Saturday, May 21, 2011

El Mundo de Telemundo, Week of May 23, 2011: Discuss Amongst Yourselves

¡Hóla a todos! Thanks for all the great comments and recap-ettes.

AURORA- Gran finale. I'll leave that to Urban Anthropologist. I tuned in a few times and it looked pretty conventional to me but then I have never watched the show.

REINA- One full week left and then the gran finale on Monday. Super episode last night.
Ratas really has cleaned up his act. The old Ratas never could have pulled off the assassination of the presidential candidate or had the discussion afterwards with Don Epifanio where although nothing was said outright, it was clear that DE was perfectly aware of what Ratas had done.
"Rey muerto, rey puesto," says Ratas, "the king is dead, long live the king."

Teo tells Teresa that Patty's death has a positive side. She asks him what that would be. He says that now she is completely blindada 'armored' and no one can infiltrate her organization. Not really the best moment to say something like that even if it were true and Teresa tells him to shut up or she'll kill him.

She goes out on her yacht.

DE is chosen as the next presidential candidate! Ratas and his mother are excited; Willy is gobsmacked.

Oleg summons Teo and tells him that Juarez died from a bullet, not a heart attack. He asks where Teo was when Juarez died but Teo refuses to answer.

Teresa tells her top staff, Dr. Ramos, Conejo (Marcela), Alberto and Teo about Verónica. They all deny having anything to do with her. Teresa says that if any of them betrayed her, she will kill them.

The American Ambassador to Spain comes to see Willy. Flores tells them that he thinks that he has enough evidence to open a judicial proceeding against Teresa. Willy tells him to wait on that.

Teresa asks Teo if he has a lover. He doesn't answer the question but goes off on Oleg from whom he assumes that Teresa got the information. He says that Oleg loves Teresa and is just trying to break them up. He denies having a lover.

Willy comes to Teresa's office and tells her that his visit has nothing to do with her activities in Spain. It has to do with her past and with her country, Mexico. Willy tells her that Guero was a DEA agent and that was why he was killed. "Cuentame algo que no la sepa," Tell me something I don't know, replies Teresa.

Meanwhile, Oleg gets some information that presumably confirms his suspicions about Teo.

HEREDEROS-
Some things have happened. Now everyone but Rosa and Miguel know that Julieta has cancer. But Paula is still around and the only thing that seems to have changed at La Arboleda is that Juan no longer keeps asking what is going on with Julieta.

Jose is doing evil to everyone but his threats prevent anyone from doing anything about it. Lupe overheard Jose and Paula talking about their financial arrangement but he had sent guys to beat up Lupe's father to keep her quiet.

The custody battle for Simon is the most boring story ever! How many times will Beatriz beg Jose not to try and get custody of the kid and how many times will Jose tell her that the kid is a delMonte and should grow up with him. I've lost count.

Emilio a/k/a Pablo is hanging around trying to find out who was behind his kidnapping. Paula confesses to him that she might not be Emilio's daughter.

Rosario still won't put out for Lucas and now we find out that she was raped. Of course, she can't tell Lucas this.

That was about it. Now over to you.

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Comments:
Reina - viernes

Great recap, Jean. You covered all the major points so clearly and concisely. I don't know how you do it.

Though Teo still hasn't been outed, Teresa clearly has her suspicions, and Oleg may have some evidence. I can't imagine what that big envelope he paid for contains, but after he looks at the contents, he says something like "it has to be him," which I assume means Teo. Even Pote may have some evidence, since he was near Teo when Teo was making a phone call to Flores. Teo saw Pote toward the end of the conversation and pretended he was talking business with some lawyer, but it's possible that Pote overheard some of the earlier part of the conversation. BTW, I enjoyed the exchange that followed between Pote and Teo. Teo asks him "Why are you looking at me with that face?" and Pote replies "Because I don't have any other, señor."

I confess that I enjoyed the frustrated look on Flores' face when he thinks he finally has enough evidence to bring an indictment against Teresa and Willy rains on his parade. Willy and the American (ambassador?) want Teresa to return to Mexico to testify against Don Epifanio in order to prevent him from becoming president of Mexico. I loved it when Willy tells Teresa that el Güero was working for the DEA, and Teresa calmly replies, "Tell me something I don't already know." I remember how surprised I was when I came to that statement in the book. For that reason, Teresa's saying it in the telenovela last night didn't have quite the impact on me that it would have had I not known it was coming. What did surprise me was Willy's saying that he, Willy, was the one who called Teresa to tell her that el Güero was dead. Was that in the book? I don't remember it. It makes sense, and it gains power from the much enlarged role that Willy plays in the telenovela.

One other thing I thought about last night was Teresa's continuing to smoke and drink even though she's pregnant. Of course, lots of pregnant women did this, especially in the past when it wasn't known that such behavior could harm the fetus, and I would guess that most gave birth to normal, healthy babies. Still, given current medical opinion, I took note of Teresa's behavior more than I might have years ago.

Finally, thanks for the Spanish, especially your explanation of "blindada." I wrote it down as a word to look up, but by the time I consulted my dictionary, I had forgotten and context and had no idea what "armor-plated" had to do with anything.

Oh, one more thing. Is it really the case that there will be a grand finale a week from Monday? I had feared that the telenovela would end this coming Friday.
 

HEREDEROS -

I don't watch this show too much, but since it's right before La Reina, I often see some of it. Last night, Jose had guys beat up Eleuterio. The consequences for Jose? None. Months ago, Ephraim had guys beat up Jose. The consequences? Ephraim in jail. I guess money talks.
 

Reina:

Thanks for the recap, Jean. As much as I hate Teo, I think the actor is doing a good job of portraying a lying character who just barely has it under control. Even though Teresa has lots of little suspicions, nothing really points conclusively to Teo (yet). But it's just a matter of time, as either the financial finaglings will come out, or maybe Willy will say something, as part of his attempt to get Teresa to help with the Mexico situation (which he rightly considers more important than Teresa's drug activities).

BTW, about a month ago, I was saying that Willy was looking at the picture of Guero as if it were his son. We now know that Willy's son died in a drug operation. Am I crazy to suggest that Guero could have been his son?! (If it was in the book, don't tell me).
 

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
 

Thanks, Jean! Juanita is right -- your flair for communicating a lot in just a few words is impressive!

Juanita, like you I knew the big reveal was coming (Teresa's "Tell me something I don't already know!") so I wasn't exactly startled by it. Still, the scene WAS masterful.

As for Teresa's continued drinking (and smoking) during pregnancy -- I was bothered by that in the book too. On the current Uni novela, "Triunfo del amor", one of the characters is shown drinking heavily and abusing 'sedantes' all through her pregnancy. She has a weirdly complicated delivery (don't ask)and the baby is 'delicado' at first but ultimately seems unaffected by his mother's prenatal drugging. Apparently fetal alcohol syndrome isn't the PSA flavor of the day -- although maybe it should be.

Hombre, I agree that the actor portraying Teo ("as a lying character who barely has it under control") is persuasive. But I had a hard time believing in him as charming and seductive when he was supposed to be those things.
 

Reina

Hombre, I don't think that el Güero was Willy's son. IIRC, Willy told Veronica that his son died in a DEA raid on young narcotraficantes. That's not the way el Güero died.

As far as I can remember, nothing is said about this in the book. Indeed, in the book, Willy has a much smaller role and doesn't even enter into the picture until near the end, when he and another person come to see Teresa about returning to Mexico to testify against Epifanio (in other words, not until the scene we saw last night).
 

LA REINA - VIERNES

Thanks, Jean. That was a great concise description of Friday's episode.

The actor playing Ratas is really fantastic and gets some great lines. When telling his "wink-wink, nod-nod" story to Don Epifanio, he says: Yo vi que sacó el fuego y luego luego saque el mío y ¡Pun! yo volé la choya al baboso ese. I'm pretty sure una choya is a kind of cactus and probably slang for someone's head, although I could not find a clear defnition.

When Ratas heard officially that his "pops" was going to run for President, he jumped up and down with his mother, saying: Nos vamos para Los Pinos. Los Pinos is the official residence/office of the President of Mexico in DF.

