Caray, Caray!

Mads- Thanks so much for this recap. No worries that it’s a just the facts recap. I’m in awe that you do so many full recaps each week on multiple shows!

I’m glad Ulises didn’t accept Este’s money. At first I thought Este was going to offer the money in exchange for Ulises breaking up with Acacia. Even though he didn’t do that, I still think he would have used his investment as a way of making life difficult for Ulises or to try to control him. Ulises is right not to make things between him and Acacia messy by creating a financial tie between him and her family. It was great of Juan Carlos to resign from the board so that Ulises can reenter the competition for funding.

I think tiny seeds of suspicion are being planted in Cris’ head now. How many “moments” between Este and Acacia will Cris witness before those seeds bear fruit?

They were really toying with us this episode as to who would find/see whom first—Ale or Danilo. So many close calls! Ale gets to have (near) peace of mind another day. Whew!

Juliana met Danilo and liked him. That seals the deal. She’s evil! Dan was blackmailing Norberto to let him into the Association, otherwise he’ll tell his fancy wife and kids about his extracurricular activities at Dan’s house of ill repute in the past. I think Juliana is starting to get a clue that Norberto had a hand in the death of Cris’ husband, when he went off about how Benavente should have been HIS years ago, had it not been for Este. She gave him a wide eyed suspicious look.

 

Clarifications:

German was about to give Ale Danilo’s card so that she could make the appointment with him for Norberto. (Norberto insisted it be him instead of Este, because he feels like Este always gets the jump on him with new business in the region and isn’t trustworthy. Pot meet kettle.) When the waiter interrupted with the ice-cream, German thought better of talking business on their date, and said he’d give her the business card tomorrow. More of the writers toying with us! Then German asked Ale when she was going to let him paint her with the beautiful smile of hers.

After Juliana’s interrogation, German teases Ale that he was tempted to lay a big kiss on her in front of his mother. Ale says she would have slapped him, but good, had he done that. He teases that it would have just been a friendly kiss, but she says it would not have been right (since they aren’t really novios). German then says that’s what he likes about her—that she’s serious and unlike other girls, doesn’t flirt and go from guy to guy. Remembering her past as a sex slave passed from man to man, Ale gets upset and leaves the room. German looked totally confused by her reaction.

When Memo was speaking to Perla and Dan, he spoke about how hot the secretary at the Association is (Ale). Dan then joked with Perla that he would check out the secretary to see if she was hotter than Perla. More of the writers toying with us.

Juan Carlos does not want to move to the hacienda (he likes his independence) so the abuelos are staying put in their own house.

Luisa is not cooking for the Palacios. Manuel is giving her classes on how to act like rich people at his house. The fact that he says he stood up to his mom to allow Luisa into his home now makes Rosa think that he might be for real and have some serious intentions towards Luisa—so she tells Rubio to give up his quest. He of course will not give up. Luisa was making suggestions that they start cooking different things and experimenting with different foods. She tries to explain fancy raw (crudo) food, like sashimi/sushi, to Rosa, who is unimpressed.

 

Oh. And Cris knows that Manuel has been gambling, but she has not ratted him out to his parents. But she demanded that Manuel either go back to college (he dropped out) or starts working.
 

Oh my Madelaine, that was indeed "Too Close For Comfort". It was a virtual nail biter - would Dan see Ale?? Thankfully, she escaped unscathed but her luck simply cannot continue.

Thank you for another excellent recap. We are extremely appreciative of all of your time and effort. As Vivi noted, you are doing so many recaps! Yet, the high quality and caliber continues. Gracias.

Vivi, thanks for adding your always interesting details!

"Esteban tells Ulises whatever he needs he's Ulises Man, hmmmm". He was skirting the edge before, and now is precariously teetering. I think one more misstep and he will be crossing the line. This is very un-galan like behavior.

I think Acacia being mistaken for the bride was the first real sign to Cris that all is not what it should be. That and the "lingering look" did not escape her attention. I feel sorry for her and am also wondering how long Este and Acacia will dance on the fringe of inappropriate behavior before it becomes all too real.

There is so much excellent acting here, I want to say that Sabine Moussier is once again chewing up the scenery. Torn between love and hate for Dan (IMHO), she earns our loathing yet not without a trace of pity.

Vivi, I totally agree that Jules liking Danilo is tantamount to her being firmly in the villain category. Forgive me for keeping repeating this but he is cringworthy and every time he appears, I keep hoping the scene will be brief.

