Caray, Caray!

Hi Santa Viewers and Lurkersm

Below is the link to last week's recaps for covenient access and review of the juicy facts. I hope this works - I will tinker around until I get it.

http://caraycaray.blogspot.com/2013/12/telemundo-y-mas-santa-diabla-week-of_16.html
 

I was hoping I could cover the link up with some lovely single phrase that lights up rather than the nuts and bolts of the URL. If anyone knows how to do that in a comment, let me know!
 

Santa

why was everyone calling Santa, Amanda?
(except Franco who called her Margarita)

 

Lunes – Part 1
The Shootout at the Casa de Begoña – At the end of Friday’s episode we left Santa holding a gun to NarcoGuy’s (NG) head while Santi was still tied up on the floor. NG dares her to shoot him saying that he can’t be killed by a single bullet and that if she fires, his goons will come in and shoot everyone, including her kid (Santi hasn’t managed to tell her that willy has escaped.) Santa hesitates and Santi begs her to look at him and not to give in to her hate but to no avail. Santa pulls the trigger – bummer – the gun isn’t loaded. NG laughs and gets up. Then we hear the police sirens (wouldn’t it have made more sense to sneak up on what is clearly a hostage situation instead of coming in with sirens blaring and guns blazing?) But hey, that’s the Marrero police department. And in fact, the police do come in with guns blazing. They don’t even offer the people inside the opportunity to surrender.

NG escapes from Santa and she is about to go after him to save her kid when Santi begs her to untie him. He manages to tell her that willy escaped and went to the police station. Then in fine manly fashion, Santi tells Santa to stay in the room and he will go after NG. Santa isn’t having any of that and Santi is shocked that Santa would actually have killed NG if the gun had been loaded. Santa is unrepentant. She says that it is too bad the gun wasn’t loaded. If it had been, she could have dealt with the NG problem.

NG meanwhile has taken Begoña hostage. Paula and Bert show up. Bert is calling Santa (why?) and Paula tells the police that there are children inside. NG’s goons are returning fire on the police and oh no, Cifuentes is killed!! Then the police announce that the house is surrounded and there is no escape. NG comes out of the house with Begoña held at gunpoint. All his goons are dead. Santi jumps him from behind and that’s the end of that.

Lisette goes to see Padre Milton and begs his forgiveness for being a money-grubbing b*tch. She only wants the best for her child (right!). The Padre is dubious but he is pre-programmed to forgive so he does so. Then Lisette gets a call – the baby is sick. She launches into complicated scenario with Petra, the baby and a new pediatrician (you can see where this is going). Bottom line, Lisette wants Padre Milton to find Arturo and bring him to the office of this “doctor”.

Vicky, Ivan & Ulises are having a celebratory dinner, which is marred by the fact that Ivan keeps getting phone calls that he won’t answer (but he won’t just turn off his phone either). Ivan asks Vicky to marry him and gives her a ring. At first, she runs into the other room but ultimately, she accepts his proposal while Ulises looks on, beaming.

 

Lunes – Part 2

Inés has gone to the cemetery to see for herself the supposed grave of Alicia Cano. She says that the fact that Santa is Alicia’s accomplice is going to work for her big time. She sneaks away when Elisa and Alicia arrive at the grave. Elisa tells Alicia that she has to give up on the hate and what happened in the past. She should focus on the future. She has everything to live for. Alicia asks what she has to live for with her eye patch and Elisa tells her to quick blaming everything on the patch. She wants Alicia to get some money so that they can go shopping and to the beauty parlor. Alicia is going to be reborn.

Fran comes to see Babs and all she can say is how happy she is to be back in her house again. Babs tells her that Daniela has been missing since George’s funeral and has probably gotten high again. Ivan finally answers Babs call and learns about Daniela’s disappearance. Ivan and Vicky go over to the former and present Cano house and after mutual blaming sessions from Ivan and Babs, Vicky suggests that they go and look for Daniela in areas where drugs are sold – a brilliant idea!!

Inés has followed Elisa and Alicia to Alicia’s house. After the two women leave to go shopping and beautifying, Inés tries to get into the house but the door is locked!!! Amazing – a locked door in Marrero. No problem though- Inés bats her eyes at two passers by and asks them to force the door open because she forgot her key. They oblige and Inés goes into Alicia’s house determined to discover all her secrets.

The police bring willy back to Begoña’s house and Pancho tells him that he is a hero and deserves a medal. Pancho tells Santi and Santa that NG is going to Federal prison for his numerous crimes. Then we see Pancho with Cifuentes’ body wishing him a “buen viaje.”

