Caray, Caray!

Sara--I'm going to repeat this here, in case no one goes back to Thursday's Page Two....

You took the words right out of the Dragon's mouth (by way of Creemelo). I was going to use it in this week's Wisdom. And I still am!

Did I miss an earlier reference in Reina to pear halves?
 

Jean--Thanks for clarifying that Susana did not actually get pregnant with any baby after Camila. (I did not check the full recaps. I guess I need to before making off the wall comments!)
 

Thanks for kicking off the week, Jean.

Anita, I don't think you missed any previous pear references. Sara was just applying the Wisdom of CarayCaray to the Wisdom of the Dragon. (If I'm mistaken, I feel quite confident that someone will let me know.)
:)
 

Thanks Jean!

Let the fun begin.
 

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I am going to stay on top of my grading this week (and plan better in the future.)

This job is cutting into my Reina time and I am not happy about it!

Jean-thank you thank you thank you for filling in for me on Friday and for getting us started this week!!!!
 

NM--That bit of CarayCaray Wisdom just popped up in the Fuego en la Sangre comments I've been reading recently. This came at a time when FELS was getting stupider and stupider (somewhere in mid-October 2008), as if that could actually be possible.

Did you watch it?

The only reason I started slogging through it at all was for Jorge Salinas and they were showing it in daytime. I also wanted to see Cristian de la Fuente. He comes in right around the pear half-time, but he can't save it.

The recaps and comments are hysterically funny and timeless.
 

Sara- It was no big deal. I enjoy writing Reina recaps provided I have enough time, which I did. I'm glad I could help out.

On to to this week's fun.
 

Anita, I did see FELS, but in those days I watched all alone, giggling like a crazy person and cracking wise to myself. Even back then, I never needed a beanie -- I always embraced the silliness.

Years later, I sat at a table in the shade on the Patio of Lowered Expectations because the drinks were good and the company better.
 

Greta was definitely driving that wheelchair with her finger in tonight's capitulo. If she was suddenly able to move even a finger, it would be a BIG DEAL and we didn't have any scene where that happened that I saw.
 

Jean - yes, Greata was definitely driving that chair with her hand.


 

Hopefully Victor committed putzicide(TM) on Miriam and we've seen the last of her.
 

Was anyone else as entertained by Juanjo's black socks and underwear ensemble as I was?
 

At last! A full couch!

Penny
 

Sara- Yes! :)
 

Sara - yes! Juanjo's black socks were my LOL moment last night. He must have Popsicle Toes.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3VGZ6M6t4vA

Seriously, I was not expecting J and S to go horizontal because they don't have a theme song. Well, yet .
 

It was the Hubby's birthday so I couldn't pay a lot of attention last night. Feel free to add!

Monday Part 1

Fernando is in a bar. Smith approaches him all dressed up. They exchange some banter. ***I couldn’t get all the convo and wasn’t able to re-listen to it. Please feel free to add in the comment section if there was anything important. ***

Cristian and Connie are at the police station. Connie wants to eat dinner somewhere. Cristian says that he has dreamed of this-taking her to a romantic dinner. He wants to kiss her and he does. Victor and Izzy interrupts. Izzy gives them the look of death! Victor wants to file a police report against Reina for Clarita’s kidnapping.

Back in Smith’s apartment, Reina is in a nightgown moping with the TV on. Navier approaches outside with a hoodie on. He tells the bodyguard that Smith sent him to relive him of his duties. Navier picks the lock and enters the room. Reina is thinking aloud and says how much she loves Navier and is always going to love him.

Juancho is on the floor surrounded by pillows and candles. Susanna arrives. He is surprised that she is there. He didn’t think she would come. She says that she had to overcome her fears and here she is. To dance? Juancho asks. No to make love! They start to kiss and fall to the floor.

Reina is still watching TV. She turns it off and Navier scares her. I love you too, he says. He kisses her. He missed her. She is surprised but happy to see him. What is he doing here? How did he get there? They kiss passionately. They fall to the couch. (Drink)

Fernando doesn’t believe that Smith has a sudden interest in him. He tells her to stop playing games. Tell him the truth. What does she want?

Victor tells Cristian that he believes Reina is going to take Clarita out of the country. He thinks that she is backed by some powerful people. He doesn’t want to lose another daughter. Cristian knows how much he suffered with Camila-don’t let him go through the same thing.

Connie asks Izzy to stop looking at her. “Tell me what you want to say!” Izzy replies, “ How do you want me to look at you? I’m trying to get back the woman I love and then I see her kissing the first man who crossed her path!”
Connie replies, “First of all I don’t want to get back anything with you. Cristian isn’t the first that crossed my path? “ Oh there are more? Izzy asks. You have no right to complain about my relationship with Cristian. Respect our relationship! Oh it’s a relationship? Izzy asks. Yes relationship!

Susana is afraid that Juancho won’t like “it”, won’t like her, that he will get bored of her. Juancho tries to reassure her- don’t be afraid. Just think about what they feel! He has felt passion for her since the first moment he laid eyes on her. She is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. They kiss!

Fernando wants to know what Smith is up to. He knows who she is. She has an objective and wants his help! She wants to lock up Octavio De Rosas for life!

Octavio and Estefy

He tells Estefy that he is sorry that he was so sincere. It’s not his fault that she was a loose woman-or however she wants to call it. Estefy has never had an easy life. She wasn’t born with a golden crib. (Weren’t her parents’ drug traffickers? It looked like a pretty good life to me!) But what she does have are morals (What???)But he is full of secrets and sins. He shouldn’t be casting the first stone.

The scene cuts back and forth between Fernando and Smith and Estefy and Big O-Poor Octavio-Fernando says. Oh don’t feel sorry for him- Smith tells Fernando.
Estefy to Big O: How would you look behind bars- in a public trial? Big O: That will never happen.
Smith to Fernando: I know very well who you are. If you help-I will close my eyes.
Fernando: I don’t want you to close you eyes.
Estefy to Big O: You have enemies and I have patience and a memory. You messed with my daughter twice. You are not going to do it again.
Big O: Look how I’ m shaking! (sarcastically said)

 

Monday Part 2

Fernando to Smith: I'll think about it. Because honestly I don’t know if you are going to find anything against me.
Smith: Well I do have something that that can put you behind bars for a couple of years. An illegal sale of diamonds in Zurich.
Fernando: You always get what you want?
Smith: Yes.
Fernando: We are a lot a like. But I recognize that I tremble every time that you are near.
Estefy to Big O: Keep shaking because you messed with my daughter so I will mess your son…. but not Victor. What do you know Big O asks? I now a lot-lot more than you know. So shake old man shake!

Back to Navier and Reina-they are on the couch! “I can’t believe that you are here! How did you find me? I always find what I am looking for. And I was desperately trying to find you. This is a mistake. I have to leave. I have to get away from everyone even if it hurts like death. Navier tells her that they are condemned (sentenced?) to be together. Reina loved him as Javier and loved him as Nikolas. It’s fate, Navier says! They make out some more.

Victor finishes signing the complaint. The police will be looking for her even though Cristian does not agree. Victor wonders, "You aren’t serious about Connie are you?” It is serious!

Estefy to Laz-please help me get my daughter back? Why should I help you-we both know you lied? We both know that you weren’t with Victor when the Putz died. I was going to help you but I wasn’t going to bring Victor down. Greta comes in asking why Estefy is still there! Help her with her bag, Greta tells Laz. No we have to talk first, Laz says.

Reina is scared that Clarita will see Navier. Don’t worry he can hear if she gets up. Reina asks him if he would leave everything- leave the country to be with her and Clarita. Navier flashes back to Smith telling him that this isn’t just a job. This is an obligation. Once you are in you can’t get out. There are rules. They are soldiers trained to give up your lives. And of course after that flashback Navier tells Reina that he will leave with her and Clarita to find their way in the world!

Reina is happy. She was so scared that he would say no. She saw something weird in his look. Don’t waste time trying to figure out what my look means. We will leave together but we have to do it my way. Yes whatever way you want. Though she doesn’t think Smith will want him to leave with them. No don’t tell Smith-it will be our secret-she doesn’t have to know Ok. But first she needs to ask him something. He said Octavio De Rosas was his dad. Does he know who his mother is? He doesn’t understand why she is asking him? Listen that woman stopped to exist the moment she left him abandoned in that Church.

Back to Smith and Fernando.
What she wants him to do is offer Big O a good business-Something that will be hard to resist. Big O is very ambitious. Fernando asks, “How do I know that you aren’t really trying to trap me?” Smith told him that she has the goods on him. As they are talking a beautiful woman sits almost on his lap and she whispers(?) something in her ear (or does he kiss her). He will think about it tonight and give her an answer tomorrow. Have fun tonight Fernando because in prison you won’t have those privileges!

Connie and Izzy:
I: You can’t be in love with him because you love me.
C: I loved you until I found out that you were a liar. And a cheat. I don’t love you anymore.
I: You can’t love him!
C: No but I will try. He is good, honest and sincere. He has good intentions for me. He can provide me with security!

 

Monday Part 3

Victor finishes with Christian and scoops up Izzy. Everything ok over here, Cristian asks. Fine, Connie says.

Navier is back in his black hoodie. Reina kisses him. Take care of yourself. Don’t worry that’s the one thing I do know-is to take care of myself. I love you. I love you too. And the superspy walks out the front door smack dab into Smith. Bolivar, what are you doing in my house?

Navier is busted! Smith takes Navier inside. They yell at each other about not respecting stuff. Reina is summoned to the living room. Oh you found out, Reina asks. . Yes I found out that this man entered my house without permission. Smith tells Navier that she should detain him. Navier dares her to detain him because he knows that she is not going to do it. Navier than pleads with Smith to help him-he wants to leave with Reina and she is the only one who can help him.

Greta doesn’t want to hear it anymore. She wants Estefy out. Laz calls her stubborn and spoiled and impulsive. Please don’t turn into that spoiled rich girl. Don’t judge her. Look at him. He is an ex con. He was in jail but he is a good person. If she doesn’t want to talk about her past so what. Greta is upset because Estefy lied and Laz could have gone to jail. Yes but that didn’t happen. Please give her a second chance. Estefy is listening to this.

Smith starts giving the mom lecture: “You guys have to think. You can’t act impulsively like 2 adolescents in love.” Have you ever been in love Navier asks. That’s none of your business! Well he can protect her-here and in any other part of the world. Help him leave with her. Smith then tells Reina that she cannot leave the country because Victor filed a police report that Reina kidnapped Clarita. Can he do that? Reina asks. Well there is also the issue of a possible body buried on the De Rosa’s mansion. Smith asks Reina if she wants to continue speaking with Bolivar there. Reina then tells Bolivar that the body is someone that she killed and buried at the mansion

Susana and Juancho look happy! They must have done it! Apparently Juancho wants more! She can invite him to stay the night!

Estefy is in the living room with her bags packed. Victor notices-oh so you decided to leave without putting up a fight? For the first time in her life, she doesn’t know what else to do. Then Greta and Laz come in –Greta has something to tell her. Asuncion comes in and tells Laz that Miriam is there looking for him-she is very nervous, out of her mind. She comes in and looks at Greta-so you are the one who stole my husband?

Juancha and Susana are in bed. They did it again! He is VERY VERY VERY HAPPY. He wants to scream it from the rooftops. NO! No one can find out about us! (poor Juancho)

Laz takes Miriam in to the kitchen. He yells that she can’t come here and cause a scene. What is the matter with her? He doesn’t care at all about her the only thing he cares about is that cripple!

Victor tells Greta that he won’t permit some woman to come into her house and yell at his daughter. Well she is angry, Estefy says. Well she is also on drugs, Victor retorts. That’s the type of people that Greta is associating with.

Miriam tells Laz that she hates Greta-she took her man and family away from her. We were never a family! I don’t want to lose you Laz. You never had me!

