Mentir Para Vivir #63 Mon 1/6/14 Selective memory loss – the best kind of telenovela amnesia

Sorry for the delay, I’ve had a very busy day yesterday and wasn’t able to revise the recap until now. I hope you enjoy and maybe understand some of the stuff that happened better than I did.

Paloma is with Alina, explaining her that mom didn’t come home last night because she had to go on her trip. Why she didn’t even say ‘goodbye’ then? Because it was very late and Alina was already asleep. And mom went to the USA, which is far, but Alina doesn’t have to worry because mom loves her very much.

What about dad, what if he comes for her now? Alina inquires. Not to worry about that, he won’t be allowed to get in and besides, she’s going to stay with Ricardo for a while and everyone at his house will have good care of her.

At Trejo Bonfil Textiles, JL is pissed because Joaquin’s goon has come to keep an eye on him. Antonio interferes to remind him that they really need to start with their shady business activities. Ok, JL agrees; first, they have to find out who are Aresti-Breton’s suppliers and who are the local women working with them. Antonio needs a few days to find out all this information, so JL suggests to enlist Seb’s help, too (like that would help). After, he calls Eliseo, demanding to know where he is.

And why is that? Because JL sends the guy who is supposed to be watching him to kill Eliseo (or at least, that’s what I got from the scene).

And that is exactly what happens, even if Eliseo does smell the trouble and tries to attack first. One last smoke, a stare directly into the camera and his perplexed face at the thought that he’s about to kick the bucket and Eliseo is dead. Good riddance, you were mostly a useless bad buy. I hope you and Berto have a good time, wherever it is that you surely ended up together. 

Homero calls Ric- he wants to get together with him to further talk their plans; Ric mustn’t forget that he has to take care of Alina. Arriving at Homero’s, Ric is upset because it looks like the old guy is only worried about the lavado de dinero affair and couldn’t care less about Orines battling for her life in a hospital bed. Homero defends himself – he does care about the woman, he knows she has been through very much heartache in order to protect her daughter, but now that she’s sick, they have to make sure that her sacrifice was worth it – they need to accomplish what they promised her.

Ric is destroyed, he loves Orines so very much. Homero knows about loss, too. He lost his wife to cancer and then his son chose to have the same profession as his father (a cop) and was killed on the job. So, yes, Homero does have a heart, but right now they have to focus. Orines wanted to protect her daughter and he can only imagine how scared she was while running from Columbia and hiding in Mexico. Then she had a brief moment of happiness, when she met Ric, but that soon turned into a nightmare, too, because her husband showed up.

Ric would want nothing more than to kill that bastard, but Homero warns him that would do no good – he would end up in jail, Orines would still be sick and Alina would be left unprotected.

Some time goes by, but it can’t be more than a few days, I believe. JL keeps trying to see his wife in the hospital and is being denied access, she’s still fully sedated, we also see Homero with Ric, talking about stuff and worried sick Paloma spending time with Alina.

Ricardo and Marilu are with the lawyer who is handling their marriage and the adoption. They have the medical analysis and their birth certificates and the lawyer says that he doesn’t need the pre-nup they signed in order to go ahead with the formalities. Ok, so after they get married, they’ll handle the adoption, Ric says, and the lawyer warns him all of this will take time (the adoption will, but the marriage should be easy enough to handle, right?). All through the talk Marilu just sits there, stone-faced. Viewerville is diligently keeping an eye on her, just in case.

The doctor at the hospital, the Neuro Doc and Homero are talking the case; Ines hasn’t woken up yet and because of that they haven’t been able to run any tests to see how she’s doing. Homero explains his interest in the case by saying that he is Paloma’s representative, which is kind of accurate, even if his involvement is much more complex. Anyway, a nurse comes in to let them know that Ines Valdivia woke up.

So the doc who is in charge, the nurse, the Neuro Doc AND the concerned family friend all go to Ines’ room to see her. Kind of a big crowd for such an important moment, but what do I know?

Neuro Doc starts talking with her, calling her Ines Valdivia several times; she just looks at all the faces she’s never seen before and looks very confused, but then lays eyes on Homero; a few friendly words from him and she recognizes the old geezer.

