Caray, Caray!

MARIDO – LUNES – Part 1

Griselda tries to put a brave front on for Amalia, but we see her pain when she tells her daughter that Reinaldo is going back to his wife.

The next scene is Reinaldo announcing his decision to move back in to Teresa Cristina with Pati by his side. He says he’s come back because of the scandal, but mostly to help Pati overcome this. TC sarcastically outlines their family dynamic. Pati left the house to avoid Antonio. Reinaldo left the house to go after the mother of Antonio. And now they blame the whole thing on her. More sarcasm. She says Reinaldo’s “gesture” will give her strength to overcome this scandal. Then, with a demented look in her eyes, she says there’s another scandal in her future and she’s going to take action against it cuanto antes.

Griselda tells Amalia that Rei is making a big mistake. Ese Hombre va a volver a comer el pan que el Diablo amasó. (This guy is going to once again eat the bread kneaded by the devil.) Amalia thinks Gris is jealous and tells her so. She also tells her that her mother still loves Rei. Amalia says she never gave him a chance to explain the photos on the internet.

In Griselda’s memory we now see what we missed before: Reinaldo explaining why he’s moving back to his former home. Griselda tells him it doesn’t matter to her where he lives.

Rei and Juan Pablo declare a truce. Rei asks him if he hasn’t considered a DNA test to see if the story of TC’s parentage is true. JP says he won’t do that unless TC wants it done.

TC sends Rosario to deliver a message to the horde of reporters staked out at the guard entrance of the condominium complex. She’s going to make an announcement in her Living Room and will accept no questions.

Antonio remembers Pati saying that the two of them could not be together right now. There’s a lot she needs to process. She has to deal with Simón also. Plus she doesn’t know if he would want someone with her background as the wife of a famous plastic surgeon.

Later Antonio barges right into TC’s house while all the reporters are milling around in the Living Room awaiting her appearance. In Pati's room he firmly states his wishes. He wants her to get rid of the “waiter” who thinks he owns her. And he wants her to accept being his girlfriend again. [This is where Spanish gets confusing. Novio/a is sometimes used to mean fiancé and sometimes just a serious dating relationship. So I’m not clear if this is a proposal of marriage by Antonio.]

Ro doesn’t disappoint. He flutters upstairs to tell TC that Antonio is in Pati’s room. She manages to calm down realizing she has to deal with the reporters.

Pati tells Tony she can’t deal with anything much now except the family drama. Antonio makes a strong declaration of his love while “Desnudo Estoy” plays in the bakgtround. After he leaves she calls Simón and tells him she wants to see him, but away from her house.
 

MARIDO – LUNES – Part 2

Teresa Cristina descends the stairs vamping like crazy in a black dress. She tells the gathered reporters that she’s wearing the dress as mourning for her poor mother! She goes on to say that Carlota was a dignified representative of the working class who was exploited and ended up losing her mind. TC says she was mistreated and humiliated. But TC having inherited the millions rectified this wrong done to her mother! Gah!

Antonio can’t believe his ears. The reporter who broke the story pipes up and asks her if this means she admits the scandalous story. And he also asks her why she kept quiet about this secret for so long! She quickly says the terms of the announcement were that she wasn’t taking any questions. She states that she is the legitimate, adopted heir of the Palmers. Fuí, soy, y siempre seré una verdadera dama en mis actitudes. The arrogance of this speech cannot be overemphasized! She poses for a family photo with Rei and Pati. The reporter tries once more to heckle her a bit, but she talks right over him.

TC goes to her room and asks Rosario to send Antonio up to see her. She tells him he tried to destroy her; but, look, he failed. Antonio isn’t buying this. He says she is pretending but is really demoralized. He tells her how happy it made him to help get the story out. She tells him he’s not welcome in her house. Pati enters and says that will be her decision to make. She announces that Antonio is her boyfriend and will obviously be coming here a lot. On his way out, Tony tells TC that he always admired her. She replies that she can’t say the same. His comeback: Haga como yo. ¡Mienta! And winks at her.

Of course this produces another call to Fernando asking him to speed up the killing Tony project.

Antonio goes to tell his mother about his and Pati reconciling, but Griselda tells him her mother won’t sit still for it. And, taking into consideration what happened to his brother and sister, he needs to be very careful.

Reinaldo comes to tell TC that he’s leaving to go to the restaurant. She tries to put a move on him and asks him where he’s going to sleep. He tells her there isn’t a chance in hell he’ll sleep in her bed again. He’s sleeping in the Guest Room and only brought a few clothes along for a short visit.

We get a sort of unnecessary scene of Miguel Varoni overacting like crazy about having dressed up to see TC and having been rejected.

Debora tells Quique that she thinks the woman who drugged him was a friend of Bárbara’s and that Barbie set the whole thing up. She tells him she loves him and plants a kiss on him. He ducks out of there rather than tell her the same thing.

Fernando is taking pictures of Antonio in the street, and Tony then gets in a cab.

Simón has come to see Pati at the posada. He tells her that it doesn’t matter where they talk; he’s sure it will be very painful.

Griselda tells Celeste that she doesn’t buy Reinaldo’s story of going back to his old home being for Pati’s sake. She thinks those two will be back together soon and that they deserve each other.

Ro is fixing up the Guest Room for Reinaldo so that he’ll be comfortable. TC enters and says that she’s set it up so he’ll be uncomfortable in that room. Within one or two nights, he’s going to return to the bed he never should have left. Oh boy!
 

