Caray, Caray!

Good early Morning Y'all and thanks so much for your patience. This is my last recap for PEAM. It has been a pleasure to recap this one, even though it has become a hot mess in some areas, there were still funny moments. Please enjoy!
 

MADS..you were a trooper to stick with this. With the construction work on our house and the general crash and burn of this storyline, I'm totally out of the loop. I DID see a few moments of Friday night's episode (so sorry I missed the stripper) but was really annoyed by the writers making Valentina look all moony and love-struck while that little creep played the keyboard. I'm ready to charge the director with child pornography. That's just awful making a little girl act that way. Ugh!

Loved your question "Where are the red buckets?" I'd like to fill some with wet sand and drop them on the producer and writers for the way they deep-sixed what at the beginning was a promising, fun show!

Well, off to church to confess my sins, some of which involve chronic telenovela crankiness, it seems!
 

Thanks, Madelaine, for all of your wonderful recaps that you always post without fail. They are appreciated!

The understatement of the novela is when Jesus actually "realizes" ? and says "my daughter is in danger". Like hasn't she been in danger from her crazy mother for awhile now? Veronica deciding to run should have been anticipated as a possibility as well as her taking Valentina.

But of course Valentina would not have been any safer at home than at school because nobody is really THINKING there either. Example: when there is a knock at the door of Alma's apartment. Chatita says in a very cautionary way to Minerva to ask who it is. So Minerva asks who it is but opens the door before the response. ???

There is no help for the stupidity of the characters in this novela.

Well on to Monday! I am off to breakfast.

Jarifa
 

Only three episodes to go and it looks like Veronica is gunning for her own child. I asked it once before, but does anyone ever recall this in a novela?
 

Thanks Madeleine for taking us through to the end. I was grateful to finally get a little action after so much filler lately. And I'm wondering how crazy I am to be looking forward to watching an unconscious Chucho go over the falls in a raft!?!

Anyway, I was wondering that Ms Romina didn't smell the ether as K. poured it on her kerchief. Maybe her nose was stuffed up. Chucho has a super nose however and smelled the traces of it after it had been taken out of the room. What a great guy!
 

Thanks, Mads! Fun as always.

Blue Lass
 

UA...I don't remember ever seeing it. Alas, in real life, mothers hurt their children all the time.
 

Your recaps are always terrific Mads. Thanks so much for your devotion.

Looks like a lot of action in these last few episodes. How are they ever going to make this OK for poor Vale? Is Super Chucho going to learn to fly too. How is he going to survive the raft over the falls? But of course he will -- and then we get all the Lopez clan for the wedding. ¡Que manches!

Güera
 

Hey all. I wanted to share this photo with you, and Blue Lass suggested to do it as a profile picture. It's from Colunga's fans' Facebook page. Did he pose or was he photoshopped in?

Thank you, Madelaine, for your consistently kind portrayal of these characters. The show has had its ups and downs, but I would have stopped watching if I'd hated it. In the middle I was quite enjoying it.

I thought like you, Jarifa, how weird it was Minerva opening the door before hearing the response to who it was- right after agreeing not to do that! You guys seem to find the Quico storyline close to child pornography (I agree Vale is too young for a 'boyfriend'). I've seen some of this on Spanish television- young children acting sexy while performing on Francisco's variety show. It's always made me a little uncomfortable, but then I figure norms are different in other parts of the world.

What did happen to Rogelio?
 

Mads- Thanks so much for providing this great recap.

I was only paying half attention to this episode, but I did catch Val's kidnapping (although she doesn't know it yet). I felt so sad for her because she thinks her mom actually wants to spend quality tome with her, while Vero is only thinking of sinister things. Well, at least the action has picked up again. On to the rescue!
 

Thank you, Madelaine for hanging in there and recapping this hot mess. You are so right. I so enjoyed reading your recaps on the weekend. Your recaps and the show will be missed.
It breaks my heart to see what is being done to Valentina. I stopped laughing at this comedy months ago.
Enough said- 3 more and counting.
 

Thanks for the kooky pic, Bill -- maybe Chucho really is going to learn to fly!

BTW, on FB it says that Lo Que La Vida Me Robo is starting tomorrow -- can that be right? I'd better go set my DVR...
 

Good Evening Y'all and thanks so much for the lovely comments.

JudyB: O.M.Gee you poor thing. I know how the sound of hammers and saws grates on the nerves. We had some work done about two years ago. I liked your idea about the red buckets for these producers. We are all cranky with this TN no worries ; )

Jarifa:

Completely concur with you about Vale. I don't know if she would have been any safer at home, more's the pity. They are so wrapped up in this wedding planning, they should have kept a better eye on her. Course they trusted the school to do that.

Urban:

It seems that in some TNs the abuser is never the Mother usually, it's usually the Uncle, the Aunt except I remember Merry Piece from LFDD didn't treat her son Alex well, or Refugio where Gala didn't treat her daughter Alexia very well either. I can't remember any TN where the Mother wanted to kill or harm the child.

fishknits:

I wondered that too about Miss Romina not smelling the ether. But this being a TN I wasn't surprised that Chucho would smell it.