Paula fills Santa and Santi in on the “bad news” about Willy she got from the doctors. Somehow his oxygen valve got turned off and he is in a coma. It is unknown whether he will wake up and if so, what damage was done to his organs. (The principle organ that a lack of oxygen would have damaged is the brain.) Santi says that valves don’t turn themselves off especially in a hospital and Santa replies that she was thinking the same thing.

 

Lunes – Part 3

Inés finds the videos at Alicia’s house and once again we see Daniela’s 10th birthday party. She rummages through all the DVD’s (not finding the one that was labeled, “the murder of Vicente” that we saw when George went to his safe deposit box.) She notes that the videos date back to before Santa was on the scene and wonders who in the Cano house was Alicia’s ally. Then she finds George’s phone that Santa and Alicia have foolishly held onto. Inés concludes that Alicia killed George and that Santa is allied with a murderer who is seeking vengeance against Santi’s mother. She wonders if Santi will forgive this betrayal.

Mara comes home and Arturo asks where she was. She replies that she got a job and was working. He asks where she is working and she replies that she is working in the sales area. Arturo concludes that she has a job as a manager of sales and Mara doesn’t tell him that she really has a job as a cleaner of bathrooms. Arturo tells her that he has good news, too. He has seen a lawyer about divorcing Lisette. Mara is concerned that Lisette might fight the divorce but Arturo assures her that Lisette is only interested in money and since he doesn’t have any, Lisette won’t oppose the divorce. He says that nothing ties him to Lisette, conveniently forgetting the bebe. Padre Milton shows up and gives the “baby is sick” story and they all leave to go to see the “doctor.” The “doctor” tells Arturo that the baby has some kind of cardiac problem and Lisette cranks up the tears.

NG is taken to jail. Bert looks pretty happy about that. Patricio yells, “boss, boss,” as NG is taken past his cell and then realizes that NG is not going to be able to help him get out of prison.

Alicia and Elisa go to the beauty parlor. Alicia is hesitant but Elisa, whose job seems to be, “life coach” rather than “etiquette instructor,” bucks her up. The stylist assumes that Alicia wants a style that will cover up her patch but Alicia says no, the patch is Alicia’s signature, that’s what makes her unique.

Vicky spots Daniela lying on the ground unconscious. Ivan, Babs and Vicky haul her off and later we find out that she is out of danger.


 

Lunes – Part 4

Bert goes to see NG in prison. NG jokingly asks if Bert is offering to defend him. Bert replies no, he isn’t but he has a proposition for NG. In return for money, he will get NG out of jail before he is taken to Federal prison. He asks NG for the password to his bank account. NG obligingly provides it before being released. The password is Margarita.

Bert gets into NG’s bank account. Then we see Bert give NG a vial of some liquid and tells him that it is his passport to freedom. (I’m guessing that what is in the vial will make NG appear to be dead but he won’t really be dead – a deception that dates at least back to Shakespeare’s time (Romeo & Juliet) and probably earlier.)

Alicia comes home with shopping bags and her hair in a scarf that makes it look like she is getting chemotherapy. She doesn’t notice that the door of her house has been forced. Inés is waiting for her and introduces herself.

Alicia still has a lot to learn from Elisa because her response is to hit Inés in the face. Then Inés tells Alicia that they have a common enemy – Fran because she had a long-term affair with Inés’s father. Inés explains how she found Alicia by overhearing Fran’s confession to Padre Milton and then following her from the cemetery.

Inés offers Alicia an opportunity to hurt Fran by revealing herself to Fran’s other children. Inés will set it up. Naturally, we know that crazy-Inés has another plan. She calls Santa and tells her that Alicia is going to the Cano house to kill Fran and Inés is telling Santa this because she has lost Santi and she hopes that Santa will save Santi’s from the pain of losing his mother.

Santa tells Santi that she doesn’t know if what she heard on the call is true but she has to check it out. She leaves and Santi goes with her.

I think Ulises goes to see Pancho (because otherwise why would Lucy be there?) Pancho says that his life is a disaster. Cifuentes was killed right in front of him – he doesn’t like his job and he doesn’t like his life and he doesn’t want to marry Lucy. Naturally, Lucy is right there and she goes ballistic.

Inés shows up that the Cano house. She wants to speak to Fran alone about some tapes that she found. Babs says that she doesn’t need to leave because her mother has never kept any secrets from her (conveniently forgetting about the secret of her long-time affair with Vicente). Santi and Santa show up. Finally, Alicia shows up in her new duds and ‘do (which does half cover up her patch) and announces that she is Fran’s best-kept secret.

