Caray, Caray!

(I’m skipping all repeated scenes; also, some scenes are combined)

Martin’s Mexico City office.  I’ll start with a question – who spreads photos of his brother everywhere in the office?  I guess Dimmy was more a son than a brother to Martin.  Anywho, within seconds of Claudia dropping a photo and V-Snake picking it up, Claudia is already spilling the beans about the Dimmy-Martin connection and Dimmy’s recent death.  V-Snake seems genuinely shocked to learn that Dimmy is dead.  Claudia realizes her indiscretion and begs V-Snake not to say anything about it to Martin.  No worries, says V-Snake, but I want to ask you a favor in return.

Mina Escondida.  NanC has set up a little shrine for her dearly departed Dimmy, complete with burning incense.  She remembers Dimmy telling her that his brother will surely “love” her (“querer”) as much as he loves her.  (Looks like NanC may have confused the meaning of “querer” – to love – with the meaning of “amar” – “to be in love with”.)  Perhaps she burned peyote instead of incense, because now NanC is hallucinating – she sees Dimmy’s bloody face through a window, causing her to mouth something unintelligible about a “mala mujer”.

Vero’s Office.  Emi visits Vero in her office and is all business with her, coldly telling her he needs a budget from her.  He starts walking off, then turns and congratulates her on her engagement.  She thanks him but tells him his attitude is putting a damper on her happiness.  He rudely says that her affection for him must not be all that much, because it’s not going to stop her from going through with her plans to marry Martin.

Pueblo Nuevo.  Blanquita is at the little French hotel borrowing a few more books from Monsieur Dussage.  She asks him if it’s true that a woman arrived at his hotel in the company of a man with green-blue eyes, a painter.  She wonders if that’s the painter’s wife, but Dussage just reminds her that curiosity killed the cat.

Vero’s Office.  Martin pays Vero a surprise visit.  She is thrilled to see him and hurries over to kiss him.  He is there to sign the new contract with her uncle, so she suggests they go out to lunch afterwards to celebrate.  She plans to take him to “a very special place,” one of her favorites, where she goes only on special occasions because it’s her “little luxury”.  He asks what she is going to do with the money her uncle plans to give her as a wedding gift and is surprised when she tells him she didn’t accept it.

Jorge’s Office.  Martin then heads over to Jorge’s office and just so happens to overhear Jorge instructing his secretary to inform the accountant that he needs to open a new bank account in Vero’s name, because he is going to deposit an important sum of money in it as her wedding gift.  (A whole new bank account?  And it requires the help of an accountant?  And here I thought people just wrote checks or made wire transfers.)  Martin walks in and Emi arrives right behind him.  Martin asks Emi how he is doing, but whiny Emi just asks how he expects him to be after he, his supposed friend, only entered his home to steal from him the woman he loves…..Martin is just as subtle – Not!! – when he bluntly reminds Emi that he stole nothing from him, since Vero freely chose him over Emi.  Fortunately, before this can turn into another duel, the company’s lawyer arrives and Martin leaves with him to go over the terms of the contract…..In a later scene, Jorge tells Emi it’s time for him to accept the fact that Vero is going to marry Martin.  Emi bangs the desk twice, tells his dad he will never accept it, and storms off.

Claudia In a Powder Room.  Up next is a gratuitous scene of Claudia undressing, but she does us the favor of informing us that she has just enough time to go to the gym, then out to lunch with “that little girl” (“la niñita esa”) – no mention of V-Snake, but clearly it’s V-Snake that Claudia is referring to – who else dresses and giggles like a little girl?

Virginia On Her Way Home.  As she hurries back to her chauffeured car, V-Snake wipes tears from her eyes and thought bubbles:  “I didn’t want him to be able to talk about me….but for him to die….”  The chauffeur asks if something is wrong.  She says she just found out someone died and can’t believe he is dead.  He asks if it was someone important to her.  “Very much, you have no idea,” she cries.  He suggests she stay calm, reminding her of her weak heart.  She admits her heart is suffering and continues to cry, then quickly composes herself and tells him that he must not mention any of this to her aunt.  She gets in the car and stares off into space, crying, remembering Dimmy.  We get a flashback of the two of them at a restaurant.  He hands her a red rose, she tells him he is “the ideal man” for her, but sighs and reminds him her uncle wants a moneyed man for her.  He’s got that message clear, but tells her she will have to be patient and wait until he returns to Mina Escondida – clearly she knew exactly where he was going!!!!  He is sure that once there he will find plenty of gold, but he wants to leave her a jolly good memory before he leaves.  So he tells her to close her eyes and keep them closed.  (Now in what possible ways could he create a jolly good memory for her?  Let us close our eyes and count the ways, then mute our TVs and try to imagine one of those things happened, and not what all of Viewerville was dreading from the moment we heard Pablo Montero was in the cast.  Yes, indeed, the jolly good memory is none other than his obligatory rendition of a badly lip-synched banda song.  It’s god-awful, and we are supposed to believe our eyes telling us that V-Snake is thoroughly enjoying it.  If that is not sincere love on her part, then I don’t know what is.)  Back to the present, V-Snake continues to thought-bubble, asking Dimmy up in heaven to explain to her why he died.  It never crosses her mind that her “Dear John” letter had anything to do with it.