Guera:

I too wonder how this will be okay for Vale in the end. Poor thing. She's been through way too much already! I want her to be safe and don't put it past Chucho to fly, ya neva know ; )

IthaBill:

They never showed what happened to Rog. Probably on Monday's epi. All they showed was Rog getting the shot and Delia laughing. Maybe she has got something up her sleeve?
 

Guera:

I can't wait to see the Lopez clan. I hope all the kids appear with cute Popeye. I loved that little pooch along with Abeja.

Blue:

Thank you so much!

Vivi:

You are so right about Vale. She really does think her Mama wants to spend time with her, when all Killeronica wants is revenge. I hope Vale is not hurt and Killeronica gets a huge anvil.

TJ:

I still laugh at little bits and pieces but not with the main characters, They really stopped being funny a while ago. I loved the secondary characters here. They really added the spice to this TN. I am just not liking the way poor Vale has been used by Killeronica all this time, and Killeronica's rampages. We could have done without those. I am with you 3 days and counting.
 

Good re-cap Madelaine, This TN has just about run it's coarse...Thank Goodness.

JudyB., I hope you made it OK through the weather madness on Sunday in the Mid-West, Ohio was in the storm path, but hopefully things were not as bad in your area.
Again, the Blue Ridge Mountains protected us here in Central Va. all we got was some light rain...For that we are truely thankful...

I may not comment again on PEAM so thanks to All the recappers here, you guys are the best...

Vivi, Madelaine, and a few others, I will see you on MpV,

JudyB. we are heading toward March Madness (football is now a lost cause for this year, RG3&7, just won't cut it)...I will stay in touch on GMAIL...
 

Thank you, Madelaine! What a frustrating final episode for you to recap!!

ARGH!! Well, Valentina doesn't suspect what her mother's up to yet, and if Vero has that accident we're all hoping for soon enough Vale might not ever need to find out. Er, well, odds are she'll eventually find out that she was kidnapped, but in the short term it could still be possible for them to pretend otherwise. Maybe.

UA asked about mothers "gunning for" their own children. Depends on what you mean by "gunning for," I guess. I don't think Vero is actually planning to kill her child, but obviously she's abusive and she's kidnapped Vale to get to Chucho, which is way worse than anything I've ever seen a mother do in a TN, even in a drama. Though I've avoided the really nasty ones.

But if we're talking about abuse or something else, in FELS, I *think* the only daughter Gabriela was really abusive to was Sobfia, who turned out not to be her own. But I could be wrong about that. I think she also sold her own daughter to the neighbors. It was a long time ago, a lot of it didn't make sense and I don't remember for sure!
 

Mads: another great recap. So glad you’re recapping Robo.

The scene with Rog was weird. I think they’ve been editing this TN—badly—for the last couple of months or so.

I was kind of glad for Val’s sake that she believed her mother was really glad to be with her. I wanted her to have that memory. I was hoping it might be her last, but the previews make it seem like Vero might show up at the wedding?

I don’t think Vero would set out to hurt Vale, but I’m wondering if Vale got in the way somehow, Vero would sacrifice her.

Nanette
 

I'm going to see a play in December in the L.A. area with Fernando Colunga and Blanca Soto. Excited!
 

I think that if Vero had to choose between Valentina and any threat to Vero's own life or freedom, Valentina would lose.

In fact, I am a little surprised that Vero didn't offer to let Alma buy Valentina. I guess Vero thinks of Valentina as more than a mere bargaining chip; she's an extension of Vero's own ego, or a possession that symbolizes Vero's pride.

Maybe that's why she arranged to lure Valentina away from the chandelier "accident" at the church. For the same reason you wouldn't want your car to get squished. Not compassion. Just ownership.

Vero wants to be the one who decides what happens to Valentina, and she's keeping alllll the options open. She'd rather destroy her than let someone else "win" her.

I am probably thinking too hard about this. I guess we'll find out this week whether Vero is capable of anything other than wrath.
 

Julie:

I so agree with your assessment of Killeronica as far as Valentina goes, but her ultimate objective is her desire/want/obsession with Chucho. That's what she really wants and if she has to use/hurt Vale to do it, she will. I have never seen such an evil Mama in a TN before. I am really surprised that they billed this as a comedy. This has been more like a drama with some comedy bits thrown in. I never expected Killeronica to turn out the way she did, from simply obsessed to a serial killer to get what she wants. I too am surprised she didn't try to sell Vale to Alma or even Chucho. I think she knew though, if she tried that, they would turn her into the cops. I didn't want Vale to be at the mercy of her Mama. I could see Alma and Chucho in danger but not a seven year old girl. That's why chaps my butt so much!

Nanette:

What is the play called? Is it a comedy or drama? Yes, I will be recapping Robo. I am really liking Sebas Rulli.

