Caray, Caray!

Right here where all the women looked at each other with their big ol' eyes I was expecting to hear that classic Graham Norton music before a big surprise: Cha-cha-channnnnn!

It's funny how we translate venom as ponzoña and poison as veneno, right? Shouldn't that be otherwise to make things easier?
 

Gracias, Jardinera. This was a great episode.

Andres seems to be everybody's fall guy at this point. He needs to get some more brain cells together. They used to say one could do that by eating more fish....

I need to begin gathering data for another Toxic Mothers list, as this series has three. One of them has a little automaton who does a mechanical about-face to wheel off to her mistress whenever she learns anything damaging. This is no longer amusing.

Marrying Eugenia would be a fate worse than death for any man. Even Felipe doesn't deserve this. I'm wondering whether she will now try to finish the job on Mercedes.
 

Thanks Jardinera. Great recap.

My first thought when Eugenia walked into the bedroom was she was going to smother Mercy with a pillow.

I love Andres, but I got a little impatient with him last night. What a gullible dude. Belen has been 99% nasty to him and only 1% kind--when she gets paid for it.

I feel sorry for Alfie. I don't think he deserved that lecture. He's the one being shafted right and left by Sofia and her mother.

I was worried about Andres being alone out in the big, wide world. At least he'll have Julio and Cris. Though I suspect he isn't going anywhere.

I though Julio had already left.

I'd be sitting at the Elisa table if her bringing Teresa down was not going to hurt Sofia.

Nanette
 

Your recaps are always so fun much fun, Jardinera. Even when the episodes are as bleak and depressing as this one was.

Especially enjoyed the Duplicitously Dumping....Dictatorial Dickwad Diego.....you do get so frisky with your adjectives and nouns, you rascal!

Ay yi yi, two many marshmallow men allowing women to jerk them around in this one. And I too fear that Mercedes is going to draw her last breath smothered by a pillow. Beware the younger sister!

Thanks, amiga mia, for putting a fresh and amusing twist on this rather dull, dismal development (see, I can do it too) in the story line.
 

Question: When Julio and Andres were talking and Julio got ready to leave but Andres stopped him, was he going to tell Diego it was him who wasn't at the meeting, or was he going to tell Isa (which he ended up doing, of course)?
 

Tks Jardinera

They fooled us again, I was also expecting Eugenia to do her sister in with the pillow. I missed the fall, did E push M, if so that will come out if M survives.
 

Wonderful Jardinera...your descriptions were especially fun today!!

Good lord, I can't even with Teresa anymore. And what the hell with the General? So dude basically wants to unload a daughter, he doesn't care which one and to whom? You would think he wouldn't want either of his daughters marrying Felippe at this point. Felippe gets on my last nerve some days, but for some reason the guy reminds me of a lost puppy who keeps chewing on shoes left out and pooping where he's not supposed to...all he needs is some attention, real love and a purpose. I give kudos to the actor because I do feel he brings all those layers to the character.

As for Eugenia, the General should be turning her over on his knee and giving her a spanking like the spoiled brat she is. Lord, make her go away.

What is it with Andres that he wants to believe in Belen so badly? When has she EVER really be good to him consistently. She berates him, she insults him, she spent his money, and yet he falls for everything she says over people he should trust more. Is he trying to punish himself or trying to play some great hero who swoops in and rescues the damsel no one likes and understands? Dude, there might be reasons why they don't like her!!

The Doc sure is having a time trying to straighten out the men in this hotel. Minored in psychology. At this point, I don't know why Freddy does stay there. He should take Sophia and leave...take a nice long trip. The truth either comes out or at the least, the poor thing gets her sanity back.

Diego - snake oil salesmen extraordinaire. Even his Groucho Marx moustache is getting to me. He reached for Isa and my skin crawled...imagine hers!

Daisynjay
 

Thanks so much, Jardinera. I loved all the alliterations.

There were quite a few surprising moments for me last night, among them,finding out Sofia knows about THE LETTER and whatever secret Teresa is hiding; and Angela deciding not to play dirty by telling Elisa that Sofia miscarried, so as not to hurt Sofia. I know some think she has emasculated Andres, but she is the best, most protective parent in this-- even protective of other people's kids, as we saw this episode. I'm rooting for her in every way.

Eugenia turning murderous and stalkerish was interesting too. Variopinta- They did not show us the fall, so we actually don't know exactly what happened after Mercedes was clutching to her sister's arm asking for help. Eugenia's behavior and words afterwards were certainly suspicious, and she went right on my Gold Knife Murderer list this episode (I'm not ruling anyone out). Glad that this whole thing is making Felipe realize just how thoroughly he messed up, and what a good thing he had with Mercedes. I hope she eventually wakes up.