 

I laughed when Santi pulled the macho, stay here and I'll protect you thing on Santa. The woman who just single handedly took down a violent drug dealer. Dude. If we were picking teams, you'd be way down the list. Like this: Santa, Elisa, Alicia, Ines (she's crazy but effective), Ivan, Victoria (because Ivan would be useless without her), then maybe you. After Lucy. But nice try.

Kelly
 

Santa

Great recap Jean!

so three plans are hatched,

1) Lisette, didn't she make a deal with Petra before the sick baby thing started, what really is going on here, did Petra chemical supplier give the baby something? has Lisette crossed the line of being a good survivor and mother looking after her kids, to using them, did Petra really call Lisette and TALK.

2) Humberto, you're a lot kinder with Humberto's plan than I am, I was thinking he was going to kill NarcoFranco and keep all of the money, judging from his smile when he accessed the account.

3) Ines, not quite sure how this is going to work out, (say isn't she a fugitive from justice, has Pancho been to busy to file the paperwork) and her Diabla dimpled face doesn't quite match Barbara's more of a raccoon look, and when Alicia was trying on dresses I was jokingly thinking, maybe something in leather, and voila, Alicia looks stunning, quite an improvement on the hair, so Santiago doesn't know who Alicia is yet, right, is this the plan, Ines has a remarkable ability to connect the dots, and take a punch?

and a Merry Christmas to one and all!

 

Thanks, Jean, wonderful recap of another exciting episode. I'm not sure what Bert's plan is (I'm leaning towards your guess, a sleeping potion), but either way, Bert is really beyond redemption at this point, he's just done too much evil.

I think Vicky should tell Ivan the truth. He could handle it, they could still get married and enjoy her last months.

I also think Mara should tell Art her real job. She was so proud at work, but can't tell her boyfriend? Why not? He's not high and might, he would take a menial job to help support the family. But once again, there's a lack of trust (and these are the GOOD guys!).

I have no clue what Lisette's plan is, but somehow it has to get rid of Padre Milton's control of the accounts. So while maybe he won't be physically harmed, maybe he would be shamed, after making some "mistake", and would voluntarily resign.
 

Great recap

I just knew that Humberto would best the narco. Take his money & I think I see this coming (have him buried alive!)
¡Dios Mio!
 

Mena, I don't know how to make a phrase light up, but here's how you can mask the URL with words of your choice.
<a href="http://caraycaray.blogspot.com/2013/12/telemundo-y-mas-santa-diabla-week-of_16.html">Phrase of your choice</a>

I hope this turns out right. It won't be a live link because if it were, you wouldn't be able to see what I did, but if you follow the example, you should get Phrase of your choice
 

Great recap, Jean! Thanks very much. I loved your pointing out that it would have made more sense for the police to come quietly to the house, given that there's a hostage situation, "But hey, that’s the Marrero police department." Yup.

I also enjoyed your describing Padre Milton as "pre-programmed to forgive." That may cost him dearly.

I'm assuming that the whole business with the phone call from Petra was staged, though I'm not sure yet about the details of Lisette's plot. There was a time earlier in the telenovela where I rather liked what I saw as her honesty about her motives, but that time has long passed. Also, I don't think Petra had to say a word on the phone. All she had to do was make the call and leave the rest to Lisette.

Wow, the physical transformation of Alicia was quite impressive. I would have been more astonished had I not read a day or so ago here on CarayCaray that the actress is the wife of Juan Soler (Reinaldo in Marido en Alquiler). I expected him to have a very good looking spouse, and what surprises me now is how effective her appearance was as the rather unattractive Diabla.

Well, I guess we have two days to think about other things. Happy holidays to everyone.
 

Thanks all and best holiday wishes to everyone.

My guess is that Humberto will tell Narco Guy that the stuff in the vial will make him appear dead. If I were Bert, I would give him something that would keep him dead. Bert already has NG's money and he doesn't need another rival for Santa.

The creepiest use of this storyline that I have seen was on Velo de Novia, a 2003 Univisión novela. Cynthia Klitbo was supposed to get her evil father, Héctor Suárez out of prison by giving him a drug that would make him appear dead although he was conscious and then later he would wake up and be able to move. But she messed up and thought he was dead when he didn't wake up. So he was cremated ALIVE but unable to move or cry out. We could hear his mental screams. Very creepy.
 

Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday!

