Caray, Caray!

Note:  Several scenes are combined.

MariAle tells Carola not to get her hopes up about her leaving, because she will return that night to the casino.  Carola asks if she will ever leave her in peace.  MariAle tells her: “….for the moment it looks doubtful, my dear.”

Octavio tells Teo he has no idea where Ed is.  Teo tells him his friend is a true scoundrel – he can make a fool out of Araceli, but not of him.  Octavio suggests Teo should speak with Araceli, but Teo says she is too innocent and refuses to listen to him.  He thanks Octavio and says he will wait for Ed in the lobby.

Octavio calls Doris.  He tells her he hesitated to call her because she didn’t treat Sonia very well.  She says she really wants to see him and he agrees to meet with her, anywhere but her house.  She suggests they go dancing and they agree she will pick him up at the hotel.  (How appropriate, since she is quite the pick up artist!!!)  As Doris selects her wardrobe for that evening, her brother comes in and asks if they are going to the casino.  She informs him they are going to dinner and dancing.  (Group date?  Oh, how Octavio will love hanging with the kiddos.)  Doris tells him her date will be “el capitan”, the pilot, and her brother is not impressed.  (Did I miss something?  When did he meet him?)  She laughs and says he is just jealous.  (Sensing a weird incest vibe between these two.)

Ed enters the hotel lobby and is greeted by Teo, who demands to know where Araceli is.  Ed feigns ignorance, but Teo insists he must know and better tell him or else…..Ed and Teo tell each other they are losing their patience.  (I’m losing my patience with them and their same old song and dance.)  Ed reminds Teo that Araceli needed a job and couldn’t find one on the island.  Teo says he is afraid that she will return to him only once she suffers “irreparable harm”.  Octavio shows up just as Teo is warning Ed that he will be following him and will be watchful of Araceli.  Teo leaves and Octavio just shakes his head at Ed…..Ed tells Octavio that Teo wants to make him marry Araceli no matter what happens.  Octavio tells him it’s what’s just (as if he is an expert at it), and if he doesn’t want to do it, then he should just leave her alone or marry her.  (Same old, same old.)

In voiceover we hear Karim say in his letter:  “My beautiful lady, I return to Isla Dorada for you.  Only for you.  I have not been able to tear you from my thoughts, as much as I’ve tried….” (I seriously doubt that he has tried!!!!) His image appears over the letter as he continues:  “….If you were once indulgent with me, despite the terrible conditions you placed, I hope that now, in view of the sincerity of my feelings, you will let drop that veil of mystery that you maintain towards me.  Your beauty needs the radiant light of day.  It mustn’t hide behind the shadows.  Don’t make me suffer.  Believe me that I only live to adore you.”  MariAle sighs with displeasure.  (I sigh just thinking of the effect on my blood sugar from hearing all that syrupy dialogue.)…..MariAle cuddles the baby as she thought bubbles, wondering what Karim was trying to say in that letter, as she just doesn’t get it.  She wonders if he is crazy, or if it’s his people’s custom to say “imaginary things”.  She’s not happy that he “will be back at the casino to pester me” but is glad that at least now she won’t have to “keep him company”, reminding us once again (in case we haven’t realized it yet that she is “now the owner of the casino”.  (Same old, same old.)

Octavio dances with Doris.  She complains that he seems to not be having fun.  He says he was just thinking (same difference, isn’t it?)  She asks him to tell her about the “failure” in his life.  He says he doesn’t know what she is talking about, but she says she knows there is a mystery in his life that he doesn’t want to tell her about.  He assures her his life is “a clean slate and no one has written on it.”  (Nope, MC slobbering all over him doesn’t count!!!!)  She says even if he swears she won’t believe it, but it doesn’t matter because she knows some day he’ll tell her about it.  Across the room, Isabel asks Andres if he is bored.  He says he likes Octavio less each day – just look at the way he dances with his sister.  (How many times has he seen him already?  Darn it, editors, how many gems with this intriguing boy did you leave on the cutting room floor?  Roll eyes.)  Maybe Andres was hoping to see a sexy lambada, because all Octavio was doing is slow dancing with Doris in a completely disinterested way.  At this point they are not even dancing anymore.  Doris suddenly gets the “brilliant idea” to go instead to the casino.  Octavio warns her he can’t allow himself the luxury of betting and she suggests they can bet “as partners”.  He says he would be a partner without much capital, but she reassures him that as “the governor’s daughter” (her three favorite words!!!) she can gamble even without money.

