Caray, Caray!

LA CASA DE AL LADO – viernes

Gonzaki goes nuts when he (erroneously) concludes that if Renato is his father, then Ignacia and Carola are his sisters. Oh wait, that’s right -- he’s already nuts. Well let’s just say another screw not only comes loose, but falls with a resounding plunk to the ground. Oh the horror! He’ll have to kill Mabel. Or should he start with Ig? Or Carola. Grrrrrrr.

Hilda denies any softening towards her still nameless daughter (though the viewer suspects otherwise).

Eva presses forward with her monstrous plan to usurp Hilda’s position. When Pilar overhears Eva enlisting Javier to do the legal dirty work for her, she can’t help but interrupt: from what Eva has said, it sounds as if Hilda is suffering from postpartum depression. That’s something very treatable and Pilar is willing to help. Eva looks beyond irritated at Pilar’s suggestion; and Javier looks furious.

Carola is canoodling with Ismael but when the Miami arsonist comes calling, Ismael sends her away so he can talk to the guy privately.

Burn Notice
It turns out the New York hotel fire hasn’t been forgotten – just ... ahem ... put on the back burner. Now it’s time to proceed. Do it the same way, Ismael tells him, so there won’t be any doubt that the same person is responsible. Don’t ever come back here, he tells his pyro for hire. He’ll know the job is done when he hears about it in the news.

Candid Camera at the Casa Conde
Carola slips the DVD into her home laptop and finally looks into the “mirror” Omar set up for her. Oh the horror! She gets back in her jeep and looks as if she’s going to crash and burn before you can say desalmada. But no. She ends up at Omar’s place. Once again we see him with the attractive young woman. Carola confronts him ...

Gonzalo has an alibi for the night of Teresa’s murder
July 25 stands out in Ignacia’s memory. How could she forget? That was the eve of her sham departure for Italy and she showed up at Gonzalo’s apartment like a classic perv, naked under a trenchcoat, for a farewell bonk. Not only that, Pilar can vouch for Gonzo’s whereabouts too. She walked in on the rutting pair!

Why have a pitbull if you won’t let him off the leash now and then?
Pilar tells Rebeca that not only is Ricardo Merino alive but he is completely delusional. He thinks she is his wife and that Diego is his son. Rebeca urges Pilar to tell Javier what is going on but she is reluctant to involve him – he would kill Ricardo if he knew what was happening. But she finally agrees with Rebeca: she can no longer manage the situation on her own. She will tell Javier tomorrow.

Emilio doesn’t get it: why haven’t he and Eva had the crucial lab tests done? Doesn’t he care about his granddaughter’s health? Renato is on the verge of revealing the truth about the adoption but before he can do so, Eva and Javier burst in anxious to discuss legal strategies. (Is that Hilda’s blood dripping from Eva’s perfectly capped white fangs?) What they have to say is far more important than anything Emilio and Renato can be discussing...
 

GENERAL

I am now up to four unwatched La Casa de al Lado, and it's been tough averting my eyes from the undoubtedly excellent recaps here. I've watched the other two, Flor Salvaje and Mi Corazón Insiste, both of which I like better than Casa. But I do hope to catch up this weekend.
 

FLOR SALVAJE – VIÉRNES

I’ve given up trying to choose between Flor and Amanda and will go with Flor from now on.

Lucía watches Pablo and Flor kissing passionately in the street. I must say these two actors are world-class kissers!

Piruetas comments to the rest of the P’s that Pablo has finished them. When Rafa finds out, he’ll probably close the bar in his rage. Ana is looking for Flor, and has a confrontation with Zahra. The little witch has a poison tongue. She tells Zahra her time has passed. At this point Zahra gives Ana a very satisfying hard slap. Zahra seems over her anger at Flor and tells Ana she tried to help Flor.

Sacto is also watching our two public kissers. His face is full of pain as he watches Pablo pick Flor up and carry her off to her casita.

After some VERY hot lovemaking, the two talk about the future they dream of, a house, Pablo’s son visiting and running around the house, children of their own. I’m already sad, being pretty sure this is NOT going to go this way.

Cat is beside herself worrying that Sacto did not come to her. She had sent Barba Roja to tell him to meet her at the usual spot..

Enrique’s tío, Francisco Lozada, tries to guilt him into taking over running the newspaper. The tío has no children of his own. He says Enrique has to do it to provide for his mother and sisters. I assume the father is dead; he isn’t mentioned.

Lucía tortures herself, remaining outside Flor’s casita. Sacto arrives, trying to talk her down from the ledge. But she tells him Pablo is dead to her and que atenga las consecuencias.

Back to our lovers. He vows he’ll never leave her. But she tells him he pusiste la soga al cuello by his public announcement of his love in the bar. [But, of course, that’s the one thing that melted her coldness and convinced her of his love.] She wants him to leave with Lucía and the boy and promises that she’ll follow. But, now, they need to put them off the scent so Pablo can escape. She swears she’ll find him. He agrees.

Piruetas hints to Malicia that he'll give her the protagonist role in his radionovela if she pleases him. Ugh!

At the 4P Bar, someone (Correcaminos?) has broken the whiskey bottles in their boxes. Ana is livid and goes after CC with one of the broken bottles. Piruetas says they have to calm the guys by taking them to bed.

Ana looks for Flor to tell her about the problem with the alcohol and finds her sister in bed with Pablo.

Malicia goes to her casita and turns off the bulb. Piruetas and Enrique arrive simultaneously and think she’s taken a bar patron to bed.

Flor gives Pablo some money to use to get himself and his family out of town. With lots of foreshadowing, he tells her she must promise him to pretend to know nothing about what he said in the bar.

Rafa, thirsting for vengeance has left the hospital. And he’s crossing the river in a boat piloted by the evil Rufino.

Pablo tells Lucía the truth. He loves Flor and wants to spend the rest of his life with her. But they have to leave right now. Lucía faints. Pablo, showing his good side, runs to try to find José María to examine her.

When Rafa returns to his hacienda he calls for Cat and, when she appears, begins shooting at her, a lot. He misses every time, and she gets on her horse and rides to the oil field office looking for Sacto. Peter tells her he didn’t show up for work.

Cat goes to Mariano and reports that Rafael Urrieta shot at her. It looks like Mariano plans to arrest him.

The effort of trying to kill (or wound) Cat has re-opened Rafa’s own wound and he’s bleeding a lot. Lucía shows up and blurts out that Flor is her husband’s lover and has been for quite a while.
 

FLOR SALVAJE - VIÉRNES

One more thing: Enrique has apparently drowned his sorrows and has passed out with a bottle under his arm. He doesn't hear Malicia knocking over and over on the door of his hotel room. Tío Francisco shows up and says he would like to speak with her. Uh oh. This is surely the standard "Let him go for his own good; you are unworthy" scene. Or, "I'll give you a boatload of money if you reject him; you are unworthy."
 

Flor Salvaje:

Thanks for the recap, Novelera. I thought of a title for last night's episode: Why Pablo won't be named employee of the month at the drilling site.

Things are certainly heating up on this one.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO

tnx NovelaMaven. great recap as always.

novelera, you can watch weekly recap here in 15 min:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsXqQ2t0hsI
 

MI CORAZON INSISTE - viernes

Diana shows up at Andres' old house where he has apparently decided to stay after Lola asked him to leave her bedroom. [Now how on earth would Diana show up there? She would have no idea about the house and no reason to think that Andres would be there since he hadn't been living there recently. I know why they had her show up there - so that both Lola and Débora could see him with Diana.]

Diana claims that she has something important to communicate with Andres about the company but it seems only to be that the company is in financial trouble after Débora's management.