I also loved the interaction between Pote and Teo when he tells him he's looking at him with the only face he has.

I think it was Juanita who said that the actor playing Willy Rangel had made her forget about The Chump. I agree. He was great last night, especially when in the meeting with Teresa and the Ambassador. ¡Resulta que lo sabías, referring to Teresa knowing that El Güero was DEA. And ¡Leiste la pinche agenda!.

I loved the closeup of Oleg after he realized the topo was Teo. His eyes actually glittered!

It appears that insiders at the US State Department and the DEA know all about Don Epifanio's prior narco activities and plan to pull out all the stops so that he doesn't become President of México.
 

Loved the Spanish phrases you put in, Novelera. The cactus is spelled Cholla. From a random website:


Cholla pronounced cho-ya is a Spanish word that means joints or jointed. There are nine different species of Cholla in the Tucson Basin. Another name for Cholla is Jumping Cactus, because of the disconcerting habit of coming unjointed easily. If you touch even one spine it is enough to detach a joint, then when you move more joints become lodged in your skin. To make matters worse, the spines are barbed and therefore difficult to remove. We desert rats carry a comb with us. Remove the spines by sticking the comb under the cactus and flipping it away. The trick is to not flip it back into your skin. The next step is to take a pair of pliers and remove the remaining barbs. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

My grandfather had a fishing cabin in a place called Cholla Bay, near Puerto Peñasco in the state of Sonora on the Gulf of California. I am very familiar with that cactus.

As we have noted, the DEA should have very little interest in a European drug operation. But having a corrupt drug-guy killer become President of Mexico, that would be a problem for the US.
 

Reina

I have been unable to watch most of the episodes this week thanks to a new job, so it's great to come here to catch up.
I just had to pipe in and say that Sue's comment yesterday about Teresa drinking tequila made me crack up because it's Kate del Castillo. Back when she was on La Mentira, one of the jokes was that the writers seemed to have forgotten that her character was pregnant and kept chugging the stuff down. It really was quite funny how often she and Guy Ecker would have drinks while expecting a baby.

I hope to be able to catch up before this great show comes to an end!

-S
 

AURORA – Viernes 5/20/11 Finale Part 1 of 3

Which leaves most viewers shaking their heads

For those who remember the premiere episode, this is shown in the same non-linear style.

We open with a sky image and a voiceover: This is not an image of heaven, but of eternal life. We now see Martin in the cryonics chamber in such tight boy-shorts as leave little to the imagination . My name is Martin Lobos. I'm neither dead and buried nor were my ashes scattered over the sea. I'm in a capsule, frozen at 126 degrees below zero. Yes, I'm frozen.

Street scene opening, as usual, but the crowd and traffic move backwards.

We're back at the amusement park near the carousel:

Martin (shouting) He's killed them! He's killed Vickie and our son!
Lorenzo: Calm down, calm down.
M: I heard the shots. He said I would hear the sounds of death
L: It can't be. Surely it's one of Ernesto's tricks.
M: It can't be, it can't be! He killed them!


M (Voiceover with capsule image): I have always chosen life, love, and the fight. But sometimes the strength leaves you. For some that disappears in smoke. Therefore, one has to decide what to do. You have to say goodbye. You accept failure and I'm here with the words “Fin a tiempo”.

Street crowd moves strangely, like in a silent movie.

We're back in the cryonics lab with Gustavo and Lorenzo.

L: I can't believe that Martin's gone. I've been asking myself these past months why all this pain. People abandon me. First Aurora, now my son. Why all this pain? You know what's worse? Finding the answer.
G: I understand you better than anyone, Lorenzo. I know how it feels to have a child in danger and be unable to do anything.
L: One day I forbade you to see Aurorita. I hope someday you can bring my son back.
G: I will dedicate my life to it.
L: I need my son to return. He was frozen months ago. That sicko Ernesto forced him into the most drastic decision of his life.

Street crowd moves backwards.

Angela is watching something on her computer. Ernesto had taken a video of his last phone call, including the shooting of Vickie and the baby and put it on the internet. She cries as Lorenzo walks in. Martin is looking at this and he freaks. Vanessa, in the company of Catalina and Federico, sees it, screams, slams the laptop shut and cries. Satanic choral music.

Vanessa cries out in disbelief. Federico curses Ernesto. Blanca starts crying, Cesar asks “Who could ever do such a horrible thing?”
 

AURORA – Viernes 5/20/11 Finale Part 2 of 3

Martin is in a room in the clinic. The images and sounds repeat in his head. He writes:

I, Martin Lobos, write that of my own free will I have decided to end my life. I apologise to my father, my siblings, and everyone who loved me. I can't find a reason go on breathing without Vickie, without my son. Not after seeing Ernesto Podesta kill them. The love we have doesn't save us or help the pain of not having them. Nothing can stop the pain I'm feeling. I will look for heaven and eternal life.

Angela is at the desk, crying. Lorenzo keeps looking at the image, saying “It can't be, it can't be. Wait! Look; they're not dead. Vickie's breathing.” He takes out his phone. However, at the same moment Martin is taking poison.

Martin's cell phone takes Lorenzo's message “Martin, they're alive! It was a trick!” but he can't hear it.

Martin swallows the poison and remembers the happy moments with Vickie as he dies. Gustavo and Dr W enter and find him. Gustavo kneels and says “There are no vital signs!”

As Martin is taken out on a gurney Natalia is saying “No puede ser! Why did you do it, son? Why?” Elisabeth – in a tone that makes her sound insane all over again – says “Just like Romeo and Juliet. A great love destined to turn into tragedy. Love like that can't exist. It never does.”

Natalia says nothing but we know she wants to kill her.

In the lab Gustavo, Dr W, and the rest of the team put Martin on ice. With his hair slicked back he looks older, like the image of a dead saint. Street crowd in FF.

We're back in the capsule chamber with Gustavo and Lorenzo. Gustavo explains that they may have just found the antidote to the poison that killed Martin. However, the only way to know if it will work is to try it on him. It has a 90% chance of success. If it doesn't succeed Martin will be definitively dead. He needs Lorenzo's permission.

Crowd and traffic move backwards again.

Lorenzo and the others talk about finding Ernesto. The police are looking but Lorenzo believes he might be hiding in a place they played as kids. Vanessa can't take any more; Federico tells her to calm down. Lorenzo, Cesar, and Federico prepare to go. Lorenzo tells Catalina she can't go with them. Natalia enters, telling them that Elisabeth was forced into a car in front of the clinic; it looks as though she has been kidnapped. They conclude it must have been Ernesto.

Por supuesto. He wants Elisabeth to fix his face so he can be as he was. She refuses and tells him he's crazy. Lorenzo, Cesar, and Federico enter, guns aimed at Ernesto. He grabs Elizabeth, threatening to kill her. Finally he shoves her toward Cesar and shoots her. Lorenzo and Federico manage to knock his gun out of his hand and hold him at gunpoint as Cesar catches Elisabeth. She's definitely a goner.

We see Lorenzo and Angela discussing the decision he must make. Street scene backwards again.

Back in the “cave,” Elizabeth says her apologies to Cesar and dies. Ernesto sarcastically says “What a shame” and Lorenzo tells him “Now you have to die.” Ernesto taunts him with how he can't do it because “You're not a killer like me. I killed your brother and your son. With pleasure.”

Catalina walks in aiming like a pro, and shoots Ernesto. “That's for Vickie”. She fires again. “That's for my great-grandson.” Third shot. “That is for Martin.” Vanessa is behind her. Martincito cries and they all run into the next room. Lorenzo takes the baby while Vanessa tries to get Vickie to calm down. She's going on about how this was like the worst horror movie and repeatedly asks why Martin isn't with them. Vanessa tells her to calm down, stroking her hair. When Vickie stops yelling she tells her “Martin committed suicide.” Vickie screams Martin's name repeatedly as she collapses.
 