Teo is counting wads of money.  He tells himself gleefully that with that he has enough, and he can now “put into practice” his plan.  He will go to Mexico and take the first steps…he touches his face, then creepily says to himself that he has never thought so much about a woman.  Still touching his face he says:  “Maybe this way she will react the way I hope.”  (Dream on, dude.)

Doris, Octavio and the two square pegs arrive at the casino, and Doris gleefully declares that she intends to win a lot that night.  Octavio says he doesn’t expect to win, and he only intends to gamble the two hundred dollars he is carrying….Tony informs Raiza that MariAle is there.  Raiza heads up to inform Carola and at the top of the stairs runs into MariAle, who appears with a rather severe hair bun on the top of her head.  (The bun adds several inches at the top but somehow only succeeds in making her look shorter.) Raiza offers her what appears to be sincere condolences.  She also informs her that Karim is back and asks if she plans to keep him company.  MariAle says that’s no longer her plan, now that she is, say it with me once again, “the owner of the casino”.  (Same old, same old.)  As MariAle heads down the steps, Doris leads Octavio to a game table, promising to turn his two hundred dollars into a thousand.  Near the bottom of the stairs, MariAle observes them, clearly annoyed that Octavio appears to be enjoying Doris and her flirtations.

Back at the ranch, Lucia sits alone in the living room.  Esther (the voice of reason) arrives and asks what she is doing there all alone (uh – nothing, what else?).  Lucia renews her song and dance about Miguel’s alleged infidelity.  (Same old, same old.)  She tells Esther that she is brooding (“rumiando mi coraje” – cool expression, I’m fluent in Spanish but never heard this before).  Esther asks if Miguel has returned and Lucia says no, and who knows when he’ll return because he must be with his lover.  Esther tells her to get over it, it’s just a suspicion.  “Mine is no longer a suspicion, Esther.  I already confirmed that Miguel cheats on me with another woman.”….. Esther asks how she confirmed it, and Lucia tells her she “forced” Ewwsebio to “confess it” to her.  (Excuse me while I laugh at that idiocy.)  Esther is incredulous and warns Lucia that she is putting herself “at risk” with that man, putting herself “completely in his hands”.  (Boy, if she only knew that man’s lewd thoughts.)  She again asks Lucia to give her a chance to speak with Miguel, but Lucia says there is no point.  Esther then adds that even if it’s true, she should just let it pass….. Lucia cannot believe Esther would advise her to ignore an infidelity, especially when Esther herself is “so demanding”.  “Well, perhaps it’s because I’m SO demanding, that I am ending up alone.”  “Are you serious?”  “Yes, Lucia, and I can assure you that loneliness is hard, very hard.”  Sounds like a hint that Esther is ready to lower her own standards.  So much for the voice of reason.

MariAle angrily thought bubbles:  “What is Octavio doing with that one?  He even looks happy now.”  (Well, no, that just won’t do, not when your goal in life is to make him suffer.)….Doris says she’ll show him how they will win, but Octavio reminds her that in casinos the owners always win.  MariAle comes up to them and greets them.  Octavio tells her he didn’t expect her there that night.  MariAle turns on the charm and tells him she would like to take a stroll around the ship with him to explain something to him, if his companion permits it, of course.  She smiles and asks “shall we go?”  He smiles back – with such a cute smile you almost forget what a total idiot and an ass he still is……As they continue to look at each other and smile, we hear the first snippet of their new theme song:

"solo vengo….

a decirte que mi mundo esta incompleto….

porque llevo solo a bordo un pasajero….

en este viaje me acompaña tu dolor….”

“I’ve just come…..

to tell you that my world is incomplete….

for I carry aboard a single passenger….

on this trip I’m accompanied by your pain….”

