Caray, Caray!

Not happy that we'll be seeing more of Humberto. Get him off my TV screen.
 

Mauricio, thank you

"... kind of bedazzled if you ask me"

Humberto - chastity belt

Erick - Oooh oooh oooh, ahhh ahhh ahhh

Connie - man the lifeboats but I'm going down with the chimp

Miguel - sorry Connie what was that, uh, did you know you have the cutest little freckle on your ear lobe

Art - URGH, Nina is an idiot she doesn't even know when she's being belittled

Daniela - tomorrow I cook Thai

Julia - it's so not fair, I already have my prom dress

The Board - you ain't god fool, we are Gotta Serve Somebody Bob Dylan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CwHby-YTNo

 

Thank you Mauricio! Great recap.

I admit, I couldn't keep watching last night and turned off the last part of all the constant Erick whining and the Humberto crap. Couldn't agree more, we have to have that Eladio prime in the house now too while Eladio 2.0 goes about his revenge business? yeah, not happy.

And honestly, if Gabby didn't have a AHA moment when Eladio 3.0, er mean Franco, made "the grab", then the girl is denser then a doornail. Both she and Julia should sneak out of the house, don't care if it's climbing out a window with nothing with you. And mainly because I'm sick of seeing the grabbing and " I really love you" being spouted from the Eladio clones.

Yeah Erick is leaving and that leaves Connie in the house. So Miguel is a little geeky, creepy, but if I had to choose, I'd rather she was with Miguel. (TN rules don't allow for option 3 - just go it alone and forget any of the men lurking in your life. GRRRR.)

Basically this is fighting over Julia by these two maturity challenged men and the mess resulting is getting tougher to watch because I'm just having to park the sensible aspect of people just walking away from the abusers or situations. I know, I know we're supposed to look at the psychological scars, etc. but after awhile you wonder how much more they have to be smacked in the face, and the young ones are learning nothing from the dysfunctional elders. Ok than.

Daisynjay
 

Good Lord, the recap, while wonderfully written, is so disturbing, I think I'm going to completely skip watching this episode (hmmm...though I might want to check out how Nina left Arturo dazed, confused and bedazzled). One can always learn, no?

Favorite line among many awesome zingers was:

"She's getting punished for breaking his non-existent heart".

Perfect. As was the caption under Humberto's photo.

Thanks for watching and recapping this, Mauricio, so I can spare my own heart and mind and just skip it. Love all your erasures and asides. Simply great. Sorry you had to suffer psychic scars from Montse's bubble butt. She truly is a freak of nature, or a freak of plastic surgery. Whichever.

Oh, but while dwelling on this subject, has anyone noticed that the choreography of lovemaking is always the same in this one. First full-frontal smooching. Then whip her around and kiss her neck. Then back to full frontal. Then another flip back. Finally getting horizontal. Come up with a new dance routine folks!
 

"option 3 - just go it alone and forget any of the men lurking in your life. GRRRR"

TN boneheads would have to admit that women are capable of making decisions, having a career and feeding themselves and their families yet they refuse. Connie had a career, Ratt too but only one woman in the whole show could/would support herself and raise a family, Regina. Only one.
 

Mauricio, thank you for providing some rays of sunlight after this dank, dark, depressing episode. Your marvelous sense of humor made me smile in spite of everything that transpired last night. You did a wonderful job.

"She's getting punished for breaking his non-existent heart", "The bubble booty left me so scarred that I can't recall what happened in that scene" and "Well, Humberto's not about to be against a man who takes care of him, loves him. and changes his diapers" were among my favorites.

Cruelty in any form is always revolting but calculated cruelty brings an even more nefarious connotation. What could have hurt Julia more than anything else? Bringing her abusive father to live with her. Inspired Eladio. Well (but putridly) done.

I imagine part of the psyche of abuse is that you feel you are trapped, that you cannot escape and have no options. I am trying but failing to understand why Julia doesn't realize she has an intelligent, loving son and can leave with him at a moment's notice to safety and to another life.

Consuelo's sad past may make her staying a bit more understandable but...she actually still loves Erick! I'm really perplexed at that. He must represent some sort of savior figure who "rescued" her from her previous life. But, she was a top model and could transition to that life again if she had the confidence.

We can only hope Gaby escapes before being fully ensnared in Franco's trap.

I'm very uncomfortable with seeing virtually all the women in this fell into one of two categories: victim or an evil manipulator.

Daniela - tomorrow I cook Thai. Thanks tofie!

Diana
 

Gracias, Mauricio. This was a tough episode.

I am predicting that Eladio's plan is to have the male nurse do the customary drudge work while also acting as another spy. He probably doubled the man's pay for that. Who wants to bet that if the man has nothing to report he will get angry?

Eladio needs Julia to be "disloyal" and "disobedient" to justify his disgusting mistreatment of her just as much as he needs to keep believing that David is not his son. He is probably also aware that social workers don't take emotional abuse seriously. His latest plan to torture Arturo with a son he can't go near will fail because Julia and Arturo clearly did not have sexual relations within the relevant time frame.

The "mature" characters are following the script of generational info boundaries that I'm very familiar with. There are certain things that are not typically shared with one's children, even after they grow up. However, this situation virtually demands that Arturo tell Regina about his history with Julia. The board meeting scene is evidence that there will be further repercussions to the feud between him and Eladio whom the board is realizing is too insane to really be running the company. Julia should have told David the whole truth because that would at least help explain Eladio's rejection of him.

More later. I need more caffeine.
 

Many thanks for a thorough and witty recap, Mauricio. You managed to enlighten the mood of an otherwise dim episode and that is no easy feat!

Now that the premise of this story has been laid out, I wish the plot would stop running around in circles. Almost all the scenes from last night were déjà vu, save for Dastardly Daddy On Wheels making his appearance in the Gómez Luna mansion. I did not see that coming! I have to give it to Bad Boy Eladio, this was an inspired move. Wicked but inspired.

That conversation about Erick being sent to work Lord knows where, just dragged on and on and ooooon... Arturo should've just said: "Either you go where I tell you to or you're fired and evicted from my house. End of discussion! And if I hear one more peep outta you, te me largas ahorita mismo!" We do realize ADD is rampant in that household but did they all forget just how awful Erick's transgression was and how lightly he got off the hook? Fredo Corleone got banished from the family AND whacked a few years later for a similar offense! Come On, Chimpanzee Boy, dial it back on the attitude!

All in all, I got really tired of the shenanigans in this episode. Maybe feeling physically tired compounded that effect, but the boys' stomping bored me senseless and the girls' waa-waa-ing got on my nerves... En fin... Glad to get a two-day break from all the PyP drama!




 

-- A quote from the capítulo --

“¿No te das cuenta de la estupidez que hiciste? ¡Ahora Arturo Montenegro se va a burlar de mí toda la vida! [...] ¿Por qué tenías que acudir a ÉL?”

(Bad Boy Eladio reproaches Insipid Julia for breaking his heart facsimile: “Are you aware of the blunder you committed? Now I’ll forever be Arturo Montenegro’s laughing stock! Why did you have to resort to HIM?” )

Darse cuenta de algo = to realize / to notice / to finally understand something

Estupidez = stupidity / idiocy / blunder

Burlarse de alguien = to ridicule / to mock / to deride someone

Acudir a alguien = to resort to / to turn to someone for help, assistance or protection.