Jean, this is a great recap. Thanks so much. There are lots of zippy lines, but I am particularly fond of this one:

Alicia still has a lot to learn from Elisa because her response is to hit Inés in the face.

I must, however, respectfully disagree. The right response to Inés must always be to hit her in the face. Hard. With a closed fist.

I wonder if I can get Elisa to fly out to the Midwest and help me work on my image…

Well, back to my gravy now...
 

I still cant believe George is dead. A part of me keeps thinking he will come back to life or tbh i felt he got off easy. He shouldve suffered for killing Gaspar. Pancho said George died when his neck snapped so it was a painless death. Also feel sorry for Ezequiel Montalt. All the novelas i saw him in he died: MSED LRDS CV and now SD.
 

SANTA DIABLA... Thursday (epi 95)
part 1

"I am THE secret",
says Alicia in the Cano's entry way,
to Santiago,,, Barbara, Francisca, Santa, and Ines,
"I am your twin sister, right Mama"

Ines maneuvers around behind Santiago,
quietly pointing out that Santa must have known,
and guides him to the office, further telling him,
Santa kidnapped Francisca and threaten her with a knife,
and they must have killed George
since his phone was at their house,
(Santiago remembers Santa pulling the trigger on Franco),
and is getting a whole new picture of Santa.

*jail
Humberto explains the drug to Franco,
you'll be conscious, be able to hear, but will appear dead,
(what an amazing drug, but I'm thinking Humberto may have got a cheaper variety)
Franco explains, I have lots of men,
if I die, you die,
(this doesn't always work out so well with narco bosses with no family)
and it's bottoms up, as Franco slurps down whatever was in that bottle,
(why didn't he try this out on Patricio first)
Humberto, if you know him, you can see that hidden smile he does,
but he gets a call and has to leave,
it's Santa telling him to come home, it's important.

*hospital
did I get this right, felipo had a heart attack,
but it sounds complicated,
he will need lots of special tests, etc.,etc.,
but they can't be done here,
Arturo is taken aback,
Lisette is freaking, begging the Padre for help,

*casa Robledo's
Pancho and Lucy return home from Victoria's
Pancho tries to explain his bad day,
"Cifuentes died",
Lucy is hurt that he ran to HER, and now he doesn't want to marry,
I'll change Pancho says,
I'll be the perfect novio.

*casa Hortensia
the hospital discussion has moved home,
Lisette pleads with the Padre,
(while showing all her belly button, in her fashionable clothes),
he gives in, he'll give 'Arturo' whatever money is needed,
what?, Lisette's plan completely unravels,

later, a frantic Lisette is trying to come up with a new plan.
with a silent Petra's help,
(who doesn't look too interested either).

*casa Cano
Santa enters the office to let them know she called Humberto,
Santiago confronts her, about her revenge, his mother, killing George,
Santa does not speak,
this confirms his suspicions,
Ines smiles,
Santa leaves, eyes watering.

rejoining the family,
Santiago tells Ines to leave,
what? as her clever plan unravels,
(but at least Santa and Santiago are separated, for now)
this is a family matter, he says.

Humberto arrives, what's the deal?
Alicia introduces herself, as his sister,
Humberto isn't buying any of this without any DNA proof,
your mother is all the proof we need, says Alicia,
ok, so what do you want, money?

Alicia leaves,
to let the family sort it out,
I'll be back tomorrow with my things,
I'm moving in.

Francisca says not in my house,
Santiago says, it's our house,
black eyed Barbara is scared,
Humberto wants to find out what she wants,

but leaves, I have things to do,
at this hour Barbara asks?

 

SANTA DIABLA... Thursday (epi 95)
part 2

*jail
meanwhile, Franco feels funny , his arms,
his breathing, his,,,,
and he collapses on the floor of his cell,
later found and checked by Pancho,
I want an autopsy, he says. (ut oh)

*casa Diabla
Santa starts smashing things as Diabla arrives home,
I'm not going to pretend to be this person that I'm not,
it's all because of you, Santa says,

and what kind of person are you, Diabla asks,

I want to have a house with flowers, and a family, and,,, and,,,

and is Santiago that man, Diabla asks,

"yes", says Santa,

Diabla replies,
well you can stay here and cry,
the rents paid,
tomorrow I move in with the Cano's,
whose days are numbered,

*jail
Humberto shows up on some small business,
conveniently in time to see Franco being wheeled out,
Pancho tells him about the autopsy,
is something wrong Humberto?

