Caray, Caray!

REINA:

Great recap Jean on a really powerful episode.

Very sad to see what Fati went through and then to die that way.

Great actress and super atractive, I liked her on the show.

Her scenes were powerful Friday, when she told Patti not to treat her like she was stupid while trying to get answers from Teresa, not typical stuff from a novela there. And when she saw what was in the box, the way she just collapsed in horror on top of Patti taking her down with her, again, very convincing. Not very often a novela can transfer that much emotion to the viewer. Anyone with kids could feel her pain watching her go through that, seemed more like scenes out of a movie...

On a good note, I much prefer to see Patti walking and talking normal. That fake laugh grates when she's pompous and teaching. I thought her reactions to all that happened yesterday were good too, very emotional.

Wow, I've got a feeling that Teresa's going to add some more people to the list for revenge, not gonna be pretty that's for sure.
 

LOS HEREDEROS

Same old, same old, indeed! LOL! This show is nothing but trivia.

However, something significant. Julieta's brain tumor has metastasized. The Dr. gave her 6 months of "good health". Don't see how that's possible - she's already having horrible symptoms. Whatever - it's TN. But I figured she would only have a month!

Otherwise - it's so self-contradictory it's maddening.

Audrey
 

LA REINA - VIERNES

Jean, thanks for the great recap. And you are SO right. It was a super powerful episode.

It was an emotional roller coaster ride all the way through. The end was absolutely devastating. Sadly, I think the plan would have worked if Fátima hadn't run toward her son.

I don't care if he's supposed to be on the side of the angels, I absolutely loathe Pablo Flores. Every time I see that skinny face and his snarling mouth full of bad teeth I feel like ff>>

Another new word for me. The evil, sadistic Tarik tells one of his henchman he's going to trincar Teresa. This can mean either kill or have sex with. I suspect the latter and then the former.

I loved the exchange between Juarez and Yasikov about Teresa. Juarez says hay que tener los cojones de acero para atreverse a hacer algo tan arriesgado. You need steel balls to try something as risky as that. And Oleg simply says: she has them.

When Juarez asks Oleg basically, what if she fails, in essence he replies: that's life. It doesn't very often work out well. This is another example of what NovelaMaven said last week. Yasikov's attitude is very much like that of the narcos from México. In a word: fatalistic. When I studied "Chicano Culture" in a class many years ago, the professor pointed out that, perhaps because of the conquest, Mexicans are very fatalistic and tend to believe their fate is written and they can't change it. While the immigrants who settled our country believe anything is possible.

By the way I absolutely LOVE the actor playing Oleg. He's exactly like the character in the book for me.

Wow, talk about comcentrated evil. Ratas and Dris Larbi together are a stew of desire for vengeance. I just wish someone would squash Dris like a bug, and soon. I thought that might happen at the hands of Batman when Epifanio gave him a significant look after he authorized Batman to take him to Culiacán.
 

LOS HEREDEROS

This is probably my last comment about this show. Of course, it isn't very good, but there aren't many comments, even negative ones. So it's dying a slow death on Caray.

The actor playing Enrique is handsome but he's like a male Sofía, insufferably smug.

Did the girl duet come up with a new song? Of course not.

How many weeks are we going to be treated to Julieta telling everyone she's fine and never confiding her illness to anyone?

Speaking of smug, Sofía has wormed her way back into the Millán household and, as usual, has the nerve of a burglar. She gets everyone out of the house to try to jump Miguel's bones. This guy has no spine whatsoever. They've made him a cartoon. He erupts into righteous anger about his wife even thinking about the magnificent male specimen in their household. Hello?

Right now, the dance between Modesto and Berta is the best part of the show.

This whole Paula giving up Juan for her mother's sake is beyond dumb. For God's sake, get a clue! All she has to do is tell Juan the truth. With all that money she's inherited, she can hire a hotshot lawyer. Sofía would probably get off with 6 months. It would be good for her!

The only thing that really happened was Juan announcing that the possessivo effectivo had finally come through. Not sure if I have that right.
 

LA REINA
Thanks for the great recap Jean.

Yesterday I wrote that I thought that Oleg had fallen for Teresa.
When he talked about her toJuarez, Juarez said that he sounded like he was in love with her. Oleg didn't deny it, but said that he didn't need a lover, but a friend. Am I wrong in remembering that he said "amigo?" I thought that was interesting. To me,his feeling Teresa is a friend it implies his trust and belief in her reciprocity. It is more than his role of protector and mentor. And the fact that he did sene a man to help Teresa, and was even there to bring her away after Fatima and Mo's deaths, was proof of his feelings --because he told her he wasn't going to get involvedin the incident with the Turks.

I found it a little unbelievable that Teresa didn't realize that Fatima was hiding in the back of her car. There is so little of these kinds of unbelievable things in REINA, that this surprised me.

When Fatima confronted Teresa about becoming involved with drugs after having lost her two loves because of their involvment, I thought Teresa's response was not honest --especially for her. she said the situation found her. That's not true. She could have refused to team up with Patti and could have walked away from the drug scene. Sure it was no fun being a waitress in Marbella, but there was a choice.

I am a little confused about the Epifanio/Dris interaction. Although I wasn't watching all the time at the beginning, I thought Epifanio liked and helped Teresa. Why would he not send Dris packing if he knew he was out to get her? Why would he actually help Dris?The actor who's playing Dris is so good. On the one hand, you hate him. But on the other, you can't help reacting with sympathy to his fear and terror.
Incidentally, I thought it was funny when Epifanio was reading some papers as the Senator and admitted he didn't understand what he was reading. (Im not sure if it was last night or the one before). It's such an interesting thing that a drug lord could actually become a Senator in Mexico --but not at allsurprising ...especially after reading Roberto Bolano's "2666" --definitely worth the almost 900 pages in English.
 