AURORA – Viernes 5/20/11 Finale Part 3 of 3


After the commercial break the street scene becomes normal. A Telemundo newscaster talks about today being the day Martin Lobos will be reanimated. Gustavo and Dr W open the capsule. Vickie comes in, heavily pregnant. They didn't want her to be there. She insists and they cave. In the corridor Angela and Lorenzo wait. Blanca and Cesar arrive and Blanca is still put out over Angela. Lorenzo tells her he's had enough of her disrespect of their relationship. Finally Angela tells her that people get second chances for a reason. She didn't want to fall in love with Lorenzo, but it happened. Finally Blanca starts to cry and it looks like she will be OK with this.

In the lab Gustavo and Dr Williams begin defrosting Martin. Vickie has a contraction and is escorted out. Blanca and Lorenzo make up.

Vickie is in labor; Vanessa enters in scrubs to help. We cut back and forth between this and Martin's reanimation. Martin opens his eyes as his baby girl is born. The doctor shows the baby to Vickie and she collapses. Ay dios mio!

But in the next scene she regains consciousness, looking way too rested for someone who just had natural childbirth. She starts calling out “Where is my baby? Where is Martin?” As she starts to get up Martin enters, respectably dressed, carrying their daughter. Love talk, besos.

Cesar wakes Blanca up; she's had a good dream. Cesar feeds her chocolates and they get busy.

Lorenzo and Angela are dressed up for something. However, when she tells him she loves him he kisses her but doesn't respond verbally. This has apparently been the norm so she says to him that every silence is like a dagger. If he can't love her there is no point because love can't be put on ice. She backs off.

Lorenzo goes stag to the double wedding (Natalia and Gustavo, Vanessa and Federico). He tells Martin that he and Angela are over. Clara is there with Gabriel, Catalina with the Italian gentleman from the last episode, and Nina came up for the wedding. She lives with Pasion and Christian. The two brides are both in white (Vanessa in a mermaid dress, Natalia in a strapless one) and the two couples exchange some creative pre-vows, all of which include words like “eternamente” and “siempre”. This is intercut with Angela packing a suitcase, leaving a note for Lorenzo, and leaving.

After the commercial break Martin visits Angela to talk about Lorenzo. She responds with “El me quiere pero no me ama.” and she can't settle for halfway. Vickie is back on stage, but not in the musical about Aurora. She's in a new musical based on Romeo and Juliet. Aurora is finally laid to rest.

Lorenzo is holding Aurorita as they watch a video of Aurora. The little girl starts saying “I want my mama.”

In the theatre female dancers in white floaty gowns reminiscent of Isadora Duncan dance. Vickie is among them. Federico approaches Martin in the wings telling him “Bad news. Romeo can't go on. Can you step in?”

Angela arrives and sits next to Lorenzo, who is there with Blanca and Cesar. When Martin takes the stage Blanca has a sense of foreboding. Martin and Vickie dance their pas de deux and Angela collapses.

Lorenzo is praying to Aurora to not allow Angela to die. It suddenly begins to rain. Martin comes out to get Lorenzo into the building. It sounds urgent.

Años despues... (but not that many)

Everyone is in the park; there are balloons everywhere. Angela is alive and well. Love talk, Angela and Lorenzo. It is Aurorita's fifth birthday. Blanca puts the cake on the table and lights the candles. Aurorita makes her wish: I want to be just like my mama. I want to be Sleeping Beauty.

She blows out the candles, everyone applauds, each couple kisses.

Fin. Por fin.
 

AURORA – Final Remarks

This had a lot of promise and potential. It had a science-fiction premise, interesting characters to develop, and an appealing cast, including two dogs. It started to go seriously wrong when Elisabeth became a serial killer and started messing with Aurora's head. Either of these would have been acceptable; both was excess.

Beyond that there was an excess of excess, most of which was not well thought-out. This led to some serious continuity issues including – but no limited to – Martin's sudden inheritance. Nothing about that made any sense in view of Lorenzo's previous comments about his ex and nothing about what happened to her after she walked out on him made any sense either.

Once Rebecca arrived everything fell like dominoes. Right behind her was Catalina The Soulless, devoid of all human feeling and ethics, with a collection of gangster minions. Her personality went a long way to explaining Vanessa's own twisted emotions but could never have been reformed.

Mandatory forgiveness is a novela cliché I could seriously do without because it isn't humanly realistic. Some of these characters would have to be saints in view of their ability to forgive the most egregious sins of these villains:

-- Elisabeth kills at least 4 people and tries for several more
-- Federico slanders Aurora severely and almost kills Cesar
-- Vanessa and Natalia participate in the slander of Aurora

We won't even discuss Cesar kidnapping Blanca in the beginning.

The relationships in this series are far more convoluted than in any other novela I can remember. Particularly disturbing are the cross-generational relationships: In what world would Natalia not be going batsh!t crazy at her daughter getting involved with the former suitor of her old friend and later see this guy marrying her other best friend? Nina and Victoria are best friends in school and Nina doesn't flip out completely at the prospect of Victoria getting involved with her father? Aurora herself should have had more issues than she did about her father and Natalia, considering that she was only 20 years old for all practical purposes.

It also made no sense that Nina would have the hots for Martin when they grew up as brother and sister no matter how hot he is.

This story could have dealt with more science-fiction issues such as the effects of cryonics, ethical issues over whether this is even a good idea, and possible government interference in the entire process. None of this was even touched upon. However, those things don't involve much emotion.

Vanessa's first husband is still on ice. Who forgot that?

How on earth did Ernesto escape from prison and later fake his death in prison? Once more, with feeling: Trials are conducted in English in New York.

Finally, there is no good reason this story should have continued much beyond Aurora's death. She was named for a fictional princess and she died like a real one with Lorenzo chewing out the media for their role in her death. If this series wasn't doing well in the ratings, they should have wrapped things up at this point.
 

Aurora

I have to say that Aurora was such a major disappointment. I agree that the telenovela had so much potential in the beginning, but most of the plots in the telenovela were bad (that's the only word I can think of). And I think killing off Aurora made things worst. I have never seen a telenovela where they killed off the main protagonista. Of crying out loud the telenovela is in her name. Such a disappointment.
 

REINA; VIERNES
Thanks for the succint recap, Jean.

I'm only on page 64 of the book, and so it came as quite a shock to me that El Guerro was a DEA agent. And more than that, that Teresa knew. When Willy asked her how long she'd known, she said something like "12 years and 3 months." (I dont have a DVR, so Im not exactly sure, but it was kind of funny. Understanding that Guerro was one of Willy's agents made the beginning of the novela clearer (why he let Teresa get away)and also explains the mixed messages re his feelings about Teresa. Didn't he say that he cared for Guerro in the way he cared for Veronica?

Re Teo: He is too uncool for Teresa not to begin to suspect him. I had the feeling that the papers Oleg looked through were the ones that Veronica gave to Flores and Willy. So Oleg will know that Teo has been cheating Teresa, and will figure out that when the police confronted Teo, he bought his way out by ratting on Teresa.

Will be sorry when this is over.
 

AURORA -- General

Since last night I've been wondering whether anyone will try to do a sci-fi-themed novela again. Ironically, just as I was posting the recap the first IMDB review appeared panning the series. It mentioned that this is a remake of a Japanese series.

The lack of emotion (apart from naked fear) in sci-fi doesn't make it an automatic choice for a novela. That may have been the issue as to why they pulled out all the stops on the cliches of relationships.
 

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Mi Corazon Insiste:

I am going to be watching this novela, at least at first. We'll see how it goes. Why? The two female stars are Carmen Villalobos, who was incredible as the lead in Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso, one of my favorite novelas of all time, and Ana Leyevska, who showed us in El Fantasma de Elena that she can be a delicious, delightful villain (after being such a goodie two shoes in Querida Enemiga!).
 

Mi Corazon Insiste

I'm also going to watch it because I liked Jencarlos very much in Más Sabe el Diablo.

I haven't watched a complete novela with Carmen Villalobos in it, but I did see bits and pieces of Niños Ricos Pobres Padres (if I have the name right)) and she seems like a very talented young actor.
 

