Caray, Caray!

Thanks for starting page 2, NovelaMaven!
 

Thanks NovelaMaven!

Romy- Some folks don't want to see the previews and make the effort to avoid seeing them and our rule is basically for them. I thought it was part of the Caray Caray no spoilers rule but it sounds like you folks have abandoned that part of the rule on the Univisión side. I watch the previews - I love the previews and sometimes it's very tempting to mention them but I resist. It's a small price to pay for all the fun we have here on the patio.

Novelera I agree with you completely about Izzy. He's cute and funny with Connie and I know they have a song but he's a criminal. He tortured Middle Eastern guy, he set the fire with the intent of killing Navier, he's helped Victor kill a bunch of people and he's excited to be part of a jewel theft gang. I just don't seem him walking off into the sunset with Connie. Christián has probably done some rotten things in addition to boinking his goddaughter but he can reform - Izzy, not so much.
 

There is such a thing as spousal privilege in criminal law. It's not a right like that against self-incrimination. Privileges can be lost or waived.

This excerpt from a website sums up the Federal Law on spousal privilege. If that was why Reina was marrying Victor,- excellent suggestion - I'm sure the writers will totally ignore the actual law.

Federal Law on Spousal Privilege

Federal (and many state) courts recognize two types of spousal privilege:

Spousal testimonial privilege, barring testimony against a spouse in a criminal trial, and
Marital communications privilege, barring testimony about confidential communications between spouses.

Spousal testimonial privilege

This type of spousal privilege has been recognized throughout history and pre-dates our Constitution and even our country. It arises from the notion that married spouses are one entity and so are not competent to testify against themselves through their other (if not better) half. Under this type of spousal privilege, one spouse cannot be compelled to give testimony against his or her spouse who is a defendant in a criminal trial or the subject of a grand jury proceeding. The accused spouse may claim the privilege or the other spouse may claim it on behalf of the accused spouse. The spouses must be married at the time that the privilege is asserted; so an ex-spouse can be compelled to give testimony about a defendant to whom he or she was previously, but is no longer, married.

Exceptions to the spousal testimonial privilege exist where a spouse:

is charged with a crime against the other spouse
is charged with a crime against a child of either spouse
is charged with a crime against a third party in the course of committing a crime against the other spouse
is asked to testify about matters pre-dating the marriage, or
is charged with human trafficking for immoral purposes (such as prostitution)

In each of these situations, even current spouses may be compelled to testify against an accused spouse in a criminal trial or grand jury proceeding.

So according to Federal Law, Reina could be forced to testify about crimes Victor committee before they were married.

 

Novelera and NovelaMaven--
Based on the limited knowledge of a law librarian (ret.), it is true that a wife (or spouse) cannot be forced to testify against her husband (or spouse) in most states in criminal matters. There are all sorts of ifs and whens nowadays. She can be given immunity from further prosecution (or self-incrimination), she can volunteer to testify against him (in the event he doesn't want her to).

They can't invoke it if they are suing each other, divorce, spousal abuse or in child custody cases, i.e. civil cases.

It makes for good telenovela law, though.
 

Dagnabbit, Jean, while I was wracking my retired brain, you answered it fully and clearly. I bow to your legal brain.

 

Anita - I don't practice criminal law and I've pretty much forgotten what I learned in law school. You can bow to my ability to google. ;-)
 

Caroline--Thank you so much for your splendid recap!!! I wasn't sure if I should post there or here, so I hope you see this!
 

Jean and Anita, thanks so much for filling me in on spousal privilege.

But, if I read it correctly, the spouse can't be forced to testify against the husband or wife, but it sounds like they could CHOOSE to. So maybe my theory of a reason why Victor wanted to marry Reina doesn't work. She could likely still testify against him and we know she doesn't love him. Of course, telenovela law may have a whole 'nother interpretation. And, he could have Clara tied to the railroad tracks the day of the trial!
 

IRT Previews and spoilers

I don't consider previews spoilers, but it is nice to keep mum about them here on the Telemundo side. Telemundo does indeed give away too much sometimes.
 

Jean and Anita,

Thanks for your answers about spousal privilege. Even if telenovela law is completed unrelated to real world law, it's still nice to know. :)
 

No actually, when it says that either spouse may claim the privilege, that means that Victor could claim the privilege and Reina would not be allowed to testify against him. So at a trial or before a grand jury, when the prosecutor asks Reina what she knows about some crime of Victor's, Vic's lawyer would object and assert the privilege and if none of the exceptions applied, Reina would not be allowed to answer the question. That's real law. Telenovela law is totally different, of course. I'll never forget some show Hombre was recapping where a spectator in court, not a defendant, was convicted by a judge of some crime and sent to prison. Wow!
 

Hey guys!

I practice criminal law but I haven't dealt with spousal privilege. And I'm sure that the novela will twist it to be more dramatic. It hasn't been very realistic when it comes to the criminal justice system and the prison system .The fact that Laz earned his nursing degree and was able to have a job at a hospital being a convicted felon is a joke!

I actually watched La Traicion and I must have blocked it out because I HATED the end of it. I forgot he had the same issue.




 

OK, Jean, so much for my reading skills. And that puts my theory back, if not on the front burner, at least not out of the realm of possibility considering that Victor can also evoke spousal privilege.

La Traición, eh? I watched part of that. One good and one evil twin, as I recall. Danna García was stunningly beautiful. But I just have never liked Mario Cimarro, so I quit watching. The thing I liked about it was that it was a novela de epoca. I like them and they are definitely thin on the ground.
 

This is just a big thanks to all the recappers/commenters. I've been half-watching as I get other stuff done and I got totally lost. I though if I paid more attention this week, that it would all start to make sense. Nope!

Yeah for Stefi keeping up with her yoga practice. But if she can cartwheel through the laser string, why couldn't she just walk though?

Kelly
 

Caroline,

Thanks for weighing in on the legal issues. Of course it's pretty much a given that the writers are making IT up as they go along, whatever IT may be. For some reason, the combination of earnestness and silliness just delights me.

Kelly,

"I thought if I paid more attention this week, that it would all start to make sense."

You're kidding, right?
 

OMG for some reason my DVR did not record the episode even though I have it set for series recording...UGHHHHHHH!
 

Caroline- my cable box does that all the time. It's very frustrating.

Aaand we now have OBM : odious bitch Miriam.

Who the heck was Carmen talking to?

Run Forest, run!



 

En Otra Piel is getting interesting.
 

Caroline: My cable box does that too. That's why I always check "Scheduled Programs." I did that today and Reina wasn't there for tonight so I checked the Guide to see if it was on and then I went back and set it to record manually. So annoying!!!

Anyone who wants to check out La Traícion - my recaps are on Caray (with pictures). I have always liked Mario Cimarro. (I heard is coming back on Telemundo in some new novela).

Back to Reina-
I called Carmen at the morgue. That Navier sure is observant for a guy who had just lost his true love. But this might be end of her. I hope not. She's a hoot.

Why is Navier running around in a graveyard? Surely he knows that Reina must be inside a building.


 

That was Fico with Carmen at the morgue, right? I want to get it right on the recap. Thanks.
 

Mauricio,

It looked like Frico to me!
 

Jean, did you call Carmen at the morgue? Six points for New Jersey!

"Why is Navier running around in a graveyard? Surely he knows that Reina must be inside a building."

The Dragon had to figure out which building Reina was in, don't you think? There seemed to be quite a few. Anyway, it made for a good shot -- our hero racing death itself...

Some great lines tonight:

Estefy: If I had Reina, I'd tie her up in a bow and give her to you!

Esmeeth: No, no, sir, I'm not in the habit of losing corpses either...
 

Mauricio - that definitely was Fico at the morgue with Carmen.
 

Thanks NovelaMaven and doris.

I thought it was him but I wasn't sure.
 

I had to see the episode at 3:30 am since my DVR did not record the episode. Rocky seems very sketchy, he seems to be a double agent. I love the tension Octavio's presence has caused. "Sarita" seems to still have feelings for him. She seemed very shook up by his phone calls and presence. Octavio seems to have never gotten over Sarita. Does Victor think Greta is his sister (if Octavio claims he slept with Stephy)?
 

Anonymous 10:07 - I am not going to comment on who Octavio slept with and with what issue until Mauricio post his recap.

But we can all speculate on who the mystery man in Carmen's life is. The one who apparently hired Fico and who orchestrated the "Let's get Reina to commit suicide" plan. Rocky is a definite possibility or it could be someone who we haven't met yet.

We know what Fico's motivation was. Is this other person interested in punishing Reina or Navier? Or should we not speculate too much about motivation since it never makes any sense anyway.
 

I'm going to speculate that there is no mystery man in Carmen's life, at least not in a romantic sense. I think she made up the story of a wealthy admirer to explain why she is suddenly loaded. SOMEONE is paying her off for services rendered -- and not the kind of services that OBD usually provides.
 

I totally agree, NovelaMaven, that Carmen's mystery man is not a romantic interest. Someone paid her to help Fico get Reina out of the morgue and that person has confronted her when she is handcuffed in the car. The question is: who is that person? It's not OBD - she didn't know about the money Carmen had. It doesn't seem like it is Stefi or Victor unless they are playing a very deep game, indeed.
 

THURS PART 1

Navier asks Asunncion to let him know if she finds out anything. Why should she trust him? Well because he knows she loved Reina like he did. He also knows she knows more than she says and is keeping quiet and he needs to know. She sees no reason to trust him. Not even if he were to tell her that he knows she is Reina’s mother and hasn’t said a word. Asuncion is left shocked. Shocked. Shocked is how Navier leaves her after handing her his card.

