Saturday, April 02, 2011

El Mundo de Telemundo, Week of April 4: Discuss Amongst Yourselves

LA REINA DEL SUR – hasta viernes

This week we see Teresa complete her sentimental and academic education in prison, under the tutelage of Patty O’Farrell, black sheep of a wealthy Irish-Spanish clan of aristocrats. We also get a glimpse of the dark secrets in the O’Farrell family, including a suggestion of a history of father-daughter sexual abuse that helps to explain Patricia’s hatred for her parents and perhaps her self-destructive behavior.

Patricia uses her influences to get Teresa released from prison after serving about half of her five year sentence. She arranges a job for her -- waitressing in a place in Marbella, perhaps a step up from the ‘puticlub’ of Yamila. And a year or so later, Patricia herself is a free woman and joins her friend Teresa.

Patty knows where Jaime Arenas hid the half ton of cocaine three years ago, the cocaine that got him killed and Patty gravely wounded, and which the Russian mob still has a claim on. Teresa and Patty gamble their lives by confronting Oleg Yasikov with a proposal to sell him back his own drugs. But it is Teresa who seals the deal, convincing him first that she can move the cocaine from its hiding place to the marketplace; and also that she can teach them the hashish trade.

On Thursday’s episode, the daring coke retrieval is carried out. Knowing that the police have been watching their every move, they distract them with a decoy yacht (yate señuelo). Meanwhile Oleg, Patty and Teresa speed away in a Zodiac. When the police – as expected -- catch up with the three, they find no drugs in their possession. (I’m still a little fuzzy on this switcheroo, but clearly the drugs were moved on one vessel while the police were watching another.)

Oleg makes good on his promised six million Euro payment. He’s impressed with la Mexicana. As they say in the movies, he tells Teresa: This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Oleg is less pleased with Patty and her propensity for nose candy and infelicitous business disclosures in public, especially when Teresa leaves her alone – and kind of jealous -- during her two day visit to Melilla. He catches her out by using a Russian mob agent, Katia, to pose as Spanish ‘Ana’; Katia reports back to Oleg on all of Patty’s indiscretions. That’s the last time you talk about our business with strangers, Oleg tells Patty. Nobody threatens me, she snarls back.

Comisario Flores visits former Comisario Saturnino Juárez in jail and questions him about Teresa Mendoza’s relationship with the Russian mob and tries to get him to spill the names of his contacts. Juárez gives him a big fat nada and tells Flores it’s just a question of time before he turns into a dirty cop too.

Meanwhile the journalist Oscar Lobato spreads the word – Teresa Mendoza is back, she’s paired up with Patricia, the enfant terrible of the O’Farrell family, and allied with a capo of the Russian mob. He wouldn’t want to be in the shoes (en el pellejo, literally in the skin or hide) of the people who betrayed her and the Gallego.

When Teresa shows up for her brief visit to Melilla, her old friends -- Fátima and her son Mohamed, Soraya, Sheila and Ahmed -- are thrilled to see her. They are impressed with how much she has changed. (She looks beautiful and sophisticated and speaks with authority.) She promises to take Fátima and Fati’s son Mohamed back to the Peninsula to live with her.

But some are less than thrilled by her sudden appearance in Yamila: Dris (architect of Santiago’s death and Teresa’s capture) and two of his accomplices, Cañabotas (who set up Santiago in Algeciras) and Velasco, a crooked cop who was part of the plot. These two disappear when Teresa and Dris step into his office to talk. She tells Dris straight out:
No voy a descansar hasta que te hunda. Ojo por ojo, diente por diente!
(I’m not going to rest until I destroy you – an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.)

Later, Dris complains to Cáceres and Coronel Chaib that Teresa has threatened him. Their conversation is interrupted when Chaib gets a call: Teresa has a business proposal for him…

-----------
Can someone fill us in on Herederos?

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Comments:
Reina - viernes

Just a quick thank you, NovelaMaven, for the excellent summary, and for including several Spanish words or phrases that I had wondered about.

It really looks as if Patty is going downhill fast. I had expected her decline, but not quite so quickly.

The subplot with Fátima and her son is an interesting departure from the novel. I'm curious to see what the writers will do with it.
 

REINA

Thanks, Juanita! I decided to try to go back a bit in the story this time because some of us were a bit confused about recent events. Please feel free to clarify, add, whatever, so we are all up to speed.

I had another post rolling around in my head -- I've been thinking a lot about the arrested moral development of all of these people, but expecially, of our heroine -- but I figured it would be quite a while before I'd be ready to express that coherently. Still, it is an issue that is always in the back of my mind (and I know I'm not alone in that!)

[Also, I continue to have problems putting up my blog post. I have figured out, provisionally, that I can keep my spacing intact if I post in the HTML tab of Blogger. But then I lose most of the bells and whistles (choice of color, size, font type, etc) that I've had in the past. It doesn't matter so much with the short posts over here but it's pretty irritating over at Triunfo del Amor where the recaps are (too?) looooong and need some visual contrast to break them up and keep the reader awake.]
 

HEREDEROS - Viernes
Julieta finds out that Juan and Paula are having dinner alone at La Arboleda. She scoots over there in time to catch the brothers on the way out to celebrate after reconciling their differences. She tells Juan to go ahead and there will be a surprise for him when he comes back.

She strips down to her underwear and waits for Juan in bed. He appears to come in and make love to her. Paula hears Julieta crying out with passion and comes to the obvious conclusion that she and Juan are having sex. But it's all in Julieta tumored brain. She wakes up, realizes that she dreamed the whole thing. She leaves but not before confirming Paula's conclusion about what happened.

Paula and Juan continue to pick at the scab of their misunderstanding the whole rest of the episode. At the end, Juan tells Paula that he will pay her anything to break the contract and leave.

Béatriz sings in the bar and Jose reacts just as you would expect - he comes over and tells her that singing in bars leads to prostitution.

Modesto digs up the box of money and stuff that Emilio wanted. He brings it to Emilio who gets him to say that Juan and Julieta are no longer together. He asks who Juan is with.

We get at least some explanation for Gaspar's behavior. Apparently Emilio wouldn't let his wife do anything. Gaspar would hardly want to take after his father. Guadalupe goes back to her father house. Gaspar comes to see her and agrees to all Lupe's demands - he won't demand that she get pregnant right away, he will let her help around the house and he will let her go to school. She agrees to return to the house with him. We'll see if that lasts.

For some reason, Sofía gets Consuelo to reconcile with Rosa.

Finally, Julieta finds out what we already knew - that she has a brain tumor.

That was about it.
 