Greta tells Victor that she doesn’t want to lose Laz. Estefy tells Victor to do something. Izzy, go grab that woman! Izzy goes into the kitchen and tells Miriam that Victor wants to see her-alone. Laz stays in the kitchen.

Reina tells Navier that Victor told her that she killed someone and they both buried him in the yard. Navier doesn’t believe it-it’s just one more lie that he told. Smith has a search warrant and tomorrow they are going to check the grounds. They have a special machine to detect for buried bodies. So that will Reina’s future-there are only two options Mexico or jail!


 

Monday Part 4

Miriam is talking to Victor study. Victor offers her a white pill-it will calm you and turn you into a “slightly” normal person (he kills me) He massages her shoulder very creepily. You need to calm down so you can listen to my offer!

Reina tells Navier that she did commit a crime than she will have to pay. Well Navier doesn’t believe anything he says. If they find a body than Victor was telling the truth, Reina says. Clarita comes out excited to see Navier.

Susana can’t tell everyone about Juancho because it was only one night! You are younger than me and I have a sick daughter! Ok Juancho won’t tell anyone what happened tonight and what’s about to happen. They fall into bed again.

Clarita is showing Navier her drawings. He is going to help her draw them better. One big happy family! But its past Clarita bedtime so Smith is going to tuck her in and read her a bedtime story. Is there another secret you haven’t told me about, Navier asks?

Cut to Miriam in the living room asking for forgiveness from the group. She then leaves. Laz doesn’t understand what happened-why did she change her attitude? Duh Laz its due to money-money talks Victor says. Estefy attempts to leave but Greta tell her to stay.

Reina didn’t know how to tell Navier. Every new thing she learns about her past is worse than the last. If you tell me the truth we can work through this together, Navier tells her. Did she tell anyone else about the diamonds? No but someone else knows? She tells Navier about the convo she had with Fernando. She has no idea who he is.

Fernando and Big O are the bar. He wants to be direct and clear with Big O. He wants to speak to him about Smith. Big O finds it weird that he wants to talk to him about Smith. Fernando likes her and it seems that Big O likes her too-he doesn’t want anything to come between them. That being said, Fernando has a new venture to purpose. He is talking about a shipment of 40,000 diamonds that can be theirs! Tell me more, Big O says!

Back to Reina and Navier-so that was what he was telling you that night. Yes-he knows about the diamonds. Reina wonders what else does he know- about me and Big O? The thought of them two disgusts her. Navier goes caveman on her and says she is all his and they kiss. He has to go but before he does Reina needs to ask him something. If she is a killer and goes to prison, can he take care of Clarita? She knows she doesn’t have to-but will he protect her? With his life! She is his niece but he would have loved her to be his daughter!

He leaves and Smith comes out. Reina asks how she can hold back hugging and kissing him and not telling him that she is his mother? I have always done it and will continue to. Well I can’t do the same, Reina says. I want a life with him! Smith sheds a tear.

It’s morning. Navier is at the the mansion to see Victor. Asuncion wants to know something about Reina and Clarita-don’t worry everything is how it should be. Big O asks Navier about Reina. I will only talk to your son. You’re my son-why should we hide?

Smith comes in with a search warrant for the garden. We are here to find a body. Big O had a weird look on his face (maybe his buried body) Everyone is in the garden. Estefy is wondering what is going on. A machine similar to that used to find coins is being used-it starts beeping.

Connie is talking to Laz about Miriam. Everyone is wondering what is going on in the garden. Greta comments that her mom looks great-what did she do? Oh it must be my new face cream. ( I did bust out LOL at that line) Asuncion tells the group they are looking for a body.

Fernando arrives to Smith’s apt-he is there looking for Reina.
In the dirt the bones of a human hand are found!!!!



 

Marvellous recap, Caroline. Many thanks! I too burst out laughing at Susana's "Oh it must be my new face cream."

So they found a body (or at least a hand) buried in the jardín. What a surprise! :-) I hope this doesn't mean that we're about to be subjected to episode after episode of Reina in prison. At least when Nicolas was in prison, we had the compensation of lots of shirtless scenes (drink!). I can't think of anything similarly mitigating in Reina's case.

I know that there's nothing about this novela that we can/should expect to be at all realistic or even reasonable, but I nonetheless find it increasingly frustrating that Reina and those around her assume that if Victor says she killed someone and buried the body in the garden, it's true. Yikes!
 

Thanks for the great recap, Caroline. I hope your hubby had a nice birthday.

Wow, Reina and Navier are getting it regular now. There was the short couch, the bed in the DeRosas mansion, which was like yesterday, and now on the long couch in Esmeeth's apartment.

I also loved Juanjo having sex in his socks. I was a little concerned that they might accidently set the place on fire with all those candles. There would be a big wax mess to clean up, too. They do need a song, though.

So not only did Navier have the "funny look" that Reina saw when he agreed to go off with her, he also had it when he hugged her. Is something going on other than the fact that, the 13th amendment notwithstanding, he has signed up for lifetime servitude with the CIA?

Why was the guy with the ground penetrating radar (I assume that is what is was) in a Tyvek suit while everyone else was in normal clothes? I'm with you Juanita. They had better not send Reina to prison just because a body was found in the garden without some proof that Reina killed the person. Vic would have to go to prison, too, right? Victor told her that they did it together. Didn't Reina already supposedly commit a crime by ordering the hit on Nicolas Nunez?


 

Caroline – Thank you for the recap! And happy birthday to your hubby, too!

Susana telling Juanjo that their non-relationship has to be kept secret seemed to be a reversal of roles. Isn’t it usually (in most TV & movies) the guy who wants to keep things quiet?

Yes, the other LOL moment was Greata telling Susana she looked great, what did she do? MuaHahahahaaaa! Face cream indeed!


The guy wearing a bio-hazard suit while scanning for bodies was overkill. But he had it on for digging up the body, so I guess in the "Las Vegas" heat (or the heat & humidity of Miami), it was easier to wear it than don it after finding something.

Well, Reina could go to prison and give the male viewers of RdC some shirtless scenes, or sports bra scenes. I guess turnabout is fair play?


Did Reina & Navier actually "do it" on Esmeeth's couch? His shirt looked like it wwas off in the next scene, but good grief Clara could have walked in on them. Because who listens for the pitter-patter of kids' feet when going horizontal?

Even Esmeeth could have come home and caught them in a compromising position. Given the lax security at her front door, ANYone could have barged on in. LOL
 

"Wow, Reina and Navier are getting it regular now."
Yes, and it would be a miracle if she does not end up pregnant.
 

So if they find a body that means Reina killed him and not Victor? Que? Como?
Romy
 

Rewatching the episode at lunch.

How did Estefi find out that Navier is Big O's son? Did I forget a scene where she was told or overheard this?

I liked the part where Big O asks Navier how he can take a job with Victor when he, Big O, is ready to give him everything. Navier replies that the only thing Big O has offered him so far is a job as his chauffeur.
 

Caroline,

Thanks so much for the terrific recap. I hope your husband had a great birthday!

Victor kills me too! [I suppose, though, that we should both watch our metaphors around him!]

So in one episode:

--we had Greta moving her own chair in a way that we can no longer consider a little goof; have they decided it is just too hard to keep the character fully immobile and thing that the viewers won't notice if she can move her hand? Interesting.

--Juanjo cures Susana [he's that good] and wears black socks in bed [he's that much of a naco]. I like to think the socks were the actor's idea. I love the way his character adds comedy without going too far -- well, most of the time.

--Esmeeth's IQ plunges into the double digits when she announces that the presence of a body in the De Rosas garden will prove Reina is a murderer.

--Susana attributes her post-nookie glow to her new face cream.

We also had Drawing with the Dragon:
Navier: "I always start with the body..."
Clarita: [understanding lighting up her face] "So that's why my dragons always end up with such big heads!"

I'm anxious to see what Victor has concocted with Miriam.

I'm also starting to think the OBD is responsible for more evil than we realized. She may not be as dumb as everyone thinks she is.
 

Jean, I can't remember the scene, but I just assumed that Navier himself told Estefi he was Big O's son.

I like the exchange between Navier and Big O too. What has Big O ever given to anyone except a whole lot of misery?
 

Caroline- Wonderful recap, per usual!

Everyone already pointed out some of the best/funniest moments last night. I'm pleased Susana is cured. It can't be much longer till she lets the world know who's responsible for her glow (not Garnier, that's for sure!).

Navier seems to lack an understanding of what his job is. Uhm...you just can't dump your job with the CIA just because you're hot for one of your suspects and want to run away with them, and then get huffy with your boss about it when she doesn't approve. Since Navier's behavior can't get any more unprofessional, I don't see the need to keep it a secret from him and Reina that Clara is his kid.

Smith, Navier, and Reina taking Victor's word for it that the body in the garden is Reina's doing, is also ridiculous. I'm really getting tired of Reina believing all the bad guys about herself! Not even about someone else, but herself!
 

Caroline--The recap was perfect just as it was. Thank the hub for us for letting you sit through it and hope you both had a happy day.

Nothing to add. You all said the same thing: the idea that Victor says Reina killed someone makes it true? She herself should know him better by now.

I think R & N did it on the couch during the commercial break. She was on him, facing him, both discretely dressed, but the important parts are accessible. He stated that he would hear Clarita if she stirred. Smeeth is a different story, but I bet he knew where she was--with Fernando.

Navier took his shirt off because he got hot and sweaty after his couch-ercise.

I saw the look on Smeeth's face as she watched the family group sitting on the couch while Navier drew dragons for Clara. She knows they belong together. I think she's going to help them, but lord knows how, now.

So, is the diamond deal for real or is it what Smeeth arranged for Fernando to use to trap Big O. Fernando may have his own agenda. Big O is an opportunistic dirty old man, but I'm sure he can manage to avoid prison--but if he has to serve some time, maybe he'll wangle a country-club prison. They do have those in the U.S.

I sure do like Fernando and Smeeth together. Their suggestive back and forth natter are great. I'm more convinced than ever he's El Supremo. Can't wait to see the look on her face when she finds out (unless I'm dead wrong).
 

Thanks, Caroline! Happy birthday to your husband!
 

I'm a little confused about Navier's sentiments for Reina. At the beginning he hated her for what she supposedly did to him. But he fell in love with her again and he was willing to forgive and forget her past duplicity. However, when she would says things like, "I loved NN and I love JB," he would say, "You never loved NN." Except for that, everything was perfect between them.

Then Big O told Navier that Reina was the Queen of Diamonds and an evil person, hadn't really lost her memory, etc. Navier bought it or at least had doubts.

From my recap of last Wed.


The human lie detector says that Big O appeared to be telling the truth but he doesn't believe him. Reina tells Navier that he can “soportar” “bear, endure” that she betrayed him, that she was involved in ordering his murder, that she was the wife of the son and the lover of the father but he does not have to, he must not bear that she is the Queen of Diamonds, a trafficker in gems that are stained in blood. She picks up a phone and demands that Navier turn her in to the police. Nav says that he isn't a guy who repents or makes snap decisions. He has to investigate and discover the truth but if he finds out that she is lying, that she is playing with all of them to escape her destiny, if she is really pretending to have lost her memory, that this is all a trap that she has been “tijiendo como una araña,” “weaving like a spider” then she shouldn't have the slightest doubt that he will make her pay even if it is the last he does in this life.

Now we seem to be back to perfect love again. Has Navier done his investigation of what Big O told him about Reina or has he just given in to lust? Reina even mentioned her passion for NN and Navier did not give his usual "You never loved NN" response.

I probably just need a beanie adjustment.
 

Thanks so much, Caroline, Above and beyond the call of duty when it was your husband's birthday to do an excellent recap for our edification.

Chiming in with the rest of you. Reina KNOWS what a ghastly person Victor is. But believes that SHE killed someone and buried them in the back yard. And they seemed to be going with super smart Esmeeth (thanks NovelaMaven for the lowered IQ comment) appearing to believe it as well.

