Caray, Caray!

Leave it to Diego to solve another mystery.

Sorry, 5 year olds don't talk and think the way Mau did. I hate when writers do that.

If they're going to show Isa's fantasy of Diego washing the car and getting all wet, why is he wearing a shirt?

Should have realized that since Fanny and Lenin never had sex, she would end up with the guy she did have sex with, especially since he was her first. That is a standard TN rule.


 

Cathyyx,

Yes, you are right about Fanny. But the rule doesn't hold for her younger brother. A double-standard rule.

Yup, Diego is the man. Pablo is a very appealing actor.
 

Nando's first sexual experience was with Ximena, so yes, it still applies. But the rule is generally very sexist. It only really applies to females.
 

I'll forgive the writers anything in order to see little Mau be his cute little self. :)

I almost commented yesterdy that I thought Isa's next step woud be to "kidnap" DN. Then thought--no she wouldn't want to be bothered looking after him, so I didn't. Looks like my first thought was correct.

Nanette
 

Hate my phone's keyboard. *yesterday *would. Of course it has nothing to do with my typing or proofing skills.
 

I don't think that Nando and Edith had sex, so Ximena is also his first and only.
 

Isabruja's feelings about and relationship with DN don't make sense to me. She comes over to the mansion what only one day a week and barely holds the child? She doesn't change diapers or feed the baby. She just sees him and uses him as an instrument to further her own warped mind and agenda.
 

I thought that Nando and Edith did have sex but that it was not a great experience because of her prior abuse by the step brother. I would gladly stand corrected on this one.
 

Mati: that's the way I recall it too. Poor Edith almost forced herself to go through with it, because she wanted to take her relationship with Nando "to the next level". But seems like it was a mistake.

J in Oregon
 

I thought they didn't go through with it because she was too traumatized.
 

Mati, as far as I remembrer, Nando and Edith did go through with it.

Jarifa
 

They should have called the cops when they found out that Isabela was causing the mischief at the wedding but we are in telenovelalandia and we evidently need more Isabela action between now and the end. :)

Jarifa
 

I hope that Fernando fires Isabela from La Costaña.
 

I thought they had, but I we never saw any bare flesh. They might have deliberately left it vague.

As to Isabruja's relationship with her son, Victoria got it right: DN is her meal ticket, which is why she panicked over the possibility that Enfrique told Fernando the truth about him. She has no maternal feeling for him at all and her visits to the mansion to see him are strictly for show.

Hypothetically, if she survived the story and got off scott-free for everything she did, she would likely develop some interest in him as soon as he would be about Luz's age when she could communicate with him and begin instructing him to find a fleece a rich woman, as her mother had taught her to pursue rich men. Her only alternative to that would be to kill Fernando's children, which would present logistical issues.

Cathyx, I agree. Considering what she did at the wedding, Fernando should fire her from the company. She made such an ass of herself she is now officially an embarrassment. I cut Ana slack for this last outburst of hers because she has taken more than enough from this poor excuse for a human being.
 

Diego's sharp. He'll discover DN's paternity; however, he may decide not to reveal it to Fer and Ana because he thinks DN is better off with them. I really like his character. I wish things worked out between him and Natalia because I liked her character, too.

I don't like how the writers portray Xi. She adds as much interest to the tn as a column in the Lascurain mansion, except she smiles and takes over Ana's duties when Ana cannot. It appears Nanduh simply wants a not-too-bright, eye-candy girl, to breed, raise his little Nanditos and Nanditas, and submit to his masculine whims. Since she's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, Xi will never question Nanduh's authority, which is probably why he selected her. Blech. IMHO, Edith is the better choice for Nanduh because she can match him, brain cell for brain cell. For Edith's sake, I hope she and Nanduh did NOT have sex. She was so vulnerable emotionally to begin with, after becoming even more vulnerable by yielding to Nanduh sexually, she might be on suicide watch somewhere in Mexico.