Pueblo Nuevo.  Blanquita is about to leave the French hotel when she meets Mariana and greets her.  Mariana assumes she is the waitress who is going to serve her breakfast, but once Blanquita says she doesn’t work there, Mariana shows no interest in her.  She then whines to Dussage that she is stuck there because the river was too turbulent and the boat taxi will not be able to take her.  It’s become clear to her that she is only Pablo’s agent and that there is no need for her to hang around him while he paints.  (Only his agent!!!  And here I thought she was his fiancée and had a vested interest in making sure he wouldn’t get “roving eye” syndrome.)

Mina Escondida.  Pablo is not exactly truthful when he tells Ana Perla that “something” came up and he must return to the city.  But he reassures her that he feels bad about it.  It pains him, because he just doesn’t like hurting people.  He doesn’t want her to doubt that he is “in love” with her.  He swears it, and swears that he will return.

A Pricey Restaurant in Mexico City.  V-Snake invites Claudia out for lunch and promises she won’t tell Martin she saw the photos, although she does find it odd that he wants to hide them and doesn’t want to even mention his brother.  V-Snake orders champagne for Claudia, giggles when she hears she’s known Martin for years, takes her hand, then tells her she really likes her and hopes they will be friends….As expected, Claudia is soon imbibing the champagne like pure water and spilling details about Martin.  V-Snake promises not to say anything about Claudia’s past history with Martin.  And to show how much she likes her too, she “confesses” to Claudia that she and Vero don’t get along well.  Now Claudia feels at ease and expresses her true feelings about Vero – that she is rude and haughty.  V-Snake agrees that Vero is very self-interested, then asks how Martin’s family is involved in mining.  She is surprised to hear that Martin is new to mining and that he inherited the mine from his dead brother Dimmy.  Claudia tells V-Snake she’s lucky she can spend money on expensive champagne without even worrying about it.  She dreams that one day she too will live that way, without having to worry about money, and living the way SHE deserves to live.

A Typical Indoor Market in Mexico City.  Vero and Martin stroll through a mercado popular, an indoor market with various humble storefronts and simple restaurants serving typical Mexican food.  She tells him she loves that place and hopes he’ll like it.  He never thought she would like a place like that, but Vero assures him that she does, because she likes to enjoy life’s simple things.  She greets the cook at one of the food stands.  Clearly she frequents the place, because the woman tells her she’s happy to see her again and then asks her if she would like her usual “tres de chicarron” (three of fried pork) and “dos de sesos” (two of brains) quesadillas.  (Somehow I doubt Vero could keep that figure and that clear skin if she regularly ate five greasy quesadillas per sitting.)  Vero smiles and jokes:  “Ay, Doña Meche, ya me balconeó con mi prometido”, more or less meaning “Oh, Doña Meche, you just burned me (or made fun of me) in front of my fiancé.” As they wait for their food, Vero tells Martin she hopes he’s not upset about all the arrangements her aunt Selma is making for their wedding.  Vero would much prefer something smaller and sooner, because she can’t wait to start her life with him.

Emi’s Office.  Nicolas goes to Emi’s office and finds him hard at work….getting drunk, that is.  He tells Emi he spoke with Vero and she finally understands that it’s best if she doesn’t continue working with Emi.  Besides, Nicolas doesn’t think Vero will have any problem finding a job elsewhere, because she has been offered many other positions and just never took them.  Emi is sure his father will never allow Vero to resign.

Mina Escondida.  Ana Perla is very sad because Pablo already left town.  Blanquita is relieved when Ana Perla tells her she already knows he arrived there with a woman who sells his paintings for him.  At first Blanquita had imagined she was his wife, but she dug around and confirmed that they stayed in separate rooms at the hotel.  (Really?!  So Mariana bankrolls the trip and gets no “benefits” for it?  So not fair, Pablo.)  Ana Perla wonders if she is an older woman.  Oh, no, Blanquita tells her she is quite young and pretty, which worries Ana Perla, but then Blanquita says “but she is very uptight (sangrona)”.  Somehow that gives Ana Perla a sense of relief, and she even says “poor Pablo”.  (I’m guessing she thinks Pablo would never show interest in a young, pretty, but uptight woman.  Oh, how little she knows men.)  She is sure that Pablo loves her well and that he would never have kissed her if he already had a girlfriend.  (Forget my previous comment.  She does not know men AT ALL.)

