or anyone) related to your comment about Aldo coming to straighten things out with Alicia - do you think Aldo even realizes she thinks he proposed to her last night? I don't think he realizes just how much she misconstrued their entire evening (and conversation). I love how Alicia said to Marcia that he's not direct like you or I...she really is a piece of work.

I love that Irmita and the gang think Aldo is gay. There are just so many misconceptions are rumors about that guy out there...in some ways the confusion might actually work to his advantage - if I were Lety I wouldn't want my biz out there in the office like it already seems to be. It's a good thing if they can keep the depth of their relationship hidden for a while, until they get to know each other...
 

whoops - I meant Fern's antics with Omar @ the beginning of my last post!
 

Fernando grow up! He was irritating in today's episodes. There's no excuse for such bad behavior in a meeting even if you don't like the person putting forth the ideas. Fernando was obviously jealous and acted like a child. Shame on him. I realize he's sort of lost these days but that behavior was unprofessional and not befitting someone who was president of Conceptos and hopes to be again. Aldo did good not reaching across the table and punching him. Somewhere down the line, those two have to have a real face-off. They're both dancing around it now but they can't continue in this manner. I'm not an Aldo fan but he didn't deserve what he got at that meeting. Julie, I disagree on the one step back. I'm afraid that Fernando took several steps backwards. If Lety hears about what he did in the meeting, she's going to read him the riot act. He will not win any points with her keeping up this type of behavior. For Fernando to win Lety over, he must be a gentleman, responsible, a man of integrity, and honest; not childish. Boy, does he have a long, long ways to go!
 

I'm not sure/don't remember how much Aldo knows about Alicia's delusions, but I think he could tell even at the restaurant that her head was in a different dimension than his, and he just wanted to make sure she didn't have the wrong idea (and give LETY the wrong idea). He might be under the mistaken impression that she'll be more open to sanity now, during the light of day.

Probably not even in his wildest dreams would he suspect that she thinks they're actually engaged, unless he somehow already heard someone gossiping about it on his way into the building.
 

Barbara, I don't think I mentioned anything about one step back, but perhaps you're referring to Paula's title today? I'm inclined to agree, it wasn't just "one" step back unless it was one step off the back of the good-boy wagon!

Fernando really screwed up. He was out of control. He might as well have been drinking, he was so crazy.

I know that sometimes a person needs to blow off some steam, but you're not supposed to do that at work. Especially not around clients. It's a good thing Guillermo (delicious, delicious Guillermo) didn't seem to care.
 

LOL - Love the delicious Gil... :)

Did anyone else hear weird music in the Univision broadcast today? It was mainly in the first hour (cap 217) and seemed to be drowning out a lot of the dialogue.

I agree with you Barbara on the qualities Fern should exhibit to win Lety's heart. He's got a long way to go if his behavior today is any indication. I was really disappointed...someone maybe Decie girl pointed out that he's had his whole foundation (or rug) pulled out from under him and he's had no real support so that's why he's acting out...I'll try to give him the benefit of the doubt, but even if this is the case - I still think if you're a professional and supposed ex-president you don't act the way Fern acted today in the business setting.
 

Fernando has done some dumb things in the past but he's always so cute & charming that I love him anyway. But he was way over the line today. That behavior in the morning meeting and even in the meeting at Conceptos was unforgivable. I didn't even like him this time.

Omar, on the other hand, has really stepped up some lately. I loved the conversation where he chided Fernando for being childish was very amusing -- as was the analysis on the couch. Omar seems to really be trying to understand & help Fernando.

I agree with GP that Aldo probably doesn't even realize that Alicia thinks he proposed to her. He does , however, know that there may be some misunderstanding. Last night on the park bench he was wondering if she understood what he was trying to say. He definitely came to her intending to talk about last night when Tomás' crisis intervened.