*the next day

*casa Martinez,
Paula calls Begona from the hospital, Willy is still in a coma,
(they are still wondering about his oxygen being shut off)
there is a knock, it's Santiago, willy perks up,
Santa doesn't live here anymore Begona says,

he tells Begona his suspicions that Santa killed George,
Begona is shocked, but they agree, how much she has changed,
Tough girl Santa walks in on the conversation.

*casa Cano
Ivan and Victoria talk to Barbara about Daniela,
Barbara points out that Ivan is a Cano, and has a say,
but you (Victoria) are not,
Victoria says they are going to marry,
Barbara holds back a laugh,
but can't,
Victoria leaves.

later Alicia arrives with her things,
checks out her new house,
asks a still stunned Francisca to show her to her room,
Mama.

*jail/morgue
Pancho checks in on the autopsy, he wants a full report,
he sees Franco's eye twitch,
no it can't be, he leaves,

Humberto slides in, the doc assures him all is ok,
so Humberto has a one way chat with Franco,
I just can't let you interfere with Santa and me,

*church
Arturo swings by to make arrangements for the money,
the Padre wants to talk about Lisette,
and he has brought Mara to take part,
(after all that the Padre has been through he seems to be catching on)

*graveyard
Humberto oversees the burial of Franco,
as the drug has worn off,
we hear Franco banging and yelling in the coffin,
and we see that sly smile Humberto has.

(careful Humberto, this may be a new section of the cemetery
dedicated to the wanna be husbands of Santa)

 

Great recap, Deb!!

I was right about Bert's plan for Franco's demise. As usual, there are no formalities, notification of next of kin or anything - it's right from the morgue to the graveyard. Have the gravediggers been paid enough to bury someone who is kicking and screaming in their coffin?

I will make another prediction - Franco will be back to get vengeance on Bert. In some improbable way, he'll be saved.

So Horti didn't buy health insurance for her grandchild? Padre Milton could get a policy now and thanks to the ACA, would not have to worry about the baby's pre-existing condition. :-)

It was so cruel the way Babs laughed when she was told that Vicky & Ivan were engaged.
 

Loved your recap, Deb! I especially liked how you say just enough to let us know what is happening, but never give away what comes next.

Good call, Jean, you were right about Bert and Franco. And I agree, somehow, Franco may just survive.

I was hoping someone would overhear Lisette telling Petra that the baby didn't even have any disease, that all the reports were fake. Even so, I don't see how this could ever have worked out too long, one would think that other doctors would find that the baby is fine. And I agree, Jean, insurance!

It does seem as if the writer is stretching a bit to keep the couples apart, even making Vicky jealous of Daniela, when she should know Ivan loves only Vicky.

Alicia seemed to indicate that she was going to kill every member of the Cano family, even Santi's days were numbered. But is this really going to make her happy? She needs another Elisa session.

Santa now realizes going to the dark side was a mistake. Of course, she did drug and threaten Fran, and although she killed George by accident and in self defense, she did go along with dumping the body and not reporting it. It's going to be tough for her to convince Santi that she just temporarily went nuts, but I think one day she will (maybe after 40 more episodes or so!).

The craziness continues.
 

Thanks so much, Deb. Add me to the list of your admirers. I love your minimalist style -- in just a few clever brushstrokes, you tell us what we need to know.

"(careful Humberto, this may be a new section of the cemetery
dedicated to the wanna be husbands of Santa)"

So sly. So funny. So true.
 

Thanks very much, deb, for the great recap. I too love your style. It's wonderfully evocative (although for that very reason I sometimes wonder whether it would be as effective if someone hadn't seen the episode). I also enjoyed many of your asides, such as "(why didn't he try this out on Patricio first)" and "(careful Humberto, this may be a new section of the cemetery dedicated to the wanna be husbands of Santa)." Great stuff!

So Santa is beginning to have second thoughts about her newly acquired Diabla persona. And about Diabla#1. Those misgivings about Diabla#1 will undoubtedly mushroom if Diabla continues with her plan to do in all the Canos, including Santiago. For that matter, does merely having some Cano blood count? Should Ivan be worried?

Jean, I too was struck by Barbara's cruelty in laughing at Ivan and Vicki's plans to marry. I hope that Alicia's plan to wreak vengeance on the Canos isn't thwarted before she deals with Barbara.

Hombre, I too think the writers are stretching out the plot excessively, not just to keep couples apart but to prolong the novela, even if it means keeping it on life support.
 

What an episode that was last night!
Just when I thought Santa was finally getting interesting, with all the drinking and turning everyone against her, here comes Bert, to make things even more interesting.

We kept saying that he did so many evil things, he is unredeemable... as it turns out, we didn't need for him to be good, we needed for Santa to turn bad.