Etelvina tells Lola that Andres' car is outside the house and Lola goes over there. The door is unlocked, of course, and she sees Andres holding Diana because she tripped or something.

Then Débora is driving around and goes to the house, sees Andres' car, goes inside through the same unlocked door and also sees Diana and Andres together. Her grasp on sanity gets weaker.

When DIana finally leaves Andres' house, she makes a call to someone and says, "Si, todo bien," "Yes, everything is fine." To whom was this call made? Could it have been Ángel?

Camilo scolds both Rodrigo and Sofía about their hookup. There is more than a little of the 'sour grapes' in his behavior.

No coitus interruptus for Adelita and Lopez. They are happy, happy, happy but their conversation about growing old together strongly suggests that one of them, probably, Lopez, is going to buy the farm.

Lola is furious with Andres the next morning. For some reason, she has to bang on the door of his house to get in in her tiny red dress with racing stripes. It isn't open like it was earlier. Andres bangs on the door of her house. Etelvina lets him in against Lola's orders but eventually they make up and kiss.

Vicky tries to tell Débora that she can't take any more and that she and Ramon are going to leave her but Débora won't accept that.

Vicky tells Soledad about what a beautiful baby Débora was and Soledad gets her to admit that Débora is out of control. She urges Vicky to turn Débora in to the police.

Daniel goes to a bar that he frequented before he went straight. The bartender offers him some cocaine. Daniel is obviously tempted but he rejects it and gets thrown out of the bar.

Débora tells Ángel about Andres and Diana. She says that he has to destroy Diana.

I think that was about it.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO:
I found it really funny that our mad dog psychopath Gonzalo, who has killed many people including his "father" and who has also attempted to murder his brother,goes ABSOLUTELY insane, out of control, and is totally disgusted that he has had sex with his hermanas: Ignacia AND Carola. Must be psychopathic morality!!!

Thanks novelamaven for a great recap.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO

"psychopathic morality"
interesting point, NJ.
I think to many people (sane or insane) incest is more disgusting than murder. Inaki have no respect for LIFE, even his own life. but incest is something different.
and yes, I think the murderers could have their own morality! LOL

actually what has made Inaki such a psychopath, must be his high sensitivity.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO:

Great recap, NovelaMaven. I especially liked the arsonist being on "the back burner".

Alex, I agree that Gonzalo's sickness may stem in part from his heightened sensitivity.

It was a bit ironic that Renato talked about Inaki's "sisters and brother" searching for him, when he knows they're not related by blood. Of course he thinks of them as related, and had no idea what Gonzalo was thinking. I do think the adoption thing is going to come out soon, but maybe only to select people.

I agree, Javier might be able to put Ricardo Merino in his place. But he forbade Pilar to ever mention Merino again. He'll certainly be just as mad at her as he would be at Merino. And if it ever comes out (which it will) that Merino is actually Diego's father (and we think he is), they'll be hell to pay for Pilar.

I'm thinking more and more that this show has to have some shocking tragic ending. I can see the servants surviving, maybe Rebeca, but everyone else may be going down. This would be quite different from the sugar sweet novelas of Univision which always end with a wedding.
 

MI CORAZON INSISTE:

Jean, thanks for the great recap. It does look as if your prediction was right, that Diana is working with someone (probably Angel), since who else could she have called to say everything went ok?

I'm pretty sure Adelita has a sad face post-coitus, unlike Fulgencio. It looked to me as if the sparks weren't there for her, even though she feels secure with him, and doesn't show him any doubts. You may be right that some bad end could happen to Fulgencio, which would open the door for Daniel. Daniel saved Adelita once, so there could be a mirror image of that.

We may find out if Angel is connected to Diana when we see how he responds to Debora's request that Diana be killed.

I was glad that Daniel turned down the drugs, but I'm still not sure he's totally over them.

I liked how the nurse (Yolanda?) said to Sofia that Camilo would be a good match for her. Sofia is very, very slowly coming around to that idea, I think.
 

MI CORAZON:

BTW, they said we were entering "culminating chapters."
 

MI CORAZON - I didn't see the culminating chapters announcement. It's about time.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO – viernes

NJ sue and Alex:

Yes, the incest taboo is enormously interesting. But of course our favorite psychopath isn’t the only one who considers incest unthinkable. We talked about it here when the writers first started teasing us with the idea that Renato might be Iñaki’s father – we knew that according to the unspoken rules of the genre, brother-sister incest was just about impossible. Either Iñaki wasn’t Renato’s son or Ignacia and Carola weren’t his daughters. As it turns out, it’s the latter (we think!).

(Too bad there’s not a similar unspoken rule against graphic violence and gore. The bloody scenes in this show can be a real turn-off, at least to me. On the other hand, the prudishness of the sex scenes, is often laughable. I’d rather see them shoot around the nudity than have lovers leaping out of bed in their underpants.)

Hombre:

I agree that this show is going to end, if not tragically, certainly badly, just as Alguien did. According to people who had seen or read about the Chilean series, our version of Alguien was less bleak than the original. I suspect the same thing will happen here – we’ll be left with a few survivors and some ambiguity about their future.

And now we’re running seriously short of good guys. Plus with Matías’s death, we lost the only happy couple, or at least the only obvious one. Still, the writers keep shaking things up and throwing surprises at us. I guess that’s what keeps us coming back:)
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO

ENDING
I wish - as you (Hombre & NovelaMaven) predict - it will be quite different from the sugar sweet novelas of Univision which always end with a wedding. but I'm not sure. no matter how dangerous and strong they had been all along the show, in telenovelas usually the villains end up as miserable ridiculous creatures that can't harm other characters seriously :/
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO

Wow, NovelaMaven, that was a really great recap! I liked the screw falling with a resounding plunk.

I find it interesting that those who know something about the Chilean originals of Alguien and, I think, this one opine that the originals were darker. Is Telemundo softening them up because they think our historically optimistic population prefers things that way? Of course, the vast majority of their viewers are immigrants. Is it because so many of the immigrants are from México and prefer happy endings?

I don't think Diego is Ricardo Merino's son. I'm leaning toward him being extremely crazy. I believe he suffers from erotomania. [ Erotomania: The false but persistent belief that one is loved by a person (often a famous or prominent person), or the pathologically obsessive pursuit of a disinterested object of love. Erotomania can be a symptom of schizophrenia or other psychiatric disorders that are characterized by delusional symptoms.]

Of course, those of you who believe that Diego is really his son, and they have been ambiguous about it, may be proven right.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO – viernes

Thanks so much, Novelera.

About the ending:
Of course we are all just guessing how this will end. We do know, however, that with its English captions and bland American settings, Telemundo is trying to reach a broad, primetime tv audience, an audience that can take lots of bad news but draws the line at complete and utter hopelessness.

But hey, we know how fond these writers are of dream sequences. Maybe the whole story will turn out to be one of Ignacia’s dreams:)

About Ricardo Merino:
I agree that from the way the character has been presented, he looks more like a schizophrenic with a fixed delusion than someone who has had an intimate relationship with Pilar. On the other hand, this show likes to ambush us with unexpected revelations that force us to take another look at our assumptions. So who knows?
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO – lunes

It looks like Ignacia is going to be Gonzalo’s next victim but then Mabel rushes in breathlessly and pulls her away to safety. [Does this mean that Mabel has ... like ... feelings?]

Ignacia seeks refuge in Javier’s bed. He is so touched by how much he matters to her – usually he is as welcome as a social disease -- that for a moment he looks almost human.

Pilar explains to Yolanda that Hilda is in no condition to enter into legal agreements. Don’t let her sign any papers, she warns.

Javier prepares the Hilda-Be-Gone papers and Eva shoves them at her daughter-in-law. Sign, she barks. And Hilda abandons her fetal position in bed long enough to do so -- over Yolanda’s protests and despite Emilio’s misgivings. [Let’s hope that Pilar intercepts the documents before Eva can work her magic mothering on a new generation.]