Et tu, Fanny? Because Lyin' Leon has a job, a suit like Dad's, and a new car, will you forsake your education to stay at home and raise Mau and breed? Nooooooo!

Ana. She looked so beautiful at her wedding but totally ruined it by screeching and threatening to fight Isabruja. Totally tacky.
 

Cathyx, ITA regarding Mau's speech and thought processes. A little precociousness is cute, but having him sound like an adult doesn't really work, does it?

Denise
 

UA, is the final on a Thursday or is it on Friday?
 

Okay somebody please take pity on me and fill me in: I must have looked away for a moment--why is Big Diego suspicious of the paternity of little Diego?

J in Oregon
 

If lying to your loved one means you shouldn't get a second chance, then Ana shouldn't have gotten a second chance either. While I prefer Lenin to Leon, Fanny's heart was with Leon, not Lenin.

Fanny is only 20. I think Leon now understands that Fanny is not ready for marriage or motherhood. If he can wait for her for another 5 years, they'll both be better off. Same with Ximena & Nando...if Ximena can wait another 10 years for him, they'll both be better off. I think Leon/Fanny have a better chance of making it than Nando/Ximena, for the simple fact that most men really aren't ready to marry before 25 IMO.
 

J in O - When Yomama held little DN, she referred to him as "pobrecito." When Diego escorted Yomama to the retirement home, he questioned her about her word choice, and her friends say, "What. Doesn't he know?" These comments spark sleuth Diego's curiosity, and he plans to solve the mystery.
 

Big Diego is suspicious of Little Diego (not necessarily about his paternity...yet) because when YOLANDA took him to the nursing home, Yolanda's pals almost spilled the beans about DN not being Fernando's child (Yolanda had told them about DN not being Fernando's child earlier).

He's suspicious about what Yomama's friends were getting ready to tell him about DN.
 

I think that two relationships in this novela have been treated with no sensitivity. First and foremost is the Nando, Ximena and Edith triangle. Both of these young women were troubled and while Ximena got some needed help, Edith did not. There was no particular reason for Nando to pick Ximena other than perhaps some audience testing that goes on in novelaland.

The other is the Beatrice and Bruno duo. Beatrice deserved better and I still have hope that there is someone out there worthy of her. Again, audience testing? Or just little experiments that the producer abandons.

The Leon-Lenin-Fanny triangle was going to inevitably cause pain to someone and it was easier for me to hope that she ended up with Lenin, becasue he was so helpful to Fanny. But at least here, no one seemed innocent or exploited. I agree with others that Lenin sure does resemble what we imagine a young Fernando to have been!
 

Yeah because being a Mother is such a terrible thing! Staying home and raising kids ewwwwwww. Having a family and being there them is disgusting. How dare a woman desire to be a Mother and care for her family.
Ximena is such a goof, she can hardly read! She is not smart enough for Nando, so the logical thing to do is to be a non-bright caregiver of children. Only a less intelligent female is qualified for that position. Wait a minute......if Ximena stays home and raises her babies with Nando, that is not work!! If she becomes a nanny, that is work! Funny how that works.

One day, I hope all women will be respected for who they are. I hope men like yourself will not judge a woman and assume she is not intelligent because she is no an astronomy genius. One day I wish to see feminists standing up for all women instead of knocking them down.
 

I meant ot say that Leon resembles what Fernando must have been.
 

Cathyx: I agree. Isa should be fired.

Lenin was a class act last night.

Possible Isa anvil. She‘s useless at any job she gets and keeps getting fired. She ends up as the wife of some really really old rich dude hoping for a payoff. Of course she‘s totally grossed out by him. When he dies he wills all his money to the Mercedes house. Her shelf life continues to dwindle and she slides down the social ladder until she ends up in a not so swanky retirement home where she bores everyone with her stories of her perceived glory days calling everyone "naca" "naco" until she becomes completely ostracized.
 