 

It's a good comparison to Fredo Corleone. I recently attended the double feature of the first 2 GF films and it surprises me that Vito didn't really lose his cool at him. At least we know that Erick will not try to whack Arturo unless he is truly stupid enough to jump ship to work for Eladio.

He is monumentally stupid for spending the night with the Rat.

She is even dumber for not realizing that if she married him he would eventually treat her just as badly as he has just treated Consuelo. This looks like it could have been a portent of things to come, but Arturo sending him far away will save his neck a little longer because it will take him away from the Rat.

Here's hoping they don't eventually breed.

As for Consuelo, she needs a shrink yesterday. Erick is an abusive jerk. He has neither the business intelligence nor the good looks of his father and he has no sense of loyalty. He betrayed both his father and his wife in the same move (at least he's efficient). And he fails to see what a true whore is.

That social worker should lose her job over this.

Consuelo will be livid and she might be moved to go after the Rat >>>>> catfight. That should please some of the male viewers.
 

Somewhat off the topic, but I can't help but drool over that beautiful auto-spinning world globe on Eladio's desk (left side, front). I think the globe is made by Mova, and I would buy one but they are somewhat expensive.
 

Thanks for this marvelous recap, Mauricio. Once more, nicely done. I thought your second thoughts (near-erasures and strike-throughs) were especially funny.

I was hoping for a little more response to the amped-up salsa and I think that perhaps Dani was a bit disappointed as well. It did seem pretty obvious to me that it was more of a passive-aggressive gesture than a malicious act. What a scamp.

I think that one of the reasons (besides the obvious) I like Nina so much is because of the fond memories I have of her from Gata Salvaje in which she played the title role. She was a strong, defiant protagonista whom I could heartily support. By the way is was her character, Rosaura Rios who uttered the words:

"A tu hermana Eva se la comieron los cocodrilos." (The crocodiles ate your sister Eva.)"

which are enshrined on the sidebar. I think it was one of the best lines ever in a TN.

Carlos
 

Daniela may have known that Arturo wouldn't swallow that salsa, but that was a passive/aggressive move to make him think it a mistake to put her in the kitchen. Actually, if he had asked me for advice I would have said she should do the laundry and then watch her chagrin as she ruined her own clothes that she now has no allowance to replace.

"Too bad. If you want new clothes, go out and work!" is what he should say.
 

One more thing, then I have to shut down to go out:

Who else noticed the cigarette lighter in Eladio's hands during the board meeting? This has to be about more than Humberto's cigars. I think this is an omen for arson.
 

Thank you so much, Mauricio! The addition of Humberto in the house certainly would make ME jump ship. Eladio, the guards/stalkers, and Franco were bad enough. Now we have jerk gramps and his creepy nurse.

Eladio's biggest worry being that Art would laugh behind his back, now knowing that Eladio believes (in his mind, KNOWS) that David is Art's child, just struck me as funny. His constant insistence that David is Art's despite Julia's 25 years of denials, years of begging for a DNA test, lack of shock that David might be dating Regina, and now her even asking Art to take the damn DNA test, is just ridiculous. Truth be told, I kind of understand Julia's hysterics in face of that kind of crazy stubbornness.

Another one who just blows my mind with his stubborn obtuseness is Erick. What part of you committed fraud, lost the company millions, lost people jobs, and you should be grateful you aren't rotting in jail, does he (and Nina) not understand?
 

Mauricio, thank you for that snappy recap of a nappy episode! These folks are crazystupid.

Judyb...I loved your description of the choreography. Maybe they are doing "Now, watch me whip it, now, watch me Nae, Nae.

Daisynjay..I am with you. Why don't these women just walk away from these abusive dolts?
 

I did UA and had a flashback of Severiano in La Sombra del pasado playing with the lighter
 

Do you suppose the ominous music that accompanied Humbetro's attendant has anything to do with our initial impression? We saw him all of what? about three seconds?

UA, when I saw Eladio flicking his lighter I wondered if perhaps he may have abused animals as a child and was a bed-wetter.

Carlos
 

Carlos, I missed that tn, but I like the quote! My two favorite lines are both from Melinama's solo recap of Alborada.." The mystery boinker of Santa Rita" and " swelling in the humid zones."
 

Bedwetter, for sure.
 

Hello again, beautiful peeps!

-- Tofie: Thank you for the chuckles! I love the soundbites you come up with for our deluded characters. Razor-sharp, perceptive and telegraphic humor! La felicito por ese gran talento :)

-- Daisynjay: In PyP, we are witnessing a story of unbridled brainlessness where, for 25 years, Eladio & Julia have been having the exact same argument ad infinitum, while Arturo & Nina have been living in parallel universes, only coinciding in bed for a session of mattress olympics when the urge calls for it. It seems that things have been going round and round in maddening circles, with the younger generation learning squat from their elders’ debilitating emotional dysfunction. This sorry bunch has waited for us to show up in order for them to start untangling the gigantic mess and, so far, they’re failing miserably; hence the lack of common sense, maturity, subtlety, reasoning or multiple options in this TN. Everyone is pathologically stupid and everything is a zero-sum game in the PyP universe. (Evidently, this does not apply to you Agustín, my silver-haired silver-tongued prince!)

-- JudyB: “... has anyone noticed that the choreography of lovemaking is always the same in this one?”. You’re absolutely right! I’ve seen this in a lot of recent TNs: too many lame attempts at raunchy “love scenes”, a lot of gratuitous nudity but there is zero chemistry between the lovers, the acting is wooden and the love-making choreographies are stiff, repetitive and, at times, just plain risible! Where on earth is Carla Estrada?

-- Diana: “I'm very uncomfortable with seeing virtually all the women in this fell into one of two categories: victim or an evil manipulator.” You echo the sentiment of many of us here on the Patio. I hope next week brings us a glimpse of hope that some real character development is upcoming. I’m getting tired of characters having the same conversations, the same arguments and the same (lack of) reasoning they’ve had for 27 episodes.
¡Basta Ya! Let’s get this baby moving along, shall we?

-- UA: "She is even dumber for not realizing that if she married him he would eventually treat her just as badly as he has just treated Consuelo." We've established long ago that thinking is not RatHo's forte. She does not understand that she is a Consuelo-in-the-making and that her novelty as Chimpanzee Boy's pampered second wife will wear off very quickly. She is indeed just another shiny toy he will unceremoniously discard as soon as he enters into actual and exclusive "possession" of her.

-- Vivi, Carlos, Mauricio, UA: It’s interesting to see you sensed a creepy vibe emanating from the male nurse. I barely noticed him at all. He only caught my attention for a couple of seconds, because he looked so uncomfortable standing there, I thought to myself this must be a member of the crew moonlighting as extra. Maybe his unease made him look shifty to some viewers?

-- Susanlynn: Aaaaah “the mystery boinker of Santa Rita”... I miss seeing my Fernando with flowing luscious locks and period costumes, riding horses on the beach and looking all heroic and stuff... Nandicta sighs... swoons... melts... needs to be collected off the floor...
 

Love it Nandicta. Your take is spot on. Sort of worries me for the run of this since we still seem to be in spiraling...same old issues over and over but at some point we'll see people hurt or lose. The look of those credits makes me wonder if and when that blood flows.