Mi Corazón Insiste - Lunes

Now THAT was a fun gran estreno! This show is packed with actors from Perro Amor and El Fantasma de Elena, many of whom are my favorites. Some of the ladies may be happy to have seen that young blond guy who played Michel in Fantasma. I especially like Elluz Peraza (sp?), who plays Andres' mother, Laura. She's an amazing actress, always adding something to her character. And Angelica Maria (b. 1944) is very spunky as Chabela, the truck driving aunt of Lola, the heroine.

In the very first episode, we had all sorts of fun telenovela cliches, such as rich boy/poor girl, and his parents will do anything to stop the marriage. Andres and Lola sped off on HER motorcycle to get married by Elvis in Las Vegas, only to be stopped just before she says I do.

Then, after she sneaks out of the house to get a salamander tatoo on her shoulder, Andres' evil dad sent two guys to "teach her a lesson". She ends up defending herself, killing one of the punks, and gets 10 years in jail. Although she loves Andres, Lola pretends not to, so he won't "ruin his bright future":)

But just as he's about to marry the evil Devorita (maybe Deborita), played by Ana Layevska, he has a bachelor party in a bar, and of course, Lola (who got released from jail after a few years), is working in that bar!

Let's not forget that Devorita is having sex with her novio's Dad!

Yes, it's gonna be a lot of fun.
 

REINA - Lunes

Willy and the ambassador lay out the deal to Teresa: Go to Mexico and testify against Epifanio Vargas, and you get total immunity. If not, the Spanish authorities have all sorts of charges ready for you. Teresa has one week to decide. Although she initially thinks Don Epi was good, Willy points out a number of things which should make her fear Don Epi.

As well she should. Don Epi promotes Ratas to his right hand man, snubbing Batman, who now has to be Ratas's whipping boy. The plan is to get Teresa to come to Mexico to celebrate Don Epi's career, then at the airport give her a "warm" welcome, meaning burn her to a crisp!

There's a judge in Madrid, Martinez Pardo, who is in charge of the evidence against Teresa. I think Teo is going to be interviewed by him. Flores, having found out about the possible immunity, and being royally p-o'ed, is hoping this judge will lower the boom on Teresa. Flores doesn't give a hoot about Mexico, and calls Willy "selfish" for placing a country above Flores' own petty desires. Meanwhile, Oleg has figured out what the judge is doing, and is poised for some kind of action.

Conejo realizes Teresa is pregnant, and stops her from smoking and drinking. Teresa's not sure she wants to keep the baby, but Conejo wants her to.

At Patty's funeral, Teo, Ramos, Conejo and Alberto are there. Chucho the photographer is sneakily invading the privacy. Teo calls Flores, they have to meet. But Oleg and his men are watching Teo very closely!
 

REINA -

If you're having trouble posting today, you can click on Name/Url, just enter your name (if the google sign in doesn't work).
 

REINA
Thanks for the summary, Hombre. I was able to watch last night's episode. I particularly liked Batmancito's face as he dealt with the fact that Ratas was going to be HIS boss.

HEREDEROS
Some news and movement on this torpid thing. They have finished filming it. It will run to the end of June.

Paula gets dizzy and almost faints indicating, finally, that she is pregnant. It seems like months since the last time she had sex with Juan but I guess it isn't.

More tiresome stuff with Beatriz and Simon. She tries again to run with the kid but the truck she is riding in gets into an accident. No one is seriously hurt but Jose uses that as an excuse to take the the kid to La Arboleda.

Sofia is suspicious of Pablo.
 

HEREDEROS - LUNES

This novela is driving me nuts. I'd quit watching but that would mean admitting how many hours of my life I've wasted watching it!

Could Julieta BE more annoying. And whatever happened to that gutsy Paula at the beginning. Cancer or no cancer she should stop groveling to Julieta. At this point Julieta needs a stake in her heart. Die, already!

And Sofía!!! Egad I despise that woman. I have an awful feeling Pablo is going to reveal his identity and Sofía is going to reform and care for him until he croaks. Blech!

And, of course, the old TN standby of fainting when pregnant. I don't know a single pregnant woman that has ever fainted. I was VERY disappointed when they dredged that one up for La Reina. But these writers on Herederos never saw a cliché they didn't love.
 

LA REINA - LUNES

We got the revelation that Willy was the one who called Teresa in Culiacán the day of El Güero's death.

We also got a phrase from the book el rey de la pista corta, referring to El Güero, meaning the king of the short runway which is what the narcos called him for his piloting skills.

Willy to Teresa, trying to convince her Don Epifanio was NOT her good friend: Batman no tenía ni idea de que El Güero trabajaba en la DEA. A él solamente le dieran la orden de matarlo cuando estaba aterrizando porque le dijeron que El Güero estaba traficando por su cuenta y por dat escaramiento a todos.

Oleg gave some guy 500,000 Euros to look into the charges the Judge Martinez Pardo was preparing in Madrid against Teresa and against him also. He promised another 500,000 when he provided cada detalle.

Don Epifanio is surprising the heck out of me. Unless he has a plan we don't know about, he appears to be putting a lot of faith in Ratas and insulting Batman, who's always been a loyal and efficient underling. A big part of what went wrong in Spain when they tried to kill Teresa before was Ratas' fault. Also, Don E keeps telling Ratas to keep his trap shut about being his son, but Ratas can't wait to tell everyone.

I also loved the expression on Batman's face when he heard about Ratas' new rise in the ranks. His lip actually curled. The other thing I wondered about was what Ratas said to Batman: Cualquier cosa que tenga de ver con la merca la hablas conmigo. Vamos a ver de que lado masca la iguana papá. I LOVE Ratas' idioms. The expression de que lado masca la iguana refers to a person who knows it all, in this case presumably Ratas referring to himself. But I didn't think Don E put Ratas in charge of the whole drug operation. Just that he was supposed to be relaying messages. Anyone else have a different take on that?

I practically choked when Flores referred to Willy as an egotist. Talk about pots and kettles. Willy also used another expression I like: Quiero que te hagas el de la vista gorda, which means look the other way while something happens.
 

Aurora

UA, just now got to reading some of this. thanks so much for the recap. for some reason, my dvr didn't work on friday - figures.

I beg to differ from Anon (Sat May 21, 11:05:00 PM EDT). I didn't feel there was any spark b/w Aurora and Lorenzo. Somehow, Maldonado doesn't seem to be acting - I can't quite put my finger on it... she tries to emote, but can't?!?!?

anyway, glad that's done with. I was truly entertained by Vanesa, Cesar, and I think Sonya Smith is just beautiful.
 

Mi Corazón Insiste - Lunes

I'll see if Jencarlos Canela and the guy playing his brother Mauricio Henao will hold my interest in this tn. they are such gorgeous creatures.
 

Reina - lunes

Many thanks, Hombre, for yet another interesting and helpful summary.

I'm confused about Epifanio's plan re Teresa. Who is going to invite her to Mexico? Since Don Epifanio wants to keep his hands seemingly clean, he probably wouldn't want to be the one to invite her, knowing what he hopes will happen once she's on Mexican soil. But surely Ratas can't invite her, and probably not Batmancito either.

I'm also not clear what Don E's intentions are re Ratas. Not that many episodios ago, Don E. told Batmancito to do whatever was necessary to keep Ratas from doing anything that might jeopardize Don E's presidential candidacy, including shooting him. But now suddenly he's making Batmancito take orders from Ratas?? Does he want Batmancito to become so outraged at Ratas that he'll shoot him? Or has Don E had a change of heart regarding his prodigal son? I can't really believe that. Don E's facial expressions and tone of voice suggest that he's still wary of Ratas and skeptical of his supposed change. ???
 

Novelera, I didn't see your posting until after I posted mine. As always, I appreciated your including some Spanish. I was also interested to see that you, too, are a little mystified by what Don Epifanio has in mind re Ratas. Well, with only five more episodes to go, I guess we won't have to wait long to find out!
 