Amnesia status – no clear indication of its existence (so far).

Ric is with Marilu at home, he asks her what is going on because he could see that she was troubled during the meeting with the lawyer.

Long story short: Marilu is starting to worry about their deal, because she once used to love Ric and she isn’t sure if she’ll be able to go through with this. She doesn’t want to postpone the plan, but she is very nervous, she never imagined that she would get married this way. All of a sudden aware of the fact that Marilu’s feelings might matter, too, Ric assures her that if she changed her mind, they don’t have to go through with it. Marilu doesn’t want this, either, because they can’t allow for Alina to end up with strangers. So what then, call the lawyer and put everything on stand-by?

No, Marilu wants to go ahead with the plan; it’s true that for a moment there, she had some silly idea in her head, but how could she not, since she used to love him so much at one time? But she very well knows that he loves Ines in a way that he could never love her and she won’t suffer because of it.

After Ric leaves, something nasty goes through Marilu’s head – what if Ines actually dies? She briefly voices this thought, but then quickly takes it back, saying something like: “No, I’m not a bad person!” (No soy mala!)

So, Marilu is genuine and she is talking with Ric about her concerns, but she might start to get mixed up and cause problems in the future.

Ric is at the hospital and Mariano tells him that Orines woke up and also, that Homero wants to talk to him.

Homero is with Leo, briefly talking about the fact that Fabiola is with Piero at the moment. When Ric calls, Homero tells him they need to meet ASAP; Ric is in a rush to see Orines, but Homero insists so much that he has to say yes. Mariano encourages him, too – Orines is not available anyway, the doctors are running some tests and that will take some time. So Ric leaves and we see that JL is at the hospital, too, and his bodyguard is watching him from the shadows.

JL makes some noise, gets into it with Mariano, but then shuts up when Ex-Plaid asks who the guy who is always with him is.

Piero and Fabi are at the hospital. The lady doctor tells Fabi they will have to take good care of her, prescribing some vitamins and stuff; also, being aware of some mental problems in the father’s family, the doctor wants to prep Fabi for some medical tests to determine if the baby will be born sick. Fabiola gets frightened, Piero explains to the doctor that the father’s mother suffered from epilepsy and eventually died from a brain tumor.

Basically, they need to make some investigations to see if they find any kind of chromosomes alterations, because Maria’s problems might be hereditary and the baby could have them, too, but there is no certainty at this point. Piero asks if Fabi’s life will be in danger and the doctor assures them that’s not the case; but the baby could be premature or have some mental problems.

Fabiola thinks this could be God’s way of punishing her, but the doctor tells her that’s certainly not the case. What they need to do is start with the tests as soon as possible.

Later on, still very shaken up about the news she just got, Fabi explains to Piero that she started to love her baby but she wouldn’t know how to care for a sick child. Piero thinks she should get ready for every possibility and assures her he will be with her every step of the way, because he cares about her very much. Would he want to give his name to a sick baby? Absolutely, he would do that and he would care for the little one no matter what.

At this point Piero wins some brownie points from me, because he is definitely more equipped to handle such a problem than Leo – he has the age and the experience and somehow his presence seems to give Fabiola a big reassurance. Having a sick child is a game changer, Fabi will now have to think even better what is best for the baby.

Paloma calls Homero wanting to know if there’s been any news about Ines. No, not yet, he’ll let her know as soon as he has information. In the meantime, Paloma has to prepare Alina’s things for the move.

Ric shows up at Homero’s place and he’s very furious. Homero asks him to calm down and be patient – he will be the first to find out about Ines, anyway. And why is that? Because he is Paloma’s proxy and if he has to, he will make it legal, too. Ric or JL don’t have any kind of legal rights, so there is that.

Homero asked Ric to come in order to give tell him what to do next: he is in no way supposed to go to see Ines at the hospital, because JL is always there and if they want to make him believe that Ric is no longer interested in Ines and marrying another woman, that is how things need to happen. And if he wants to keep her out of jail, Ric will have to do just that.