I wonder if the adoption part of the storyline was more important in Brazil than it is here. I'm sure 9 out 10 American viewers would just shrug their shoulders and say, "So what?" Of course, back in the day it may have been important. But c'mon, this is 2013!
 

Marido

thanks so much novelera,
I missed the beginning of the show, and I really enjoy the Spanish you throw in.

so where is JP sleeping?

I see we are in ultimas semanas, like NovelaMaven mentioned,
so this will be the first to finish?

 

Deb, we don't know where JP is going since he moved out. He had a big fight with TC, blaming her for instigating the Vanessa/Reinaldo mess. So that's why he moved out. Maybe he went to the only hotel in Miami: the one in which Bárbara, Max, Reinaldo, and even José spent some time!

This, of course, brings up the craziness of there being only one Guest Room in a house that looks like it has 20 rooms easy. So there's TC's Bedroom, Pati's on again, off again bedroom, and the much desired by Marcela Guest Room.
 

At least we know that Rei and Paty aren't buying TC's nonsense. They both looked they they were trying not to roll their eyes while she was talking to the reporters. Paty may have actually done this. But I didn't understand why Rei feels he needs to stay there. He still doesn't want anything to do with her so why bother? Paty is there and neither one can monitor her every move to manage the killing. Fortunately, Fer is bad at this.

Kelly
 

Suppose Fer hits his target and does manage to kill Antonio? He can't be that inept at hitman-ry (yes I made that up) and still be in business. It would actually add some zing to the slow, plodding plotline, make the Salinas/Carrascos finally see that TC is dangerous and get rid of a character we don't like. This 'OMG TC is adopted and her Bio mom is nuts' is such a let-down.

In my scenario, Tony would be a martyr-he was right about wanting to protect Amalia by exposing TC- and Rei and Gris would end up together without the 'Eew' of their children being a couple as well. Plus we'd get a Pati/
Simon marriage too.
 

Novelera- Excellent recap.

J desde NYC- I am totally on board with your plan for offing Tony. I just can't stand that he and Pati are back together. It would do a lot to advance the plot too.
 

Novelera, thanks for the recap; I'm kind of looking forward for the end, I don't enjoy the story as much as I used to.

Sue, the Brazilian version is recent, too, a year or two old. I don't think in Brazil adoption is so badly seen, at least not as bad as they are trying to portray it.
 

Tonight, another attempt on one of Gris' kids. The preview shows her in tears when she receives the news. What the heck is she crying about? So far she's stood back and done nothing while her kids have had attempts made on their lives. She's been more concerned about Pati's feelings and even felt sorry for TC with the silly scandal of being adopted and the birth child of, heavens no!, a maid. Never hires a detective to get the proof she needs with her millions and all, but is easily willing to gjve up 5M to extortionists. Serves her right to lose one of her kids aka Antonio. What a dumbed down novela!

Josie
 

Tuesday RECAP - Part 1/3

Rei is at the restaurant, chatting with some faithful costumers. Simon is not around, so they have a lot of work to do.

Vanesa comes to visit his new bestie, TC. Manuel and Elsa try to warn her that TC doesn’t have friends. Manuel tells her not to aim higher than she should and be careful with Rei and Pati who are in the house, too, but Vane is …. too worse for words.

Pati is with Simon in her room at the posada; she took a pain killer for her headache – Simon thinks that maybe he is a headache for her now. What follows is the most peaceful, sugary sweet break-up in history. Pati feels bad that no matter how much Simon has been there for her, she never managed to love him, she feels like she led him on. But Simon, who is definitely a saint, says that you can’t force love – he’s been more a friend, a cousin, then a lover, which is someone that you want with you all the time, even for your morning coffee. He obviously isn’t that person.
But Tony apparently is. He’s in his room, gazing at Paty’s photo, thinking of how much he loves her, so much that he even needs her while drinking his coffee in the morning (blech!)
♪ ♪ Desnudo estoy ♪ ♪ (double blech!)

Max has arrived at Clara’s house. She and Leo welcome him and before they start eating, they make a toast.

Gabe arrives at Esther’s house, and the alarm goes off. Esther explains that she set up the alarm because Beatriz has been acting very strange, showing up at all times. She feels an angustia en el corazon (a fear in her heart). Gabe tries to calm her down, he’s there to protect her.

Vane is feeling quite at home at TC’s house; she’s fixing herself a sandwich, while Ro tries to make her leave the house. This girl is beyond belief, I just can’t with her!

Gris and Celeste chat about love. Gris thinks that it’s better to be alone than in bad company; besides, she has so many problems now and Gabe is still only a friend. As Celeste leaves, TC comes to talk.
She thinks Gris must be very happy because her true parentage (being a maid’s daughter) has been revealed, but she is STILL a rich, educated woman. Gris calls her an idiot because the difference between them has nothing to do with money or the level of education they each have, it’s all about character – TC is capable to use anyone to achieve her goals, she’s crazy and a c r i m i n a l, while Gris always tries to do good deeds, have a decent life.
No, no, TC disagrees, she has a fascinating personality, while Gris is just a bigotuda insipida; that’s why Rei cheated on her with Vanesa and now he’s back at home; Gris better keep in mind that he is c a s a d o. Then she leaves.

 

Tuesday RECAP - Part 2/3

Pati is still with Simon, she’s crying and he’s comforting her; he knows she never loved him the way he loved her, she is the type of extraordinary woman who only loves once, and for her that person is Tony (excuse me while I take a moment to cringe). Pati can’t understand why she couldn’t fall for him and his beautiful soul (just what every guy wants to hear), but she has to admit that she still loves Tony and asks for Simon’s forgiveness.