I have a very good friend who is a sincere and good person. When she sees someone in trouble she is compelled to try to help. I see Aldo as that sort of person. He is drawn to people who are troubled. I thought that his treatment of Tomás was sweet and I don't think "sucking up" had anything to do with it.
I think that his interest in Alicia is that he sees her insufferable self promotion is a cry for love and help. All three of his "projects" are crying out for love and haave self esteem issues. I think that he is drawn in by their pain & wants to help.

Ditto, GP, about the cuartel. They all deserve to be fired (except Irmita)

Güera
 

The series has really been in the doldrums for the past week. Becalmed with virtually no plot progress. I suspect they put the plot into a holding pattern while they were retooling for the extension, pardon the mixed metaphor. I think we on this board haven't minded the doldrums too much because we've been busy trying to figure out Aldo.

Next week starts with a bang on Monday, and I believe we'll have progress of some sort nearly every day for the next several weeks.

Until then, I want to toss out a question I touched on earlier.

How would you label Fernando's love, selfish vs. sacrificial? He started out with a very selfish love. He never thought about Lety's needs. His love has deepened since then. But is it still just as selfish? Have we seen ANY evidence of sacrificial love? (Remember way back? Lety broke up with Fernando after the poem for HIS benefit. That was sacrificial love.) Or is Fern in the zone in between, neither selfish nor sacrificial?

And another conversation starter. Alternate plots. Toss out any you can think of. They can be silly or serious. Get creative!
 

Good questions Paula H.

For me Fern isn't making any sacrifices for love yet. Maybe he thought he was by coming back to help out at Conceptos, but that wasn't really out of any love for Lety was it? It was more of out of respect and duty and to clear his name. His allowing Lety her space? He's only done that begrudgingly and I think that's mainly because he believes she wants nothing to do with him, but he keeps trying to find ways to weasel his way back in...so I don't see any sacrificial love from Fern just yet.

I'd be interested to see if we have any signs of sacrificial love from Aldo ever.

On to the fun stuff! Alternate plot points!

1) Guillermo sees Marcia in the meeting, realizes she is the love of his life and they run away together, get married and have 5 children (2 girls and 3 boys).

2) Alicia realizes that the only person who really truly loves her is herself. With this insight she opens up her own adult toy business and becomes the biggest adult toy seller in all of Mexico. She puts her six semesters of finance courses to good use, but eventually the company becomes bankrupt and she decides that her true purpose in life is to become a nun - one of God's brides.

3) Omar and Sara realize that they are a match made in heaven after working late one night. Sara realizes that what Omar really wanted all of these years was a strong dominant woman. They divorce after a few years when Sara realizes that Omar is too stupid for her and he's crushed never to be heard from again.

4) Caro realizes that Celso is the love of her life. She tries marriage with him for the fourth time and it's a success since he works 24 hours a day, he doesn't mind that she's always working. He's also not bad to look at and gives her lovely back rubs after the end of a long hard days work.

5) Saimon and Paula Maria finally decide to try living together for a while. Saimon gets jealous of Paula Maria hitting on some guy at the grocery store (the manager maybe?). They break up after living with each other for 3 months. Paula Maria finally marries some rich suitor and Saimon ends up with Jazmin.

6) Luigi - ends up moving to Miami to pursue his big career as a director for spanish language films after his big win at Cannes. He meets a twink model, falls in love and takes care of his lover until the end of his life. He dies tragically in a water skiing accident a few years later.

7) Lety marries Fernando and they are happy for their first few years together. Then Fern begins to cheat on her. He has an accident and dies after about 20 years of marriage. Aldo shows up right around the time of the funeral and tells Lety that he's always loved her and wants to get back together. He's saved every bit of correspondence from her...Lety thinks he's a bit creepy, but considers his offer...(ok I have to admit I was thinking of the plot of 'love in the time of cholera' for this last one.) :o)

That's all I've got for now!
 

Thanks Paula,
I am sort of watching nuestro premios and catching up on recap reading. It is fun to watch Jaimie and Angelica together again.

Don't have much to say about todays episodes, they aren't my favorite but thought Thomas stole the show hands down with his intriguing look. Cracked up when Aldo was helping him to the bathroom and ran him into the wall.
 