REINA - viernes

Thanks, Jean, for another terrific recap. Like Rand and Novelera, I thought this was an amazing episode. It was almost unbearable seeing Fátima and Mohamed slaughtered like that.

Novelera, I think that Pablo Flores may have been on the side of the angels at one time but we are watching him change. He refuses to do anything to help rescue Mohamed, a completely innocent adolescent boy, just because he has the misfortune to be associated with Teresa. Flores positively licks his chops over the prospect of the Turks and Russians slaughtering each other, leaving him with nothing to do but ship their bodies home (repatriar sus cadaveres).

I think we see Oleg Yasikov changing too. After telling Teresa that in his business, one has no friends, he acknowledges to Juarez that he has come to think of Teresa as a good friend (un buen amigo, he says, using, interestingly, the masculine form of the word). His decision to intervene in the rescue attempt was made for sentimental reasons. He did it to help Teresa. He didn't want war with the Turks but he may now have one on his hands.

Teresa keeps saying she didn't choose the drug business -- it chose her. I'm not sure that's true. I think there have been several junctures when she could have said no. (Am I sounding like Nancy Reagan? Sorry!) But really, when Patty got out of jail, Teresa could have refused to go along with the coke deal.

It's an interesting thought experiment to imagine the lives these two gorgeous, charismatic women might have led had they chosen a different path.
 

REINA - viernes

NJ Sue, We posted at the same time and said many of the same things! :)
 

LA REINA - VIERNES

NJ Sue, the actions of Don Epifanio are somewhat different in the book. And, of course, Dris coming to México to escape Teresa and look for cohorts is not in the book at all.

But, just looking at the TN alone, Epifanio's cooperation with Dris did seem odd. And yes, the actor playing Dris is doing a fabulous job. As I said before I thought he would pretend to help Dris and then have Batman bump him off, but it didn't play out that way.

And, yes, Oleg has affection for Teresa. I don't think we'll see him make a move on her, but he thinks of her as a protegé. He admires her courage and intelligence.
 

REINA- Thanks all.
I think Don Epifanio is being cautious. He let Teresa escape Mexico alive but I don't think the affection ran very deep. He has gotten reports from Spain but he really has no idea what is going on there and suddenly this crazy guy shows up saying that Teresa is after him. It would be foolish to kill Dris before he knows what the consequences of that would be. Having Batman take Dris around and keep an eye on him protects Don Epifanio's interests and enables him to find out what is going on.
 

REINA:

Great recap, Jean, and great comments, everyone. Several people said just what I was going to say about Teresa: After she got out of jail, when Patty said she knew where 1/2 ton of cocaine was, Teresa could have said no. Mohammed wouldn't have papers, Fatima's life would still be hard, but they'd be ALIVE. At this point, Teresa is just too involved in everything to get out.

The second point where I agree with other comments concerns Don Epifanio. His number 1 concern is protecting himSELF. Although he admired Teresa's honesty and bravery when she gave him Guero's notebook, he doesn't exactly love her. As a matter of fact, he was very insistent that he NEVER hear from her again. Now that he has, I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted her dead (as long as it couldn't be traced to him).

So Teresa has problemas galore. And Kate de Castillo is doing an incredible job of acting, reflecting the intense highs and lows of the path she's chosen.
 

Reina - viernes

Thanks very much, Jean, for your excellent summary of this powerful and wrenching episode, and thanks too to Rand, Novelera, NJ Sue, NovelaMaven, and Hombre de Misterio for your perceptive comments and helpful translation of some Spanish phrases. I didn't have a chance to watch the episode until Sunday afternoon. Frankly, I'm glad I read people's comments first, so I was at least somewhat prepared for the horrible things that happened. Even so, I found it almost too painful to watch.

I have little to add to the comments that have already been made. The only place where I disagree a bit is in people's saying that Teresa was dishonest in her response to Fátima about her (Teresa's) continued involvement with drugs. While in theory Teresa could have turned down Patty's proposal, I think her saying that the drug business chose her reflects her feeling that she is in some way fated to be involved. And perhaps bolstering this feeling is the fact that the opportunity with Patty did indeed come to her, she didn't seek it out.

Like NJ Sue, I found Fátima's not being discovered when she hid in the car uncharacteristically unbelievable. Actually, I wasn't so much surprised that Teresa didn't realize she was there--my surprise is that the Turks didn't look carefully inside the car and the trunk when Teresa arrived. There could have been armed gunmen hidden inside.
 

Reina: Thanks everyone for the opinions on Don Epifanio vis-a-vis Teresa. They really made sense.

Juanita's comment was interesting about Teresa feeling she was chosen; i.e. fated. But Teresa so far has been the kind of person who makes her own choices, not caring about what others think. She has her own brand of morality.I still feel she had the choice to turn this "opportunity" down. Is being 'fated' or "chosen" to do something a ratonalization?
 

LA REINA - GENERAL

This "fate" vs "free will" discussion is very interesting.

Of course, we have to begin by acknowledging that this telenovela is based on Teresa Mendoza becoming La Reina del Sur. There could be no other outcome.

There are three stages along this journey, in my opinion. In Stage One Teresa falls in love with Güero Dávila. He was the first man who had brought her anything but suffering. She loved him despite his "career". She would have loved him just the same if he'd been a taxi driver. After he was killed, all she wanted was to survive.

In Stage Two, she again fell in love with a man with a strong desire to make money illegally. She tried to turn him away from this path, offering to support them both with her earnings as Dris Larbi's accountant. So I guess you could say there was more free will in this decision. She felt she HAD to help him attain his goal. This was not a man willing to settle for less.