Dinner is over at Clara’s house, Max has had a wonderful time.
While Leo goes to take out the trash, Max thanks Clara for having him in her home, they bond a little over life difficulties and Clara expresses her gratitude for his good influence on Leo. As he leaves, Max kisses her hand and thanks her again for a very special night.

Paty is back at TC’s house, with a suitcase – not all her clothes, apparently, since she’s only staying there temporarily. As she and Rei start to talk about Simon, Tony, Gris and love in general, TC listens from the top of the stairs.
Paty tells Rei she was never able to forget Tony, no matter how much she tried. Rei says he used to love TC very much but she killed that love with her actions; now he loves Gris, she helped him rediscover life and love, but she doesn’t want him. Pati and Rei agree that they are both misfortunate in love while TC gets more and more mad – her clenched fingers leave nail marks on her upper arm.
She goes to her room proclaiming that Rei HAS to love her no matter what she does; and Gris will stay away from her, except from when she goes to pay her respects at Tony’s funeral.
In her room now, Pati thinks about her breakup from Simon and Tony’s renewed love declaration.

In a shady part of town – could be a deserted land, but there are some trees around, Fer and his goonies prepare the place where they plan to take Tony: a dark hut with a grass floor. Preppy Tony won’t like this too much.

 

Tuesday RECAP - Part 3/3

The next morning, TC is waiting for Rei in his room, lounging on a couch. He sees the marks on her arm, she pretends she hurt herself in her sleep. She woke up early to eat his famous pancakes, but Rei has no time for this today, he’s going to the farmer’s market. Oh, just like the good old times, TC says.
No, not exactly, things will never go back to the way they were, Rei objects; they briefly fight about Gris, but then put an end to the discussion – maybe pretending everything is normal is better, TC suggests. Rei doesn’t agree with this, either; and then he leaves to attend to his affairs.
TC is upset she was turned down, she decides she won’t become a celibate just because Rei said no. So she calls Jose, making a robalo order. As luck would have it, he just went fishing and has a fresh portion just for her. Well, as long as there are no pancakes, a robalo will do, TC concludes.

After Jose hangs up, Barbie asks him who was on the phone, but he’s all mysterious about it. Barbie is in a hurry, anyway, she’s going to see her lawyer. After she leaves, Elio wonders why she’s spending all that time taking care of Q and then she wants to take his son away from him. Jose is not in the mood for his son’s slow brain today, so he gets rid of him in order to have the house all to himself for when TC arrives.

Tony and Daniel are in the car, Tony has Pati’s photo with him today – he loves her sooo much……. They are attacked by some masked men, who don’t want money, they just want Tony. They take him away, warning Daniel not to follow or else his friend will die.
Daniel calls Gris with the news. Q takes the phone from his mom and asks details about the kidnapping – this was not a random attack, they wanted Tony, not money.
Gigante thinks that now that Gris is so rich, of course she and her family are a target, surely they’ll ask for money. Gris is crying and thinking about the worst – I know I’m supposed to feel sorry for her, but I can’t! Amalia has been in jeopardy twice and Q once, but she never thought about hiring some bodyguards. If Tony ends up dead …oh well … I didn’t like him too much, anyway.
Q asks Daniel to come to the shop and then thinks they should call the police. Gris rejects the idea, she wants the kidnappers to contact them first. Also, they shouldn’t tell Amalia what happened, this might affect her or the baby.

Pati leaves from home in a rush, she doesn’t have the time to stay for breakfast. Ro wonders where TC went, but neither Elsa, nor Manuel know (or care). So he eventually calls her, but she doesn’t reveal her whereabouts.
TC has come to visit Jose; they go through their usual mating routine, with a lot of screeching, robalinis and double entendres, Jose’s whities and a ridiculous walk up the stairs. As TC is about to undress for Jose, Fer calls to tell her that he has Tony (he is tied up in the hut, with his face covered by a big hood). What is Fer supposed to do, kill him?
Yes, kill the rat already, TC decides, with Jose listening and looking a little bit suspicious.

 

Thanks so much Adriana. I agreed with all your comments. I can't feel for Gris because she has ignored the problem, and I'm beyond annoyed with her for not calling the cops. The police know how to handle kidnappings. And when she doesn't get a ransom call? By that time, any trail they might of had will be cold. I would not mind at all if Fer is finally successful in one of his murder attempts. How hard can it be? He has Tony tied up in an isolated place. Just shoot him already! (I can't believe I just said that about one of the leads.)

Simon is the most understanding man in the world. If Pati can't see the difference between the way he respects her decisions, and the way Tony just steamrolls over her decisions, well...
 

Terrific recap, Adriana. Yep, Griselda has been majorly dumbed down from the smart cookie handyman she was at the beginning.

For one thing I could NOT believe it doesn't seem to have crossed her mind that this is another attempt by TC. She's waiting for a ransom demand? Really?

Of course, if she did the sensible thing that Viewerville would have done and hired ex-Seal Team Six guys as bodyguards for her children, there wouldn't be much of a plot.

I got a kick out of José muttering to himself that Elio took after his mother, sweet but dumb.

I can't predict if Max and Clara are going to be an item or not. They've also hinted at Beto for her. But he does have children in México and perhaps even a wife. He's commented about marriage to Gabriel, if I remember correctly.