Victor's hypocrisy was in full view last night as he solemnly told Christian he couldn't bear to lose another daughter. What he can't bear to lose is his possession, Reina, with whom he's obsessed. Right, Victor. We could see how much he cares about Clara when he completely rejected her when he thought Reina was dead.
 

Jean--Love is confusing.

Navier has compartmentalized his feelings for Reina. There are so many things telling him that he shouldn't love her. But he remembers the old days, I'm sure, when she was the sweet, innocent Reina he wooed and won (even if it was all pretend in casino hotel rooms and yachts he couldn't afford) and was ready to marry.

She still seems sweet and vulnerable when she's with him.

At some point they have both agreed that those 8 years are something they are not going to talk about. (He will be investigating, though.)

They have talked about each having had two lives, and in each of those lives, they loved/love each other.

She has reminded him that she *did* only fall in love once, with NN and when it turned out Bolivar was NN she felt vindicated that she hadn't exchanged one love for another, but that both were the same.

I think he has accepted that she did love NN.
 

I don't know Anita. Navier seemed to throw it in Reina's face that HE was in love with her the first and the second time, while she was only pretending the first time. And he's still leaving the door open to the possibility that she's just pretending this time too, by saying how he'll make her pay if she's just faking this amnesia thing like Big O says she is. Navier is VERY inconsistent about what he feels ABOUT Reina (her genuineness), if not about how he feels FOR her (he was gaga the first time, and he's gaga the second time, despite all his silly talk about hating her).

I have not seen him spend any time investigating if what Stefi, Vic, and Big O say about her is true. He has spent all his time having tantrums and going against Smith so that he can have nookie with Reina.
 

Like I said, Love is complicated.

We're pretty sure Navier doesn't love Stefi. Except for that kiss he gave her at the reception (and I think that was for Reina's benefit), he's stopped sniffing around her, that we are privy to, at any rate.

I still think he does love her, truly, but he has a lot of stuff to sort out.
 

Isn't it in the telenovela rules that the galán act like an idiot, believing lies of others, etc., 90% of the time? And running a round with his shirt off the other 10%?


 

Why yes, Doris, I believe it is.
:D
 

True enough, Doris, except that I'm questioning the fact that the galan doesn't seem to be believing the lies of others.

I can see it as a battle between logic and lust and lust is winning hands down!
 

". . . and lust is winning hands down!"

If I wanted logic, I'd be watching Masterpiece Theater. LOL
 

Have you checked out the latest on Masterpiece Theatre, Doris? They aren't "Breathless" from running marathons on this one.

Besides, what Navier and Reina have is TRUE LOVE. LUST happens on red pool tables and in cars and on short couches and sometimes in bed. Love is different. Love happens in showers and on short couches and on long couches and on cushions on the floor and sometimes in bed ... wait ... um... I'm confused.
 

Let's hear it for lust! Yay!
 

NovelaMaven - ROFLOL!!!
 

Besides, what Navier and Reina have is TRUE LOVE. LUST happens on red pool tables and in cars and on short couches and sometimes in bed. Love is different. Love happens in showers and on short couches and on long couches and on cushions on the floor and sometimes in bed ... wait ... um... I'm confused.

LOL. I was trying for an alliteration like head and heart except that the heart doesn't seem to be bodily organ calling the shots here...
 

NovelaMaven - yes, I recorded "Breathless" and just couldn't get into it, so I canceled the series on my DVR. Reina is just SO much more fun, good music, etc.
I'll be glued to Downton Abbey when it returns.
 

Jean - like ... head, heart, hands, hot & heavy?

 

I thought it was more en la sangre, sort of like...Fuego en la Sangre
hahahahaha

Doris, I am completely hooked on "Breathless." It's taking off in all sorts of unexpected directions. [But, yeah, absolutely, it's no "Downton Abbey" -- how could it be? For that matter, it's no "Reina de Corazones" either; if it conflicted with Reina, well...bye bye Brits!]
 

Thanks Caroline for your recap!

NovelaMaven, watched "Breathless" too, and liked it more than I thought. I'm so curious to find out about the details in Cyprus. BUT I heard that it got canceled, so hopefully it doesn't end in a cliffhanger.

Doris, haha those numbers seem about right. But for this TN I would up the shirtless time to 15-20% :D

It is pretty dumb for them to think that Reina killed & buried the bodies in the garden because Victor said so. But I did hear Navier said he thinks that it's just another lie of Victor's.

I enjoyed the scenes between Reina/Smith, and do hope that she tries to help them escape although I doubt any plan will be able to come to fruition.

Can't wait to see more of how Fernando plays in all this, man is he a hottie!

jlk
 

Tuesday, Part 1

Dig it
The digging proceeds in the garden. The sniping proceeds among the onlookers. Victor tells Estefi that Reina must have told someone about the body -- some people can't handle knowing there's a cadaver in the roses.

Nor can they handle a surprise visit from the mysterious Fernando, when he lets himself into Esmeeth's apartment with a key. Is he there to kill Reina? No, he just wants to talk. He means no harm to Reina or her daughter. She used to trust him, he says. Their relationship was purely professional. Now what he wants are the red diamonds -- and the evidence incriminating Big O and Victor.

The news of the find in the garden reaches the gang in the kitchen. Susana has an attack of the vapors. Greta is shocked. Laz says the body must have been there quite a while because the ground was undisturbed. Izzy says all they have are bones, so they don't know if it was a man or a woman.

Hah. Outside, the Dragon knows from a cursory examination of the pelvis that it is a man's body. Rocky opines with uncharacteristic stupidity that Reina is screwed since the bones confirm Victor's story. Navier, bless his heart, points out that all they've confirmed is that a body was buried here and that Victor knew about it; it doesn't mean Reina is a murderer. Rocky thinks Navier's judgment is clouded by his feelings for Reina. (What's Rocky's excuse?)

I may or may not be from the government and I'm here to help you.
Tall Fernando tells Reina that he helped her when she was trying to gather evidence against Big O and Victor. And she did manage to get proof that would have put those two in jail for the rest of their lives. But for some reason, she didn't use it. Instead she married Victor. That's why Tall Fernando is here -- he wants to finish what Reina started; he also wants to see those men in prison. He understands that Reina doesn't trust him. But when she's ready, if she has the proof hidden away or if she finds it -- she should call him. Whatever she does, she mustn't go back to the bank where the red diamonds are -- or she will be killed!

De Rosas Mansion
Esmeeth warns Big O and Vic not to leave the country.
She feigns surprise when Navier enters the room and tells her someone is asking for her.

Connie tries to get away from Izzy when they meet up in the kitchen. She tells him that she intends to keep seeing Christian: "At least he doesn't have a body buried in his garden." Izzy isn't so sure about that: "Ask him about his first wife."

This is the perfect cue for Christian to enter and express his delight at finding Connie there.

Back at the dig, Navier and Esmeeth are conspicuously trying to communicate inconspicuously. Big O joins them, asking if he is interrupting a mother-son chat. Navier looks questioningly at Esmeeth, who, in turn, shoots a look of exasperation at Big O, the cat who swallowed not just the canary but the whole damned aviary.

Cut to:
Black shoes, black suit pants, purposeful stride down an institutional corridor...

"I never mix my personal life with my work," says Esmeeth coolly. Big O says she has always mixed it all together (and 9 out of 10 Reinamaniacs agree). Navier says he is unmoved by this little family reunion. And Esmeeth says she is moved by other things like justice, truth, and solving crimes (el esclarecimiento de los crímenes) like the ones uncovered here. Navier perks up his Dragon ears: CRIMES? Like plural? Yes, confirms Esmeeth -- they found TWO bodies in the garden!
 

Part 2

The Identity of El Supremo is Revealed!
Cut to black shoes, suit...face of Tall Fernando! Rocky stops him and challenges his presence in the dreary halls of the CIA. "Relax, Balboa," he says. "I'm your boss -- or as you guys call me, El Supremo."

[Crackpot Theorists™ are doing the wave! Fernando is el damn Supremo! Woo hoo!]

Fernando blows off Rocky's questions. He stresses one point: Esmeeth doesn't know who he is -- nor can she know until Fernando knows for sure WHAT SIDE SHE'S ON. Rocky is gobsmacked. "On our side," he says. "There are many, many things you don't know about Esmeeth," says Fernando; so zip it and let me do my work."

Esmeeth takes her leave of the De Rosas clan with a promise to let them know about her findings. Big O says he's exhausted and walks out of the room. Greta rolls in on her own steam with Laz a step or two behind her. She wants to know what is going on. Vic pleads ignorance and walks away. Navier tells the remaining group -- Greta, Laz, Estefi -- that there are actually two bodies, a man and a woman. They don't know who they are or how long they've been buried there. And yes, they were probably murdered.

Big O and Victor have retreated to the study. "Who's the woman they found buried in the garden?" asks Victor. "Why ask me?" answers Big O disingenuously. "Because in this house," says Vic, "there are only two murderers: you..." "...and you," echoes Big O.

Navier hunkers down at the dig site. Something catches his Dragon eye, something the ordinary ones have missed. He carefully lifts an object from the dirt -- is it a piece of jewelry? Estefi walks up to him. "What did you find?" "An earring." They peer at the elaborate pendant. "I know that earring," says Estefi. "I've seen it before."

Esmeeth returns to her apartment. Reina is gone. She has left a note: "Your house isn't safe. We left. Reina."

"How do you manage to see what others don't?" asks Estefi. "I don't know -- it just happens. I'm very observant." Navier thinks that this diamond -- aha, so it's a diamond earring! -- may be the key to identifying the body.

Rocky is ill at ease sitting in Esmeeth's office with Fernando at her desk. Esmeeth calls him to tell him that Reina is gone. Per Fernando's silent signal, Rocky puts the phone on speaker. Fernando hears her tell Rocky they need to put an operation in motion and El Supremo mustn't know about it.

"So what do we do?" asks Rocky. "I've already done it," answers the inscrutable Supreme one.
 

Part 3

Susana is distraught. She asks Juanjo if it's better to tell a painful truth or a white lie. The truth, he says.

Navier phones Esmeeth and leaves her a message about finding the diamond earring. Estefi continues to puzzle over it. Victor joins them. He looks at the earring and says: "This belonged to my mother."

A: A habit Q: What is the only thing Miriam and Reina have in common?
Reina, once again hiding in a nun's habit and Clara, disguised as a boy, hide out in Connie's house. Connie tells Reina about the bodies in the garden. Reina now KNOWS she's a murderer and is bound for hell. Connie reassures her -- Victor was lying to her.

In a rage, Victor heads straight for Big O and tries to choke him. "Murderer! You killed my mother! I'm going to kill you, you pig!" Christian and Navier have to separate them. "You always told me my mother died in a plane crash. What was her earring doing in that nameless tomb?" "I had nothing to do with it. NOTHING!" shouts Big O. Vic retires to his corner with Estefi and Big O to his with Navier.

"I'm going crazy!" says Reina, desperately. And as if it couldn't get any worse...Odious Bitch Miriam (OBM) opens the front door and makes herself at home. Connie tries to shoo her back out, but she won't budge. Connie and Reina go to another room in the house.

Back at the De Rosas mansion, Greta begs Laz to tell her everything. She knows how to keep a secret. Maybe if she had told some of her secrets, her family would be different.

Flashback:
Christian's wife Mirta and Camila are in the barn lashing out at each other. Mirta tells Camila that she is baaaad; and she is going to end up a criminal, just like her father -- her REAL father! Because Camila isn't Victor's daughter.
[Young Greta is in the background, taking it all in.]

"I know it was Octavio," Victor tells Estefi. He knows those were his mother's favorite earrings. She never took them off. Estefi reminds him there were two bodies found. Does he think Big O killed them both? Before Vic can answer, Navier knocks and enters to say he is going home. He has no news for Vic (though while they are talking, he gets a text from Esmeeth telling him that Reina has run out on her). Victor reiterates his faith that Navier will bring Reina back to him -- dead or alive! Just then Victor's phone rings. It's Miriam and she has the goods -- she knows where Reina and Clara are! (What an Odious Bitch!) In Connie Leiva's house!