Daisynjay
 

Thank you, Mauricio! My word! Everybody suffers from arrested development in this piece! Parents fretting over dense, spoiled and defiant, grown-assed "kids" who needed to have been out on their own loooong ago and a wives treated like naughty children and unfortunately acting like it as well. David and Regina were an oasis of maturity amidst the tantrums, pissing, and moaning of this crew! Gracious! So how is Nina going to prevent Erick from being "sent far away" to -- HORROR -- work? Looks like creepy Miguel has an in once again with Connie.

This story begs the question, "What is love?" So far the answer is "delusional and masochistic" (Consuelo for Erick), "narcissistic and manipulative" (Nina for her family), "ego maniacal and sadistic" (Eladio for Julia), "desperate, delusional and tainted by the passage of time" (Arturo and Julia). That leaves us with David and Regina. What is love for them? "Hope and massive saliva exchange."

Well, let me see what everyone else thinks. Thank you again, Mauricio! Love your style with the strike-overs that say so much!
 

Awesome job, Mauricio, thank you.

I thought that little bit when Arturo ate the salt was genius, and probably an ad lib by Jorge Salinas. That is a quick way to soothe the spiciness of the salsa. I remember growing up if I happened to bite into a particularly spicy chile (jalapeno, serrano, habanero, etc) and started gasping with watering eyes, my grandma would always tell me to eat some salt; and always, that was the way to do it. you make a fist, lick the back of your hand (so the salt won't fall off), sprinkle the salt, and lick it off. Worked every time!
 

Great list, tofie. Thank you.

I loved the whole list, but my top three favorites were:

"Daniela - tomorrow I cook Thai"

"Julia - it's so not fair, I already have my prom dress"

"Miguel - sorry Connie what was that, uh, did you know you have the cutest little freckle on your ear lobe"

And thanks for the Gotta Serve Somebody link and also for the Talking Heads link from yesterday. I enjoyed watching and listening to both.
 

Carlos, I think he probably did. We don't really have his backstory yet because I don't trust anything he's said in view of the lies he told David, so we have to hope there's something else coming to light.

So far we have had no flashbacks and no dream sequences. Since we have no evidence that Eladio has any blood relations his own age or older, that might be the only source of information about this.
 

-- Daisynjay: Here's hoping the full potential of this TN is unleashed soon. We were promised a powerful tale of love, despair, betrayal, hatred, rivalry, death... and "unbridled ethusiasm! Well, that's what led to Billy Mumphrey's downfall." ;)


-- Lila: Your categorizations of love in PyP are bang on! "Hope and massive saliva exchange" had me giggling uncontrollably! :D

-- Here are the translated lyrics of the theme song for our favorite PyP tonsil tennis players, as per Anita's request yesterday :

“Ecos de Amor” by Jesse & Joy

Desperté en la oscuridad => (I woke up in the dark)

Sin dejarte de pensar => (I can’t stop thinking of you)

Sigue tu huella en mi almohada => (Your imprint is embedded in my pillow)
Veo tu rostro frente a mí => (I see your face in front of me)

Siento que aún estas aquí => (I feel you’re still here)

Todo mi cuerpo te extraña => (My entire body misses you)
Puedo ver tu sombra en la luna => (I can see your shadow in the moon)

Cuando mi memoria te alumbra => (When my memory illuminates you)

Coro / Chorus:
Ya están desgastadas todas las palabras => (All the words are worn out)

Lo que queda entre tú y yo no le alcanza al corazón => (What is left between you and me is not enough for the heart)

Y desde mi pecho suena tu recuerdo => (And from my chest your memory reverberates)

Todo lo que fue de los dos son ecos de amor => (Love echoes are all that remains of the two of us)

Estoy perdiendo la razón => (I’m going crazy / losing my mind) 

Me hablas en cualquier canción => (You speak to me in every song)

Tu nombre está en cada palabra => (Your name is in every word)
Estás tan cerca y tan lejos => (You’re so close and so far)

Me aferro sólo a un reflejo... Te pierdo =>(I’m clinging to a reflection... I’m losing you)

(Coro / Chorus) x 1

Suenan más y cada vez un poco más => (They [the love echoes] emit a loud sound that gets a little louder every time)

Suenan tanto y no me puedo acostumbrar => (They [the love echoes] resound so much and I can’t get used to it)

(Coro / Chorus) x 1
 

Thank you Daisynjay.

Yeah, that whole last segment with the back and forth between Erick and Humberto was annoying.

Franco is a little mini-Eladio. Those two are definitely related. Gabriela should have seen the signs that Franco is just like his "padrino".

I'd rather Consuelo be with Miguel too. Although the third option would be the better one.
 

Thank you JudyB.

The "bedazzled" scene was so odd. I wasn't sure how to take Artie's reaction. He just sat there and didn't seem to move at all. No wonder she's been able to use her charms on him to get what she wants.

The bubble booty was probably there as a cry for ratings. While watching that scene, I kept wondering how Univision would handle it. I thought that they were going to blur it out, but they decided to leave the whole scene out altogether. I'm not complaining.

"Oh, but while dwelling on this subject, has anyone noticed that the choreography of lovemaking is always the same in this one. First full-frontal smooching. Then whip her around and kiss her neck. Then back to full frontal. Then another flip back. Finally getting horizontal. Come up with a new dance routine folks!"

I agree.

Thank you Diana.

"But, she was a top model and could transition to that life again if she had the confidence."

I agree- that is what she should have done a long time ago. I don't see how she could love him. He's a jerk to her.

"We can only hope Gaby escapes before being fully ensnared in Franco's trap."

I agree.

Thank you, Urban!

I agree- I think that the nurse is there also as another spy.

The board meeting was one of the best scenes of the night.

"Julia should have told David the whole truth because that would at least help explain Eladio's rejection of him."

Maybe not when he was a child, but now that he's an adult and could understand it better, I think she should tell him.
 

Thank you Nandicta. And Welcome to The Patio (I didn't get a chance to formally welcome you earlier). I'm glad that you decided to join us. :)

"Now that the premise of this story has been laid out, I wish the plot would stop running around in circles. Almost all the scenes from last night were déjà vu"

YES! They were the same thing over and over.

Dastardly Daddy On Wheels- Hahaha! Good one. :)

"Arturo should've just said: "Either you go where I tell you to or you're fired and evicted from my house. End of discussion! And if I hear one more peep outta you, te me largas ahorita mismo!""

I agree.

Thank you, Carlos.

Yeah, the salsa thing wasn't malicious at all. I've been enjoying watching Daniela help out around the house.

"A tu hermana Eva se la comieron los cocodrilos." (The crocodiles ate your sister Eva.)"

Hahaha, that is definitely one of the best TN lines! I love it.

Thank you, Vivi.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one that saw the nurse as creepy. Now would be a good time for Julia to pack her things and leave. And take Gabriela with her.

Thank you Susanlynn.

"crazystupid" - Hahaha. That's so true!

Carlos and Susanlynn,

Yes, definitely a bed wetter. LOL
 

Thank you Lila.

"Everybody suffers from arrested development in this piece! Parents fretting over dense, spoiled and defiant, grown-assed "kids" who needed to have been out on their own loooong ago and a wives treated like naughty children and unfortunately acting like it as well."

I agree. I find it absurd that Artie now wants to discipline his kids. It's too late for that now. They're all grown up. They'll only change if they want to. Right now it doesn't seem like they will make that change that Artie wants. Artie should have been more present when they were younger.