Can't wait for Monday!
 

Santa

so what does this say about Humberto, he could have killed Franco quickly with some garden variety off the shelf poisons, but instead look at the extra effort, expense, and other people involved in maximizing Franco's suffering, as well as letting Humberto get in the last word, while Franco could do nothing, and he did it all as an off the cuff everyday thing.

and then his timing was perfect with Santa.

and he totally destroyed Santiago without even knowing it.

 

The delectable, delightful, guapo Humberto, can't help but like him. Can't wait to see what he does next.

His comeuppance s/b interesting & well deserved. Can't remember a villain that I have enjoyed so much, at least since Guillermo Garcia Cantu in FELS.
 

Holiday greetings, Recap coming shortly. To add to the comments already posted, this episode was choppy IMO. The story lines are unusual and harder to buy into. Mara as a spy for padre? Hmmmm ... Anywhoooo off to the press.
 

Holiday greetings, Recap coming shortly. To add to the comments already posted, this episode was choppy IMO. The story lines are unusual and harder to buy into. Mara as a spy for padre? Hmmmm ... Anywhoooo off to the press.
 

Santa Diabla – Capitulo 96

Part 1

Capitulo restarts at the scene where Bert has paid some workers to bury NarcoFranco alive. NarcoFranco’s voice hollers from inside the wooden box and Bert adds a handful of dirt to the hole where the box has been lowered. One less problem he muses. He hands the workers a handful of bills in payment.

Begona and Santa and Santi quarrel. Santa threatens to leave. Willy Jr clings to Santi and yells at Santa to leave and that he hates her. Santa is stunned. Santi refuses to let Willy Jr go to the Diabla girls’ house because he suspects that Willy Jr will be exposed to bad influences. Santa leaves and Santi follows. He asks Santa if she killed George. She says she did and that it was in self-defense. She attempts to explain. Santi tells Santa that he will always love the Santa he knew, but wants nothing to do with the Santa in front of him. He tells her she is now alone. Inside the house, Begona tries to rehabilitate Santa’s image and tells Willy Jr Santa is his mom and deserves his love and respect. Willy Jr replies that this lady talks harshly – she is not his mom.

Ines – Ines and Pancho quarrel at the police station and Pancho tells Ines that he should hospitalize her. He suspects that she is the one who stole his gun. Ines cries that the old Ines is dead and that dear old dad, Vicente was to blame for that. Ines runs home and blasts into the living room while Lucy tastes various wedding cakes samples. Ines yells she is not crazy while she proceeds to act crazy in front of Lucy and the wedding planner, smashing and sweeping things onto the floor. Sometime later that evening Pancho looks for Ines in her room to tell her that that the men in the white coats are going to “take her away”. Ines pleads with Pancho as she remembers that the last time she was hospitalized she was forced to lose her first baby with Willy. This appears to be news to Pancho. Pancho reassures Ines that all will be well as Ines appears to listen. He turns his back and Ines clobbers Pancho over the head with a heavy object and escapes from the house. We next see Ines at the infamous cabana basement. She vows that she will never return to the hospital as she looks for rope in what appears to be her effort to create a noose. She tries to call Santi, but he doesn’t answer.

Santa - Over at the Diabla girls’ house, a despondent Santa does what every telenovela character does when deeply troubled – she reaches for a bottle of strong booze and a glass. She tosses around a few items and Bert conveniently appears in the doorway and observes that she needs support. Bert asks her to look at herself - at where she has arrived in her life. He points out that after all the plans for revenge, Santa has accomplished nothing and is left with a broken heart. Bert tells Santa that he has been the only one that was there for her in her hour of need. He asks her to admit that he is the only one that has demonstrated his love for her by his acts. He imagines that Santa is longing for her old life with flowers in the garden, Willy Jr in kinder and a husband who thinks she is the best. He suggests that Santa’s only hope to return to this utopia is with Bert at her side. He leans in and they smooch. Santa returns the gesture and then pauses to say the kiss is an error. They kiss again. Santi shows up in the doorway (because the door is still not locked) to see this exchange of smoochies. He puts on his best hang-dog face with a few tear in the corners of his eyes and runs away without revealing his presence to them. Santa stops and suggests that Bert is manipulating her. Bert decides to take his leave as he knows she has lots to think about.

