Caray, Caray!

RELACIONES PELIGROSAS:

Santiago hustles drugged out, naked Cassius into his empty classroom just before Teresa sees what's going on. By the time Teresa comes in, Cassius is draped with a sheet, "posing" for Santiago. It's still quite suspicious, and Teresa isn't happy about this. When she tells Armando, Santi's father, he's even more appalled. He's always giving his son a hard time, as we know. Santi suspects Leo and Gonzo gave Cassius the drugs, and confronts them, but he has no proof. He vows to stop them from being the school "bullies" (he uses the english term).

Violeta is still making waves with her suspicions about the nude picture of Miranda, and the initials M.B., but she finds out that Miranda's middle name is Beatrice, so SHE could be M.B., and Mau might be innocent.

But that's not what Oliver's mean lawyer thinks. He says he wants to interrogate Miranda about her "affair" with an underaged student. Miranda goes to another lawyer for advice. She tells the whole truth under confidentiality. The lawyer reminds her how serious the crime is, but says she shouldn't worry if Oliver's lawyer has no proof. She then goes back to that guy, says stop bothering me, you've got no proof. But the guy DOES have a tape of Mau and Miranda talking in their tutoring session in the library, where Mau says he loves her. And the lawyer threatens more. When Miranda says Oliver raped me and later held me at knifepoint, and Mau saved me, the lawyer says, that's YOUR story. We contend that Mau and you had sex, and Oliver saved you. Your crimes will come out, and we'll plaster it all over the press.

Distraught, she asks her own lawyer, what now? He says, you have to resign from your teaching position immediately, and have no further contact with Mauricio. Otherwise, the press will have a field day. She has to decide whether to follow this advice.

Manuel follows his son Mau to a trailer, bursts in to find a half dressed Yesi there, too. At least you're not gay, he says. Mau is super mad his Dad invaded his privacy. Manuel says sorry, but I really want to help. If something's wrong, you really can confide in me. I doubt Mau will.

Alejo and Nora stop arguing and are friends again. He has a nice meal at her house, meeting her parents Lupe and Pedro. They're poor, but Pedro got Nora a used computer, so now she can start a blog.

Gonzo has the hots for Leo's Mom, who is young, wears a revealing bathing suit, and wants him to help her with her tan.

JP keeps creeping me out. Is he good or bad?

Santi goes to Cassius's Dad's laundry to explain why Cassius is drugged out.

But what will happen with Miranda. I hate Oliver's lawyer!
 

FLOR SALVAJE – Part 1

This thing just got away from me. I couldn’t seem to even fit it in two comment spaces!

As you guessed, Hombre, our devious Abel did not give Alicia a loaded gun with which to shoot Enrique. He tells her he thinks she was also mixed up in the Diego plot. He goes on to tell her to stop crying. He’s not going to kill Enrique. But she is going to work for him 24 hours a day. Not shooting Enrique revealed that she is loyal, a good quality in his view. But Enrique is going to remain a prisoner. He has one of the thugs free one of his hands so he can write a letter to Alicia saying he has urgent business in the capital.

Say, this guy is a living, breathing pro-choice advertisement. Planned Parenthood should run one of his sadistic scenes as a Spanish language fundraiser. If there ever was a baby that should have been aborted, this is the guy!

Sacramento asks Rafa if maybe he gave him back the land to make up for the stealing of workers by the evil seed. Rafa loses his temper and asks him how many times he’s going to throw the rotten guy up in his face. Tony Dalton portrays a hair trigger temper better than any actor I’ve seen.

Mariano looks ready to be admitted to the nuthouse he bribed the guy in charge to keep his sister in, back when she wasn’t conning him and, in an amazing scene in the Calle de Consuelo, told him exactly what she thought of him. He raves about Sacramento. ”Estoy que lo coso a plomo!” [I’m ready to riddle him with bullets.] Rocío tries to calm him down. She tells him Cat does care for him. He replies that he doesn’t give a rat’s patootie if she cares for him or not. He’s just waiting for the brat to be born to make her his woman. Rocío tells him he needs to control his rage if he wants her to help him. This doesn’t work so well this time. “Or what? You’re going to leave this house? You’re going to be come a prostitute again?”

Later, Cat tells Rocío that Mariano is losing his reason, and she would not be surprised if one of these days he decides to kill one or both of them.

Abel has Enrique read his goodbye note out loud. He tells Alicia to take it from him. Enrique pulls her closer for a kiss, which causes Abel to explode. I don’t see the harm in this, but I guess Abel is so twisted he can’t stand to see love at all. Enrique gets a major beating. After the thugs drag him out, Alicia bravely goes right after Abel screaming in his face. Johnny holds her back. Is there some redeeming quality to El Asqueroso? He actually looks sorry for Alicia. Maybe the fact that she preventing him getting carried off by Arsenio got through his monumental selfishness.

José María has gotten really plastered in the 4P, and Ana takes him to her casa for a romp. Odd that she doesn’t seem to ask for any money. But, apparently, even as far gone as he is, he’s not going for Anaconda. He wakes up in bed with her but still has his pants on.

Back at Casa Rojas Sacto is telling Rafa about Mariano giving Cat a ring. He tells him that Cat isn’t letting him help her. He’d throw him out on his rear end, but she resists. Also, she says she doesn’t want to leave Rocío alone with him. Sacto also tells Rafa that the two women are working together to get evidence to bring Mariano down. Rafa gives a wide smile, apparently about their courage.

Mariano muses to himself that if Abel thinks he can get the better of him and not pay him, he’s got another think coming. He says he’s going to end up with everything. He looks at pictures of Cat and Rocío. He thinks Cat is like Rocío in appearance, (?) but she doesn’t even come up to Rocío’s heels. He stares at the photograph of Rocío saying that she’s the queen
of his heart.
 

FLOR SALVAJE – Part 2

Rocío has a long (and well acted by both actors) scene with Quesada. She says she can testify about what he did to Emilio. Quesada says that would be all right, except he doesn’t want any evidence that would salpicar others. He reminds her that he and some other cops were present when Mariano killed her brother. He also helped take Silvia to the river when Mariano killed her. He says that NE has frontier justice. All the officials around here have un rabo de paja. This means a straw tail. I guess that means it would be easy to set fire to them. But he reassures Rocío that, because of spending time on the dark side, he’s her best bet to help bring him down. He says that her best approach is getting the goods on him about Lourdes, an important person. Rocío, of course, is outraged that humble people can just be killed off and no one cares. She tells Quesada about the briefcase full of money she found in Mariano’s bedroom.

Mariano comes to the hotel behaving as arrogantly as he always has. He insinuates to Abel that, if he goes down, everyone goes down with him. Abel looks at him like he’s a bug and tells him that, unless he learns to control himself, he’s out. Mariano laughs and asks if he’s being threatened. He says he’ll make himself clear. He’s the mayor. He has the power. Abel almost laughs in his face. He tells him he’s the power of the whole Caribbean zone and he addresses him as estupido. He has gotten rid of governors, ministers, and empresarios. Don’t come to him saying you have power. Mariano backs right down and calls Olga over to buy El Jefe a cup of coffee. Abel seems to have watched all the Godfather movies. He tells Mariano that people are watching. Everyone is wondering why the Mayor spends so much time with Abel Torres. This demonstrates lack of respect and stupidity.

Zahra is very annoying this whole episode. She tells Olga to forget about what she knows about Abel Torres.

I’m not sure exactly what is going on in this scene. But Rafa is in the woods with some of his armed guys and he’s refusing to let Abel and his armed guys pass. Abel tells him how many bullets per second the automatic weapon one of his guys holds can fire. Rafa tells him that Abel knows he wouldn’t stand a chance against him without guns. Abel tells Rafa to forget about his obsession to get him in jail. Because, if not, he’ll indulge one of his own obsessions. If a mother was at the point of killing a son, that son also could be at the point of killing the mother. Is that what you want? Rafa yields at this threat to Zahra and lets them pass.
 

FLOR SALVAJE – Part 3

I’m not liking José María’s conversion into a sloppy drunk very much. Sacto tries to talk sense into him, but he doesn’t even care about the family farm. Later Titi comes in with a badly injured arm, and JM can barely insert the needle in the container of local anesthetic he needs before sewing up his arm. We don’t really see how this goes, but later JM says he can’t work this way. I don’t know if this means he’s giving up drinking or medicine altogether.