Sorry Julie, I forgot that Paula did the recap. As to your question, Paula, I'm reversing my prior opinion. After watching Fernando make an absolute idiot out of himself today, I don't think the boy knows what love truly is. For him, right now, love from Lety means making him feel good, look good, and think straight. I'm afraid he's still in that mode of loving Lety because of how she makes him feel and not loving Lety for who she truly is. I also think he could learn a lesson or two from Aldo. I might not be an Aldo fan, but I have no doubt that he really cares about Lety. He saw her at her worst and fell for her then. Aldo knows the sordid secrets of Lety and Conceptos and Fernando, but he still cares about her. Fernando, on the other hand, is just a mass of idiotic jealousy that he can't handle and is spilling over into childish behavior. He's acting like a little kid who had his toy taken away from him and he's throwing a temper tantrum. At the same time, he's aware that he can only go so far or else the consequences will be too great. Maybe Lety needs to sit Fernando down and drive some home truths into him. She does love him, but right now that man would destroy her if they got together. I think in Lety's heart she knows that and that's why she's trying so hard to put up a wall between her and Fernando. In one sense she is using Aldo to help put up and keep up that wall.
 

GP, I love your alternate plots! What fun! But no swapped babies? No amnesia? No staircase of doom? No puede serrrrrrr!

I know I've posted my favorite alternate plot in the past, but I don't know whether it's been since we added several new regulars. Please forgive if this is a rerun for everybody.

Instead of Lety meeting Aldo at Aca, she meets a bankrupt Ariel whose life spiraled down and he hit bottom. Lety nurses him back to psychological health and challenges him to become a moral, considerate person; helping someone in need heals Lety; and Ariel falls in love with his therapist. They get back to DF and perfected Fernando has to compete with perfected Ariel for Lety's love, and they both have to fight fair because both left their evil ways thanks to Lety.
 

How's this for an alternative plot. Lety decides that Aldo is a great friend but not her true love. She goes to Fernando and declares her love to him but demands he seek psychiatric help before she will even consider going out with him. During the counseling sessions, Fernando learns that he was abandoned at birth and adopted by the Mendiolas. He know understands his separation anxieties. After nine months of counseling, Fernando and Lety marry. Aldo is distressed over losing Lety and Marcia offers to help ease the loneliness. Eventually, which is a total surprise to them, they fall in love and marry. Alicia keeps pushing Tomas away but one night she has a dream that something horrific happens to him. She wakes up realizing that he's the one she truly loves. Alicia goes and finds Tomas, declaring her love and dedication but he has found comfort in the arms of Jasmin. Ariel loses his shirt on a business adventure and has to humble himself and come to Fernando and Lety ask for assistance. They put Omar in charge of his financial business and Omar has power of attorney to make decisions for Ariel. Finally, the cuartel ticks off Marcia, Lety, and Fernando too many times and they are all fired. The group is replaced with professional, well-dressed people who know how to work and get the job done. Conceptos and Filmo Imagen become jointly incorporated and win numerous awards. Marcia and Lety become best friends.
 

LOL - love both of your subplots. Ooh Ariel fighting with Fern for something else. That makes a lot of sense.

I'm imagining Marcia and Lety as best friends...I honestly think if Alicia weren't in the picture they probably could have been friends Barbara! Love the psychiatric counseling - he def needs it. In fact they really should write in him getting counseling to the show!

Paula next time I'll try to add a few more kidnappings, stabbings and other telenovela staples in! LOL.

I didn't watch Lo Premio Nuestro tonight (I've flipped to it a couple of times, but only caught a brief glimpse of Jaime! Does anyone know if they'll re-broadcast it?
 

Keep 'em coming! I love it!

Barbara. If Fernando was abandoned at birth, I know who his real parents are! At least the father. Humberto and Teresita wouldn't just adopt some random baby. Could be a commoner! Icky! Humberto's brother got a girl pregnant. He shirked his responsibility so Humberto, the honorable one, stepped up. In fact Humberto is so obsessed with honor and honesty because all his life he's tried to compensate for his irresponsible brother.