Carola decides that Omar is sponge-worthy
He and Carola end up together in a hotel bed. She does have a small lapse when she gets up and starts looking under the bed for a bottle but Omar talks her back onto the bed again. He goes to sleep a happy man; but he wakes up alone and uneasy.

What Omar does when he’s not stalking Carola
Omar pushes past the receptionist. He can’t wait! The doctor (his friend? his physician? his psychiatrist or therapist or AA sponsor? – his name is Sebastián) reminds Omar that Maribel is dead and being with Carola won’t change that reality. Maribel?

Renato’s bank has discovered the three forged checks. And worst of all, the security camera shows Carola cashing them. Renato, as hurt and disappointed as he is, doesn’t want it to become a police matter. He’ll take care of it.

Renato would like Gonzalo, not Javier, to help him this time but he can’t seem to reach him. He’s troubled when Ignacia reports that Gonzalo has been on a major drunk and acting all weird and aggressive.

Gonzalo meanwhile emerges from a booze and guilt-induced nightmare -- he dreams that Igor is coming back for his revenge – to find himself still sitting in his office. Only now he has a ... um ... killer hang-over.

Ever-bouncy Rebeca bounds into Gonzo’s office. She’s been looking for him. Gonzo manages to look almost normal as he listens to the good news she has been anxious to share – he has an unshakeable alibi for the night of Teresa’s murder. But when Rebeca repeats Ignacia’s suggestion that Carola may know where Adolfo is hiding out, Gonzalo bolts out of the office.

He returns to the Conde house and waits for Carola to emerge. When she gets in her jeep, he follows her -- right to Adolfo’s guarido. Gonzo peers inside. Carola and Adolfo are arguing: she wants to know why he needed all that money – did it have something to do with the guy who was there the day before? [Adolfo won’t tell you but we will: you stole your daddy’s money to pay PyroMan to burn down daddy’s New York hotel and all the people in it!]

Adolfo gets a glimpse of someone at the window. When he steps outside to check, Gonzalo slips inside...
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO

tnx for the recap, NovelaMaven.

mysterious Mabel seems to have a heart-like thing. weeping for Igor and now caring Ignacia (and Inaki).

the conversation between Ignacia & Javier was interesting. these two suffer from the same pain somehow. and it makes them close to each other.
 

MI CORAZON INSISTE - lunes

When Débora demands that Ángel kill Diana, he temporizes saying that he has met Diana; she is the new CFO for Exportex and is a professional. He does not admit that Diana is working for him.

Débora decides to take care of Diana herself. She goes to her hotel and walks into Diana's room (did her bribe to the hotel clerk get her a room key?). Diana is what has to be the skimipiest one-piece bathing suit that is decent. We certainly get a good look at her giant boob implants.

Débora accuses Diana of trying to steal her husband. DIana produces a gun and orders Débora out of her room.

Ramon gets more money from Felix at the hot dog stand. The police are observing Ramon. They wonder why he would walk so far to get a hot dog but don't twig to the idea that Ramon might be meeting someone there.

Sofía presents her psychological profile of Débora to Rodrigo, Andres and Lola. She says that Débora had a predisposition to mental illness. Her disfunctional family caused her to become a manic-depressive psychopath. The prognosis is not good - her mental condition will continue to deteriorate.

Sofía has some free time after her presentation so she and Rodrigo hit the sack. Unfortunately, Lola left her cell phone in his apartment. She knocks on the door but gets no answer. She lets herself in with her key. Rodrigo hears the noise and comes into the room with his gun. Unfortunately, Sofía follows him. Lola is very upset and leaves. She doesn't want to disillusion Andres about his father and doesn't tell him why she is so upset.

Rodrigo does an, "I told you so," to Sofía and tells her that they are done.

Rodrigo gives Sofía's report to the police. They discuss Sofía's finding that Débora is probably not acting alone. She needs a father figure. Previously, she had Marcelo and then Tiberio. They wonder who is providing that role now.

Felix is fed up with Ramon and his demands. Ángel agrees that Ramon knows too much and it is time to get rid of him. They want to do it in a way that will be blamed on someone else so as not to trigger the release of Débora's tell-all letter. They think Ramon might know who is holding the letter.

Sofía goes to see Lola. She defends her actions and without actually lying, suggests that she and Rodrigo have been together for a long time and are still a couple.

Lola asks Andres if men in general and he in particular can be trusted. Andres assures her that she will never have cause to doubt him. Right.

Vicky continues to fret about Débora's mental condition. She tells Soledad that Débora can't sleep even with drugs. Débora catches Vicky looking for escape money in her things. Débora tells Vicky that she won't let her leave.

Débora's fevered brain decides that Diana and Ángel are in cahoots. She insists on calling Ángel at the gym. Ángel's phone evidently doesn't show who is calling because he answers. He calls her crazy and tells her not to call him. Lola overhears his end of the call. Ángel tells her that he is being stalked by a crazy woman with whom he almost had a relationship. He tells Lola that she is the only one who has rejected him.

Diana, in an extremely modest outfit, comes to see Andres to tell him that she has had an encounter with Débora.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO:

Thanks for the excellent recap, NovelaMaven. I'm thinking Maribel may have been Omar's other (older) sister, which he mentioned to Carola, but didn't want to talk about.

I wonder if a document can be challenged because it was signed while someone had post-partum depression.

Gonzalo is so menacing these days, it's amazing Rebeca doesn't seem to have the slightest doubt about him. Even loopy Ignacia was thinking back to when her therapist, and later her card reader, sort of told her to beware of Gonzalo (without specifically naming them).

It was also funny how when Adolfo asked Carola "were you followed", she said of course not. She was sure. Did she even look? No.

Javier told Renato that with Carola's prior record, it could be bad if the check cashing got out. This of course means that it probably will get out, although I'm not sure who would leak it.

Mabel actually knows that Gonzalo killed Igor. But what will she do now? So far, protect Ignacia. And since she has some feelings for Ismael, maybe she'll help him against Gonzaki.

But I'm sure just about everything will go wrong, for just about everybody, with disastrous consequences. It's just that kind of a show. And somehow, I can't stop watching, and I really enjoy it. I think it's the music. Yes, this show has excellent dramatic background music. I'm serious about this, I was listening carefully last night. The musical themes play a huge part in manipulating our moods, whether it be sexy, hopeful, ominous, or shocking.
 

MI CORAZON INSISTE:

Good summary, Jean, thank you. As usual for me, I missed the show for Monday Night Football (boring game, should have gone with Corazon).

I think the other time Sofia and Rodrigo slept together, he also said they were through. So he said it again. I think they need to do it once more, because the third time's the charm.

Yes, that cop Mora is not too bright. Not only did he apparently not see the money transfer, but he must not have realized Felix was handing over the money to Ramon. I thought Felix's picture was all over the cop station. I guess his clever disguise of moussed hair has them stumped.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO

Hombre de Misterio: "since she has some feelings for Ismael, maybe she'll help him against Gonzaki"

we don't know if Ismael is really Mabel's favorite child. that's what Ismael claims. it may be merely his desire rather than reality.
 

FLOR SALVAJE – LUNES

Rafael’s first reaction to Lucía’s accusing Flor of being her husband’s lover is to think that someone (Catalina) paid her to say those things.

Flor wants to rush to Rafael’s hacienda to catch up with Pablo. He thinks Rafa is still in the hospital in Timotes and tells her to stay put.

Lucía is thrown out of the hacienda by Rufino, protesting.