David and Regina were an oasis of maturity amidst the tantrums, pissing, and moaning of this crew!

Yes. They were the only happy ones last night. Can they stay in Queretaro forever? That's the only place where they can be happy, it seems.

Thank you Anon 5:14

I didn't know that about the salt. That's good to know. Thank you.
 

Tks so much for the recaps. I haven't been watching lately because Bajo el mismo cielo is winding down & so good that I can't wait to the next day to watch it.
This one will be easy to dial back into. In the meantime the recaps keep me up to date.

Eladio y Julia fight, Art y Nina fight, Consuelo y Erick fight, David y Regina smooch,

I still have a problem seeing sweet Cero as the nasty Humberto.
 

Julia brings up how she's the one that has had to put with his abuse, his affairs, his bad breath, his snoring, his tattoo, his way of chewing his food, and so on.

Funny! When you hate someone, everything about them drives you crazy.

Thanks for the recap, Mo!
 

Thanks, Mauricio. My favorites:

If I sit perfectly still maybe she'll leave me alone – Artie

now she'll have to put up with a warden... her own rat bastard father

I felt so sorry for Julia when Humberto showed up. How suffocating to be under the thumb of both men. But I was intrigued when the male nurse showed up –- finally something completely different. Even if the nurse spies on Julia, hopefully he’ll be more entertaining than Humberto.

Tofie – Love Connie’s man the lifeboats but I'm going down with the chimp
 

Thank you Variopinta for stopping by. I'm glad the recaps have been able to help you keep up with what's happening here on PyP. Yeah, it's pretty much the thing every night, someone's always arguing and kissing.

Thank you Cynderella. Yeah, even the littlest thing just drives you up a wall.

Thank you Niecie. Oh yeah, the male nurse is sure to be entertaining. He's creepy, but I'm sure he'll be entertainingly creepy. Unlike Miguel.
 

*pretty much the same thing every night
 

Thanks so much Mauricio for taking one for the team on this sad and repetitive episode. You brought delightful humor throughout your recap - bedazzled, non-existent heart, etc.

Most of my thoughts have been stated already but I do lament that the writers seem to be lacking. The similar weaknesses in most of the female characters (victims) is painful. Here's hoping Julia's icky father makes her snap and leave the house.
 

Eladio's faults

I bet he doesn't put the toilet seat down either.
 

And we haven't seen those canaries since the opening episode.
 

Forgot all about the canaries, they are probably laying at the bottom of their cage with their little feet up in the air 'cause Julia forgot to feed them.
 

Thank you Karen. I'm glad that you enjoyed the recap. Yes, Julia does need to get out of that house and move in David.


 

Eladio's facults- Good one Variopinta.

I had forgotten all about the canaries also. Hopefully, Julia hasn't forgotten about them.
 

Mauricio--Totally rad recap. Loved it all, beginning to end. Kudos to the crafter and his craft, that is, not the story. The story is so thin, punctuated once in awhile by -- almost there resolution, before degenerating into stupidity again.

Pardon if I step on any words already written--haven't had time to read all the comments before thinking that at this juncture, why should Julia care so much to prove David is Eladio's son.

She knows what Eladio is like as a husband and father--cruel and abusive, vicious, vindictive, and just about every other negative attribute--and she WANTS him to be Eladio's son? For what, tell me again? So father and son can get along better she's willing to endure this treatment? And, she is backing David working in his father's firm? She knows what kind of businessman he is--ruthless, vengeful, etc., and she WANTS David to work with him? BE like him?

I agree, it's time for Julia to talk with her feet. Surely she can use Gaby to get a message to David or Artie to help her without spilling any plans to Eladio 3.0 (got that far, Daisynjay--good one). I'd love to watch them planning her escape around all-seeing Eladio. It would be far more interesting than watching Erick whine to Artie, curse Nina and do the twist with the Ratt.

Eladio Prime needs to have his oxygen turned off.


 

Oh, goodness--I just saw these last posts about Eladio's faults. Not putting the toilet seat down is a hoot. But I bet he has his own solid platinum urinal with champagne on ice running constantly. It's probably Petra who has to refill it with ice and open the champagne.
 

Nandicta:) Muchas gracias for the information on David's and Regina's theme song. Yes, of course, Jesse & Joy, now it's obvious, but thanks for the title. I have quite a few of their songs already downloaded. I'll take the time to listen to your other recommendations, as well.

As to your wanting Erick to dial down the attitude. I bet he can't. That's the only way he knows how to act/react. It probably worked 100% when he was a very little boy, especially while hiding behind Nina's skirts. Life in that household must have been terrible for Miguel when it was only he and Erick as the privileged children. I can just see him provoking Miguel over a toy and blaming him, or arguing his way out of punishment--sort of like Daniela had been doing until recently.
 

Thanks for the warm welcome, Mauricio and for keeping the conversation rolling. Hope everyone has had / is having a good Sunday!

Just like Variopinta, I couldn't picture sweet as possible omen for arson and caring Ciro Palafox being so nasty but I have to hand it to the actor (Luis Bayardo) for slipping so seamlessly into the scaly skin of this snake of a character.

UA picked up on two interesting observations: Eladio's golden lighter as a possible omen for arson and the suspicious absence of Julia's canaries from our screens. I did notice the lighter too but I figured FC needed yet another prop to play with during his scenes. I'm getting a sense that he is just as confused about his character's essence as we are.

By the way, I was meaning to ask you guys about this a couple of days ago: Now that Maribel has passed away, who do you think gets to become PyP’s new token “llorona” (crier)?

 

Sorry, I meant to say "sweet and caring Ciro Palafox".
 

"Now that Maribel has passed away, who do you think gets to become PyP’s new token “llorona” (crier)? "

That would be me
 

-- Anita: I loved your comment especially your take on the Gómez Luna family circus and on Erick's behavior as a child.

I'm starting to think that Julia's staying with Eladio and her pathetic insistence that David is his son goes beyond her need to protect David and provide for "Eladio Prime" (Good one!). I think she is also moved by two other reasons:

1) she wants David to be universal heir to the Gómez Luna fortune, and

2) she's afraid her son might judge her if he finds out about her romantic entanglements with Arturo during her engagement - and now during her marriage - to Eladio, as well as the resulting doubts about his paternity.

Of course, she loves her son and doesn't want his father to one day blurt out to him during an argument that he always suspected he wasn't his. However, I sense that this fear is equally motivated by her desire to spare her son the emotional pain of such a revelation AND by her apprehension that her son might judge her for duping his Dad into marriage and for "cheating" on him, thus never giving their family a chance to be happy.

This may be wild speculation on my part but I feel that Julia's fear of disappointing her son or being rejected by him if the whole truth is revealed constitutes a powerful reason for her hesitation to leave Eladio.
 

-- Variopinta: Hahahaha! That's a good one! Just wait till your current favorite show ends and you start watching PyP full-time: The repetitive plot, Nina's retina-burning outfits, Julia-Waa-Waa and Randy Boy Arturo's misguided midlife crisis romance, Eladio and Arturo's dumb posturing, Miguel's stalkerish ways, the Consuelo/Erick/RatHo toxic love triangle, Franco's cloak-of-invisibility office walls, David and Regina's fresa accents and vanilla romance, the WTF family catapulted from some other B novela just eating up precious airtime and wondering WTF they're during there in the first place... You'll get plenty of motives to cry alright! :D
 

I'm agreeing with the idea that Julia is misguided in her desire for Eladio to get along with David. By the two of them being at odds all the time David became the better man. She needs to escape and go with him. Although I am shuddering at how Eladio is likely to retaliate.
 