REINA - lunes

Thanks for the great comments so far. I can't resist remarking on the cringe-making gringo-accented but grammatically perfect Spanish of the American ambassador. They never miss a chance to stick us in the eye about the way our Spanish sounds, do they? jejeje
 

LA REINA - LUNES

Yes! NovelaMaven I had forgotten to say something about the awful accent put forth by the "Ambassador". I'd love to know if the guy really is an English speaker who said those few Spanish words or, like the character in Mañana es Para Siempre, is a native Spanish speaker, putting on a fake bad Spanish accent.

Juanita, I just have a feeling Don E is leading Ratas on for reasons of his own, but doesn't plan to have such a raving lunatic as a liability when (actually if) he wins the Presidency. His really admiring Ratas just is not in character for this supremely wily narco.
 

MI CORAZÓN INSISTE

Hombre, thanks so much for your recounting of the events in the first episode of this novela. And, also, for the capette of La Reina.

I thought Carmen Villalobos was fantastic as Lola Volcan. She and Jencarlos make a great couple.

Ana Leyevska as the blonde witch is good as well.

But I was not impressed with some of the rest of the cast. I did not believe Angelica María as the truck driver for a second. That fake "barrio" accent just sounded weird.

One thing I didn't understand. Is Jencarlos' evil grey haired parent his real father or a stepfather? The guy kept disparaging him and telling the heavy drinking mother that "her" son had misbehaved.

Anyway, the Romeo and Juliet stuff was a bit heavy handed, with evil thugs hired by the evil daddy to beat up our heroine (or perhaps rape her, who knows). And the heroine telling the hero to go away because she doesn't love him any more is awfully Univisión to me. Usually Telemundo's women have more spunk.
 

Reina - lunes

Ah, yes, the American accent. I love it--it makes my dreadful Spanish seem not half bad!

Novelera, I agree with you about Don Epifanio's feelings/plans for Ratas.
 

Corazon:

Novelera, I also wondered if Marcelo was the stepfather, but the Telemundo website seems to say he's Andrés' father. He was just using a figure of speech saying "your son." Ana Layevska's character is Débora, pronounce with a v. They even made a joke about how she "devours" people. Andrés' brother is Daniel.
 

AURORA -- General

Shallowgal, I thought some of the cast members were truly wonderful. Lisette Morelos and Pablo Azar had great chemistry and I hope they're cast together again. And it's always a pleasure to look at Eugenio Siller, especially when he has maximum exposure. ;)

Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza (Diana) has a great future as a villana. Unlike most beauty queens I think she has genuine talent.
 

If my Spanish sounded even close to the U.S. agent guy I would have given up many years ago...

That was Brutal.

Rand.
 

Corazon - Martes

A lot is made out of the fact that Lola never cries, her Aunt Chabela says she has NEVER cried, even as a child. This may not be too easy for the actress, as lots of cliche telenovela tear situations are bound to come up. It should be fun to watch her stay "strong".

We also had that old standard of the guy physically overpowering the girl, forcibly kissing her, and she melts, finally kissing him back. I'm not too sure this works in real life, but it works great on TV. I personally would never do this. Do any ladies out there think this is okay in real life, or just in novela land?

BTW, for all the people who loved Michel and Milady on Fantasma, the actress who played Milady is also going to be in this novela, as a friend of Debora, although we haven't met her yet (not a spoiler, just from the Telemundo website).
 

REINA - Martes

Things are not looking too good for Teo (yes!). He goes to Madrid and agrees to testify against Teresa, signing a paper with a judge. It'll be in a few days. But he gets spooked, and decides to leave the country for a month, instructing his housekeeper not to tell. Too bad Flores has been tailing him, and they scoop him up at the airport, telling him he has to stay (they'll protect him :), and he has to appear normal with Teresa.

This may be another problem, as Oleg's contact in the judge's office, together with photos of Teo and Flores, provide evidence for Oleg to finally tell Teresa the truth. She even guesses "The traitor is Teo". Oleg wants Teresa to do a big hashish deal involving the Rumanians, to show the Lebanese the Russians are a force to be reckoned with.

There were tons of great lines in this episode, when Teresa was scattering Patty's ashes over a cliff, when she told Oleg she was pregnant by Teo, and also with the Mexicans. Here's one line. Willy doesn't want Flores to blow the Teresa think, and says to himself "The only queen who can checkmate Vargas is the Mexicana".

Back in Mexico, Batman is going Batsh*t with the way Ratas and Don Epi are treating him. Is he going to crack? Is this actually what Don Epi wants, to have Batman and Ratas maybe take out each other, does Don Epi really value Ratas now, and doesn't care about Batman?

Finally, now that Teresa knows about Teo, how did you like that kiss? And when he says let's make love, she goes, Sure. But first, tell me about those investments. Uuuuuuy!!!
 

Hombre thank you for the recap. Continuing along some of good lines... the one I particularly like the most was when Tere said to Oleg "Me siento mas sola que nunca." Oleg responded "Es curioso pense que siempre la has estado."

Teresa "I feel loner than ever." Oleg "It is very curious, I always thought you were alone."
Another one was when Flores tells Willy that Teo gave them some more info and he's affraid. Willy responded "Ese Aljafare le das un golpe para que hable y cien para que se calle." "That Aljarafe you hit him once to talk and one hundred to stop."
 

Thanks for another helpful recapette, Hombre. You're right, there were some great lines -- I missed the chess reference so I'm glad you included it.

Sue, I also liked Oleg's reply about to Teresa when she talked about feeling more alone than ever before.

A few other lines that struck me:
When Teresa scatters Patty's ashes into the sea, she says:
Ojalá que encuentres la felicidad en algún lugar en el universo -- y cuando la encuentres, llévame contigo. (May you find happiness somewhere in the universe -- and when you do, take me with you.)

Teresa uses the refrán "No todo lo que brilla es oro" (Not all that shines is gold) when telling Oleg that someone she believed to be a friend was nothing of the kind. Once again I'm impressed by how readily these sayings are used in Spanish. It would sound really corny in English. I can't even imagine saying "All that glitters is not gold" in a conversation!
 

REINA -

I also learned a word "soso". After Teo and Teresa had that weird kiss, he said that kiss was "soso". It means tasteless or insipid, but doesn't it look a bit like our saying that kiss was so-so?
 

LA REINA - MARTES

Wow, you guys must have had your Wheaties this morning. Great recap, Hombre and fabulous comments everyone. There WERE great lines last night.

I loved the scene with Teresa and Pote when she's relaxing and escaping by working on the boat's engine. They are reminiscing about food from Sinaloa. Pote tells her: Tengo un hambre que parecen dos. Teresa tells him they'll have to settle for una tortilla de patatas, the famous Spanish omelette with potatoes served in all tapas restaurants.

Flores has big-time tunnel vision. Teo tells him Teresa's people are following him, but he insists on his flying to Madrid to meet with the judge. By the way, that judge was great. He had this total aristocratic contempt for Teo, saying he could keep the money he'd stolen.

I'll put the Spanish for the checkmate line: Flores, lo siento mucho pero la única reina que le puede dar jaque mate al Epifanio Vargas es La Mexicana.

I adore the scenes with Oleg and Teresa. They also seem to play some interesting music that sounds classical and I think is meant to sound Russian when they speak. After Oleg shows Teresa the pictures he tells her:

Una cosa aprendí en el ejercito. Territorio enemigo, peligroso, dejar bolsas a la espalda, persistencia, nucleos hostiles. Una consolidación del terreno exije eliminación de puntos de conflicto. La frase es literal, reglamentaria. Basically, you need to wipe out anyone or anything that can come back to bite you in the hindquarters later. It's actually a rule.

Pablo Flores and Teo Aljarafe are definitely running neck and neck to win "most despicable" in my book.

I LOVED the name of Vargas' political party: PAM o Partido Acción Mexicano. The most conservative of the three political parties in Mexico is PAN o Partido Acción Nacional. They're closely allied with the Catholic Church and might correspond to Republicans in the US.

Batman after seeing Vargas on screen with Ratas at his side and a bit drunk: Que mal andamos, Don Epifanio, si verdad cree que su hijo va a poder con el paquete. Que mal andamos.