That was some scene with TC overhearing Reinaldo saying how much he still loves Griselda. But her narcissistic disorder persona can't stop thinking he'll fall back in love with her.
 

Marido

great recap Adriana,
as always!

do we really want Antonio dead,
and let the bad guys win,
couldn't he just be caught cheating, and thrown out of school?

 

It is Wednesday 12/11; my turn to do a recap tonight. The drawback to doing a good job is that 1) I came back from my trip as sick as a dog and have been in bed, aching for two days and 2) I hate scenes with kidnappings, torture, chains and threats (segun los avances) regardless of the outcome. I still have two nights to catch up on and then I go LIVE!
Anita

 

Deb- Aside from his willingness to deceive and emotionally blackmail the woman he supposedly loves, Tony is a straight arrow, especially when it comes to academics. No way would he ever do anything like cheating.

OK. If Tony came out of this kidnapping experience humbled, able to empathize with the people around him, and with real understanding and remorse about the things he's done (to Pati and Gris), then I guess I'd be happy that he survived. Otherwise, I still wouldn't mind if he bit the dust. It would finally open up Gris's eyes and spur her to real action.
 

I just don't believe Antonio is going to be killed. No matter how many teasers they give us.

This is actually a fairly lighthearted novela with lots of comedy in it, so I think Griselda's children are off limits. How could she possibly have the forthcoming happy ending with Reinaldo if her youngest child is dead?

I think they might go with Antonio getting some of the arrogance scared out of him and realizing what's really important in life. There's not that much time left actually.

In my fantasy outcome he decides against plastic surgery and goes to work in a low-income clinic!
 

It's so refreshing to see a normal breakup in a tn. Simon is a standup guy. They could have gone with the usual conniving rebound boyfriend.

I was also shocked (not really) no-one immediately thought TC was behind the kidnapping. There seems to be a virus going around that is dumbing down these characters.

Josie
 

MARIDO EN ALQUILER – Wednesday – Fernando Strikes Out Again (but we all knew that)

TC & José are playing fish and fisherman upstairs when she gets a call. It’s Fernando letting her know he has the rat. Poor José he doesn’t know it’s his biological rat. He thinks TC really has a rat problem. She’d rather someone else do the dirty work. Then she dance for the fisherman’s fish.

Gabe is willing to go to work with Ester. She lets him know Alba wants to talk to her about something important. She hopes that includes finding out why Bea and her strange behavior.

The pandilleros have strung up Antonio with chains and handcuffs inside a flimsy shack. They don’t want to talk in front of him, so the go outside. Later, Antonio believes he’s alone because no one answers his shouts.

Gris is crying in Kike’s arms when Daniel shows up. He’s sorry he can’t give them any descriptions. They go back and forth as to why Tony was targeted. The others are sure it’s the money. Everyone knows she’s a millionaire several times over. Gris is not comforted. She doesn’t understand why they haven’t called. They all decide that it’s to make them more nervous and pliable. Dan remembers that one of the guys in the ski masks said they only wanted Tony and put a hood on him while Dan watched. They warn him not to follow or his amiguito would be dead. Gris tells Dan not to go to the police and to keep this a secret for now. Gris wants to go home so no one will guess why she’s so upset.

Bea shows up. Gris leaves the shop in Bea’s and Gigante’s hands and asks them to close for her.

Gabe brings Ester 3 bags of take-out, knowing she needs to work and take care of Victoria. Besides, what can she offer Dr. Alba when she shows up. Gabe goes back to the Taco Bar.

Max is at the training center talking to Leo. Max waxes poetic over the dinner Carla fixed, how wonderful she is and how pretty she is. Leo agrees and says he’s grateful for all the effort she put in to help him straighten out his life. He wants his ma to be proud of him so he’s planning to win a lot of fights.

At the beach, Victor and Elio watch Carla walk by. Vic says out loud that if he could have her and her tacos, he’d have to reason to ever leave the house again. Of course Carla hears him and teases him. Carla runs into Diosa and Penny and they talk about Leo and his upcoming fights.

Gris is now home and going crazy with the waiting (ooops, sorry, that adverb belongs to TC). She’s stressed with the waiting, sure that something has gone wrong or they would have heard from them by now.

Gabe goes to the Maridas shop and confronts Bea for stalking Ester and “his” Victoria. She objects to the use of “his” daughter. He fumbles the answer. Bea says she’s not going to explain anything to him and swears she would never hurt the baby. Gabe says she already is. Well, Ester will learn, sooner or later, as will everyone what’s going on.

Dr. Alba finally arrives. Ester wastes no time telling Alba how disturbed she is with Bea’s behavior. Alba then recounts the mix-up. Ester can’t believe that Alba would have let her go through with this. Alba explains how it was Gloria that discovered the egg & sperm combination, but Alba felt it was too late to interfere. She’s sure that baby was meant to be born. Alba reassures Ester that Bea has no legal standing and cannot make any claims—she ‘donated’ her egg. Well, Ester tells her ni modo, Alba has made her life a nightmare and insists that Alba is the one to straighten out Bea and furthermore, she wants Alba to leave and never wants to see her again.

Gris gets a phone call, but it’s Gigante telling her Gabe came by to talk to Bea. Gris is puzzled, but doesn’t want Gigante to probe or pressure her. Gris calls Gabe and asks him to come to the house right away.