Esmeeth won’t believe Octavio even if he denies it. She says he discovered her and set a trap for her. A trap from which she escaped and disappeared, he tells her. He tells her he only wanted to capture her. He never wanted to kill her. She tells him she disappeared for sometime but she was found and they shot to kill her. She was left for dead and she fought for her and she survived. Who are you after now? Victor? he asks. She asks him if she would have reasons to be after Victor. He tells her to figure it out herself. She is smart and clever and beautiful. Her virtues have grown with time. Her patience hasn’t grown though. She starts to leave. He asks her if she won’t even have a drink with him. She tells her that the only thing she’d love to see him drink is poison. She tells him to be careful. Be careful of her? Yeah because this time she won’t fail.

Victor talks on the phone. He has a proposal for the person on the other end of the line.

Reina hears a nosie. Someone passes her food through a mail slot. She pushes the food aside and crawls over to the mail slot. She opens the mail slot and asks who’s there. Who are you? Let me out. Please. We hear the sound of a music box. She heads over to the music box and shuts it.


Greta is all smiles. More music! she tells Susana. Susana loves seeing her like this. Greta’s eyes are shining more than ever. Greta felt so alive. She was finally able to feel something in her body that can’t move. Lazaro comes into the room. He has come to say goodbye. The other nurse has arrived. [lets hope they did a good background check on this nurse] Susana thanks Lazaro and tells him Greta felt so good in the water. Susana leaves to go and see the new nurse. Lazaro is glad Greta loved the aquatic therapy. She admits that what she actually loved were his smoochies. Shall we continue? he asks. With the therapy or with the smoochies? she asks him. With the smoochies he responds. Yes because I can’t ask anything else of you she tells him. Lazaro tells her that all he has to offer her is his love. Does she accept it? Yeah of course she does. They kiss.

Navier arrives home and realizes someone is in the back seat of his car [if there is one thing I learned from noveals is to always look in the back seat of your car before getting in]. He gets out of the car and points his gun. He tells whoever is there to come out or he’ll shoot. Clarita pops her head out. She asks him to please not kill her.
 

THURS PART 2

Estefania smokes her cigar as Victor offers to give in to her every whim. He’s willing to give her the crown and the red diamond in exchange for Reina.

The coffin closes and startles Reina. Reina comes upon several notes with options on how she can commit suicide. She can hang herself. She can slit her wrists. She can take pills. She is given the ncessary tools to do any one of these things. Her captor doesn’t want to kill her. Her captor wants Reina to kill herself.

Navier brings Clarita into his apartment. He tells her she can stay for a while but he’ll call her home. She doesn’t want him to call. She doesn’t think anyone noticed she is not there. No one loves her. Don’t say that, Navier tells her. Clarita says that Asuncion does love her and Greta has been nice to her but she is sick. The nurse is nice too but he’s not family. Susana never loved her and her dad has stopped loving her. Navier tells her it isn’t true. Her dad is probably sad over what happened to Reina. Clarita tells Navier about her dad wanting to send her to boarding school. Clarita says that her dad isn’t like other fathers. She always dreamed of having a heroic father. Navier also dreamed of having a father who defends you and takes care of you but he never had one. He hopes to one day have a daughter like Clarita so he can be that kind of father.

Reina won’t kill herself. They’ll have to kill her! We see there is a camera in the room.

Estefania never imagined the little seamstress would be worth so much. Did she make Victor happy? For sure she didn’t make him happy in bed. She must have made him happy in life. Victor wants Reina back. How does he want Reina back? Does he want her in an embalmed coffin? In a beautfiul urn? Victor knows Reina is alive because her body disappeared from the morgue. Esefania tells him that if Reina made it to the morgue it was because she was dead. Victor believes Estefania is punishing him for what he has done to her. Could it be? Or could this be one of your many scenes? Could you have killed Reina after finding out she was in love with Navier? Estefania asks him. She blows smoke in his face and attempts to give him lung cancer by second hand smoking.

Navier has prepared some hamburgers and fries [mmm it looks good] for himself and Clarita. He drinks some Dr. Pepper as he and Clarita talk about dragons. What Clarita loves the most about dragons are their strength and courage. They are invincible. Navier feeds her a french frie and Clarita tells him he is the only that has made her smile since her mother died. Clarita misses her mother and prays for her. They will draw a dragon and name the dragon Reina. Navier notices a four leaf clover bracelet on Clarita. He recalls having seen this same bracelet on a cleaning lady at the morgue. He asks Clarita who gave her the bracelet and she tells him it was OBD.

Reina wants to the damn coward aka her captor to show their face. A newspaper is thrown at her. She reads the news about her death and
also reads the news about Navier’s death. She is devastaed and cries. Reina continues to read the article which says that a drug caused the heart attack and the cops are still investigating. There are no suspects.
 

THURS PART 3

Victor is not the murderer of the woman he loves. Estefania isn’t buying what he says. He doesn’t have to pretend with her she tells him. Estefania wants to talk about things that are actually important like the red diamond. So he had it all along. Victor asks her for Reina again. Does he really think if she had Reina she wouldn’t hvae given her back to him? He offered to give her back her crown and the red diamond. If she had Reina she would handed her over to him with a bow on her head. Victor believes Estefania has Reina and Estefania believes Victor has Reina. After all a man like Victor doesn’t forgive an infedility. He tells her she’s right about that because he never forgave her for being unfaithful to him. She denies ever having been unfaithful to him. He tells her that she slept with his dad.

Navier thinks OBD must love Clarita to have given her the bracelet. After all he doesn’t think OBD goes around making them for everyone. Clarita says OBD was pretending to be nice to her in front of her dad. OBD hates Clarita and hated Reina even more. Clarita tells Navier the bracelet is a good luck bracelet but now that she thinks about it she should take it off. The bracelet has been made to make seven wishes on it. But none of the wishes Clarita asked for came true. She asks Navier what wish he would ask for. He tells her that his only wish would be for Reina to be alive.

Asuncion hopes OBD hasn’t been a bitch to Clarita because Clarita doesn’t want to leave her room. OBD could care less about Clarita. She never loved so why would she love the daughter? Asuncion reminds OBD that she is at the mansion thanks to Reina. Reina is her sister and has her blood. OBD says Reina is the worst thing that has happened to her.

FLASHBACK
OBD recalls Victor about to annouce her future wife to his employees at Camilee. OBD assumed it was her slutty self but it turned out to be Reina.
END OF FLASHBACK

OBD calls Reina a damn bitch and Asuncion slaps her. [Go Asuncion! Finally someone slaps OBD]

Connie cries over her breakup with Isidro. Lazaro wants to go and have a chat with Isidro. Connie doesn’t let him. You can’t force someone to love you and Isidro obviously doesn’t love her. She goes to bed and doesn’t want to be woken up for a week. Juanjo tells Lazaro he’ll go and see if Navier needs anything. Juanjo tells Lazaro that Miriam is still using. He leaves. Lazaro recalls smooching with Greta in the pool. Miriam ruins his nice little flashback by wanting a little love from him. He’s not interested and spurns her. He tells her he doesn’t love her and never did. She asks him if there is someone else. He tells her he wants her to be cured. She asks again if there is someone else and he admits there is.

The putz is spurnned by Greta. Hahahaha. Greta doesn’t want his putzish self living there anymore. The putz knows he is being spurned because of Lazaro. He asks Greta if she really believes anyone could love her how she is. He tells Greta that all Lazaro sees when he sees her is a wheelchair covered with money. Greta tells the putz to get lost.

Susana asks Octavio if he’s alright. He doesn’t seem himself. He is usually this imperious, confident, and tough man. A man who is alwauys in control and a man who talks without thinking of the conesequences. A man who does not keep quiet and is sometimes hurtful. Octavio says she is right. He’s usually that way but not now. He’s been left without strength, empty inside, and scared. He is scared because he saw a ghost. Was it Reina’s ghost? Susana asks him. He says no it is a ghost that has followed me for more than 30 years. A ghost that has not allowed me to live and feel. A ghost that has trned him into what Susana sees when she sees him. A ghost who he doesn’t even know the real name of.
 

THURS PART 4

Rocky and Esmeeth enter her office. She is on the phone and being scolded by the head honcho. She tries to give explanations. She does not normally lose corpses either. She tells the head honcho about the possibility that Reina is alive. She tells the head honcho she’ll take care of it and she will keep him informed. She hangs up. Rocky informs her that the doctor and his family are safe and out of the country. The employees at the morgue were questioned but no one say anything. Esmeeth asks about Navier. Rocky tells her that she knows how he is. Yeah he is untamable and stubborn, Esmeeth says. Yeah like you umm sorry, says Rocky. Rocky says that Navier is investigating on his own. He asks her what left her more nervous - was it the call from the head honco or Octavio?

Navier wants to take Clarita home but she doesn’t want to leave. She wishes she could choose her family. He tells her that you might not be able to choose your family but you can choose your friends. He will be her friend and visit her and tell her stories about dragons with happy endings.

OBD leaves a message for Carmen telling her she has something to tell her about Reina.

FLASHBACK
OBD whines over Reina defeating her once again. Reina got Victor. Carmen advises OBD to quit her whining and be toughen up. Life isn’t for the weak. She tells OBD to figure out a way to get rid of Reina and destroy her. She tells OBD to make Reina suffer from now on.
END OF FLASHBACK

Victor is pissed at Isidro because he didn’t answer when he called him. Where was he? Isidro apologizes and said he never imagined Reina’s body would disappear. Victor tells him he doesn’t have to imagine anything he just has to do what he is asked. Asuncion informs Victor that Clarita is not at home.