Arsenio delivers another briefcase full of money to Mariano. Mariano can’t leave well enough alone, and tells him he’ll take this as un desgravio de su parte (a gesture of making amends). Arsenio gives him a cold stare and tells him it’s payment for services rendered.

We see Alicia going to Enrique’s room to get the photos of Mina. This gives the audience a chance to see that Enrique’s bug in Abel’s room is still working, even though no one is listening.

Zahra comes to the hacienda to tell Rafael that she’s not here for Abel Torres, but for their son, Rafael. She goes on, more and more annoying, about how the poor kid is not right in the head. He’s committed a lot of errors and might commit more. She wants to get him medical help. Rafa can’t believe this. He says Abel is a grown man. He’s chosen his road. He knows how to get people out of his way. And, he’s sure he had something to do with the death of Francisco Losada. She ends up telling Rafa it’s all his fault. She couldn’t bring up her child because she had to hide him from his father. I suppose, on some level, this is true.

Meanwhile, the poor mental patient is forcing Enrique to begin writing flattering articles about him in La Verdad, the Losada family newspaper. He wants to appear like the new God of this region. Enrique snarks: Lo siento, Señor Don Dios but I work for a newspaper and owe them my services. You’ll have to kill me. Of course, Abel just says the person he’ll kill will be Alicia. And Enrique begins to write what Abel dictates.

Rocío comes to the 4P to see Flor, and Ana starts blabbing about JM spending the night with her. Rocío tells her she’s not interested in what JM does.

Rafa goes to the river to think and finds some clothes draped on a rock. Amanda is swimming in the river, and he watches her with a smile on his face. She gets out of the water, apparently nude, and they look at each other.
 

Flor Salvaje- I watched this episode. Thanks for the great recap.

What a mess Zahra is! What became of that strong woman who ran everything and was a mother to everyone at the 4Ps? I thought it was interesting that Rafa flashed back to telling her that the way Abel turned out is his fault. I hope he doesn't start believing that. Look at Sacto - for most of his life, he thought he had been abandoned by his parents and he turned out ok.

Rocîo witnessed Mariano receiving the payoff so now she has the evidence Quesada needs - unless he changes his mind again. But I agree that Mariano is not very stable mentally and he is going to end up being a liability for Abel who will not hesitate to kill him.
 

Flor Salvaje- friday,

GREAT summary novelera!

btw I googled "a tail of straw"
one source quoted a proverb from Argentina,
"If you have a tail of straw, then keep away from the fire."
 

RELACIONES

Hi. I have visited this site before but this is my first time to post a comment. :)

Thank you so much for the recap. I had missed that part about where Oliver's lawyer got the recording of Miranda and Mauricio.

I'm really enjoying this show. It really grabbed my attention right from the start and I think that it just keeps on getting better and better.

RPTV Fan
 

FLOR SALVAJE

The big close up of the receiver for the bug in Abel's room has me guessing that's a ticking plot bomb. I wonder who it'll be that makes use of the bug and catches Abel saying something that betrays his vileness.

I think the actress playing Rocio, Viviana Corrales, has been doing some extraordinary work. It's funny, I didn't think she was a very strong actress early on in the show, or I guess, I wasn't really sure what to make of her back when she was wearing the veils, but she's been knocking scenes out of the park for a while now. I look at her credits and see she was in DONA BARBARA, and I must have seen her in that because I watched that soap, but for the life of me, I can't remember anything she did in that one; but FLOR has given her a really complex character and strong, meaty material and she's making the most of it.

That's one of the strengths of the show, I feel, as they have three extremely meaty female roles and actresses taking advantage of the opportunity: Rocio along with, obviously, the title character played by Monica Spear, and the other standout for me, Carolina Gaitan playing Alicia. On WAPA America, they are running a Colombian soap called GABRIELA which stars Carolina Gaitan in the title role, and she's perfectly fine in that, but she's much much better in FLOR, she really lights up the screen in this one and the part just gives her so much more to do.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is it seems to be getting harder and harder to get a complex, strong, interesting and well-acted lead protagonista on a soap, and FLOR has managed not only that, but two other co-protagonistas as well; a whole telenovela could have just as easily been made with Rocio or Malicia as the leads, I think the parts are that good and the actresses playing those parts have proven themselves up to the challenges the roles tossed their way. They've been great to watch, and it helps cure my soul a bit watching them make the most of good parts each night, before my soul dies again when I watch my DVR of EL TALISMAN and see poor Marcela Mar trying to stay afloat in that dreck. (Though, I must confess, I am enjoying that one on a purely camp level.)


RELACIONES PELIGROSAS

I'm still watching this one, though not as intently as FLOR. Sandra Echeverria is an actress I'm usually iffy on, but I think she's doing a really nice job on this one. And I just find Ana Layevska a hoot to watch act -- she's always tossing some little comedic touch into her scenes that keep them lively - I could do with a lot more of her on the show. I'm a little disappointed with they part they've given Maritza Bustamante - she's another actress I much prefer doing comedic material, and it doesn't look like she's going to have much opportunity for that here. I do wish I found the younger actors more interesting. really, aside from the lead boy playing Mauricio, the only one that I find interesting to watch is the girl playing Yesenia, she has a weird little enigmatic vibe going there, and she always gives the impression there's something going on in her head, always thinking.
 

FLOR SALVAJE-
I agree with you, Agree2, about the acting and writing in Flor. Secondary characters are well developed and well acted. On Doña Bárbara, Viviana Corrales played Melesia, one of the terneras, the 5 granddaughters of Melesio. Only 3 of the terneras had well developed characters, Genoveva, Altagracia (who married María Nieves, Roberto Manrique who plays Sacto in FS) and Gervasia (who married Carmelito, Pedro Rendón who plays JM in FS and after he is killed gets together with the reporter, Nestor, played by Sebastian Boscán who plays the music producer, Rodolfo in FS), The other two terneras, Josefina and Melesia, were very minor characters and they got together with Cosme and Andres, respectively, the revolutionary friends of Gonzalo who sought refuge at Altamira. One of the actors who played Cosme or Andres in DB plays Titi in FS but I didn't look up which one it was.
 

FLOR SALVAJE

Great comments argee2.

I think Monica Spears is a great actress. Unfortunately for me, the part has been up and down and always comes back to the same thing...really quite boring.

The Rocio character however has been really good the whole way through. Her scenes with Mariano have been so good, I know when he finally falls and he looks into her eyes we're going to get a treat, good stuff coming there.

When he confronted Cat and Rocio and got in Cat's face...wow! Did you see her shake when he yelled !Que! This guy brings it.

The actress playing Alicia is top notch too. Her scenes as an addict were powerful and lately with Johnny and now Abel it's what keeps me watching. (Alicia, not Abel) Like Novelera, I noticed compassion in Johnny when she was fearing for Enrique's life. I kind of like the scenes where Abelardo cares for Johnny too, like these 3 have bonded and they care for each other.

Tony Daltons new role is better each day, I have really enjoyed watching him as a more calculated thinker, less of the off the handle bully. Great actor too.

The Zhara piece as of late is pure comedy. I can't even watch it anymore. So she's come to grips that her "hijito" pulled the trigger on her true love, but now she'll cover it up so she doesn't lose him too...puhhlleasse.

What was the purpose of Ana gloating and smiling as she told Rocio in front of all the other girls that she had JM's arms around her all night?? Look, as far as we know, Ana was initiated by Mariano in what seemed really close to rape. Then she was tricked into sex blindfolded with Titi thinking it was Rafa. We haven't seen her take even one client to a room the entire show..maybe one of the rich putz's that got off of that helicoper, I can't remember. Point is, this girl would be traumatized and instead we see her walk around like a seasoned ho who just punches the clock and then has the audacity to make some crap up to somehow get under Rocios's skin?? Like that won't backfire? They lost me with that one. She's just filler anyway, fast forward..
 

FLOR SALVAJE:

Novelera, I can see why it took 3 parts to cover everything, there's really a lot happening as they head toward the gran final. I wasn't surprised when Enrique, after being stoic when his own life was on the line, caved when Alicia's was threatened. Maybe he can slip some kind of code into his newspaper reports to show they're being coerced. Also, if he's supposedly back in "the capital", how could he know about Abel's business? We'll see. I agree the hidden microphones will have to come into play.