And who is that brother, Fernando's true father? Tio Federico, of course! Remember, Lety said Fern looked more like him than like Humberto!
 

Geez Guys,
All these alternate plots can only mean one thing---> you are all BORED to death of the ACTUAL plot.!!!! (Well, I gotta agree)
Let me think,,,,,when did this tiredness set in???? Ahhhhh,,,, the appearance of ALDO!!!
Case closed. Get rid of the numbskull and get on with the story.
Diann
 

I love all these alternative stories!

I think Fernando's love is still selfish. It's still like the love of a toddler for his mommy, as Paula has described before. And yesterday, that toddler was having a big tantrum!

But I do see him putting in some effort not to make things worse for her. He's trying to stay out of her way. He's acting out, but not in front of her. A lot of his behavior looks to be a cry for help, but at least he's not doing it to get her attention.

His discretion could just be a continuation of "Lety Must Not Suffer," but I think it's something else. It's torturing him to stay away from Lety. Original Fernando wouldn't have been able to do that.
 

Diann, You hit the nail on the head I at least was bored out of my skull with the latest episodes. I remember it slightly dragging the first time around but now getting two hours at a time it REALLY drags. I guess part of my problem is that as a writer I know that every scene is supposed to have a purpose and that purpose is to advance the plot. That simply doesn't happen for a lot of the time in this extension. We get lots of cute funny scenes like the Omar and Fern couch talk and WAY too much of the caterwauling cuartel. If you tuned in for the first time this week you would think the main focus was all about Albore or Tomas. The Lety/Fern love story is completely lost with all the pointless drivel.

When I first started watching FEA again I was doing it in real time but the last month I've been DVRing it which allows me to FF through the dull stuff. I got through yesterdays episodes in just under an hour. I do know there is good stuff acoming (sorry if anyone thinks that is a spoiler) and I do wish it would hurry up.
 

great fun conversations, guys.
Although I agree that Aldo is sometimes wasted space, I truly think he was needed for both Lety to see that someone could be interested in her as a person, and for Fernando to see that Lety had alternatives, that she was not going to be his unconditionally, nor wait for him to mature forever. This provides the catalyst for Fernando to eventually mature (I agree with Barbara, yesterday's eps prove he is not quite ready or feeling true sacrificial love) to 'be worthy of' Lety.
 

regarding last night's PLN, Angelica looked great, but I got annoyed at their constant joking about Fernando/Lety from LFMB, at some point Lety told Jaime 'calme! calme!' and he laughed and stared at her like 'stop it!'. And later he began yelling at 'lety' to leave Angie's body, that it had been more than 5 yrs...
enough is enough, if they are both hosting this awards show as Jaime and Angelica, leave LFMB behind.
 

I could do with less Luigi & the Cuartel personally. I agree marta that Aldo is an essential catalyst for the story. I think the writers dropped the ball on this one personally. They could have done a much better job on it. Glad to hear that things improve and the story moves forward soon! Until then I'll enjoy the moments of comic relief. :)
 

In my alternative plot there is a wedding of course, don't really care whose, it could be Fernando and Lety, Marcia and Ricky Armstrong, Alicia and Tomas, or Aldo and Luigi. Before the wedding the caterwauling cuartel are at the top of the staircase of doom meddling and gossiping, Sara trips and they all go down except Irmita who is actually working as the wedding planner. The entire cuartel break their jaws and have to have them wired shut for the duration of the show. OK, so maybe this is not much of a plot but a girl can dream can't she? Thank goodness for fast forward is all I can say.

Fun plots everyone. deciegirl, hints that things get better are definitely not spoilers, they give us hope. I feel like we've been stuck in a whirlpool for the past few days.
 