UA--But shuddering at how Eladio is likely to retaliate would be much more interesting and entertaining than what we are watching now.
 

I have no idea how Eladio would retaliate when Julia decides to leave. He’s so unpredictable and volatile that anything can happen really. To be honest, based on Eladio’s anger at finding Arturo’s letter, I was dreading a way more explosive reaction than what we got in this episode. His reaction was more contained than I expected but his revenge by bringing in his suegro as chaperone / jailer was surprising and wickedly inspired.

I feel that when it comes to Julia, Eladio says one thing, does another and thinks something else. He’s so cruel, manipulative, duplicitous and dominating with her but there were times when we caught furtive glimpses of another side to him. At times, he looked so wounded at her rejection, so pathetic in his quest for her approval, so desperate to get a crumb of her affection, so excessively happy when he gets a smile from her... It was frankly cringeworthy. Furthermore, I don’t understand this: why did he tell Montserrat that he won’t be seeing her again and that he needs her to leave the country because his wife is now willing to give him a chance to win her over? At the time, his “change” was just starting and there was no guarantee his new trick was gonna work with Julia; yet he did not want there to be any risk of his wife finding out about his seeking the RatHo’s favors. So why discard his human blow-up doll so prematurely? That was so naively hopeful of him. Also, what’s the story of that tattoo over his heart that he was so touched to see Julia kiss when they made love? I wish the writers would start giving us more hints about that tattoo soon...

We’ve all been asking: why is Julia staying with Eladio? However, I’m also wondering why is Eladio staying with a woman who despises him, raising what he believes to be the child she had with his archenemy, paying for her father’s medical expenses and allowing her “alcahueta” (go-between) niece to live in their house? Why is he doing this to himself when he is an attractive man - even by Julia’s admission to Gabi - and a powerful magnate who could easily find a loving caring spouse?

Eladio is the character that perplexes me the most in PyP because of the enigma of his past and because I’m sensing that there is more to him than we are made to believe. I can’t figure him out and I think I’m being deliberately confused as a viewer because I have this nagging feeling that the writers either a) have some surprises in store for us regarding his character, or b) they genuinely don’t know which way to go with this character and they want to keep their options open.
 

That last post of mine was brought to you by the "Gómez Luna y Asociados" and the adverb "so"!
 

Nandicta:)--
"I’m also wondering why is Eladio staying with a woman who despises him..."

The simplest explanation is that he's obsessed with Julia. He got her on the rebound from Artie, but knows letting go of her means he lost the game of "I gotcha." She would want to go back to Artie and their recent communication he found out about just confirms that. Eladio can't stand the idea of losing at anything, but primarily to Artie. It has been pointed out here they are a behaving like a couple of school-age toughs in a pissing contest with each other and Julia is the real trophy-prize. Their business success comes second to Julia.

But it's probably a lot more complicated than that.
 

Eladio's obsessed alright! Still, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the notion of allowing an obsession, a romantic rivalry or the humiliation of unrequited love to last for a quarter of a century... Och well, I guess I'll never understand this because I just can't picture myself hating someone or mooning over someone to the point of pishing away 25 years of my life... Especially if I had Eladio's money and was pegged to his same level on the female hotness scale!
 

Some men just like to steal.

Eladio embezzled money from the Montenegro corporation when he was employed there and he was terminated for it. He thinks of getting Julia as having "stolen" her from Arturo although that was her own decision. Whatever happened that set him off on their wedding night he didn't make love with Julia, he raped her and that is a kind of theft.

He gets off on how people react to this. He feeds off her fear.

If he were psychologically normal he would look for another woman. He would have had that DNA test years ago. But he enjoys the fear generated by his constant accusations, his verbal cruelty, and the fact that he can physically overpower her. That he brought her father in is particularly disgusting.

Which makes me wonder how much he knew about her father before he married her. He's certainly intelligent enough to know that this background makes her an easier victim.
 

UA, that's a very interesting analysis of Eladio's rationale behind holding on to Julia so obsessively. "He feeds off fear"...

As regards his knowledge of Julia's family background, I recall that during Eladio's visit to Humberto at the nursing home, it was established - more or less explicitly - that:

1) Eladio was aware of Humberto's gambling problems and that was his "in" to be allowed to court Julia

2) Humberto said that Julia was always a "rebel" and not as docile and accommodating as her late mother was. Therefore, Eladio must have concluded pretty early on, from observing the dynamics of the relationship between Julia's parents and from the way it affected her, that she is not a strong-willed or assertive woman.

3) Humberto played the role of "warden" during Eladio and Julia's engagement but he failed in his duties when Arturo managed to visit Julia in her bedroom prior to her wedding. Eladio reproached him this momentous mistake during their conversation.
 

There's no evidence that Art visited Julia in her bedroom. In fact, from their last conversation when Art was perplexed that Eladio thinks David is his, he was like-- I came to your house to try to get you to reconsider marrying Eladio, I stole one kiss from you, you threw me out. That doesn't sound like he managed to get anywhere near her bedroom.
 

You're right, Vivi. Arturo visited Julia to try to dissuade her from getting married to Eladio and they only wound up sharing a kiss. However, the way Humberto and Eladio talked about Arturo foiling the "security detail" they had imposed on Julia leads me to believe that her encounter with Arturo did not exactly happen in the family living room or in the garden. When they met at the foundation, Julia said to Arturo that Eladio thought they had made love on that occasion and the way the two of them spoke about their encounter implies that the two of them were alone, in a private space and for a lapse of time long enough to have amorous congress. Hence all the accusations of infidelity and the doubts over the paternity of David from both Eladio AND Humberto.
 

I think just the fact that Julia and Art were alone is enough for Eladio and Humberto to think they had sex. It was probably 5 mins in the study, and they think they had a hot quickie. From the sound of it, Julia was too hopping mad for it to be a long social call.
 

This was Julia from 25 years ago and she was marrying Eladio to get back at Arturo... She would have been hopping mad at his cheating behind! :)

Whether Julia and Arturo were behind closed doors in the study for 5 minutes or they were in her bedroom for an hour of reprimands and supplications, there is a reasonable suspicion that congress had taken place. That's all a jealous possessive mind needs.

Actually, now that I dwell on Julia's pre-wedding encounter with Arturo, I wonder why Randy Boy went to see her in the first place. Wasn't he supposed to be married or about to marry Miguel's Mom?
 

Miguel's mom had just died.
 

Remember that she didn't marry Eladio right when Art married Susana (?). Eladio had to woo her for some months before she agreed to marry him-- during the months Art married his one night stand and they waited for Miguel to be born. His mom died in childbirth but by then Julia was engaged and still hopping mad.
 

I remember distinctly that during Arturo and Miguel heart-to-heart a few episodes ago (that infamous "You were never planned and I never loved your Mommy" conversation), Miguel asked his father why after his Mom's death, he didn't try to rekindle his romance with his ex-fiancée. Arturo replied that Julia was married and expecting a child, so he figured it was too late for them. Therefore, according to this timeline, Arturo tried to dissuade Julia from marrying Eladio when himself was either married or engaged to be married to Miguel's mother.
 