I also see just about everyone eventually turning against Abel, except Arsenio and Zahra. Lots of people now know he's Rafael's son, a fact he conveniently hid while pretending to be an independent businessman who's helping the town.

I'm not sure if Rocio's seeing Mariano accepting money from Arsenio for "services rendered" is enough evidence to convict Mariano. Maybe HE'll end up being taped, admitting to being involved in Lourdes' killing, or being involved in drugs. Or maybe either Abel or Mariano will turn on the other one. As someone pointed out, that could go badly for Mariano.

Right now, Flor is a little mad at Rafael for sleeping with Mina, and Rafa is mad at her for maybe sleeping with Abel. But their encounter at the river might lead them to forget their doubts, and reconnect. I hope it does.
 

RELACIONES PELIGROSAS:

I do like the varied characters. Nora, Alejandro and Sebastian, Sofia and Cassius, Leo, Gonzalo and Diego, Violeta, Yesenia and Mauricio all have biases, subgroups, interactions, and quirks. The parents are also fascinating, though most of them are portrayed negatively. Then you have the teachers, who all have problems. It's a regular Peyton Place! So while the main story could get repetitive, all the side stories keep this novela fresh for me.
 

FLOR

I have to say I'm pretty amazed by Gregorio Pernia's performance as Mariano; he's quite a sick puppy, and his scene with Cat and Rocio had me totally buying that this guy has completely snapped. He played a similar sleeze in Sin Senos, but that character didn't have nearly the complexity and nuances that Mariano does. Gregorio is knocking this one out of the park!!

RELACIONES

Argee, I'm in total agreement with you... more Ana please! She's really showing her acting range in this one, from the devious Deborah in Mi Corazon to the adorable comic relief Patty; she's such a pleasure to watch! I also really like Yesenia, with her sass and quirkiness. Part of me would love for her to end up with Mauricio :)

AnotherAmy
 

I love the varied characters in this novela too. :)

Santiago is becoming my favorite character right now. I loved the way that he helped out Cassius even though it meant that he (Santiago) would get in trouble himself. I also liked how he told Armando the truth about what really happened. It was also great the way that he confronted Leo Maximo and Gonzalo.

So far the only character that annoys me is JP. I can't stand him. He always comes off as looking like a big bully whenever he gets angry and aggressive.

My only complaint with the novela is that I wish that Sebastian would get more screen time. Out of all the teens he's my favorite. I like the actor that is playing him. I think he's doing a good job here. I hope we see more of him.

RPTV Fan
 

Oops! I forgot to mention that my last comment was about Relaciones Peligrosas. Sorry!

RPTV Fan
 

TELEMUNDO - GENERAL

First off, I'd like to welcome RPTV Fan to our group. We enjoy having new voices!

Another Amy, I agree 100% about Pernia's performance as Mariano. He moves effortlessly from incestuous obsession with his sister to devious calculation about getting his hands on money to groveling in front of a more powerful figure - Abel Torres.

Argee2, thanks for the info about other roles the Alicia actress has played. She is exceptional. And everyone here is just knocked out by the woman playing Rocío. She is stunningly beautiful, but more than that, a wonderful actress. Her determination to bring down her evil brother and not just run for the hills as he shows signs of losing control is so well acted. She's a truly noble character, and I hope they manage to have her end up happy with JM at the end.

Hombre, I hope you're right about everyone turning against Abel. It's been disgusting watching everyone in town thinking he's a paragon of virtue.
 

Novelera,

Thank you for the welcome! :)
 

Novelera..."to groveling in front of a more powerful figure"

Great point, that was another side of Mariano that we hadn't seen and I did notice it. Once again I was saying to myself, this guy can do it all.
 

FLOR SALVAJE – LUNES – Part 1

Rafael Urrieta and Flor Salvaje play games by the river, each one trying to convince the other that they don’t love them. He tells her she doesn’t appeal to him any more. She’s just a prostitute. He says she doesn’t look content. Maybe Abel isn’t getting the job done. She tells him Abel is the best lover she’s ever had. She gets so angry she bashes him in the head with a piece of wood. Then she’s beside herself thinking she killed him. He wakes up and plants a passionate kiss on her. He then takes off with her clothes, but does leave her a sort of sheet.

Zahra has a talk with José María in his office about “a young man” she knows that she’s worried about. He had a rough childhood and she fears he might be capable of murder. JM tells her he sounds like a psychopath who has no conscience. This doesn’t go over well with Zahra.

Ana keeps ragging on Rocío about her fabulous night with JM and earns a resounding slap. Ah, how sweet it is to see Ana get what’s coming to her! The other P’s tell Rocío that JM was so drunk he probably doesn’t remember even seeing Ana that night, much less being able to perform.

Mariano comes knocking on Cat’s door and is irate she’s locked her bedroom door in her own house. He tells her she’s crazy if she thinks she can put a servant between them. He’s only waiting until the baby is born. Then he’s going to make her his. He’d prefer willingly, but unwillingly also has its attraction for him. He starts kissing her. When she pulls away he asks how she dares to refuse him. He can caress her when he pleases. The door needs to stay open. She said Sacto won’t permit this. He tells her she needs to tell Sacto she’s in love with Mariano and tell him to go to hell or he’ll figure out a way to kill him and call it self defense.

Sacto has gone looking for Zahra, and ends up talking to Olga. Olga tells him Abel is a baddie. He tries to get it out of Olga if she’s seen Abel do anything bad.

Abel forces Enrique to write a glowing story about him. When Enrique just says the story can be mailed in, Abel points his gun and asks if he thinks he’s stupid. He knows reporters have a way of making sure their stories sent remotely are really theirs. When he threatens Alicia again, Enrique tells him there’s a seal in his hotel room that has to be applied to a signed printout of his story. Just then Johnny comes to tell Abel that FS is walking nude through the streets.

Abel races into town and tries to get Flor into his car. She tells him to leave her alone. He wants to know whom she was with. Rafa shows up smirking and waving her clothes. He tells Abel she gave them to him as a memento. She turns the tables and plants a big kiss on Abel. Rafa loses it and points his gun at Abel. Zahra, of course, races up out of nowhere.

Rocío comes to criticize JM for turning to drink. She reminds him of the people who depend on him, especially his child. He’s too screwed up to tell her the truth about Ines and the fake pregnancy.
 

FLOR SALVAJE – LUNES – Part 2

Mariano appears to be buying a racehorse. This guy has a bad case of megalomania. He tells the horse sellers that he doesn’t care about the investment. What he cares about is status and respect. He invites these folks to have a drink with him. Quesada and the Gov look on, more and more convinced that only drug money could account for this derroche de dinero (squandering of money).

Rafa tells Abel it’s pretty funny he’s surrounding himself with prostitutes. This is definitely proof that he’s his son. And, of the only two women he’s loved in his life, Abel came from one and is entering another. Rafa tells him he has a big future as a pimp, and he should put on some cadenitas [necklaces; I assume this means gold chains around the necks of known pimps]. Flor walks off alone, refusing Abel as an escort home.

Flor calls the P’s together and tells them that anyone who goes to bed with Rafael Urrieta will be instantly fired from the 4P and forced to leave the Calle de Consuelo.

Johnny comes to talk with Alicia, who’s already with Abelardo. Abe senses that something funny is going on. Johnny tells him that Alicia is the one who is charge now. After sending Abe away, Johnny tells Alicia that he’s grateful for her saving his life. She asks about Enrique. He tells her that bad guys don’t like to mess with reporters or police officers, so Enrique is probably going to be OK.

Zahra tries to talk to Abel about his seeing a doctor. He grabs her by the throat and tells her that she’s not going to put him in the nuthouse. Before that happened, he’d send her to hell, which is where she deserves to be.

Rafa has his back turned at the hacienda and has tears in his eyes when Sacto comes in. He tells him that Abel really knows where to land his punches. He goes after the only woman for whom he was prepared to lose everything: Flor Salvaje [I am now wondering, and can’t really remember, if Abel knew about the relationship between FS and RU when he started chasing her. Or did he have that instant lust at the sight of her that happens so often in telenovelas?]

