Caray, Caray!

Thank you, cathyx, for your excellent recap.

Favorite scenes: Teresa having to deal with the "smell" when she marches in to claim the remains of Romulo.
Ayala's tantrum when the Romulo's remains are removed.
Matilda turning over the hidden bone to Ayala for testing.
Teresa finding out Romulo was murdered and the investigation cannot be stopped.

"Dios" was opening doors all over the place last night.
Isabel told Diego she had not been feeling well lately. Sure hope she does not end up pregnant.
Génaro cannot die soon enough.

 

Gracias cathyx, excellente

I guess Jorge is not Mercedes.
I'll have to google when we first had embalming

I saw Genaro look at his junk,oh,,oh, is it falling off? good

Why is Alfrado back? I knew he would be back,but WHY?

Why is he holding baby #2

Why is Elisa holding baby #2

Help me with my confusion
 

cathys, your are a treasure. Two recaps in one. Thank you so much.

Loved all things Mati and Ayala BOTH days. The looks, the working together, the nervousness when they realize they are THAT close. It's adorable and fun to watch them work as partners. The hidden bone was a wonderful moment!

I am doing a bit of back patting that I had guessed right that Rom was most likely poisoned. I'm not sure Teresa's shock was that of someone who was stunned to learn hubby was killed that way, or finding that somehow it could be figured out. I still suspect her, but there are a few others that can step up too. Honestly, there are a couple people I'm also considering, including Angela...I know, I know. But I can see her thinking on doing it without going into a book on why. However, Teresa still sits on the top right now od suspects.

Jacinto is such a worm. Don't care he didn't wind up snitching, still don't like him.

I really had a hard time watching Diego totally snow Isabella. Maybe there's guilt in that she really wants the idiot she is chained to be a good guy after all, but just the day before he's checking up on her, ordering her home and being his creepy self and she felt compelled to tell him off. Next day, turns on the charm and Voila, she's sold. Her naïve nature sometime is just a tad too much to deal with.

If she's preggers...oh good lord. We have had enough babies in this tale.

What is with that judge? Or probably more accurate, judge, jury and mayor of the town?

Lovin' our Jorge...I want a background, a story why she's hiding out (noticed the binding showing in the cave scene) and when is Felippe going to find out her secret?

I take it the kind, handsome gent at the "home" is a priest? Something seemed a little too overly friendly with Sophia and that look on her face...this won't end well will it?

Daisynjay
 

Thanks Jarifa. Finally the good guys got some wins this time.
So funny, I just assumed when she told him that she didn't feel well that it was because she wanted to avoid him. She hasn't actually acted sick. But if she is pregnant, I hope it's Julio's.
 

Daisy, my suspect is Diego. I can't see Teresa poisoning him, and the way she reacted to the news seemed like she was surprised by it. Diego had everything to gain by Romulo dying.
 

Variopinta. Alfredo back was a fast surprise, but he has no resources, so maybe came back with his tail between his legs for lack of anywhere else to go. AND he needs to get his hands on that land.

The baby is still being played as he and Sophia's child as far as anyone knows. Angela brought the baby to Andres more in compassion and to have the child with someone after Sophia was gone, but she took him back upstairs. So Alfredo will have the munchkin with him since it's supposed to be his son. And he's getting attached, so this could be interesting.

Daisynjay
 

Variopinta, Elisa and Alfredo are bankrupt. Elisa realizes that their only hope is in this child, claiming it as Alfredo's and living off of the Alarcon money.
 

Hmmm, I thought Diego came into the picture after Rom died? Maybe I understood that wrong which is why I had not considered him able to access Rom for the poisoning.

Watching some key people next few episodes should give us some answers. Do we know how many more episodes...this wasn't supposed to be that long and we are definitely into Part 2, new credits and all.

Daisynjay
 

Thank you for the double dose.

So if Julio's powder came from Angela's shrine, do we really think that after 20+ years she finally found some reason to do him in?
 

I don't think that powder came from Angela's hiding spot. He looked in the bag and put it back.
But what was that powder?

Daisy, in that letter Cristina had, it said in the beginning of it, Romulo rued the day that he ever hired Diego.
 