Then, after he was killed, she chose to team up with Patty, Stage Three. This is where some of you blame her for being involved again and not earning an honest living. My view is that, right or wrong, at this point she did feel an inexorable push toward this destiny. Also, unlike the time of her desperate pleas to Santiago to stay on the stright and narrow, she doesn't expect love or a normal life. And, for the third time, she's sort of doing it for love again. She recognizes that Patty would be dead within a week trying to shove her way into this dark world alone.

So, there's my theory.
 

REINA -

Novelera, your three stage theory for Teresa's motivation is very well thought out, and does ring true for me. It makes one wonder how far we are willing to go for our loved ones. Would we help them commit crimes? I think in most situations, parents would almost never help their loved children commit crimes like this. But a loved spouse or novio/novia is a different story. Certainly this has happened many times in real life. And with all that had happened to Teresa before, all she had lost, I can see why she made these choices. Or was it just her destiny? :)
 

Reina-

interesting ideas novelera!

I hadn't considered that Teresa did the cocaine deal to help (and protect) Patti, who had helped her so much in prison including saving her life.
'
 

REINA

Novelera, I like your analysis very much. I agree that the course of the narrative justifies Teresa's choices. But I still feel that, examined dispassionately -- as if she were a person and not a character in a story -- she is a moral imbecile. If we try to understand her actions in terms of, say, Kohlberg's stages of moral development, she is at a very low level.
 

REINA -

NovelaMaven, I had never heard of Kohlberg's stages of moral development, but thanks to the internet, now I have. I agree Teresa's at a pretty low stage, although maybe not as low as Makoqui. Patty may be at stage 4 1/2 (the cynic).
 

REINA- Interesting discussion on motivation and moral development. As always, I go back to the book, where such things can be developed in more detail and with much more subtlelty than in the novela. (I love having the book in the Kindle format on my iPad where I can do word searches.)

In the book, Teresa never tells Santiago not to run drugs, she never offers to support them by working for Dris. When Santiago is gone on the run where Lalo gets captured, she decides to keep him at a distance, "No repetitions, no dependency - she'd been down that road once. Never again." But when Santiago comes back, Teresa's sexual desire overpowers her and she goes to Algecires with Santiago and we know the rest.

In prison, Teresa is dependent yet again, this time on Patty.

After she gets out of prison, Teresa believes that there is no future; there is just existence. When Patty tells her about the cocaine, she says, "I don't know why you waited until today to tell me all this or what you intend to do about it. I listened to that story of yours like I'd listen to a novel. And I prefer it that way, because otherwise I'd be forced to acknowledge the existence of the future."

When Teresa goes with Patty to get the cocaine and especially when they are negotiating with Yasikof, she realizes that Patty is just a society chick with a drug problem on whom she can't be dependent and she takes charge of her life in a way that she has never done before.

Patty does most of the talking with Yasikof and Teresa realizes that the Russian is going to kill them. She tell Yasikof that she has something he needs.
"Don't let Patty open her mouth and blow us away, she begged. Inside her, the road laid itself out with uncanny clarity. A door opened, and that silent woman, the one who sometimes resembled her, was watching her from the threshold."

So I think that at least in the book, Teresa's motivations the third time around are more complex and are not really to protect Patty. Teresa lets herself believe that there might be a future beyond the day-to-day griding existence she had when she got out of prison and finally takes charge of that future in a way she hadn't done before. I don't see any suggestion anywhere that Teresa has ever believed that there is anything morally wrong with transporting drugs. In that respect, her moral development is pretty low.
 

LA REINA

Thanks, Jean, for your excellent comparison of the Teresa in the book to the Teresa in the telenovela.

They're very different and for obvious reasons. People watch telenovelas to care about the protagonists. I believe the writers have been very successful in doing this so far. The introduction of the friends at Yamila served the same purpose - to show Teresa having friends to whom she was subsequently loyal.

Obviously, my theory was based on the character on television.
 

REINA- Agreed, Novelera. In some ways, I regret having read the book. I am bookcentric. I can't separate the two and it affects my enjoyment of the novela.
 

LA REINA
Novelamaven and Hombre, I found your comments on Kohlberg's Stages of Moral development interesting. But I am wondering where you got the info on the Internet. I taught Psychology on a college level for 25 years and would have to disagree with your conclusions that Teresa is at a low stage of moral development. In the first 2 stages-the preconventional stage--moral choices are made based on the consequence of actions --rewards, punishments, exchange of favors. Teresa definitely does not make moral choices based on any of these things. In general, she is rather foolhardy. If Santiago wants to run drugs, she'll help him so he'll succeed better. There is no thought of jail, whether it's wrong, etc. --only if he'll get killed. In the next two phases of Conventional morality. people make moral decisions based on conforming to the expectations of others, pleasing others, and obeying social rules and expectations. Teresa's moral choices never seem dictated by any of those things. She does what she does because they conform to her own ideas of right and wrong. This description would be what happens in the highest moral stage --Postconventional Morality. However, this stage implies thoughts about justice, equality, doing the best for society and community. I don't think Teresa has come to her moral values through this kind of thought. She seems to do things based on feelings, intuition, love for others, rather than through any kind of reasoning. (Kohlberg's stages have to do with moral REASONING). A lot of her moral decisions are based on actual survival or emotional survival (i.e.creating a "family" for herself). I think that's what makes her such an interesting character. She does have values, but they are very specifically her own and have nothing to do with what society tells her.
After last night's episode, who would disagree that Oleg is in love with her? He brought her the ashes of Fatima and Mohamed, and was with her when she threw them into the sea. That was to me the gesture of a lover and not a business partner. Little by little, he is getting closer and closer to her emotionally. I think he also identifies her with the Russian spirit --not only the fatalism, but the deep emotionalism.