Navier watches Victor's reaction to the call, hears him say "I'll give you what you're asking for," and then head out in a hurry, all the while denying that he has any news. Both Estefi and Navier realize Vic has found Reina. Navier rushes out after him.

Susana's confession
Susana tells Juanjo she knows the identity of one of the bodies, how he died and when -- and why. How does she know? "Because I killed him." And her act has haunted her ever since. But the worst thing is that she isn't sorry she did it: that body in the garden was the animal who raped her!

She seized a moment when he fell asleep on top of her to untie herself, push him off her, and look for something to hit him with. She knew he was going to kill her. While he raped her, he choked her and said his face would be the last she'd ever see. She grabbed an iron rod and hit him in the head as hard as she could. And he was dead.

Juanjo tells her she acted in self-defense. Susana says she hid the truth because she was ashamed. And now everyone is going to know. Juanjo says there's no need to speak up now -- it was so long ago and no one else knows about it. "There's one other person who knows -- Victor. He helped me bury him."

Navier speeds through Las Vegas traffic on his moto, but he's not quite fast enough...

 

Part 4

Because just as Reina steps outside to call Clara and Román back into the house, a black narcomobile pulls up, and two masked men emerge and grab Reina and Clara while Connie screams helplessly. Navier arrives just a beat too late to keep them from being taken away in the van.

The Macabre Case of the Silk Stocking Murder
At CIA headquarters, Esmeeth orders Rocky to find out whatever he can about the male corpse and to investigate Renata De Rosas, Victor's mother, because the earring found in the grave was hers. Esmeeth is skeptical of the official version of Renata's death in a plane crash 15 years earlier.

The preliminary forensics report arrives: "Strangled with her silk stockings." Even Rocky is shocked -- it seems quite macabre to strangle a woman with her own stockings, bury her in the garden, and then fake her death. Esmeeth has no doubt that Big O is capable of doing that.

Estefi needles Big O and wonders whether death might be preferable to what is in store for him. He thinks she is trying to drive him to suicide just as Reina's enemy has attempted to do to her.

Cut to Navier speeding through the streets of Las Vegas, weaving in and out of lanes, hot on the tail of the van...

Connie hears a knock on the door. It's Victor and Izzy and they are there to claim Reina. They were delayed by traffic but Victor knows Reina is there. Connie tells him about the van, the masked men...

Navier continues his pursuit...

"Who told you Reina was here?" Connie asks Victor. But the answer walks in the door in the person of the OBM. "Mr. De Rosas, you came here for your wife, right?" She learns that Reina has been abducted.

Meanwhile, Estefi thanks Lopez 2.0 for "taking care of it." (What???)

"Damn it, I lost her!"
Navier is back at headquarters reporting to Esmeeth. He gets a call from Victor with the news of Reina's abduction. Navier is convinced that Victor's anguish is real -- his suspicions turn to Big O. "Was Clara wearing the cap I gave her?" asks Esmeeth. She was. The cap has a cheep in it! To the computer! The location pops on the screen. Navier prepares to leave, but first turns to Esmeeth: And you?

Esmeeth has chosen to pay another visit to the De Rosas mansion. She is there to see Big O. Susana says she'd like to speak to Esmeeth. Fine, says Esmeeth, after she talks to Big O.

Asunción runs in with the latest: BIG O IS DEAD!

Reina and Clara are hustled into a bedroom in an apartment. Navier is hot on the trail. One goon is stationed outside the apartment. Navier easily gets him in a strangle hold and knocks him out.

Inside the apartment, we see black shoes, black pants...

"You!" says Reina. And then we see it is Fernando el Supremo (FELS?). He tells Reina not to be afraid. He's there to protect her.

Reina and FELS hear someone rattling at the door -- it's Navier picking the lock. FELS pushes Reina and Clarita into another room and awaits the intruder, pistol drawn. When Navier bursts into the room, FELS hits him with his gun but not quite hard enough to knock him out. Navier is on his feet in a flash, and the two men stand with pistols aimed at one another. FELS lowers his gun. Navier presses his weapon into his opponent's brow. FELS recites calmly: Code 214189 Blue Line Agent. Navier stares and lowers his weapon.
 

Part 5

"Did he die?" asks Estefi hopefully.
But Big O is hanging on. He has a weak pulse. Esmeeth goes to call an ambulance while Laz tends to the wicked old man. "It looks like he had a heart attack," he says.

Reina runs out of the back room and sees Navier in handcuffs. She sees that he's been hurt. She begs FELS to let him go -- he had absolutely nothing to do with it! But FELS calls for an agent to take Navier away.

Alone with FELS, Reina asks him what he wants. Is it the damn diamonds? What he wants is to catch the bad guys. And for that he needs Reina, alive and at his side.

Back at the mansion, Big O is wheeled out on a stretcher.

Did Susana want to talk to Esmeeth? Susana looks to Juanjo...

FELS joins Navier in an anonymous bedroom. Three agents step out. "Tough day, huh, Bolivar?"

"Boss, you want to tell me what this is all about? Or are you going to keep playing the reformed trafficker?"

"From now on, we're going to be playing the same game."

Tiny Esmeeth stands intimidatingly over statuesque Susana. Susana knows nothing about any mysterious disappearances. Esmeeth informs her that the man in the garden died more than 20 years ago; the woman, about 15 years ago, around the time Susana's mother-in-law died. "My mother-in-law was a "special" woman -- cold, distant, beautiful. She always looked alert somehow. She wasn't affectionate...especially not with Victor...

Susana's character sketch is cut short by Asunción's arrival. "Something's wrong," she says. The doctors that Esmeeth called have just arrived. But how can that be? "What was the ambulance that took Big O? Uh oh. Big O escapó!"

Navier doesn't like games, but FELS gives the orders. "And you obey them, poco agente." (I'm not sure what this means -- you're an agent by the skin of your teeth?) Navier really thought FELS was a trafficker. Both in person and in cyberspace, he is very convincing. Does FELS enjoy this double life? "It's double, triple, quadruple -- it's what I have to do to do my duty."

"A boss who gets involved," reflects Navier.

"One who doesn't know how to stop being El Supremo, as you guys call me, or Patricio Picasso."

"Nice name," says Javier Bolívar with a smirk. "Colorful." (pintoresco).

"Consider yourself lucky, Bolivar. You're one of the few to know it."

"Who else knows the truth? Esmeeth is playing the same game, right?"

"That's the point of the exercise -- to find out what game she's playing. I'll be quick because a lady is waiting for me..."

"My woman..."

"Victor De Rosas also considers her his woman...but I'll make this fast: I don't trust Esmeeth."
 

Wonderful, stupendous recap, NovelaMaven, 5 stars. You got a doozy of an episode, too.

So Fernando is El Supremo. I'm actually a little disappointed. I thought the writers might be more clever but whatever.

I loved your section titles especially,


A: A habit Q: What is the only thing Miriam and Reina have in common?

and


I may or may not be from the government and I'm here to help you.

and I liked Something catches his Dragon eye, something the ordinary ones have missed. Of course, Navier is going to find a great big earring that the guys with the sifters missed!

I wondered what Lopez was doing for Estefi, too. At the time, I thought she was arranging Reina's kidnap and that might be so but if it is, then that would mean Estefi is working with FELS??



Superspy isn't too good at appearing not to know Esmeeth. When he comes into the house to tell her that she is wanted outside, he calls her "Esmeeth." He should have called her "Oficial" like everyone else.
 

I just had a thought:

Now Navier has a boss he can look up to!
 

Sorry for all these comments but it was a thought provoking episode.

If Fernando is El Supremo, this means, as I mentioned when it was initially proposed, that Esmeeth has never met her boss and doesn't recognize his voice. Maybe he disguises his voice when he talks to her. Here is how I imagine the conversation when Esmeeth finds out that Fernando is El Supremo, "you can't be El Supremo. El Supremo talks like Elmer Fudd. How many times did you tell me that we had to get that 'wascally Wictor'"

(a cartoon character from the 1960's for those who didn't grow up or don't live in the US). Google it for a sample.)
 

Fantastic, NovelaMaven. Your observations and subheadings were spot on and funny.

I had to laugh out loud when Navier found that giant earring. How in the heck did the CSI folks miss that? So, Big O killed his wife. Just another reason for Vic to hate him.

Well, I'm glad Fer confirmed our crackpot theory. I'm also still hoping he turns out to be Stefi's brother too. How does Smith not recognize his voice?

Fer is the only person so far who has told Reina the truth about what she was up to pre-amnesia. I'm grateful to him for that. Now I need him to give her more details so she can stop thinking she was some evil diamond trafficker once and for all. At least both bodies in the garden were buried so long ago, no one can possibly blame Reina for them.

If Vic helped Susana bury the rapist, does he also know Camila wasn't his child?
 

Well, Asuncion also told Reina a little bit of the truth, but not enough. She keeps everything she knows to herself.
 

Wonderful work, NovelaMaven!! This little line caught my fancy:
"Big O, the cat who swallowed not just the canary but the whole damned aviary."

I agree this was a dozy of an episode and I can't wait for tonight!!
 

NovelaMaven – Thank you for the recap! I loved your subheaders, too.

"How do you manage to see what others don't?" asks Estefi. "I don't know -- it just happens. I'm very observant."
--Whoa, dude! If He-Who –Visually-Measures-Pelvis-Width and Finds-Earrings-Overlooked-by-the-CSI-Las Vegas team, how. did. you. miss. the. second. body? (oh, never mind...where's my beanie hat?)

If Esmeeth ‘never mixes her personal life with work’, was Navier the result of immaculate conception?
I STILL cannot fathom her going horizontal with BigO. !blech!

Yay! Fer is El Supremo! We were all doing The Wave from the Crackpot Theorists™ table on the Patio. Woot! Woot!
Jean – the Caray Think Tank© are more clever than we realize, and the writers were not aware of that.

Interesting that Fernando said he might be a double, triple or quadruple agent. Another Crockpot Theory™ (oops… typo but I’ll leave it) that might be proven correct?

So…..Camila’s bio-dad is most likely Susana’s rapist. But … Who Are You? Who? Who? (cue the CSI Las Vegas theme song)
WHO could have hated Susana enough to rape her so horribly?
And will Juanjo keep more than his socks on, around Susana, after this?


Victor’s mother was cold, distant, not affectionate, especially with Victor. HHhhmmm…. this sounds like an illegitimate baby Vic was foisted upon her by BigO, to raise as their own.

BigO escaping in a fake ambulance definitely crossed over into the Telenovela Beanie Hat Zone.


Vivi – we are assuming Fer was telling Reina the truth.

Well, now we know why Victor had that meat freezer for all his murder victims. At the rate he was going, he'd never win Yard of the Month if he kept burying them in the yard. The neighbors might even complain.
 

Well, now we know why Victor had that meat freezer for all his murder victims. At the rate he was going, he'd never win Yard of the Month if he kept burying them in the yard. The neighbors might even complain.

LOL Doris.

Interesting idea that Vic might be O's son but by a different woman than the one buried in the yard.

I guess Victor didn't expect that Reina would blab about the body she supposedly buried to Esmeeth because as was noted before, the bodies that were found could not have been murdered by Reina

Since Victor knew that there was at least one body buried in the yard, it would have been smarter to claim that he helped Reina dispose of a body somewhere else.
 

And the award for best one-liner of the morning goes to JEAN:

"Now Navier has a boss he can look up to!"

HAHAHAHAHAHA! It's a good thing they're keeping Esmeeth in the dark. She'd need a stepladder!
 

Doris- Well, it seems a heck of a lot closer to the truth than anything else anyone has told her. First, he didn't claim they were lovers, as almost EVERYONE else has told Reina. :) That would have been WAY more believable than Big O or Victor. I'd sure want to believe it, if I were Reina...