Vargas seems to like Ratas plan: Le mandas invitación de tu puño y letra donde le especifiques a la morra que tan pronto tengas el poder ella puede regresar a su patria, bajo protección tuya, el jefe de la gobernatura. Porque demonios no va a creer la morrita. Vargas grins evilly at him and sayd ¡Estas pensando muy rapido, eh! Ratas responds: Hijo de tigre... Vargas: pintito. This is another way of saying de tal palo, tal astilla. Literally the cub of the tiger comes out with stripes or "a chip off the old block".

Teresa is playing Teo like a fat trout, letting him think they're still an item but asking for an accounting. Thanks, Hombre for soso. I was wondering about that one.
 

CORAZÓN - MARTES

Hombre, if Jencarlos tried to force a kiss on me, I guess I'd melt too. Some other guys I know, not so much.

I probably won't be watching much of this one this week as I have Spanish class tonight, book club tomorrow, and a dinner thing on Friday. But I'm not giving up, just saving it to watch on the weekend. However, it doesn't matter what else happens in my life, I ALWAYS watch La Reina del Sur. I'm already having withdrawal symptoms and it isn't even over!
 

REINA - martes

"I ALWAYS watch La Reina del Sur. I'm already having withdrawal symptoms and it isn't even over!"

Yes, Novelera, me too!

About "soso" -- glad you mentioned it, Hombre. It's one of those words I've looked up more than once and just can't seem to remember. Now with your hint -- soso = so so -- maybe I have a chance. I took a look at the RAE for its etymology. It's from the Latin "insulsus" and means, literally "Que no tiene sal" o "que tiene poca" and then figuratively "dicho de una persona, de una acción o de una palabra: que carece de gracia o de viveza." [Sorry. I get carried away sometimes.:)]
 

Reina - martes

Wow, what a wealth of interesting and helpful comments! Thanks so much, Hombre, Novelera, NovelaMaven, and Sue. And special thanks for all the great quotes and help with Spanish. Some of them I too noticed and enjoyed (e.g., the exchange between Teresa and Oleg about solitude and loneliness), but others went right by me the first time, such as Willie's checkmate remark.

Novelera, like you and NovelaMaven, I too am crazy about "La Reina" and am already having withdrawal symptoms. Actually, I was interested to see that PaulaH is forming a group to watch the re-run of Alborada that's about to begin at 10 pm on Telefutura (the day after "La Reina" ends on Telemundo--not an accidental timing, I think). I've never seen the uncut version. I'm hoping that perhaps TBLMOE will help me through my withdrawal pains. I'm not convinced, but it may be worth a try.

I was pleased to hear the American ambassador speaking Spanish to Teresa again last night. His accent is so dreadful that he makes me feel like a native speaker! That doesn't happen very often.
 

REINA - general

I just saw this on Latingossip.com

En su debut en la pantalla de Telemundo, Cristina conversa en exclusiva con el elenco de La Reina Del Sur incluyendo a Kate del Castillo, Iván Sánchez, Alberto Jiménez, Miguel de Miguel , y Humberto Zurita.

Cristina Presenta: La Ultima Noche con La Reina del Sur llegará a los hogares el martes, 31 de mayo a las 9pm/8c.

La novela tiene la más alta sintonía en la historia de la cadena y llega a su fin el lunes, 30 de mayo.

Que triste que ya se va a acabar…pero al menos podemos disfrutar de esta charla con la gran Cristina

So Telemundo has had the great good sense to hire Cristina and she'll be doing one of her famous post-novela shows with the cast of La Reina the day after the finale, May 31 at 9pm/8 central. I'll be there!
 

Muchas gracias, NovelaMaven. I wouldn't have known about this without your heads-up. I'll be watching, too.
 

Thanks novelamaven for the heads up regarding Christina. Is this a first where she does a show like this from another channel that's not Univision?

Novelera...great stuff regarding hijo de tigre and pintito.

Rand.
 

LA REINA; WEDNESDay
Looks like I'm the first to comment on last night's show --AND WHAT A SHOW!!! So many fabulous scenes.
1. So now we understand Willy's interest and ambivalence towards Teresa. He promised Geuro that he would take care of her if anything happened to her. El Guero made Willy swear on his son that he would do it --and after Willy did, in his usual cheeky way said something to the effect that who knows if Willy wouldn't die first. I am wondering what Veronica's replacement was brought in to do.

2. Teresa gave Teo a "chance" to prove that he hadn't betrayed her by giving him the wrong info about the shipment. Naturally, he failed the test. Although she decides to have his baby,she sends Pote to bring him to her. Pote kills Teo's guards, who have been sent by Flores, and Teresa confronts Teo,who can't talk his way out of his betrayal. When he begs her to spare him because of his "hijas," she says something like "you mean your 3 HIJOS." Wow! What a woman! The episode ends with Teresa going into the next room. We hear a gun shot. Standing behind the door while Pote shoots Teo, she looks wrecked and maybe sheds some tears. (I dont have a DVR and am writing this from memory). As a viewer, I found it hard to accept that two characters that I love would just shoot somebody in cold blood. But on the other hand, given her code and need for self-survival it seemed like the only thing she would do. You didn't get the feeling she did it in anger or for revenge. She was very clear in the meeting with her team that she would have the person who betrayed her murdered, before she was sure that it was Teo. He said to Flores at different times that if she found out, she would kill him. Unfortunately, Teo was too frightened to think and act effectively so he could escape before it came down to this final confrontation. But with Flores on his tail, he couldn't have escaped, as we saw in the airport scene. Only Teresa would have been smart enough to have come up with a way for him to escape. Too bad Teo.

3. Teresa and Oleg: Teresa tells Oleg that she knows tha Teo betrayed her, and will deal with it,and she admits that she is pregnant with Teo's baby. When she says that she has decided to have the baby, Oleg is moved, and kisses her hand. Interesting and Ironic, because he is the one who advised her that in their business it is too dangerous to be close to people and love people. He tells her something that he has said before: about how she thinks like a man and feels like a woman. I sense that he approves of that. underneath all his toughness, there is a romantic Russian soul.Wonderful moving scene. Those two are so great together. I know it can't happen, but I still wish they could wind up together.

I am really going to miss this show. Thanks Novelamaven for the ifno about Cristina. I am looking forward to it.
 

NJ Sue thank you. I agree with was a great show. Not clear on what the new DEA guy is gong to do. I thought the killing of the two cops guarding Teo and Teo was a bold move on Teresa's part. Pote could've just knock out the guys and retrieve Teo. After all those two guys were cops. Now Teo's daughters are orphans. Probably they are better off without him. It was different when she asked Oleg to kill Canabotas, the other guy I can't remember his name, and Dris. Also, when she went after the Albanians and the French. But, this was cold. I am not sorry to see Teo go at all. I was hoping he'll do the same as Eugenia.
 

REINA -- miércoles

Re Cristina -- de nada! Rand, I'm not sure this is her first show of this type post-Univisión but I have a hunch it is.

NJ Sue -- Thanks for the fine summary of last night's show. One point I might add -- Teresa's monologue on the nature of fear: the description of how she first felt that visceral terror when el güero was killed, the many times she felt numbing terror afterwards, and then the complete loss of fear. She tells Oleg she has decided to go ahead with the pregnancy because she wants to be able to feel fear again. Oleg is moved by her courage.

Sue -- I also wish Pote hadn't killed the cops guarding Teo. Very Sinaloa but a bit out of character for the Teresa the tv writers have taken pains to construct. But I suppose the idea is to leave no witnesses who could tie Teresa to the crime -- everyone KNOWS who did it but theoretically no one can PROVE it.
 

Reina - miércoles

NJ Sue, thanks for the excellent summary. ITA with what you've said about the scene between Oleg and Teresa. I too found it very moving (though I'm a sucker for almost all scenes between the two of them). I especially liked it when he kissed her hand after she told him she was planning to have the baby. You're so right--as unlikely as this may seem, under Oleg's hardboiled exterior there's a romantic Russian soul.

Thanks, too, for identifying who the agent is who comes to Willy's place. I didn't realize that he was a replacement for Veronica. I too wonder what his job will be. Certainly it will be different from hers!