It's amazing how this telenovela is so action packed, exciting, and fast-moving, but at the same time has so much character depth.
 

REINA -

NJ Sue, I bow to your better understanding of Kohlberg's Stages. But I think an argument can be made that Teresa IS in the preconventional. You said "If Santiago wants to run drugs, she'll help him so he'll succeed better". To me, that is reward and punishment, with no regard to any higher moral decision making. But again, I'm probably totally misunderstanding this.

I do agree with your analysis about Oleg.
 

REINA -

Last night was another powerful episode. Many of us wanted Dris and Flores to get their just rewards, and they did, but who could have predicted how? (unless you read the book :)) Ratas got out of jail, wined and dined Dris, and then we saw Dris dead, hanging from his neck off a bridge. Not pretty.

As for Flores, first the prosecutor freed Teresa, saying there was no good evidence, no powder burns on Teresa, she didn't fire any gun. And why didn't you catch her with her hands in the cookie jar (manos en la masa), when she had 5 boats out there delivering drugs? If you were scared for your family, we could have protected them, he says. Later, Flores is transferred to a desk job in another city, based on his "statistics" (low conviction rate). Of course, Oleg's buying off the judge had a lot to do with all of this, but bye, bye, Flores.

Back in Mexico, Epifanio now has a clear shot at the Presidency, since his party's current leader, Urbina, stepped down. Why? Epifanio has pictures of Urbina with a 14 year old girl!

After having no desire to keep up the struggle for about a month, Teresa gets her mojo back, and has a new plan. Light fumigation planes (avionetas livianas de fumigacion), which will drop the drugs into the water, and they'll float until the boats pick them up later. We're back in business!
 

REINA

NJ Sue, like Hombre, I bow to your understanding of Kohlberg's stages. I was reaching into my pre-Google brain and studies in an attempt to characterize what I see in Teresa. You may well be right that Kohlberg isn't the best framework for talking about this complex and interesting character. But I do see her as someone whose internal moral code never extends beyond her nose. She grieves for the people she LOVED, she clings to the people she LOVES but what she conceives of as her lifework, her "fate" -- running drugs -- is a death-dealing business. She doesn't intend to blight the lives of untold numbers of people with her actions, but in fact, that is what she is doing.
 

LA REINA - LUNES

Yay! Pablo Flores got one of the best dressing downs I've ever seen from a boss to a subordinate. While it's true that it was all about corruption, it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

Batman Güemes is being portrayed as the voice of reason in the Sinaloa cartel. He tells Gato not to let himself be influenced by Ratas, who operates only with the limbic portion of his brain. There was a hint of danger then to Dris when Batman tells Epifanio: si el arabe se pasa de lanza... If the Arab turns out to be a tricky fellow... And there was an understanding action would be taken.

I wanted to go after Flores with a baseball bat when he barged into Patty and Teresa's house. Also, what kind of a building do they live in. Isn't there someone downstairs preventing just anyone walking into their residence?

This was a fairly good episode for Patty. She got right up in Oleg's face, demanding that he get Teresa out.

After Teresa's released she's in an almost catatonic depression saying: La libertad no me va a devolver las ganas de vivir. No quiero luchar más.

I was very confused about Epifanio's political moves at first. He's now the head of whatever party he belongs to which, apparently in Mexico, puts him in line for the presidency. Things are different here, the head of the party is usually a functionary whose role is fund raising for other politicians.

There was a funny telephone exchange between Batman and Epifanio. Batman asks him not to forget the little people on his way up. He replies: Yo, cuando empapo, salpico. When I get wet, I sprinkle; which is to say, that he'll shake off some of the money that will stick to him when he gains power.

Adios, Dris. He looked like a deer in the headlights sitting in that club as it dawned on him he'd gotten into bed with a psychopath.
 

Reina - lunes

Thanks, Hombre and Novelera, for your summaries and helpful Spanish phrases. However, Hombre, even those who have read the book would not have known what kind of end awaited Dris or Flores. IIRC, none of what happened with Dris outside Melilla was in the novel, and I don't remember Flores at all. It's possible that he's in the novel, but not in a significant role.

Novelera, I too thought that Patty came off well in this episode. I was relieved to see that, since after her getting high and blabbing to the Russian girl in Oleg's nightclub, I feared she was headed in a relentlessly downward path. My fears now seem a bit premature.
 

REINA -

Some new words I learned in the episode.

When Teresa had the ashes, Patty grabbed her arm. Teresa said "no me voy a aventar por el risco", or I'm not going to throw myself off the cliff (risco=cliff, bluff or crag).

Oleg told Teresa there are two kinds of people - imprescindibles y prescindibles (indispensable and dispensable). I think he then said that the dispensable ones sometimes leave us, which wouldn't be much comfort to Teresa. So I didn't really understand it, but at least I learned two new words!
 

REINA - Wow! Moral philosophy 101 in a blog about a telenovela. Pretty cool. I have only seen part of last night's episode but I will definitely watch to see Dris get his. As Juanita said, nothing happens to Dris in the novel and in fact, he is interviewed by the reporter who narrates about half the story. Of course, Dris didn't betray Teresa and Santiago either so she had no reason to kill him in the book.

I love, "Yo, cuando empapo, salpico." I heard Epifanio say that in the bit I watched last night but it was on my kitchen TV with no titles I couldn't quite catch it. What a great expression.

In many countries with parliamentary democracies, like England, for example, a party runs candidates for election in all the precincts or districts and the head of the party that wins the most seats gets the executive position - Prime Minister or President. Our system in the US is different. The president and majority in the legislature can be from different parties.
 