Navier brings Clarita home. Ausncion and Clarita leave. Navier has a chat with OBD where he asks questions about the bracelet. Does she sell them? No. She makes them for the people she loves. Did she make one for Reina? No because she never loved Reina. Do you have any more questions? OBD asks him. [Was it just me or did it look like OBD was flirting with him?]

Octavio gets a massuage and he’s loving it. [He probably wants a happy ending too just like loves happy endings in stories] All of a sudden the masuage turns a litle rough. Estefania is now the massuage therapist. She pusts a rope to his neck and strangles him. The old goat can barely speak now and Estefania asks him why he told Victor that she cheated on him [Victor] with him [Octavio]. Estefania gets on top of the old goat and continues to strangle him. Octavio lied because he didn’t want Victor to leave everything for Estefania. Estefania was never unfaithful to Victor and she would have never cheated on him especially with an nasty old man like Octavio. Octavio never liked Estfania. He asks her if she is going to tell him that she isn’t happy with the status he gave her. She says she isn’t happy. She asks him when he told Victor the truth [the truth about what?] and Octavio says he told Victor the truth when he was about to leave Susana and move in with Estefania. Octavio told Victor that his daughter with Estefania was his. Estefania strangles him harder now.

Navier investigates the employees who worked at the morgue the night Reina disappeared. He tells Esmeeth he is trying to find out if any of them have a relation to OBD. It turns out that one of the workers called in sick that night and no one replaced her. Jackpot! Navier finds out something and he leaves.
 

THURS PART 5

Octavio pulls a gun at Estefania and she lets him go. He grabs her by the hair and pins her down on the massuage table. Either she leaves or he’ll shoot her. She’ll leave but she will make him pay. He says he always pay what he owes but he owes her nothing. She tells him he’ll regret what he did it and he dobuts it. She tells him to keep on doubting it and it will be that doubt that won’t let him live and when he is weak and confident she will make him pay for everything.

Connie cries over Isidro. She has no reason to continue living but she is so afraid of dying that she wouldn’t kill herself. She goes to prepare breakfast. Lazaro gets a call from Navier and asks about Carmen. Lazaro tells Navier about the confrontation Connie had with Carmen. Lazaro asks Connie when she last saw Carmen and Connie says she saw Carmen last in the morning. Carmen was driving her new car. Lazaro tells Navier this. Navier thanks him and tells him to keep him informed about everything even if it seems irrevelant. Navier talks to someone on the phone and asks the person to search Carmen’s recent credit card charges. Esmeeth calls Navier and tells him she has some news about Clarita.

Reina hears a news report about Clarita’s supposed death. Clarita was found floating in the pool. Reina cries.

Carmen shows off her new car to the neighbors. She almost gets into antoher confrontation with Connie. Carmen gets back into her car and Navier is there waiting for her. He points a gun at her and asks her to take him to where Reina is or else. This is not good, says Carmen.

Esmeeth tells Rocky that she gave Navier the news about Victor sending Clarita to boarding school. Esmeeth tells Rocky about Clarita being over
at Navier’s apartment. Rocky asks Esmeesth if she doesn’t think it is time for Navier to know the truth about Clarita.

Clarita asks Greta not to let them take her to boarding school. Greta wants to talk to Victor. Victor says the boarding school is a done deal. Victor leaves to go and speak with Isidro about something urgent. He will talk to Clarita later. Clarita leaves. Susana comes in and tells Greta that Miriam is there. She tells Greta to he nice to Miriam. Miriam is left alone with Greta. Miriam apologies to Greta for being Lazaro’s accomplice in his plan to seduce her. She tells Greta that Lazaro is after her fortune. She tells Greta that Lazaro is a bad man who is in prison. She tells Greta that Lazaro is a theif. [Are Miriam and the putz in chaoots?]

Reina cries over the supposed death of Clarita.

Navier runs through the cementary calling Reina.

Carmen is handuffed to the steering wheel in Navier’s car. Her “boyrfiend” shows up and she tells him she was forced to blab about what they did that night at the morgue.

FLASHBACK
Carmen was the cleaning lady Navier and Esmeeth ran into. Carmen went into the room where they keep the bodies and opened up the compartment where Reina was in. Fico came in and pulled Reina out of the compartment and set her on a table. Reina woke up and asked what is going on. Fico told Reina that she is dead and injected her with something.
END OF FLASHBACK

Carmen tells her “boyfriend” Navier was going to kill her. He had a gun.

FLASHBACK
Fico says they have five mintues before the guards come. He picks up Reina and takes her with him. Carmen leaves too.
END OF FLASHBACK

She tells her “boyfriend” she told Navier that she doesn’t know who pays them. She asks for help because Navier can come back at any moment. She doesn’t want Reina to see her. She asks for help again and the “boyfriend” points a gun at her.

Estefnaia sees her pyschatrist and talks about all the hatred she feels. Why can’t she be happy when she deserves it?

Reina reads another note that says “how many more deaths before you commit suicide”. A rope is thrown in front of her.

Navier runs through the cementary looking for Reina.

Reina stares at the rope.

Navier continues to run through the cementary.

We see Reina’s legs dangling.
 

Great recap, Mauricio! I particularly liked:
The putz is spurned by Greta. Hahahaha. Greta doesn’t want his putzish self living there anymore.

OBD would flirt with anything in pants. She was being her usual sluttish self.

I found what Octavio told Stefie very confusing. I listened to it a couple of times. If Octavio said that he told Victor that Stefi's child (Greta) was his, not Victor's, did Victor tell Stefi that Greta was their child just to be nice when she [Greta] was supposedly dying?

Once again Navier made a meal but didn't eat any of it. He only drank a Dr. Pepper, which was certainly paid product placement.
 

Mauricio – Thank you for the great recap.


” [if there is one thing I learned from noveals is to always look in the back seat of your car before getting in].”
Either Navier never locks his car or little Clarita already knows how to break into one.


”….. tu me miras y me llevas a otro dimension……” It is sooo appropriate that each capítulo opens with only this phrase from the theme song. Otro dimension, indeed!

Why couldn’t Izzy tell Victor he didn’t answer the phone because he was breaking up with Connie, per Victor’s orders???

Yes, Putz and Miriam are in cahoots, each for their own self-serving reasons.
I continue to be confused over whether Laz & Miriam are married. The English CCs say “wife.”

LOL moment last night ---- Juanjo coming to Connie’s rescue with: “Her friend dies, her boyfriend dumps her, all that’s left is a dog peeing on her and a train running over her. “ I hope he never answers a suicide crisis calls line.

How does Navier know that Asunción is Reinás mother? This viewer was shocked.

Breakfast thru the mail slot is one thing, but a cup of coffee? Really? LOL

Nice Dr. Pepper product placement in Navier/Clarita scene. (And still no llamada de la sangre. Drat!) That is the first product placement I’ve noticed, so far. Have there been any others? Besides Kia, of course.

So, how many people can miraculously whip out their pistol from under the table --- a table with no shelf under it --- while getting a massage?
So lame-o that it took Octavia that long to overpower Estefy, since his hands were between that rope and his neck the whole time. Nice touch with the red abrasion marks around his neck, though.That entire scene was darkly funny.

Estefy’s counseling sessions are definitely a nod to Tony Soprano/ Dr. Melfi.
 

Thanks Mauricio! Fabulous recap.

Doris- I might as well say ditto to your whole comment, because you hit on all the thoughts I had. I especially want to know how Navier knows Asuncion is Reina's mom? And if he knows so much, how in the heck does he not know: 1) Reina didn't betray him; 2) Clara is his kid; and 3) Stefi is a criminal and a liar?

Why in the heck are Smith and Rocky hiding the truth about Reina and Clara from Navier? After all this time, I still don't get their reasoning.

I'm also confused about whether Victor thinks Greta is his daughter or his sister. Surely, he would have done a DNA test in all these years.
 

Wow! Another exciting episode and another splendid recap! Thanks, Mauricio!

”[if there is one thing I learned from novelas is to always look in the back seat of your car before getting in].”

hah. “The Paranoid’s Guide to the Universe” is based on hundreds of hours of telenovela watching — or so I’ve heard. :-)

”[Are Miriam and the putz in cahoots?]”
Actually, they are! Remember the scene in the clinic when the putz gave Miriam drugs and told her he wouldn’t let them lock her up? We didn’t see them planning this latest maneuver, but it has “putz” written all over it.

Ah, I see that sneaky Doris already beat me to it. Oh well.

I'm also puzzled by O's coversation with Estefi. I need to listen to that again when I have a moment. I had the impression that Estefi never had an affair with O -- but maybe she did, just not when she was with Victor. Estefi seemed genuinely taken aback by Victor's mention of her infidelity.

As stupid and hokey as the situation was, Paola is so good at what she does that she was breaking my heart last night as Reina.
 

I don't think that Stefi ever slept with Os. That's why she was so taken aback by the accusation. It's strange that Victor had never told her why he began to hate her so much, until now.
 

Mauricio--I'm only up to Parte 2 and can't stop laughing. Great work.

So--Reina gets served breakfast through a mail slot. So, it can't be the Telemundo Prop room and it can't be a funeral parlor. If it is a mausoleum in a cemetery, I didn't know they got mail delivery.