Often I'm impatient with flashbacks and feel they're overused, but in the scene where Teresa describes to Oleg the fear she used to feel, I thought the use of flashbacks was VERY effective.

NovelaMaven, I missed Teresa's statement to Oleg about wanting to feel fear again. What I remember her saying to him is that she is tired of feeling empty (vacio).
 

REINA-

Great recap, NJ Sue, and great comments. I couldn't post earlier, since I was swamped at work.

I learned the word señuelo, which is a decoy. Teresa's using two shipments actually killed two birds with one stone. 1) She confirmed Teo was the mole, and 2) It put the cops off the track, and the hash shipment for Oleg worked out perfectly!

I liked when Pote said to Teo "Your guards couldn't even guard themselves."

The new agent's name is Zambrano.

Batman really got the cold shoulder from Don Epi. First he was told not to come back to the house unless called, then "leave by the back door." Hmmmm.

Teo told Teresa, let's start over. She replied it wasn't so simple. Guess not!

This show is exciting every night!
 

Corazon:

Well, our hero and heroine made up last night, and swore eternal love (after 3 episodes). Nothing will ever separate them. I guess they didn't realize they're in a telenovela.

Sofia, the sister of Laura (Andrés' drunk mother) is played by the same actress who played Lucy the Loca in Alguien Se Mira.
 

LA REINA - MIÉRCOLES

Thanks so much, NJ Sue, for your excellent description of a very exciting show indeed.

What happened to Teo was partially Sinaloa justice and, in my opinion, partially the result of Oleg's advice, learned in the Soviet military, don't leave anyone behind who can harm you in future.

It was lots of fun watching Flores gloat about how seizing another cocaine shipment would be la guinda del pastel de la Mendoza, the icing on the cake to finish off Teresa. We knew he was going to be "stamping his feet and shaking his curls", as an old friend of mine used to say to describe an unbridled rage.

I take the time to write down and post here the Spanish because I think the language in this novela is superb. Hardly a cliché anywhere.

Teresa says to Oleg:

Hace diez años cuando me mataron al Güero sentí por primera vez miedo, pero miedo de verdad -- ese frio que sube desde las entrañas por la columna vertebral y que te paraliza -- ese miedo que enchina la piel y se mete en los huesos y te congela la sangre. Hasta que un día, de la nada, simplemente deje de sentirlo y me convertí en esto que soy hoy.

Oleg: La reina del sur. Una mujer con pensamiento de hombre pero sentimiento de mujer.

Teresa: Por eso tomé la decisión de tener mi hijo porque quiero volver a sentir miedo.

Epifanio Vargas has a spy in the police that tells him Teresa will be the witness that ends his political career. Excellent reactions by Humberto Zurita, just great as the narco/candidato. He tells Ratas he has to get her before she gets a chance to testify.

And, yes, the scene where the proud and loyal Batman is told he can't just show up at Vargas' home, with the despicable Ratas giggling in the background seemed to me a foreshadowing of Batman possibly contributing to Vargas' downfall (not a spoiler at all, just a hunch).
 

NJ Sue- Thanks for the recapette. I almost watched last night's episode but I was just too sleepy. I wondered if last night's episode would be the one where Teo got his. Good riddance.

HEREDEROS- A few interesting developements. We saw the face of Rosario's rapist and it isn't anyone we know so it's not a delMonte.

A few flashbacks by Pablo seem to indicate that Juan is Emilio's biological son. Previously, we saw Emilio in flashbacks, forcibly taking a baby away from a woman, then a woman hanging herself and last night we saw Emilio leaving a woman he had been sleeping with and picking up a baby. Add to this, Pablo's oft repeated statement that he has done Juan a great wrong.

Modesto quit his job at La Arboleda to support his son.

That was about it.
 

HEREDEROS - MIÉRCOLES

Jean, you and I seem to be the only stragglers watching this novela.

I was glad to see Modesto support his son by leaving the hacienda.

Yes, it does appear that Juan is Emilio's biological son. But that must mean that Paula is the daughter of Gustavo or someone else, so Juan and Paula can end up together.

Last night, por fin, Julieta seemed normal when she talked to Paula, telling her she didn't want to be the person who would harm others. Estoy harta de locuras!

If they show one more sadomasochistic scene with Beatriz begging José to give her back her son, I think I'll start screaming. I wonder if José will survive the end of the novela or get killed off. Baddies like him usually don't make it all the way.
 

HEREDEROS- Like you, novelera, I've invested too much time in this turkey to bail and I still enjoy the eye candy.

I know many have speculated that Paula really was Emilio's daughter but Sofia only seemed to have doubts on that score when Paula found out. Before that she and Gustavo seemed to be pretty certain that Paula was Gustavo's child.

We can have a contest on which character we hate more. I would take Sofia any day over Beatriz. I can't stand her whining all the time about her zombie kid.

Killing off Jose would be a radical end for this novela where we've only had one accidental death but it would certainly be merited.
 

REINA -- miércoles

Thanks for transcribing that dialogue, Novelera. It makes an instructive constrast to a passage in the book towards the end of chapter 16. This is a description of what Teresa is feeling just before Teo's death:

...No experimentaba piedad, ni tristeza, ni temor. Sólo la misma indiferencia que sentía hacia lo que cargaba en el vientre; el deseo de acabar con aquella escena del mismo modo que quien solventa un trámite molesto. Soltando amarras, había dicho Oleg Yasikov. Y nada atrás.
 

HEREDEROS

Jean, you are so right about that kid. He's preternaturally well behaved no matter which character has hold of him. Drugged? Melinama used to joke that a kid in some novela, don't remember which, had been drugged. This kid is very cute, but I don't think we've seen him smile once. He just maintains a blank stare.

The other path to Juan and Paula's ending up together could be that they're playing games with us and the kid Emilio snatched from the crib is José or Gaspar. We know that Lucas' mother is alive, and they've said that Pedro's bio-dad (I think) was an alcoholic. So that leaves the other three. Emilio's saying how much harm he's done Juan makes it seem very, very likely that the kid he stole was Juan.
 

REINA - Jueves

We're getting near the end, the tension is high. Flores goes all out to find Teresa, since he's gotten the green light from the judge after Teo's bodyguards were found dead (and Teo's "missing"). The dumb cops burst in and destroy the residences of Alberto, Conejo and Ramos, but find nothing.

That's because Teresa is hiding out at Oleg's family house. The two of them exchange deeply felt expressions of admiration. Oleg introduces Teresa to his real treasures, his wife Julia and son Fedor. Teresa realizes she has nothing left here, and although it scares her (which she LIKES), she's going back to Mexico. She even received that "invitation" from Don Epi. She calls Willy, who comes to get her. Unfortunately, Flores was following, and Teresa has to sneak out. She'll have no trouble eluding Flores' idiot cops.

Back in Mexico, Don Epi and Ratas are plotting how to do away with Teresa when she arrives. Meanwhile, they've apparently decided to eliminate Batman, as a big SUV comes barreling after him, while he has his two little boys in the back seat!
 

Reina - jueves

Thanks, Hombre, for your excellent recap. The part of last night's episode that stands out for me was the long, very moving scene between Teresa and Oleg at his familial house. As you've said, they both express deeply felt admiration for each other. Oleg tells Teresa "You are the person I have most admired in my life," and Teresa responds with "You are the man to whom I owe the most in my life." Oleg also admits "I could have fallen crazily in love with you." He says all this shortly after his "most hidden and precious treasures," his wife and son, leave to return to England.

Speaking of his wife and son, I couldn't help but contrast the scene of Teresa's being introduced to them with the one where Teo introduces Teresa to his wife and daughters. Teresa seems genuinely happy to meet Julia and Fedor, and happy to see that Oleg has them in his life.

I was almost mesmerized by Oleg in the scene with Teresa. The actor playing him conveys so much with the slightest facial expressions.