REINA--
Hello Everyone!!!!!!
When Reina first started I briefly glanced in on CARAY and I was kind of dissappointed that it was not being recapped. Of course if I would have gotten a better look I would have found the "El Mundo de Telemundo" section. Well needless to say I am now in the Know. Okay here goes, I have been in the past not a great fan of novelas. I first watched Los Ricos Tambien Lloran with my Grammy when I was really young blew them off for about 30 years and was not in the the novela scene. But my hubby has always watched one novela at a time. I remember him watching I think Distilando Amor with Ed Yanez, it think all I remember the female lead being name Gabillota or something similar. So I recently started sharing hubby's tv time and enjoying for the most part his novelas. I found Caray along the way and it has enhanced these novelas to the Nth degree for me. I thoroughly enjoy the witty comments. Now I have to say, this by far is the absolute BEST novela I have every come across, hands down. Of course, I am a newbie, and don't have enough novelas under my belt but I feel that Reina is so different. I have read earlier posts and I whole heartedly agree with the quality of this prodution. I just finished reading the book and look forward to seeing the enhacements that the novela will add.
I do give TBLMOE his due but El Gallego gave him a run for his money. I also agree that Kate is wonderful in this role, physically and as well as dramatically.
This week was great! What's up with Mohammed being like 20 years old?? Wasn't he just a kid when Santi took him from the orphange? Has it been 10 years? No biggie. The dubbing does kid of iritates me and I love the way Teresa took charge of the negotiations. Where do I buy Teresa Mendoza's bracelets again, (just kidding, it reminded me of the product placements in STuD). Well everyone I am so glad I found this section and got up to date!!

Jenny Z in SoCal.
 

Thanks so, NovelaMaven. I'm just about ready to watch the last two episodes. I find knowing the plot makes it easier and more fun to focus on vocabulary and special effects,etc.

I am saddened to learn from caraycaray and from Telenovela World that Patti may not play the important part of introducing Teresa to the "upper crust" group and teaching her at the same time how to dress and act among them. The relationship between the two really held my attention in the book, and I see Patti to be a major steppinh stone in Teresa's path to La Reina-ship!
 

P.s., forgot to add my name: Lois
 

REINA -

Thanks, NovelaMaven for a superb summary, covering all the key points, and giving lots of backstory.

I enjoyed that wild dance club with the techo music, with most of the dancers being gorgeous ladies. They even found a supertall, supermodel to dance eye-to-eye with Patty. This turned out to be Katia, who was working with Oleg (who seemed to own the club). Patty is reckless, and I agree, her possible abuse may have something to do with her substance abuse, risk-taking, etc. It's a bit sad. But she is still stunning, one of the few telenovela ladies who rarely wear a bra, because they don't need to :)

This episode was a bit of a set-up episode, with less action. But it looks as if the action blasts off again on Monday. I can't wait!
 

LA REINA - VIERNES

Excellent recap of what's happened since Teresa's release, NovelaMaven.

Jenny Z in So Cal, welcome. Nice to have another Pacific Time Zone buddy. I'm in No Cal. Maybe if Iván Sanchez (El Gallego) would have shaved he could have measured up to TBLMOE. But Colunga still owns my heart, although Iván Sanchez was outrageously sexy in his role.

It's so sad to see how damaged Patty is. And, yes, the hint of sexual abuse at the hands of her father explains a lot. It appears that, in that controlled situation of prison life, La Teniente thrived. Out in the Eurotrash world, not so much.

So for those of you who read the book, is the character of Oscar Lobato meant to be the reporter in the book who's doing a long article about La Reina del Sur? I wasn't quite sure what his motive was in loudly talking about Teresa's alliance with Yasikov. Not sure how he knew those guys were the ones who set up Santiago.

The actor playing Juarez is doing a great job. I wonder if he's right about Flores going to the dark side after he's been in his job a while.

While these relationships were not in the book, I love Teresa's warmth and affection for her former compañeros de trabajo. And you bet she'll get legal papers for Mohamed! I was sorry to see Patty being a snob about Fátima. Of course, it's mostly jealousy.

The scene with Dris was just excellent on the part of both actors. Teresa told him, almost with a lump in her throat, that she used to like him and believed that he was fond of her. But then she was like steel confronting him with her knowledge of his responsibility for the death of the love of her life.
 

HEREDEROS - VIERNES

I enjoyed your recap of Friday's events in the novela where there's something in the water dumbing them all down.

This is so much like the stock novela plot, with people overhearing something and jumping to conclusions.

I guess they've cast José as the villain. He gets more despicable every day. He couldn't resist coming to Beatriz' house to spoil the glow of her success as a performer.

Take the freakin' bandages off Emilio already!

They sure didn't let Gaspar be rotten for very long: two episodes if I remember correctly. I also hope his bad behavior is over. I've liked him all along.

I guess we're meant to believe that Miguel can't sit down because Sofía used her little riding crop on his hindquarters.
 

Reina - viernes

Bienvenida, JennyZ. Re Mohamed, I think he may have been more like 12 when he left the orphanage, and he could be as young as 17 or 18 now. That would give us a more reasonable time span.

Novelera, I don't think Oscar Lobato is the journalist who is writing about Teresa. If I remember correctly, Oscar is simply a journalist who knows everyone, including Santiago, whom he liked. Because he knows everyone, he is privvy to all kinds of information. The journalist in the book who is writing about Teresa knew about Santiago only from other people's accounts.
 

HEREDEROS

I meant to thank Jean for her recap of Friday's episode and left off her name!
 

GENERAL

Shameless plug:
Last Wednesday a new telenovela started at 9pm—-Teresa (yes, another strong willed Teresa). I’m sure most of you have seen the ads, as Uni has been advertising the heck out of it the last few weeks. I’ve heard some people were turned off by the idea of a bad girl heroine. Forget the ads. That’s just sensationalism. Yes, Teresa is not a “good girl.” She is no saint, nor a martyr, as our usual tn heroines tend to be. But here’s what you do get: A heroine who is whip smart, intelligent, takes crap from no one, ambitious, and clever. There are no star crossed lovers being kept apart by bad, evil people. But our heroine has two very handsome love interests. So far the writing and acting are excellent, and we are all on the edge of our seats to see what our plucky heroine will do next.

The problem: We have NO recappers for this show. That’s right, 0. The first few episodes were recapped with screenshots from temporary recappers-- Aribeth and Jeri, fresh from duty from their Insomniacs Club midnight recapping duties on LVO. These ladies deserve a break. For those of you bored with Herederos del Monte at 9, Teresa is a more exciting option. For any of you Eva Luna and Llena de Amor recappers who will be free to recap again when your shows end in the next few weeks, please consider recapping Teresa and contact Melinama. For any folks who want to try recapping for the first time, give it a try! You’ll be great! For any others looking for a quality tn that’s a little different from the norm, join us! We’d love to have more folks join the discussion on the character and motivations of this interesting (gasp!) heroine.
 

REINA

I still have to catch up with Friday's episode, but Thursday's was a hoot! I'm still ROTFLOL over Oleg's cheesy line with Patti and Teresa quaking in their boots. This line is apparently right out of the book: "No me gusta matar a las mujeres, pero la vida es tan cruel, y yo soy tan ruso!". (I don't like to kill women, but life is so cruel, and I am so Russian.). I guess that sums just about everything up with this guy.

Audrey
 

Thanks for your recap NovelaMaven.


The last time I watched LRS I got it without any trouble on Telemundo. However, I seem to be having a problem getting it again. Can anyone direct me??? Also what capitulo are we on???

I just love this novela and love all the recaps and comments.

Muchas gracias!!!