I realize that I am probably in the minority, but the Lenin-Fanny duo just doesn't work for me. His socialist beliefs are too extreme from how Fanny was brought up. He was so condensing towards her.

Yes he could pull a poem or recite a phrase out of nowhere on the flip of a coin; and he was a good friend to her when she needed a friend. However, you can't make someone love you just because you love them and think you and only you will make them happy. Love is much deeper than that. While being a friend and companion is part of loving someone, you can't make someone love you no matter what you want.

I can't imagine saying to someone that 'I don't believe in the whole commercialization of giving gifts but I'm going to make an exception and give you this present (I think he said for El Día de Los Amores).'

I'm not saying that León with his temper, etc. is better, just that Lenin isn't the one for her IMHO.

And I'm not even going to go down the Nando-Ximena path.
 

I'm a woman and I agree that all women should be respected for who they are, however, I completely agree with everything Ecuador said because we're only referring to these characters and not all women. We've gotten to know these characters so we form our own opinions. There is nothing wrong with a woman being a stay at home mom but for Fanny who seems like she wants to make a difference in the world through social work, it is not the ideal ending we want for her.

Everyone here knows how much I liked Edith so of course I agree that she was the better choice for Nanduh. Why would the writers create such a unique, complex character only to throw her away? Great example to show that men prefer the pretty airheads than intelligent and unique women. Thanks for your comment Ecuador, you totally read my thoughts. :)
 

Victoria,

I don't disagree with you about Lenin's lack of fit with Fanny. But he seems like the kind of boyfriend that works for Fanny as a young person trying out new ideas and having different kinds of friends. He doesn't strike me as permanent mate material for her but someone she can learn from as he has learned from her. To me, he left behind the snotty stuff as he got to know Fanny and started trailing around after her but he certainly has a need to lecture people -- whether they want to hear him or not!

My main beef against Leon has been his jealousy and wish to tie Fanny down too soon. So I guess in the end, their personalities meant less than the sense that Fanny could still be developing her interests and personality with Lenin but settling down for the rest of her life with Leon.

Bottom line: Like so many others, I would like to see both of the older Lascurain kids remain free agents for a good long time. But it looks like the laws of novelaland are against that. At least Leon seems to realize now that Fanny is only 20 years old and not ready for marriage.
 

THANK YOU, Ecuador Bound and Anon207...for explaining about Diego and L'il Diego. Much obliged.

I'm sad that they did away with Natalie (Diego's lady photographer friend), but glad he seems no longer to be pining away for either Big Estefania or Ana.

J in Oregon
 

Unfortunately, this entire novela and Osorio have made a mockery out of reasonable, young adult relationships, and also mature adult relationships.

The only pairing that made any sense was Fernando and Ana, who at times, would have been better off with Diego.


 

Really, Leon? You call that being a changed man? Sure, he didn't plan it, but his response to Fanny's confusion about being left alone and locked in was to attack her face with his? Smooth. Real smooth. He has no idea that she broke up with Lenin. How does he know whether SHE'S changed her mind about him or not? What a MA-roon!
 

The only conventional relationships are Fernando and Estefanía's (but even that one came from a Diego cast off when he cheated on her) and Pablo and Alicia's.

Just because Leon didn't go grabby when Fanny tried to leave, I'm to believe he's a changed boy? Lenin, not yet the guy either, but give him credit, he knows Fanny high maintenance. Those two in 5 years would work.

Isabela has every right to take DN and her threat ridiculous. Go to court Fernando, and put the primary custody issue to rest.

Yolanda has done nothing worthy of redemption. She's expressed regret and a little guilt but no action to disrupt Isabela's ground game.

I taste bile when I see Nic.

Soledad sure had an about face, one minute matchmaker for Ana & Angel, the next all smiley at the wedding.

Why in the world would Magda want Angel now? Magda and Diego perhaps?