 

Part 2

Dani and Ivan and Barb - Dani fights Ivan about going to rehab. Ivan tells her that if she doesn’t go, she will lose him forever. Dani agrees. They arrive at rehab and Dani wants to leave. The people she sees are sick and she is not. She pleads that she only needs Ivan. The medical personnel at rehab work at convincing Dani to stay. Later that day, Barb bursts into Fran’s room and announces that Ivan has taken Dani to rehab. Fran lectures Barb that she should have been the one to take her daughter to rehab. Barb replies that Fran is not one to be lecturing about being “the good mom”.

Transito comes to visit Pat in jail. She needs closure on this chapter of her life. Transito tells Pat that he now knows what it feels like to be a captive. Pat threatens Transito that he will escape from jail one day and she will be the first person he comes to find. Transito looks as though she is reconsidering the wisdom of this visit.

Mara, Art, and Padre Milton – Padre Milton tells Art that he has enlisted Mara to spy for him. He suspects that Lisette is lying about the baby being sick and he wants to prove it. Art protests that Lisette may be a lot of things, but she is a good mother. Padre insists to Mara that he needs her to spy for him, for the good of Art and the good of his child’s inheritance. Mara agrees. Later that day we see her tiptoeing into Art and Lisette’s mansion. She overhears Lisette and Petra discussing the hoax to steal the money that is her child’s inheritance. Lisette discusses with Petra that Art will go to the bank to withdraw the money for the child’s supposed medical treatment only to be robbed of the cash when he leaves the bank. She adds that Art will be doomed to a lifetime of guilt for having lost his child’s inheritance. Mara rushes back to the bookstore to report this to Art.

Alicia - Alicia proceeds to make herself comfortable on the various couches at the Cano place. She needles Fran about being given the small room instead of Fran’s larger room and about Fran’s lack of hospitality. Alicia asks for an official tour of the house and discovers a cushy bathtub. She decides to indulge herself with a hot bubble bath after many years of five minute showers. Elisa calls to check on Alicia and Alicia tells Elisa that they will meet for charm school and a chat at her new mansion house where Alicia is living with her newly introduced family. Later that day, a freshly bathed Alicia encounters Santi in the mansion’s office while she is looking over his saxophone. Santi explains the music he wrote and played at Alicia’s supposed grave. He tells Alicia of his lifetime dream to be a musician and his father’s opposition to it. Alicia realizes that she is not the only “black sheep of the family”. They talk about the supposed special connection between twins and Santi recalls an emptiness he has always been aware of – perhaps from missing his twin. Alicia reflects on Santi’s words.

 

Hi All, Here is the recap - pardon the shortened version.. time is short and tamales are many. Still hoping your holidays are warm and wonderful.
 

Thanks, Mena! This TN is a trainwreck that I readily read via recap. Your work is appreciated.
 

Thanks des de NYC.... I agree it has gone off the rails.
 

Many thanks, Mena, for the excellent recap. I think you covered all the important parts. And yes, sigh, Santa uses the standard, tired telenovela drown-myself-in-drink solution. I'm getting pretty impatient for this novela to come to an end. I agree with J desde NYC and Mena that it has gone off the rails.
 

Thank you Mena- I stopped watching this one when Santa discovered she was pregnant. Then I caught the episode when Willy Sr was alive and Santa discovered he was having an affair with her mom. Now while I wait for La Impostora I thought I would check back in. Wow. Things are different. Unlike CI, I at least recognize most of the cast. Lol. I might continue to watch an episode here and there to get myself into the groove of Telemundo productions. I hope going off the rails is not typical of Telemundo. I remember reading on another forum that DyO went off the rails too.
 

Thank you, Mena

Whatever happened to Willy? Locked in the basement for half the tn, some (literally) dirty sex with Ines, then HE IS ALIVE, he does nothing for about a dozen episodes and now, poof, he's in a coma.

Why did they kill George? If they wanted to turn Santa into a sort of a murderer, she could have taken care of one of Franco's matones. I guess now they'll never know Gaspar didn't die of natural causes.


Alicia is living with a family that despises her - not much of a revenge here.

Barbara is still not concerned enough for her daughter to actually move past her fear of hospitals (oh, please!)and be with her for her treatment.

Pancho is all over the place, investigating a million things at once (I have to admit that when this tn started, I didn't imagine that Pancho, of all people, would get so much action).

Mara and Arturo are still acting like they have something to hide... Mara is actually hiding her job, so how are they supposed to make their relationship work? Nevermind the fact that Art never truly confronted his mother for Mara and he's only with her now because Hortie is dead.

Victoria and Ivan bore me to death.

Ines seems to have no more place to go.

Santi is as painful to watch as ever - I guess the reason he always acts like he's about to burst into crying is the fact that he missed his twin???