Ann-NYC
 

Reina - general

Ann-NYC, I don't know what the problem is with your getting Telemundo, but apparently they're putting the episodes online at
http://video.latino.msn.com/search/La%20Reina%20del%20Sur. According to them, Friday's episode was #25. The episode is divided into five separate videos, and each is marked (e.g., 1/5, 2/5, etc.). There are no captions, alas, but at least you can see the episodes. Part 5 even includes the avances for next Monday.
 

Reina-

Is the journalist character's full name Oscar Lobato?

If so, you might be interested to know,,,
Oscar Lobato is a real person, an author, that helped Arturo Pérez-Reverte with his research for this book.

Interesting that this character was in a bar in last nights show, talking to the helicopter pilot, Javier Collado, who is also a real person, playing himself, doing the helicopter stunts, is/was a for real chase the bad guys helicopter pilot who also helped with the research.

wow! talk about a multi dimensional show.

here is a short but interesting article on the creation of this story by Oscar Lobato. (It's in spanish but translates well with google).
http://www.icorso.com/reinasur13.html

this and other things about Javier I've posted here.
http://foro.telenovela-world.com/n4/read-t.php?f=795&i=2839&t=2839#reply_2839
 

Nice job NovelaMaven with this weeks summary. Thanks for explaining how pellejo tied in with "in his shoes" too, I knew what he meant and I knew what pellejo meant but I didn't tie the two together like you did!

Well I finally got up to speed with my dvr and the fact that the Spanish subtitles are available so I've been enjoying this one even more. I like how the Spanish appears exactly how it's spoken, this is really helping me with the accents and the ability to rewind is great.
So many good actors in this one.

I really thought Alguien Te Mira was the best that I had seen but this thing continues to impress. The scene with Teresa and Dris was so good.

Juanita...your avatar looks familiar, were you over at Spanishpod too?

Jean, nice job with Fridays Herederos. I watch this one a little bit but I have to admit there's so many storylines that I just can't watch...so boring. I will admit though when Lupe is on screen you can't pull me away.
 

Oh yeah, I saw about 5 minutes of Aurora the other day and just when I thought Telemundo had used up all of their retreads, there was a couple more. The dude in jail fighting Lorenzo who has been in several, the lead actress in ATM (she was also in Ladron Que Roba Al Ladron) and then the model Valeria from ATM.

Are you kidding me? This show went bad after 2 weeks running circles around lies on top of lies and only got worse.

Truly unwatchable.
 

Thank you Jenny Z, for pointing out something that's been driving me crazy! How does Mohammed look SO many years older? Also, when Teresa goes to Santiago's beach house, the lady there tells her Eddie sold it to her EIGHT years ago. WHAT?!? I thought maybe I misunderstood that she only served less than half of a 5 year sentence, but no, it seems our NovelaMaven (thanks btw, for the great recap!) got that number too. Paty & Tere also talk about the Coke being lost for YEARS, which doesn't sound like something you'd say about less than two years. They also make it sound like several years when speaking w/Oleg. Ok, did I kill it yet? lol.

*********************************
Oh, and Rand, I totally agree with you on Aurora. Totally what they call in Spanish "un culebron" meaning that the plot twists and turns like a snake.(To the point of utter ridiculery!) I used to like it at the very beginning, thought the Sci-fi touch was genius, but I can't even bear to watch it now, it just annoys the hell outta me... They shoulda put it out of it's misery by killing it when they killed Aurora...(Which I know from previews, lol.)No, actually, they shoulda killed it months ago, haha.

**********************************
Love, love, LOVE this site, what a genius idea!

xo
Jen from SoCal
 

REINA

Glad to see deb posted her info and links here. This stuff is really amazing! True life mixed into the novela. The helicopter pilot is playing himself? I guess since the guy is such a looker and so skilled, they couldn't resist. Good for them!

Audrey
 

AURORA

Rand - I totally agree. I gave up on Aurora after a few weeks because it was so bizarre. They had a great premise and a strong initial cast, but I never saw anything spin out of control like that novela. And every time I would think it couldn't possibly get any worse, they'd prove me wrong again! And I have only seen snippets or read a few posts since jumping ship months ago, but I still stumble across major plot contortions.

Last I looked, they seemed to be having a big reunion of all the Donde Está Elisa actors with a few Fantasma de Elena actors thrown in. Kitchen sink is right! What a bizarre circo to top all circos!

Audrey
 

Reina - etc.

VirtualJen, I think in last week's discussion you'll find some comments about the woman's claim that she owned the house for 8 years. As for the coke's being lost for years, it was more than three years ago that Patty's boyfriend tried to cheat the Russians. Teresa realizes that that's not a long time ago when a half ton of cocaine is at stake, but Patty speaks about it as if it is--one of many foolish mistakes on her part.

Rand, yes, I used that icon on SpanishPod (R.I.P.). (I use a different one on LSLC :-) )
 

REINA

¡Buenos días a todos! So nice to wake up to all your great comments this morning.

JennyZ in SoCal and VirtualJen (Two people or one?)-- So glad to have you here!

Deb, Thanks for the cool links.

Lois, I agree. Sometimes this blog feels like the seminar I wish I had taken in college:)

My take on the timeline:
Time zero: Mohamed is rescued. He is a preteen (11 or 12) and looks like a child.

Shortly thereafter (months?), Santiago and Teresa move to the peninsula. Almost immediately, they stumble on the O'Farrell ass-grab in the bar followed by the Russian mob shoot-out. All the principals survive.

But the Russians quickly track down Patty and Jaime. They kill him and wound her. She has a recovery of X time (weeks? months?) but then gets sent to jail.

Teresa and Santiago have 6 months together in Algeciras before he is killed and she is wounded and then sent to jail.

She is in jail for 2 1/2 years.

So it is over 3 years since Mohamed was rescued from the orphanage. He must be about 15 now. I agree he looks older but then some boys do change radically from child to man in those early adolescent years.

Also, maybe Mo will have a role later in the story and they don't want to have a third actor playing him as a young man. Just a thought.
 

Reina--

How wierd there is a Jen in So Cal and Jenny Z in So Cal. I will start leaving off "in SoCal" and just be Jenny Z. I can't wait for tomorrow. I watch the show at 7 (east coast feed) and am able to get to bed at a decent hour. Although I think I would definitely make the sacrifice if I had to. I love the Spanish accent on the show. I am fluent in Spanish abut I still use the Spanish CC, because it is a bit difficult and I don't want to miss words. At first they would mute out the "bad" words but recently they are being vocalized. I get a kick out of it. There is so much difference between U.S. Spanish TV and Mexico TV. I can't comment of other Latin American countries as I haven't had the pleasure but in Mexico a lot of scenes that are not allowed in the U.S. are pretty much passable. Even in the news graphic violence is shown regularly. Like those steamy scenes in STuD were much longer and more revealing in Mexico than here.

Jenny Z
 

Juanita: Now you need to tell me who you are at LSLC :-)

It's like here on the internet you can say "wow, what a small world!" lol. Just like we do in the real world ;)
 

Reina-

On the timeline, when Teresa was working at the seaside bar they jumped ahead one year to get to when Patty got out of jail?
(I went back and double checked)
 

REINA

Deb -- Ah, you're right! So we can add another year on the timeline bringing us to a 4 plus total.