Zahra comes to the hacienda, at first to talk with Sacto and then decides she needs to tell Rafa something. She tells him there’s nothing going on with FS and Abel. He says Mina said the same, but he only believes what his eyes tell him.

Mariano brings the people from the horse stable home for champagne. He tells them “Welcome to MY palace”. He yells for Cat in the rudest manner possible and tells her to bring them the best champagne. He also tells her, in her bedroom, that she has to come out and mingle and appear to be his woman. I certainly hope his downfall is extremely painful.

Flor shows up at the 4P looking stunning. The petroleros all admire her. As I suspected, that kiss got Abel all stirred up. He tells her he’d like to believe she was thinking of him when she got ready that night. Rafa arrives and is refused in turn by Mina, Correcaminos, and Fideo. Ana finally tells him that Flor has forbidden them to be with him. He knocks over some furniture and yells at Flor: “Is this because you only want me to be with you?”
 

FLOR SALVAJE:

Thanks, Novelera. Rafa and Flor sure are proud. We all know at some point they'll give in to what they really feel, but it's entertaining to see them puff, pout and posture. Rafa may believe only what he sees, but he hasn't actually SEEN Flor sleep with Abel. He only knows they spent a night in the same room, and he's seen her kiss him publicly. But he should be smart enough to know what's going on. And so should she.

It's so frustrating that Alicia is afraid to tell the truth and get Enrique hurt, and Enrique is afraid to tell the truth and get Alicia hurt. Abel was smart to separate them. As bad as Johnny is, he may be the key to saving Alicia, since she convinced Abel not to kill him, and he's grateful.

One of these days, JM is going to tell Rocio the truth. It'll probably happen when someone is badly hurt, such as Rocio somehow.

Mariano has just completely ignored Abel's warning not to spend ostentatiously. If this gets back to Abel, he won't be happy. I agree that Mariano keeps sinking lower and lower, and deserves some major punishment.

Olga almost told Sacto about the silver bullets. Darn!
 

RELACIONES PELIGROSAS:

Now everything's going wrong! Miranda calls Mau so they can discuss the lawyer's threats. Patty's not home, but Miranda misses the note she'll be right back. When Mau arrives, they barely get a chance to talk (but she does tell him she has to resign as a teacher) when JP and Patty are back with some food. Patty hears Miranda seemingly talking to someone in the back room, and is very suspicious when Mir finally opens the door. Mau left through the window, but someone took a photo of him climbing out!

Santi tries again to kiss Patty, but she freezes up again. She obviously has some hidden problem. He's pretty much giving up on her, since she won't talk about it.

Santi also tries to help Cassius. After he tells the teachers his suspicions about Leo and Gonzo drugging Cassius, Teresa can't act without proof. Ana scolds Teresa, saying SHE'd act, and Tere's reticence will result in Ana's being the next principal. Ana totally backs Santiago, which reawakens Gilberto's jealousies. I have a feeling that Santi will be so frustrated with Patty that he might actually do something with Ana.

Since Teresa won't act, Santi confronts Leo and Gonzo in the bathroom, and threatens them with jail if they don't stop bullying Cassius. But after he leaves, Leo reveal he taped the tirade on his cell, and they can get Santi in trouble for teacher bullying of students!!!

Mau asks Billy what he can do to stop Oliver. Billy says he knows a guy. Turns out to be the same guy Mau delivered drugs to. Mau goes to visit him, and wants him to teach Oliver a lesson. Don't kill him, but make him know he has to stop his blackmailing of me. But Mau doesn't know that those guys from the van (cops, probably) are listening in on this conversation, and Mau could REALLY be in big trouble now!

Leo gives Gonzo $700 sneakers. Gonzo's Mom and stepdad are suspicious. Gonzo has a thing for Leo's Mom, Clemencia, who always dresses slutily. He even takes a photo of a cheesecake photo of herself which was sitting around in her house.

Miranda types up an email that she resigns. The first night, she can't bring herself to press send, but the second night, she DOES!
 

FLOR SALVAJE:

Thank you, Novelera! Great recap as usual!

Scenes like last night with Rafa & Flor remind me of why those two are ultimately made for each other- they're both crazy LOL! Those scenes with them at the river were nuts, lol, but they were chock full of chemistry which is what makes those two appealing. That kiss they had was HOT! They need to get over all their pride and misunderstandings asap though.

Zahra is still ridiculous, that is all.
 

Relaciones Peligrosas:

Damn, this show's getting convoluted now. Mauricio can't be a galan if he's in jail for putting out a near-hit on a guy, and Miranda can't be his Isolde if she actually resigns, and Team Douchebag continues to skate on everything (though Gonzo's thing for Clemencia could eventually skewer that, I don't know)...it's good, but it certainly ain't happy.
 

Great episode last night. Rafa and Flor are in the typical soap final separation stage, so they haven’t had a lot of one-to-one scenes lately, but it was worth the wait for that scene last night, which was just electric. Seeing Monica Spear with her hair damp and frizzy after her nude dip brought to mind her look early in the show when she was the innocent girl roaming the streets with her sisters. It also brought to my mind the Amanda/Flor Salvaje duality that was a major theme in the early months of the show. She even whopped Rafa over the head with a convenient log, reminiscent of when Amanda cracked a would-be rapist over the head and saved her sister. Amanda didn’t quite die with Pablo, as she attempted to remain that girl during her brief marriage to Sacramento, but she finally destroyed Amanda when she decided only Flor Salvaje could get revenge on Rafael. She is almost completely Flor now, that last scene with her in her silver dress, flirting with the petroleum workers was a marvelous contrast to the ever so brief return to innocence the nude swim offered.

Mariano seems to be making colossal mistake after colossal mistake; perhaps it was his wife, who usually had her eyes on the political, that is public, ramifications of his actions, was the one who managed to somehow keep him at least partially in line and focused. With her murder, Mariano’s ambitions and desires are now unchecked, which is dangerous not just to the women in his life, but ultimately himself as well.
 

FLOR SALVAJE – MARTES – Part 1

Wow! What an amazing episode! This thing is like a runaway horse. I keep thinking there’ll be a lull, but it sure isn’t happening.

Flor and Rafa argue in the 4P. She says she can make him leave HER place. He reminds her angrily that he gave it to her. He throws money at her, saying he could buy 10 sluts like her with that much money. Abel demands respect for Flor and Rafa tells him to butt out or he’ll throw him out on his ass. A cliché bar fight happens.

Alicia lies to Rocío about Abel, saying of course he’s not the capo.

Rafa tells Correcaminos to come and be with him. He’ll pay for her son’s education. She tells Flor she can’t pass that up and leaves with him. Flor is fuming, while Abel Eversmirk looks on.

Mariano continues to make a complete and utter ass of himself. He keeps telling everyone they’re guests in HIS hacienda. He orders someone to appear (hobble) los caballos. He and his guests are going to have a look around the hacienda. [Now I’m wondering if he wasn’t trying to buy a racehorse, but rather to sell Catalina’s horses.] Cat objects. My horses are resting and it’s late. He gets right up to her and says in a low voice:
“Your horses? Now they’re yours? Are you trying to make me look like a kept man in front of my guests?” Rocío comes in and asks what is going on. Mariano tells her it’s a party, of course, or is she still blind?

Abel is with Flor at the bar and continues to play his broken record. His daddy is a jerk who doesn’t deserve her. Show him you’re strong. Look, everyone is pitying you. Use me to return the offense and show everyone you’re with a man who’s worth it. She orders a drink on the house for everyone and goes with him.

Manuela tells Sacto that Flor is really in love with Rafael and won’t ever be unfaithful to him.

Rafael doesn’t look all that happy after his romp with Corre. She tells him Flor’s behavior has two reasons. One is that she hates him and wants to destroy him and the other is that she loves him and is jealous. He says he’s sure she hates him.

Flor thanks Abel for accompanying her and pours herself a drink. He tells her she should stop drinking and use him. He kisses her shoulder. She tells him she thought they were clear. They left the 4P because it was his idea. He gets angry and says she used him to make Rafa jealous. But it was your idea. He tells her that tonight they’re going to finish what they started and grabs her to him. She pushes him away violently and tells him never to touch her again as long as he lives. He tells her, if she really wants to humiliate RU, she has to really go through with it. And he tells her no woman is going to make him wait. And grabs her again.