I have hope for Manuel. I do not believe he loves Luisa but he is a good, supportive, solid friend. He has character issues but some coming to terms and maturation will help to heal those.

I have a bit of a crush on Juan Carlos. He has a twinkle in his eye and a heart that is full of love.

I cannot wait to see what happens next!

Madelaine, my day is off to a great start thanks to you.

Diana
 

Good Morning Y'all.

Vivi:

Thanks so very kindly for the clarifications and what I missed. You are right about Cris, she keeps seeing those little scenes and she stares longer each time.

There were so many close calls, I was telling Ale to move it and for Dan not to turn around. I'm so very glad they missed each other.

Norbie, I get the feeling, is not going to like Dan being in town. I wonder what he will do next.

I did hear beso mentioned with Ale and German, it was cute. I am so glad German walked in and stopped the interrogation. That Jules is like a dog that won't give up the bone.

Oh, now it makes more sense about Manuel and Luisa. So he is Professor Henry Higgns? Too funny.

Rosa and Rubio are such Debbie downers. It's shame about Rosa especially because Luisa is her own granddaughter. You'd think Rosa would be very proud that her Grandaughter would want to make something of herself.

Diana:

Thank you so very kindly. Yes, Esteban is really teetering on the very precipice of being very bad.

I really think Acacia was feeling something in that hug after her nightmare, with Esteban in that darkened bedroom.

I have to agree with you about Manuel, he is actually a good friend to Luisa. He does show promise.

I too am really liking Juan Carlos and his twinkle. I've only seen this actor in Mar de Amor and CI. He played impoverished charcters in both those TNs. I like that he is an engineer here he feels so bad about what happened to Ulises, when in fact Esteban was the cause of that with ratting Ulises out.

I too can't wait to find out what happens.
 

Madelaine – I’m not sure, but I think dogs in heat may demand an apology for “[Dan, Perla, and Memo] are all over each other like dogs in heat.” :D Appreciate all you do to keep us up on the scary doings in La Malquerida.

Ulises, are you sure Acacia is the one? She has no understanding of your sense of independence and why you don’t want Este all up in your business. And she acts like a brat whenever she doesn’t get her way.

Never thought I’d agree with Norberto about anything, but I was nodding my head “yes” to everything he said about Esteban. Este lies too smoothly and it was clever of him to offer investment money to Ulises without putting stay-away-from-Acacia on the table. Makes me wonder if Este was just as shrewd when he hooked up with Cris. Now he's finding a zillion excuses to prowl around the house shirtless hoping for an opportunity for something inappropriate to just happen. Perdón, I fell on top of you.

I’m liking Luisa more and more. She knows how to put 2 and 2 together. But I'm afraid Manuel is helping her and using her at the same time to get back in Acacia’s good graces.
 

"Perdón, I fell on top of you."

LOL! Niecie, I just almost spit out a mouthful of water at my laptop!
 

Niece:

Thank you kindly. I didn't mean to give dogs in heat a bad name : )

The perdon got me laughing too. I can see it yeah, I lost my balance and just happened to fall on you. Too funny. I wonder what Acacia would say? Inquiring minds want to know.
 

Oh, I felt so bad for poor Cris in that bridal shop. The way Acacia and Esteban were talking I can see why the sales lady made the mistake of thinking Acacia and Esteban were getting married. It sort of reminded me of an As Time Goes By, a British Comedy show, where the bride is older and the sales lady thinks the daughter is the one getting married.
 

"Makes me wonder if Este was just as shrewd when he hooked up with Cris".

Niecie, insightful and entirely possible. You've provided food for thought.

Agree with Vivi and Madelaine that "Perdón, I fell on top of you" was great...

Diana
 

Thanks Madelaine, you're terrific.
Wonder woman?

Just a thought about a comment. So
Juliana likes Danilo and that puts her in the villain category.
Well I am thinking that she probably is in the villain category but it is because of the way she has been acting, not because she likes Danilo. She just met him for the first time and knows nothing about him. She probably just thought that he was handsome and at that point he acted like a gentleman.

I agree about Esteban and Acacia,
too many close calls. Cris is starting to catch on.

Do I need to say again that I am in Luisa's camp---you go girl! And yes I like her mousy hair style, it fits her round face beautifully.

Sashimi down at the rancho? What?
Well she is enrolled at the culinary institute. The ranch hands had better get used to it.