Reina - lunes

Hombre, I don't think Oleg was trying to comfort Teresa when he spoke about imprescindibles y prescindibles. Rather, I saw him as again being her mentor and trying to make her realize that "en nuestro trabajo" the lives of others are often prescindibles.

I found it interesting and surprising that, although Oleg usually comes across as extraordinarily hard-nosed and stoical, he admits to Teresa that he has spent the past month feeling guilty for the deaths of her two friends. I'm not sure yet what to make of this.

BTW, Hombre, your earlier message cleared up something I had puzzled over in the discussion between Epifanio Vargas and the president who is stepping down because of the incriminating photos. I heard Epifanio say "14 years" but had no idea why he said that. I wondered whether he had waited 14 years for this moment to come. You've offered a very different and much more likely interpretation: the ex-president was involved with a 14-year-old girl. Muchas gracias for this clarification.
 

REINA

Jean, I wish my head, like the Kindle, came with a word search capacity -- I distinctly remember somewhere in the original novel that someone told the reporter/narrator that Dris Larbi was responsible for betraying Teresa and getting Santiago killed. But yes, he never had to answer for his betrayal.

Juanita, I had to smile when I read the discussion here of the words "imprescindible/prescindible". Don't know if you remember, but we had a conversation about those very words in the SpanishPod blog some time back:) I do agree with your understanding of how Oleg used them last night -- the only thing that matters is that Teresa is still alive; that proves their lives (Fátima's and Mohamed's) were indeed "prescindibles."

Hombre, I appreciated your explanation of how Teresa proposed to use the crop-dusters. I never seem to get the how-to of their plans even when I think I understand the words they say.
 

REINA-
NovelaMaven - In the book, the reporter tells Dris that everyone says that he betrayed Santiago the time when Lalo was captured, not when Santiago was killed. It's in Chapter 4.

In the book, when Santiago was killed, he had been set up by Canabotas and Sgt. Velasco as a decoy while the real drugs were run elsewhere.
 

REINA

Ah, yes, Jean -- thank you!
 

LA REINA - MARTES

Wow. Last night's episode was loaded with cruelty. I could have done without seeing explicitly how Dris was hung from the bridge. Ratas is truly a sadist. The other guy was trying to get him to leave, but he wanted to watch Dris suffocate. He said Dris resembled una lombriz, an earthworm.

Ratas needs to be put down like a mad dog. He was visibly excited at the thought of raping Teresa while she bled out. Awful, simply awful.

Teresa assumes that Oleg's boys did away with Dris, and was surprised that he was in Mexico when he was killed. Regarding Mexico Teresa said she didn't want to remover este panal de abejas, move this honeycomb or as we would say: open this can of worms. Teresa thinks her good friend Epifanio wouldn't be capable of doing this. Oleg tells her we're good friends until we stop being so.

Willy Rangel appears back on the scene, apparently still undercover. He's baffled by the murder of Dris.

Don Epifanio gives an epic ass chewing to Ratas, telling him why didn't he just leave his signature on the corpse. Apparently this hanging from a bridge is the trademark of the Sinaloa cartel. Ratas tells him that Dris revealed Teresa's location in Spain and asks permission to go kill her. Epi tells him he's so low on the totem pole that he can't even order a fly to be killed.

Willy's compañera de trabajo is the actress who played Aurora. I like her in this role, as a tough DEA agent.

Epi tells Ratas, Gato and Pote that Teresa is dead to them; i.e., leave her the hell alone. Gato looks like he swallowed lye.

Willy asks for and gets video footage of Dris going into the Hall of Congress.

Epi tells Batman about Ratas: atornellelo. The dictionary says screwed down, but I suspect he means well under control.

Epi and Batman discuss a submarine full of drugs that is coming from Cali and that an earlier sub was met by the cops. They suspect a spy in the ranks soplón.

Willy knows about the sub and has set up a trap for the Sinaloa guys. He's apparently working undercover for the Medellín cartel and will steer the business toward them when the Mexicans give up on the Cali cartel. Loved the Colombian narco accent of the guy, Sanchez Godoy, that Willy is setting up.

Teresa tells Patty that she has to leave, to move to Marbella. First she says it's to be closer to business. But when she sees how hurt Patty is, she tells her she can't let another close friend be murdered, that she's moving away to save Patty.

Batman tells Ratas o te aclimates o aclimueres, you get used to the fact that I'm the boss or you'll die. Rather a funny play on words.

After Batman and the others barely escape Federal troops at the site of the sub arrival, Batman starts questioning guys looking for the informant. Ratas makes a sudden decision and shoots one of the guys because he saw him make a phone call. Turns out he was speaking to his wife.

Epifanio sends Batman to Colombia to negotiate with a different cartel. Oleg tells Teresa that Moscow has given the green light for her to be their agent in Latin America and also says he's sending her to Colombia.
 

REINA- Thanks for the recap, Novelera. As ususal, I could only stay awake for the 1st ten minutes.
I agree that the murder of Dris was horrible.
I was amused when Don Epifanio called Ratas an, "escuincle baboso," a drooling brat. When I looked up escuincle to make sure I was spelling it right, Wiktionary says that it is from the Nahuatl word for dog, "itzcuintli".
 

REINA -

Excellent summary, Novelera. I also liked Sanchez Godoy's accent, which reminded me of the characters in Rosario Tijeras and Las Munecas de la Mafia.

I think Sara (Aurora) Maldonado's character is named Veronica (not sure, but that's what agent Willy said on the phone before meeting with her).