Maybe "Jorge" was just smarter than her brother when it comes to outlaw-leading, so she and bro came up with the disguise. She's probably safer anyway.

Best moment- Cecelia talking her nieces not to get with any of the men, they ask "what about this guy?", and she's like oh that's just Felipe, he doesn't count. She's fun when she's not sexually harassing Julio. I hope she's able to help Meli and get her to lay off Violeta.

Kelly
 

Cathyx--Thank you for doing double duty for Hotel addicts. It was a pleasure to read.

Actually, if you look at the scene again, I'm pretty sure Julio took the bag with whatever was in it. He added that to the packet of letters he was hiding under the mattress. He was holding the bag when he showed Ayala the bottle/jar. I think we can safely assume that was the arsenic and he was testing it with the same stuff Ayala tested the bone. The powder turned blue, indicating the presence of arsenic.

I don't want to suspect Angela, but the bottle in the grotto was a BIG clue (so were her furtive glances) or else it is a BIG red herring.

Romulo was poisoned slowly. Arsenic in food is certainly the easiest way to disguise it. Someone who had access to the kitchen, his food and him on a daily basis would be a likely suspect. That might fit Lupe, Benji, Angela or Cristina. We can eliminate Cristina, although she might have been the one to suspect. I doubt Teresa visited him very much, but we don't know. She certainly hovered over Sofia when it suited her.

Daisynjay--Diego was Romulo's right hand man before Rom died. He already had an important position at the hotel when Teresa ordered Isabel to return. I'm beginning to agree that the Hotel was not broke, but it may have looked like it. Diego offers to put it back in the black in return for having Isabel. Or, it could be the two of them cooked up the scheme in order to guilt Isabel into marrying Diego.

In #51, I think Isabel wanted to go tell Teresa and/or Angela right away. That's when Julio waylaid her, took her out into the woods to calm her down and get her to let the investigation go forward with Ayala and for her to stay out of it. There was a near kiss there, too. At least they are looking at each other deeply without following it up with daggers.
 

I meant #52, when Julio took her to the woods.
 

Cathyx, many thanks for the recaps. I miss a lot without them. But, did I see Cecilia dance with Jorge/(her name) and then recommend Felipe get better acquainted with him/her? I think she figured out Jorge is a girl. That made me chuckle.

The place where Sophia is being kept is super creepy! I sure hope Alfredo gets his nerve up and his pride out of the way so he goes to see her - and then what?

I am still unclear how Diego managed to convince Isabela to trust him!

Again, bless all the folks who blog for this TN. You are much appreciated.

Molly's Sister
 

Thanks for the recap!

Daisynjay, there are supposed to be 80 episodes for this TN. They've already started advertising ultimas semanas.

I don't think Isabel is pregnant either, and it couldn't be Julio's anyway since it's been almost 6 months since they were together.
 

Alright Anita, I rewatched the scene with Julio and the hidden bag. Unless my version was cut out, it did not show him taking anything. So I don't know how you can figure that the bag contained Arsenic.
 

Thank you cathy. Didn't finish 52 yet but I did 51. That church for some reason gives me the utter creeps. When the woman was screaming I thought of the worst. Welcome to El Gran Manicomio Parte Dos querida Sophia!

Teresa always somehow manages to interfere with investigations doesn't she.? When she said that it was a sin to break the rest of a soul , I LOL'd. . I almost don't know what to feel about her. Yes she is a horrible mother but I almost feel bad about her. If you ask me, the situation that she got into would break any woman. She is only standing on her two feet because she is strong. Angela's strenght is waning but Tere just keeps on going like a titan. More like a sinking Titanic that evaded many glaciers but the luck is growing shorter and shorter.

I wonder what they will do with Felipe now. He has always been the weakest link in this show plotwise if you ask me. The writers don't know what to do with him at all. I don't feel that he has any relevance to the story itself.

I cracked up when Karma visited Genaro's doors, he deserves it all for his shady deals with Christina and treating women bad especially when he kicked a pregnant Violeta.

Not sure what is Cece's endgame here but it aint anything good either.

 

Gracias, Cathy.