Iris is in a blue funk. Mario tries to raise her spirits with an order of food. No she’s now hungry. Her good name has been dragged through the mud. She can’t understand why he husband preferred the sirvienta to her. It all comes back to him who ruined their lives.

Part 1/3
 

MARIDO EN ALQUILER – Wednesday

Ivan stops to see Paloma on the beach. She gets her nose out of joint with the casual hola he greets her with. She hasn’t seen or heard from him since the ex- came back. He tells her he was surprised to learn that TC is Paloma’s sister (well, half-sister).

The kidnappers are sure that Antonio is scared enough and they go back into the shack to menace him some more. They take Tony’s hood off and take him outside. They tell him to start walking and not to look back. It seems that Fer will do the shooting. They hear a couple of shots. Pandemonium. Antonio is not hit and he starts running through the woods with the 4 thugs right behind him. They are shooting at Tony, but they continue to hear other shots. Tony is finally hit and falls into a quiet river. Fer doesn’t bother to check the body. He already has his wallet and removes the cash. He states that Tony is crocodile food now. (What a cold blooded guy this is.)

Meanwhile, back at Gris’ mansion, Gabe swears to her that what he went to confront Bea about had to do with Ester and no Tony’s kidnapping. Gris finally tells him what is going on and she goes to light a candle to the Virgencita and prays. Then she has a llamada de la sangre and is sure something bad has happened to Tony.

Now we see the two hunters that were out shooting. They find Tony in the water, haul him out, roll him over, alive, but don’t find any identification. They do find a picture of Pati and her phone number.

TC returns home from her fishing party. Ro tells her he’s not interested now or evermore where she’s been, but actually he’s dying to know. She doesn’t give him the pleasure of sharing. Fed calls her to let her know the deed is done. She wants proof. Well, she should have let him know that earlier. TC wanted his head on a platter. They meet in the sauna so Fer can give her Tony’s wallet. But, smart crazy woman that she is, she doesn’t want to touch it and tells Fer to keep it, dispose of it, juarever.

José is lounging on the bed in post-coital bliss when Barbie (without –Q) comes into her room and he’s done the deed in her bed. She finds this disgusting and tells him to wash the sheets, but he demurs, he’s got things to do and leaves the room, having traded insults.

Gabe forgot his phone and goes back to El Taco Bar to get it. Carla tells him Bea called and wants to see him right away. Then it’s off to Fina Estampa

Bea tells Gloria that she and Ester have a lot to talk about. She’s going to fight for her daughter.

Ester goes back to Fina Estampa to wait for Gabe. Marcia is willing to look after Victoria for her. JP gets in an inappropriate remark about Fina Estampa not being a day care center and if she’s going to bring Victoria to work, she’ll have to take care of her.

Gris and her family are still waiting for any word from the kidnappers.

Bea seems to be stalking Ester’s house, even though they are at Fina Estampa.

Gabe and Ester are talking about Victoria and the lío Alba put her in. JP can’t hear what they are talking about but Marcia is sure that it is something very serious. JP brushes it off as post-partum craziness. (Dumba$$)

Pati is walking out of one of the university buildings when she gets the phone call from the hunters who found Antonio.

Part 2/2
 

Sorry--I miscalculated. It's only two parts. Not much to enjoy in this recap.
 

Thank you, Anita!
Jose's biological rat - HAHAHA
I hope Tony gets home fast, but I won't be able to endure watching him and Patty declare everlasting love. Let's hope she doesn't get pregnant again...

Fernando has got to be the worst villain in tn history! Why on Earth did he let Tony walk away???
 

Great recap, Anita! Thanks, amiga, and welcome back.

I’m satisfied with the outcome of the kidnapping. Tony gets shot and has the bejeezus scared out of him (which will hopefully lead to a humbler Tony), but also gets found quickly. When Jose finds out, will he make the connection to TC’s call about the “rats” that he overheard? If he does, would he care?

I could have done with less of the TC-Jose mating dance (it was funny in the beginning, now it’s just tedious), and more of Paloma and Ivan making some progress, for example. I wish the writers would stop leaving all the other characters in limbo, just to be activated when they need filler in an episode.

I hate what they’ve done with Beatriz. I get why she would be thrown off balance to learn Ester’s baby is biologically hers and Guillermo’s. But her sudden flip to crazy stalker feels false. It still makes no sense why she and Guillermo were donors, and not just banking their eggs and sperm. But as a donor, she had to know that her eggs would be likely be providing a baby for someone out there.

 

Thursday- No show due to the soccer final game so we don't get to find out if Tony is redeemable or a permanent robalo, let's say, like his father. But you can watch whatever that judge show is that usually comes on before this. I think it's like a Judge Judy but with more serious cases cases, although the other day they said something about Brazilian butt lifts, so maybe not.

Kelly
 

Is anyone else repulsed by Jose in his "drawers"? I used
to love Miguel Varoni and couldn't wait for him to join the cast, but this character is so disgusting I don't know if
I'll ever feel the same way about him. He is playing the
part well however.
 

Thanks so much, Anita. I was too busy to post a comment earlier.

Excellent recap, and I enjoy your sense of humor, especially Fernando strikes out, but we all knew that. I can hardly wait to see the expression on TC's face when she finds out he dropped the ball again!

Anon, I agree about José in his tighty whiteys. It's a recurring joke that he drops his pants and walks hobbled toward TC whenever the mood strikes the two of them. I keep expecting him to fall on his big nose.