MariAle asks again if Octavio is going with her or not.  Octavio says Doris enjoys betting and can entertain herself.  Doris agrees, saying she doesn’t care if he wants to go “with her”.  Since there’s no objection, Octavio offers his arm to MariAle and says “keep winning, Doris” as he and MariAle walk away arm in arm.  As they continue walking (in slow motion), we hear more of their new song:

“solo vengo….

a enseñarte un corazon que esta muriendo…

y me han dicho que ya no tiene remedio…

pero yo se que el remedio esta en tu voz…”

“solo vengo a pedirte perdon por el mal que le hice a tu amor…

arrepentido estoy, regresa a mi por favor….

amemonos de nuevo como antes…

robemonos la luna en este instante….y olvidate, olvidate….”

“I’ve just come…

to show you a heart that is dying…

and I’ve been told it has no cure….

but I know the cure is in your voice…”

“I’ve just come to ask your forgiveness for how I hurt your love….

I am repentant, please return to me….

Let’s love each other once again like before…

Let’s steal the moon this instant…and forget….forget….”

Octavio tells MariAle he is looking for a sign.  She asks if he means a sign of tears.  He says no, he knows that she isn’t the kind of woman that cries.  “Maybe it’s because I have already cried a lot in my life.”  “Maria Alejandra, I want you to know that that little girl, the governor’s daughter, doesn’t interest me in the least.”  MariAle smiles, he smiles back, and they continue to stare at each other…..She tells him:  “uhm, well that’s great, except I didn’t ask you if that little girl interests you.”  “But I want to clarify it for you.”  “There’s no point,” she says.  He tells her softly:  “Yes, there is one, and very big.  To make you aware that there is only one woman who attracts me powerfully.  That woman is you.”  She smiles and turns to the side, acting as if she doesn’t believe him.  “Yes, Maria Alejandra, you attract me, and in a way that’s uncontrollable…that I can’t avoid.”  As viewerville laughs, MariAle also laughs out loud, saying:  “No more, please don’t make me laugh.  No, how could it be that much?”  She continues to laugh.  He insists:  “You know perfectly well that everything I tell you is the truth.  Besides, I know you are very aware of your attractiveness.  That’s why you have no less than an Emir at your feet.”   She purposely gets closer to his face and says:  “I have never encouraged that man to set his sights on me.  I haven’t even behaved amiably towards him.”  He adds:  “Maybe that’s the reason why that type of man wants you, because he is accustomed to having the whole world at his feet.  And since you don’t pay attention to him, and even ignore him…that man would do anything to win your favors.”  She continues to stare into his eyes.  He starts to move in for the kill.  They are dangerously close to kissing when Doris shows up just a few feet behind him, breaking the magic.  MariAle whispers to him:  “Someone’s arrived for you.”  He whispers back:  “Who?”  She just raises her eyebrows and glances behind him, so he turns to look.  Doris just stands there, holding a wad of money close to her face.

Miguel returns home in the late evening and finds Esther waiting for him in the living room.  I guess Lucia gave her permission to speak with him.  We again get more of the same old, same old.  Esther tells him something grave is happening between him and his wife.  His wife has “turned into” a hysterical woman (uh, no, she was always that way!!!) and it’s all because of his behavior.  As if he hasn’t heard it all before, he asks Esther to explain to him what she is talking about….Esther tells Miguel he doesn’t have to pretend with her.  He swears to her that he is not involved with any other woman.  Esther warns him that Lucia is watching him and that she went that day to the lake to try to surprise him.  Miguel suspects Lucia’s new pregnancy is affecting her nerves.  (No, Miguel, she’s just nuts!!!)