Julie, thanks so much for making a boring two eps (except the 1st 15 min) so much fun. The buttface line also skipped my mind too. but I loved your humor in the beginning...Gil pointedly ignores Fern and mentions that there's also the "Flavor of Life" book, the movie, the sitcom, the Broadway show, plus the toothpaste, Underoos, breakfast cereal, coffee mug, etc. (Okay, he only mentions the book, but you know it's just a matter of time before there's a Franklin Mint commemorative chess set too.) Fern then makes fun of the book about quesadillas, sopes, garnachas, and panichos.
The whole scene was hysterical if you get over the silliness of Fernando's childish behavior (remember, he has no other experiences to rely on so his reaction is selfish and childish).
When they walk outside, and Omar made fun of Fernando's behavior inside and takes on the accent of a spoiled kid and says words tteo 'I saw Lety first... and you can't have her!...' it reminded me of Eddy Murphy's original Delirious HBO special when he skids about a spoiled kid with a huge ice cream cone bragging to the children around, then he drops it and cries...
anyway, great recap julie!
 

I think this part...
Fern then makes fun of the book about quesadillas, sopes, garnachas, and panichos.
has a lot to do with who is Fernando and who is Aldo. Aldo is a chef, and his lifestyle revolves about making cooking and eating an art rather than a daily chore.
Fernando eats out with people for social encounters rather than falling in love with the food he is eating or looking at it as something to admire or cherish.
Thus when Fernando adopts the childish behavior he focuses on mocking Aldo's 'adoration' of food and its preparation as something laughable, esp the type of food Aldo wants to focus, typical mexican food, which is probably what Fernando eats the least, his diet focusing more on sushi, fine french cuisine, etc. Fernando can't talk about cooking or food as much as he can talk about productions and videos, but his jealousy doesn't even let him concentrate on that so he babbles himself and says a lot and nothing at all in trying to bump Aldo and his cheap philosophy off the spotlight.
 

Sylvia, your alt. plot is the best of all - wire their mouths shut!

"Stuck in a whirlpool for the past few days." Well, you're right. Mexico took 2 Colombian caps and extended them into 11. And it's not like when they added 4 Hippy Ed caps, or added 30 caps of bliss before Lety found the letter. This was just ugly filler, pure and simple. The only REALLY bad filler of all LFMB's 130 extra episodes.

Tuesday we get back on track with the original script. And Monday's second cap, although it's not original, is well worth watching. And after that.. well, I'll tell you when we get there.
 

I want to bounce off Julie's post. "It's torturing him to stay away from Lety." I think he's exploding with frustration. The giant trash compactor (ala Star Wars) is closing in, and every door he tries is locked. He desperately wants to be with Lety, he can't be close to her, he can't declare his love, he can't figure out how to grow, he can't give up... his frustration is about to push him over the edge. His idiotic behavior right now is an expression of that. If he were a child, he wouldn't just have a tantrum, he'd have a full-fledged meltdown. And the trash compactor just keeps pushing closer.
 

Interesting that you use the imagery of Fern being stuck in a trash compactor...this situation is one of pretty much his own making. He has to learn to separate his work and personal lives as PG has told him he must do in previous re-caps. Until he does that and ditches Marcia - he'll never stop that trash compactor from squeezing in on him...

One random observation that I noticed as a difference between Aldo and Fern is their attitudes towards Tomas (one of the people most important to Lety). Tomas offers friendship to both of them within a single day of each other. The reactions of both men was very telling to me...Aldo comes across as smarter for accepting Tomas offer of friendship - even if you do think it's manipulative behavior (I don't think it is by the way). Fern's dismissal of the offer reeks of classicism and snobbiness that until he lets go of it - he'll never win Lety's heart. That's a real issue I have with the Fern character for now...it bugs me to no end!
 

Sylvia, any subplot that silences the cuartel for a few weeks is a winner in my book!

I'm glad the story is getting back on track next week. Between the cuartel's unrelenting gossip, Fernando's childish behavior, and Alicia's particularly cruel treatment of Tomas, it was very difficult to like anyone yesterday. I'm sure it would only have gotten worse if this "interlude about nothing" had gone on much longer.
 

Marta, that's a good observation about the role of food in Fernando's life. It serves as more of a prop than as nourishment or a sensual experience.

