Caray, Caray!

Pablo:

Thanks for this great recap. Weee did Alma blow! It's about time. I am glad she guilted Sebas into telling the truth. Now Alma knows everything except about the pictures of Pato and Rogue.

Surprising that Pato told Renato so much about herself. Maybe she has needed to vent, cause Rogue knows about her thievery but she always claims she isn't sick with him, hmmmm.....

Vero needs an anvil. Not a total wipe out one, but she is wackadoo and needs at least a small pie cart. Maybe Marta and Vero can go to the same place and be roommates, that's the ticket.

I am so glad the bromance is back with Elias and Chucho, but I'm not liking Ferny being a spy. I hope he gets caught at it, or he goes more toward the light and stops himself. I want Ferny to see how bad his real bro really is.

I like Xochi's new 'tude, but I don't want her to cut Julio dead. I want her to at least remain friends with him. He did get her started as "Natasha".
 

Oh, how could I forget that slap. It was so well deserved that Alma gave to Pato.
 

101 episodes left...

...and then I will be free!!

God, I am becoming Marta, did I say that out loud? I don't remember!
 

Pablo, I love the perspective of this recap. it was so true. Love is like an onion.
I am happy to see Paty's anvil finally start to drop. What a sick puppy. A healthy psychologist could retire with a case load of- Paty, Rogue, Ferny, Dr. Loca and Vero.
Sebastian got what he deserved from Alma but he was out of line when snapping at Jesus. I know that he had to snap at someone. He is always focusing on class but he is such a low class son of a gun.
 

Pablo thanks for your great recap and spot on title.

I'm glad Alma got very angry and took it out on her wretched father, Paty, and Rog. Unfortunately it seems the writers are going to have her go the way of Val from STuD (just a guess) and Alma will be a real meanie. I must admit I got a kick out of the slap!

Mads I'm with you about Vero and an anvil. I had hoped Elias would take Val and tell Vero to take a hike. She's going to live in the home of the man she's divorcing. He and Chucho need to stop being nice to that witch and get custody. And it seems Elias's cut-throat lawyer should be able to get full custody for the two dads.

TJ - with you on the not even pond scum that is Alma's father. Rog and Paty's infidelity & lying along with him had nothing to do with the mess currently going on at Avon. Please.
 

Love your recap Layers of Love! And don't worry, we can all be one big support group for you as we work through this TN.
Actually, this felt very much like a turning point episode, not sure why. I so enjoyed how Alma blew up (literally) at her sperm donor. What a cretin that he acted so surprised. And you can add Pati to that, though I still love the actress and how she plays this part.
I can see why Alma may put up the walls now. She didn't have any other friends but Pati, believed in her fiancé, and put up with her father not wanting to admit he was basically pimping her out. Now all truths are told and she feels alone ( add to that thinking Chucho is enjoying the ex-wifey at home). Girl needs a vacation.
So Marta is stalking Val? Don't believe she just happened to be at the park with a hood covering her head. So how many episodes do we think will go before she tries the grab and run? hate this plot line...
The glee of Xochi is so fun to watch!! I wish the sillies would stop the office antics. Alone you want to root for them, together they are maddening and then you don't like them again. Gees, grow up.

Daisynjay
 

Pablo- Great recap and overarching theme.

I really enjoyed the chemistry between Paty and the young photographer. This could be an interesting/fun relationship, and might actually provide some competition for Rogue.

I am so glad Sebastard told Alma the truth and now Paty can't lie her way out of it. I was cheering Alma on as she told Sebas off, and then smacked the taste out of Paty's mouth. I hope she doesn't go the way of Valentina/Eval in STUD-- being a b*tch to everybody because one man did her wrong.

Chatita also helped out by explaining to Alma that Chucho rejected Vero after she got naked. One less misunderstanding is always good. I can't even talk about Vero using Val as a weapon against Chucho again. Surely, some family court judge will see that these two men are way better parents than this harpy mom, and give them both main custody of Val. *fingers crossed*
 

Pablo, I loved how you organized your recap: very creative and very funny.

I felt sorry for Alma as her family and friend list is shrinking to nobody. So glad she really let her dad have it. So, Alma's dad was living with her. So glad she told him to get out. Pablo, you called as it was: her dad was pimping her out.

Looks like when Paty is under stress her klepto tendencies get the best of her. After tonight's episode when Alma finally tells her off and more she might have to go on a klepto spree!