Blue:

Robo starts tonight at 9:00pm.
 

I saw an ad for the show that will be on at 8:00 starting in a few weeks (because I think Robo is going to be two hours each night at first, correct?), and it's not the Jaime Camil thing. I don't remember what it's called, but Guy Ecker is in it.

No Camil show means I just might have time to catch a glimpse of Robo from time to time, which would be nice because I like to look at Rulli and I LOVE to watch Sendel.
 

Julie- It's Corazon Indomable that's going to 2 hours for a while (God help us). The one replacing PEAM eventually is Pot Siempre Mi Amor, starring Guy Ecker and Susana Gonzalez. In Mexico it was an afternoon tn, that replaced CI when it ended. Looks like Uni decided to skip over Libre Para Amarte, which replaced PEAM when it ended in Mexico.

Que Pobres Tan Ricos, the Jaime Camil tn, just started November 11th in Mexico and replaced Libre Para Amarte when it ended.
 

That's Por Siempre. Not Pot Siempre. :)
 

Mads: the title is OBSCURO TOTAL and is in the Teatro Los Pinos in South Gate (for those in the L.A. area who are interested).

Selling Vale to Alma and Jesus would have given away Vero's biggest revenge tool.
 

Vivi:

I laughed at your Pot instead of "Por". Por Siempre stars Guy Ecker and Susana Gonzales. It is loosely based on "Mi Segundo Madre". I've seen more promos on Hoy and it looks interesting. I like Susana Gonzales, but not the fan of Guy Ecker.
 

Nanette,

Thanks for the info.
 

Julie, Gabriela of FELS once beat Sarah with a riding crop until she bled. The same character did this in PdG, the previous remake.

However, here we're talking about a child, not a grown woman who has to know her mother is insane and who is capable of defending herself.
 

Mads: no prob.

Karla Alvarez (QBA) died recently.
 

OFF TOPIC:

Anyone else been watching "The Paradise" on Masterpiece Classics this season?
 

Mads, You have served this telenovela through thick and thin with the best possible attitude, talent and humor even when it was hard to include the last. It has been a real pleasure to work on this team of recappers.

I hardly know what to say with this episode, except for thanks to you for doing an excellent job. I had to hide my eyes from time to time. I especially dread what I am facing tonight on my last capitulo with our precious Valentina who so does not deserve any more time under the mad Veronica's powers.

Vivi, I am watching "The Paradise" too. I think it is really well written and acted. I am so glad it doesn't fall on a week night since I am watching 3 hours worth of telenovelas on LooneyVision almost every night. Are you watching "The African Story, Many Rivers to Cross" by Henry Gates? I can't seem to get away from tv on the weekdays for telenovelas nor on the weekends for PBS programs. I am glad for Hulu and other rewatch sites.
 

THE PARADISE (and PBS):

Cheryl- It is very well written, and I couldn't help but compare it to last season's Selfridge's, since the setting is the same. I like Moray better than Selfridge. I find him sexier too. Although both men are hard to love. Last night was the season finale, and I couldn't help but feel that Moray and Denise were making a big mistake-- one that they will both regret eventually.

I've missed Gates' series. Hopefully I can catch it on Netflix or in reruns on one of the local PBS stations.
 

Can't wait to get me some Sergio. ;}
 

Thanks for the info, Vivi. Good - if Robo is just one hour per night, I might actually be able to watch it!

I don't exactly consider Guy Ecker to be a draw either, and the ad I saw for Por Siempre totally failed to pique my interest. POT Siempre might be interesting. But POR Siempre? No thank you.

By the way, how do they come up with these vague titles? Do they have a bag full of chips with popular words on them, and then randomly pick out a handful of chips whenever they need a title?
 

Thanks, Mads! Your recaps are always enjoyable, even when the show isn't doing its job to entertain.

Poor Valentina. It's hard to imagine there is any outcome that will be really happy for her. Her mother is a psychotic witch. Elias has apparently abandoned her. Yes, she loves Chucho and Alma, but still, it's got to be really painful to lose the two parents who took care of her most of her life. Why does she have to be tortured right up to the very end? Why did she have to have a stupid "romance" with Pepe le Pew? Couldn't she have just become really successful in one of her extracurricular activities or something, for a side story with some happiness? Hasn't poor Val suffered enough?

Glad Julio's and Aida's curse was finally broken.

Bad mothers...one of the worst, in my opinion, was Lucrecia's mother in Mi Pecado. She was severely emotionally abusive to her daughter. I don't know that she was directly physically abusive (maybe a slap or two? Can't remember), but she was awful, and she did engineer Lu's marriage to that awful creep who beat and raped her, so indirectly she physically abused her daughter. Of course, she had been abused herself, and eventually she killed herself, rather than doing more to her daughter. The whole story was very sad.
 

I think I'll give Robo a try. I'm not a big fan of AB, but there are lots of other actors I love in the cast.
 

Julia, were you around for the weekend topic on Controlling Mothers?

I have to start compiling the next list.