And, he spoke about Reina collecting evidence to bring Victor and Big O down and having the proof right before the wedding to Victor, which is consistent with the few flashbacks we have seen. The only thing he might be lying about is that he and Reina were working together on this. She could have been working with Smith instead, for all we know.
 

Thanks Jean!

What an exciting episode!

I just thought of something could Estefania have kidnapped Big O? She did thank Lopez 2.0 for taking care of something.

 

Mauricio- The whole thing could have definitely been set up by Stefi. She's the one who handed Big O a drink, not long before he collapsed.
 

Mauricio: I get credit for One Liner of the Day, but it was NovelaMaven who wrote the stellar recap.
 

I guess it makes more sense that Estefi was setting Big O's escape rather than Reina's kidnapping but why would she want to keep Big O from justice unless she and or Victor want to just torture him privately.
 

I really don't understand why Stefi does what she does. For example, why did she give Victor an alibi for the night the Putz was killed? I mean, that was just after he had raped her. You would think she'd be happy to let him rot in jail. And then she goes one step further and finds a fall guy for the crime.
 

Doris-"I still cannot fathom her going horizontal with Big O". Maybe it was in the line of duty, you know, a lie back and think of England kind of thing, only with lousy birth control (es una broma).

Penny
 

NovelaMav --
What a Masterpiece Mystery episode. You Rock, Baby.

All kinds of clues dropped, picked up, considered, and not solved while others are solved when HE walks right into Smeeth's office and sits down to a dropped-jaw Rocky.

One mystery not solved, is how did Reina and Clara leave the apartment dressed up if there was one of Smeeth's guards standing right in front of the door. Why did they have to wait until Smeeth got home before noticing that she was gone....OR...that they weren't continually tracking the cheep in Clara's hat.

Doris--A Crockpot Theory™ Love it. This can be virtually visualized as a Slow Simmer on Low for the next 60 or so hours.

My Crockpot Theory is that Stefi definitely had something to do with Big O's sudden faint and fake ambulance. We know she hates him twice as much as Victor does.
 

Vivi--I see Stefi planning horrible things for both Victor and Big O. If they are in jail, she can't reach them herself.

If she and Lopez 2.0 did manage the sequester of Big O., then she's getting better at executing her devious plans.
 

Thanks NovelaMaven for the recap!
 

I feel sorry for Navier at this moment because he is probably thinking he was the last one to see Reina in Smeeth's apartment and may believe it was he who prompted her bolting and letting her get into the hands of FelS (trying hard not to associate Fernando with Fuego).

On the other hand, he's busy being observant and figuring out which side his "mother" is on.
 

Actually, it is possible to tell from the tilt of the pelvis whether a skeleton is that of a man or a woman. Women have their hips attached at a wider angle to permit childbirth (or so I recall--unless things have changed since high school biology.)

Nav would have learned that in CSI classes he attended.

How he would know from skeletons buried for 15 & 20 years, probably falling apart and getting all mixed up, is all part of CSI: Novelaland. As he himself said, he's observant.
 

In fact, you can tell from the pelvis itself -- even isolated from the rest of the skeleton -- whether it's male or female by its shape. We shouldn't be too surprised that the Dragon knows his bones.

Crockpot Theory™ -- Doris, I agree with Anita. You are onto something there!

It also crossed my mind that Estefi was behind Big O's capture. I guess we won't have to wait long to find out, will we?
 

Thank you so much for the nice words, my friends and fellow Crackpots, Crockpots and Reinamaniacs! I feel like I really lucked out with this great episode.

Why would Estefi lie to protect Victor? She is pretty ambivalent about him, loving and hating him at the same time. Of course, she may just have wanted to keep the police out of her business and settle scores with Victor her own way, just as, perhaps, she is planning to do with Big O.
 

I agree with you guys that Stefi wants to take care of Victor and Big O in her own way, without the cops involved. I'm looking forward to seeing where Big O ends up tonight.
 

If Stefi got an ambulance to BigO, loaded him, and took him away without anyone hearing or seeing it, then it is true testament to the size of Casa de Rosas.

It's a good theory that she may deal with him in her own way.
WHY she protected Victor is another question. Estefy is a big of an enigma, but who in this telenovela isn't?

Also, Big O might have been involved with the murders of her parents, for all we know. We still have that mystery out there. And nothing (like that) is told to the viewers in telenovelaland, without a reason.
 

This comment has been removed by the author.
 

Didn't they show us the face of one of the goons who killed Stefi's parents? Can someone go back and watch that episode? It might have been Big O.
 

As usual, I watched most of the capitulo again at lunch. With the benefits of hindsight, it was very clear that Estefi arranged the "heart attack" of Big O and the ambulance that came for him either with his knowledge (I doubt this) or without.
Doris: The people in the house saw the ambulance take Big O away. They thought it was the ambulance that Esmeeth called.

NovelaMaven wrote this:
"And you obey them, poco agente." (I'm not sure what this means -- you're an agent by the skin of your teeth?).

The titles put a period or a comma after poco. FELS didn't really pause that much and the titles are often wrong but if they are right in this case, "poco" is an adverb modifying "obedece." So the sentence would read, "and you obey them a little bit, agent."
 

Doris--
There were two separate visits from ambulances. The first one was the one that Stefi called (we think). That one looked for all it was worth as legit.

The arrival of the second ambulance was the legitimate one that Smeeth called. By that time there was no patient.

Agree with whoever said it earlier as to why Stefi would protect Victor with cover up lies, unless it is to prevent officials from looking into her business. Victor is perverse enough to turn on her and eventually Smeeth would find her stash of diamonds and finger HER for being the Queen of Diamonds.
 

It was NovelaMaven at 1:48--my mind is showing its age if I can't remember things for even an hour.
 

Vivi,

They did show us the face of the head goon who killed Estefi's parents (not that I'm rewatching the shows or anything, because that would be a bit much, right?) He was a stocky middle-aged man. At the time, I wondered whether it was a young O. It wasn't the same actor, though. And it was no one we have seen since then.
 

Jean, THANK YOU! I'm sure you're right about what FELS said to Navier: You obey very little, agent. [Doh!]

Thank goodness for obsessive lunchtime viewing!

:D
 

Stocky and middle aged...hmmmm...that could still describe what Big O may have looked like back then. Perhaps they thought it would be too ridiculous to use the same actor 35 years older. Anyway, since you re-watched that scene, you're going to have to keep an eye out for us, in case the guy pops up again (if he isn't Big O).
 

Yep, doozy of an episode and doozy of a recap, Novela Maven. Loved all the great snark! "Narcomobile"!!! Ha!

I am SO glad Fernando is a good guy. He's smoking hot and I did not want him to be a baddie.

Regarding "poco agente", I heard it as obedeces poco, agente with the comma in there meaning Navier obeys seldom.

So, Anita, I have a suggestion for your Wisdom of the Dragon. The Dragon is never subdued by a blow from the butt of a gun and rises up with his own gun in nanoseconds.
 

Updated Mysteries List:

1)Who really is El Supremo? Solved! Tall Fernando.
2) What was Reina doing in those 7-8 years, why didn’t she contact her friends, and why did it take 8 years? Partially solved. We know she was investigating Victor and Big O, but we don’t know what took so long, or what she found out.
3) Why the heck did Reina marry Victor? Partially solved. Seems that Clara might have been used to threaten her, and to get her down the aisle and drop her investigation.
4) Who was backing Reina’s investigation? Solved. El Supremo (unless he’s lying)
5)What did Reina discover before the wedding, and where is the proof hidden now? Partially solved. We know she discovered Vic’s and Octavio’s dirty business (but not the details), she got her hands on two of the diamonds and put them in a safety deposit box, and she discovered who killed Andres’ father.
6) Who killed Stefi’s husband/Andres’ father and why?
7) Who keeps trying to kill/kidnap Reina and why? Partially/mostly solved. Big O was behind the recent attempts and kidnappings and used Fico, Carmen, and OBD (people with grudges against Reina) to do his dirty work. We don't know if Big O was behind ALL the attempts, however.
8) The Mystery of the Curse of the Red Diamonds-- Mostly solved. Big O had 2 of them, and passed them to Reina to keep her quiet about her discoveries. Victor has one. Stefi stole the last one, and Vic stole it from her. Score: Vic: 2; Reina: 2. Who are the goddesses/queens who are protected from the curse and is the curse real?
9) The mystery of who killed Stefi’s parents, and where is her little brother now? Partially solved. We know her parents were drug traffickers killed by other drug traffickers (who?) and her brother was adopted by a family—but who is he now?
10) What’s the virus connection between Victor, the scientists, Stefi, and the assassin model?—This seems murky with Betina/Fico/Mystery Man/Big O also having access to the virus and able to kill Andres and nearly kill Reina and Navier.
11) Who killed Carmen? Big O says it wasn't him, but he's the #1 suspect. Is there a Mystery Man?
12) What happened between Asuncion and Reina’s dad, and why did Asuncion leave him and Reina? Why did she call him “special?”
13) What was Nimoy going to tell Vic about Big O (after he already told him about the 2 diamonds), and did Big O kill him?
14) Is the female body in the yard Vic’s mom, and did Big O kill her?
15) Who was Stefi’s rapist and/or who sent him to rape her?
16) How is Navier getting all this info about people's real moms and dads (Camila and Reina)? Not quite ready to accept that the CIA has files on people’s secret egg and sperm donors.
17) What happened to Cristian’s wife?

 

Good update Vivi. In #15, I think you mean "who is Susana's rapist..."
 

Yes. Susana's rapist!
 

Great list, Vivi! Here are a couple of new ones:

a. Is Esmeeth on the side of TRUTH, JUSTICE AND THE AMERICAN WAY?

b. If Victor helped Susana bury her attacker, has he always known that Camila was not his bio-hija?

c. How much responsibility does OBD bear for the attacks on Reina? The writers have taken great pains to emphasize how much she hates Reina and envies her. If OBD and Estefi were to join forces to eliminate Reina, WATCH OUT!

Crockpot Theory™ Ahead: The stocky narco who murdered Estefi's parents was also Susana's attacker. He was a De Rosas -- maybe Victor's funny uncle, i.e., Big O's brother.

Evidence: Absolutely none!
 

NovelaMaven- Ooh! Another theory for the Crackpot files. I like it!

I would ask the question if ANY of the CIA agents we have met are really on the side of TRUTH, JUSTICE AND THE AMERICAN WAY? Smith, El Supremo, Rocky, even Navier. His motto seems to be REINA, NOOKIE, AND THE BOLIVAR WAY.


 

Yes, thanks for the update, Vivi.

At some point we will have to add WHO is El Supremo. And, whether El Supremo's accusation of not trusting Smeeth is legitimate or said to throw off Navier. El Super probably knows the two of them are getting too close.

I'd like to know why Vic has been keeping those bodies on ice (even though I like the Crockpot Theory that the garden would certainly fill up fast). Is he just a perv or is there some other reason. Do we know who they are--since the Video Thirteen all met accidental deaths and were presumably buried by their families.

Lastly (up to now, that is), Who *is* Camila's bio-dad. Susana says she knows the man. (Do we???)

Novelera--You've got it. It will be in Week 9's Wisdom.
 

Thanks everyone for clearing up re: Big O. Because we never saw the EMTs, I was guessing nobody else did, either. But I knew that everyone in the manse knew he'd already been carted away. Sometimes this story flies so quickly that I can't keep up.
 

Oh, Vivi, yep, Navier's motto is right on the money.
 

Vivi - the Quip of the day prize was awarded too soon. I think that

Navier. His motto seems to be REINA, NOOKIE, AND THE BOLIVAR WAY

deserves a prize, too. Hahahahaha!

Here's another mystery for you, Vivi- How come Esmeeth didn't recognize El Supremo's voice in their many phone calls?

No one appreciated my suggestion that he was disguising his voice by talking like Elmer Fudd but it's definitely a mystery.
 

" Who *is* Camila's bio-dad. Susana says she knows the man. (Do we???)"
Anita - I can't wait to find out who was Camila's bio-dad. Doubtful that we know him, since he's been dead for 20+ years.