Who lit all the candles? Is there someone in there with her to start the music box and close the coffin lid? Huh? Huh?

I would have guessed OBD was the one perverse enough to think up all these things, except that we have to worry about Fico coming back to life and he's just twisted enough to do it. He has unlimited financial resources. But unless OBD could charge all this to Camilee, Mamma is the next best suspect. But, yeah, who gave her all the money and who is she so happy to see when all chained up--and are we sure it is a man?

Be back later.
 

Doris, I loved your comment that either Navier always leaves his car unlocked or Clarita has already figured out to break into one. And as for your question about Laz and Miriam, I think they're NOT married but are simply the parents of the little boy whose name I can't remember. Several times Laz has made sure to make clear that no, he's not married, she's just the mother of his son.

I too wondered about Octavio pulling out a pistol. Perhaps he has a massage towel with a special compartment for a gun?
 

Vivi & NM--I seem to remember a convo long ago about Stefie being accused of sleeping with Octavio. Rats, since I can't remember who the conversation was with--but I seem to remember Stefie being very indignant about the idea. Was it with Andres? Or maybe it was with Granny when Granny was in a blabbering mode. Maybe it was Victor and Izzy talking. Can't check back right now.
 

Anita- It was Victor speaking with Granny. He never directly confronted Stefi about it until now. Granny never believed it.
 

Mauricio, thanks VERY much for your wonderfully detailed recap. I was so confused as I watched the episode last night, and your recap has cleared up a couple of my doubts and (perhaps just as important) has confirmed that I often had good reason to be confused.

" [lets hope they did a good background check on this nurse]" - I had the same thought!

"[if there is one thing I learned from noveals is to always look in the back seat of your car before getting in]" - YES! I'm not sure I remember a lot of Spanish from the novelas, but I don't forget these important Life Lessons. :-)

Loved your remark about Estefi trying to give Octavio lung cancer by blowing cigar smoke in his face.

Question: did Navier see the clover bracelet on the cleaning woman or on Reina? I thought it was Reina who was wearing one as they were being separated in the hospital.


 

Ok, before anyone else sets me straight, Carmen must have been talking to a disemvoiced Fico, because he and she were the only ones in the morgue and she actually referred to what they had done that night at the morgue.

So, Fico is either alive, or it's the boss he took orders from.
 

Juanita- Navier's eagle eyes caught the bracelet on the wrist of the cleaning lady. But apparently his eyesight wasn't good enough for him to realize the cleaning lady was Carmen at the time. :)
 

Vivi--
You nailed it. So Stefie hadn't heard anything about Octavio's provoking Victor with information that he had boinked her until the massage parlor scene.

So, Octavio started it all.

He didn't want Victor to leave Susana for Stefie, so he made up this story and in her place he got Reina instead. Dumb guy. He should have known his son better and once Victor decided he didn't love Susana, it was un hecho decidido and he was going to move on with his love lives [not a sic].

As I recall, Susana said her marriage to Victor was for her one of convenience, for social status, primarily and probably for Victor, too, to gain some legitmacy.

Oh what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive.
 

Juanita--Yes, Navier saw the red clover bracelet on the cleaning lady in his mind's eye. He is great at association. He remembered seeing it on the cleaning lady, who had her back to him (and us) the whole time.

Actors wear all kinds of memory bracelets these days and apparently don't take them off for scenes, so Reina could have been wearing a red string bracelet, but not the 4-leaf clover one.
 

Reina

wow, Friday mornings with Mauricio, love it!

so Reina gets her food through a slot, then it drops 2 feet to the floor,
there is nothing nice about this place.

so Victor may die from second hand smoke, ha!

so who doesn't know Clarita is Nicolas' daughter besides Nicolas, anyone?

hmm, ODB was rolling her blouse open when talking to Navier.

the boarding school is in London right?

yes, Miriam and the Putz are in cahoots, but we don't know if her melons are involved.

I agree NovelaMaven,
"Paola is so good at what she does that she was breaking my heart last night as Reina"

actually the whole funeral setup smelled of Estefi, who wouldn't kill Reina but would be ok with her suicide, but then there is Frank who told Nicolas that Reina was alive but he would never find her, so he must have known the plan.

Carmen cracks me up, and O does the english speak as well, I would like to see these two have a chat, and maybe they already know each other.

 

Doris--
The term mujer can be interpreted in a couple of ways in Spanish (so I've learned).

When someone says, "Mi mujer," with a lot of emotion, it means he's slept with his lover and now considers her his exclusive property (and women often tell the boyfriend they want to be HIS mujer, also a mark of exclusivity--in telenovelas, we get that frequently when she is virginal and wants to become un-virginal with the galan).

Then there is the wedding ceremony where the priest (minister if in Las Vegas) or the judge says you are "Marido y Mujer," it's conventional speak for wife.

Don't forget, we also hear the term "Mi Vieja," referring to a wife or long-term girlfriend. In English we do hear of men saying "My Woman," or "My Old Lady," and other sexist terminology which can either be a wife or girlfriend.

Esposa is the official translation of wife. But mujer has come to be used interchangeably in conversation and telenovelas. My guess is that the CC translator used whatever popped into his/her head first without thinking it would confuse us.

If Ramon is 8, legally, in the U.S., Miriam would be Laz's common-law "mujer."

What else could we call her, if she's NOT his girlfriend and not his legal wife, but she is the mother of his son. Do we have a single convenient word for that relationship in English? Laz, at least, doesn't have to go around saying that ella es la madre de mi hijo every time he has to talk about her.

Just my opinion.
 

Anita- baby-mama :)


 

Deb--
Yes, Londres = London
 

Vivi--I've only heard baby-mama in recaps and comments on Caray. Heehee. But at least it's a term I should have remembered.
 

Anita,

Muchas gracias for setting me straight about the red pulsera. I was so sure I remembered seeing the bracelet on Reina's wrist, but after reading your message, I went back, re-wound the tape (yes, tape--I have a VCR), and saw that you and Mauricio are right.
 

Something else to ponder out there in NoveLaLand.

In OBD's flashback, mama Carmen tells her to toughen up and think of a way to get rid of Reina, destroy her and make her suffer.

It's taken her 8 years to come up with anything?

Of course, we haven't been privy to any other flashbacks, but Reina was still pretty much in one piece the night before her wedding to Victor.
 

Ok, I think we've got it straight how and why Victor ended up believing that Stefi had betrayed him Octavio.

Now we can address how Navier knew that Asunción is Reina's mother. I can think of 3 possibitlies:

1. the writers screwed up (this seems unlikely - they seem to be pretty much on the ball with this crazy story;

2. the CIA discovered this as part of their investigation of Victor's household; or

3. Susana (who heard it from Asunción) told Juanjo who told Navier.

Other possibilities, thoughts?

I totally agree that Navier should have been told that Clarita is his daughter when everyone believed Reina was dead and it wouldn't matter that Navier would know that part of what he believed about Reina' betrayal was false. But I'm sure the revelation will come at the appropriate moment in the story.
 

@Novela, thanks for answering. Anyhoo, as someone who actually read the last page of a suspense novel first(yea I know) I don't mind spoilers but I would never dream of spoiling things for others who prefer not to know.
Poor Clarita. Thank God the actress looks 10-12, at least, so she can handle those lines.
Romy
 

Wait? @Juanita, did you say tapes? as in VCR? It still works? Wow! When my DVR says copy to tape or something to that effect I always go "how?" like who has a VCR? Color me tickled, lol. I am not that young either but I thought they were obsolete.
Navier and the Keystone cops know everything except the most pertinent ones, and they look confused as hell about everything,lol. Rocky is fishy.
Romy
 

I'm with your, Romy. I don't like to be surprised especially if I think the main character that I get attached to is going to be killed off or something. So I've looked in the back of many a novel. I NEVER watch suspense movies unless I know how they will come out. This is long-standing quirk on my part. As a child, I would have to leave the room because I was afraid Lassie wouldn't rescue Little Timmy from the storm drain in time. Novelas are *usually* very predictable about such things. I have no anxiety about Navier and Reina ending up felices para siempre.
 

Thanks for the fine recap, Mauricio!

So..some of Victor's behavior kinda makes a weird sort of sense. He believes that his only biological issue was Camila. He's thought that Greta was Octavio's and Stefi's - hence Greta goes off to boarding school in London. And he KNOWS that Clara is Navier's and Reina's; so, again, off to boarding school in London. He must have the place on speed dial.

Only in telenovelas do guys (Octavio) carry torches for 30 years without ever seeing the person again.

I definitely want Navier to know Clara is his daughter. I enjoy their scenes together. And the kid needs The Dragon in her life.

Hmmm. I guess we really don't know for sure whether Fico is dead. He was shown moving the body, but that was BEFORE the confrontation at the train station. Someone said they'd read that Coronel was only going to be in a few episodes, so death seems likely.

But something about the way Carmen looked up and called the person with the gun "honey" seemed like it was Fico to me.
 

Jean - I vote for your possibility #2.

Stefy looked surprised when she heard she slept with Octavio, which is why I believe abuelita and don't think she touched ever the man.
 

... ever touched the ma .

How I wish we could edit our typos after they're posted.
 

Gaaaah! Y'all knew what I meant to type.
 

Novelera,

"He believes that his only biological issue was Camila. He's thought that Greta was Octavio's and Stefi's - hence Greta goes off to boarding school in London.