Martin’s Office.  Martin is once again venting to his therapist good friend Alfredo while having drinks at a bar.  This time he is whining about Vero’s apparent self-interest, how she pretended she turned down her uncle’s cash gift and then he found out the uncle had already deposited it for her.  Alfredo doesn’t understand why she would need to lie to Martin about that.  Well, that’s just because she likes to come off as naïve and selfless, Martin tells him.  Alfredo points out that his distrust in her is making him paranoid, and he is sure Martin is the one who will go crazy. (Alfredo, dude, I hate to break it to you, but your buddy is already nuts.)  Martin is disconcerted; he still doesn’t quite get why she took him out to eat quesadillas at a humble indoor market.  (The way he says it, it’s obvious he thinks she had an ulterior motive for taking him there.  Let’s face it, he is so willfully blind about her, that even if she was canonized as a saint, he would still think she was an evil woman.)  Alfredo smiles and wonders if perhaps she actually fell in love with him.  Martin is sure she is incapable of loving, but if she did fall in love with him, that would be even better for his plans of vengeance.  Alfredo understands exactly what Martin means, telling him: “If she is in love, you can make her suffer even more.” 

The Prado Castelo Mansion.  Back home, Vero and her nana are raving about the numerous arrangements of red roses she just received from Martin.  Selma and Jorge show up and the dear auntie immediate tells Vero to not be so inconsiderate and to take them all up to her room so her son does not have to see them.  Not a word of complaint from anyone.  As Vero and her nana follow Selma’s orders, Jorge wonders where Virginia is.  Selma proudly says her sweet dear niece, despite being sick, went to a charity dinner to raise funds for poor orphans.  Ginny is so selfless that she never stops to think about others.

Hotel Conquistador (what an appropriate name).  Oh, yeah, Ginny is sure busy raising something alright, but it’s not exactly funds.  She is once again in bed with Dr. Feelgood, who reminds her they have to do that more often.  No complaints from V-Snake; she truly did need him “this time” (translation – not other times, dude).  It was such a horrible day for her, nothing but bad news.  Dr. Feelgood wonders if she now has something else to envy Vero about.  V-Snake is not amused; somehow Vero always wins.  She reminds him how she sent Dimmy off in search of gold.  “Of course, you took too long doing it.  I couldn’t handle him being around you anymore.”  V-Snake reminds him he was the one who dared her to ensnare Dimmy.  “Yes, but only for a while, like your little buddies….but you were getting too hooked on this one.”  V-Snake breaks the news to him that Dimmy did make a fortune with a mine of gold.  Dr. Feelgood suddenly doesn’t feel so good, grabs her neck, and demands to know if she saw Dimmy again.  She tells him she’ll never see Dimmy again because he is dead. 

Nightclub Somewhere in Mexico City.  Emi continues to drown his sorrows in alcohol, this time at a pole-dancing night club…..In a later scene, he is drop dead drunk and calling a pole dancer Veronica, urging her to keep on dancing for him.  (Keep dreaming Emi!!!) 

Hotel Conquistador.  Back to V-Snake, who is now telling Dr. Feelgood that Dimmy died and left the mine to his half-brother Martin San Telmo.  The only thing she still doesn’t understand is why Martin wants to hide the fact that Dimmy was his brother….Dr. Feelgood agrees it’s strange for Martin not to mention to her family someone who they all know.  V-Snake intends to find out why, though her only real worry is anyone finding out about her affair with Dimmy.

Pueblo Nuevo.  Ana Perla is fast asleep – dreaming of her wedding dance with Pablo, both dressed in white.  (Pablo, dude, only the bride wears white, unspoken rule!!!  And ironic for a painter who is in love with God’s endless palette of colors to dress in white.  Geez.)  As they dance, Ana Perla begs Pablo to promise he will never leave her, and of course as soon as he promises, the dream turns into a nightmare when Pablo’s “representative” shows up in a ridiculous black hat, apologizing for breaking up the party because she has to take the groom on a whirlwind world tour.  She is followed by grumpy Grandpa and psycho Manuel, who have different plans in store for Pablo.  Ana Perla now wakes up screaming Pablo’s name at the top of her lungs and drenched in sweat.  Seconds later, Crescencio walks in, wondering who this “Pablo” is…..Ana Perla feigns ignorance, saying it was just a nightmare.  Grandpa blames her nightmare on the effects of reading those silly little romance novels, when she should be reading the Bible (well of course, because as we all know, there’s nothing nightmarish in the Bible, except maybe for Satan, talking snakes, burning bushes, the wrath of God, you get the drift.)