As predicted Tío Francisco offers Alicia lots of money to leave his nephew alone. He also says that Enrique has a fiancé in the capital. He tells her NOT to tell Enrique about this conversation. This makes me think he’s lying about the fiancé.

Sacramento and Flor have an interesting conversation. At one point Sacto is sarcastic, saying the way to her heart is by deceiving her. She tells him in essence that he can’t understand hers and Pablo’s relationship. She loves him in spite of his faults. She loves him as he is, an imperfect man. She says that she also makes lots of mistakes. Sacto replies that he loved her the same way. Flor says that he did not and that, when she did something he disapproved of, he disappeared and left her to deal with the consequences alone. His face shows that he realizes the truth of that.

Lucía encounters Pablo, who has sprained his ankle or something and didn’t get to the hacienda yet. She spits in his face that she told Rafael everything. He tells her he can’t help it. He doesn’t love her. She says she just wants a man at her side, even if he was unfaithful, to be a father to her son and to sleep by her side. When he says he can’t do that, she says she’d rather see him dead than with Flor.

Mariano comes to drip poison onto Rafael’s wounds. In his scene with Rafael, he reminded me very much of Iago in Othello. Except that when Iago says: Where is the fearless warrier about Othello, he does it in a soliloquy to the audience. Mariano says it to Rafa directly: Donde está el semental de Nueva Esperanza, el macho. Ahora traicionado por una prostituta, una mujer de la calle. Yo la verdad te veo muy mal.

After this Rafa loses it and shoots Cat’s photos. He almost shoots Luisa until Barba Roja moves his arm to prevent it.

Zahra warns Pablo and Flor they have to leave right away. Pablo is to get Lucía and Antonio and Flor is to get her sisters. Of course, this doesn’t work out. Lucía refuses to leave. Pablo takes Antonio to the school to wait until Flor has gotten her sisters. Ana refuses to leave. Flor is on her way to get the other two out of school when Rufino grabs her and forces her into a truck with a pistol.

Another great thing. Alicia and Enrique at least tell each other the truth. She’s upset he didn’t say he was rich. He tells her he didn’t want her worrying about the class differences and, also, he didn’t want to suspect that it was his money she loved.

Rufino tells Rafa that Pablo declared his love openly in the bar. He does say that Pablo said Flor did not know about it. But this is when Rafa tells Rufino to get her.

Sacramento takes Luisa and Barba Roja to Don Raimundo’s house to keep them safe from Rafa. Frigida is opposed, of course, Don R tells her he doesn’t understand how someone can pray all the livelong day and still be incapable of helping others. Cat, bold as brass, tells Frigida and Don R that she and Sacto will be sharing a room since they are una pareja. Sacto objects and Cat angrily says that what he’s worried about is Flor finding out about it.

While she’s mute at first, Flor tries to defend herself in front of Rafa, saying Pablo was drunk. Lucía is crazy because they are separating. He has Rufino chain her up in the same place as Catalina was, saying to himself: “Now you’ll know what it is to suffer”. No more Mr. Nice Guy.
 

It makes sense that Angel would install another crony (Diana) at Exportex to replace fired co-conspirator Debora not only to make Angel appear spotless to Andres, but also to shift blame to Debora. Moreover, since Angel wants to marry Lola's inheritance, he needs to break up Lola and Andres. Perhaps I misinterpreted Spanish captions last week, but I think Angel implied that he went to the same law school as Diana. When I saw Diana waltz just too conveniently into Andres' for-sale mansion, I expected her to proclaim herself the new too-coincidental buyer or tenant. But that didn't happen, and because she brought company papers and confirmed her meeting to someone on her cell phone, somebody sent her there. Did she check other former addresses first? While Angel seems like her likely sender, perhaps Camilo or the re-hired tech guy sent her.
--Mary
 

FLOR SALVAJE-
Excellent recap, Novelera. I loved Mariano's little smirk as he left Rafa with the words you quoted. He's enjoying Rafa's come down.

I was watching some of Doña Bárbara today and I noticed that the actress who plays Rocío also played one of the terneras on DB: Melesia. She was one of the two who hooked up with the poet & the other rebel friend of Santos. I hadn't remembered her from DB.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO – martes

Why Carola has no friends:
Carola has repeatedly betrayed Ignacia by sleeping with husband numero uno, Adolfo, and numero dos, Gonzalo.
She has joined forces with Ismael with the express intention of harming her family; and then to please Ismael, she has stolen Renato’s money.
Now, when Renato confronts her with her theft and threatens to accuse her to the police, she immediately gives up Ismael to save her own skin. And when she hears Omar recommending inpatient treatment for her, she heads for Omar’s workplace, finds his boss, and then shrilly and publicly, accuses Omar of rape.

Why Ignacia has no friends:
She is a self-involved snob and an unfaithful wife.
She treats Hilda like dirt and tries to steal her baby. [Fortunately, when she realizes Javier won’t join her in her madness, she brings the baby back home.]

Why Javier has no friends:
He is a habitual philanderer and emotionally abusive spouse and father.
He is unscrupulous, even criminal, in his business dealings.
[Surprisingly, however, he again shows some real feelings for Ignacia. Last night, after telling her he wasn’t planning to be her third husband or play house with her and her stolen baby, he sits alone in his car and cries.]

Pilar and her suitors:
We know all about the first three: the psychopath (Gonzaki), the sociopath (Javier) and the obsessed psychotic (Ricardo). Now we meet numero cuatro: the psychotherapist (Sebastián, and not so coincidentally, Omar’s therapist). Anyone else think we just met Diego’s daddy?

Pilar takes a stand:
She hasn’t been able to speak for herself but now the injustice that Javier and Eva are perpetrating against Hilda is enough to bring out her inner warrior. Throughout the episode, she brandishes the signed divorce and custody papers like a sword.

Another near-miss in the Iñaki and Ismael duel of death:
The brothers struggle. Each seems to let an opportunity to kill the other slip past him – it’s as if they each realize that if one of them dies, the other’s existence is over too. [Or maybe it’s just the novela that is over.]
Ismael – inexplicably and improbably – escapes the police who are swarming around the building. Gonzalo gets to play the victim. How will he explain his presence in Adolfo/Ismael’s hide-out?
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO - Martes

Brilliant analysis, NovelaMaven, you've definitely hit the mark as to why these characters have no friends. This show could be a full thesis for an abnormal psychology student.

Ignacia really is something, thinking she and Javier could make a family with Hilda's child. BTW, this is the U.S., didn't they have to fill out a name on the birth certificate? Still no name, though.

I was thinking it was quite a coincidence that Sebastian was Omar's therapist and Pilar's colleague, or old friend. Your idea that HE's Diego's father is great (since we don't like Ricardo Merino). Could there actually be a happy ending for Pilar and Sebastian? Probably not.

Shortly after Ismael calmly walked out the back door avoiding the entire Miami police force, Rebeca got a new cryptic email. Ismael is sending these, right?

Gonzaki can explain that he was there because he just followed Carola, he was concerned. Everyone will believe him as usual.

Diego was totally spooked when a new present appeared on his bed, and the window was open. I guess this was from Ricardo. Why don't they find a way to lock that window?

I do think Gonzaki is capable of killing Ismael, since he shot him before. This time, he just took too long in his classic evil guy speech. Ismael, however, can't finish off his big brother and former idol, at least not directly. He wants Gonzaki to go down in some dramatic way (probably involving Pilar).

Renato is like the captain of a sinking ship. Every two minutes there's another leak, and he never has time to plug any of them. Last night, Emilio, Ignacia and Carola all had crises, and when Renato tried to call Gonzalo, he was in the middle of his own crisis. What's a rich patriarch to do? :)
 

LA CASA -- martes

"Renato is like the captain of a sinking ship. Every two minutes there's another leak, and he never has time to plug any of them"

Perfect description, Hombre!