After Corre’s talk Rafa is about to go see Flor, but runty little Rufino has to tell him she’s locked up there with Abel Torres.

Abel’s true persona comes out in spades. “Why don’t you let me touch you since you’re a cualquiera” She pulls a knife on him. She tells him “Yes, I’m a prostitute, but I’m not required to be with you.” He replies: “Why not? You were with a killer.” “But I love your father. And don’t think I’m going to help you revenge yourself on your mother and your father”. He tells her “Speaking of Zahra, yes, you’re a cualquiera, and you’re going to work.” He reaches for her, but she cuts him on the arm. When he tries to go for her again, she holds the knife to her throat saying she’ll kill herself. She’d rather die than be with him. [It’s melodramatic; but Monica brings it off.] She tells him he should be ashamed to speak that way about Zahra who is a fabulous person. And she now knows who he is. He’s come to harm Zahra and Rafael. He yells that he doesn’t need her to psychoanalyze him. She tells him she loves Rafa; he should accept it. He ends up telling her she’s going to suffer with tears of blood for refusing him. He pushes her violently and leaves.
 

FLOR SALVAJE – MARTES – Part 2

Cat starts to have pains at the horrible party. Mariano wants her to dance with him and thinks she’s making up pains so she won’t have to dance. Rocío tells Mariano that the party is harming her. Rocío tells Luisa to call Sacramento and tell him the baby is going to be born. When Mariano says he’ll take her to her room, she tells him not to touch her. He tells the guests that all women are hysterical when giving birth and when the man doesn’t come home on time, said with a big horses's ass laugh.

There’s an amazing scene with Rafael at the fake baby tomb. Unfortunately they practically ruined it by playing Gregorian chant during most of it. For Rafael Urrieta? He pulls out Abel’s baby clothes, sobbing. He has a vision of what could have been with Zahra, himself, and an approximately 3 year old Abel. Then he imagines teaching Abel to fight, playfully. He groans and groans with pain.

Nutty Zahra tells Olga she wonders if Enrique has gone to the capital to denounce Abel. Olga tells her she never thought the day would come she’d completely lose her mind.

We get to see the Pinocchio dance, with the P’s pretending to be marionettes. Very cute. Unfortunately Johnny has come to get Alicia to come to her casa. Abel is there demanding sex. It’s a truly awful scene. She tells him she doesn’t accept clients any more. He tells her she has to satisfy him or die. He also tells her he’ll have Enrique killed. He wants her completely humiliated. Meanwhile, it looks like Enrique is rubbing the rope against something trying to free his hands.

Sacramento and JM come in, aghast at the party going on. Sacto fires his gun at the ceiling and says his WIFE is giving birth. Get out, all of them. Mariano says no one is leaving. These are important people. He says if any of them leave, all the deals are off. He’s the mayor. Sacramento fires, just missing him. I LOVE to see Mariano scared. Mariano wants to fight. Sacto puts down his gun and knocks him on his ass. He tells him to leave the hacienda. He wants to see his child born.

Corre tells Gabriel they have to leave NE. She goes back to her house for something she forgot, and Rafa is there. She tells him she has nowhere to go. Meanwhile, Flor is repenting and remembering how Corre helped her when she first came to the Calle de Consuelo.

Mariano bursts into the bedroom with a hatchet, saying he knows how to get that baby out of there. He’s ready for that strait jacket he had the crooked doctor put on Rocío when he put her in the nuthouse.
 

FLOR SALVAJE:

Novelera, you're right, a super exciting episode! It's too bad there's no really corresponding verbal putdown for men, equivalent to whore or slut. Abel and Rafa are both throwing out these terms, and I wish the women had something to come back with. "Pig" is good, but it's not the same.

Mariano is so ridiculously cruel, I think even his guests could tell. He has no sympathy for a woman giving birth, saying keep the party going. He fights with Sacto, and when he loses, says he would have won if he hadn't had a few drinks in him (THAT'LL make him look upstanding - not). And then he pulls out that axe. As the guests were leaving, I think some of them were shaking their heads at his behavior.

I was also moved by Rafa's sad reverie at the river at what could have been.

At least JM got his act together enough to responsibly help with the baby's delivery.

Hopefully, Corre will get unfired. I also think Rafa will help her.

It's also interesting that apparently Rafa can have sex with various women, as long as he doesn't love them, and not permanently jeopardize his relationship with Flor, but SHE pretty much has to be chaste to retain her standing.

Rufino is definitely a troublemaker, telling Rafa not to believe Flor, she'll be the death of him. Of course Rufino says he himself has nobody, and is almost in love with Rafa.

Catalina's suffering was very real to me, the actress had me feeling her distress. And one look at Alicia's face as she prepared to be raped by Abel was shattering.

Enrique, keep rubbing those ropes! Get free! Hurry!
 

RELACIONES PELIGROSAS, Part One

Leo and Gonzo visit Cassius at the laundry to bug him again. He pulls the gun on them, they claim they just wanted him on the football team. When Sofia arrives, Cassius hides the gun, and nobody says anything.

Leo asks Gonzo, you didn't put more than one tab of Ecstasy in that drink, did you? Well, says Gonzo, 1 1/2. But he deserved it. It's not like we killed anyone, like Oliver killing Rodrigo and the other kid with those drugs. Yeah, right.

They also play the tape of Santiago threatening them, she can put it in her blog, injustice against students. She's not sure, she wants to, but they must have done something, and it could cost Santiago his job.

Meanwhile, the bad guy Mau asked to help with Oliver has done his part. Oliver is given an extra portion at lunch by a big black guy, and his boasting turns to gasping, as he collapses, blood coming out from his mouth, either dead or close to it.

Mau goes to talk to Miranda about her quitting. She notices he's in pain. He shows her his cut about two inches from ground zero. She gets some antibiotic to help. Just then, Patty comes home. Mau hides behind a glass door (not too smart). Patty sees a flash of lower limbs and a tattoo, thinks it's JP, and leaves, embarrassed but amused with Miranda. But later, JP finds a picture of Mau jumping out of Miranda's window (it was left by Ignacio! they guy who was working for Olivares). Patty realizes that it was MAURICIO who was undressed in Miranda's apartment!

Miranda's lawyer says tell everybody you have to go help your mother in Mexico, that's why you're leaving.
 

RELACIONES PELIGROSAS, part 2

Gilberto surprises Ana at work with flowers. But the bitch sneers at them, saying, don't mix work and home. He's crestfallen. He also isn't too happy when he sees Ana comforting Santi, who's upset about Leo and Gonzo.

Leo, the computer genius, has hacked the office email, and knows Miranda has resigned. He may have also put a virus in Teresa's computer, as she can't access her email. She enlists Violeta (nickname Vivi) who is also a computer wiz, to fix her computer. Teresa does see one email eventually, though. Yep, it's the one in which Miranda has resigned.

Patty goes to her therapist, she and Santiago have almost gotten going romantically a few times, but each time she pulled away. She just can't bear to get involved, since she has this DISEASE (we don't know what it is).

Mauricio goes to Billy who says the Oliver thing was done. But Mau has to deliver some more drugs to the bad guy, this time in a bar. Mau's followed, and after he goes into the bar, the cops burst in. The bad guy hides, Mau flees with the drugs, runs outside onto a high up ledge, will he escape?!!!!
 

RELACIONES PELIGROSAS:

I meant to say Nora is the one with the blog. And JP is really acting suspiciously. He called his sister in law in Mexico, and they're hiding something. He burned up some papers Ignacio had. But why would Ignacio be taking pictures of Mauricio? Is JP actually somehow already connected to Miranda, in a way we haven't seen?
 

FLOR AND RELACIONES PELIGROSAS

Hombre, I enjoyed your recap. I do see a bit of this show every night because I have the DVR set to go 5 minutes after. The wacky way Spanish broadcast stations time things, I have to be sure I don't miss the end of what I'm watching.

That Oliver is one rotten dude. Probably too much to hope for he's really out of the picture.

When I looked at Deb's photo recap of Flor Salvaje on Telenovela World, she had a picture of Mariano entering Cat's bedroom with that hatchet. It made me think of the famous "Shining" scene with Jack Nicholson: "Heeeer's Johnny!"
 