I don't know about that, Novelera. He may have doubted Greta's paternity for about five minutes, but I'd bet you 4 red diamonds, he had DNA testing done and knows she's his:

-He wrote a suicide note to each of his daughters; he told Greta that Estefi was her mother; he told Clarita that NN was her father.

-His motto seems to be "Never apologize, never explain." He thought NN was responsible for Camila's suicide so he ordered him killed and had drugs planted in his car so no one would care that some scummy drug dealer had been offed. Later he found out NN had nothing to do with Camila's suicide; the 13 people in the offending video met mysterious accidental deaths, but he kept quiet about having blamed NN unfairly.
 

Novelera--

"Someone said they'd read that Coronel was only going to be in a few episodes, so death seems likely."

Actually I was just repeating what someone had said earlier, tongue in cheek, something to the effect, that Frank isn't going to last and maybe Gabriel had only been signed on for 5 episodes-- having more to do with his character being so universally disliked by his colleagues and by Viewerville.

 

NM--I sort of agree with you, unless it's proven otherwise, that Victor would have made sure that baby Greta was his. He wouldn't have taken Stefie's baby if he had thought it was Octavio's. If he didn't really like kids and Susana's had died (we think), why would he go to all that trouble. He would have told Susana to accept the news that her baby died and Move On.

On the Stefie/brother thing--wouldn't it be interesting if it's Fico that turns out to be the brother (I wouldn't put it past him to survive.)

We'd have a Victor-Navier team paired up against a Stefie-Fico one. (I know, it'll nevva happen.)

 

Anita- it would tries me if Fico is Estefy's Long lost brother.
Another option is that her brother could be another character who has not yet arrived upon the scene.
 

This comment has been removed by the author.
 

Meant to say, it would NOT surprise me...
 

Thanks for the recap Mauricio. Every night I miss something and I am glad that we've got such a good team of recappers.

 

Romy, yup, I'm still using the VCR I bought ages ago, and it still works just fine. The only problem is that once broadcasts went digital, I could no longer record one show while watching another. But since I have more than one TV, that's only a minor inconvenience.
 

I will have the recap up in the morning, but please feel free to discuss until then!
 

My one burning question is --- how did Victor
1) know Reina was alive, and 2) know where to find her?
 

doris:

Navier told Victor about the possibility that Reina could be alive.

Victor knew where Reina was because Isidro has contacts with the police.


 

RIP Carmen

I will miss her Spanglish.

I still can't believe she was actually killed off.
 

VIERNES Parte Preliminar
Just some thoughts before I start the recap.

I love this show because it makes me yell at the TV. I don't think I've done any whole-hearted TV yelling since TdA. Maybe the glamour of TNs has dulled for me. I don't know. But this show has me riveted. I can't remember who said it a few weeks back, but the description of Reina and Navier being the only ones who don't know they are in a TN is perfect. This show does have a very "The Man Who Knew Too Little" quality about it. Very meta-TN.

And Henry Zakka (Octavio) is like a Venezuelan William Shatner. I really like him.

Now on to the recap.
 

VIERNES PARTE UNO
Navier runs in and pulls Reina down from her noose.

Victor urges Izzy do go faster. He wants to see if info Izzy's police contact gave is valid. He wants to arrive first. Izzy wonders if there is some other way to deal with the asunto. Victor tells him to shut it and drive.

Navier asks Reina why she tried to kill herself. She wakes up. Amor! You're alive. And so is Clarita. Heavy breathing and kisses. Navier moans about having lived through her death. He saw them put her in the crypt at the morgue and now she's alive. She says she loves him and that he and Clarita are the most important things to her. Theme song.

OBM (Odious Bitch Miriam) feeds Greata some BS about Laz being out for her money. Laz is a thief and just wants to steal Greata's heart (and money by default.) Miriam leaves. Greata says to herself that it's too late because Laz has already stolen her heart.

Reina realizes it was all a plan to make her kill herself. Navier says it almost worked. Reina is confused. So the guy who wanted to kill her wasn't the guy pretending to be Nicolas. Navier says it was, but someone sent Fico. He tells her that Fico died. There are still lots of things he does't understand: The hired killer who failed, the model that failed (and died) the apres coffee warning. He will investigate. They didn't want to kill her, just drive her crazy so she would kill herself.

Susana tells Clarita she will do what she can to keep the girl from going to boarding school in London. Juanjo arrives. Susana wonders if he's back for the money. Does he still think she's a killer and dangerous woman? He doesn't think she's a killer, but he does think she's dangerous...and he likes danger RAWR.

Reina did't want to keep living when she though Clarita and Navier were dead. There's a noise. It's Esmeeth. She informs them of Carmen's death. Navier says he left her alive. There was no one around. No one needs to know Navier was there. We hear Vitor's voice. He wants in.

Laz brings Greata a flower. She tells him when Vic finds out about them, he'll hit the roof. So she's thinking of giving it all up: the money, the mansion, everything so she and Laz can be together.

Vic hugs Reina. He thought she was dead. He wonders about the theatrical set. Esmeeth wants to know how he knew Reina was there. Navier hides in a coffin.

Miriam takes the drugs Putz offers and tells him she did as instructed. She's praises her own acting skills. She says to trust her. Putz says he doesn't even trust his own shadow. He wants Laz far away from Greata (and her money.)

Juanjo wants to help Susana get the guy who extorted money from her...but not kill him. She wants to hit the guy where it hurts. She wants info on the Putz so she can extort him for money. Juanjo wonders why she doesn't just tell Greata about her real mom.

Laz tells Greata he can't offer her anything and she needs the De Rosas resources for her medical care and treatment. He doesn't have the right to ask her to give up anything. Wrong answer, Laz. Ausncion interrupts to announce Estefy's arrival. She's there to take Greata to her Dr. appt. Estefy's notes that something is wrong. She asks if is something is hurting and Greata reminds her she can't feel anything. Estefy clarifies: I meant your soul.

Connie looks at photo albums of good times with Reina. Izzy calls. Connie gives him what for. If he thinks she'll get back with him, he's mistaken. He's not calling for that. He tells her Reina is alive. She hangs up on him. Then Juanjo calls and tells her Reina is alive. Connie is happy.
 

VIERNES PARTE DOS
Clarita is happy her mom is alive. Juanjo and Laz whisper that Navier must be happy, too. OBD arrives and asks why everyone is so happy. Clarita informs her that she won't be able to marry Vic because Reina is back. The police arrive for Delfina.

They take Carmen's body away. In spite of it all, Reina hopes she rests in peace. Esmeeth wants Vic to come with her for questioning.

Laz is with Greata at the appointment. He tells her Reina is alive. Estefy comes in and tearfully informs them that Greata is not a candidate for the Robo-jet-leg 2000. She swears she'll help Greata. Greata just wants to go home. She doesn't want to hope anymore.

Reina's homecoming. Octavio comes in. Reina asks who he is. He introduces himself. Did she forget everything? She's forgotten his pasion?? What?? So were they really horizontally mambo-ing or is he just messing with her head like everyone else?

Victor is interrogated. Navier does the human lie-detector thing. Vic says he and Izzy had contacts in the department. They heard the police were headed for that location and they went hoping Reina would be there. Navier declares that is the truth. Javier Bolivar told him Reina might be alive. He tells about his suicide attempt. Flashback. He lies about HOW he tried to kill himself. He says he tried to shoot himself, but couldn't leave his kids. Navier says that what Vic says about his feelings for Reina are the truth. Vic knows Reina loves Javier Bolivar.

Esmeeth wonders why Vic thinks that. Reina told him and he saw the signs. Even the "perfume de su piel" (the scent of her skin) had changed. Reina told him the day before she died. Vic had asked Navier if he was interested in Reina. Esmeeth thinks Vic did it to Reina because he wanted Reina to himself. Vic swears it wasn't him. He just loves Reina. He wants her happy. With him. Only he can make her happy.

Reina asks Asuncion what relationship she (Reina) had with Octavio. Asuncion tells her they did have some secret thing going on and the week before her wedding she went off to Europe to see him and no one was supposed to know. Connie runs in to see Reina.

Laz asks Greata what's up. He thinks it's about the Robo-jet-legs 2000. He kisses her, but she doesn't smile and he comments about it. Susana comes in and he leaves. Susana asks Greata what's wrong. Greata cries. Poor Greata.

Delfina is questioned. Esmeeth thinks she had plenty of motive to want Reina dead. Delfina swears it wasn't her. They take her away. Navier comes in. They don't have any real proof against anyone, but people are still dying: Fico, Betina, Carmen, but there's someone "higher up" who isn't. Flowers arrive for Esmeeth. Hmmm. It isn't her birthday. The card congratulates her for finding Reina, signed: El Supremo. She trashes them. The officer rescues them from the trash for an "amiguita". Navier wonders about Esmeeth getting flowers from El Supremo.
 

Haven't seen any new recaps from En Otra Piel recently.

What happened on Friday night on that show?
 

Sara--Preliminary Comment (before reading recap)

WOW, who would a thunk. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy together--and in a telenovela to boot. Lucky us.
 

Steve--En Otra Piel is on the OTHER Telemundo blog.
 

VIERNES PARTE TRES
Esmeeth enters her office where more flowers await. El Supremo knew she was going to trash the first bunch.

Connie comes down and Cristian is waiting in the living rooms she asks if he's heard the news (using the formal form) and he wonders when she'll ever start using "tú" with him. She launches into a rant about Carmen and Delfina and Victor. Victor comes in mid rant and overhears. Cristian is glad that Reina is ok. Victor asks if Connie wants Izzy to take her home. Izzy is shooting daggers at Cristian and Connie. Cristian offers to drive her home. Connie accepts. She all but sticks her tongue out at Izzy. Izzy goes to make coffee. Vic smirks.