About the emails -- yes, I forgot about the new one. And yes, we've actually seen Ismael in the internet cafe sending them. The thing is though, we know they are just dirty tricks -- even if Rebeca doesn't -- so solving the riddle isn't that much fun any more.

And thanks for reminding us of the new gift left on Diego's bed. I was relieved he didn't open it.

"I do think Gonzaki is capable of killing Ismael, since he shot him before"

That's true. But think about it. When he shot Matías, he fired twice. We knew he wanted him dead.

When he shot Ismael, he fired only once and hit him in the belly, kind of to the side. If he weren't conflicted about it, he would have gone for the second shot, the kill shot, the way he did with Matías.
 

MI CORAZON INSISTE - Martes

We're all getting ready for Adelita's wedding to Fulgencio. Despite repeated indications of bad luck, as pointed out by Rosa Francia, Adelita thinks everything will be fine. We don't. She looks pretty in her dress, though.

Lola again catches Diana in a clinch with Andres. This time, Angel had tried to force himself on Diana (was that staged?), and Diana then weeped about how she was abused by her stepfather, her cousin, just about everybody. Lola and Diana later have a little tete a tete (or teta a teta:) where they threaten each other.

Ramon actually has good luck with cards, wins lots of dough, and they're leaving tomorrow (everything's happening "tomorrow"). Angel and Felix want to kill him before tomorrow. Dumb cop Mora's wife is sick, so Fulgencio will take his shift, even though he's getting married tomorrow, so he can conveniently be involved in the big shootout (Angel and Felix want to make it look as if the police kill Ramon).

Debora is really getting unbalanced (as highlighted by her unbalanced hair). I think Diana told Debora she knew she was wanted, but later told Andres she had no idea Debora was wanted. Diana is definitely a liar (but a pretty one).

Lola lays it into both Rodrigo and Sofia for what they've done, in satisfying their "needs" they've forgotten Soledad, and Lola's view of them is forever changed. Rodrigo seems to agree, but Sofia's a bit defiant. I'm thinking maybe something will happen to Soledad, and Sofia will get together with Rodrigo, but where would that leave Camilo? Someone's gonna get hurt.

And tonight's the night.
 

MI CORAZON-
Thanks for the 'cap, Hombre. Yes, they are laying it on pretty thick for the dire events that are going to happen 'tomorrow.'

I also wondered whether Diana's whole performance with Andres: the abused childhood because she was pretty, was staged to get his sympathy. It seems unlike Andres to force himself on a woman. He is very controlled.

You didn't mention that when Daniel and Andres were at Sofia's house, she was sick. Did the good doctor have unprotected sex and get pregnant? If so, that is going to throw a monkey wrench into the Sofia/Rodrigo/Soledad issue. I hope Soledad doesn't die. She deserves some happiness after being held captive for about two years, it seems. Besides, Sofia ought to end up with Camilo and Soledad with Rodrigo.
 

Thanks Novelmaven for a great summary and Hombre for your additions. Sebastian sure was excited to see Pilar; he seemed like a hyperventilating teenager. I too think he's Diego's father.

This whole business about Omar and Sebastian is ridiculous. AA is a self-help group and there are no counselors. It is also based on anonymity, so Omar wouldn't be handing out cards saying he is a counselor there. And he would not have a "boss." He would be a recovering alcoholic and have a sponsor. Probably Renato, who likes Omar, will intervene somehow so that Carola doesn't press charges. You have to feel sorry for her, but at the same time she is a vengeful crazy.

I really don't understand why Rebecca feels so close and loyal to Gonzalo. It doesn't make sense --especially since she's such a smart cookie.

Oh well, there's a lot I dont understand about this noela which is long on effect and short on reason.

Am going to Italy tomorrow for a week. Upon my return, I'll check in to see what I missed. But it looks like tonight will be the night that Renato spills the beans to his three nutty children. Im looking forward to it.
 

MI CORAZON INSISTE:

Jean, you're right, I forgot Sofia's illness, which usually means pregnancy (fainting ALWAYS means pregnancy). Maybe if Sofia does get pregnant, Camilo will give her support and really prove that he's not just some kid, and she'll finally see how great he is.
 

Buon viaggio, NJ sue!
 

This comment has been removed by the author.
 

Mi Corazon
Yah, I forgot about Sofia's malaise too. Seems like Sofia and Rodrigo first "got together" around the time Lola and Adelita announced their double wedding would be "in two weeks". That's a bit early for morning sickness to appear, but it would make for a great new monkey-wrench in the gears.
J in Oregon
 

MI CORAZON:
In my previous comment, I meant to say Diana's performance with Angel, not Andres and it is not like Angel, not Andres, to force himself on a woman
 

FLOR SALVAJE – MARTES

Wow, this was a very exciting, and sad, episode. Flor is chained up like Catalina was and in the same place. Rafael now knows that something is going on with Pablo and Flor. He has Rufino beat and kick Pablo in front of Flor. Pablo continues to deny that Flor returns his feelings in order to protect her. Flor begs Rafa to make Rufino stop. Rafa tells her he’ll stop the beating if she tells the truth. In an amazing scene, she defiantly tells it like it is: Yo te engañé con Pablo. Yo amo a Pablo. A diferencia de ti él no tuvo que comprarme o llenarme de amenazas para enamorarme. Yo lo amo de verdad. She actually said this with relish, seeming relieved to stop living the lie.

This rocks Rafa’s world. He screams “No” several times and his face twists with pain. He’s like a crazy man with jealousy and grief. He finally says to her: Hoy me morí. Me mataste, pero no me voy solo. He ascends the stairs with Flor screaming after him to let Pablo go. While Pablo is being driven off in the back of a car, the two scream Te amo to each other, one inside and one in the car. Pablo is strung up by the hands in a cave. Rafa gives him the litany of all the things he did for him and punches him several times, then leaves him to the tender mercies of Rufino.

Raimundo, protecting his suspected illegitimate son, tries to get Cat to leave him alone. He tells her that Sacto should not be involved with her plots nor with Urrieta’s woman. She’s pretty selfish. She just says she’s trying to get him to stop being so good! Great. I like Cat less and less. She’s a real schemer, and it drives her nuts Sacto doesn’t return her feelings - whatever they are.

Alicia tells Enrique that he’s not capable of being honest with her and tells him she knows about the fiancé in the capital. He confesses, but sort of says it was an engagement of convenience for their families and that they never loved each other. He loves HER.

Wow, Zahra is, as always, amazing. She shows up at the hacienda and threatens the guards with an axe when they try to keep her from Flor. Flor tearfully begs Zahra’s pardon on her knees for what she had done to her. Zahra is dragged out of there by the guys. But she goes to confront Rafa. Looking like the devil himself, he says to her “Tell me you didn’t know.” She said she did know and almost told him, but he wanted to bet everything on a dream. You HAD a woman who loved you unconditionally, but that wasn’t good enough. You had to have the other one by force. You can’t dominate hearts. He tells her, almost in tears: Le puse el mundo en los pies, y ese sinvergüenza me la quitó en frente de mis narices. Tony Dalton’s acting in this episode was superb!

Olga goes to tell Lucía that her son is with them in la calle de consuelos. Lucía gets on her high horse until Olga tells her Rafa grabbed up both Pablo and Flor. As a parting shot, she tells her she thinks Antonio is better off with las 4 P’s.

Rafa has another go at Flor, trying his old refrain: “Doesn’t the well being of your sisters matter to you?” She tells him ¡No te metas con ellas, cobarde! Estoy harta de tus amenazas. Good! I’m sick of his using her sisters to keep her in line also!