I just pulled the video of the conversation. It was in episode 23, minute 34:10 to 34:28:

Arturo: -“El parto se complicó. Me quedé solo contigo, hijo.” (there were complications during your birth. I was left alone with you, son)

Miguel: - Y ya no buscaste la mujer con la que te ibas a casar? (And you didn’t get in touch with the woman you were going to marry?)

Arturo: - Para entonces, ella ya se había casado con otro y estaba esperando un hijo (By then, she had gotten married and was expecting a child)

Miguel: - Qué raro que se haya casado en tan poco tiempo, no? (How odd that she would have gotten married so promptly)

Arturo: - Pues sí, ella estaba en su derecho de rehacer su vida. Yo le fallé...( Well, yes, she had every right to move on / rebuild her life. I let her down...)

And now I dislike Arturo even more...
 

Sorry for the double post. Can someone please show me how to delete it? Many thanks
 

Nandicta...see the little garbage can by the date, at the bottom of your comment. You click on that and the double post is deleted.
 

Re: The lack of character in today's telenovela characters..or Where's the galan ? David Brooks, the political writer refers to "resume characteristics" as opposed to "eulogy characteristics".. The qualities you would list on your resume to get a job as opposed to what you want people to say about you when you are gone from this earth! I have noticed that American programs and movies in the past often encouraged character and sacrifice ( Father Knows Best, The Waltons, Little House in the Prarie, Dr. Quinn, Superman). Not so much anymore. Instead, movies and TV shows today feature lots of antiheroes. As I always say, I need a hero. As the Disney employee handed Hub the bag containing the Princess gown that we had purchased,she looked at him and said , " And you get to carry this, Prince Charming! " I thought, yeah..he is ! I like princes .I like heroes. The world needs examples of character. They seem to be missing from current telenovelas as well as American TV and movies! Gotta run. I am giving a final at 8.30.
 

-- JudyB: Thanks for your help. I'm told I do not have access to delete the comment. I think I need to create an account.

-- Susanlynn: Thanks for sharing with us the "resume characteristics" vs "the eulogy characteristics". I enjoyed reading your post. As far as I'm concerned, the only galán we have in PyP is Agustín. There is also one woman that I consider protagonista-material in this tale, and it's Petra. She pretty, feisty, funny, wise, sweet and caring. Let's polish this diamond in the rough and have Auggie fall for her! OK, this is as far-fetched as it can get but imagine what a great premise for a telenovela rosa? :D
Good luck with the added workload of giving finals and correcting papers!
 

We can't expect our protagonists to be saints. And when the protagonists are over 40 they have history. They've made mistakes and they're not done learning from past ones yet.

Arturo is learning from his mistakes now. It started with his one-time infidelity to Julia 25 years ago, got short-circuited by Nina's entrance into his life, and he's been living in a fog since except for his business life.

Julia is still trapped by her sense of duty and her fear of both her father and Eladio. Per an earlier comment the whole accusation of David being Arturo's child is something that will explode in the future. However, unless he is planning it with the skill required of a chess master, Eladio won't get the reaction he wants from David, which would be the rejection of Julia.

Who should tell David about this argument. However, my money is on him overhearing another argument.
 

I like heroes. The world needs examples of character. They seem to be missing from current telenovelas as well as American TV and movies!

Sadly, I've noticed, Susanlynn! ITA and well said!
 

Julia perplexes me as well, because she's been described as not as docile as her mother, which on the surface doesn't seem to be true. I really want to know how Amanda (Gaby's mother) is/was...and where is Gaby's father? Why is Gaby living with Julia & Eladio? It doesn't seem that Julia & Eladio raised Gaby.

I really wish Eladio would dump weak Julia and go find himself a more dynamic partner but he's obsessed with Arturo and Julia, so...

I'm sitting here rooting for the villain to go find somebody better. That's just how much I don't care for the weak Julia character.
 

Part of Julia's problem is she is cut off from wise, mature counsel. Her only confidant is a niece half her age who's foolish enough to put up with Franco. Wish Julia would at least read some books on how to empower herself, but I guess there'd be no story if she did because she would've left Eliado at least by the time David turned 5 years old.
 

Anon207--
I think Gaby came to live with them in order to finish her education. Don't know where her parents are. I'm not even sure which one is kin to Julia--if it is the sister, how did *she* get away from Machine-Breath daddy?
 

-- UA: I agree that we shouldn't expect TN protagonists to be saints, I'd go even further by saying that I enjoy flawed characters because that's the way we are in real life. We all have our shortcomings but, like in real life, some faults are more forgivable than others. Evidently, older characters are bound to have their lot of emotional baggage and regrets, especially since we are jumping in with both feet on a story that started over 25 years ago. However, I'm particularly disliking Arturo because even after 25 years of "paying" for his mistake of cheating on Julia, he hasn't learnt a thing and he's at it again and he's at it again, playing with the feelings of his ex-fiancée and his current wife. Indeed, he is giving Julia false hopes yet at the same time harboring sexual desires for his current wife (as demonstrated in the "bedazzled" scene). He's urging his wife to form an assertive parental front with him to straighten out their adult children (I'd say that train has left the station, but anyway...) but he's belittling and scolding her in front of everyone, looking for any excuse to cut and run, making her out to be the responsible for the failure of their marriage. The quesadilla dinner scene where he mocked her shallowness and accused her of being a selfish mother and spouse had actually started in the previous episode. Arturo was thinking out loud that he needs to think through the next steps he makes because his provocation of Eladio has consequences for "others" (i.e. Julia). When Nina asked what he meant by "others", he turned the tables on her (a Spanish version of this famous argument technique and a favorite expression of mine is "voltear la tortilla") to deflect attention from his mysterious comment about the "others". Eladio is a jerk but there is a certain consistency in what he does; what you get is what you see (except for his mysterious past). However, Arturo is a self-absorbed, self-indulgent jerk masquerading as a good guy and at his age, he is still engaging in what irks me the most in a relationship: playing with people's feelings.

-- Anon207: "I'm sitting here rooting for the villain to go find somebody better. That's just how much I don't care for the weak Julia character." Totally agree. I've been at the Eladio table for a few weeks now. Please grab a seat! :)

-- Niecie: You're right. Flip-flopping Gabi is no "mature counsel". She changes her advice drastically from one scene to the other and she's definitely a Julia-in-the-making and an enamored Julia to boot!
 

When Arturo met with Julia in secret (2 months before Julia's wedding), he was married to Susana.

Arturo had no right to ask Julia not to marry Eladio because he was already married & expecting Miguel.

The meeting between Julia & Arturo took place 2 months before her wedding to Eladio, which is why Eladio thinks his 7 month baby David is really Arturo's 9 month baby.

When Susana died & Arturo decided to look up Julia, he discovered she did marry Eladio & pregnant with David. This means Susana wasn't even cold in her grave before Arturo decided to sniff after Julia again.

Of the 4 characters in this quadrangle, I hold responsible in order from most to least:

Arturo
Julia
Eladio
Nina

Arturo is most responsible for cheating on Julia with Susana (if he indeed did cheat with Susana --he could've been drugged and thought he slept with Susana, Miguel might not be his)

Julia is responsible because she quickly rebounded & married Eladio to spite Arturo, then rejected Eladio.

Eladio is responsible because he married a woman on the rebound & was probably only pursuing her in the first place to stick it to Arturo.