" His motto seems to be REINA, NOOKIE, AND THE BOLIVAR WAY."
Vivi - you nailed it! LOL
 

Clearly, we need to award more prizes! Vivi definitely wins Quip de la tarde!

And Doris wins lucky typo award for CROCKPOT Theorists™!

I DID chuckle over your Elmer Fudd suggestion, Jean. Sometimes I forget to journal here. [bwahaha!]

Novelera, thanks for the translation help. Jean had the same suggestion. I was the only dummy stuck in "eres muy poco hombre" mode, I guess.
 

Jean - I appreciated your Elmer Fudd comment (and yes, I am THAT old) but I forgot to say something about it. I really trimmed my first post, after NM's recap, for the sake of brevity. I am old enough that I watched the Mickey Mouse Club as a kid, during it's FIRST RUN, Howdy Doody, & Captain Kangaroo.
 

Dear Doris--I have to admit to having watched Captain Kangaroo--only because it was the only decent thing on so early and my infant son was fascinated by the movement and voices on the TV screen. I still wax nostalgic when I hear Morningtown Ride (one of the Seeker's signature songs).
 

Jean- I definitely chuckled about Elmer Fudd. :)
 

Muchísimas gracias, NovelaMaven, for the awesome recap, and kudos all around to the amazing group of Reinamaniacs and your ingenious Crockpot Theories™.
 

Any significance to Victor's mom being named Rena-ta? Hmmm...
 

For the "I don't have a problem" files: I actually caught myself being a little bummed out today. Why? Because Reina time was still 7 hours away.
 

Sara - don't feel badly. Enrique Iglesias' theme song "Bailando" has taken over my brain. For the past month. But I can quit anytime. Really.
 

Just wanted to say thanks NovelaMaven for another excellent recap! Love how the Reina Think Tank is going full blast today :D

"REINA, NOOKIE, AND THE BOLIVAR WAY"

Vivi, LOL you're going to have me laughing over that one for a while

I think that the BOLIVAR WAY is going on the back burner though because El Supremo doesn't look like he puts with crap

Doris, despite hearing it on the radio all the time not tired of it either. Shame they took the song intro out.

jlk
 

"Adios, mama"
!!!!!

I had to stop and ponder exactly in which context he said that:
- as a transference?
- surrogate
- or (gasp) he truly suspects/believes he is his mother?
 

Oh wow, Doris. I just took it at face value and assumed he knew she was his mom, but yeah...it could just be a transference/surrogate thing and he still *doesn't* know who she really is.

Pardon my French, but last night was another OSE (oh sh!t ending). I'm going to hell, but I kind of laughed about it a little bit. It was so delightfully absurd/ironic.

I have the goofiest grin on my face when I watch this show. Am I the only one?
 

jlk--I hate that we don't get to hear Bailando anymore!
 

Sara - - - you are not alone.

Mi nombre es Doris y soy Reinadicta Because, seriously, who wakes up at 4:30 a.m., starts thinking about last night’s episode, and can’t stop? Puedo dejarla en cualquier momento, pero parece que me recaí. (Admito que soy impotente ante “la novela loca”, y que mi vida ha llegado ingobernable.)

Y, lo peor de todo …. Next week I am out of town and will miss three nights of Reina! Pobrecito de miiiiiiii. Qué pena conmigo! All I’ll have are the incomplete episodes at T’mundo.com Reina page (more like a Readers Digest Abridged version) and the recaps.
 

Oh, and about the song .... I have it loaded on my Kindle Fire and the youtube version bookmarked on my iPad. I can play it during commercial breaks. I can play it in the morning, afternoon, whenever.....

No hay remedio.....
 

Novelamaven, about your latest Crockpot theory: if the stocky narco who murdered Stephi's family was a Deroses and big O's brother that would make Camila also a Deroses. Javier said that he had no familial relationship with Camilla. If that's true then the rapist couldn't have been a Deroses.

Sara-maybe Navier calling Smith mama was just cryptic novela talk. But I took it to literally mean he knows she's his mother because a few episodes back he said something about knowing a lot more than Smith thought he knew. Or maybe that was just cryptic novela talk?

Penny
 

Miécoles – Parte Uno

No nookie for anyone in this capitulo - all there was was talking! Not a recapper's favorite but we did get a lot of information!

Hotel
Navier can't believe that FELS has suspicions about Esmeeth. He says that she is one of their best agents. FELS agrees but not when it comes to investigating the DeRosas. There are facts that don't add up and other suspicious behavior. He has his own reasons for not having confidence in her. He says that she doesn't know about him. Navier asks about Reina. FELS replies that Reina is aware that they knew each other in the past but she doesn't know who he is and he doesn't want to tell her because of her relationship to Esmeeth and to Navier. Navier asks if FELS has confidence in him. FELS replies that he doesn't have any alternative. He doesn't like being so mysterious but there are a lot of things that Navier doesn't know about Reina's life and he, FELS, knows everything. Navier asks if FELS is protecting Reina. Is she guilty or innocent? Is she the Queen of Diamond's? FELS replies that no, she isn't the QofD's “pero tampoco es quien ella cree que era ni tampoco quienes los demas piensen que es,” “she isn't who thinks she is either nor is she what others thinks she is.” Okaaay. That's clear. But, he says that everything will be made clear eventually. [Well, we hope so.]

A guard brings some food to Reina. She pretends to feel ill and grabs the guy's gun. She makes the guard tell the other guard to leave. She locks the first guard in the bathroom and leaves with Clarita. Clarita leaves her cap with the cheep in it in the room so she can’t be tracked. FELS comes into Reina's room and realizes that she's gone. He tells Navier that he always finds Reina and this had better not be an execption.

Reina and Clarita jump in the dirty towel bin and are wheeled out with the dirty laundry. Navier walks right past them. Reina and Clarita climb out of the laundry bin and Navier is right there. Reina hugs Nav and asks her to get her out of there. Cara de conflicto de Navier. He says that he is sorry but he can't. FELS shows up. Reina feels betrayed. The agents take her away. “¿Por que, Dragon?” says Clarita sadly. Good work, says FELS but there is something else he wants Javier to do. “More?,” says Navier bitterly, “You asked me to turn Reina in, which was like turning myself in and now you want more?” Yup, replies FELS. [what is the big problem here? She's not going to prison. Where would she go?]

Victor's Sex Pad and Film Studio
Big O is in a wheelchair. He asks an attendant where he is. The attendant leaves and Vic comes in and says that a father-son talk between them is way overdue. They have a lot to talk about. They have had a love/hate relationship that right now is leaning more towards hate. He asks if Big O is in pain. He says that Big O is suffering a “descompensación cardiaca” that he,Vic, caused. He is surprised at how well he calculated the dose – just enough so Big O wouldn't die - yet. They are going to have a very long conversation first. He reminds Big O of their previous conversation about who would win if they faced off and how Vic didn't have it in him to kill his father. What does Big O think now?

Vic says that he and Big O have always had a distant relationship but before he kills Big O, Vic wants him to know who he really is. He says that Big O laughed at child Vic for wanting to be a magician but since then he made a Shiek's jewel collection disappear in front of all the spectators. He has also become a sophisticated killer. He shows Big O the Injecto-death 3000™. But what he really wants dear old Dad to know is that he is the Black Falcon, the most important jewel thief in history. Big O replies that for the first time, he is very proud of Vic. Now he admires Vic and thinks that he is starting to resemble the son he always wanted.

 

Miércoles Parte Dos

There's a knock at the door. Big O asks who helped him. Vic lets Estefi in. She confirms that she drugged him. She wished it had been a lethal dose but Vic didn't want that. Then Lopez 2.0 brings in Granny. [We haven't seen Granny in ages, not since Estefi kidnapped her. Couldn't they have gotten a real old lady? This youngish woman in a gray wig looks terrible.] Vic tells Big O that he owes Granny an explanation about who is buried in the garden. She wants to know if it’s her daughter, Vic's mom. Big O is not having a good day.

De Rosas Mansion
Juanjo asks Susana if she told Christian anything. Nothing, she says. JJ smiles.

Victor's Sex Pad and Film Studio
Big O tells Vic that he is dying so he can say what he wants. He tells Vic that his mom never loved him. She never loved anyone but herself. She was selfish, cruel and heartless. She never had any maternal instinct. Big O blames his wife and Granny for making him tell Estefy that her baby wasn't Vic's. He tells Vic that when he was a child his mother hit him and almost killed him when she put a bag over his head when he wouldn't stop crying. It was his wife who hired the assassins to kill the love of his life. When he found out about that much later and his wife was going out of town, he took the opportunity and strangled her with her silk stockings. What's more he enjoyed it and would do it again a million times. Granny looks horrified but it isn't clear if she knew all this or is just finding out or Big O could be lying.

De Rosas Mansion
Laz is masaging Greta's arm when she says that she felt something. Laz starts to run to tells the doctor and then tells Greta that this means that she will be able to feel his smoochies. Greta wants to feel his smoochies. She is dying to make love to him.

CIA Headquarters
Navier comes into Esmeeth's office and tells her and Rocky that El Supremo has “saco de su cargo. Queda fuera,” “relieved her of duty. She is fired.” [Pretty mean of FELS to make Navier do this. He can't at least call?]

Reina de Corazones Bridal Store
FELS asks Reina what is wrong. Is she still scared of him? She replies that she doesn't know. All she knows is that he isn't going to kill her because he has had lots of opportunities and hasn't done it. FELS says that it is time that Reina knew her story and it isn't the story of a killer or of the Queen of Diamonds's. It's the story of the Reina de Corazones. It's the story of a spy. Reina laughs. She can't believe it. “¿Yo - un espia?”

FELS says she has been working for them for more than a year. She signed on to do the impossible - catch a gang of traffickers in jewels and gold who have ties to terrorism. For more than a year, she has been working for the intelligence service of the US. He says that very few people knew this. Reina asks if FELS worked for Esmeeth, the police, the CIA or what. FELS says that Esmeeth works for him. Reina is surprised that Esmeeth works for a young guy like FELS. FELS says that he has advanced rapidly in the organization and wants to continue to do so. This mission and Reina's part in it is very important to him. Reina asks why, if FELS is with the good guys, were she and Clarita kidnapped. FELS replies that they had no alternative – Miriam had told Vic where Reina was. His people had been following Reina since she left Esmeeth's house. He tells Reina that whether she likes it or not, she is going to help them with this case because like it or not he has her in his power.

 

Miércoles Parte Tres

Victor's Sex Pad and Film Studio
Vic tells Big O that from the moment he saw the diamond earring, he knew Big O was responsible but to hear him saying how much pleasure he got out of killing his wife has affected him more than he thought it would. [I guess Vic had a love/hate relationship with his Mom, too.] He asks Estefi to leave with Granny. Granny blesses Vic and Estefi tells him not to do anything stupid. Big O has to pay and death is too good for him. They leave. Vic takes off the Injecto Death bracelet. Big O asks Vic to just kill him. Vic replies that he has gotten more recognition from Big O in one day than in the whole rest of his life. Is Big O being sincere or is he saying these things in a stupid plea to save his life? Big O says that if Victor is going to turn him in, he'd rather that Vic kill him. Vic says that it is a difficult decision – the hardest he has had to make in his life.

CIA Headquarters
Navier asks Rocky what he knows about El Supremo. [I guess Navier doesn’t hang around the CIA water cooler getting the latest gossip.] He wants the real poop, not the crap on the Internet. FELS was a “niño superdotado,” “a super gifted child.” He was good at everything. He was ready to go to University at 12 and he's a great athlete. “Vaya, vaya todo un dios,” “My, my, a real god,” says Nav. Rocky replies that Nav reminds him of FELS. FELS was contracted to take down a band of terrorists and he did it with his computer skills. “A hacker,” says Navier. After that, says Rocky, the heads of all the intelligence agencies got together and put FELS in charge. [Ok. I'm predicting right here that FELS is a bad guy. Anybody who supposedly has more skills and talent than the Dragon has to be evil. Look at Marino.]