FLOR SALVAJE

That was a crazy and intense scene with Mariano and co. -- it was like a party on the Titanic after the iceberg hit with Mariano cracking bad jokes while everything was falling apart around him. Amazingly, it looked like the actor playing Mariano shot his part of the scene separate from when everybody else in the party shot their part of the scenes and was edited in later, so kudos to the editors and actors for pulling it off pretty seamlessly -- it was a really good use of a double shot from behind, really good editing, and good performances by the actors, especially the 3 actresses playing Catalina, Rocio and Luisa, who didn't have Gregorio Pernia there to react to. They were all able to sell and build the intensity of the scene when the prime catalyst actor wasn't even present on the set.

Good little writer's trick on display in this episode: put what a lot of the audience must be thinking into the mouth of a character -- we had Olga, who is, along with Manuela, probably the noblest, or most pure, character on the show, say Zahra is out of her mind.

Talk about going from a high to crushing low -- watching Alicia perform the charming little Pinocchio number on stage where she shines brightest and is probably most alive followed immediately by the harrowing encounter with Abel; and a great use of her song to connect her plight with that of Enrique.
 

FLOR SALVAJE-
Rather late to the party today but thanks, Novelera, for another super recap. I totally agree that it was a great episode.

The dancers portraying puppets was certainly apropos. Most of the women in the novela are being used as puppets by the men. That would include Alicia, Corre, Zahra, Catalina and even Flor. Really, only Manuela, Olga and Rocío seem to be acting independently.
 

FLOR SALVAJE – MIÉRCOLES – Part 1

Mariano and Sacto roar at each other while Cat shrieks with labor pains. The nut case thinks the baby is as much his as Sacto’s because he’s been sponging off her for most of her pregnancy. Rocío manages to get him out of there by telling him how much she loves him (Gag!)

Gabriel tells Rafa he doesn’t want to leave NE. His friends are here, his school is here. Rafa says he’ll take them to Hacienda Rojas.

Dudi shows up to give Flor a well-deserved piece of his mind. He tells her she’s turned her back on the people who stood by her through the bad movie of her life, while she was making a fool of Sacramento, Pablo, and now Rafa. She is defiant through the whole thing.

Rocío’s labor is very difficult, compounded by fear of Mariano and fear that he will hurt Rocío now that they’re out of sight. Said nutcase puts that hatchet near Rocío’s neck and forces Sacto to put down his gun. He cuts her neck, and then blames it on Sacto.

Our hopes of Enrique getting loose are in vain. He can’t saw through the ropes.

I have a new name for Abel. I’ll just call him AA (A**hole Abel) from now on. The sadistic creep has Alicia tied to the bed and proceeds to have sex with her, forbidding her even to cry.

Mariano won’t even let Rocío go somewhere to stop her bleeding. He blubbers like a baby not wanting to be alone. Just then Quesada shows up pointing a gun at him, accusing him of trying to kill his own sister. Two cops grab him from behind. Q says he’s arrested right now. Rocío, I guess, is determined to carry out her plan no matter the cost, so she tells Q a whopper about someone fetching wood and then an accident with the hatchet. She also tells Q that Mariano said he was leaving the house that night. [Ah, the look on MG’s face at that!] Quesada tells him he’ll help him pack and take him to the hotel.

Cat gives birth to a very healthy looking baby boy (for 6 months along, which is what they said she was). She faints while the others admire the baby. JM realizes she has a very weak pulse. Her heart stops. Sacto cries wildly and says he can’t lose her. JM says she’s gone. (I think so as well.) Sacto puts the crying baby on her chest and pleads with her to come back to them. Whew! She does.

The rest of the P’s come to tell Flor they’re leaving. She tells them she’ll run the place without them. Later Rafa comes to ask her not to be so hard on Correcaminos. When she’s hard and cold with him, he tells her that he took CC and Gabriel to the hacienda, where her sisters will hear what she did to Corre.

Sacto tells Rocío not to be so hard on JM. He tells her about Ines faking a pregnancy and that, because of guilt, she left him at the altar. The reason JM has been drinking is because he thinks he’ll never get Rocío back, not because of Ines. But later, despite the things that JM told her that would have melted the heart of a stone, she still refuses him.
 

FLOR SALVAJE – MIÉRCOLES – Part 2

Mariano has another frightening experience (I love ém!) when Arsenio wakes him from sleep in his hotel room, telling him the boss wants to see him.

Rafa tells the P’s they need to stay. When Ana tells him Flor is so hard because of him, he agrees. But he says she needs them.

Alicia comes to the drug shack and asks to see Enrique. They bring him out, but when she tries to take off his gag, AA shows up with Mariano in tow and tells her she cannot touch him. AA discovers that the rope binding Enrique is frayed, and he beats the guard to death as an example to the rest of them. Even Mariano is horrified.

Flor shows up at the hacienda accusing Corre of poisoning her sisters’ minds against her. Manuela tells her that CC said she resigned, but Gabriel spoke up with the truth. When they are alone, CC tells Flor she did it for her child. Flor tells her it wasn’t about disobedience, but about jealousy. Her love for Rafa is a curse. CC hugs her, and Flor begs her pardon.

Olga tells Rafa that Zahra has some proof of guilt against AA, but she can’t say more. He rushes in to Zahra’s room furious and demands the proof. He says she isn’t helping AA. She shows him the silver bullet.
 

FLOR SALVAJE- Thanks for another super recap, Novelera. It was another great episode.

Yeah, Catalina had a pretty big healthy baby for a 6-month premie!! I thought Catalina was a goner, too but I guess not.

I liked the fact that Rocio didn't immediately fall into JM's arms. She told him he needed to demonstrate that he was more mature. True. He's been acting like a baby while Rocio has been supporting Catalina and playing her dangerous game with Mariano. I loved how she maneuvered Mariano out of the hacienda. Quesada was good, too.

I know we don't mention the teasers for the next episodio but it looks like the microphone in Abel's room is going to come into play.
 

FLOR SALVAJE:

Excellent recap, Novelera! I like your nickname for Abel, AA. After he forced Alicia to have sex, not only did he forbid her to cry, he forced her to say "Thank you for making me yours"! Ugggg.

I think Alicia was surprised to see Mariano working with Abel. Of course she can't tell anyone, for fear of Enrique's getting hurt. But there are just too many loose ends for Abel's secrets to stay locked up.

Rafa has told Flor he loves her. Flor has told everybody except Rafa she loves him. It's only a matter of time.

I sort of wanted Rocio to forgive JM, but I agree, he hasn't been too mature. The baby delivery was a step in the right direction. I was pretty sure Catalina would come back to life, but they sure made us wait!

I think we also saw Piroutes (is that his name) discover where Alicia had sex, noting the bloody end of the rope where AA had tied her up.
 

RELACIONES PELIGROSAS, part 1

We keep thinking characters can get out of situations, but with clever writers, anything is possible.

Mau is running from the cops. He jumps out of a second floor window into some garbage. The two cops are afraid to jump, so rather than one guarding Mau and the other going downstairs, they both leave, telling him not to move. Not surprisingly, he leaves, gets on his moto, and escapes, returning the drugs to Billy. I guess the cops still have him on tape threatening Oliver, and you'd think they saw him just now, but cops in telenovelas are dumb, and Mau may be just fine.

Oliver? Maybe not. The guys in the jail think he's dead. Joaquin, Yesi's brother, hears this. He's recovered from his bruises, and is supposed to be released in a few days. Miranda decides to face the music, and goes to a hearing with Cortes, Oliver's lawyer. But Cortes says Oliver's dead, so the case is over (I'm not sure Oliver is really dead). Anyway, Miranda's totally in the clear now. Yay! Doubt it. She does try to contact Teresa to un-quit.

The school decides on some random drug testing, and they "randomly" pick Gonzalo and Santiago for the first day. Gonzo freaks, but Leo gives him a sample he bought at Miami beach for $10, so he's okay. Santi is made at Armando his Dad for not trusting him that he's drug free. Ana finds out Santi has an ex-wife and a daughter. She doesn't know he was barred from seeing them because of drugs. She's sort of falling for him.