Hotel Conquistador.  Dr. Feelgood doesn’t want Virginia to leave just yet.  She reminds him it’s quite late, and no matter how gullible aunt and uncle are, they’ll never believe a gala dinner could last so long.  (I bet they wouldn’t believe how long Dr. Feelgood could last either, judging from his insatiable appetite for Ginny.)  As they prepare to leave, he grabs her face a little aggressively and reminds her that she belongs to him only, so she better not have anyone else – in real life or in her imagination, not even memories of Demetrio are allowed.  He adds that her life has to revolve around him, just as his revolves completely around her.  That little line reawakens both of their sexual appetites, so they remain in bed for the second course (or third or fourth, who knows) of their euphemistic “gala dinner”.

Mina Escondida.  Father Juan joins Botel and Malena for dinner.  He tells them it’s a blessing that Martin found a purchaser for their gold so quickly.  Malena agrees it’s a blessing, because it will help to accomplish many goals.  Father Juan sees Botel hang his head, and says it seems as if having so much gold is a burden for him.  No, Botel is sad because he knows Malena can’t wait for the gold to be sold so she can go searching for her daughter….. Malena explains to padre Juan that she doesn’t intend to leave Botel, but only to go search for her daughter.  He wasn’t aware they had a daughter, but Malena tells him its only her daughter and not Botel’s, who is not even her husband.  In fact, she never divorced her daughter’s father.

Bar at Hotel Conquistador.  What a coincidence – of all the gin joints in Mexico City, it turns out the bar where Martin and Alfredo are having drinks is in the same hotel where V-Snake and Dr. Feelgood just had their extended rendezvous.  Martin catches sight of them as they are trying to sneak out and calls out to Ginny….Ginny hurries over to greet Martin.  He actually tells her he “finds it strange” that she would be “given permission” to go out at night.  (I don’t blame him; the way she dresses and behaves, Martin must not realize she is an adult woman who should not need permission to go out.)  Ginny repeats the lie she told Selma and Jorge, that she was there for a charity dinner to raise funds for orphans.  She admits it’s hard to get “permission” from her auntie due to her illness, but hey, she’s there with her cardiologist, who she quickly introduces to Martin.  She takes the opportunity to ask Martin for his “guest list” for the dinner party her family is planning to celebrate his engagement with Vero.  Martin has no clue what she is talking about.  Oh well, says Ginny:  “You know what Vero is like, she forgets everything.”  (Ginny, girl, he just met Vero.  He doesn’t know her yet, even if he plans to marry her.)  Gotta give her credit, though, she sure knows how to dig for dirt in a subtle way, so when Martin tells her he is only inviting Alfredo and Claudia, she asks if he is not planning to invite his parents, perhaps a brother.  “No, I have no parents, and my only brother recently died.”  She tries to ask more about his brother, but he would rather not talk about it.  She promises to never again bring up the subject.  (For her own good, I’m sure.)

The Prado Castelo Mansion.  Nana Maty tells Vero not to worry about her aunt Selma’s comments.  Besides, it’s much better to have all those flower arrangements in her own bedroom.  Vero agrees, but wishes her mother were with her now to share all those moments with her, so she too could enjoy her happiness.  If only she hadn’t abandoned her.  Poor Maty reminds her “she” is there with her, even if it’s not quite the same thing.  Vero hugs her and reassures her she has been like a second mother to her.

Bar at Hotel Conquistador.  Though they had already said their goodbyes, Ginny walks back up to Martin, tells him how happy she is for him and Vero, then asks him for a favor – to not tell her aunt and uncle that he saw her with Dr. Feelgood, aka Daniel, because the two of them have started a relationship.  “It will be hard to get my uncle to accept him, since he doesn’t have a gold mine like you do.”  When Martin says it shouldn’t be that way, she responds:  “That’s not important to me, but some time ago Veronica convinced my uncle that the best thing was for him to marry us both off to someone who can provide for us like queens.”  Martin is left with a cara impactada.

Preview – As he rides Sanson, Martin thought bubbles:  “You are the reason I met my worst nightmare, but I’m going to break you down and tame you (hacer entrar en cintura), just like I will do to Veronica.”  (Martin forgets Vero already tamed Sanson, and may just do the same to him.  Let the “Taming Games” begin.)

Recapper Note:  The above is the “preview” I got on my online copy of this episode.  I had already written it, but just now saw Univision’s preview with scenes from the “engagement” party.  I hope it’s not considered a spoiler to include my description of the online preview, because I’m kinda fond of my “Taming Games” line.  Is there a recapper privilege card I can use for this?