Bert has done so many evil things, I lost track. And his last deed, buring Franco alive, just seems so unnecessarly violent. But what can we expect from the man who cut off his father's head?

And now Santa is going to the dark side, too. She's hiding the body of someone she accidentaly killed, screaming at her son, drinking to forget her pain, KISSING Bert and enjoying it!!!

I just read somewhere that filming finished in mid December.
I think they were more than a month in advance, so I'm guessing it will be over in late January? But that means there are plenty more episodes left.
Will we see Santa fall in love with Bert and the two of them running away together, to avoid going to jail?
I find Carlos Ponce so charming, I'm looking forward to seeing this part of the story (if this is what actually happens), but if it weren't for him...
 

Tks Mena

Maybe it has gone off the rails, but it is still enjoyable & keeps you guessing. I was a little worried that Alicia might be drowned in the bathtub.

" He asks her to admit that he is the only one that has demonstrated his love for her by his acts."

Ja, ja, like drugging her & leaving her in the woods.
 

Thanks Mena. Things are a little crazy in Marrero right now but not that different from most telenovelas IMHO.

As for it ending soon, I don't think so. We haven't had any of the signals of an immanent termination such as the announcement of "etapa culminante," much less "ultimas semanas." Neither have we seen any teasers for a replacement, which always start way before the end of a novela. If we are at capitulo 96, I assume that there are at least 40 more or 8 weeks worth. We'll see.

 

Great comments from everyone. Last few recaps I did, I resisting adding opinions and my rampant snark. So Adriana, I found myself nodding yup to your observations. Variopinta- yup, I agree that I need to see what happens even though the story is wackier than ever

A few more head scratchers....

Bert and his " support" in Santa's hour of need? Didn't he contribute at least in part to many of her troubles?

Aren't they still looking for Vicente's murderer or do they think Santa did it and just got out on a technicality?

What do Barb and Fran do all day?

I will stay tuned to those crazy kids of Marrero!



 

Thanks, Mena, for another excellent recap. I agree there are lots of head scratching moments. Besides those mentioned, what does willy do all day, isn't he old enough for some kind of school, or maybe a special one for his problem? He does seem to be able to talk at certain points.

And the whole idea that you need to withdraw cash to pay for medical treatment is ridiculous if Marrero is in the US. Maybe not if it's in the county of Marrero, the state of Marrero, and the country of Marrero. Also, how do Art and Lisette know how much it's going to cost? They don't even have the actual doctor lined up, I don't think. But if that doctor won't accept a charge, or a check, and just wants cash, I wouldn't trust him or her.

Adriana, I don't think Santa's killing of a henchman would have been enough to make Santi think she's on the dark side. Henchmen get killed all the time (Pancho's killed a few). So by killing "innocent" George, a family member, that's what was needed to blow Santi's fuse.

Bert is not really that two-faced. Yes, he drugged Santa and put her in the woods, but that was BEFORE he was in love with her. His killing of Vicente probably made her happy, since Vicente locked Willy in the basement. Of course, Bert's blaming Santa wasn't too nice, but again, he thought he had lost her. Now, he's killed Franco, and that should make her happy, right? In his own twisted (but sort of smiling) way, he IS on Santa's side!
 

Nice job, Mena. Thanks.

I'm not in the least bit frustrated by this novela. It was crazy at the beginning and I fully expect it to be crazy right up until the end. In this it is a lot like La casa de al lado and Alguien te mira. We were all tearing our hair out by the last few weeks of those nutty shows -- but damn, we were all watching breathlessly!

Sara, we've talked here before about the differences between Televisa and Telemundo products. My own opinion is that in Televisa melodramas, the story arc is extremely important; for Telemundo, the approach is more hour to hour, episode by episode. Telemundo characters morph, drop out of sight, and unfruitful subplots are abandoned without a backward glance -- it has a lot in common with American episodic serial dramas.

There are exceptions. The obvious ones are the big-budget series which seem to be limited by contractual obligations with the actors and perhaps the writers. La Reina is obviously the prime example of this, but it is not alone.
 

Thanks, NovelaMaven. I'll keep that in mind. That attitude kind of works in a way. I mean, the show is entirely different from when it began, but because it was so different it seem to bother me that I had pretty much missed everything. I was still interested in episode 96 and I'm probably likely to watch tonight's episode when it gets uploaded to the website. Having a devil-may-care attitude about the plot kind of makes it easier to just jump right in. At least for me.

Right now I am chomping at the bit for La Impostora and Reina de Corazones.