Nina has the least responsibility for this mess because she's been competing with Julia for 20+ years but didn't know it. There's nothing to indicate Nina has been a bad wife for the past 20+ years. Arturo just wants to trade her in for Julia and using everything he can to justify it.
 

-- Anita: "if it is the sister, how did *she* get away from Machine-Breath daddy?" Good question! We know that Gabi came to Mexico City for her university studies and I recall hearing Aguascalientes as her hometown. However, I'm not sure whether her mother / parents are alive or not. I would think Gabi's mother is dead, otherwise how did she manage to dodge the Humberto bullet? And more importantly, why isn't she tutoring Julia on the subject? (P.S. I'm not advocating throwing Humberto out on the street or mistreating him, he is an old disabled man after all. But someone should put an end to his abusive and despotic ways)
 

wow - look at all the comments! I'll have to check them out later today, but had to stop in and thank you, Mauricio, for the fabulous, richly detailed recap. As always, you rock!
 

Gaby is the daughter of Julia's sister Amanda, who apparently married a Mr. Diaz. Gaby's name is Gabriela Diaz Vallardo. We don't know if Amanda or Mr. Diaz is alive or dead or why it's falling on Julia to care for Humberto and not Amanda as well.
 

-- Anon 207: Thank you for a brilliant post! The timeline is spot on and I agree with the way you classified everyone's share of responsibility in this tangled mess.
 

It is a truism that many people in Julia's position will ultimately live down to the expectations of their abusers.

A good friend of mine fell into this trap. She had a misogynistic father who truly did not believe that women needed brains. When he was told that she was on the honor roll and that her IQ tested at 163 he said "That's nice, but brains on a woman are as useless as t**s on a bull." When I told my shrink this he almost vomited.

This friend had become a "people pleaser" and often downplayed her intelligence in public. I asked her why she did this and her answer was that she didn't want to seem "threatening." Major eyeroll from me at that because in my book anyone who is threatened by my own intelligence isn't worth bothering with and my IQ has never tested higher than 137.

"Do you think people will respect you if they think you're less intelligent than they are?" I asked. She didn't answer and when I prompted her she said she didn't know. I personally do not think there can be love without respect. When someone treats you in a condescending way they don't love or respect you. But they certainly can see the potential for dominating you. Cave to that and you're done.
 

I should always know better than to post before hitting "preview."

As to the responsibility list, I would reverse Nina and Julia. Nina is a selfish, narcissistic gold-digger. I suspect Arturo is good in bed (JS has never been otherwise in his novelas) but she doesn't love him. He is her ATM and entre to a higher class of people. She probably never got after his apparent absentee father act until now because it suited her to raise Erick and Daniela to be her little mini-me's. Julia is too beaten to be responsible for at least 10 years after marrying Eladio.

At which time she could have found a way to get out. She had been running the Foundation long enough to qualify for similar work in a paid capacity, unless those who would hire her are aftaid of him.

As to Amanda and her husband, I suspect they are dead. Gabriela never talks about them. A couple of months appear to have passed since the opening episode and there is no evidence that she has visited them. We have never seen Amanda, either. If I had to guess about it I'd say that she got married as soon as she could to get out from under Humberto's abuse and became estranged from him and her mother, hence the move to Aguascalientes.

It's also true that most of the time it's one adult child who ends up taking care of an aging or sick parent, even when there are more than two. It's part of Tita Syndrome and the burdened child is not necessarily a youngest daughter condemned to spinsterhood for the purpose.
 

-- UA: Thank you for sharing your friend's story with us. Leaving an abusive relationship is easier said than done. Especially when the abuse of a romantic partner is compounded by the emotional scars of a childhood marred by parental belittling and bullying.

"It is a truism that many people in Julia's position will ultimately live down to the expectations of their abusers." I guess having the notion that one is worthless drilled into them day in and day out eventually makes them convinced that they are worthless.

My biggest problem with Julia is that she sees Arturo as the viable alternative and I can't stand that! If I had my way, I'd make her ride into the sunset hopeful, free and SINGLE at the end of the TN.



 

If Susana had survived Miguel's childbirth & was still alive & married to Arturo, he'd be treating her the same way he's treating Nina now: nitpicking her to justify why he should be with Julia.

We know this would be the case because he was married to Susana when he begged Julia not to marry Eladio.

Arturo has had no problem with Nina's gossiping, golddigging, mistreatment of Miguel, going to the club & ignoring the children for the past 25 years. It's only NOW that he sees Julia again that Nina's ways are a problem. Just like Susana's ways would've been a problem had she survived.
 

I don't agree with that. I think Arturo dealt with his depression by burying himself in his work. Hence, he is wealthier than Eladio. He foolishly assumed that Nina loved him enough to take care of Miguel and the others. She was clever enough to conceal her worst from him and teach her mini-me to do the same. That can't last forever.

I also doubt that Miguel or Regina told him much of anything about Nina's treatment of them on the assumption that he would side with Nina. Daniela's two recent incidents (kissing Regina's fiance with the intent of future seduction and the drunken photo) were bad enough for him to realize he needed to pay more attention.
 

I agree it wouldn't matter who Art was married to he would treat them the same way he is treating Nina and fabricating or accentuating faults to justify chasing a married woman.

Art didn't make a mistake 25 years ago but made a choice and got caught because Susana got pregnant. Had she not, Art would have married Julia dumped her in a big house and taken off for the office. Or, if Julia was happily married he would still pursue her because she told him no and Art doesn't like no.
 

If Arturo had married Julia he would be happy and we would probably not have a series. Had he married her after Susanna's death she would have been a mother to Miguel and there would be the three others, who would all be like her and Arturo.

Which could still mean that Eladio and he would be bitter enemies, but every move would be in cold blood. Probably less interesting to most viewers.
 

I just don't believe Art got it in him to be a wonderful husband and father. Art made this bed and wants someone else to pay for it. Where oh where is his humility?

He cheats
He lies
He ignores
He belittles
He's a tyrant
He's hot tempered
He's violent
He carries a grudge
He's self righteous

 

Tofie--
He wears ridiculous-looking vests.
 

He's not a tyrant. If that were the case his children would all be afraid of him and so would Nina.

His reaction to the loss of 700MM pesos in projected revenue is normal (What is not normal about that situation is their ability to see into employee bank accounts, which would not be possible here). As to what he's done to Erick, I think that little ape got off too easily.

He cheated on Julia once and got caught. A youthful error to learn from. He hasn't cheated on Nina, but he he is certainly tempted now that her faults are becoming obvious to him and that coincides with seeing Julia again.

Someone else pointed this out a while back: We are suspending considerable disbelief that the Montenegros and the Gomez Lunas haven't seen each other in public as couples for all this time. We know from the opening scene that Eladio opens Julia's jail cell only for business socials and there have to be a lot of those.
 

I didn't want to let a busy holiday weekend go without saying thank you Mauricio for another one of your superb recaps. They're always without exception a great read

The comments were also a great read this weekend---deep character analysis abounded.

Well if Julia is a weak character as some have said, she probably will be even weaker now that she has at least four spies to watch her. Eladio--Humberto--Franco and no doubt the male nurse. Not to mention the bodyguard, driver and who knows who else. It's time to hit the road I say and don't come back no more-no more-no more-no more. But if she hasn't done that after 20? years of abuse, it probably isn't likely.

must see tv
the gringo
 

There are real examples of women who have endured this longer. That is the tragedy of this kind of emotional abuse.