Willy is still mad with himself for letting Teresa go 5 years ago, when she swore she didn't have Guero's notebook (agenda). But she did, and 2 of Willy's men, whose names were in it, got killed shortly thereafter. But he does seem smarter than most agents, with the Colombians thinking he's one of them.

I liked the parallel drug runs, Teresa's drugs floating in the water, which worked, and Batman's submarine coke shipment, which was ambushed, all set up by Willy, to make the Mexican's stop dealing with the Juarez and Cali groups, and turn to Colombia, where Willy has infiltrated.

And ironically, Oleg now wants to get back in the cocaine business, so is sending Teresa to Colombia. Everyone's going to be there!
 

Reina - martes

Thanks very much, Novelera and Hombre, for your helpful summaries of Tuesday's episode. Thanks, too, to Jean as well as to Novelera for including information about Spanish words and phrases.

I thought the actress playing Patty did a very good job of conveying a range of emotions: her usual flighty shopping high; anger and disdain when Flores comes to arrest Teresa; desperation over Oleg's initial refusal to get involved after Teresa's arrest; confusion and despair over Teresa's decision to move from the "dream house"; pride and pleasure (and perhaps relief) when Teresa stands up for her as her friend and socia when Oleg wants to talk to Teresa alone; and more. Clearly, I've got to do a better job of remembering the actress's name. She's really impressive.

Since I can't remember clearly which segments that I saw were from last night's episode and which were from the avances, I won't comment further, except to echo Hombre's observation that everyone seems headed to Colombia. Tonight's episode should be a good one (but, then again, that's been true for almost all of them).
 

LA REINA - MARTES

I also meant to comment about Don Epifanio's conversation with Batman in the background, while Ratas, Pote, and Gato were shown drinking in the foreground.

Obviously referring to those three, Epifanio was lamenting the state of his "business". He said that the younger narcos were coming up without honor, pitiless (desalmados), capable of killing women and children, sin palabra (their word means nothing).
 

REINA - Miercoles

What a whirlwind of an episode! First we're in Colombia, then Mexico, then Spain. These guys must be doing pretty well with their frequent flyer miles!

Colombia: It's Sanchez Godoy's birthday party. Teresa is there as Oleg's representative, to do a deal. Batman & Co. represent the Mexicans. And Willy Rangel also claims to be a Mexican. But things start to go wrong. 1) Siso Pernas (the son of Xoaquin Pernas, the Gallecian family leader who had screwed over Santiago's father and tried to double cross Santiago) finds out Teresa is there, and hating her, pulls out of his deal. 2) Willy Rangel is recognized by Pote and Batman as the guy who stole Guero's plane, and he also sees Teresa there. 3) He calls Veronica to send in the army for a raid (un allanamiento, or break-in). 4) someone in the army tips off Sanchez, and everyone leaves before the cops arrive.

So the Mexicans got no deal, Willy's cover is blown, but guess what? Teresa DID make a deal, to sell 15 tons of coke, 5 she was supposed to sell, and 10 the others (Pernas and Sinaloa) didn't sell. That's good, except Oleg says he doesn't HAVE that much.

Back in Mexico, Epifanio turns over all decision making to Batman, wanting to distance himself from the dirty work.

So Pote, Ratas, and Gato are sent to Spain, I think to make a deal with the Pernas family. But their first stop is in Malaga, where Teresa lives, to kill her. She spots them on the street, and is terrified. Oleg makes sure his guys, Vladimir and Dima, will protect her. But what about Patty (and now Conejo, who's out of jail and comes to the mansion)? They're at the address Ratas wormed out of Dris!!!!!
 

REINA -

It's interesting that two groups (Pernas and Sinaloa) have young guys (Siso and Ratas) who hate Teresa, but are being reined in (or tried to) by their superiors. Xoaquin Pernas tells his son they have the north, France and Italy, and don't have to compete with Oleg and Teresa.

Spanish: Batman knew it was time to leave the party, saying "Cuando el barco se hunde, las ratas se huyen" (when the boat sinks, the rats flee).

I think Epifanio told Batman he could "smell" it was time to distance himself, since he had the nose of a "perro sabueso" (bloodhound).
 

Reina - miércoles

Thanks very much, Hombre, for your invaluable help with the plot and the Spanish. "Allanamiento" and "sabueso" were two of the (many) words I had planned to look up. I think I had already looked up "allanamiento" a few days ago. Sigh.

Even though he's rather good-looking, I hope Sanchez Godoy gets killed off muy pronto. I can't deal at all with his accent. (I guess I'm at the point where Spanish comprehension trumps sexiness!)

I guess it's a good thing I didn't comment on Tuesday's avances. I assumed from what they showed that Teresa caught sight of Gato, Pote, and Ratas in Colombia, and that the events that took place in Spain in the novel would take place in Colombia. Oops, wrong again. I do find it fascinating to watch how the novel is being adapted for the telenovela.
 

LA REINA - MIÉRCOLES

Thanks, Hombre, your recap of last night's episode was first rate!

I love the regional speech and idioms from all of these characters! I especially enjoy Sanchez Godoy's speech patterns.

Batman told Faustino (believe that's Sanchez Godoy's first name) that it would be good to add some Mexican involvement: time for some chile verde to be added to the caldo (soup). I also loved Sanchez Godoy calling people parseritos (little buddies).

Jean, did you notice that Sanchez Godoy's assistant is the actor who played the crazy psycho who forced Victorino Mora to kill his cousin to save his sister?

I was wondering. Does the DEA really have great big offices in Mexico and Colombia?

Sanchez Godoy is a very amusing narco. The actor playing him was great. Hope we see him again. He was all puffed up that 80% of those who huelen perico are using his product. I think this means snort coke. I was amused by his attraction to Patty.