Andres, Andres, Andres. Belen didn't even have to try that hard to throw him off his game again. He was so close!

Nanette- Julio bought the train tickets for him and Cris. I believe they leave the next day.

That last scene made ME uncomfortable! It was like Sofia was a piece of property-- a slave Teresa could just order to strip in front of strangers. Ugh! She's disgusting.
 

Mil ocho mil gracias, Jardinera. I love the alliteration, too...wait a while for the wicked wench to be outwitted, etc. (I hope it happens sooner rather than later!)

And since I didn't get a chance to comment yesterday, thank you to Pablo for filling in so hilariously.

I think Isabel may need to find a new career. She doesn't seem to have doctorly instincts. When Mercedes was lying on the ground, she stood back and waited for Doc to come. She didn't seem to feel any need to try to help. Maybe she's more suited for another medical field aside from emergency medicine, though. She says she's in surgery. How much could doctors specialize back then?

I was THRILLED, though, when the doc said they needed to get something to use as a stretcher and be careful not to move her back too much. FINALLY someone in one of these shows doesn't carelessly pick up an injured person and jolt them all around! Doc is my favorite. I'll be devastated if he turns out to be evil.

Eugenia and Felipe are both the worst and they deserve each other.

At this point, Andres is just willfully ignorant. I guess he wants to be miserable.
 

Is the Patio de los Secretos taking bets on whether Cristina and Julio actually leave on that train?

Also, I have ordered for the patio a large crate of gold knife Nerfazos.
 

Julia- I don't think ANYBODY'S leaving...except in a body bag (or sheet, in those days).
 

If anyone actually leaves, it would be Cristina alone, but I can see Julio slipping the letter away from her and then heading back.OR Julio gives his ticket to Andres who leaves with Cristina and Julio stays. I can't see him walking away from Isa...not the way he glowered as he watched Diego sliming his way back into her good gracious, or attempting to. That's like seeing a little white bunny in front of a boa constrictor and just walking away.

Daisynjay
 

Thanks, all!

 

That last scene made ME uncomfortable! It was like Sofia was a piece of property-- a slave Teresa could just order to strip in front of strangers. Ugh! She's disgusting.

I couldn't agree more, Vivi. Teresa doesn't give a flying damn about Sofia's mental health because this is a serious attack on it.
 

Thank you, Jardinera, for this recap and thanks to Pablo (and Nandicta) for filling in for my the night before! I am fine.

Regarding the hotel being a former manicomio for real - it's now even more amusing that Elisa actually referred to the place as a manicomio in a recent episode (not sure which one, maybe Friday's?).

Much as I hate Eugenia and wouldn't be surprised if she tried to smother her sister, I don't see how it could be her fault that Mercy fell, or at least there's nothing she could have done to prevent it. There was no way she could possibly have held her up any longer. Though she did seem to feel as though it was her fault, maybe related to feeling guilty for "killing" her mother.

And of course it's hard to take Felipe seriously, saying he loves Mercy now that she's in a coma and can't call his bluff. Of course it's easy to say he's sorry in retrospect, but Eugenia didn't exactly have to twist his arm to get him into the baths the other night.

The doctor cracked me up with his advice to Alfredo to talk to his wife and listen to her. That's the best medical advice I've ever seen in 9.5 years of watching telenovelas.
 

Jardinera--Thank you for the recap. Loved the way it flowed, just like Isabel's gowns. You are a marvelous writer and we on the Patio of Lowered Expectations are fortunate to have someone of your stature share your wit and wisdom with us.

Daisynjay--I'm glad I waited until so late to leave a comment, because you have the best scenario for what happens next to our four knuckleheads. Interesting that Belen hardly gave Andres a second look during his despedida by the "downstairs" folks. Belen must figure the check she got and the check she'll be getting will be worth public disapprobation of her pregnancy as an unwed mother, especially if she "loses" the baby. She gains in cash what she loses in social status.

I was shocked and uncomfortable, too, with Teresa's demands for Sofia to undress. She's not a child, but I don't see any loving mother forcing Sofia to put herself on display for anyone, even a roomful of women. It would be for Sofia to decide. I hope she has enough spine to tell her mother to get lost.

I felt sorry for Sofia when she was trying to explain away Teresa's decision to remove Alfredo from the directorship and replace him with Diego.
 

Maybe Youheinous gave Merciless an extra shove with a twist as she let go. Because it really wasn't THAT far to fall. If she'd landed on her feet, it would have hurt, maybe broken her legs, but shouldn't have put her in a coma.

