Caray, Caray!

Tuesday Aug 30


Pola with guaduas postman Ignacio… alejo sent letter with a wounded man, not really confident it would get to her. Asks her not to go back, things are really bad… Ignacio confirms rumors say things are not going well at all at the battlefield, communication with troops in Popayan is broken.

Cebollas battle, 1814
Alejo sees men fall around him, says its not worth it and calls for retreat. But Narino goes by him leading the last advance… they do capture the hill.

After the battle Tonito yells at his dad that he is taking this as a crusade, that he wants to die.
Caval comes to tell Narino that there are rumors some officers want to go back.

Pola convinces AA not only to fight for his own interests but also for the freedom of the country, ends up telling him about a military boyfriend fighting alongside Narino.
AA will use Domingo’s old house to store war supplies like gunpowder. He wants Pola to stay there and spy for them, even read the mail going in and out to find out news.

Narino meets with all his officers, all of them agree to move forward to Pasto, all but Alejo who seems reluctant at best. Narino does not want speeches, he calls Alejo coward and degrades him down to simple soldier. Alejo is clutching his teeth but wont protest.

AA tells his brother that he trusts Pola..

Pola helps Cata count her money she got for the house… she has to pay for Joaquin’s freedom AND for her trip so she has to be thrifty. Pola wants to go with her but Cata repeats she wants to do the trip alone.

At Guaduas, Cata and Bernarda are saying goodbye, Gertrudis keeps insulting Cata for wanting to recover her black son and thinking of going back with Juliano possibly.

At the next hill battle Alejo is very shaky. Arcos tries to uplift him but goes ahead. Arcos ends up about to be killed by a royalist soldier but Alejo sees it and saves his life… Arcos thanks him for saving his life.
A: I would not loose another brother! (they embrace briefly)
Shortly afterwards, the royalists go on retreat. Narino finds Alejo overstabbing a soldier
N: Leutenant! The man is dead!
A: I am not a leutenant! I am a simple soldier!
N: Today you showed more than enough valour! That is why I am reinstating you as leutenant of the forces of our country!
A: Don’t call me coward! Don’t do it again! I am not good for killing. I hate to see so much innocent blood spilled! But I am no coward!
N: Leutenant, calm down! The battle is over. The enemy is retreating!
A: I respect you. I admire your bravery. But don’t ask me to fight like you fight.
N: How do I fight?
A: As if you want to die!! … maybe you lost the woman you love. That you don’t care if you die but I do!! I have a woman waiting for me. A woman I want to marry and make a family with. To whom I made a blood vow… And in any way possible, I want to protect my life to be able to go back and fulfill my promise!
 

Pola gets Ignacio the post office guy to send the next mail carrier coming to town to Domingo’s house to stay there. At night she grabs the mail bag and reads the mail for any useful information.

Narino gets his officers together again. He leaves Rodriguez behind too collect the artillery the enemy left behind, and Alejo and his men to review the cannons to make sure they are usable.
Most of them go ahead to Pasto…
When they get there they are faced by men they can’t even see… Narino calls for retreat just to go back far enough to get them to safety… until the reinforcements (Rodriguez and Alejo’s men) catch up with them before they go into Pasto… Narino is aware that Pastusians are good fighters and will defend their city. Caval tells him they have very little emmu left and most guns are unusable, besides the men being exhausted. Narino sends a messenger ahead to try to get the city to surrender. Tonito volunteers…

Rodriguez is waiting, beyond dusk, which is when Narino asked him to go on. Alejo comes to tell him they are ready and have enough cannons to make enough damage. Alejo insists, but Rodriguez gets rude and says ‘we will go when I say and that’s it, Leutenant!’.
A while later Alejo has gathered most officers and comes to tell Rodriguez that they all agree they should go on to Pasto. Rodriguez uses the excuse that he believes they would go to a losing battle and he is responsible for the troops, does not want them all to die uselessly. HE claims Narino is going nuts and is obsessed with his own glory, so he is acting unsafely. Alejo says if you had said that a couple days ago I would agree, but we should go on to help our troops, even if we risk our lives… Rodriguez won’t bulge. He does not believe they are ready for fighting again.

Tonito comes back to Narino, the pasto folks want to have a council meeting the next day to decide, but Narino is not willing to wait another day.

Narino pushes forward despite the recommendations of Caval. Another battle ensues and they are loosing many men again.

Jorge Tadeo confronts Baraya asks if he really sent to get Narino to loose… he can’t believe it when Baraya won’t deny it… JT seems to be realizing Baraya is out of control too.

Narino begins to fight from the horse first, (kind of unfair since he is sweeping enemy men from the back while they fight his soldiers) then he goes to the floor and keeps on killing more men, his face shows anger and lack of control.

Previews: Narino seems to be captured. Alejo and Arcos receive some supplies seemingly sent by Pola, but he knows she must be getting help, voiceover says Alejo has a premonition…
We see Pola and Candelaria make more aguardiente.

Someone grabs Pola’s face from behind…
 

I can see the conflict in Rodriguez face... he really did not want to abandon Narino, but ambition and probably also a thirst for power, even a show-off to Narino himself for yelling at him when he killed Hasin, are temporarily blinding him.
 

Martaivett: Your recap is great. As I read it, I could see the battle scenes and the personal conflicts. Thank you.
 

Pasofino/martaivett - I don't say it often but just know that your tireless efforts are always appreciated.
 

Thanks Pasofino and Marta.

Last night I was thinking about how dominant and dominating Gertrudis was at the beginning of this show and how over time her position has dwindled to the point that she has become insignificant.

Nariño was once my hero and now he's really becoming more and more annoying.

I really hope that we're not all done with Francisco. Maybe he'll become a freedom fighter.

Carlos
 

"I really hope that we're not all done with Francisco. Maybe he'll become a freedom fighter."

Hah! Ay, Carlos, he's more likely to hang up his shingle with the other bad boy:

Sámano and Sabaraín -- we follow the money!

So true about my hero, Nariño. Lately he's become insufferable. On the other hand, it's refreshing to have the writers acknowledge that tragedy sometimes brings out the worst, not the best, in people.

Thanks again, Pasofino and Marta. Great job!

Marta, I really like this observation of yours:

"I can see the conflict in Rodriguez face... he really did not want to abandon Narino, but ambition and probably also a thirst for power, even a show-off to Narino himself for yelling at him when he killed Hasin, are temporarily blinding him."

Nariño's own arrogance is in turn bringing out the worst in Rodriguez. (I suspect Nariño will realize his own responsibility in all this and engage in some serious breast-beating about it.)
 

Carlos: Gertrudis has gone from being independent and opinionated to being desperate and opinionated. The people she bothered the most, Pola and Cata, no longer fear her nor value her advice.

I don't know about Francisco. He's still a loose end, but in these stories loose ends don't always get tied up.

The writers kept him true to character. He never wavered in his self-serving personality - even when he was shoved out the door and it slammed behind him.
 

NovelaMaven and Marta: As to your comments about Rodriguez- he, too, seems to have gone over the edge and is touched by madness by one battle too many. And, as both of you have noted - greed.
 

I worry about Gertrudis turning Pola in for making aguardiente in the house for whatever else they're going to be storing there for Ambrosio (who is really hot by the way!).

I loved watching Pola teaching Cata how to count money, too. Can you imagine being an adult and having to be taught that kind of basic stuff? What a different world for women it was.
 

Novelamaven...
Nariño's own arrogance is in turn bringing out the worst in
basically everyone around him except for his own son... and caval who is blindly loyal.
But everyone in different degrees is buckling at his decisions..
and his facial expression at the end of last night's ep was definitely over the edge...