Ric isn’t too happy with this, but explains that he and Marilu have started with the paper work to get married and adopt Alina; but Marilu is having second thoughts and he doesn’t want to sacrifice her. Homero thinks he’s having too much scruples and Ric realizes that he can’t find another woman willing to marry him, because he needs someone who will care for Alina and Tito.

The doctor calls just then and gives Homero news about Orines. Apparently the edema hasn’t subsided, they’ll keep medicating Orines in hope that it does, but her life is in danger because of it. Ric looks destroyed by the news.

At the same time the doctor is giving JL the same news and JL asks if they can operate. Yes, they can, but it would be very dangerous; the chances of success are slim to none and the risks are very big – Orines might lose her ability to talk or to move. So the best they can do is keep her on treatment and hope for the best. Mariano is at the hospital, too and both he and JL express the wish to see the patient. Maybe later, the doc explains, the tomography was a tiring test and she needs some rest. Marino goes to the chapel to pray, while JL remains in the corridor, looking worried sick.

Back with Ric and Homero, Ric is torn over the fact that he wants to see Orines, tell her that he loves her; also, he won’t insist with Marilu, anymore, he will let her decide what she wants to do.

And what Marilu wants to do is not yet clear. She talks with tia Fidelia about her troubles accepting the plan; she is afraid that if she lives with Ric and Alina for God knows how long, she might get things mixed up, start hoping; the separation will then be too painful for her. Yes, but you and Ric won’t have the life of a married couple, right, tia says; he will continue to live in his bungalow and Alina will be with us in the big house; so, basically, things will be just like they are now.

Marilu reluctantly agrees with this – she still looks uncomfortable, though.

At the hospital, Oriana is with a nurse, asking her about the result of the tomography. The doctor will give her this information. As JL appears with a flower bouquet, the nurse warns him not to upset the patient and leaves. JL slowly approaches and takes Oriana’s hand. She says she’s tired, she looks reluctant to talk to him (to say the least). And she doesn’t remember him!!

Amnesia status – Oriana doesn’t remember the bad husband (or she pretends she doesn’t)

JL explains that he is Francisco, her husband. The doctor shows up to say that Oriana has memory slips (lapsus de memoria)

(I googled this condition and I could only find information about the usual memory slips we all have: forgetting where we left our keys, what we had for dinner etc… I couldn’t find the kind of lapsus that Oriana seems to have; it could be that I haven’t properly searched or this is just a telenovela condition. Maybe someone could clarify this for me in the comments. In the meantime, my diagnosis is selective telenovela memory loss. Doctor Adriana Noel has given her diagnosis!)

Back to JL, anyway: he assures Oriana that he’s always there, at her side and he loves her; he wants to give her a hand kiss (the thing where you kiss your hand and then touch the other person’s cheek – I don’t know how else to call it), but Oriana dodges the sign of affection.

With Leo, Homero is again investigating the company that he wants to take down. Leo wonders why he’s so obsessed with this subject and how come he still has access to so many private information. Homero explains that, yes, he has been a very powerful man and he has had a lot of accomplishments in his career, but there is one guy he could never get – Joaquin, JL’s boss. Small world, huh?

Paloma is at home, in her bed and the Neuro Doc is explaining her Orines’ condition. Ric and Homero show up, too. Ric hasn’t been able to see Orines, but if she wants, Paloma can go.

Mariano visits Orines, too and she recognizes him.

Amnesia status – Oriana remembers the good guys (Homero and Mariano), but not the bad husband.

Mariano asks her to have faith that she will get better, she’s been through so much already. A lot of people love her and are rooting for her to get better. Oriana also remembers her daughter, Alina, but not her grandmother, Paloma. And, there is a name going around in her head: who is Ricardo?

Amnesia status – Oriana remembers some of the good guys, like Homero and Mariano; she remembers her daughter, but not her grandma; she definitely doesn’t remember the men in her life (which could be a blessing in disguise, in my humble opinion – the brain has marvelous ways of protecting itself from the crazies)

Now with Marilu and Fidelia, Ric shares the news of Orines’ condition: she has some movement problems (or she might have, I didn’t get this part right) and memory lapses, which means she remembers certain persons, but not everybody. They still don’t know how long the amnesia will be present: days, weeks, months or para siempre…

Lucina calls just then saying that she read in the paper about the accident. (How is it that she only finds out now when it has been made clear that at least a few days have passed?)