Vic enters Reina's room. He knows she's really awake. Tomorrow he is going to show her how much he loves her. Creepy.

Vic meets with Navier. Ugh. Victor yammers about how it feels when you think the one you love has died. He asks Navier if he feels attracted to Reina. He wants him to be honest. Navier says Reina is attractive and has a certain innocence that makes him want to protect her and there is something sensual and savage about her, but she really isn't his type.

Estefy finds Octavio playing pool in her office. He makes himself at home and she reminds him she did not ask him to sit. He doesn't wait for a woman to give him permission. She asks if he isn't afraid that she'll try to finish what she started the day before. He figures if she didn't kill Victor after he robbed her, he (Oct) is safe. She says the difference is she loved Victor. Now she has someone else she loves. Octavio wants to talk business: the diamond. She says it's hers! She will get it. He thinks she won't be able to do it alone. She's not afraid of him. says she should fear the man she says she loves. Does this man know who she really is?

Victor wants to know what Navier's "type" is. Navier says a woman with character. With experience. Ambitious. Daring. Sensual. Victor knows a woman like that. Navier tells him he doesn't need a matchmaker. Navier tries to excuse himself, but Asuncion interrupts to say the house security needs to talk to Vic. Vic leaves and Navier starts snooping around. He sees the horseshoe. He finds the notes to Greata and Clarita!
 

Good job, Sara. Things were happening at a gallop last night.

No mysteries solved, another one introduced--the Reina-Octavio secret thingy going on.

They sure didn't let Greta bask in her happiness for more than one episode and a half. Poor Laz, yes, wrong answer, but it *was* the right answer.

I sure hope there is another bodus interruptus before the Putz gets Greta to say I do.
 

Whoa, sorry to have interrupted the flow, Sara. For some reason, I thought the second bouquet of flowers were in the previews. Now I get to enjoy another chapter.
 

Sara – Thanks for the recap!!

Wow, so they really killed Carmen.

I seriously doubt Reina & Octavio were evern an item. He’s just not her type. No dragon tattoo.

I hope Esmeeth & Co. are cremating Fico & Carmen’s bodies, and watching. Otherwise, how do we know they weren’t given the catalepsy drug and might still be alive?

”She all but sticks her tongue out at Izzy.” LOL

Mauricio – thanks for your reply to my burning questions. ;-) I somehow missed that convo between Vic & Izzy.

'William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy together--and in a telenovela to boot.'
Anita - LOL!

The actress is doing a wonderful job as Greata the talking head. It's hard to convey emotions with just one's face & voice. Years ago, I watched Te Amaré en Silencio and that actress did a good job communicating without speaking.

 

VIERNES PARTE CUATRO
OMG he only has time to read the note to Greata!!!!!! So he finds out that Estefy is Greata's mom. I know it's too early to know about Clarita, but man I was hoping. He hears Vic coming and he acts like he's reading a book. Vic doesn't want to waste his time. He's going to make Navier an offer he can't refuse (Add The Godfather to our list of cinematic inspirations.)

Putz comes to visit Greata. Susana doesn't want to leave her alone with the Putz. Juanjo sneaks in and whispers to Susana that he's found something out about the bicho (little devil...any reason why Telemundo's CCs said b---?)They leave. Putz apologizes for not being about to leave Greata alone. He loves her. She asks what would happen if she gave up her fortune. Putz has all the right answers. He thinks it would be wonderful. Just them and their love. And maybe it would help him get over his gambling problem (huh?) She suggests they get married. I wish they would and that she does give up everything. It would serve the Putz right.

Miriam laughs at Connie's clothes. Izzy visits. He wanted to make sure Connie got home ok. She reminds him she was with a police officer. Of course she was safe. Izzy says he took care of her. "Took" past tense. Pretérito imperfecto. While he's there she wants to take a moment to remind him that since she and Reina are friends again, Connie and Izzy will be seeing more of each other, but for her he's just a wall. A hard, dirty, chipped (descascarada from the verb descascarar to peel; to chip away) wall. Izzy asks Connie to stay away from Reina. Don't get near her. She tells him walls don't talk and no one can stop her from seeing Reina.

OBD leaves a message for Vic. She had no idea what her mom was up to. She loves him. She throws a picture of Carmen and screams that she ruined her life. A note is slipped under the door. It reads: "Are you up for finishing what your mom started?"

Estfy tells Oct not to meddle in her life or business, her kid or her man. He tells he may lose one or two bets, but he keeps playing until he wins. He's got plenty of money (El dinero me sobra). Estefy tells him to leave. Esmeeth enters the office and Oct calls her "Sara". Estefy asks if they know each other. He says they know each other very well.

Greata wants to gets started on wedding prep ASAP. She doesn't want anything to impede the wedding. Laz listens on. Putz gloats. Laz wonders why Greata is doing this. She tells him he was right. He can't offer her anything and Putz is of the same social class. Poor Laz.

Octavio says he and Sarita have known each other for years. Esmeeth denies any relationship and she asks to speak to Estefy alone. She wants to talk about Javier and Reina.

Juanjo tells Susana that the Putz is penniless (*snort* read that carefully, folks.) His dad has cut him off. That explains the extortion and his living in the house rent free. Putz comes in and announces Greata's proposal.

Estefy is outraged that Esmeeth thinks she has anything to do with what happened to Reina. Esmeeth asks if she's in love with Navier. She is. She loves him. With her life, her soul, her body. Her legs tremble when he's around. Her blood heats up, she's dies from love and pleasure. Wow. This is a private moment. Reign it in girl. She loves him like she's never loved anyone or will love anyone. Esmeeth wonders if Reina was a roadblock. Estefy tells her she's got her own resources (erm you know what I mean) to keep a man. She doesn't need to kill anyone.

Victor informs Reina that Navier will be her new secretary, bodyguard and go-to guy. ARgh! Now I have to wait until Monday to see this show. Glad I have the episodes from this week to re-watch!
 

No worries, Anita!!! And I love the Shatner/Nimoy in one show comment!
 

Super thanks for the GREAT recap, Sara. Loved the ideal of the reunion of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy!!

I just loved this capitulo. There was so much going on - little innuendos.

I particularly loved Navier's performance as the humble servant, eyes lowered, very respectful - so different from the way he behaves with his real boss. I laughed out loud when Navier refused Vic's help in getting a girlfriend. Vic says that he is sure that Nav can get his own girlfriends and Nav says modestly,
"Se hace lo que se puede," "One does what one can." Indeed he does.

Should we read anything into the fact that right after Navier tells Esmeeth that the person who hired Fico, Betina, Carmen, etc. is still out there, she get flowers from El Supremo? Such scenes are often put together for a reason. El Supremo as the bad guy would make sense.
 

Loved the rest of the recap, Sara. Now we know what Victor meant when he told Reina in her bed that tomorrow she will find out how much he really loves her----handing Navier to her on a silver platter.

Actually it is a cruel joke. Since Victor *thinks* Reina is not Javier's type, it will be his pleasure to watch her being tortured by having Javier so close every day, all day long.

Boy is he going to be pithed when he finds out the truth.
 

I'm loving that I have no idea where this thing is headed. It makes it fun to watch.
 

Marvellous recap, Sara! It filled in some details I missed. Thanks, too, for the Spanish vocab.

LOL at "She all but sticks her tongue out at Izzy" and "This is a private moment. Reign it in girl." And yes, it would serve both the Putz and Greta right if he marries her only to find that she has, indeed, given up her money.

The whole business with Octavio mystifies me (as it's supposed to, I'm sure). If Asunción says that Reina went to Paris right before her wedding to see him, it must be true, but I'm quite sure the two of them never were, um, intimate.
I am assuming that Octavio is El Supremo, and that he will turn out to be the Evil Power behind everything going on. Will he also turn out to be Navier's father? Good grief, that would make Navier and Victor step-brothers! Seems about right for this TN.
 

Juanita: You can be forgiven for having trouble following this novela loca! If I think that I have a slightly better grasp on it is because I am totally obsessed with (I already watched Friday's episode twice) and when you recap, you have to get all the details.

Octavio told Victor that just before the wedding, Reina got the goods on them for diamond trafficking. Had she not lost her memory, she could have sent them to prison.

Octavio is almost certainly Navier's father, which makes him Vic's half brother. I don't think that Reina ever had any relationship with him. He is just f*cking with her head.

I don't think Octavio can be El Supremo. Octavio was a criminal that Esmeeth almost caught 30 years ago.
 

thanks so much Sara!
love reading your recaps with your little observations weaved in.

perfect, so now we have Kirk and Spock!
(but I was so looking forward to Octavio and Carmen having a chat)

Connie is a trip, I like her, and I see why her and Reina are such good friends.

how could Vic say he tried to shoot himself, like Esmeeth points out, that should have left a wound.

ah yes, the under-the-door messenger service.

also loved the "Wow. This is a private moment. Reign it in girl." as Estfi talks of love, and I'll bet she does know her way around a man.

Navier reading the 'tells' during the interrogations reminds me of that poker game he was in, where he won enough to take Reina on that trip, like he was a millionaire, and didn't it seem like Victor was looking right at him through the mirrored glass.

 

Thanks Sara!

I will miss Carmen. Espeically her Spanglish. I can't believe they actually killed her off.

OBD is bad bad bad. Not even a tear over her dead mother.