Unless we've been given some misdirection, or someone was disguised with padding, I think the gold knife killer must be a largish man. The silhouette we saw when he/she almost got Isabel seemed tall and quite broad-shouldered.
 

Thanks Anita...my hope for Sophia, because right now that woman is one mess, is that Isa puts her foot down to her mother. She stands there and allows her sister to be humiliated like that than she goes down a few pegs in the "are you kidding me?" department for me. She better act incredulous and better either offer an alternative for the doctor to finally examine Sophia or kick them all the hell out.

And I am really hating that sneaky, smiling, degenerate little pink princess of an assistant with Elisa. If anyone needs an anvil or a good smack up the side of the head in this TN, it's that annoying gnat.

Daisynjay
 

Julia: "If she'd landed on her feet, it would have hurt, maybe broken her legs, but shouldn't have put her in a coma."

Isn't that a big if? Do people reliably land on their feet if they fall feet-first? About ten years ago, maybe a little more, my cousin's daughter fell from an mall escalator, not more than 40 feet up. (She had been horsing around and tried to jump onto the handrail.) She went into a coma and died a few days later.
 

Julia--It may not have been that far to fall, but she landed on a cobblestone walk. I certainly would have expected some blood.

I last fell on a rock border in my garden (slipped on a slippery flagstone) and hit my forehead and face. My nose bled and I was bumped and bruised on my knees and ankles, but otherwise unhurt. I don't think I could say that if it had been my second floor, dangling over the edge or not.

When we see the hotel from the garden at a distance, that 2nd floor looks pretty high up--and they did have high ceilings in those days.

But we mustn't let arithmetic, algebra, geometry or calculus get in the way of a good story, now can we!
 

Oh, Julie--how horrible for you and your family. Belated condolences on such a tragic accident.
 

How awful, Julie. My condolences.

Okay, maybe she wouldn't fall feet-first. Is there a Mythbusters about this? But people going over a railing, or slipping on stones, already have some horizontal momentum that starts them spinning. Merce was statically hanging straight down. I think she should have fallen fairly straight. Although I guess her feet could have hit awkwardly such that she then fell over onto her head, still with significant downward momentum.

But of course I am overthinking this. Physics is no match for plot necessity!
 

Thank you ever so much Jardinera.

How precious life is Julie cause it doesn't take much.

Gosh, what in the heck is the matter with Andres? He's a grown man and while Belen has worsened his lot, his affiliation with Julio is toxic.

I thought Isabel seemed a bit too comfortable with Diego for my liking. Polite is one thing engaging another.
 

Thanks. It was quite horrible, just before Mother's Day. And she was a mother herself.

But what I was thinking is that even if you go down feet first, maybe you bump into something on the way down (a small ledge, or whatever) and then maybe you're not feet first any more.

But I don't know. And I guess I don't want to know any more about this than I need to. I doubt the writers gave it too much thought, either. The lack of blood definitely seemed miraculous to me, though.
 

Thanks for the recap Jardinera!

I was thinking the same thing about Isabel, tofie. Isabel should have been colder to Diego, especially knowing that Julio was listening. I mean, he tried to kill Cristina... or does Isabel still not believe Cristina?
 

I think it's easier to believe that a new person is lying to you than to believe that someone you think you know is a killer. Sadly, this is consistent with what we've seen from Isabel previously. If not for a lot of prodding from Matilde, I don't think she would have gotten as far with Julio as she did. Isabel is not lazy nor an idiot, but she does need someone to help point her thoughts in the right direction. Otherwise she tends not to really think things through.
 

Isabel was a little too nice to Diego. She may not believe he's a murderer anymore, but she still didn't want to marry him and should make that clear so he's not led on. Not that he'd listen, even if the Doc told him so.

Andres is probably sticking with Belen out of pride rather than affection. His look at the way she treated the train employee shows he knows how horrible she behaves. But letting her go means that momma was right. Can't allow that now, can we? Even if Angela is the very best mother around.

Kelly
 

Maybe Isabel is more of a strategic thinker than we believe, and she was acting warmer to Diego specifically to make Julio jealous and try to get him to stay. If she were really strategic, she'd leave with him and go back to the city and finish school. Once she's employed as a doctor, maybe she can tell mama to go to hell and take her sleazebag arranged marriages with her. She can't possibly be settling for Diego, right? Isn't there a HUGE leap to get from "I guess maybe you aren't a murderer" to "sure, I'll marry you"?! There's a wide range of sleazery in between and Diego certainly isn't anywhere near the OK To Marry end of that spectrum.