Jarifa
 

Pablo, this was a work of art. It's not always possible to tie everything together with a strong theme; but when it works, it really works! Nice job!

Love is like an onion: it stinks and it makes people cry!

Vivi: Sebastard - AWESOME name! Perfect for Wasabiface Noogiefist's dad.

Paty really knows how to complicate her own life. First she thought she was going to have to be with the photographer to keep the photos away from Alma; now the photos are pointless, but the photographer can still blackmail Paty with her sticky fingers habit.

I do think it was funny, though, that this photographer boy can say that Paty's "sick" for being in love with her best friend's husband, yet in the very same conversation he insists that he's in love with Paty. He hardly knows her at all!

If simply knowing what someone looks like is sufficient reason to be hopelessly in love, then it seems perfectly logical and non-sick that Paty can be equally hopelessly in love with Rogelio as long as she thinks he's handsome. Right??

What did we think of Blanca in this episode? I'm not fond of the square mouth shtick (haven't even seen it since Carmen Becerra in QE and had assumed it was unique to her), but otherwise I thought she did pretty well. Better than I expected, based on her previous confrontations. She handled the showdown with Sebastard well. I thought he was going to keel over and drop dead.

What I liked best about last night was that it was Sebastard, of all people, who outed Paty as Rogelio's lover. BY MISTAKE. That is pure dramedy gold.
 

"I thought he was going to keel over and drop dead."

Oh, Julie, if only right?

I thought Blanca did a good job with her indignation arguments. Her crying when alone still kind of gets me, but otherwise I thought she was believable and hit the right notes all around when blasting her dear old dad. And boy, can she do the "I'm mad as hell strut".

Daisynjay
 

Julie and DaisynJay:

I soo agree with you about Blanca. She was terrible in El Tal when she was mad. She didn't yell near enough, and things were really, really bad in that one, like she did here. Good for her! I am so enjoying her character here. Maybe they purposely wrote Alma this way so she could turn a corner, much like Xochi.
 

Fantastic recap, Pablo! Very witty and clever.

I know my beanie's kind of loose, but does anyone else think it's funny that Alma threatened to never speak to her father again unless he told her the truth, then as soon as he told her the truth, she said she would never speak to him again? As the saying goes, "Heads I win, tails you lose."
 

Blue:

I completely missed that! How funny!, ; )
 

P.S. I think the photographer and the policewoman's assistant are la pareja ideal. They could take acting lessons together. AI AI AI.
 

Julie, add me to the list of those who thought Blanca did a great job blasting her pops (Vivi - Sebastard is so appropriate).

BL - good observation. I knew she said the first part but was so happy she said the second part, I didn't realize she trapped him, ha.
 

Pablo--You always give it your all. I so love your recaps and comments, and never tire of telling you so--I'm in awe.

Ok, folks, about Alma needing a vacation. Yes, if we were in her shoes, we probably would escape to the Mayan Riviera or go climb a pyramid, but Alma is TOO dedicated to her job and keeping Avon Numero Uno. The thought of letting down the home office isn't in her playbook.

I predict she will just turn inward, be short and not sweet with her employees and still put in long hours.

She'll keep up this attitude until the next crisis when Vale is kidnapped or held hostage. (Is there any doubt with Marta back-watching in a hand-held mirror saying Ximena has to be with her?)

Alma will react. She won't be able to withhold her care and concern for Vale, Chucho and Elias and the (egg)shell will crack.

She is pretty much alone now, unless she is willing to un-marginalize Chucho. She'll always have Chatita, though.

Patycakes needs professional help, Fern needs it, Vero needs it, Rogue needs it, Marta needs it, Barbara needs it, Sebastian needs it, heck, everyone except Chucho and Vale need some degree of professional help with their lives. Are there enough of these professionals to go around?
 

Add me to the list of those who really admired how you organized and gave a theme to this messy episode.

I can only bear to watch this once a week (with my Colombian buddy)because right now I'm so annoyed with so many of the characters, but I may log on to Univision to watch the take-down scene with Alma and her father. Must See TV. And the walloping slap to Patricia.

And Must Read REcap. Excellent as always, Pablo.
 

Thanks!
We had new loves, loves in blossom, loves gone, loves in hiatus and what some people confuse with love. I wanted to address Susana's love for her husband but looks like she has forgotten already.
During all the previews I thought Alma was hitting Patricia with her fist, but is was just a slap!

Rub it down, there's no bandaids!! (Sóbate que no hay curitas!)
 