I liked Edith's character and thought her interesting until she fell for a 17 year old boy.

Fernando and Ana would attend only one of my dinner parties and never invited back, her uncouth outburst scream for attention, not entertaining and should be reserved for the ball park.


 

Ana is supposed to be showing us the joie de vivre or exuberance that it took to defrost Don Helado, but it's coming across as obnoxious.

Contrast Ana with Miss Vivian in Pretty Woman, when Vivian is at the polo match and starts hollering, then catches herself, abruptly stops, and smiles. It would have been so much better if the joie de vivre had been shown that way.

And I think the original actress in Spain also brought out the exuberance in a different, less annoying way.
 

Just having Isabella for a mother makes Diegito pobrecito to me & then to top it off with Freaky as the father, ¡Dios mio!

I prefer Edith to Ximena & I believe we will see her again, all scrubbed up & with a new novio.
Nando seems to attract ladies with issues, what's with that? Play the field Nando for about 10 years.
Difficult when the novia of the day lives in the same house.

I have always preferred Leon to Lenin, but still don't want marriage yet. A maturing loving friendship with benefits, & Fanny pursuing a career should go on for awhile. But having seen Osorio before, I'm sure I'll be disappointed.
 

Aleta
How about
Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady at the race track, she loudly used a little slum slang & when everyone looked at her, she calmly passed it off as a joke. cute
 

The Pygmalion job Ana is doing on herself is lacking in the refinement department. She's learning the kids' school subjects -- including foreign languages -- so why not this?

The one thing that still boggles my mind...
 

The "te amos" and "cootchie-coos" are already getting obnoxious and annoying as h-e-double-toothpicks. Even more puke-worthy than Alicia and Pablo, and that's saying a lot!
 

"Xi. She adds as much interest to the tn as a column in the Lascurain mansion" ITSA! LOL!
==========
It is up y'all. Anybody know what the last official day works out to be for us?
==========
I wouldn't just fire Bitchybela! I'd either commit her or have her thrown in jail for harassment or stalking or somethng.
=======
IMHO, also, I liked the macho kiss Leon gave Fanny at the end of the episodio. Good old fashioned romance--John Wayne style, if ya ask me! Too little of it these days.
==========
I never thought Nando and Edith sealed the deal myself. That left him free for Xi as the ideal "older woman" whose psych problems we are meant to accept as the new norm, I suppose.

========
Mau was adorable and as a precocious little actor, I loved the entire scene, sugar-coated as it was.
===========
My guess is that Diego will accept or encourage Bela's advances and then let her down as hard as he can on her assettless butt end.
 

Thanks for recap, great as always.

-Isa wasn't too smart to offend the computer geek by not paying him. He did everything she asked, he has questionable morals, now he can totally destroy her life (he's already in her work account, he can find all her secrets, credit rating, etc). Would have been much cheaper to just pay him off and keep him happy.

-On the subject of classic old movies, Isa's dream reminded me of the famous car wash scene in Cool Hand Luke (but in reverse).
 

Jardinera: I wondered the same thing about Diego/Isa.

When Jen dragged Isa away and Ana started chanting Jen's name, she turned around and looked at Fer and immediately stopped. I took it to mean she realized she was being inappropriate.

 

I don't think anyone here has said motherhood = bad.

But Fanny is much too young to be thinking about motherhood. The Fanny character herself said that she is not ready for marriage or motherhood, so why are we trying to force her into a role the character herself has said she is not ready to take on?

Ximena is not emotionally ready to be a mom yet, especially not with Nando. He is 17! He's not ready to be anyone's husband or father at such a young age...he needs to go to college. Ximena needs to make sure she's taking care of her mental health.

Ana was ready to be a mom...she is currently loving 8 children who are not her own as if they were her own.

Some people should NOT be mothers... Like Isabella who only cares about her child as long as he brings her a paycheck.