Jenny Z in SoCal and VirtualJen -- my apologies. I happy to have you BOTH here and commenting!

GENERAL
Rand and Juanita, now we are three! I wonder if there are any other SpanishPoddies lurking out there or who are posting under different user names???
 

Rand,

I would tell you who I am at LSLC, but then I'd have to kill you. :-)
 

REINA - FRI.

Juanita:

Thanks for the info. I got thru fine. Don't know what I did wrong.

Ann-NYC
 

Nice (but short) Telemundo interview with Iván Sanchez on the MSN site. It's in Spanish - no captions. But even if you can't understand him, you can still enjoy watching him....

"El gallego" de "La Reina del Sur" en MSN Video
http://video.latino.msn.com/watch/video/el-gallego-de-la-reina-del-sur/xo6kufah

Audrey
 

REINA

Ooops - I hope it was obvious that my last post was for La Reina del Sur. Actor Iván Sanchez played Santiago Fisterra.

Audrey
 

LA REINA - GENERAL

Thanks so much, Audrey for the MSN video of Iván Sanchez. It was, shall we say, short but sweet. And I was pleased to notice that I could understand him. A great thing about La Reina del Sur for me has been the improvement for me in understanding European Spanish accents much better with every episode.

He certainly is charming. He didn't expect the enormous success the novela has had. He LOVED the book. The interviewer was asking him about opportunities here in the US, but he was sort of coy and modest about that. It's pretty clear to me he's going to be bombarded with offers to act in telenovelas, whether here in the US or in México. I'm assuming that when Televisa broadcasts the novela starting tomorrow in México, it will also be a success there. What's not to like?

Unless they write roles for him to appear as a Spaniard, he's going to need a lot of language coaching to develop what they call the "neutral" accent used in most telenovelas today. There was one novela I saw, En Nombre del Amor, where one of the characters was from Spain, and the actor really was, but his accent was barely noticeable at all.
 

Yes, the video with Ivan Sanchez was nice. In Zorro, many of the characters were supposed to have been raised in Spain but the only one who affected a Spanish accent was Jorge Cao as the priest.
 

Reina - general

Novelera, in "En Nombre del Amor," Iñaki's parents also spoke with accents from Spain. I had no trouble with their accents (or at least no more trouble than I usually have in understanding Spanish :-) ), but I'm often hopelessly lost watching "La Reina del Sur." I think part of the problem is that the characters speak much more rapidly than I'm used to.
 

Juanita, I have the same problem. I can't understand Patty at all most of the time.
 

REINA - Lunes

Whatever Teresa Wants, Teresa Gets.

Well, now that Teresa has completed the successful drug deal with Oleg, and since she has lined up a profitable hashish deal with Chaib, she starts asking for some things in return. She doesn't want drugs, she does want some money, but more than that, she wants some favors. With Chaib, as a condition of doing business, she wants 1) Lalo to be released from prison, and 2) Mohammed to have some papers. Chaib agrees. Lalo is released, but he's in a wheelchair and seems to have suffered brain damage, barely recognizing anyone. Tere arranges for him to be transferred to a facility where they can visit, and he can get physical therapy. They do believe he'll walk again.

As for favors from Oleg, Teresa wants to get rid of her enemies. First up, those creeps Sargent Velasco and Cañabotas, who, with Dris's help, set up Santiago to be caught (but he was killed and Teresa spent years in jail). Oleg, who admires Tere's "military" thinking, says he'll take care of it. Sure enough, Velasco pulls over a speeder, but it's the Russian hitman, who says "Greetings from Teresa Mendoza", and fills the chump with lead. Previews indicate some more enemies may get theirs tonight.

Meanwhile, since bad cop Juarez is in jail, good cop Flores is trying to catch Teresa. He figures when she went from Marbella to Mirella (to take care of the Lalo business, and visit her gal-pals), she probably forgot to ask permission of her parole officer, since she's "a woman, and a South American". Wrong, bud. She DID ask permission, and even has permission to move to Malaga, I think.

Oleg thinks Teresa has one weak spot - Patty. Pattycakes is out of control when she parties, and can leak business info. If Tere can't control her, there's only one way out (salida).....Tere says she'll control her.

Dris happened to run into Tere on the ferry, and the results were scary. She was protected by Oleg's goons, and they threw Dris overboard. He didn't die, though (yet), and soaked, started burning all his files, leaving Ahmed to run the Yamila bar.

Tonight - the hits keep coming!
 

REINA -- lunes

Hombre, thanks for the great minicap!

I was struck by Patty's willingness to go into business with the Russian mob -- the people who killed her boyfriend (and almost killed her). Compare that with Teresa's visceral need to avenge Santiago's death. Teresa has made some morally good choices although now, she is moving inexorably to the dark and immoral side. But Patty seems completely AMORAL.

The scenes with Lalo were so tragic, especially juxtaposed as they were with the scenes from the past. I was very glad that he wasn't left to rot in the Moroccan prison.
 

REINA -

I meant to say Melilla, not Mirella. Well, Melilla, Marbella, Mirella, Malaga, how can anyone keep them straight!?
 

Reina-

Patty opened the door for Teresa, and Teresa walked right in. Now I wonder what is in store for Patty. She worries me.

Question, what did Patty sign?

thanks!
 

LA REINA - LUNES

Thanks, Hombre, for your recap of what happened. I like your writing style!

I enjoyed Teresa's meeting with Chaib and Cáceres. She seems actually fond of Chaib. I don't think she knows about his ordering Lalo's tongue cut out. But she looks at Cáceres like something she wants to scrape off her shoe. It was funny to me.

Our honest cop Flores was looking a bit like coyote missing the road runner when his initial hopes: (no la sobrevalores; es mujer y sudaca) were dashed that Teresa had caused a parole violation.

NovelaMaven, I believe you're right about Patty being more or less amoral. I feel that her driving motive for going into business with the Russian mob is having enough money to continue to live her "rich girl" lifestyle without having to take a red cent from her despised parents. They didn't say what she signed and gave to the lawyer. But I thought it was likely some renunciation of her inheritance rights.

I think Kate is doing an excellent job of portraying the hardening of Teresa Mendoza. Plus, Yasikov was right in calling her approach military. Beyond just vengeance, she also logically doesn't see any reason to leave an enemy alive to cause her grief in the future.
 

HEREDEROS - LUNES

Is anyone watching this except me? If my DVR didn't go ahead and record it, maybe I wouldn't either.

Julieta is totally nuts. She wants SOME of the effects of her brain tumor to go on: her personality change to a person able to hurt others: specifically Paula.

I wish Beatriz and/or Guadalupe would come up with at least one more song.

They keep teasing us with Emilio's face. It kinda looked from Modesto's reaction that the best plastic surgeon in México might have botched the job.

José is such a rotten person. It just killed him to see how well Beatriz, Guadalupe, and Amador's performance went over. He had to leave it bothered him so much.

Say what? Sofía's latest brilliant idea is to come up with a husband for Paula?
 

HEREDEROS -- Lunes y martes

I wish Beatriz didn't sound like a little girl. I may end up muting the TV during those scenes.

Novelera, about the single song: I had the same complaint during PDG and FELS.