Mariano has a disgusting scene with his sister at the 4P Bar. Correcaminos tells him Rocío isn’t “servicing” clients any more. She just helps out in the bar. He orders a beer from her and then pours it on the floor.

At one point Sacto demonstrates his nobility by saying that he will always love Flor, but it would be enough for him to know she was happy with Pablo.

Sacramento and José María show up at the hacienda looking for Flor, with the Jefe Civil right behind them. He calmly leads them to where Flor was chained up before, but she’s not there any more.
 

ierLA CASA DE AL LADO

When he shot Ismael, he fired only once and hit him in the belly, kind of to the side. If he weren't conflicted about it, he would have gone for the second shot, the kill shot, the way he did with Matías.
true, and besides he called police immediately. so he wanted Ismael to be found and taken to hospital.

the baby story
Hilda's rejecting her baby and Pilar's involving in this case was a great opportunity to make Gonzaki show his special feelings for mother-child relationship as a deeply abused abandoned child. but anyway the author missed it.
 

MI CORAZÓN - MARTES

Lots of things in this novela are not pleasing me right now.

It sure looks like they're going to have Sofía be pregnant. Women in TNs never have the stomach flu. Any uncomfortable look on their faces always is the result of unprotected sex and, as in the Telenovela Conventions, completely surprises them. Since I don't see Rodrigo just letting her go ahead and be a single mother, this bodes very badly for Soledad.

I don't have much hope that Vicki is going to be able to get Sole free. For sure that will be the final episode.

And it also looks like Fulgencio López, the mensch, is a goner. How many more bad omens about the wedding could they have possibly thrown in there? And because Adelita still cares about him, she's probably going to end up with the weak-chinned wonder.

I don't believe Diana's weepy tale at all. I think we saw the real Diana when she was pointing that gun at Débora. I think Ángel's grabbing her was a "show" also for Andrés.
 

LA CASA - MARTES

Great recap, NovelaMaven. Well, Carola wouldn't be MY friend. I can't stand the sight of her.

I couldn't believe Hilda watched Ignacia carry her kid out the door and stood there like a bump on a log. I know, I know, post-partum depression. But she needs to snap out of this really soon. It's beyond boring watching her bovine face night after night.

Is it possible they'll have Ignacia and Javier end up together? Those tears of his were very confusing. He appears obsessed with holding on to Pilar. Is it only his concept of a home? Does he not really care about her as a woman at all?
 

Mi Corazon:

Sofia wasn't quite lying when she told Lola that her relationship with Rodrigo preceeded his with Soledad -- she had a mad crush on him when she was a teen and he was dating her older sister Laura. Her flu could be more than a pregnancy -- she could have a tragic terminal illness that will remove her from competition with Soledad.

I also think Diana was faking her tragic abuse past to win Andres' sympathy.

--Mary
 

MI CORAZON - miércoles

All the signals of an immanent death were realized. I skip over the final conversations and the other signs. Lopez took over surveillance of Ramon from Mora. Ángel and Felix abducted him, killed him and Ramon and set it up so it looked like they killed each other. [If they test Lopez' and Ramon's hands for GSR, they won't find any, which would prove this was a setup - but will they do that?]

Ángel tried to get Ramon to tell him where Débora had left the incriminating documents but he got impatient and shot him before Ramon gave up the information.

Otherwise, Rodrigo told Andres about his fling with Sofía. Lola and Andres argued about Diana. When Andres asked what he had to do to make Lola believe that he is not involved with Diana. Lola replies that he has to fire Diana. Andres refuses.

Débora breaks into Andres' house and waits for Andres to come home. When Andres comes to the house, he is met at the door by Diana. She tell Andres that she wants to resign. Andres suggests that they go to a bar to talk.

A drunk Camilo and Daniel are at the bar. Soon Débora shows up following Andres and Diana. Nobody notices her taking photos of Andres and Diana. She sends them to Lola.

Andres takes Daniel and Camilo home. When he goes to see Lola, she throws all his clothes out the window.
 

MI CORAZON INSISTE:

Thanks for the succinct summary, Jean. As for whether the genius cops will test for powder residue, I'm gonna say no. These are the same guys who were outfoxed by Debora yesterday when she, with them close behind, pulled into a parking spot, took out a screwdriver, and switched her license plate with the car next to it. Or maybe those were Andres' new bodyguards, but with all the shoddy police work in "following" Ramon, the chances they will all of a sudden improve are slim. But I seem to think that some guard saw Angel and Felix leave the hotel, so that could come into play.

Andres' refusal to fire Diana, because Lola thinks she's a snake? Understandable. His lack of suspicion when she turns up outside his house right after Lola said watch out for her traps? Dumb. Lola's reaction when she sees the photo, which she KNOWS was sent by Debora, whom she KNOWS is always manipulating things? Overdone. But it helps prolong our story.

Once again, Lola used her psychic powers when Fulgencio was killed, as she slammed her wine glass into Adelita's, breaking Adelita's and getting wine all over Adela's white, virginal outfit. Symbolic? These characters have to learn to trust Lola's powers.

Not that it'll make any difference, but Debora is very smart, and very paranoid, and she'll probably figure out quickly that the cops didn't kill her Dad, it was Angel and Felix.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO:

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, Gonzaki was distraught, drunk, crazed. But when Renato tells him that Iñaki is his only biological son, that the other 3 are adopted, Gonzo breathes a sigh of relief the size of Texas. He gets himself together (with the help of an alibi from Carola), and is once again Renato's trusted helper. He even decides to try to get back in Ignacia's graces, and despite the terrible things he said, she forgives him (since everyone else has "abandoned" her).

Pilar goes to talk to Sebastian, who asked her to marry him 15 years ago (so he's probably not Diego's dad, since Diego's only about 10-12). Sebastian is SO happy to see Pilar, that she freaks out and leaves without telling him much about the Hilda case. Later, she opens the present Ricardo left for Diego, and it's a picture of Ricardo holding the baby! She tells Javier Ricardo's been sending the roses. He wants to get Ricardo in jail, just like last time, when they accused him of attempted rape. Pilar wants Ricardo to get "help", not jail, and after meeting with newly relieved Gonzalo, asks Gonzo to see what he can do.

Eva gives Hilda an ultimatum: Now that you've agreed to divorce Emilio and give up the baby, either leave or become our servant girl again. Soon after, Hilda comes out in her little pink contrite servant girl uniform (complete with flat shoes to make her smaller). Hmmmm. Nibaldo doesn't want to get involved, whatever happens, even if Doña Eva fires them all, fine with him!

Renato finally gets the 3 kids in the study for the shocking news: they were all adopted! Their faces show various things, but we'll hear what they say tonight.

Rebeca and Emilio try to deciper the latest internet clue. It turns out to be an address and a time for a pay phone call. At 6:00, the phone rings, and the guy on the other end (Ismael) tells her that Gonzalo Ibañez is in reality Iñaki Mora!!!!!!!
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO:

One last thing. Rebeca told Gonzalo that she hasn't quite finished reading that book La Casa de al Lado (2 page left), but the person who was going to reveal the truth had a car accident, lost the power of speech, and was unable to tell anyone who the real killer was. Will life imitate art imitating life?
 

Corazon

Just wanted to say thank you to Jean and Hombre. Stopped watching this, but am keeping up with TN via this page, so thank you very much.

But...I will admit I saw 5 minutes of it the other day when Lola was berating Rodrigo - I found it funny - she who marries at hello, and then buys toddler's t-shirts and wears them; and has a child with a married man - SHE was berating Rodrigo. And I see it continues with her jumping to conclusions and falling for everything Deborah does, why is she with Andres again?

I can't believe they are pairing up Adelita with the wrong guy - ugghhh so frustrating.