Doris asks Octavio if they are leaving.  He laughs, as if he forgot he arrived with her, and asks “going where?”  She says back to dancing because she “got tired of winning at roulette.”  She grabs his hands and tells him he is a “great dancer” and besides the ship “has a night club” – (really, now why haven’t we seen it, Mrs. Mejia?)  This whole time Octavio has his back towards Doris and continues to stare at MariAle.  Amazingly, Doris doesn’t seem to mind (too early to turn on the crazy, Doris?).  She decides she is first going to go tell Isabel and her brother and then she will return for Octavio.  (How convenient for the two lovebirds.)  As soon as she leaves, Octavio walks back up to MariAle and says:  “Tell me, tell me to stay and I will do it.”  She answers:  “No, no, there’s no point.  I’m sure you won’t have any fun with me.”  “I would just settle for being by your side.”  “Prince Karim will soon arrive.”  “I don’t think it will be so easy (for him), since we set sail a while ago.”  As MariAle says “Oooooooh, you know him so little…..” and taps the tip of his nose with her finger, Octavio gets a flashback of Maricruz and her distinctive “ooooohs”….He looks a little shocked as she walks slightly past him and adds:  “….we have a helipad on this ship.”  She walks back towards him and plays with his bowtie, as she adds:  “I’m sure he will want me to be with him, and I mustn’t forget that Karim has his thing.”  “So are you going to stay with him?”  “I’m going to concentrate on my business.  Forgive me, but an airline pilot doesn’t bring much profit to the casino.  On the other hand, an Emir leaves very good earnings.”  She sticks her face inches from his and adds:  “That’s why I prefer him.”  After that lovely putdown, he closes his eyes still thinking she is about to kiss him.  (Holy cow, boy, you really are clueless!!!) She merely looks him up and down and walks off, leaving him standing there with his eyes still closed, looking like a total idiot.  (I don’t know about the rest of viewerville, but these exchanges between these two just made my whole week.  Too funny.)

The next morning Octavio meets up with Eduardo in the lobby and, once again, they talk about his obsession with MC 3.0 and how she affects him….Octavio tells him:  “Eduardo, she is such a difficult woman….For a moment you think you interest her.  She looks at you in such a way, and smiles at you in such a manner, that she lifts you up to heaven.  But right away, she kicks you.  Last night she scorned me…and she left me hanging there with the words in my mouth.”  Eduardo advises him to focus on Doris instead, but he assures him he is not interested at all in her, a “daddy’s little girl” who only uses him to entertain herself.  Ignoring what he just said about MariAle, he adds that she intrigues him and attracts him.  “And if Maria Alejandra at this moment has no husband, no boyfriend, no suitor, I will court her as I have never done with any other woman.  And I will turn into her shadow.”  (That’s it, Chulito, walk yourself right into the trap.)

Meanwhile, MariAle has Teo over to her place for breakfast.  (Looks like he first went to get a “shoe shine” on his head, which is now glowing like Mr. Clean!!!) She says the casino is a “mine of gold” and Carola can no longer steal from it because she is watching closely over her.  Teo informs MariAle that he will be gone from the island for some time.  He tells her he is going to Mexico, but not for Araceli, who won’t even remember him as long as she is happy.  “I am going to do something that will put me on the road to happiness.”  She tells him no one deserves happiness more than him, though “sometimes even if we deserve it we can’t reach it….Well, it also depends on what one shoots for.”  (Oh, the imagery.  Did anyone else just get a flashback of her shooting at Octavio?)  “Well, I aspire to the sincere love of a woman.”  The look on her face when he says that is priceless!!!!  “Do you think I don’t have a right to it?....If you were that woman what would you say to me?”  Another priceless look from her!!!!! (Dude, trust me, that looks says that she is WAY out of your league!!!!  Even an Emir is not good enough for her!!!)  .....She asks if he is in love.  He sighs and says:  “Yes, señora, with the fire of a unique love, a love that flows out of me like a torrent.  Something I truly can’t contain.”  (Ewww, writers, I didn’t need to hear that!!!  The only reason to watch that again is to focus on the look on Ana Brenda’s face - that girl was about to burst out laughing.  I dare you to watch this yucky exchange again just to catch that almost-blooper!!!!)  He adds that he needs to make himself “worthy” of that woman, make himself “presentable before her eyes”.  “The way I am right now, I don’t think she would like me much.”  (Yup, you got that right.)  He tells her perhaps science can work a miracle for him.  (In TN land, anything is possible.)  He admits he plans to have surgery because he wants to be a “normal” human being and if it’s not possible, then he prefers to die…..MariAle tells him she is sure that he will succeed.  He asks her to please keep his secret, since she is the only one who knows.  (Well, rest assured Teo, that’s one thing we all know she is good at – let’s see - secret identity, secret father, secret baby….yup, she can keep a secret.)  He tells her he trusts her, and she assures him she will miss him.  And just in case she (and the rest of us) didn’t already know it, he warns her yet again to watch out for Carola.  (Same old, same old.)  They end their little chat with her wishing him all the luck in the world and giving him a hug.  That seems to get his hopes up even more.  (Poor deluded guy.)