The previews showed Miranda swearing Patty to secrecy. Does she tell her she had sex with Mau? Well, no, she says her father worked for the government against drug cartels, and was murdered by them. She and her mother lived in fear in Mexico. These drug guys have long memories, and Miranda is a little afraid of going back to Mexico. That's why she resigned, the whole scandal would put her picture in the papers, and the drug guys would see it.
 

RELACIONES PELIGROSAS, part 2

I meant to say we think characters CAN'T get out of situations. Also, Santi is MAD at his Dad, not "made". Whoops!

Patty is funny as she keeps showing Miranda case after case of these teachers who had sex with students, and spent years in jail. This is not cheering Miranda up.

Billie calls Gonzalo. The 10 pills he gave Oliver the night of the party, which Oliver gave Gonzo, were an experimental new drug, more powerful than anything previous. He either wants them back, or their cost, $2000.00. Gonzalo already used them all up, and he doesn't have $2000. What to do. He remember's Yesi's cash, goes to her trailer to rob it. Mau, still suffering from his cuts, asks Yesi if he can hang out at her trailer. She says yes. He arrives just after Gonzo took the cash, but Gonzo hides. Mau sees the boxes moved, puts them back, and takes a shower. Gonzo takes $2000, then puts the box with the rest of the money in Mauricio's motorcycle supply case. Mau will be blamed for stealing from Yesi! Bad Gonzo.

Leo, the computer genius, is apparently having a virus in his own computer. He's lost all the copies of the recording of Santiago threatening him and Gonzo, except the one on Nora's thumbdrive. But not to worry. At the end of the episode, Nora goes to the local newspaper guy, and offer him the recording!
 

Relaciones Peligrosas

It's a good thing my son is waaaay long time ago out of high school. I don't think I'd let him out of the house if I were watching this show and he was a teenager again!

So, having watched the first week and bits and pieces, I have a question about Gonzo. I saw an episode in which he was bitter toward his mother because she came to the US to work and has only just brought him here. [How lucky for him that everyone at his high school only speaks Spanish.]

But, is he supposed to be just a troubled youth or 100% bad guy. Maybe if I watched all the time I'd know this. But he sure does some bad stuff!
 

RELACIONES PELIGROSAS:

Novelera, I think all the teenagers range on a continuum from super good to super bad. Oliver was totally bad. Gonzalo is troubled, but still fairly bad. If we had a scale of 1 to 10 for badness, I give him an 8. Leo gets maybe a 6. Maybe one day I'll rank all the characters, but they all have some good and some bad.
 

FLOR SALVAJE

The show’s just firing on all cylinders lately. More amazing work from the cast, especially Viviana Corrales and Gregorio Pernia.

They really milked Catalina’s death/not death scene. I usually find that kind of scene kind of corny, and this one was a little, but it was pretty effective at putting the audience through the wringer, so I liked it in the end. My favorite bit of the scene was Jose Maria saying he had to get her body ready to take to Timotes. Yeah, doc, that certainly can’t wait.

I didn’t quite buy the 4P girls walking out and quitting. Lord knows, they must have seen co-workers suffer far worse injustices when Rafael was running the joint.

RELACIONES PELIGROSAS

Was Miranda telling the truth about her father’s history vs the drug cartels or was that just a story she concocted to feed Paty? If it was true, that could certainly add an interesting layer as the show goes forward.

The girl playing Nora is pretty much the only one of the younger actors I’ve seen elsewhere as she had a pretty big role in the MI GORDA BELLA remake. I say she’s one of the “younger” actors, but this morning, I was flipping the channels and by chance saw her in AMARTE ASI on the Telemundo subchannel. That show is almost ten years old and she looked exactly the same. She has a funny face that allows her to play younger than she is, but I think the actress is probably around Sandra Echeverria’s age. Nora could be an interesting character on that good/bad kid scale. She’s the type who is always mounting her white horse to take up some issue and fight some injustice (real or not), perhaps one who in trying to do good, winds up causing more harm; also, going to the reporter perhaps betrays some ambition on her part.
 

Flor Salvaje- wed.

thanks novelera!
a most wonderful recap!

oh yes, poor, poor Alicia,
her life seems destined to be beautiful, talented, and suffering,
I wonder if it's because,
she is always deferring to those around her,
choosing what looks like the easiest path,

and who would guess, that mild mannered Enrique,
so loving and caring,
would be so dangerous to be around,
I suppose the journalist in him justifies taking on a cartel,
if they die trying, maybe life will be better for those that are spared,

and how about Johnny,
hovering around Alicia,
as if searching for some way to spare her from her ultimate fate,

or Abelardo,
the ex-alcoholic bartender,
who at one time brought Alicia back to the resturant,
because he cares for her,

I think Alicia's innocence touches us all,
(great acting)

and then there is Abel,
his boyish haircut, goes with the brat he is,
odd that he is similar to a younger Gabriel,
what would we think if we came upon Gabriel tying up la Beba,

and the 4p's, so sensitive to family values,
is this because none of them have never had a real family,

and did anyone notice how calm Catalina's place became,
when Mariano left,
all of the turmoil in everyone's lives left with him,
a healthy baby was born,
saint Sacramento was able to coax Catalina back with his love,
Luisa cooked up a good meal,
Rocio and JM talked, which is a start,

so complex for a simple story,
maybe because every single character's life is important.
 

Relaciones Peligrosas:

novelera: Gonzo was already pushing drugs for Oliver when we first saw him, though if you take the show at face value his fall into bad habits started after his mother left him in Mexico in order to begin setting up their new life in the United States (somewhere around ten years ago). While that grants him some sympathy, and that he seems to genuinely love his half-sister Emily, he's still massively self-absorbed and more than a little callous; with Oliver apparently dead, he's definitely the head jerk on the show.
 

RELACIONES PELIGROSAS, Part 1

First, a little rant. I'm not liking Mauricio much these days. He's supposed to be the hero, right? But he lies constantly to just about everyone, including Miranda, whom he claims to love. He runs drugs. He had an enemy killed in jail (although he only wanted to "teach him a lesson", not kill him. I almost hope he DOES go to jail. But we'll see. Number 2, Juan Pablo is definitely turning into more of a villain, as you'll see below.

JP traces Ignacio to his new address, and confronts him with the picture of Mau. Ignacio doesn't want to talk, he's being paid by Olivares, not JP. So JP takes a hammer and SMASHES his artificial hand! He says he'll smash the good hand if Igno doesn't talk. Igno was really just following JP, just happened to get the picture of Mau jumping out the window just as JP was arriving. I think JP is eventually going to blackmail Miranda into hooking up with him, or else he'll reveal the Mau stuff.

We find out Gilberto is no saint. Ana thinks he messed with her email (he did, responding in her name to Santiago that she couldn't meet with him), so she goes to a theater where he's preparing a show. He's making out with a starlet! She sees this, and tells him that's the end. He says, I was just "comforting her". Funny thing - lots of times, galans ARE just comforting someone when their novias catch them. But THIS time, he was definitely giving Ana los cuernos, as they say.

Leo can't figure out who virused his computer (I think it was Vivi). He finally gets it going, but the recording of Santiago is gone. Nora has the only copy. She plays it for a newspaper guy, but doesn't give it to him (maybe she wants money). He in turn calls Santiago, but he just happens to be a FRIEND of Santiago (thank you, writers). But he'll still have to run it if Santi doesn't have a good answer.

Gonzo pays Billy the $2000 he stole from Yesi, and gets mad at Billy. Billy says shut up, or you'll end up "eating the worms" like Oliver.

Yesi's brother, Joaquo, is out of jail! She begs him not to get involved in illicit things again. He still owes a lot for something, but she has all the money right here in this box. Wait a minute, the box is gone! (We know that Gonzo stole it, took $2000 out, and put the box in Mau's moto). Joaquo wants to kill whoever robbed his sister. Yesi says Mau had a key, but he's a nice guy. You never know, says J. Yesi also thinks back to Liz and Gonzo using the trailer, but Joaquo is now fixed on Mau as the culprit, especially when he calls several times and Mau doesn't answer.
 

RELACIONES PELIGROSAS, part 2

JP questions Patty about Mau, and Patty is really nervous about it. Ana Layevska is doing an incredible job as the nerdy teacher with a hidden problem. She just IS Patty.