Pablo, for someone who claims to not be enjoying the show very much, you sure write enjoyable recaps. With poetic titles and quotes, even!

VERY satisfying slap. "Aaammmiiiig*POW!*" So deserved. I also really liked that Alma finally snapped at her Duddy. He's the worst. She should have just let him lose his fortune and find out what it's like to be poor. Maybe there's still time for that.

Chucho is still being too wishy-washy. He won't go to court for custody, because he "doesn't want to do that to Vero"?!?! She's threatening to cut you off from your daughter! Why do you continue to treat her like she's reasonable and nice? I still think he could solve the problem of Vero's leechiness by just acting like whatever would turn her off and make her want to go away on her own. Expect her to do lots of household chores, especially gross ones. Insist on lots of family outings to places she will hate. Be ruder than she is. Make comments like she's getting fat or something.
 

I was confused by the "lagunas" in Marta's memory. Is that a normal way of saying it in Spanish? I thought it was almost like "lacunas", which means gaps or what's missing. Is that a word in Spanish, too?
 

The only way to keep myself entertained is making up stuff mocking the TN in both english and spanish.

Muerto de hambre, someone who is so poor doesn't have anything to eat I translated literally as ''dead of hunger'', for the spanish term ''lagunas mentales'' I used ''mental lakes'', maybe I should have used ''ponds'' that is similar, because that is when people forget chunks of stuff, portions of memory as big as a lake. In english I like the term blackouts, but I am trying to have fun, I am sorry.
 

In English we do use the term "lacunae," but it's more clinical. "Blackouts" would be the usual term, although "mental lakes" is much more picturesque. :)
 

That was a great slap. Almost a pimp-slap. She put some muscle into it.

"Muerto de hambre" usually gets translated as "deadbeat" or "loser."

"Lagunas" - interesting translation challenge. I cheated on Tuesday night and checked the English captions to find "blackouts," but "memory sinkhole" or "mental sinkhole" or "mental black hole" would be more poetic.

Not very watery or lagoony, though. Unfortunately I can't think of an English word that refers to a body of water that's used specifically for drowning, but I imagine we must have one.

(We have wells and reservoirs, but we think of those as places we go to GET water. Not to get rid of things.)

Mental vortex?
 

I guess the term ''laguna mental'' does not necessary means body of water or drowning our memories in it. Laguna, or lago (lake, pond) could mean the space between memories. So if you have random memories and blank spaces between them, you have lagunas, right? In the sense that is a huge space with water, I don't know, I am just guessing...
 

Alma can take care of herself! It's so good to see her wake up.

She gave her papa exactly what he deserved. I hope he can figure out something constructive to do with it. Maybe wake up and try to win Dona Su with a new attitude? He has lost everything now, well except his money.

Caray!
 

Okay, not so much drowning memories, but losing them. I was thinking like when you're standing on a bridge and then you drop your keys and they fall into the lake and you'll never see them again. Same as if you dropped them into a canyon or abyss. Or into a storm drain. Someday they'll drain that lake and it will be full of crazy stuff.

So I'd think of the mental laguna as the place where the missing memories have disappeared to. (Along with a couple of socks that went into the clothes dryer but never came out.)
 

Blanca is still too screechy. All she does in her "emotional" scenes is to squinch her face and screech at the top of her lungs. Definitely not what I call acting.

If Alma starts acting like Val in StuD, poor Jesus (Fer Colunga) will be so confused! Someone ACTING like Valentina (StuD), but he has a little daughter named Valentina in this tn and the receptionist's name (Ivonne) is too close to Ivana (Gabby Spanic) - sheesh, he'll be loco-er than Dr. Loca or more confused than Chatita!
 

OMG I'm watching "Couples Retreat" on the USA network, and Carlos Ponce plays a yoga instructor in a tiny little blue bathing suit, and...did I say OMG? OMG. I had no idea.
 

I really hope Alma doesn't do the whole STuD "someone hurt me, so I'm going to lash out at the whole world" thing. It's so tiresome. She needs some growth, but we don't need to hate her. She's on thin ice as a heroine as it is.
 

Pablo, this is a terrific recap, one of your best and that's saying a lot! I liked this episode, especially the part with Sebastard (snort!) inadvertently spilling the beans. I was amazed he told Alma the truth and didn't try to lie his way out of it.

Great comments about the episode and vocabulary. I always learn a lot by reading what you folks have to say.

OK, off to watch Thursday's episode...trying to play catch-up here.