Esmeeth has packed up her stuff. Navier says that this is wrong. Esmeeth replies that she needs a vacation and for sure, FELS will want to use this office. Navier asks Rocky to leave them alone. Rocky gives Esmeeth a hug and tells her not to give up. He leaves. Esmeeth can't understand why Navier is upset. She thought he would be happy that he didn't have to put up with her anymore. Navier says that he doesn't like to see her like this - giving up, not fighting as she always has. Esmeeth replies that she and he are different in some ways and the same in others. She has a respect for discipline and hierarchy that we know Mr. Reina, Nookie and the Way of the Bolivar does not have. Navier admits that he has no use for such things. Then he blurts out, “No quiero que se vaya ... Señora,” he adds awkwardly.

Esmeeth is surprised. She says that she has always thought Navier didn't want her around. Nav says that Esmeeth is a great professional. Not today, replies Esmeeth, she failed. Big O got away. Navier asks if she really loved Big O. Esmeeth replies that she loved and hated him with all her strength at the same time. But not now, she doesn't feel anything. She says that she has to go and they shake hands formally across her desk. Esmeeth leaves and Navier says, “Adios, Mama.” [He does know. I always thought so.]

Coffee Shop near Sex Pad
Granny tells Estefi that she loved her daughter because a mother has to love her children but her daughter was the devil incarnate and did terrible things to Vic. Estefi was her victim, too. She and Big O ripped her daughter from her arms. She says,“El diablo tiene que pagar,” “The devil has to pay.” If Estefi and Victor won't do anything, then she will.

 

Miércoles Parte Cuatro

De Rosas Mansion
We get the final bit of the endless story of Susana's rape. After she had killed the rapist, Vic showed up. She didn't tell that he had been raped, she was too ashamed. She told him that the guy had tried to rape her and that she had killed him in self-defense. She says that Vic embraced her and told her that she could count on him. It was the tenderness he showed her in their marriage. He helped her bury the rapist and they made a pact that no one would ever know. But a few months later, she found out that she was preggers from the rape. Camila's father was the rapist. Cara de impactado de Juanjo.

Reina de Corazones Bridal Shop
Reina asks if Navier knows that she is/was a spy. FELS replies that he doesn't know and he doesn't want that to change that or Navier's life will be put in danger. [More than it has been?] FELS tells Reina that it all started a year ago right here in the bridal shop.

FLASHBACK. Reina is working and FELS comes in with some agents for a trafficking inspection. Diamonds are found. Reina swears that she didn't know the diamonds were there. FELS tells her that he wants to believe her but it will be difficult. He will offer her “un pacto.” She can work for him or spend the rest of her life in jail.

That is how she started working for the CIA. FELS gets a call from Navier. He tells FELS that Esmeeth has left the building without any protest. Navier wants to know what FELS' plan for Esmeeth is. FELS admits that he has a plan, a good one, like all his plans [really?] but he's not telling Navier what it is. He asks Reina if she wants to know the rest of the story. He tells Reina that she went through basic training, learned to shoot and fight. Her mind might not remember but her body does. He has Reina shoot at an apple off of one of her mannequins. She's a great shot.

Victor's Sex Pad and Film Studio
Big O asks if there are any other secrets Vic would like to tell him. Vic replies that Big O knows just about all of them. What about Big O, asks Vic, does he have any more secrets? “Just a few that I am taking to the grave with me,” replies Big O. Vic asks who was the woman that his mother ordered killed. “Is,” clarifies, Big O. She is alive and close. She was the love of his life and he hopes that Victor doesn't die before he finds someone who takes his breath away. That is what she, Esmeeth, did for him. Cara de impactado de Victor.

CIA Headquarters/Victor's Sex Pad
Esmeeth is leaving with her box of stuff. She gets a call from Vic. He wants to see her. She replies that she is no longer working. Vic says that it is personal and tells what hotel he is in. Estefi shows up and Vic says that he couldn't kill Big O. She hugs him.

CIA Headquarters
Navier put a self-stick cheep on Reina when he hugged her in the laundry room. Now he uses the screen that shows you whatever you want to see to find out where she is. He goes off in pursuit.

Victor's Sex Pad/Hotel
Granny has disappeared. Vic send Izzy to look for her. OBD and Estefi show up. Vic goes off with OBD.

 

Miércoles Parte Cinco

Bridal Shop
FELS tells Reina that all the windows and doors are guarded. He leaves her the gun. He also tells her that she didn't kill either of the people in the DeRosas garden. He says that she was going to give him the diamonds and the evidence on the day that she was to marry Vic. She wasn't going to go through with the marriage. But something happened and she did marry Vic and didn't give him the diamonds or the evidence. Reina agrees that something happened. The diamonds are in a safe deposit box and she doesn't know where the evidence is. FELS replies that he doesn't know if she betrayed him or not.

Navier is lurking outside. He sees FELS leaving. Inside, the lights suddenly go out. Outside, Navier tries to bluff the guards by showing them an ID from the FBI. At that moment, a van stops outside and guys in masks jump out. Navier defeats all of them but one who holds him at gunpoint. Nav raises his hands. Inside Reina tells Clarita that it is probably just a fuse. She goes to check that out. Outside, Nav, attacks the guy with the gun. Reina comes back to where she left Clara but she is gone. We see someone carrying Clarita out of the building. [So the security that FELS provides isn't any better than that Esmeeth provided.]

DeRosas mansion
Christian shows up with arrest warrants for Victor, Susana and Big O.

Coffee Shop
OBD tells Vic how much she misses him. Vic gets a text that pleases him. He tells OBD to leave. She wants a kiss. He obliges and then wipes it off his lips as if it was something nasty. At that moment, Esmeeth comes in.

Bridal Shop
Reina hears noises in the store. She gets her gun. We can see that it is Navier. He gets closer. When he gets to where Reina is, she turns and shoots. [I guess her training didn't including making sure you know who you are shooting at.] Navier falls and Reina sees what she has done. “Nooo!” she cries.



 

A few typos in the recap, as usual. In Parte Cuarto, it should be, "it was the only tenderness he showed her in their marriage."


 

Magnificent recap, Jean! Thanks very very much. It cleared up some passages I didn't catch, and it confirmed that some of my mystification over passages I DID catch is justified. :-)

I agree with your suspicion that FELS is a Bad Guy. He's just too smooth, assured, and good-looking for me to trust. Also, as you say, his security proved no better than Esmeeth's...unless, of course, it was his team that actually kidnapped Clarita.

I was surprised when Reina locked the guard in the bathroom. I'm not sure I've ever seen a bathroom that one can lock from the outside. That's sure not one I'd want to use!

I'm glad you commented on the "youngish woman" who is supposedly Victor's abuela. I recall saying something about that when she first appeared. I'm not sure she looks old enough to be his mother, let alone his abuela. An older sister, perhaps. I'm not suggesting that she'll turn out NOT to be his abuela, just that the casting was terrible.

One of the things that puzzles me most about FELS' account of Reina's collaboration is that it apparently happened a year ago, but that instead of turning over the diamonds and the evidence, she married Victor. A year ago? I thought that she ran out of the wedding ceremony in the church and was hit by a car EIGHT years ago (or more, by now).

Like you, I took Navier's "Adios, mama" to mean that yes, he knows or at least strongly suspects that Esmeeth is his mother. His remark followed perfectly from his saying "I don't want you to leave" and the added "Señora" to cover up his feelings.

I'm still not sure what to make of Rocky, who seems so unimportant and innocuous that he must be a major player somehow.
 

Jean – Thank you for the recap!
”Big O is not having a good day.” LOL!!!


Jean & Juanita - We had the same feeling about Fernando, but different angles of approach.

Why I think Fernando is NOT who he says he is:
1. One or two episodes back, he mentioned that he might be a triple- or even quadruple-agent; whatever it took to get the job done. Major clue here. Get WHAT job done? Steal the diamantes rojos and become Master of the Universe?
2. Fernando found those diamonds very quickly, when Reina’s atelier was “searched.”
Were they planted? Was Reina set up by him, in order to procure her cooperation?
3. Can we really trust this Fernando guy, the child prodigy, genius, CYBER-HACKER? If he’s THAT smart, he’s smart enough to outsmart them all and be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
4. He looks untrustworthy. Maybe it’s the beard. No sé qué. He’s too smooth. I just don’t trust him. (And I hope I’m wrong!)
5. It is waaay too early in a telenovela for the heroine to be getting the whole story. Fer may have “come clean” with Reina, but my gut tells me there’s more to the story.

Fer told Navier that Reina was not supposed to marry Victor, but something went wrong and she married him, anyway. Why?


What secrets does Big O plan to take to his grave?

Juanita – Reina said “I do”, then she turned around and saw Navier at the back of the church. At that point, she ran out after him & was hit by the limo.
 

"I'm still not sure what to make of Rocky, who seems so unimportant and innocuous that he must be a major player somehow."

I agree. There are no "throwaway" characters in this story.
 

Doris said:
I was surprised when Reina locked the guard in the bathroom. I'm not sure I've ever seen a bathroom that one can lock from the outside. That's sure not one I'd want to use!

LOL. I noticed that too. I wouldn't want to use that bathroom either.

There are no "throwaway" scenes in this novela either. The fact that Victor got a text while he was with OBD and while this kidnapping was going down is suggestive. The text could have had to do with Big O but I doubt it.

 

The most obvious secret that Big O has not revealed is that Navier is his son. I suppose there might be others.
 

Juanita: To further clarify (if necessary), Reina was hit by the limo when she ran out of the church after saying I do and seeing Navier but she lost eight years of her memory - back to when she fell and hit her head wearing high heels for the first time just before she met Navier/NN.
 

Jean and Doris,

MANY thanks for setting me straight about the timeline here. Now that I think again about the wedding scene in the church, it's clear that it didn't happen eight years ago, since Clara was just a year or two younger than she is now. Duh.... Somehow I managed to fuse Reina's 8-year memory loss with the time since the wedding, but I can see how how wrong I was.

Jean, since I clearly need to have some reasonable points to my credit to offset this absurd gaffe, I want to say that I was the one who made the remark about the strange bathroom. Yeah, that doesn't cut it, but it's apparently the best I can do for now. :-)

Again, many thanks to both of you.
 

Just getting started on the epi, Jean. I know I'm in for a good one.

Can you believe I restarted Reina last night right after it ended and watched the whole thing a second time?

Sara, Doris--Do we need a local chapter of Reinamaniacs Anonymous on the Patio? We are so full of Crockpot Theories™ that it will take great stoicism and a community of fellow sufferers to go through withdrawl.

Don't you all just LOVE bathroom doors that lock from the outside?
 

Apologies for the improper crediting of the bathroom comment. I seem to improperly credit people about 90% of the time. I blame the large number of comments (which, otherwise, are great). The most recent comments are at the bottom of the page; the comment box is at the time. By the time I scroll up and down my addled brain from watching too many novelas has forgotten the correct person to credit.


Your amnesia confusion was hardly an "absurd gaffe." This is an absurd (but very enjoyable) novela and it's very hard to keep track of what goes on. This generates more comments that I can credit incorrectly and on it goes.

Fortunately for my addled brain, I will post a page two for Reina comments later this afternoon.
 

I had Bailando running in my head continuously for many weeks. But recently it has been replaced by Eugenio Siller's Te Espararé. I'm not sure why.
 

Penny,

Thank you for pointing out the error of my latest Crockpot Theory™. Of course you are right -- Susana's attacker could not have been a blood relative of Big O or Vic for the reasons you cite.

jlk,

The thing about the song is that they do still play it, just not in every episode. What is that behaviorists call that? Intermittent reinforcement? It is certainly working on us! (Though maybe I'll do a Doris and download the video on YouTube so I can watch in on my laptop while I mute the Kia commercial on the tv.)
 