I was amazed that Oleg permitted Patty to go along with Teresa. There's always the danger of her being a loose cannon. Another new word from Patty: She described the furnishings at Sanchez Godoy's big casa by saying that he has gusto estrafalario or outlandish taste.

Teresa told Oleg that Siso nearly died of fear when he found out that Teresa was coming on behalf of Oleg and the Russians.

How do Epifanio Vargas and Batman know that Willy is DEA? They know he stole the plane, but they discussed his being in the DEA last night.

Teresa sure has some obsessives on her trail: Willy, Pablo Flores (now out of the picture), Gato, and Ratas. Pote is uncomfortable with their zeal to kill her. It's written all over his face. The actor playing Pote is the MOST like his character in the book than any other actor.
 

REINA- Thanks for the summary of last night's episode, Hombre. I haven't watched it yet. I find I like knowing more or less what will happen beforehand. I don't want the nasty surprises this novela can provide. I prefer to be mentally prepared.
 

REINA

Hombre, Thanks so much for your summary of last night's show. I find myself depending more and more on you to understand the twists and turns of the plot.

Novelera and Juanita, I enjoyed your comments too. Thanks!

Jean, I may end up adopting your strategy but right now, I'm still kind of into the suspense of each episode -- so much so that I avoid reading each day's comments until I have gotten around to seeing the show, usually the following day.

Let me add a couple of moments that caught my attention:

-When confident, sophisticated Teresa is in front of the bookstore in Málaga and she catches sight of the reflection of the three-man Mexican death squad in the window, the gentle Spanish guitar sound-track morphs into a heart pounding with terror. It's "the situation". And she morphs into the same young, naive girl who ran for her life in Sinaloa after el Güero was killed.

-When Patty boasts to Oleg that she doesn't need a bodyguard because her apellido will protect her, it sounds chillingly like famous last words.

-When el Conejo is impressed by the posh surroundings and tells Patty it must be nice to have her family money ("pasta") and Patty corrects her: she earned the house "con el sudor de la frente" (by the sweat of her brow). And Conejo says: Y ni siquiera sudas! (And you don't even sweat!)

I hope Patty and Conejo survive tonight's attack. We know that Pote, in service to the plot, has to survive. But I would love to see that evil duo, Gato and Rata get what they deserve.
 

So I saw about half of last nights show and I was like, are you kidding me?? Is this really a novela?

How can there be this much suspense in a novela, this show just keeps bringing it. I will definitely search for the box set and buy it to watch again.

The casting has been so good. Like Novelera, I love all the different accents and regionalisms. There's been so many good actors that have already come and gone, ridiculous.

The guys that are playing Batman, Ratas and Pote are great, I love how Batman talks and looks while he does it, the way he interacts with Epifanio (another perfect cast) is just great. I also love the Colombian accent, listening to Sanchez I was taken back to a movie I just saw...Paraiso Travel. Love that accent. The current chief in Spain who fired Flores is good too, so is Juarez.

This thing is so good.
 

REINA -

I really enjoy reading everyone's insights, and thank you, Novelera and NovelaMaven for the spanish phrases, which I sometimes notice, but quickly forget. As to understanding the twists and turns, I have to admit I'd be lost without the Spanish captions. I usually start watching without, but then give up, turn them on. Also, at this point, I can pause the recording and go back a little if I missed something. I definitely have a hard time with the Colombian accent. An example would be "Está bueno", or that's really good, which sounds like "ta weo". Or "No seas bobo", meaning don't be a dummy, which sounds like "nosaavo" (I can't really write what it sounds like, but it's very slurred, but also a bit musical, going up and down. Somehow, they have no problem at all understanding each other!:)
 

REINA - Jueves

What a rewarding episode! I have to admit, though, that even though this show is action packed, day after day, and has superb acting, it DOES stretch credibility quit a bit, in typical telenovela ways, as to how things happen at the last second, all sorts of characters JUST HAPPEN to run into each other, etc. But who's complaining? :)

Yes, the Three Mexicateers (Poto, Ratas and Gato) threatened Patty and Conejo. But the Russians turned up just in time to shower them with bullets (no one was hit). Clever Pote takes a matchbook, from a nightclub (antro) where that "Spanish dame" might go (they don't realize Oleg owns it). Later, our 3 stooges go to the nightclub, are immediately "detained" by the Russkies, and are now in the process of being tortured. What fun!

Meanwhile, Teresa is putting her grand plan into motion. I was wrong about the drugs. They've agreed to BUY 15 tons, but Oleg only has the market for 5. The answer? The Italians, the meanest m***f***rs in the world! Uyyyyy!

Tere wants their operation to be like a legitimate naval transport company, and they'll have two sets of books, and pay taxes, etc. They meet at the new offices, with Teo in charge of dummy corporations, Fast Eddie still doing the (now reduced) Gibraltar connection), Conejo doing data entry, a young Colombian named Alberto Rizo Carpazo setting up cameras, mikes and detectors everywhere, Juarez (!!!) now on board to grease palms, Oleg in charge of keeping a mean face in place, and Patty.....well, she'll be Patty.

I liked what Oleg said when Patty was upset about former chief cop Juarez (whom she hates) joining the team. "En este negocio el odio tiene feche de caducidad." In this business, hate has an expiration date. ¡Ojalá!
 

I was trying to place Alberto, and then it hit me: Sammy from La Viuda de la Mafia! A pretty great novela as well, I must say. Very different role for him here!
I really liked seeing Teresa basically assembling her crack team (no pun intended) of specialists, and yeah, the thought that Patty's skill and contribution is basically being Teresa's friend. Heh.
Looking forward to Teresa finally coming face to face with these matones now that the balance has shifted!
 