Thus far we haven't seen any evidence of physical abuse, but I'm sure she lives in terror of that possibility.
 

As far as I'm concerned, the way that Art is currently treating Nina is spousal abuse. The sad thing is, I don't think that she has a clue as to why he is treating her this way and I don't think that there is a thing she can do or a thing she can change to alter his unfair treatment of her.

Carlos
 

Carlos, I know you love these evil women. I'd love to know why because if you were married to someone like her you wouldn't love her superficiality any more than he does now.

She may not have a clue because she is so self-centered and narcissists always believe they can do no wrong. That's why they try to foist their own worst traits on others.

Now Arturo knows that Nina is covering up for Daniela. She has tried to make light of Erick's transgressions. She has tried to demonize both Miguel and Regina. She will do the same to Consuelo before many more episodes go by. What other evidence does he need?
 

UA,

Let's at least be honest about what this is all about. As Anon207 pointed out, he's put up with (enjoyed?) her as she is for 25 yrs. Now he wants his Julia. Perhaps it would be better if he just told her, "I don't want you anymore, I want Julia." rather than grouse, belittle, and reject her efforts to please him. Do you not agree that there is nothing that she can do to fix things between them?

Carlos
 

Nothing. Nina used her sexual talents for years to distract Arturo from her real motive for marrying him and to cover up that she has turned two of their three children into spoiled, nasty brats and the third into their whipping girl. And how she treated Miguel and now Consuelo.

If Julia were not a factor this would have to be just as obvious. It's easier to cover up such things when the children are still children, but harder when they commit adult social felonies because those are much harder to hide (especially in the age of social media).
 

Arturo is cheating on Nina now by sniffing after Julia, going to her office, bringing her flowers, writing her love letters and kissing her.

The only way Julia & Arturo would be married with how the events unfolded is if she left Eladio while pregnant with David (which would've been the first 7 months of her marriage to Eladio).

Arturo is 50% responsible for how the children turned out. Don't try to play disciplinarian NOW after the children are all legal adults (one of whom is married & an expectant father), and don't try to blame Nina. Erick & Daniela didn't turn bad overnight.






 

Arturo didn't marry Nina because she's a good, virtuous person. He married Nina to push Miguel off on someone and for companionship. That's it. Nina failed on the being a mother to Miguel part, which Arturo didn't notice for 25 years but she has not failed on the companionship part.

Nina has fulfilled at least half of why Arturo wanted to marry her: companionship. It's just that Arturo does not want her companionship anymore and trying to muster up a whole bunch of excuses as to why.

Arturo only wants Julia. Again, if Susana had lived he would be treating Susana the same way he's treating Nina because he was running up in Julia's grill to beg her not to marry Eladio while he was a newlywed with Susana.
 

As for being evil, Nina doesn't even come close to meeting my usual standards. Heck, she is the near perfect wife. She's loving and compliant, faithful, and doesn't meddle in his business. As for the kids, all seem to be educated, none are criminals or drug dependent. Typical rich kids as far as I'm concerned. As for Erick being abusive, his male role model is Arturo. Like his dad, he's not satisfied with his current wife. Did Nina turn Miguel into the weird, pervy, incestuous stalker that he's become? How did Regina become semi-normal?

Carlos
 

Nina also served as an arm ornament for Arturo. I think he picked her for those qualities. If she tried to seduce him, hoping to land position and wealth, but he didn't want a relationship with her, he could have turned away.

I can't see she changed too much in 25 years. He was happy with her just as she was--until now. I agree with his treatment of her as a form of abuse, especially when she doesn't know why. She *has* asked him on several occasions what is wrong, but of course, he doesn't tell.

(He didn't mind taking her to that fashion show and having her slime all over him until he saw Julia with Eladio sliming all over *her*, then it became the pi$$ing contest.)

(That show is also where we saw Connie still had the stuff to strut the runway and was offered a job, so it's not because she can't support herself that she stays with Big-Mouth Bass. The idiotessa *loves* him? Have we ever heard him say anything loving or pleasant to her--with the exception of making up and it was all faked. Poor thing if that's all Connie gets from him.)

 

I should have read the rest of the new comments. I merely repeated what you all above commented.
 

Heh, tofie.. But the question is ...will he shoot ?..will he score? Is Art supposed to be the good guy?
 

Anon207--
Speculating on Amanda and Mr. Diaz. They probably are not taking care of Humberto because it was Eladio that paid off his gambling debts and found him an above average assisted living arrangement. Amanda and Mr. Diaz were probably not wealthy. Eladio used Humberto to get to Julia, so he stepped to the head of the line to take care of the old geezer.
 

Thank you Anita, NovelaMaven, and gringo. I'm glad you all enjoyed the recap. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and joined in on the wonderful discussion this weekend.
 

Susanlynn--We have disassembled Arturo on the Patio to the point where none of us can think of him as the galan. But this tn ain't over till it's over. Eladio's maltreatment of Julia far outweigh Arturo's of Nina over 25 years, so on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the worst), Eladio is already a 9, while Arturo is a 6.75 (and climbing).
 

Nina is the typical trophy wife and self-absorbed socialite. Her good looks and sexual prowess are what landed her that position and Arturo has been basking in all the glory of her assets and talents for 25 years. In this respect, Arturo's main gripe with Nina is that, since he saw Julia, all he desires is Julia and Nina is definitely not Julia.

Nina's treatment of Miguel, though despicable, is the way a great deal of stepmothers are, especially when there is such a vast fortune at play. She tried to favor her own hijo varón (male child) while sidelining her stepson from the race to be Arturo's right-hand man and principal heir to the Montenegro conglomerate. It was up to Arturo to give his primogénito (first born) the position that was rightfully his, both at home and in the company, but he failed to do so. In this respect, Arturo's main gripe with Nina is that, since he saw Julia, he wants out of the marriage so he needs to find any excuse to pile the blame on Nina for all the problems their family is experiencing. This way, the couple's problems come to a head and the word "divorce" starts getting thrown around at every argument, until one of them files the dissolution petition.

Like Carlos said, I wish Arturo would just sit Nina down and tell her the truth. It will hurt like hell and it would put him in a rough spot with his kids but that's what a stand-up man would do. No sneaking around, no lying, no belittling, no humiliating... just the truth. I would really respect him if he were man enough to do that...
 

I agree that Art was fine with Nina and did not seen to mind her shallowness and unfortunate fashion sense until Julia appeared and he thought he had a shot at his old flame. I refuse to use "one true love" in this instance. I do not like any of these people . Art was busy with his business , and he did not seem to notice how Nini treated Miguel or that Dani and Eric were following in her shallow footsteps and becoming entitled slackers. Nini to have been living up to her end of their bargain until Julia came into Art's view.

OT..Anita, Outlander has cast Richard Rankin as Roger.
 

Mauricio, thanks for the usual strong recap. It inspired some great comments.

As for the comments--stop, y'all, please stop!! Your brilliant analysis is making me care about these characters! I was able to write them off as selfish and obnoxious and break off watching every night. Now I might have to check in more frequently.

Arturo (JS) is definitely a flawed character. I haven't seen much evidence of his sweet puppy dog eyes in this TN, but I could have missed that by missing episodes.