I strongly doubt that the bag contains arsenic, since it's been kept outdoors. I think it contains something that wouldn't be damaged by rain but that could incriminate Teresa or Diego.

Isabel might be trying to avoid having to submit to Diego. I would hope she would know some folk-medicine contraception because she shouldn't have to bear his child.

Loved watching Matilde and Ayala. Their mutual respect is refreshing in a story rife with woman-as-third-class-citizen.
 

Thanks all for reminding me on when Diego came on the scene. Why I forgot that tidbit...why oh why this TN couldn't have been at an earlier hour when my tired old brain isn't fighting for sleep. So, yep Deigo can go on the list, though I do agree getting arsenic in the food would fit better with someone with that daily access.

Count, I keep waiting for Felippe to step in and have a key pivotal moment to resolve this whole thing. There doesn't seem to be any worthless moments or people in this tale, and though he seems to always be on the sidelines, maybe he's more important than we know.

Though Angela is still on my list, the Agatha Christi habit of making the perp be someone we think is meek, mild or good, could she be hiding something else or protecting someone ( honestly, then why not destroy what's in there??). Found it ironic that it was hidden under a religious statue and she gave the respectful sign of the cross as she left. Though religion is important to everyone, seems the three most religious people we've seen in this tale are Angela, Benji and Teresa.

Hello Molly's Sister!!!

Daisynjay


 

Thanks CathyX...Wonderfully generous of you to do not one but two recaps. Bullet points are great, by the way. Most of us are rushing from one meeting or chore to the next, and the brief format really works with time constraints.

Loving the Wunderkinds Ayala and Matilde. And especially her shock/awe/delight at his flaming, rambunctious tantrum about the judge's interference. I imagined she was thinking what a passionate and committed man he must be...in all respects. To me, they are the most interesting potential couple in any telenovela I've ever witnessed.

Whether a friendship or a romance, their mutual passionate devotion to science and truth promises lots of fireworks ahead.

Yes, to all those who find the priest at the retreat center creepy and suspicious. But loving Alfredo's gradual tender bonding with the baby, as well as Elise's skilled fake devotion as well. Laughed when she handed off the "burden" to her simpering little companion as soon as possible.

This story continues to be fascinating and love that it's not being extended into idiocy.

Thanks again CathyX.
 

Ah and welcome to Molly's sister as well. Hope it's not snowing in your part of the country. It is in Ohio...oh my!
 

Cathyx--I agree to disagree about the bag Angela handled. I thought she looked in the bag and put it back. Julio followed, looked inside, removed the bag and put it inside his jacket.

Urban--If the jar/bottle had a tight top on it, weather wouldn't have been a problem. I assumed there was a link when Julio held up the bottle in the comisario. I could have sworn he was still holding the bag. Off to rewind and rewatch epi 52!

What I can't fathom is why Angela would have kept something as damaging to her as arsenic around at all. Lord knows there are enough places where she could have dumped the stuff--a little at a time, in some of the water around the fountain or even down by the river where poor Pascual died.

So maybe the bag didn't hold a bottle of arsenic. But that's what it definitely was when Julio experimented with it. Where ELSE would he have obtained it?
 

A thought: maybe Angela does know who did it and has kept that bottle as the "proof" if she ever needed it?

I'm trying to find a reason to NOT point to her, can you tell???
Anita, I also thought Julio took the bag and stashed inside his coat, moving it to behind his back when he walked in the room, then hid it under the bed mattress when Andres left.

Daisynjay
 

Daisynjay--I don't want it to be Angela either. Now they can do fingerprinting, but I don't think she knew that when Romulo died. If she kept it as proof of someone else's perfidy, how could she keep from having herself be suspected if it was found in her possession--well, in the grotto. Maybe, maybe--how's this for a theory. She watched someone else put it there first and was checking to see if it was still there. I like that one!!!

Do you think she was protecting Lupe? It certainly wouldn't have been Benji. I don't think she ever liked him enough to protect him.
 

Ok, I rewatched the scene again, and I will say that it never showed Julio actually taking the bag, but then I rewatched the scene that Daisy mentioned, where Julio goes to his room and puts something under his mattress and saw that it was the gray bag that he pulled out from under the bridge. And then I rewatched the scene at the lab where Julio pulls out of his pocket that same gray bag and removes a glass bottle that contains a white powder that he then pours onto the table and puts the acid on it, which turns it black too. Phew!