Miranda tells Tere she didn't really mean to resign, and Tere accepts this, but BTW, let's increase your tutoring of Mau to all afternoon, every day! Miranda gulps. She tutors Mau, but he can't concentrate (he's thinking about Oliver being dead). It's late when they leave, and they get stuck in the elevator! Mau thinks this is a perfect chance for some secret lovemaking! Miranda wavers. She asks if he had anything to do with Oliver's death, and he says of course not. He asks her what does she really feel about him? She hesitates, and just in time, the lights come back on. They're still almost about to kiss, when the door opens, and they're "rescued".

But while they were in the elevator, Mau got a text to go to an address. Miranda saw it, because Mau was trying to climb out of the elevator at the time, and she was holding his phone. When he leaves, she's memorized the address and goes there. She sees him enter a building. Guess what? The cops in the van are watching, too. SHE could get mixed up in this!

Mau goes upstairs to a beauty and skin salon, and delivers drugs to the pretty owner, who almost makes a play for him. When he leaves, Miranda goes up, and sees the lady with a package, but no one is talking.

His drug deal done, Mau now answers Yesi's call, but it's Joaquo, who demands he come immediately. He motos over to the trailer, where Joaquo, baseball bat in hand, accuses him of stealing Yesi's money. Mau is dumbfounded, of course not. Joaquo searches the moto, and there's the box! He tells Mau, if any is missing, I'm going bust your head open!!
 

FLOR SALVAJE – JUEVES - Part 1
Zahra, with her now habitual trembling lips and eyes welling up with tears, tells Rafa that she found the silver bullet she’s showing him in AA’s room (just to refresh your memories – this is A**hole Abel).

Flor tearfully asks Correcaminos to come back to the Calle de Consuelo. Corre makes a good point, asking her how she can blame Rafa for taking her to bed when she tried to make him believe she and Abel were lovers.

Rafa wants to take the bullet to the police, but Zahra tells him she won’t cooperate and tell them where she found it. We get some more poor baby, sick puppy talk from her about her demon seed. Rafa agrees to give him one more chance. They talk about getting him to a doctor. Rafa says, if this doesn’t work, then all bets are off. Rafa agrees to be present when AA is taken to this doctor, so there’s parental solidarity. Zahra begs Rafa to fulfill her dream of seeing her son and his father together in peace. [Show of cyber hands – How many of you think this plan is going to work?]

Rigoberto and Olga appear to have an uncomfortable hookup in the hotel kitchen.

I have never seen Mariano Guerrero as completely defeated as he is by what he witnessed in the drug shack. There’s more bad news for him. Alicia and Johnny will be going to the border of the state to meet up with a truck that will appear to contain coffee. They are to make the “transaction”. And His Honor the Mayor is going along to protect them. Mariano timidly questions the Mayor being involved in drug trafficking, but no one really pays him any attention.

As relief for the loyal viewers from so much ugliness, we are treated to several scenes of characters in the novela making peace with each other. Flor comes to see Cat and the baby. Cat is unconscious, but Flor asks permission to say a prayer she learned from her Indian mother, and she places some kind of herb under Cat’s pillow. She then asks to hold the baby. She tells Sacramento he’s a very special man, and he deserves to be happy with Catalina. [This is a very special newborn, as he smiles at Flor Salvaje, something I don’t remember my child doing at one day old!] Roberto Manrique does some great wordless acting in this scene. He manages to convey, at least to me, that he’s gotten over his obsession with Flor, that he’s forgiven everything that happened, and enjoys seeing her with his son in her arms.

Later there’s another reconciliation scene where Rafa comes to see Cat, who is looking much stronger, and asks her forgiveness for the terrible things he did to her in the past. He says that she and Sacto are a good match for each other and he wishes them happiness.
 

FLOR SALVAJE – JUEVES - Part 2

After Sacto leaves the room, José María also sees Flor holding the baby and tells her she looks very good that way. She tells him she doesn’t think she’ll have the good fortune to have a child.

Alicia asks AA if he’ll remove Enrique’s gag, if only for a moment. Of course he refuses. Alicia and Johnny then leave. He tells them to get some rest because that night’s work is going to be difficult. Mariano tells AA that he thinks he made a mistake kidnapping Enrique, an important figure in journalism. Rafael Urrieta wouldn’t have made that mistake. AA, of course, blows up and almost strikes Mariano with that steel pipe.

Piruetas tries to no avail to get Alicia to explain the ropes in her room with blood on them. She tells him she needed money, with Enrique in the capital, and some clients like that sort of thing.

Sacto tells Flor that she should give Rafa a chance. He never thought he’d say this, but Rafa turns out to be a better person than he thought. When Flor starts bad mouthing him, Rafa himself shows up. He teases her by reminding her of the things she cried out when they were making love. In all his scenes in this episode, we see the very best sides of Rafael Urrieta. He appears to be very centered and sure of what needs to be done.

AA does what, of course, we knew he would. He removes Enrique’s gag and tells him about how Alicia gave herself to him. Enrique says he forced her. When AA goes on, Enrique just laughs and says he’s lying. He then threatens to give her some drugs, and she’ll be his slave forever. Enrique jumps up in anger at this, and is knocked down.

Olga sees Arsenio go into Enrique’s room and rushes to tell Zahra. Zahra confronts him just in time to prevent him listening to Enrique’s spy device. Zahra then listens to Arsenio and AA talk in his hotel room. She hears AA gloat about how tomorrow morning everyone will read an article by Enrique praising him. Zahra says to herself: “ Who knows what they’ve done with poor Enrique.”

We see the P’s getting ready for a special show they’re going to put on entitled Amor y Odio in honor of Rafa and Flor. They’ve given Ana the wrong costume. She got an angel costume instead of a devil’s one.

Zahra calls Filomena’s house in the capital to ask about Enrique. She finds out he isn’t there and endures another tongue lashing from Filo.

We see a rather confusing scene of Johnny and Alicia in the back of a truck. The truck is on a narrow road, and some guy has a word with Mariano. I guess the drugs and money changed hands, but I’m not sure.

Zahra goes to talk to AA. She tells him she fears for people that she loves and that are enemies for him. She asks him right out where he has Enrique Losada.

Rafa and Flor sit side by side watching the Amor y Odio show. Rafa, again teasing her, tells her that maybe she’s now the devil and he’s an angel. The two of them get up on stage to thank the P’s for the performance. Flor is ragging on Rafa, when he grabs the mike and says some very gracious things. He tells Flor that maybe they will have to take different paths. But maybe here, for one night, heaven and hell can unite. He then plants a passionate kiss on her, which is absolutely returned by Flor.
 

FLOR SALVAJE

Thank you for your recap, Novelera! I am getting excited gearing up for the finale of Flor! It's great how everything is getting wrapped up.

And you described Rafa perfectly in last night's episode- showing his best sides. He had an air of calmness around him last night, it was nice to see Tony Dalton getting to act in that way.

On a shallow note I really do love watching Flor & Rafa kiss! Swoon! LOL.

Also, last night was the first time in awhile that Zahra didn't annoy the entire episode. It looks like she is finally waking up (hope so!).
 

FLOR SALVAJE:

Thanks for another wonderful recap, Novelera. This show is really packed with drama. Finally Flor and Rafa have let down their guards, even it's only for one night! She did tell him she never slept with Abel, too.

I sort of liked Olga and Rigelberto's letting themselves go. Olga still wanted to be faithful to her husband, but he's been dead for years, so Rigelberto was having none of that. A strawberry was dipped in cream, and their kiss was sweet.

I think someone else also found the bloody ropes from Alicia, either Rocio or Zahra. I hope they can save her! Zahra keeps finding out things, such as the bullet, and that Enrique is not in the capital. But will she act against her own son?
 

RELACIONES PELIGROSAS

Thank you for the recaps! :) The show just keeps on getting better and better. I never expected that Mauricio would hire a hit on Oliver (even though he didn't expect them to actually kill him) it was still wrong and not something that a novela galan would do. I don't think we have seen the last of Oliver though. I think that he will be back when we least expect it.

It seems like JP and Marta Olivares are hiding something. It seems like JP isn't a nice guy like he appears to be to everyone else.

I am looking forward to watching the show tonight. I wonder what will happen with Mauricio now that Yesenia and Joaquin are going to believe that he stole the money.

RPTV FAN