Vivi, I agree about what they've done with Beatriz. I'm very sure that they write these things on the fly, so it's just annoying when they start a character off as a good person and then do that switch (perhaps in a late night boozy writing session). The way they presented Beatriz before her response in finding out Esther has her biological child might have been to spend some time with Vicki, perhaps as a fond auntie. But no, she wants to snatch her away.

Juan Pablo doesn't have much time left to reform. He's being a selfish ass all the way through from what I can see. Of course, this keeps the door open for Esther and Gabriel.
 

Anon@2:13. The tighty whities has not only gotten old, but it's stale. I agree with you.

In fact, I'm ready to wrap this whole Marido thing up mighty tighty. The only character who has been absolutely decent the whole way through is Simon, and he's the only one who will end up holding the short straw (no decent gals left for him). I'm heartbroken.
 

Jose shouldve copied Willy Delgado and cut his hair and trim that beard.
 

Recap will be posted later today.
 

MARIDO viernes 13 de diciembre Part 1

El viernes 13 sí es el día de la mala suerte: Antonio ya vive. (Friday the 13th is indeed the day of bad luck: Antonio is still alive.)

Two hunters find Antonio’s body at the edge of a lake in the Everglades. They find no ID, only Pati’s picture with a phone number written on the back. One of them calls the number and sure enough, it’s Pati. He tells her he found a picture with this number on the back. He describes Antonio and she realizes who it is. He tells her Antonio has been shot but is alive. Pati calls Gris and asks where Antonio is. She hems and haws but finally admits that he was kidnapped. Pati tells her what happened. They all go to the hospital.

TC is in her bedroom cheerily drinking a glass of wine when Ro comes in. He says that she’s been so quiet and wondered if she is worried about something. “No, I’m happier than ever.” And no, she does not wish to tell him why.

Reinaldo tells Simón that he’s sorry that he broke up with Pati even though at first he didn’t approve of their relationship. Simón realized that she remained in love with Antonio and he didn’t want to be with her because she felt sorry for him. Meanwhile the cell in Reinaldo’s office is ringing–it’s Pati.

Gris brings Antonio’s information to the hospital and waits for his arrival. When he does arrive we see the obligatory scene of the family following the gurney down the hall. I swear these TN moms would go into surgery if they could. Pati tries to assure Gris that Antonio is in good hands and will be OK. I know she has no proof but why can’t she go to the police and make a suggestion?

Over at Fina Estampa Gabe tries to convince Esther to go home but she says she will feel more secure there, at work. He leaves. A few minutes later Beatriz barges in demanding to see Esther. Marcia asks who she is and if she has an appointment; Beatriz refuses to tell her.

In the waiting room the family tries to figure out the mystery of Antonio’s kidnapping. “Strange that no one called to ask for ransom…Maybe he escaped…The hunters said they heard several shots…They must have wanted to kill him because they didn’t ask for anything for his return…It must have been an enemy.” Gris says that Antonio doesn’t have any enemies and neither does Jethro or Amalia. She gets up and makes a call to TC on her cell. Does it strike you as strange that she would know TC’s number? At least it isn’t on speed dial. Gris informs TC that God and the Virgin are more powerful than she is and they will protect her and her family. “Antonio is alive!” Cara impactada de TC. She tells Gris that slander is a crime. Gris isn’t sure how she is going to do it but she is going to prove that TC is a murderer. TC warns her that if she spreads that around she’ll sue her. “Go ahead, sue me! I can’t wait to stand in front of a judge and tell him everything I know about you.” After Gris hangs up TC decides she needs to do something about that useless Fernando. And he is useless. He’s 0 for 4: Marcela, Amalia, Jethro and now Antonio. She calls Fernando and orders him to the sauna.

Gris goes back to the waiting room. The family is suspicious because she has her cell in her hand. They wanted to know who she called. She denies she called anyone and she wants to be left in peace.

“Ok let’s start over.” Marcia wants to know who Beatriz is and what business she has with Esther. She still refuses to tell Marcia her name and says Esther will be most interested in speaking to her. Marcia refuses to allow her entry and tells her she will call Security if necessary.

 

Viernes 12/13 Part 2

Beatriz begins to yell, “Esther! Esther! I know you’re here! You’re going to talk to me!” JP comes out and wants to know what all the ruckus is about. At first Beatriz refuses to tell him as well but he tells her that he won’t allow her in his business if she keeps yelling at the top of her lungs. She tells him her name is Beatriz Lobo and her business with Esther is private. Esther hears the yelling and calls Marcia to tell her to get rid of Beatriz “call the police or the Army but do whatever it takes to get her out of here.” Marcia tells Beatriz that Esther heard all the screaming and snuck out the back door. Beatriz doesn’t believe her and starts yelling again “you’re going to have the face the truth about Victoria!” Marcia tells her she can leave of her own volition or she can have Security escort her out. Beatriz leaves. JP wonders what that was all about and what does it have to do with the baby? Esther should sue the pants off of Alba. She also needs a restraining order.

At Fashion Motors Susana is trying to find out the results of Max’s medical exams. Can just anyone do that? HIPAA, people. She delivers the good news to Max: all his tests were negative. The doctor does say there is some risk but it would be up to Max whether he returns to the octagon. Of course Max wants to fight again. Susana wants to call a press conference but Clinton tells her no, he has to focus on training and getting back into shape. Then he can return with all the pomp that’s due him.