Susana better do something to stop Greta from marrying the putz. Just tell her the whole truth already.

Rats! Navier only gets a chance to read the letter left for Greta and not the one left for Clara. I hope he goes back in there when Victor is not at home to read the letter he didn't get a chance to read.

I also dobut there was anything intimate between Reina and Octavio. He was just messing with her like just like everyone else is messing with her.

This novela seems to have an obsession with coffee. It cracks me up. Last night we had Isidro going to make coffee and Navier jokes about not being offered coffe again at the De Rosas mansion.
 

I'm not convinced Carmen is dead. Why didn't they show the mystery person actually shooting her? Why didn't Esmeeth say that she had been shot instead of just saying that she was dead. It was very weird.

Concerning Victor's lies about his suicide attempt, he could have planned to shoot himself and then changed his mind.
 

Fabulous recap, Sara! Thanks so much!

"So were they really horizontally mambo-ing or is he just messing with her head like everyone else?"

Sara, I'm betting no one mambos with big O who isn't a paid professional mambo-er. I wonder if she met up with O on the same Red Beret visit when she told the late Andrés that his father had been murdered. Maybe O was the source of her info...

I see I'm not the only fan of this part:

" Cristian offers to drive her home. Connie accepts. She all but sticks her tongue out at Izzy. Izzy goes to make coffee. Vic smirks."

About Clara's note -- I was hoping Navier would find it too!

" he's found something out about the bicho (little devil...any reason why Telemundo's CCs said b---?)"

Umm...cuz they speak Spanglish? (Maybe OBC is writing them while she's on cataleptic leave.)

Jean,

El Supremo may be A bad guy, but I'm not sure he's THE bad guy. I think Big O is a pretty heavy hitter. Maybe he and El Supremo are in cahoots...
 

Octavio = Denny Crane
 

Ok. I didn't think O and Reina had actually mamboed either, but I wanted to see what y'all thought.

What is up with the collective head messing of Reina? Everyone seems to do it. I guess they all have secrets and before the accident they all knew Reina knew or was close to the truth so they are now trying to manipulate to their advantage?

Mauricio-I'm also going to miss Carmen. I don't want them killing off all the semi-comic characters.
 

Jean, thanks very much for the information about what Octavio told Victor right before the wedding. I hadn't remembered that. As for El Supremo, I guess we'll have to wait and see. I'm just glad the waiting is so much fun.

Again, many thanks for the clarifications and, of course, for your wonderful recaps.
 

Doris- I had to look up Denny Crane but yes! That's Octavio!

If el Supremo is a bad guy, wouldn't Navier reacted a little differently to the flowers? He just seemed bemused. Am I interpreting it all wrong?
 

Another installment--
Week Four

THE WISDOM OF THE DRAGON
Subtitled: I Could Not Have Made Any Of This Up

Always wear a baseball cap and dark glasses for covert missions if it worked before.

Always be able to do 5 things at the same time, sometimes in different locations (i.e. arrange an escape from a hospital clinic, get a pass as a photographer to cover an event, identify an assassin from among all the lovely bridal models, assault and kill the assassin, get a posse together and kidnap your former BFF cell mate and BFF parking jockey).

Learn the difference between Injecto-Death 3000 and Bouquet O' Death 6000; one is worse than the other.

Always remember to button up your shirt correctly after an amorous breakfast. [Ed. did anyone notice this besides me?]

A Dragon marks his territory with the fire of his passion.

Always put your pants back on after using the toilet, even if you are in a clinic wearing a hospital gown.

It is useful to go over your class notes from Secret Agent 101, especially the reference to Big Blue Glowing Watch Secret Recorders (not that I’m admitting anything—I am the Dragon, after all).

A Dragon is good at almost everything, including math.

A Dragon obtains all he sets out to get. (Sounds better in Spanish—Yo consigo todo lo que me propongo.)

Always make your boss think she is in charge. Your boss might reward you with a free pass.

A Dragon always stays focused.

Always tell the truth. If forced to confess a truth, make sure it sounds like a lie…no, no, always tell the truth if forced to confess a lie, but make sure it sounds like the truth…no, no, always tell a lie if forced to confess a truth, but make it sound like the truth….no….forgive me, I’m confused. Delete, delete, delete.

In a tough, heart-wrenching situation, just tell the damsel, “OK, Bye” and leave.

In the light bulb box of life, many characters are 25 watters. A Dragon is a Philips, 500-Watt Halogen T3 Double Ended 4.7” Dimmable Light Bulb.

To move forward with the mission, an Old Leonard Nimoy can be invited to the set to explain curses and spells.

A Dragon needs to be needed (it’s his only weakness).

Regularly test your associative skills (Play Concentration on Game Night).

Nothing escapes a dragon, ever.

Warning: a dragon might drink too much coffee.

Remember that if you make love all day, you will have to work all night.

A Dragon is indispensable.

A Dragon is human lie detector.

Betrayal is not paid with blood, it’s paid with tears.

A Dragon can still get pithed.

Warning: a dragon might fall into his own trap if there is a damsel involved.

A Dragon should always remember to knock before entering.

A Dragon does not step aside for anyone.

A Dragon obeys in his own way.

A Dragon can be difficult and does not pardon (according to his rivals).

Thus Endeth Week Four


 

Anita I love your wisdom of the Dragon lists.

"A Dragon can still get pithed."
 

Excellent Wisdom of the Dragon, Anita.

"Always remember to button up your shirt correctly after an amorous breakfast. [Ed. did anyone notice this besides me?]"
I missed that little detail. Too funny!
 

Well done, Anita! It looks like Izzy was trying out some of the Dragon Wisdom when he ditched Connie ("In a tough, heart-wrenching situation, just tell the damsel, “OK, Bye” and leave.").
 

Sara- I just watched the episode. I think we can be assured that Reina has NEVER done the horizontal mambo with anyone except Nicolas/Javier. And she certainly wouldn't even be tempted by William Shatner!

Three laugh out loud moments for me: 1) Juanjo saying he likes danger. Loved your RAWR. LOL! 2) Navier kissing and hugging Reina back to life instead of, ya know, doing CPR. 3) Navier sheepishly telling Vic "one does what one can" about his babe magnet abilities.

Oh, and another-- Stefi getting all hot and bothered talking about Navier to Smith. Wonder if she would have toned it down had she known she was talking to Navier's mom? Nah!
 

Anita- I love the new installment of the wisdom of the Dragon!
 

Updated Mysteries List:

1)Who is El Supremo? The mastermind behind this whole thing?
2)What Reina was doing in those 7-8 years, why didn’t she contact her friends, and why the heck did she marry Victor—Partially solved. We know she was investigating Victor, and Clara might have been used to threaten her. But was 7-8 years really needed?
3)The mystery of what/whom Reina was investigating and what she discovered before the wedding—partially solved. We know she discovered Vic’s and Octavio’s dirty business (but not the details), and discovered who killed Andres’ father.
4)The mystery of who killed Stefi’s husband/Andres’ father and why.
5)Who keeps trying to kill/kidnap Reina and why?—A few more clues given but still unclear. Is it El Supremo--a shadowy figure who uses others who want to harm Reina (Fico, Carmen) to do his/her dirty work?
6)The Mystery of the Curse of the Red Diamonds-- Partially solved. One of the other 3 diamonds is about to come into play, and Stefi, Octavio, and Vic all want to steal it. The 2 remaining diamonds still need to be found.
7)The mystery of Navier’s background and true parentage—Partially solved. We now have confirmation that Smith is his mom. We can pretty much bet that Octavio is his dad (meaning Nav and Vic are brothers).
8)The secrets of the FBI/Agent Smith and why they chose Navier to be their secret agent
9)The mystery of who killed Stefi’s parents, and who the little boy with her was—Partially solved. We know her parents were drug traffickers killed by other drug traffickers (who?) and the boy was her brother, who was adopted by a family—but who is he now?
10)Who sent the blackmail video to Susana, and why?- Solved. The Putz sent it to extort money from Susana and pay his gambling debts.
11)The mystery of who killed the 13 people in the Camila video—I think we can almost lay bets that it was Victor after he found out about the video.
12)What’s the virus connection between Victor, the scientists, Stefi, and the assassin model?—This seems murkier than ever with Betina/Fico also having access to the virus and able to kill Andres and nearly kill Reina and Navier. Seems that El Supremo must have access to the virus too.
13)Who killed Carmen? – El Supremo?
14)What happened between Asuncion and Reina’s dad, and why did Asuncion leave him and Reina?

 

Sara--
Re: El Supremo, is he bad or good.
You pose an interesting dichotomy.

I don't know that anyone in the CIA/DEA/CDC/FBI or even local police would call their superior The Supreme One--unless it's as a joke behind his back.

I noticed that Esmeeth didn't start using the term until just this week when we confused it with el Primo. Esmeeth certainly believes El Supremo is her superior and is good.

She herself announced long ago, that Victor was small potatoes, but needed to get him as she was going after the Big Enchilada--either the head or to bring down the whole diamond trafficking/terrorist organization.

It would be much more common to call your Mafia-type boss El Supremo.

We on the outside haven't been given any clues to either (although we wondered briefly if it was The Voice in Stefi's laser game).

On the *bad* organization side, we've only seen Victor, operating solo. We haven't seen him reporting to anyone and in fact he's getting ready to resuscitate his old Falcon gang to rob the red diamond on his own.