Motherhood is great, but there are some people who are not ready to experience or or who don't want yo experience it and that's ok. What's NOT ok is forcing people into a parenthood role they shouldn't or want to be in, to satisfy our own egos.
 

Anon207, that is right on the money.

I also think that the novela convention of motherhood as the be-all and end-all is overdue for rethinking. Not wanting to have children does not make you a bad person but too many villanas fit the stereotype that it is.

Sometimes I think that Isabruja is a satire of this type. MV is doing a great job with it, but I think the character is now about to go overdrive into obsession.
 

ITA Motherhood need only be for those who are ready to accept the role. We can idealize it but as in DieGo's case why jump into it if it's not the right time or the right situation?
 

Jardinera,
You were on fire today. Your recap had one good line after another. Great sense of where this is going with Diego and Isabela -- hope you are right. It will make for good viewing.

Mati
 

Jardinera, thank you for your very fine recap.

I never liked Lenin because I always felt he was arrogant and felt more intelligent than Fanny and had to "show her the way". So, if Fanny ends up with León that is okay by me. He is trying to build a life for himself, his son and by extension a family. There is no reason Fanny can't still get a degree and have her profession while being a wife and a mother iin spite of her age. These are not mutually exclusive. León is not perfect either with his temper but lots of people have a temper and many learn how to control it. Perfection is never attainable in people or these characters. It is all a matter of approximation to the ideal.

For that same reason Ana's loudness doesn't bother me. Who is to say her over exuberance is less desirable than the upper class more reserved reaction to everything? I like that Fernando loves her as she is and she does him. That is as it should be.

What I would find interesting is if we ever were to see ho Fanny would navigate socially at the universty now that it looks like her "friend detail" will be long gone with Lenin possibly in South Korea and Edith living in a different city.

I intend to enjoy the last two weeks of this one because who knows what the new one will be like.

Jarifa

 

Correction "how" Fanny

Jarifa
 

I really liked Edith, so I'm not too happy about what's happened to her. And I don't like the message here ... "If your love life doesn't work out, move to another city or even another country." We've seen this with Edith, Lenin, Manuela, and even Don Nico. Magda, on the other hand, should have moved on, at least to a new office location.

I'm also not happy with the Ximena-Nando and Fanny-Leon pairings. Ximena was a bully, and I think that bullying should incur some sort of anvil. (But maybe Nando is her anvil.) And Leon's anger management issues were really scary, especially when he got mad at Fanny. If Don Fernando had seen that, he wouldn't have wanted them to get back together.
 

Jarifa: agree with you, totally.
 

For me the best part was Isabella ripping off her disguise and the reactions of shock and horror from everyone as they witnessed it. The kids didn't know if she was "la tarántula" or "el tarántulo" or "whatever it was" she was. Too funny!

Jarifa
 

I also agree with UA and Jarifa, Ana's shouting is part of who Ana is and has been. And Fernando loves her as she is. THAT SAID, I do hope Ana starts to work on controlling the shouting... you can see that every time she shouts Fernando has to cover his ears... and I am sure by now she knows he is annoyed by her outbursts (at least to some extent) so i hope in the next two weeks we will see Ana a bit more controlled in her reactions. Also that said, I agree with UA that with Isa I give Ana some slack since Isa has done so much to make Ana's life a nightmare...
And I too liked that Ana realized she was inappropriate when she looked back at Fernando and that I liked that (even if he was a bit annoyed) he was not nagging at her about it either.
 

btw, thanks Jardinera for yet another succint and snarky recap. LOVED and agree with all your comments.
And about Fanny and Lenin, I agree with Jarifa that he is a bit bratty and trying to TELL her who/how she is... as if he has known her for a long time, which he hasn't.
Not as annoyed by Ximena, since she has proven she is willing to lend a hand wherever needed... but she does need to go back to school and build a life for herself.
 