And GP, that's a good observation about the way Fernando and Aldo have been reacting to Tomas. On the one hand, while it *can* be manipulative to reach out to the friends of your beloved, I know it doesn't have to be that way. You can sincerely want to get to know them.

On the other hand, it's just stone stupid to push them away. It puts your sweetie in a lousy position.

But then you look at who Marcia was friends with, and you can understand why it never occurred to Fernando to make nice with Lety's friends. (Not to mention that until recently, he thought Lety was dating Tomas.)

Or - if I may play devil's advocate - maybe Fernando feels that it would be manipulative to spend time with Tomas, being tempted to use his influence to get back in Lety's good graces.
 

LOL - all food for thought. I believe Fern's attitude in that meeting with Tomas was def one of disbelief that Tomas even deemed himself worthy of being a friend. You see it also in his interactions with Saimon when they were digging through the garbage. It's def the issue of Fern feeling he's better than these people.

On the other hand Aldo has also consistently be-friended the underdog. That's the one thing the writers have done well in this show.

I'm actually quite surprised by the reactions to most of the cast to the traditional cuisine of Mexico. It's so funny that they all make fun of it. I wonder how they would react to Julieta's meals...
 

I don't think Fern's reaction to Tomas' overture had any thing at all to do with class or snobbery. For the greater part of the story he believed that Tomas was his rival for Lety and he may still have suspicions that it was true. He has never shown the faintest hint of elitism, he has been friendly to Simon and even the witches.
 

Heh heh, I considered having the cuartel perish but I don't actually wish them to die, just to SHUT UP. It sounds like we are all in agreement that many of our characters were just plain tedious this past week. However I did enjoy Don Tommy's attempt at a makeover.
 

Decie - I don't see it that way. Fern is able to hang out (slum) with the lower people only when it suits his purpose. Otherwise he wouldn't be caught dead with any of them. Even the night he hung out with Saimon - it was because he thought he could get information about Lety's where abouts from him. Then he kindly reminded Saimon not to refer to him in a familiar way when they were digging through the garbage.

I'll concede the point about Tomas, but I still think Fern has a superior attitude towards those he thinks aren't even in his class. The only person that he's changed his rules for was Lety. That's my interpretation of what I've seen.
 

Decie and Georgia, I'll come in somewhere in the middle. Marcia and Alicia wouldn't be caught dead, interacting socially with someone of a lower class. Fernando admires Irmita, and he likes and appreciates Saimon. He's willing to have social interaction with Saimon, "but don't push it." When Tom addressed him as compañero Fernando, Tom was saying, "Now that we are equals.." To us as egalitarian Americans that's entirely reasonable. But in Fernando's world, that was too much to take. Likewise when Saimon was calling him "tú," considering that Fern is former president and Saimon is the messenger. I've worked for the boss/owner for 25 years and we do talk about outside-work stuff. I've even given my advice when he shares his frustration about his brother-in-law or something. But there is still a boundary I don't cross because he's the boss. Hay niveles.
 

I agree that...
On the other hand Aldo has also consistently be-friended the underdog. That's the one thing the writers have done well in this show.
And reading Paula's impression of how Fernando relates to 'other social levels', I have come to think that at times in this show Aldo seems to be acting/believing the way Fernando would have liked to if he was not raised the way he was (his parents values influence).
It is like Aldo is the assertive man Fernando would have liked to be at times. The fair and generous man deep inside Fernando that Lety claims she got to know and not many did. Remember Aldo has his father around still, but he broke that umbilical chord a long time ago, whereas Fernando sometimes shows it. Aldo is totally independent and true to himself. This is IMO why Fernando shows inconsistency in this area, sometimes he finds himself making exceptions with some of the 'underdog' folks, including the cuartel as a whole. But in other instances his parents' social class definitions/distancing come through in the way he relates to others.
I agree that in the case of relating to Tomas, his having believed Tomas was competition for Lety and might probably be is the major force keeping Fernando from relating/approaching him.