TC walks into the sauna and slaps Fernando. “You are incompetent! You failed again. You couldn’t even kill a fly!” That’s really bad…even my cat can kill a fly. “Antonio is alive!” “What?” “And who informed me of this? La Bigotuda! You should have made sure he was dead before you called me.” “I’m sorry…I thought I left him dead.” TC orders him to go to the hospital and finish the job. She wants Gris’ children to suffer. If he screws up, she will make him disappear–permanently.

Antonio dreams about running away from his kidnappers. In the waiting room Gris says Antonio will recover or her name isn’t Griselda Carrasco.

TC comes into the house and is her rude self to Ro. She goes upstairs to her room. At the restaurant Reinaldo steps outside and notices a wanted poster on a sign. And it’s actually in English too. The woman in the photo looks very familiar…

Susana, Eduardo and one of the mechanics discuss Max. Susana says that if it weren’t for her Max would have never gone to get a second opinion. She says she isn’t after his money and she thinks he’s going to propose to her soon. They laugh. Max is at Tacos Bar telling his new love interest, Clara, how he is going to fight again. She tells him she’ll do anything to help him. He asks her to help with his diet since she already does this with Leo. She jokes that she will have a new specialty: food for athletes. Yea Max!

JP wants an explanation for what just transpired with Beatriz but Esther just tells him she’s crazy and is always saying crazy things about Victoria or that she wants to be a model or work at Fina Estampa. He keeps pressing and she gets very defensive. She decides to leave. Beatriz sees her getting into a taxi and tries to stop her but can’t. “You’ll never get away from me Esther!”

Fernando goes to see one of his shady criminal-type friends and proposes that he go to the hospital to off Antonio. “It’s too risky for me. The family knows me.” His friend also thinks it’s too risky what with the family right there. Fernando tells him he will be so well-compensated that he will never have to work again.




 

Viernes 12/13 Part 3

Gris speaks to Antonio and he eventually wakes up. “Te amo Mamá.”

Reinaldo comes into TC’s house while speaking on the phone. He’s speaking to someone, probably the police, about the wanted poster. “So the photo is from the security tape at the hospital?” He ends his call and Ro, of course, wants to know what’s going on. Reinaldo warns him to beware of TC.

In TC’s room Reinaldo asks her what Marcela’s last words were. She is taken aback and remembers the staged assault. She gives an Qscar-winning performance. Reinaldo informs her that Marcela was not killed by the shooting but by someone in the hospital. “I’m in shock!” “And the police are investigating. They have a suspect. A woman who visited Marcela not too long before she was found dead. She couldn’t have been too intelligent if she didn’t realize that there are cameras everywhere in the hospital.” He shows her the wanted poster. TC looks like she’s getting nervous. Ro is listening outside the door. “What do you think of the woman?” “Very ordinary looking with that hair color and those out of style sunglasses.” Reinaldo ventures to say there is a resemblance to TC. She starts to get defensive and asks him if he went there to discuss such disagreeable things. “Teresa Cristina, we were married for many years and have a daughter in common. Sometimes I feel I don’t even know you.” He leaves.

Blech! Antonio and Pati are exchanging the “I’ll always be devoted to you” lines. He asks her if she will ever forgive him about not wanting the baby. She has her whole life to forgive him. There’s more in that vein. The nurse comes in and tells her five minutes are up. Pati leaves. After she goes by Fernando’s criminal friend appears. He tries to go into the room but he sees the nurse and goes back to his hiding place. My mom just spent a few days in the hospital and there were always people in the hallways. Even at night the nurses and CNAs do their paperwork on computers in the hallway. Not at this hospital. Pati tells Gris that now that she spoke to Antonio she is going home. Gris says the family is going to leave in a few minutes. Criminal Element sees the nurse leave and when the coast is clear, he enters Antonio’s room.
 

Excellent job, Sue!

I was so frustrated with this episode. When someone is found bound and shot, the POLICE are called! It doesn’t matter what the family wants. If not the hunters who found Tony, then the hospital would have the police brought in.

And even if for some bizarre reason the people in charge don’t call the cops, then Gris should have! Unlike Quique’s and Amalia’s brushes with death, this in no way looks like an accident, and they have the hunters as witnesses. Plus, had the police gone back to the scene of the crime, they could have found the torture shack where there might be clues. To add to the ridiculousness, Gris calls the person she suspects of the attempt on her child’s life, AGAIN, to make empty threats which she is doing nothing to fulfill. After baiting the killer, she does not to ensure that there is 24 hour protection of any of her children and grandchild, including the one most vulnerable in the hospital. Ridiculous!

As we predicted/hoped, Tony’s near death encounter has humbled him. Not enough to deserve Pati, in my eyes, but ok.

I do like the developments between Max and Clara, and I can’t wait to see Susana fall flat on her face again. There is nothing that Max has done or said that would make her think she’ll be his next wife.

 

Oh, and if Rei strongly suspects that TC is the woman suspected in killing Marcela, then why the hell is he still sleeping in the same house as her and not calling the cops on her?!

I know that tn writers usually have to jump through some hoops to keep the villains out of jail to continue their evil deeds, but this total inaction by so many people, when they know/suspect TC is a killer, is just stupid-- Iris, Marcela, Ro, Paloma, Gris, Rei.
 

Vivi, this novela has really gone downhill and now I can't wait for it to be over. I've invested so much time into it that I'll watch to the end.

Again I wonder if setting this Brazilian TN in the US was problematic for the writers.
 