So yes, Angela was saving the arsenic for some reason.

Oh, and I will change those points in the recap.
 

thank you cathyx for both

Romulo did whatever he wanted, to whomever he wanted, whenever he wanted and despite Isabel's worship of her father I don't think he was a good guy at all so there could be a multitude of people wanting him dead, including Cristina. He was under her care at the end. Maybe he was ill and Cristina helped him along.

So, if Angela killed Romulo as he planned to announce Andres his legitimate heir, then Angela had to have killed Cristina and would have tried to kill Belen.

I still think there is something about Diego Isabel likes and if she's pregnant she'll be fine with it if only Julio would leave.

Ayala finally blinded Matilde with science after showing off like a school boy and if she becomes romantically attached to him at least there is more substance to that attachment than the crush Isabel had on Julio.

 

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
 

Judy B- no, no snow here. Have faith, Spring will arrive for you eventually (it has sprung here in the Pacific Northwest)!! Like the rest of you I'm confounded about Angela, so really enjoy all the current possibilities listed above. BTW what were Angela and Romulo arguing about that ended something like,"over my dead body or yours!"?

UA- thanks for the welcome. I lurk more than I chat, but I SO enjoy the blog.

Hi to Vivi if you are reading from somewhere far away. I'm setting off on a trip in a week and will be depending on the blog entirely to keep me up to date with news of the Gran Manicomio.
 

Hello amigos! Hermana de Molly, the blog is a great way to keep up while travelling. I've been reading every night before bed and in the mornings. Thanks to all the wonderful recappers, and special thanks to Anita for filling in for me this past week.

I hear it snowed in DC yesterday, so I'm very happy to be away! Unfortunately, the fog and smog in and around Kathmandu has been bad this week and my various excursions into the hills outside the city have yielded no majestic views of the Himalayas, and even my mountain flight this morning got cancelled. One more chance to try the mountain flight tomorrow morning before heading to Malaysia in the afternoon.
 

I forgot to mention that I got to speak Spanish this morning! As we all clamored at the Bush's Air ticket counter to rebook/refund our mountain flights, I heard the distinct Spanish accent of a gentleman struggling to communicate in English with the airline folks. I addressed him in Spanish and we became fast friends chatting in Spanish. He's at the end of a one week trip from his home in Madrid. He came just to see Everest, which has so far been shrouded in fog. Fingers crossed for both of us tomorrow morning.
 

Buddha Air, not Bush, as tablet changed it to. :)
 

Guess there just is no Shangri-la even in the Himalayas. (Going from Hi-malaya to low-Malaysia?)
 

Hi Vivi!!

Thank you Cathyx for recapping both episodes. Has anyone heard from Juju??

I saw an episode of the Spain version yesterday on the Spanish-language PBS station. I was TOTALLY lost. It was quite different than our version. I was able to identify Julio, Isabel, and Matilde, but was not able to figure out where in the story they were (ahead of us or behind) or say "oh right, this is the part where ____."
 

Julie-- I'm assuming JuJu is fine. We offered to put up bullet points for #51, which Cathyx did, but we haven't actually heard from her after she checked in as having work-related problems on Friday afternoon. I hope things will be all straightened out by this coming Thursday.
 

I messed up on my Thurs recording and only caught half of the ep. I would have watched it this past weekend, by my TV provider is in the process of switching over to a new one, and On Demand is temporarily down. Since I rely heavily on the recap, as well as my memory of the ep, I'm sure I've missed some things.

Thanks to Cathyx for doing double recap duty.

I was hoping Mati would steal a bone and she did. Good on her.