The writers might be playing with us but if DamDan wants to meet the new secretary, I think that Ale's luck is about to run out.

Agreed---Sabine is playing her part to a tee. She's super as a bad girl. I agree that it's a love/hate thing with her but boy, she's got talent.
the gringo

 

Madelaine---Wonder Woman? I say YES.
the gringo
 

Gringo:

Thank you most kindly. I too am very worried for Ale. It was truly too close this time. I want her to stay out of his clutches. I'm hoping if he does see her, he won't be able to force her to come back. She has a lot of friends that care about her, she isn't alone this time.

Perls, SM, does chew up the scenery doesn't she? I have only seen her in villain roles too, but a couple three years ago I happened to catch her in a protag role in a TN that aired during the day. She was really great in that TN it was called, Ni contigo ni sin ti.
 

I am so glad I discontinued watching this show. The acting is great, but I would have been furious seeing Cris hurt. I will continue to read the recaps and allow my imagination to go where it will.....
 

Thanks for the recap. Este is on my douche list, ugh. Can you imagine the betrayal for Cris. If you are married to someone their children are off limits! It is not rocket science. Let's say they cheat but where do they go from there? Even if Cris were to die then do you just become a couple and act like all's good. I hope and pray Ale is safe for a while longer.
Romy
 

Unlike inexperienced Acacia, Esteban can't claim ignorance about what is going on and what he's doing.

1) He's a grown a** man, and has plenty enough experience to know when he's attracted to a woman, and when he's sending her signals.
2) He has a real life devil on his shoulder (Rubio) saying out loud exactly what he sees going on.
3) He's had his wife ask him que the hell is going on, and why he has such an attitude about her daughter's boyfriend.

No way he can say he doesn't know what's happening with him. Lust, jealousy, and obsession.
 

I love the song Love Hurts. The Everly Brothers sang it first...and perhaps best...but Nazareth is good.
 

At the beginning, Estebonbon was painted as such a good guy...a real Boy Scout...humble and unassuming ....saving the hacienda. He was sweet with Acacia when she was a little girl and gentle and kind and loving to Chris. Were we misled, or is he going through "manopause,....a major midlife crisis...and lusting after his young stepdaughter instead of just buying a sportscar ?
 

Susanlynn- Well, Este has gone from being an employee to being the boss this past decade. So I don't think he's been humble and unassuming in a while. He's been one of the biggest land bosses in the region-- richer and more important than Norberto even!

I'm with ya on the mid-life crisis thing. In any case, he is letting his hormones take over and is NOT behaving like a gentleman.
 

Anon 3:23:

Thank you most kindly. Cris hasn't been hurt yet. But I understand why you don't watch. I am glad you are reading the recaps, thank you.

Romy:

Thank you kindly. I too worry about Ale. Not only is Este being a douche, it's the way he fits the circumstances to go behind everyone's back and look like he's helping. I wish you had seen that look of Acacia's and the end of the epsisode. She's feeling something and it isn't revulsion. I don't want Cris to have this betrayal either.

Vivi:

You are so right about Este and Rubio, he's got the biggest mouth eva. And the way he loudly talks one of these days, it will be known.

Susanlynn:

Thank you most kindly. This whole TNs theme is Love Hurts. I hope at least one of these couples has a happy ending. Like Ale and German. I had to laugh about your menopause line, I'm still laughing, thank you!
 

Again Mads, a fabulous recap. Love your snark.

Three great actors in this TN who can make us barf over their disgusting behavior: Sabine Moussier who is the queen of "golfa", Alberto Estrella who makes me want to hire Vinny the Kneecapper to finish the job the mafia started on him, and Fabian Robles who can play a very cultured professional as well as the Rubio repulsivo he is playing in this TN.
 

I wanted to see what people in the US were thinking of Malquerida's first episodes.
NO SPOILERS, but it truly has been a very slow novela, and many of the issues you raise here are still unresolved as of episode 74!

I guess it's clear from the very beginning that Acacia DOES NOT deserve Ulises. Every five minutes someone tells a lie and she belives anyone BUT HIM! She says she loves him, but it's just words.

Ultimately my main disappointment is how they've managed the Alejandra storyline. I'd love to hear your thoughts when you get to the point where Danilo finds her. You KNOW it will happen, but it's what comes after that that I think makes the novela look like it was written in 1950, with its passive women playing victim over and over again.