I am so sick of Sofia and her smug expressions and condescending manner. When is karma going to catch up with her?
 

This comment has been removed by the author.
 

Reina - lunes

Thanks once again, Hombre, for another very helpful summary.

I'm not sure whether Lalo has suffered brain damage and doesn't recognize anyone, or whether he just can't (and therefore won't) say anything because they cut out his tongue.

I continue to be unhappy with how fast Patty is declining. In the novel, she was a VERY important mentor for Teresa both in prison and afterward. As I recall, she taught Teresa how to act, speak, dress, etc. in a way that would enable her to mix in the upper echelons of society and with all sorts of important players. Patty played this role for quite a while. In the telenovela, we're shown how important Patty was in introducing Teresa to the joys and advantages of reading, but not all that much else. Teresa's transformation into "La Reina" seems to be happening almost automagically. And Patty is too quickly becoming a liability.

Like Deb, I wondered what it was that Patty signed. Novelera's suggestion seems very plausible.
 

Reina del Sur

Ditto on the great summary Hombre!
Thanks everyone for the welcome :)

I agree w/Juanita also that brain damage is probably not the deal w/Lalo. I think it's probably more psychological trauma, mixed with pride perhaps? He could easily show that he is mute with hand gestures if he wanted to, and if he wasn't so traumatized. I would wager that for him personally, having his tongue cut out was almost as bad as having his male member cut off. He doesn't feel like a whole man, therefore part of his reluctance to talk to his girlfriend (forgot her name) and this has probably deepened the trauma and depression, causing him to disassociate hence the spaced-out look/demeanor. (lol. No, I'm not a shrink, I just play one online.) His legs probably just healed badly/are atrophied by dis-use. That's my theory anyhow.

I agree, also, about Paty, I hadn't read the book, but it doesn't feel right to me either. Even if she was lovesick over Teresa, she wasn't gone THAT long, and she should be happy cuz she's not tied to her family by money anymore. Plus, as much as Teresa has matured, she still has plenty to learn, and Paty is the perfect one to teach her. But instead she's already about to get booted from the partnership?!? Boo.

I agree about the Spanish accents, at first they threw me, but now, not only do I understand them most of the time (Paty is the challenge!) I've grown to become fond of it when it used to annoy me a little bit. What an amazing world this novela has opened up to me! I never really thought that the types of things that go on at bordertowns here in CA/the U.S. also happen in Spain, but are made that much more complex by the cultural diversity that exists. Love hearing Spanish with an Arabic accent or a French one, and even the different Spanish accents! I too thought Alguien te Mira was pretty great, but this one is just awesome.

Re: Herederos

I can't bear to watch that one either. Is it just me, or does the story line seem roughly identical to about 4 other telenovelas that have aired on Telemundo about heirs on ranches and the women they love? lol! (Gavilanes, La Tormenta, I can't remember the other names or if I even have those right, because I could never get into those either!)

To avoid confusion I'll just go w/ VirtualJen :)
 

AURORA -- Martes

If any other viewer of this one reads this, did I miss something about Lorenzo's case? Was he tried off-camera or is he still awaiting trial? If so it almost looks like the writers have forgotten that jail and prison are not the same facility in the state of NY.

I am also at a loss as to what makes him such a target, especially to the prison guards. That scene made no sense. And if someone picks a fight with him, why is he not entitled to defend himself?

Considering what the writers have done to this series, I am starting to wonder if they are going to allow the villains to win.
 

REINA - Martes

Cañabotas is the next victim of Teresa's de- enimigo - izing. He thinks a male bartender is cute, but in the bathroom stalls, his breath is taken away - literally, with a garrote. Uyyyy!

Dris and Eddie hear that 2 of their pals are dead (it's all over the news), and try to hide. Meanwhile, Flores has had his men tailing Teresa. He knows she's behind these killings. Unfortunately, he can't pin them on her, because she's been out SHOPPING all day, with Patty, who's teaching her how to dress for success (you go, Patty!).

Teresa hires some young boat pilots for the hash dealing (feeling like a "queen bee" (abeja reina), but tells Oleg she's being followed. He's been there, and tells her to let them follow you when you want them to, but don't let them follow when you don't. She also gets nauseous when she realizes that she's responsible for the deaths of two people, something "only God should do."

Meanwhile, Patty (having signed away the family home in Jerez de la Frontera), has rented a new mansion in Málaga (you always see the famous bullfight ring before they cut to Málaga). She's sunning herself topless when Fátima and Mohamed arrive, and no one answers the doorbell. Mohamed scales the fence, sees our nubile naiad, getting quite an eyeful.

We find that Mo is two weeks shy of 17, "old enough to buy condoms and break hearts" according to Patty, which could spell trouble.

Up next: Dris and Eddie, can they evade the Queen Bee's sting?
 

REINA -

As for Lalo, I'm not sure he has trauma (possibly), brain damage (probably not), but Teresa, Soraya and the others certainly were treating him as if he did. They may not know about the tongue, and since he's not responding, they could be jumping to conclusions. I hope one day he recovers. I thought he still looked handsome, even silent, with a beard, in that chair.
 

REINA:
Thanks, Hombre, for another great recap-ette.
Concerning Lalo, I'll just say that in the book a lot of the story is told by a reporter who is writing a story about Teresa and interviews many of the people who were involved in Teresa's past.

One of these is Manolo Céspedes (the guy who forced Teresa to have sex with him in the novela, not the book) who shows the reporter Lalo Veiga, who is described as, "a 'filty man with thin ashy-colored hair who was'watching' parked cars .. in exchange for a few coins from the cars' charitable drivers... His face was cavernous; there were hollows at his temples. Half his teeth were missing, and it occured to me that he resembled the sea wrack thrown up by high tide or storms... I saw scabs, scars, marks on the man's arms and legs.. He smelled like stale wine and stale misery. He limped when he walked."

Lalo refuses to answer (he doesn't get his tongue cut out in the book) the reporter's questions, "But Veiga still didn't answer, and when Céspedes insisted, the most he got was a puzzled indifferent look as the man scratched lazily at his arms. And those blurred distant eyes, their pupils so dilated they occupied the entire iris, seemed to slide across people and things from a place there no returning from. 'He was the other Gallego,' Céspedes said as we walked away. 'Santiago Fisterra's crew... Nine years in a Moroccan jail did that to him."

So in the book, Teresa never does anything for Lalo who is so brutalized by being in a Moroccan jail that he is almost catatonic. I'm guessing that they novela writers are portraying Lalo in the similar mental situation but from different reasons.
 

AURORA -- Martes

Hi UA! I >ff> most of this tn, except for scenes now with Sonya Smith, and am surprised that LL is still in jail. the writers have been really good at >ff> events (i.e. all 3 pregnancies), so why not this one?
 

HEREDEROS

I am still enjoying just staring at the fine speci-MEN, and how they're handsomely clad. just like all tns I watch, I just >ff> the boring/redundant/ridiculous stuff, so as not to aggravate myself.
 

I'm with you, Shallowgal, this one is only worth the eye candy. It's too bad. It could have been better but they are sticking right to the Chilean novela that it is a remake of. The people on TW who watched that one thought it was boring.
 