Reina - jueves

Thanks, Hombre, for another great summary. I found Oleg's words to Patty, "En este negocio el odio tiene feche de caducidad," somewhat amusing: apparently Ratas and Gato must be en otro negocio, since they've been nursing their hatred of Teresa for years.

One sign of just how hard-nosed Teresa has become is the cold way she responded to Conejo. Patty does a good job of explaining what's behind Teresa's response, but still....

Patty's behavior in the bar when she and Teresa were going to meet with Teo was a little surprising to me. Patty starts out by leering at an attractive blonde girl she passes. She eventually dances with the blonde but seems clearly jealous at seeing Teo and Teresa talking together, even though she (Patty) was responsible for their meeting. Apparently her feelings for Teo have no "fecha de caducidad."

How convenient that the Russians have a torture chamber all set up. In the novel, they torture Gato and Pote (Ratas isn't in the novel), strip them naked, and tie them up with wire (not necessarily in that order), and that's how Teresa sees them when she's brought in to decide their fate. I wonder whether we'll see them that way in the telenovela. I rather doubt it. If we need to be shielded from hearing or seeing palabrotas, I don't imagine Telemundo will let us see the bad guys naked.

This episode has definitely added to my vocabulary. I gather that "fregar," which was used several times last night, doesn't just mean wash or scrub but also mess with or ruin, as when Ratas (I think) says of the Russians "Nos van a fregar." Someone else (Batmancito?) earlier had said "Me lleva la fregada," which I gather means something quite similar. And I think when Teresa was asking the young guy who had come to install the cameras whether he'd like a good salary, health insurance, and papers to give him a legit status, he said "a que sapo hay que besar," which I understand to mean "what toad do I have to kiss" (a la the fairy tale). However, I still don't understand "me estás midiendo," which I gather is from the verb "medir," to measure. I don't recall the context--I try to write down words and phrases I don't know and look them up later, but this one still puzzles me.
 

Me estas midiendo means "you're sizing me up." You know, trying to get a sense of the type of person someone is.

Fregar is Mexican slang which can be used in a few different ways. It's not really used as anything other than "to wash" in other Spanish-speaking countries. Estoy bien fregada is basically "I'm really screwed."
It can also be used to say bother, in a sense. "No me frieges."
And in last night's context, the guys know they're going to get f***** up, if you will.
Me lleva la fregada: me lleva el diablo, aka FML (if you know what that stands for).

I don't think Patty was jealous over Teo, but Teresa. This after she recommended him as a lover after she had slept with him recently. Patty didn't count on being bothered by it potentially happening.
 

Reina - jueves

Thanks very much, Anon, for the helpful information about "Me estás midiendo" and the uses of "fregar."

You may well be right about Patty's being jealous about Teresa rather than Teo. I guess we'll see. Either possibility seems plausible to me right now.
 

LA REINA - JUEVES

Not much for me to add. You guys are good!!! And who posted the two excellent comments as "Anonymous"?

Hombre, loved Three Mexicateers! And indeed fregar a alguien means to f*** them over in Mexican slang.

Teresa and Oleg are putting together an amazing team. I get the impression Fast Eddy is on his way to being pushed out.

I did quite a bit of googling and could not find any reference to la camola as a mafia organization in Italy. So perhaps that is fictional.

I was surprised that Gato instead of Ratas was selected as the "weak link" by the Russians. I thought Ratas would be crying like a baby by now. I'm sorry to say this about myself, but I did not feel a drop of pity for these guys, except for Pote. They have no feelings for other human beings, and they've gotten about what they deserve.

I also felt that Patty was jealous of Teresa. Teo means nothing to her other than an occasional roll in the hay. And she wasn't very happy to see Teresa smiling happily at her making out with the blonde on the dance floor!
 

Novelera,

I think they are referring to "La Camorra" -- not fictional, alas.
 

You're quite welcome.
I've always just lurked, since I usually browsed after a show was long done to read the humorous reactions and thoughtful discussions (hard to find when it comes to telenovelas). I thought I'd join in while in progress for a change. =)
 

LA REINA - JUEVES

Thanks, NovelaMaven. I have heard of La Camorra. But, if I remember correctly, the subtitles said La Camola. Of course, they are often wrong, and perhaps Oleg DID say La Camorra.
 

Reina - Jueves

Novelera, you're right: the captions did say "camola." Of course, many people have difficulty hearing the difference between "L" and "R". Stereotypically, Asians are said to have this problem, leading to the joke about going to a Chinese restaurant and being offered "flied lice." Recently, I heard someone claim that Puerto Ricans, too, have difficulty distinguishing between "L" and "R," resulting in their saying they live in "Puelto Lico." The sounds are really quite similar.

Thanks, NovelaMaven, for clearing up the camola/camorra mystery.
 

Reina - jueves

De nada, Juanita and Novelera. Now that I think of it, Oleg can't pronounce "Teresa" -- he says "Tessa" instead!

Anonymous, welcome! It's nice to hear from a new voice!

Hombre. I wanted to thank you for yet another helpful recap in a nutshell. As for the trio from Mexico, as nefarious as their mission may be, they DO look like The Three Stooges, don't they? (Well, if the Stooges had been soulless killers, not witless pie-throwers and noogie-givers). They might as well be wearing signs saying "Somos los matones de México".
 

LA REINA - JUEVES

Regarding the Mexicateers, I was wondering if they'd even get into that club. I had forgotten it belonged to Oleg, if I ever even knew it.

I was thinking that the guys at the door wouldn't admit them to such a super sophisticated European hangout because of their obvious "Mexican Narco" look.
 

LA REINA - Great discussion and thank you, Hombre, for the recap-ette. Once again, I only watched the first 10 min. I'll try and catch up this weekend.