One other thing I enjoyed about last night's episode was Flores' arrival at Oleg's house. Flores tells Oleg that he's here to find Teresa, and the quick-thinking Oleg replies sarcastically, "How original! Someone else arrived saying the same thing just a few minutes ago." And, of course, Willy appears. Rather than finding Willy's presence a liability, Oleg converts it into evidence that Teresa isn't there.

Finally, there's Epifanio, whose ego is growing by the minute. He thinks of Teresa and says to himself, "Too bad, Teresita. It was your life or mine. And no one needs you, whereas one hundred million Mexicans need me." [But it looks as if Batmancito is no longer one of them.]
 

LA REINA - JUEVES

Thanks so much, Hombre and Juanita. Both of your comments/recaps were great.

Flores reminded me of a rabid animal last night. He's got that ugly mouth that snarls all the time and his voice gets into a higher register that makes him sound hysterical.

Willy needles him a bit: Se te perdió Teresa, guey!.

The conversations between Don Epifanio and Ratas are a gold mine of Mexicanisms. Vargas is worried about Teresa. He says: pinche vieja que viene a aguarme la fiesta. This is a fairly common vulgarity. But what Vargas said later was epic: No quiero que me caiga la chahuistle. Here is what Google had to say about this one:

Dada la importancia del maíz en nuestros antepasados prehispánicos (hablando de la región que hoy conocemos como México), el hecho de que el maíz tuviera chahuistle era algo desastroso. De ahí vienen las famosas frases “ya nos cayó el chahuistle” o “ya les cayó el chahuistle”. Es decir, las frases tienen que ver con que una calamidad.

Apparently this word comes from Nahuatl and refers to a disease of the corn plant. But it's apparently often used now to describe a political fall from grace.

I also adored the scenes with Teresa and Oleg. And noted the contrast as well of the warm, affectionate greeting of Oleg's wife, Julia to that of Eugenia.

Is it possible Ratas arranged the guys trying to kill Batman por su propia cuenta and Epifanio doesn't know about it?
 

REINA: THURSDAY
I agree with all the comments, especially about how moving the scene between Oleg and Teresa was.
One time , very early on, Oleg implied that they could have had a romantic relationship, but that the timing was off. Tonight we learned why. I like this about REINA: that without hitting you on the head things eventually become clear --also Willy's relationship to Teresa vis-a-vis Guero. In the usual telenovela, they would have been beating you over the head with the foreshadowing. Also I liked the fact that Oleg, a murderer and narco, is faithful to his wife and his personal values. What an interesting character he has been.
 

HEREDEROS - MIÉRCOLES

No, novelera - not just you and Jean. I too, watch it everyday, albeit >>ff>> most of the time, and too lazy to comment.

the eye-candy's what's keeping me, and I marvel at Julieta's hair everytime. that cutie Simon is so angelic-looking. I often wonder though if he's mute. the poor little one seems like he's always about to cry when the adults are arguing.

I do hope José is redeemed somehow; don't want him to die.
 

Reina - jueves

Novelera, thanks so much for all the interesting information about Mexican slang. I got the gist of Epifanio's not wanting Teresa "aguarme la fiesta," but I didn't stand a prayer with "caiga la chahuistle." Your explanation was fascinating.

Also, I really liked your suggestion that perhaps Ratas is acting on his own to get rid of Batmancito. I can't believe I have feelings for any of those slimeballs--Ratas, Batman, and Epifanio--but I hate Ratas so much that he creates some sympathy in me for the other two, esp. for Batman, who ya le cayó el chahuistle after all his loyal service to Epifanio.

NJ Sue, I agree that "La Reina" doesn't beat us over the head the way most telenovelas do. In fact, "Reina" has made it hard for me to continue to watch the run-of-the-mill dreck. Indeed, I'm thinking of deserting "Cuando Me Enamoro" (as much as I like Silvia Navarro) for Telefutura's rebroadcast of "Alborada," which starts at 10 pm the day after "Reina" ends.
 

REINA Jueves- Thanks as usual for the recapette, Hombre. Thanks also to Novelera for illuminating the mexicanismos of the de la Vega's. I'm doing well if I can stay awake for a 10pm novela.

I enjoyed Teresa's final meeting with Oleg. The actor playing Oleg is extraordinary. I'm not sure, though, that we needed to have a wife and child produced to explain why Teresa and Oleg didn't have a sexual relationship. In fact, I think it would have been better to suggest that maybe Oleg and Teresa both realized that getting involved sexually would have destroyed the friendship that is so important to them.

Rabid animal is exactly what Flores' nasty little mouth suggests. He is despicable.

I also thought that maybe Ratas had made the decision to eliminate Batman on his own.
 

HEREDEROS jueves- Since Julieta and her doctor have given up on chemo after one treatment, I guess we won't see Julieta's amazing hair fall out.

I watched some of the Chilean novela on which Herederos is based all too faithfully on YouTube. It's nowhere near as pretty as this one. I noticed that when Julieta was treating animals, she wore a coverall and rubber boots. Our Julieta is always fashionably dressed down to her high heeled boots as she deals with farm animals.

The montage of scenes the producers thought was necessary to show the passage of 5 days was ridiculous. I've seen shorter montages to show the passage of 6 months or a year.

How long will it take for:

Modesto and Berta to realize they are in love;

Paula to realize that she is pregnant.
 

Reina - viernes

Friday's episode shows us Teresa escaping from Oleg's house (i.e., escaping from Flores and his men). I was amused to see that she was wearing boots with high spiked heels. Does this woman never learn? She knows that the police are looking for her, she's on the run, but does she wear shoes in which she can move quickly and easily? Sigh.

Before leaving for Mexico, she said goodbye individually to the Transer Naga crew: Alberto, Dr. Ramos, and Conejo. We get to see the very moving goodbye between her and Conejo. After Teresa has left, Conejo meets with Alberto and Ramos and informs Alberto that Teresa wants him to have her yacht. He's ecstatic, but he doesn't have any time to enjoy it. Flores and his men arrive at Transer Naga with an order to seize all of Teresa's property. "Adios yate," Alberto replies philosophically after they leave. However, Conejo then informs the other two that Teresa has anticipated that her property might be confiscated, and she has left them a "consolation prize": 20 million euros in cash, hidden in the center of Las Siete Gotas! If I remember correctly, that is the house Oleg gave her. (Do the police not know about this house?)

Speaking of goodbyes, as Teresa is about to board the plane that will take her and Willy to Mexico, she tells Willy that she first has to say goodbye to Pote. He appears from inside the plane and makes it clear that he is going with her. She protests that he could be killed, and he tells her that it's good to be able to choose where you die.

As Teresa is flying to Mexico, Ratas is giving instructions to a large band of thugs whom he has put together to kill Teresa, preferably as soon as she arrives. He offers $1 million in cash to whoever kills her.

Another interesting aspect of Friday's episode involves Batman. He has his two sons in the car, and he's being followed by people Ratas has hired to kill him (apparently without Epifanio's order or knowledge). There's a great scene of Batman driving with one hand and talking on the phone with the other to his wife, assuring her that all is well and that he'll have the two kids safely back home in a few minutes. Talk about bravado! But the bravado turns out to be justified: Batman manages to outmaneuver and kill his would-be assassins and brings his sons home as he promised his wife.

Batman's wife wants the family to flee, but Batman says he has to take care of things first. He's convinced that Epifanio has ordered his murder, and he tells his wife that he has to deal with that. Moreover, if Epifanio becomes president of Mexico, he'll be able to find Batman and his family no matter where they are.

Epifanio apparently did NOT order the hit on Batman, however. He tells Ratas that Batman is not a traitor and is of the old school, like Epifanio: his word is gold. Hmmm.... So it looks as if Ratas is the same loose cannon he has always been.

One thing I'm not clear about (one of many) is that Batman tracks Ratas down (all we see at first are Batman's long pointed shoes); unseen, he is about to shoot Ratas, but he overhears Ratas' conversation with Epifanio and learns that Teresa is in Culiacán. For some reason, he then decides not to shoot Ratas and leaves. I'm not sure why Teresa's being in Mexico would affect Batman's desire to kill Ratas.

This was originally longer, but apparently it was too long for the site to accept. I kept chopping away...
 

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