Reina---

In the scene where the Russian is in Yamila bar looking for Dris, he looked like he was doing a bad impression of the Terminator "Where is Sarah Conner". The scene was a bit ridiculous. I wonder if they will catch Dris? He is in another country. I kind of feel bad for him. I know he is a bad guy but is looks desperate.
Jenny Z.
 

LA REINA - MARTES

Thanks again, Hombre for all the great info.

One thing: I don't think Teresa refers to herself as a Queen Bee. It was very cute when she was trying to "manage" Patty so their partnership could go forward. She told her she was the "abeja obrera or worker bee and that Patty would be the Queen Bee enjoying the fruits of her labor.

This novela finally put a foot wrong for me. I'm not liking the plot development of cutting between Flores practically tearing his hair out with frustration and barking orders at the guys following Teresa and the interesting parts where we get to see Teresa becoming La Reina del Sur. If I never see Flores again it will be too soon.

Maybe I've forgotten it, but I thought that in the book she was completely under the radar, and was not suspected or followed.

Fátima doesn't like Patty one bit, mostly for her flirtatious way with Mohammed. But I think she also is sensing the overbearing aristocrat patronizing the poor Moroccan.
 

HEREDEROS - MARTES

Lots more smirks from Sofía. It's completely nuts that she'd bring a guy from the capitol to announce he's Paula's husband without even telling Paula he was coming.

At least this Estéban is a match for José. He stopped him in his tracks when José started ordering him around. The guy is sly like a fox. And he's not really content with just the money Sofía promised him. He really wants to marry Paula and be part owner of all he sees.

Riding around on Juan's horse really took brass cojones.

Modesto and Berta are getting closer and closer.
 

REINA -

Thanks for the correction, Novelera. I didn't have the captions on last night, and misheard the bee part. I agree about Patty's attitude, I think she said she remembered Mohammed as "a lot smaller and a lot darker".
 

REINA -- MARTES

Hombre, thank you! I really enjoyed your summary today.

Jean, I'm glad you added the description of Lalo in the book. I was thinking about that passage too although I didn't remember that Teresa had nothing to do with getting him out of prison.

Hombre -- I thought Patty said "I remember you as smaller and darker" to Fátima, not Mohamed. And she said: I'm not dark, I'm 'mora' (an Arab). The women had met when Fati visited Teresa in jail.
I don't think Patty had ever seen Mohamed before. And I think Fati knows a racist and a snob when she sees one.

Jenny Z, I also thought the Russian in Yamila scene was weak.

Random thoughts --
-Anyone else feel CloNostalgia for good old Fez when Dris was shown in the medina of Nador?

-Patty introduces the family lawyer to Teresa as "el cancerbero de mi padre". I looked up 'cancerbero' and it means 'Cerberus', in Greek mythology the three-headed dog at the gates of hell, but it is also used to mean 'gatekeeper'.

-When Patty and Teresa are shopping, Teresa says 'no uso bolsa' and Patty replies 'un buen bolso' is a good investment. Bolsa=handbag (Mex); bolso=handbag (Spain)

-Oscar says to Patty: Oh, so you're in charge of the "going out and partying" part of the business: la marcha y juerga de la empresa.

-Oscar asks Teresa what she's going to do about the police following her. She shrugs and says: "Cortar por lo sano" (Put an end to it.) (although that's not what Oleg tells her to do when she asks his advice.)

-Teresa's walk is kind of a tough girl swagger. I wonder if Patty is going to try to change that as part of the image makeover.
 

Reina - martes

Thanks very much, Hombre, Novelera, Jean, and VirtualJen, for your very interesting summaries and remarks about Tuesday's episode and the TN in general. Jean, I was especially glad that you quoted from the novel's description of the broken Lalo, pointing out the difference between the way he is portrayed there and in the telenovela. As has been the case at other times as well, the novel offers a harder, less sentimental portrayal.
(That's not to say I don't appreciate the heartbreaking look on his face in the telenovela.)

Having complained that Patty's important mentoring role was being shortchanged in the telenovela, I was amused/pleased to see her play that role in Tuesday night's episode.
 

LA REINA - MARTES

NovelaMaven, I absolutely felt a little CloNostalgia!

Very interesting the Cerberus reference. I don't even remember hearing that word. Sometimes I just let unknown words roll over me; other times they seem important enough that I write them on a scratch pad and look them up after the episode is over.

That was also a good point about Teresa's swagger. I have loved her physicality all along. I would kill for toned arms like that (but not lift weights, of course!).
 

NovelaMaven, I think you posted your message as I was writing mine, so I didn't see it until now.

Ah, CloNostalgia! Yes, I too had it, especially when they showed Bab Bou Jeloud, the main gate into the Fez medina. I half expected Sidi Ali to appear from a side alley.

And thanks very much for all the bits of Spanish. As far as I'm concerned, every bit helps.
 

REINA -

NovelaMaven, thank you for all the language explanations. I heard cancerbero, but couldn't figure out how to spell it, and let it pass. And with some of the others, I knew sort of what they meant, but seeing them again on this board is really helpful to me.
 

Reina - miércoles

Well, it looks as if Dris is up to his old tricks. He calls the police to tip them off to the two-ton shipment of cocaine that Teresa is trying to bring about that night. It's really a bit surprising that Dris does this, since he knows that two of the people who were responsible for tipping off the coast guard to the shipment Santiago was piloting have now been killed, and we see Dris terrified that he'll be next. But that doesn't stop him from trying to do in Teresa.

Teresa, however, is learning the art of intimidation from Oleg. I think it is Oleg who sends Comisario Flores targeted photos of his family, after talking on the phone with the corrupt former Comisario about how to deal with Flores. The intimidation works: Flores calls off the operation and goes home to protect his family.

One question: in the avances, we see a young man apparently kidnapped. Is the young man Mohamed? I hope not.
 

REINA - miércoles

Juanita, Thanks for the great summary of last night's show. Things just keep popping, don't they?

The way Teresa intimidates Eddie makes me think she already knows plenty about making your enemy suffer. Dris KNOWS she's gunning for him. His only hope is to use the police either to kill her or put her back in jail. He can't breathe freely as long as Teresa is at large.

I think what Yasikov is teaching her is how to avoid suffering at the hands of your enemy. And the lesson is a hard one: you can't have any friends or family. As we see when Comisario Flores backs down, loving someone makes you weak and vulnerable.

Patty continues living in her alternate universe -- and what a brilliant job Cristina Urgel is doing with this character!

-She's not ashamed to admit that 'la pinche sudaca tercera mundista' (the f--ing third-world South American) is who she wants to share her life with.
-Her idea of an apology to Fátima and Mohamed is to parody a naca mexicana waitress.
-And she mixes lechery with literary references, confusing bug-eyed Mohamed: Dulce pájaro de juventud! (Sweet Bird of Youth)

Meanwhile back in Culiacán --
-El senador Epifanio Vargas denies knowing any Teresa Mendoza but orders his minions to track her down.
-Ratas comes home to México although he's still in prison.
---
I'm not going to comment of the advances since that feels spoilerish to people who haven't gotten that far. But tonight is going to be a doozy of a show!
 