Jean- Wish I had more time to comment. This was a most excellent recap of a packed episode. Thanks for incorporating Navier's motto. :)

I don't care if Fernando is good or bad. He's hot. AND he's the only person who has been straight with Reina (and the audience) at all. I thought it hilarious that Reina found it so hard to believe she's been a spy for the last year, but totally bought that she turned into a slutty, murderous b!tch in the past 8 years. LOL!

So Reina spent 7 clueless years with Vic, and then finally opened her eyes, got a clue, and took action in the last year?
 

Speaking of the Kia commercial, I finally figured out that the fat rodents work out and the fat car gets redesigned and they both become cool. For the longest time, I didn't think that the cool rodents were the same as the fat rodents.
 

I'm going to bet Vic is the one who had Clarita kidnapped. Fer's security at the bridal shop was really lame! I only saw one security guy, who looked like he had already been easily fooled by Navier, before those other thugs showed up.

Re-listing the first 5 mysteries on the mystery list, since they were so heavily featured last night:

1)Who really is El Supremo? Solved! Tall Fernando.
2) What was Reina doing in those 7-8 years, why didn’t she contact her friends, and why did it take 8 years? Partially solved. We know she was investigating Victor and Big O, but we don’t know what took so long, or what she found out.
3) Why the heck did Reina marry Victor? Partially solved. Seems that Clara might have been used to threaten her, and to get her down the aisle and drop her investigation.
4) Who was backing Reina’s investigation? Solved. El Supremo (unless he’s lying)
5)What did Reina discover before the wedding, and where is the proof hidden now? Partially solved. We know she discovered Vic’s and Octavio’s dirty business (but not the details), she got her hands on two of the diamonds and put them in a safety deposit box, and she discovered who killed Andres’ father
 

Let's see if I can get this attribution straight, Vivi said:

I don't care if Fernando is good or bad. He's hot. AND he's the only person who has been straight with Reina (and the audience) at all. I thought it hilarious that Reina found it so hard to believe she's been a spy for the last year, but totally bought that she turned into a slutty, murderous b!tch in the past 8 years. LOL!

We don't know that FELS has been straight with Reina. Obviously, she wasn't a trafficker in diamonds, etc. but his story about how she was working for him could be a big lie.

I don't find the actor playing Fernando hot at all. Different strokes for different folks.

It is hilarious that Reina believes all the bad things she has been told about herself and has trouble believing the good things!
 

Jean,

Thank you for yet another superb recap. You're right -- an all-talk, no-nookie episode is the recapper's equivalent of the Saturday puzzle in the Times. But you nailed it!

"Couldn't they have gotten a real old lady?"

Indeed. Plop a white wig on a perimenopausal woman y ya! Forty-five? Fifty? Eighty? Who cares? It's fine if Old Nimoy looks credibly ancient, but Telemundo viewers can't be bothered with Mrs. Nimoy. (Santa Diabla, El Rostro de la Venganza, Dama y Obrero, Dame Chocolate -- think about those wigged-out grannies.)

This is one of the few points that I will concede to Univision over Telemundo -- credibly older actresses get to play the roles of the grannies.

"He tells OBD to leave. She wants a kiss. He obliges and then wipes it off his lips as if it was something nasty."

Yes, I loved that moment, that UNIVERSAL gesture of BLECH! And how did OBD KNOW where to find Victor?

-------------
Okay. I don't know what to think about FELS. He is absurdly tall. He seems to keep a patch of chest hair groomed as neatly as his beard, a point which strikes me as icky. He has toyed with poor Esmeeth's feelings and now has sent her off toting the sad cardboard box of failure and rejection. As Jean says:
"[Pretty mean of FELS to make Navier do this. He can't at least call?]"

Ay ay ay.

And now we found out that Reina is a spy! (I loved the way we first saw her womanhandle the guy who was guarding her, and then expertly wield a gun and then -- only several scenes later -- got an explanation for her expertise. Nicely played, writers! That makes up for the bathroom that locks from the outside! Although come to think of it, it may be a special SPY ROOM and ALL doors can lock from the outside.)

We are brought back to the original mystery (or one of them): Why did Esmeeth send Navier to Reina's wedding in the first place? Was he being used as bait to draw Reina outside of the church so she could be killed?

I can stop any time I want...
 

Jean- I agree that it might be a lie that the agent Reina was working with was Fer.

But I do believe, based on the few flashbacks we have seen, that she was trained by someone and was working with someone to collect evidence against the De Rosas. Everything else he's said about Reina finding the evidence against Vic and Big O right before the wedding, and that it's a mystery why she actually went through with the wedding, jives with what we've seen.
 

About the Kia commercial --

Yes, Jean, it took me several viewings to figure out the rodent story. Me, I'd fire the agency that came up with that one!
 

So at the beginning of the novela, Esmeeth tells Navier that the CIA is investigating Victor de Rosas for diamond trafficking with ties to terrorism.

Are we supposed to believe that FELS started investigaing THE SAME THING a year ago and Esmeeth didn't know about it?

No wonder our national security (not that any of this so far has the slightest thing to do with what the CIA is actually supposed to investigate)is so messed up.

And since I'm on a roll/rant here, what exactly is trafficking in diamonds anyway? It is not illegal to buy and sell diamonds or to possess them. Are they stolen diamonds? Illegally mined, so-called blood diamonds? Smuggled diamonds? How would you know? When FELS found the diamonds at Reina's place of business, why didn't she just say, "there are my diamonds! I know I put them somewhere."
 

Dear Jean:

"Are we supposed to believe that FELS started investigating THE SAME THING a year ago and Esmeeth didn't know about it?"

Yes. You got a problem with that?

"And since I'm on a roll/rant here, what exactly is trafficking in diamonds anyway?"

In this context, it is a proxy for drugs, arms and human trafficking. Think "blood diamonds" if you like -- it is nasty enough. But you can be quite sure that no one did any research on the subject. It also has the advantage of being glitzy, wearable, and above all, tangible.
 

Whew, Jean, you didn't disappoint. Your verbal recall was even better than my twice-through visual recall.

I want FELS to be who he says he is, the head of the CIA branch looking into illegal diamond trafficking. It's my Crockpot Theory™ and I'm sticking to it.

That being said, child prodigies are hard to figure out lots of times. You don't always know what's going on inside their heads, and if you do, they are faster at it than average-IQ'd folks. This one appears to be multi-talented and the Higher-Ups seemed to recognize that to give him an important position at such a young age. I loved Nav's Vaya, vaya, un dios.

Rocky sure thinks FELS is legit. Well, maybe that there *is* an El Supremo that is legit. Who else that we've met so far knows so much about this operation. He's staking his reputation on it. He was able to give Navier a lot of pretty basic background on this genius.

About the investigation, maybe when Smeeth's hand in it stalled, he needed to step in. He *did* say that Smeeth was under him, so it would be logical for both to know of the diamond op.

That *doesn't* explain all the billet-doux, flowers and chocolates and then gives her the cold shoulder when he "fires" her. I guess we have to wait and see what his mis planes is.

The interchange in the hotel lounge Tuesday night between Smeeth and FELS was interesting. I do believe he's the one that set up that little social hour to see how far she would go with her apologies and make-nice to Fernando San Juan.

He did try a little seduction to see where it would go (and didn't go anywhere). He called her Rubia several times, which is unprofessional, even if he's playing a game.

And yes, ITA that he planted those diamonds in Reina's bridal boutique. Big O and Vic would have been very stupid to leave them out there in plain sight. Reina has a good case for Entrapment, should she choose to sue after it's all over! Recruitment tactic, indeed!

FELS probably decided there was no other way to get "inside" the Victor organization and he couldn't risk "asking" Reina nicely to cooperate and her turning him down.

And how come he doesn't know what went wrong at the wedding. He knows everything else. Guess we have to wait for that one, too.

Bad tactics, but I still think he will come out on the good side. I'm hoping, anyway.
 

Thanks for the dope slap, NovelaMaven. I had a catastrophic beanie failure but I'm ok now.

You wrote: This is one of the few points that I will concede to Univision over Telemundo -- credibly older actresses get to play the roles of the grannies.

True enough but I can think of at least one exception. Miguel Varoni's mother, Teresa Gutiérrez, played La Marquesa Carmen Santillana de la Roquette in Zorro when she was 79 with a fantastic ravaged face. She was also in Victorinos in 2009, the year before she died, but I don't remember her character.
She had a long career in mostly Colombian novelas
 

One of my favorite moments, last night, was the face Estefy made when she saw OBD in the hall with Victor, and wearing that unfortunate outfit. Stef looked at her as if OBD was something she would not want to step in. Very subtle and had me snickering.

The diamond trafficking operation is probably for blood diamonds, or stolen diamonds. The whole diamond industry is so controlled, it would have to be either one of those.

Could the writers want the 'red' diamonds tie in visually with blood diamonds, even by color if nothing else?

I'm suffering flashback syndrome, every time I see "FELS", to Fuego en la Sangre; los hermanos Reyes (we have our own Reina), etc. Valgame Dios!

"So Reina spent 7 clueless years with Vic, and then finally opened her eyes, got a clue, and took action in the last year?"
Ummm, yeeeaaaahhh, that's another reason I don't believe Fernando is the real deal. Makes no sense. (oops! logic alert!)
 

Oh, and everyone has overlooked Greata's new-found ability to feel something in (or on?) her arm! Even Jean mentioned it in her recap, but poor Greata, bless her heart, has been overshadowed by all the baddies.
 

Doris,

So maybe Greta's finger-movement over the past couple of episodes was deliberate -- Greta noticed but didn't mention it. (Still hard to believe: why would she be in a chair set up for someone who could control it manually? And how could Laz fail to notice? Meh. We'll let it slide.)

Anyhow -- YES! Finally something to cheer about for Greta the Great!

Jean,

"Thanks for the dope slap, NovelaMaven. I had a catastrophic beanie failure but I'm ok now."

Any time, Jean. :D

And thanks for the counter-example. Unfortunately, I haven't seen either of those novelas. In general, though, Colombian novelas are unafraid of ravaged faces -- male and female -- and "ordinary" people. But I wouldn't be surprised to see the Miami scripts with descriptions of the granny as "somewhere between forty and death."
[snort]
 

Marvelous recap, Jean! I wish I had the dexterity to comment further on my phone. Suffice to say I look forward to every episode and every recap and I'm never disappointed. Reinamaniacs rule.
 

Jean, you outdid yourself on this one! Fantastic!

OK, last night El Supremo (sorry I'm not down with FELS) told Reina that he'd had her rastreado (tracked) the whole time. So, how come they didn't intervene when she was locked up in the coffin room with constant prompts to kill herself?

I'm holding out for Fernando (if that's his name) being a good guy. I even thought they might go with Esmeeth being a baddie all along.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was Victor who had Clara snatched to lure Reina back to his side. But how in blue blazes did he know she'd be at the wedding dress shop?

I'm confused about the red diamonds. I think something has been mentioned in the recaps or comments about Reina having put them there before she lost her memory. But we saw Big O with the diamonds in his hands and cackling over putting them in a safe deposit box as part of his plan to make her think they were lovers.

So, who do we think put the red diamonds in that safe deposit box and why?
 

Is this the second or the third time the Dragon has been shot?
 

For the answer to Novelera's question on how many times Navier has been shot, check out Page Two of this week's post, which will be up shortly with an updated Perils of the Dragon or it's hard to be Navier.

See you there!
 

Novelera- The flashback of Big O cackling over the diamonds was a memory of something that happened before the he gave the diamonds to Reina, the day before her wedding to Victor. He did not cackle about putting the diamonds in a safe deposit box. We didn't hear anything about a safe deposit box until Big O told Reina that's where they were.
 

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It's ten years later and I am watching season 1 episode 42. Somehow there's a week missing, sits between 41 and 42, very odd. Any whooo. I searched for it and can't locate it. I came across this blog, thank you all!!!!, you guys are great bloggers. Helped me. I've read everything I needed to get back to watching episode 42. Keep up blogging, great job!!❤️❤️❤️❤️