I can do without Ana's screeching and all the kissy / kisses, but I love when she says, "Don Fernando" in her cute voice.
 

Okay. My error. The Carmonas start on Monday, Mar. 30th. Guess that means that the fin is Friday, 3/27. I cannot imagine why it should take two more weeks to clear up the Big Lie and to capture Don Rotten, but it will. Hulu hasn't announced los últimos días and final, tho' it didn't till the week or so before the end of LQLVMR. I keep expecting a notification any day now.

 

I saw an ultimas capitulos Fri night.
 

Clearing up the DNA issue will also involve Isabruja's Karmageddon and the other outstanding issues about her, including her attempt on Soledad's life and her causing the accident that almost cost Sebas his ability to dance. I also think that she will make a last stand beyond what will happen tonight.

We can also hope for resolutions about Bruno and Manuela, Fanny and Leon, and get some info about Ximena going back to school.

Not to mention about Ana being pregnant or not and whether Fernando decides to get a vasectomy.
 

UA, LOL!! on Fernando getting the vasectomy!! Remember Bruno told him 'where you put your eye you put the bullet!'
also Ana told Fanny again about her 'cajita de bebes' running out (of time)... so she knows she only has time to give Fernando one, two or maybe 3 (she did count 9, 10 or 11) kids and then she will be 'out of time'. Besides, Cheaper by the dozen sounds fun but its not really THAT much fun... esp if you want to dedicate the time the other X that are already there need from you still.

funny in Isa's dream she thought Diego was Ramona's replacement. he asked her if she needed to go somewhere and she replied 'why don't we rather go inside?' and he was like 'Mande?' (like not getting it at all or not expecting that response)
 

As I said in a previous discussion, I'm surprised that he didn't get a vasectomy after Luz was born. Seven kids is more than enough for anyone.

If Alejandro Fernandez can do it and publicly recommend it, I don't see why it didn't happen here.
 

Because good catholics don't use birth control?
 

Only donuts are cheaper by the dozen (especially a baker's dozen). Believe me, I know. LOL (Not that Fernando is hurting for money or anything) ... I have three sisters (I'm female) and nine brothers. One of my uncles has four sons and nine daughters. Even "small" family gatherings are chaotic. Fun, but loud! And that's only from TWO brothers! There are more.
 

I am glad Fernando did not get it done earlier... but once Ana has one or two children with him... i can see him doing it (IN A HURRY!! LOL).
 

The two older ones will be gone soon. Plenty of room for one or two more.....
 

So they'll probably move Alicia and/or Sebas to the 'single kid' rooms... and the newer babies can take their place in the 'girls' or 'boys' room or have their own since i doubt Diego or Nico will stay there permamently.
 

Aside from general overpopulation issues, children of wealthy parents consume more of the world's resources than children of the poor and not just because they can afford it; they also live longer.

Not to mention the diminishing share of parental attention. The Lascurains should not be trying to compete with the Duggars.

I always scratch my head that Silvia's novelas nearly always depict her has having a large brood.
 

SN seems like the earth mother type to me. She doesn't play high-maintenance characters. There's a little part of me that would love to see her play the villalin.
 

I'm sure she will someday if she wants to. However, she resembles Deborah Kerr and Princess Grace too much for me to see her as an earth mother.
 

I see the DK resemblance when SN is dressed up, but I don't see if when she's casual. The movies I've seen with DK and PG, even their "casual" still had an elegance to them.
 

Urban
I wonder how many guys don't have a vasectomy because of their Church / faith upbringing. It's usually ok in their mind to let their "mujer" take care of the birth control issue so they don't feel that Catholic guilt personally. At least that is what has been my experience with my Latin friends.
 

I think it's more likely that the men don't want to have a vasectomy because they are big babies and don't want the pain. I know that's true among my husband's coworkers.
 

Cathyx
I'm sure just thinking about it produces pain for them; but they can't begin to know real pain because they never have had the experience childbirth .