Sue- I took a look at some episodes of Fina Estampa on Daily Motion, to see if this version was vastly different. From what I can tell, it sticks pretty closely to the original. I didn't watch enough to see what are the differences that made that a hit, and this a dud. I don't speak Portuguese, and didn't watch enough to pick up on it.
 

Thank you, Sue. Masterful handling of a frustrating (for us) episode. WHY are the police never called? Is it a budget thing? Extra locations?

Yes, I'm also waiting for this to be over. There just weren't enough Reinaldo-Gris tender moments for this to register on my romantic comedy/drama to keep me invested in the characters and storyline. But, I couldn't miss an opportunity to catch Juan Soler running his hands through his very own full head of hair and watch his face light up when he smiles.

Too many side stories. Sorry, but I didn't need the fisherman to come back from the dead, regardless of the treasure.

Ivan's ex didn't need to come back either to make the Ivan-Paloma coupling move forward (or backward).

I like Max better now, but they cold have made him a veterinarian who was misdiagnosed with a terminal disease and it would have suited me better.

Tia Iris annoyed me in the beginning, but I really enjoy her antics now.

Jethro needs a shave and a make-over. Truly, Gris didn't need three children. Antonio and Amalia would have been enough. Maybe Jethro could have been the policeman.

I still say Fernando is too goodlooking to be such a scoundrel.

Do not like the JP character, but fascinated by the actor, Paulo César Quevedo.

Antonio is going to feel and act like an entitled, arrogant person the rest of his life. I hope he screws up a couple of botox treatments and 50DDDD inplants and the women sue the pants off him. Pati should leave him and go back to Simon.

Fell in love with Simon.
 

Did Susanna get a falsified medical report on Max? Or did some doctor really give her a real second opinion? I wasn't sure. Hard to know when they violate patient privacy laws all the time on novelas, unless the patient has been shot of course. Then mums the word!

Kelly
 

P.S. If Jethro had been the policeman, he and Fernando would have canceled each other out.

 

I've been refraining from commenting because I haven't watched for a while. (I'll probably go back and watch selections of this week's episodes--using the very helpful recaps as guides to what might be worth watching!)

But I will go ahead and criticize, based on what I watched before and what I've read in the recaps. Here goes: This thing of Griselda doing absolutely nothing to protect the lives of her children undermines the very heart of the show.

This isn't just something that's a little illogical or unrealistic for dramatic effect. We're not nit-picking here. Griselda is our heroine. Her nature--hard-working, ingenious, loving her children above all else, able to deal with every obstacle--is what the show centers around. Her virtues are celebrated by celebrities, effused over by the male lead, praised by most of the characters on the show. She's a wonderful mother, who would do anything for the sake of her children, and since she won the lottery she has all the resources she needs.

So what does it say that she has done nothing--literally nothing, because discovering TC's family secret and not using it in anyway to get TC to stop is nothing--to protect her children? What does it say that there have been four attempts on the lives of her children that have failed only due to incompetence and bad luck and what does it say that her children are no safer now and she just keeps saying empty words and doing useless things?

Again, it undermines--no, destroys--the very thing we're supposed to be in love with at this point--Griselda the mama bear who will protect her children at all costs.

Bad things happening at this point in the story should be happening at least in part because of something in the protagonist's character or past or person--she could be too trusting, she could have overreacted, she simply doesn't have the actual necessary resources to prevent the disaster. There's one example here--Griselda's reaction to the Rei-Vanessa photos together with her breaking up with Rei was a TN cliche, but at least it makes sense, in a soapy kind of way. Things are black and white in her world, and she was badly burned by Jose.

But this? There's no excuse for it, especially they could have written scenarios that put the kids in danger in spite of Griselda's and her hired bodyguards' best efforts. (There are tens of thousands of TV shows and films to steal ideas from in this regard.) They could have had Griselda take some reasonable measures against TC that fell through because of some acceptable plot contrivance. (Say, because Griselda's team--which doesn't actually exist, does it?--doesn't realize Fernando is working for TC.)
 

By the way, we've seen Ester doing more, by setting her burglar alarm, because of a friend showing too much of an interest in her baby, than Griselda as done as result of three (at that point) murder attempts on her children.
 

Utah, you've preached a great sermon on how silly Gris as been and how ridiculous it is for her not to call the cops when there has been attempts on all her kids' lives. ITA.
 

Utah--Nice to see your very sage comment here on what we have all come to agree has been a very silly story development with, unfortunately, two knock-out gorgeous older leads, one of whom has been behaving like a knucklehead.

Just a few random thoughts--
Maybe Gris suffers from a Helicopter-Mama-Bear-who-knows-best Syndrome and she thinks she's got it all in control and can solve all her family's problems by herself without their help.

When she was living in her old neighborhood, she had plenty of support, from Gabe to Celeste to Paloma and the volleyball guys. She moved to a gated community, across from her sworn enemy, where she's basically isolated, but is still trying to behave as though she's back in her old neighborhood. It wouldn't occur to her to contract a private detective or bodyguards until this whole threat to her family is solved.

Except that this is too near the end of the tn, she should pack up her kids and her trophies and her bank account and move back to the old house, kick Jose & Elio out, remodel the house and live happily ever after and to h&LL with Rei.

Poor Rei, until he can prove that Vanessa's photos were beautifully faked, he's lost Gris. But, it also shows Gris' lack of trust and faith in him (and she still pines for him). Remember, she NEVER gave him a chance to explain the whole scenario. I don't care if she was burned by Jose, Rei was a much different man in her life and she was already into him seriously, before that first kiss ever happened.