Can we bring back Tiberio?

from Nellie, a sucker for an incredibly bad guy!!!
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO -- miércoles

Thanks for the terrific recapette, Hombre.

Rebeca told Gonzalo that she hasn't quite finished reading that book La Casa de al Lado (2 page left), but the person who was going to reveal the truth had a car accident, lost the power of speech, and was unable to tell anyone who the real killer was. Will life imitate art imitating life?

Man, it sure looks like it'll be "déjà vu all over again" -- the actress suffered an almost identical fate in Alguien, remember?

When Eva gives Hilda the ultimatum, the final humiliation of putting her back in her place, we get a glimpse of knives in a block on the counter. I'm thinking that was no accident.

Speaking of Eva, have you noticed that she is "la señora Eva" and not "doña Eva" but her spouse is always "don Renato"?

Pilar goes to talk to Sebastian, who asked her to marry him 15 years ago (so he's probably not Diego's dad, since Diego's only about 10-12)

True. But he could be Andrea's. Wouldn't it be delicious if Javier turned out to be nobody's daddy?

How funny to hear Gonzaki tell Renato that he, Gonzo, has always been "un libro abierto" for him. Too bad he didn't give him the name of the book so he could read along with Rebeca.

And where's Omar? He has disappeared!
---------------------
I'm looking forward to hearing what the Conde kids have to say about the adoption. Well hey, they're all adults. I'm sure they'll take it in stride... not!
 

FLOR SALVAJE – MIÉRCOLES

When confronted by Mariano, José María, Sacramento, and Zahra, Rafa denies knowing anything about Flor’s whereabouts, saying how would he know where a prostitute hangs out.

Cat asks for Zahra to join forces against Rafa.

Olga and the rest of the P’s confront Lucía, telling her that if her child ends up fatherless, she’s the only one responsible.

Mariano again tries to get under Rafa’s skin, and I think he succeeds. He tells them he hopes for his sake that Flor and Pablo are alive. He also tells him it will be a shame if people see him as a killer and as a cuckold. Rafa tells him he better sleep with his eyes open. He may not get even today, but the time will come.

Alicia makes the mistake of baring her soul to Piruetas, who gets dollar signs in his eyes at the thought of a bribe for her to give up Enrique, something that he’s very eager to have happen anyway. Piru convinces her that Enrique’s family will never accept a former prostitute. She decides to take the money and give him up for his own good. When Piru shows up at Tío Francisco’s hotel room the first thing he asks him is if he’s her chulo (pimp).

One of Mariano’s policemen comes up with a great idea. They could also accuse Rafa of killing Silvia.

There’s a very sad scene in the cave. Rafa has arranged for Flor to be chained there in a way that she and Pablo can’t look at each other. Pablo lies to her and tells her he’s sitting comfortably. Pablo blames himself because they didn’t leave together the first time. (He’s right!)

When Rafa arrives, Flor tries to reason with him, telling him to let Pablo go and she’ll stay with him forever. He tells her one of them will die. He tells her she made him believe that she loved him. She denies this. But she does say that she felt something for him when he saved her sisters, when he was kind to her, and when he took her to the Governor’s party and told her she should not feel inferior to the people there. But she also says: "I love Pablo because he was the first one that made me feel loved, caused me to dream of another life."

Rafa said that his problem was that he fell in love with her, and that he wanted her above all things. He says that Pablo must die and we watch Flor’s face and see Pablo’s body go limp after the gunshot from Rafa's pistol.

Cat has apparently told Sacto about the caves Rafa uses to punish people. But they will get there too late to save Pablo.
 

FLOR SALVAJE: Thanks for the recapette, Novelera. I only got to see part of this episode. It sure looks like Rafa killed Pablo but I continue to hope maybe that won't be so.

Why doesn't anyone fill in Mr. Peter at the oil drilling rig about what is going on with Rafa? Mariano may be the law but he has his own agenda. Peter does not want the company involved in any scandal. I can't imagine that he would tolerate Rafa going around kidnapping and murdering people.
 

MI CORAZON:
Nellie: I'm not defending Lola but in telenovela logic, she married those other guys but didn't sleep with them so that is different than both Andres and Rodrigo.

Andres is her TRUE LOVE so she can have a baby with him regardless if he is married.

And the accusations of the evil person are always believed by the good person in spite of lots of evidence to the contrary until about a week before the Gran Finale. :-)
 

MI Corazon:
Oooh, Mary, I am fascinated by your theory that Sofia's sick episode might be a terminal illness. Another interesting twist.
Deborah is so handy with that screwdriver; after using it to change license plates, she also jiggled it around in the Suares Mansion deadbolt and managed to get the door open.
I miss Tiberio too! I'd settle for a Tiberio ghost...
:o)
J in Oregon
 

Mi Corazon:
J in Oregon, I love your idea of Tiberio as a ghost! -- what a hoot if he came back with Aunt Chabela to haunt Lola! Can you imagine the conversations between Tiberio and Chabela as they pester Lola?
--Mary
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO:

NovelaMaven, I also thought about the actress who plays Rebeca having been unable to name the killer in Alguien!

And your idea about Sebastian's possibly being the father of Andrea, thus shutting out Javier completely, is great!
 

FLOR SALVAJE

Jean, I thought Pablo was killed for sure, but I peeked at Telenovela World for the show and some of them think he's not dead.

And, you're right. It seems odd that the oil company turns a blind eye to some of the outrageous things Rafa does. Maybe it's because the oil drilling sites are far removed from the town, and they don't really know about much of it. And once Rafa threatened Peter with kicking their company off the site and getting another company. I think this had something to do with Cat.

I don't quite understand Mariano's game. Obviously he's enjoying watching Rafa suffering. But he doesn't seem ready to arrest him either. If Pablo is discovered wounded, or dead, I don't see how Mariano can look the other way.
 

CORAZON

Nellie - ROFLOL with your "I found it funny - she who marries at hello, and then buys toddler's t-shirts and wears them"

I wonder how many weeks when they say 'capitulos culminantes.'
 

FLOR SALVAJE

Watching Flor chained up with Pablo, that was the most convincing crying I think I've ever seen in a novela. This girl can act.

The scenes this week with Mariano and Rafael have been priceless. The guy playing Mariano is pure gold, LOVE his scenes. But I have to admit, watching the townfolk gather around him in their search for Amanda and Pablo is kind of funny, I mean they do know the history here, and just how far off this dude is.

I could look at Rocio all day, this girl is gorgeous. Not sure where she's from but I love her accent too. Those eyes penetrate, like when she told Mariano that she was going to run for office, good scene there. The laugh from Mariano too, so good.

I need more scenes with Luisa too, she's another one that looks amazing :)

Kind of weird how fast they turned the page with Flor taking over, converting the club and all that to what's going on now, like it never happened..
 

MI CORAZON INSISTE - Jueves

This was a very sad episode, almost entirely dedicated to Fulgencio's death, and the shattering of Adelita's dreams. The cops think it's all suspicious, but don't have much to go on. Rodrigo rejoins the police force.

Vicki gives Débora some muscle relaxers, and Soledad urges them to flee while Debbi's asleep, but Vicki won't leave w/o Ramon, and when they find out Ramon is dead, she's destroyed, too. Débora is so spaced out it barely affects her, although she wants an explanation from Ángel.

Andrés and Lola play their usual game of mistrust. Andrés sends Daniel to tell Diana she's not fired, possibly finally getting the hint that he has to stay away from her.

As for how long capítulos culminantes can last, I'm going to guess 5 weeks. However, they usually have final (últimas) weeks (7) then final chapters (5 weeks), so we don't really know for sure.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO - Jueves

This was an action-packed episode. We begin with the 3 Conde kids' reactions to the fact that they were adopted. Emilio takes it well, he still loves his Mom and Dad as before, nothing has changed. Carola pretends to be tough, says "that explains a lot", but later looks shaken when she's alone. Drama queen Ignacia bursts into tears, tells Renato he destroyed her entire existence, slaps Eva, and tears up all her family pictures. Very mature.