REINA -

Juanita, good point about Dris. But I guess he feels that the best defense is a good offense. First, he contacted Oscar Aviles, the contact in Madrid who had sent him Teresa, and got the name of the guy in Mexico - Don Epifanio Vargas. Of course, Don Epi denied everything, and Dris was pi**ed. But he lucked out. Even though Teresa told the 5 boat pilots they wouldn't know any names, they did know where and when, and Dris's old friend Suliman, who knows all about the hash contacts, gave Dris one of the locations (by not denying Dris's guess). But since Oleg found out from Juarez that Flores's weak point was his family, the photos (as Juanita pointed out), saved Teresa. I actually think, though that Tere herself sent the photos (this may have been in the previews).

Oleg had said to Teresa, you can't have a family (Patty, Fátima, Mohammed). They'd be your weak point. Being alone is power. She considered this very seriously.

I was also relieved that Patty, when called out as racist by Teresa, did apologize (saying that was quite rare for her), and started treating Fátima and Mohammed more decently (maybe a little TOO decently with Mo, whose hormones had him spying on Patty, who thought to herself, "I've still got it!")

Although we thought fast Eddie Álvarez, the lawyer, would be killed, Tere instead enlisted him in setting up a dummy corporation and untraceable bank accounts for her money. After he literally wet his pants in fear, she knew he wouldn't betray her again.

We also got to see Ratas out of jail, which could be a problem.

Chaib was paid the balance owed by Teresa, and says she can count on him for anything she needs in the future. This is good.

But Dris won't give up, and tonight's episode looks intense!
 

REINA -

NovelaMaven, it's funny how we posted much of the same stuff at the same time. You're probably right that Ratas wasn't released. I was just thinking it had been almost the 5 years her originally received.

And your explanation as to Patty was much more precise than what I said. Of course, she's still hopelessly prejudiced. But at least she's making a show of having changed.

I agree with you that it's not good to comment much about the previews.
 

REINA -

One more minor point. The drugs, this time, were not cocaine. They were "hash oil", and super powerful, liquid form of hashish. Two tons is quite a lot!
 

REINA

Hombre, yes, we posted almost the same stuff at the same time! Among the three of us -- you, me and Juanita -- I think we got it covered.

But let me say that if Dris is, to borrow a brilliant coinage from Carlos, "pithed" -- that ain't nothing compared to what Epifanio Vargas is probably feeling after that unwelcome call from Madrid!
 

Thanks so much, Hombre and NovelaMaven, for your terrific summaries and commentaries. I might add that I wasn't trying to offer a real summary, just a very partial one focusing on Dris and the aftermath of his attempt to undermine the drug shipment. I thought of trying to say more, but by the time I wrote my comment last night I was exhausted and decided I'd leave full summaries to the pros.

I do have one question. What's wrong with commenting on the avances? Writing ANY summary is in a sense a spoiler for someone who hasn't yet watched the episode, so how is commenting on the avances any different? It doesn't give away anything that someone who has seen the episode will know. I don't want to do anything improper, and so I'd like to understand why commenting on the avances is any more spoilerish than writing a summary of the episode. Thanks.
 

REINA -

Juanita, I personally have no problems with commenting on previews. But I believe several people on this board have indicated that they don't watch the previews, and like to be surprised. So out of respect to those people, I try not to say much about them.

Ironically, sometimes the previews are teasers, and make people think something happens which actually doesn't.
 

LA REINA - MIÉRCOLES

Wow, such excellent comments so far today! You all have left very few bones to pick.

I am SO enjoying Kate's transformation into a force to be reckoned with. It was sad, however, her expression when she realized the import of Yasikov's words. That she would have to sacrifice by giving up the friends who have added so much to her life since she came to Spain.

I've seldom wanted someone to "get his" as badly as I do Dris Larbi.

The whole scene with Teresa confronting Patty after she had Fátima serving dinner was fantastic. Actually, I was surprised she hadn't taken her out for "designer" maid's clothes.

I so agree that the "naca" waiting on tables routine was wrong on so many levels. Patty just doesn't know how to interact with the common folk, does she? She makes an exception for Teresa because Teresa is an exceptional person from whatever class.
 

Hombre, many thanks for the explanation. I hadn't realized that some people didn't watch the previews because they wanted to be surprised. I promise not to comment on the previews in the future, at least not here in the Telemundo section. I'm also watching "Eva Luna," and commenters there frequently make observations about the previews. However, I don't want to make a big issue of this. From now on [she makes the zipping the lips motion that seems no telenovela can do without :-) ]

Again, thanks for letting me know.
 

REINA - jueves

Wow. Blogger just ate my homework. I'll try again--

It seems the news of el Gato's death has been greatly exaggerated! Whoever said Teresa shot, but didn't kill, el Gato -- were you ever right! And now we see he's been walking around Sinaloa with a big ugly scar left by the bullet to the face -- and a bellyful of hatred and lust for revenge. In the "Who hates Teresa Mendoza the most?" contest, it would be hard to choose between him and Dris Larbi.
 

REINA - jueves
I saw all but the last 10 minutes of last night's episode. It's good that Gato isn't dead because that follows the book. I thought maybe they were going to substitute Ratas for Gato in something that is going to happen in the future.

I thought the juxtaposition of scenes of Patty at the party and Teresa in the boat was excellent.

And we finally meet Teo Aljarafe who plays a big part in the rest of the story. Here is how he is described in the novel:

- Spanish, thirty-five years old, and expert in tax law and financial planning... tall, dark, thin, handsome. The thick black hair combed back, a little long at the neck, framing a bony face with that large aquiline nose she had remarked on. A very classic look, Teresa decided. They way you always imagined Spaniards to be, before you met them, thin and elegent, with that air of nobility that they almost never had. -

Now Dris has gone to Mexico? I guess they have to delineate how the folks in Mexico become aware of what Teresa is up to in Spain. In the book that just happens, you don't know how and Teresa never does anything to Dris.
 

REINA -

Thanks, Jean for the info about Teo from the book. The actor seems to match the description. Since the actress who plays Patty is 178 cm (5'10") tall, and he's several inches taller, even when she's wearing heels, he seems to fit the part. When Patty hinted at a threesome with Teresa, Teo said "me da morbo" or I dig that in a "dirty" way (with a smile on his face).

I liked when Batman noticed Gato couldn't smell. He said we have "un gato sin olfato".

Teresa confirmed that she sent the pictures, although she didn't really want to hurt Flores's family, she just wanted him to take the bait (para que mordiera el anzuelo). Which he did. But when SHE received pictures, it wasn't so funny. We're not sure who sent them, but it wasn't Flores, it was probably the Turkish mafia (los Turcos), who aren't happy about the new girl in town. They mentioned the name Tarik, who may be their leader.

They (or someone) have kidnapped Mohammed, despite Teresa's precautions and plans to move Fatima and Mo away for their own safety (Mo thought it was because he spied on Patty).

Teresa was so happy when she got the money (and a new car) from Oleg. But now one of her pilots is in custody, she received the pictures, and Mohammed was kidnapped. Plus the Mexican connection looks ominous. This show continues to make it hard for me to sleep, it's so fast moving and full of peril.
 

LA REINA - JUEVES

Thanks Jean, Hombre and NovelaMaven for your excellent comments on last night's very exciting episode.