Anyway, Ric explains that things are kind of serious and says he’ll go to Casa Bonita to explain everything.

Raquel is with Lucina and finds out about the accident, too. She calls JL and asks if Oriana will die. He promptly fights back that if that happens, it won’t be Raquel who will replace her. Raquel rejects this accusation, she and Oriana might be rivals, but she doesn’t wish her death; she is her friend, after all, and she was the first person to help when Oriana came to Mexico. So, can she help with anything now? Raquel seems genuine enough, but JL couldn’t care less. He hangs up after they say goodbye in their own, lovable way:

Raquel: “Pudrete!” (Rot! / I hope you rot!)

JL: “Vete al demonio!” (Go to Hell!)

After he finishes his chat with Raquel, JL starts a fight with his guard; he feels like killing someone, like Ric or Eliseo. The guard explains that Eliseo is already dead and he got rid of the van, too. Of course, the police could still track it using the engine identification; was it JL the one who found the van in the first place? Yes, he was, but he wasn’t that stupid to leave his prints on it!

JL looks furious and mad and very deranged at the same time. My only conclusion: Diego Oliveira is HOT no matter the level of crazy he has to play!

Ric is with Lucina, explaining her what happened. She is very upset, she can’t believe something like this could happen to Oriana after everything she has already been through. She offers to talk to a guy she knows to get rid of JL. Not that she goes around town killing people, but she can do it. Ric would want nothing more than for the guy to die, but this won’t help Oriana. All they can do is hope and have patience. Also, can Lucina try to find out some stuff about JL by using Raquel? Lucina is not sure, Raquel hasn’t been very talkative lately.

Paloma is saying goodbye to Alina, who is going to live with Ric and Marilu.

(This seems so random. Why now? As far as I know, there has been no court order saying that Alina can’t stay with Paloma anymore, while her mom is in the hospital. I know this is part of their great plan, but I still don’t fully get it. Moving on, I guess…)

Oriana received flowers from a secret enamorado, who never signs for his gifts. Most of the flowers are from her husband, but who is this new guy, Oriana wonders to the nurse?

Paloma comes to see Oriana, who at first doesn’t recognize her. In a very touching scene, Paloma asks Oriana to look at her with her heart, not her eyes, and finally Ori does realize she is her abuela.

Amnesia status – Oriana remembers the good guys and people that she loves (Homero, Mariano, Alina, Paloma), but doesn’t remember the men (Ric & JL) – Interesting plot contrivance

Oriana starts to cry and Paloma asks her to take it easy. Ori is happy to see that so many people love her. Mariano, her husband, Homero - they all came to visit her (she doesn’t seem too happy about the husband, though); and she even has a secret enamorado, who sends her flowers. Paloma thinks this is her prince (huh?). Oriana wants to see Alina but Paloma doesn’t think the little girl should see her like this – she has been told that her mother is in a business trip.

Alina arrives at Ric’s house. She looks happy to have such a big garden; she and Ric spend a nice moment together and then Fidelia and Marilu come to show her the house and her room.

Mariano visits Oriana next, with a photo album (from Alina’s princess party). Oriana is happy to see her daughter, then she sees Lucina and Raquel (which she doesn’t seem to remember too well) and then Ricardo alone and in a picture with her. Who is this guy?

Amnesia status

People she remembers: Homero, Mariano, Alina, Paloma (possibly others that haven’t been mentioned to her)

People she doesn’t remember: Ric, JL, Raquel, Lucina (possibly others that haven’t been mentioned to her)

I get and I don’t get why Ric can’t see her. If she doesn’t remember him or JL how is she supposed to start Homero’s plan? I get that JL has to think they are over, but he isn’t so dim as to believe Ric would marry someone else, right?

Besides, how can Oriana remember people, but not actions? Like, if she remembers Homero, shouldn’t she also remember the plan?

Maybe this will be addressed later on, as the others start to interact with her more.

But keeping Ric completely away seems like a very bad idea.