Nibaldo surprises Karen with a big kiss. We're leaving today, babe, pack your bags, I can't stand it here one more minute! Karen is ecstatic, and is waiting for him outside. She attempts to tell Javier and Pilar, but they're busy.

Javier is busy, because there's been another hotel fire! This time in NY, with many deaths. Renato entrusts him to handle things, and he's off to New York. But first, he sees Ricardo Merino struggling with Diego on the front lawn. Muy impactado, he rushes in, but Ricardo flees.

Adolfo/Ismael was watching all this from his car (maybe he's working with Ricardo?). Rebeca, having heard that Gonzalo is Iñaki, has been trying to call people from the car, and barely misses being killed a few times in car accidents. She arrives at Pilar's, but before she can say anything, Adolfo sees Rebeca, Pilar and Karen standing together, takes careful aim at Pilar, and fires, accidentally hitting Karen!!

Rebeca tosses her phone to Pilar, tells her to call the police and an ambulance, and chases Adolfo's car!! She finally catches up to him, but he tricks her and holds a gun to her head! An innocent bystander says what's going on. Rebeca kicks free from Adolfo, who then kills the bystander, using up all his bullets, and Rebeca escapes!

Yolanda wonders what Nibaldo's doing wearing a sports shirt and with a suitcase, but by this time, Nibaldo has seen Karen was shot down, along with his dreams.

Gonzalo has agreed to help Pilar with the Ricardo matter, and Pilar is sooo grateful that, unlike all the other men in her life, he's always been TOTALLY HONEST. However, Rebeca later tells Pilar that a mysterious man (whom she later realized was Adolfo) said Adolfo was really Iñaki Mora! I don't think either Rebeca or Pilar believes this so far, but can Gonzalo take that chance?!!!
 

FLOR SALVAJE - JUEVES

I agree, Rand. Mónica broke my heart crying and begging Rafa to spare Pablo.

In the last scene these two have before he leaves the cave, she tells him: "¡Te odio! Te odiaré para siempre." He leans over her saying he should have killed her but couldn't bring himself to do it. She spits in his face. He tells her that he's going to repay every good thing and every bad thing she's done to him, then hits her hard enough to make her unconscious.

I sort of liked Piruetas before, but he's dead to me now. He keeps egging on Alicia who looks like she's in shock. He asks Tío Francisco for $50K. When Pancho says he must be crazy and Alicia is ready to walk out with nothing, he lowers his demand to $20K. Pancho agrees and is ready to write Alicia a check. She says she doesn't have an account, and Piru jumps in saying he can put it in HIS account. Grrrr. Tío's too smart for that, and Alicia and Piru have to go to the bank to add her to that account.

Rafa doesn't want to leave Flor in the cave, but Rufino points out they might find him with the body and the jig would be up. So they drag off Pablo's body.

Rafa tells Rufino to say he spent the night working in the Petrolero and it will be his word against Flor's.

Piruetas tells Alicia she can invest in the radio station and star in the radionovela. Again - dead to me.

The P's go to church to pray for Flor. Tío Pancho, for some reason, is standing in the shadows and appears to be admiring Zahra.

Flor wakes up and starts screaming. Poor girl. She thought she was starring in a telenovela and ended up with a non-speaking role in Snakes on a Plane.

The screaming draws Sacramento to the cave. He carefully removes the snakes and sets her free. More great acting by Mónica when she goes over to where Pablo was chained and cries. Doesn't anyone look for blood there? They have his hijo right there and could do a DNA test to prove that blood was Pablo's.

Flor is surrounded by the P's and Sacto. She wants to go confront Rafa. She says he won't lie; he'll confess if she confronts him. What?

Lucía shows up looking for her husband. More great acting from Mónica. She has to be restrained from striking Lucía and tells her all this is her fault, that she'd have preferred him dead rather than losing him to Flor. Lucía finally realizes what she's set in motion and starts whimpering she only wanted to scare him.

Mariano wants to interrogate Flor alone with her, but Sacto refuses.

We see odious Rufino drinking, digging, and taunting the corpse of Pablo. He buries him, and for some reason marks the tree with a machete. Boy, if Pablo is alive, I'll be very surprised.

Rafa is giving off signs of his heart hardening against the world. He mutters that todas las heridas cicatrizan while putting a fresh bandage on his bullet wound. Obviously he means how much Flor hurt him. We'll see how fast he gets over Flor.

Apparently very moved by her sister's grief, Beba starts to speak.

Alicia tells Enrique it's all over between them. The gloating Piru has his arm around her and tells Enrique they are cut from the same bolt of cloth and have spent the night together. When Enrique asks her if it's true, she says it is. So sad.

Mariano shows up to confront Rafa. Dripping with irony, Rafa tells him what great police work; he's come to tell him he caught the ones who shot him. Mariano tells him Flor Salvaje declared against him. He's taking him prisoner for torture, maltreatment, and murder.

Won't be recapping tonight's episode as I'll be out of town all weekend.
 

LA CASA DE AL LADO -- jueves

You're right, Hombre. Lots of things happened last night. I'm always impressed by how deftly you capture the essentials in just a few words.

Javier and Mabel are together and on the verge of cooking up some kind of mischief against the Condes when he gets the news of the fire. It's interesting to see how sober he becomes -- he's genuinely shocked and is instantly prepared to act responsibly on Renato's behalf. Mabel, on the other hand, is completely unconcerned about the fire and its possible human cost. She sees Javier's response as weakness. His residual loyalty to the Conde family makes him useless as a co-conspirator.

So Javier's character is further nuanced -- not only does he have some affectional ties to Ignacia (as much as he tries to hide them), he has some feeling for Renato; and human tragedy still shocks him.

On the other hand, Mabel's soul looks very dark here. We still don't know who this woman really is.
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Diego greets Ricardo Merino's claim that he's his real father with some resistance. Actually, Diego is pretty brave in this scene, standing up for himself and his mother.

Adolfo/Ismael was watching all this from his car (maybe he's working with Ricardo?)
Hmmm. I wonder. I always kind of thought Javier himself was pulling Ricardo's strings...
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Eva is still strutting around in the animal print dress. Add that to her usual stiletto heels and her big hair and she is the perfect contrast to the newly humbled Hilda in her little pink servant's dress and flats. She looks positively predatory!

Emilio doesn't like what his mother has done to his wife. Maybe he'll finally have the courage and the heart to stop the legal attack his mother has loosed on her and their child.
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And Omar is still missing. When his little sister finds out about Carola's accusation, she will turn away from Carola in horror. And then Carola can have more proof that nobody loves her.
 

CORAZON - Thanks, Hombre. I missed last night's episode because I was at my new Spanish Conversation class at a local adult school. I liked it a lot.
 

FLOR SALVAJE- Thanks for the recap, Novlerera. As I mentioned in the Corazon comment, I didn't get to watch last night's episode. I just flipped through the recording.

I was hoping Pablo might wake up and scare Rufino before he finished burying him but I think that he is really dead.

I will recap tonight's episode as part of my bi-weekly Mundo de Telemundo post.
 

MI CORAZON INSISTE - Jueves

gracias Hombre. have not seen last night yet.
 

FLOR SALVAJE

Novelera, great job. I've always seen Piru like a clown but I agree with you, he really came off extra low in his bid to take Tio for the cash while Alicia is obviously suffering.

Yeah, watching Amanda crying for Pablo really was amazing, broke my heart too. Very real and really grabbed me.