On the *good* organization side, we have only seen Esmeeth worry about what El Supremo will think of her latest actions--always too late with too little. ["Imagine how happy the higher-up [el supremo] is going to be, the arrogant SOBs!"--from NM's recap just this past Tuesday.] And now the flowers. Sounds to me more like Octavio playing a joke on her.

The only character that had repeated contact that we get to see is with someone (described as mysterious caller) directing his actions/plan (against Reina, Betina, the Doctor & his family, etc.), is Fico and now, supposedly, he's dead.

Hmm. Do we have one, two or three Supremos or just one. That would be quite a twist, if Esmeeth's Supremo turns out to be Victor's boss.

Guess we have to stay tuned.

If I got any of this WRONG, please chime in (especially you, Vivi and Novela Maven).

 

Great list, Vivi.
Izzy knows about the vials of virus, cause he switched them so Vic wouldn't off himself. He must be a pretty good chemist himself to know to substitute a strong sedative that "looked" like the virus. If I remember correctly, it was blue.

 

Vivi--
As to #5.
It's Navier's theory that the idea was not to kill Reina at all, but for the attempts to drive her crazy and for her to commit suicide? But, it's just a theory, although it sure looked good in his flashback.
 

Yeah. Navier's theory was interesting, except that just a tiny knock from the bouquet of death caused death, and that model was headed straight for Reina. And the guys who kidnapped Reina said they were told to kill her, but that one guy wanted to have fun with her first. At whoever shot her in the shower sure came close to killing her too. But, the Dragon IS very wise, so who knows!
 

Tiny nick, not knock.
 

Vivi--
As to #8
My theory is that the CIA/Policia (I wish they'd make up their minds what to call themselves), knew about Reina's background and her rise to fame in the De Rosas' conglomerates as an exclusive fashion designer.

When they decided that Victor was their target and to get an informant close to him, they learned about the Victor-Nicolas relationship and that he was serving time in jail on trumped up charges.

I think it was coincidental that Smith found out he was her son, but went ahead and recruited him, based on Rocky's references. He was to get to Reina, and relying heavily on his pent-up hatred for Reina.

It backfired when the hatred melted and love took its place. It just made the mission more difficult. (Please don't ask me how that could be, I'm not a Dragon.)
 

Excellent updated list, Doris.

I speculated that El Supremo, Esmeeth's boss might be the Mr. Big beind the whole thing but we don't any real evidence for that. I agree that "El Supremo" is a ridiculous title for the head of a legit organization. So I would say there are two questions:
First, what is the relationship between El Supremo and Esmeeth? There seems to be something going on with the flower deliveries.

Second, what is the mystery organization behind Fico and what are its devious and evil plans? As you say, they seem to have access to the Victor's flu virus. We have never heard any more about who stole it from Victor's lab.

All we have heard about the organization is Fico's conversation with Betina and way back when the guy who sold Stefi the red diamond told her something to the effect that there is an "organization" out there that is very powerful and has "big plans." These organizations typically have a "Mr. Big" in charge but there is only my wild speculation,based on the juxtaposition of two scenes in Friday's episode, that Esmeeth's boss, known as El Supremo, is this Mr. Big.


 

Jean--That's Vivi's updated mystery list.
 

Oops. Sorry, Vivi's list.
 

Anita

THE WISDOM OF THE DRAGON rocks again!

"A Dragon obtains all he sets out to get. (Sounds better in Spanish—Yo consigo todo lo que me propongo.)"

We find ourselves resorting to "It sounds better in Spanish" so often that I may need to abbreviate it: ISBIS!

Vivi
You crack me up with your thinking person's approach to this story. About "El Supremo" and who he might be:

First, I may hang out with a different crowd but I can imagine some snarky junior exec referring to the big boss as "God" or some equivalent blasphemous term.

Second, el Supremo is Esmeeth's boss. He may be el Corrupto, but we don't know that.

Anita, Esmeeth, Rocky and the Dragon alll work for the CIA. The police are a distinct agency with fantastic officers like Christian Palacios holding top positions. The confusion comes in because Rocky has been passing himself off as a police officer to explain his presence in various scenes and investigations.

Is someone trying to kill Reina or just scare her?
The problem is that so many people have admitted to wanting Reina dead.
-The dynamic duo OBD & OBC were greedy and jealous and presumably did their best to kill her;
-Susana was jealous but seemed never to act on her desire;
-Christian was burning with unrequited passion -- he probably never acted on it, but we don't know for sure.
-It was only the Catalepsia Caper that was clearly an attempt to make Reina crazy. We know Frico was involved, but we don't know who was pulling Frico's strings. Which brings us round to Vivi's original speculation -- could el Supremo be the puppetmaster behind the rogue CIA agents?

So now we've got Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner. I'm holding out for Raymond Burr.
 

some pics from Friday's show

http://foro.telenovela-world.com/n4/read-t.php?f=1555&i=4091&t=4091

 

Omigosh, deb!!! Thank you!! That picture of Izzy is absolutely the best!!!! It cracked me up Friday and I'm so glad you shared it. I might save it and look at it whenever I need a laugh!
 

NovelaMaven said:

We find ourselves resorting to "It sounds better in Spanish" so often that I may need to abbreviate it: ISBIS!"

I think you may be on to say something. This is one of my first shows where I have been captivated by the LINES that are spoken. Sometimes the words, sometimes the timing, sometimes the rhythm
 

Sara,

I've always been attentive to the language in telenovelas. It's one of the things I enjoy most.

What happens is that if you translate the Spanish literally, everyone ends up sounding like Yoda. The problem with this show is that sometimes they are SUPPOSED TO sound like Yoda, and sometimes not. And when they're not, you have to find the colloquial equivalent in English (which may be very different from the original Spanish and not so easy to come up with on the fly -- in which case it is handy to be able to say ISBIS) :-)
 

deb- thank you for the piccies! Ole Izzy giving the stink eye is my favorite.

ISBIS it is!

This telenovela has that certain yo no sé que, o mejor dicho, "je ne sais quoi" (Sometimes ISBIF) and it is hard to put a finger on what makes it so watchable.
- Most nights of any given telenovela, we at grateful if the plot moves forward at all, or if ANYTHING happens. With Reina, we can't keep up with everything that happens.
- The cast is good and there is great chemistry among the characters. They seem to be having fun in this telenovela. Good vibes.
- Excellent entrada/theme song that reflects the playfulness of the writing and also not to take Reina tooooo seriously. *** . . . estoy en otra dimensión***

 

NovelaMaven - German to English translated literally like Yoda more it sounds. ;-)
 

NM--
ISBIS--Great, saves the letters on my keyboard from rubbing out so soon.

From my living room couch perspective, I am aware that Smith et al work for the CIA and Cristian (all by himself) is local police. However, I've heard Andres, Reina and even Navier state that they have to or are going to have to give their declaracion to the policia and end up being interrogated by Smeeth, Rocky or Fico. (Well, Navier was lying of course), but he did that to cover up that he was at the CIA at the same time as Reina).
 

Doris,

German translations sounding like Yoda? Nah. Das muß ein Fehler sein. (That must a mistake be.)

Anita,

The CIA seems to court confusion on the part of "ordinary citizens" like Reina and Andrés. And yes, Navier is frequently a Liar Liar Dragon Pants on Fire.
 

Hello everyone,

Pure speculation: maybe the reason the mystery person wants Reina to commit suicide is because she is "special".

She's the queen of hearts and therefore may have some special power over the red diamonds, a power she inhereted from her "special" father. If she commits suicide the power may be lost, but if mystery person just murders her, the power may be inhereted by her daughter.

That's my theory and I'm sticking to it-at least until I come up with the next one!

Penny
 

I like it, Penny!

Could El Supremo be Reina's father? Or has it been determined that he was behind one of the attempts on her life and I forgot?
 

I like it, too Penny. We don't know anything yet about how the power works or how the Queen/Goddess got it or even how the curse will manifest itself.

Both Reina and Carmen think that Reina's father is dead but on a novela, that doesn't amount to much. Supposedly dead people come back all the time.
 

I'm almost certain Reina's dad is not dead. They can't have Asuncion say something so cryptic about him, and not explore that further with some juicy story.

Penny- Great job bringing the supernatural element in. Yes, we do have to tie in the whole queen/goddess diamond curse thing, into the story.
 

You're probably right, Vivi. But following that logic, Fico's dad is going to show up, too. When Fico goes to release the doctor's daughter on the train, he says something like - your dad would do anything for you. I wish my father had been like that. As you say, people on novelas don't make cryptic remarks like that for no reason. We shall see.
 

This weekend of comments is amazing! You guys are so funny and clever! And I'm picking up a touch of "I can quit any time" from more than one of you.

Thanks, Anita, for the updated Wisdom of the Dragon. I especially liked "A dragon always puts his pants back on after using the bathroom, even if he has on a hospital gown." I guess revealing Navier's hindquarters in said hospital gown would have taken the novela into R rated territory.

Vivi, your list of mysteries is comprehensive. There are so many in this wacky thing that I can hardly believe it.

Penny, your theory is terrific, and I don't blame you for sticking to it. Anything could happen here.
 

" I guess revealing Navier's hindquarters in said hospital gown would have taken the novela into R rated territory."
And no one would have complained.

"She's the queen of hearts and therefore may have some special power over the red diamonds, a power she inhereted from her "special" father."
I like your theory. May the force be with her!


 

Is there a Reina this Thursday?? Or are the Tu Mundo awards next week?
 

Hi Sara,

Jean answered your question in the new posting for Reina: there is NO SHOW on Thursday. Waaaaaaah!