Caray, Caray!

Thank you for the recap, Bill!

I didn't find much to comment on in tonight's cap except the Eugenia scene. So instead, an observation that's been rumbling around in my head.

We've all observed that a core theme in this TN is "Men are pigs." But I see an equally important theme: women enable them to be pigs. It's as if almost all the women in this show have a "Kick me!" sign taped to their backs.

* Paty Bebe now knows Santi doesn't love her but she keeps dragging him to the alter.
* Sylvia is the quintessential doormat no matter what abuse Ed throws at her.
* For a long time Marcela did all her own work plus all her husband's work plus all the home and family work. Now that she is his "equal" all his work has been officially moved to her, so he still does nothing because she does it all.
* Lucia falls into bed with a man, he ditches her, and she falls into bed with another, who also ditches her.
* Toni has plenty of evidence that Pluto has a lover but she eagerly swallows his lame excuses rather than face the truth.
* Helena is letting Ed "steal" her own child, and although she gets angry or she pines for Lalo, she still hasn't taken him to live with her, even though the law is on her side.

Mimi don't take no crap. And Toni at least asserts her rights in the work world. Oh, and Eugenia totally ignores Modesto's protests. But other than that, the men treat the women like crap because the women let them! No hay ca***n sin pendejo!
 

A wonderful recap, Bill, I love the side thoughts.

Excellent observation, Paula! Eva's character is a refreshing diversion from the sleazy men and the passive women.
 

I completely agree, Paula. This was niggling at me as I wrote the recap but you’ve put it out there into words.

- Silvia has the most obvious “kick me” sign and so is the one I responded to. I have to give the actress credit; she plays doormat excellently. I feel for her but I’m starting to see her complicity in this bad dynamic.

- Marcela also is beginning to tire me with her acceptance of Fernando’s tantrums. At first I admired her using love and a calm demeanor to win him over, rather than responding with anger. But now I wish she’d be firmer with him (and for Gods sake let him make his own friggin’ dinner).

- When Paty overheard Santiago tell Angelica that he loves her and not Paty, and Paty said to herself that she now wants to marry him more than ever… I thought, What?? Now there’s a constructive response- marry the guy who doesn’t love you. But then I like Angelica more than Paty.

- I’m having trouble relating to Lucia. I want to like her but she doesn’t have any backbone.

- Antonia is wonderful and I am enjoying the way she’s coming to a slow realization about many things.

It’s ironic that the villains in this piece actually behave better, at least on the surface. Rebeca stands up for herself (although I do love the way Eva needles her), and Pluto treats Helena well (for his own nefarious purposes, of course).

My one great wish for this telenovela is that they don’t wrap everything up in the last episode as often happens. Changes, like the one we’d like to see for Fernando, happen over time to be believable. A quick turn-around at the end of the show would be very unsatisfying.
 

Great recap Ithabill!

Yes, it seems that BOTH our female and male characters have a lot of maturing and growing to do. The men may be obvious in their faults, but the women are also a big part of the problem. It will be interesting to see which of our characters starts to make the biggest changes first. Well, the first to change was JC, but life and circumstances forced it on him.
 

Thanks so much Ithabill. I enjoyed those asides to Sylvia.

That's a good analysis of all the doormats, Paula. It is true that most jerks only get away with it because someone lets them.

It has always seemed to me that this show's main theme is that macho stereotypes need to be brought out into the light and examined and that women as well as men have fallen into the trap of thinking that such behavior & attitudes are normal. It feels a bit like a long, funny, touching PSA about real family values It's way over the top but I love it.

Güera

 

Thank you for this marvelous recap Bill. I too loved your asides to Silvia and it's true she has the biggest "kick me" sign on her back. Paula I loved your analysis of this TN it is right on the money.

I loved the scene where JC/Eva was talking about the nightgown and how she is always cold, lol, and then JC has to take a cold shower lol.

I really hate that Helena caves to the Bastardo, I too agree she should just take Lalito and go. The heck with the Bastardo.

So loving the fact Marcela got a promotion but you're right Paula she will end up doing it all, cause Ferni won't lift a finger.

I wonder if Paty is planning this big wedding, now that she knows Santi doesn't love her, to dump HIM at the altar like he did her? Just a guess. It would be perfect revenge for her.
 

My one great wish ...is that they don’t wrap everything up in the last episode.

I think you're getting your wish, in part.

Fernando has come a long way already, but of course he had such a very long distance to cover. He used to talk over and talk for his wife when meeting with Adri. He used to sit on the couch and holler for supper. Now he only whines and snivels. It's an improvement.

Antonia is making great gradual improvement on all fronts - work, diet, and doubting Pluto.

Adriano is the best. Bit by bit he is realizing that women can be valuable employees, and bit by bit he is growing disenchanted with his lifestyle.

The other day Julie said she keeps waiting for this TN to get lousy (that wasn't her word), and it doesn't! I keep waiting for it to bog down into plot stagnation and it doesn't. One of the (many) great things about PESE is the continuous ongoing plot progression, and this character development is an important part of that.

Of course, Bill, none of these threads will be FINALIZED until the final week, but this is a TN after all. We can't expect them to break ALL the TN rules!
 

dump HIM at the altar like he did her?

Madelaine, that never occur to me. I'll bet you're right. It rings true.
 

Madelaine -- you may have hit upon it. Paty Bebe's increased resolve to marry is not another "kick me" sign. It's some sort of vengeance -- but I never thought of her getting him into debt & then dumping him at the altar. It's perfect. Even if it's not the actual plot -- you've made my day just thinking about it.

Güera
 

Great recap, Ithabill, and very interesting comments today. Madelaine, who knew you had such a devious mind! We'll see if your predictions for Paty pan out.
 

I concur; Paty is getting revenge. I don't think she plans to actually marry him. Or if she does, she plans to totally break him first!

Thanks for another fine recap, Bill.

Looks like we're going to Acapulco tonight. I hope that doesn't mean a lot of promotional tourism fluff instead of good juicy plot development.
 

Judy, lol. I just got to thinking of it the other night. I couldn't fathom why this girl, who is so nice, would want to marry this womanizer, knowing he doesn't love her. She didn't look like the type that wants to change him. She was pushing so hard for that fancy, huge wedding and the only thing I could think of was so she wants revenge. I thought she might do to him, what he did to her. I think her parents footed the last wedding, so now he has to pay for this one. And he got a loan from Adri for it too, so if this pans out, she will essentially have ruined him. Perfect revenge.
 

Thanks, Bill, for the excellent coverage.

Paula, I would agree with your take on our characters. The men flourish in their bad behavior due to the women allowing it. If they can all develop and meet in the middle, it can be a happy community.

Adri's little chippy (an old word of my mother's) is really dragging him around. I'd love to see him and Mimi in a relationship.

La Paloma
 

As I work on tonight's recap, I can't help noticing that it can be difficult to avoid misspelling Adriano's name. "Adraino" is pretty close.