One thing I've been wondering, and maybe I just missed it. Teresa has been working on either citizenship or work permits for others, but I don't remember her ever regularizing her own status in Spain. I remember the evil police cousin of Alí was going to have her deported for the planted drugs. But when she was arrested after the boat accident, they never considered deportation. Did Chaib arrange papeles for Teresa?

Maybe it's just my memory, but it doesn't seem like a year since the jig was up with Juarez. But they showed him being released last night.

The exchange between Batman and Epifanio was kind of funny. I gathered that mordiendo alfombras is some kind of reference to being a lesbian.

I need to do a better job of describing what's happening when I hear an idiom or unfamiliar phrase. I wrote down two, but can't exactly remember the context. They were madriza which means a beating or beat down and estar aquí de gorra which means getting something for free or sponging.

Gato is not the only creature with nine lives. Dris Larbi keeps escaping the long arm of the Russian mob.

Flores is kind of reminding me of Inspector Javert from Les Misérables.
 

Reina - jueves

Muchas gracias NovelaMaven, Jean, Hombre, and Novelera, for your interesting and helpful remarks about this episode. And special thanks to Hombre and Novelera for including some Spanish.

NovelaMaven, I think I'll claim credit for saying that I thought Gato was shot but not killed. I know I was thinking that, and I think I managed to get my thoughts down on...hmmm, I was going to say paper, but this clearly isn't paper.

Jean, I liked your point about the juxtaposed scenes of Patty at the party and Teresa on the boat. Also, IIRC, we were introduced to Teo back at the party Patty threw at her parents' estate in Jerez. I recall Teresa eyeing him and Teo eyeing her. And I think they were eventually introduced by Patty.

BTW, there's a line in the novel that may shed some light on the affinity Teresa feels for Oleg: "There was good chemistry between her and the big, quiet Russian, who looked at work, money, life, and death with a dispassionate Slavic fatality that reminded her of certain men from northern Mexico."
 

REINA: In the book, Teresa could claim Spanish citizenship through her father.

"This was her destiny, but it could have been any other when, newly arrived in Madrid with a room in a pensión near the Plaza de Atocha, her only luggage a gym bag, she had a meeting with the contact to whom Epifanio Vargas had sent her. To her disappointment, there was nothing for her in Madrid in the way of a job. If she wanted someplace out of the way, as far as possible from any potentially unpleasant encounters, and also a job to justify her residency until the papers establishing her dual nationality came through - the Spanish father whom she'd barely known was going to be some use to her for the first time - she had to make one more trip [to Melilla].

Yes, Teresa met Teo Aljarafe at the party at Patty's house in the book. I haven't seen that episode yet so I wasn't sure that they had included it.
 

REINA -- jueves

Thanks Hombre, Jean and Novelera for your comments and bits of language explanations. They add tremendously to my pleasure in this show.

Pues, Juanita, en todo caso, tienes la boca llena de razón:)

I liked the line you quoted about the similarity between Oleg and "certain men from northern Mexico". But I was struck by a line in the show -- Oleg reminds Teresa: En este negocio sólo tienes enemigos. (In this business you only have enemies/ all you have are enemies, ie you have no friends)

The Mexicans, as ruthless as they are, have shown a kind of sentimentality about certain things (such as Don Epifanio sticking his neck out for the worthless Ratas because he's family); and an 'honor among thieves mentality' (such as Pote's feeling that it was ok to kill Teresa cleanly, but not ok for Gato to terrorize and rape her -- el Güero may have screwed up, but "he was one of us" and his woman deserved 'respect' if not life.)

I doubt that Oleg Yasikov will try to make these Jesuitical distinctions. Teresa is discovering that she has signed on for something even more cold-blooded than what she left in Sinaloa. In this world, almost everyone is your enemy. You may have a few allies but you surely have no friends.

As a few people have remarked, the series differs from the book in showing the post-Güero Teresa making friends and getting close to other women. Maybe the dramatic point was to make her need to sacrifice those friendships especially gut-wrenching.
 

REINA- As brutal as Oleg and the guys in Sinaloa are portrayed in the book, it was published in 2002 and Pérez-Reverte has said in interviews that it does not in any way represent the current situation in Mexico especially, which is much, much more violent.
 

REINA

Jean, excellent point about the difference between then and now. I'm just talking about a contrast written into the show -- although I doubt that Russia has the equivalent of narcocorridos playing on the radio (Though what do I know? Maybe after a few shots of Stoly, they like to romanticize their monsters too..)
 

LA REINA - JUEVES

Thanks, Jean, for the citizenship explanation. It's somewhat interesting that in the TN adaptation of the novel she gets arrested for drugs planted in her room. She then has to bed down with el asqueroso de Cáceres to avoid deportation and almost certain death. In order to insert these dramatic events into the TN, they had to overlook the fact that her status was either already legal or on the way there at the same point in the book (when she is Dris' accountant).

I also liked the alternate scenes of Patty the Party Girl and Teresa working side by side with her pilots. I also noticed what a good boss she is. The guys are calling her jefa and seem very pleased to be working with her. I'm very nervous about how things will work out with the guy they picked up (Mario?). I also think Flores may have violated his rights by taking him in. He had a search order, but it's not illegal to have a bag of money in your apartment.
 

REINA

NovelaMaven, I really liked your discussion of the difference between the violent but sentimental Mexican narcotraficantes that Teresa had known and the much more ruthless Russians. It's also the case, as Jean has noted, that according to Pérez-Reverte, even in Mexico the level of violence and anarchy is much higher today than in 2002 when the novel was published. I think Jean and I read some of the same interviews with Pérez-Reverte, where he said he wanted the telenovela to reflect today's reality. I think that may be one reasons that characters like Vargas's nephew Ratas were added.
 

LA REINA/FRIDAY
Thanks everyone for the wonderful summaries and comments. I've been lurking, and not getting around to commenting.
I just wanted to say that I thought it was interesting that Teresa was so pleased when Oleg gave her the "gift" of a new car. It was funny, as she had just earned almost a million euros and could easily have bought her own car. It was a good way to make the character "softer."

I think her relationship with Oleg is very interesting. He is a strong mentor. He likes her, but more importantly respects her. He acts more like a teacher than a protector. That is why he keeps giving her "tips" that go beyond the business specifics and open her eyes to the real picture. I get the feeling that he is attracted to her as well. I haven't read the book, and would be surpised if he betrays her...even though he has made it clear that anything in their line of work is a possibility. I am interested to see how their relationship plays out.

What makes REINA so special is that we have a main character who has interesting and intense relationships with both men and women--always on her own terms.

One more thought...I do so appreciate the fact that they never use background music to rev up our emotions as they do (or try to do) in most telenovelas and old Hollywood movies.
 

REINA -- jueves

NJ Sue -- nice observations! I also appreciate the (usually) restrained use of music. It's quite different from the typical telenovela that quite literally tries to orchestrate our emotional responses.

I also noticed how pleased Teresa was with the car, but your insight took it a step further. That's the kind of detail that respects the viewer to make inferences about character. (And in my opinion, it makes watching this show almost as engaging as reading a good book!)
 

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