We get yet another scene of Lucia and Miguel arguing.  This time he demands to know where she got that nonsense about him having “other women”.  (As if Esther didn’t explain it to him in detail the night before – anonymous letters, Miguelito, anonymous letters.  Got that?  Good, hope that’s the end of it.)  Lucia retorts:  “Not women.  One single woman.”  He tells her it never even crossed his mind, and it’s best if he takes her to see a doctor.  “Your nerves are destroyed…Your conscience torments you.”  She tells him not to use such an absurd tactic with her.  (OMG…I find myself agreeing with Lucia.  Not possible.)  He tells her it must be difficult for her to forget all the evil things she did.  It’s even difficult for him, and yet he remains at her side.  He can’t understand why now “she” wants to divorce him; she says it’s the only solution, so he can marry that “dirty woman” with whom he is cheating on her…..”You turned out just like your brother Octavio.”  He responds that the loose screw in her head is worse each day.  She tells him that’s what he is planning to do, to make her look like she is crazy.  Surely he must want to make the ones who sent her the anonymous letters seem crazy too.  He is surprised to hear about the letters and asks if it’s true she got them.  “I didn’t even pay attention to Esther when she mentioned them to me.”  (Well, that explains his lack of comprehension.  Focus, Miguel, focus.)  He assures her it’s all in her imagination, but she promises him that she will catch him infraganti.  He tells her she is delirious, and that only an enemy of hers would send her anonymous letters. 

MariAle cleaning the breakfast table?!  (uhm, makes me wonder if those words from Teo about “torrentts” flowing out of him made her feel dirty too.)  Anyway, she thought bubbles:  “There’s no danger for me anymore with the casino.   Carola and Raiza have proven that they are no match for me.  Now I must execute my plan for Octavio.  I need to get to Miguel and, above all, to Lucia through him.  I don’t want them to forget me.  I can still taste the mud she made me eat.  And I’m not going to deny it.  I will be VERY happy the day I make HER eat it.”  (Hey, at least she seems to know what will make her happy, since she is not happy now.)

Teo goes to bid farewell to Carola.  She tries vainly to figure out why he plans to leave.  He reminds Carola she must respect MariAle, and warns her that if he finds out she hurt MariAle in any way, then he will turn into her worst enemy….Next we see Teo arriving at the airport, dressed in all black.  (Channeling Rogelio Montero now, Teo?  Well, at least he got rid of the Popeye costume.)  Eduardo sees him arrive and freaks out as Teo walks right past him…..(Cut to Miguel over by the orange groves, pretending to work, and wondering who is sending the anonymous letters.  He figures it’s someone close to them.)…..Eduardo nudges Octavio and saying like a freaked out child:  “Octavio, it was the monster….the one from the casino.”  He is so scared he tells Octavio he is staying on the island, he is not going to fly with the monster, even if it means sacrificing his job.  Once on the plane, Octavio tells Sonia the flight attendant that Eduardo got sick.  He also asks her to keep an eye on a “slightly ugly” passenger.

And after all that excitement, we end the episode with more of the same old, same old – Teo feeling sorry for himself because of the reactions of horror he elicits from others.  And on that note…..

On to the Previews:  MariAle demands that Carola write her a check for the exact amount of money she stole from her father, unless she prefers to have MariAle denounce her to the police.  Meanwhile in Mexico, Octavio inadvertently learns from Doña Serafina that Maricruz was pregnant.

-LatinaInMD