Nanette
 

High Points:

GKK attacks Pablo.
Andres/Nat have a good time.
Elisa/Teresa discuss the scam and Alfie wanting to leave.
Nat tells Angela what Julio told Andres.
Pablo asks for forgiveness.
Alfie gives Sofia the raw truth and leaves.
Angela explains much.
Dag no match for “nieces”.
Isa/Julio find a secret passage.
Teresa talks Sofia down.
Isa/Julio find a hidden suite.
Nat/Andres first (we hope, of many) kiss.
Teresa admits she was wrong about Sofia.
Teresa tells Angela Sofia is mentally ill.
Teresa/Elisa bond.
Andres inherits the hotel.
Isa decides to keep quiet about Andres.
Jorge is revealed to be a woman.
Isa/Julio talk there way out when caught together by Diego.
Pablo dies.
Ayala comforts Matilde.
Angela sees the necklace on Isa.
Dag lets Ayala take the lead.
Nat comforts Andres.
Teresa’s “Felipe Alarcon!”
Ayala wants Rom’s body exhumed.
Ayala gives Lupe’s money back to Angela.
Isa puts her foot down with Diego.
Dag wants to search the hotel.
Felipe throwing bowls of soup everywhere.
Isa gives permission to have Rom’s body exhumed.
We find out Jorge’s real name: Manuela.
Jorge defends CeCe.
CeCe tells Felipe to make friends with Jorge.
Alfie returns.
Gernaro is dying.
Ayala and Mati testing the remains.
Angela gives Lupe his money back.
Sofia makes a friend.
Andres asks Nat out.
Julio tells Isa not to trust Diego.
Ayala loses it (was something to see).
Mati amused by Ayala’s first name.
Mati stole a bone.
Isa lies to Diego that the exam has been stopped.
CeCe pep talks Meli.
Alfie sings to the baby.
Ayala finds out Rom was poisoned with arsenic.
Julio’s powder he stole seems to be arsenic, too.
Julio agrees to let Mati tell Isa about her father.
Judge tells Teresa Ayala has evidence Rom was poisoned and he can’t stop the investigation.
Teresa seems genuinely surprised.
Julio talks Isa out of spilling the beans and let Ayala investigate.
Elisa tells Alfie to visit Sofia.
Elisa tells Alfie Sofia has been told she is not loved.
Andres’ and Nat’s have their second kiss.
Nat introduces Andres to her brother.
Julio warns Jacinto he could end up like Garrido.
Jacinto knocks on Diego’s door then thinks better of it.
Jorge defends Felipe to her gang.
 

Low Points:

Ayala is hit by a block.
CeCe threatens Julio.
Isa/Diego in bed.
Ben flogs himself.
Violeta is upset.
Julio tells Andres about his “father”.
Andres is very angry.
Diego bitches out Angela.
Felipe/Anastasio smoke opium.
Teresa blames Sofia for not being able to keep Alfie from leaving.
Julio snoops.
Andres denounces his mother.
Anastasio is presumed dead.
Felipe fails to bring Jorge the manuscript.
Isa/Diego kissing.
Sofia’s got a gun.
The gang helps Felipe.
Teresa rebuffs the doc.
Diego/CeCe.
Diego catches Isa with Julio.
Matilde upset she lost a patient.
Sofia is sent away.
Teresa lectures Isa on loss.
Isa apologizes.
Isa tells Andres is father is dead.
The retreat Sofia is sent to is creepy.
Jacinto oversteps with Isa.
Diego is suspicious of Andres.
Felipe pours the opium into the soup.
Teresa stops the exam.
Diego snows Isa.
The priest is creepy.
Sofia seems smitten.
Julio is spotted leading Isa away.
Andres has a Belen flashback.
Kitchen gossip about Julio/Isa.
Jacinto is there to hear.
Teresa slaps Angela and accuses her of spilling the beans.
Lupe tells the police about Angela’s threat to Rom.
 

Thanks, Nanette.
I thought of "Angela sees the necklace on Isa" as a low point - but that's just me. I know Isa needed the necklace for her alibi, but I had also hoped she'd give it back to Angela ASAP with some lame excuse - or at least put it back in its old hiding place. (Yeah, I know she needs the necklace to get into the secret room - but I also suspect that they've already found the big jackpot there.)

I don't know if the necklace is in Isa's room now, but if Diego finds it and sees "Angela" inscribed on the back, he's going to have some questions!
 

Julie: I see what you mean about the necklace. I think I put it on the High list because it was a reveal--Isa knows something. And now Angela knows that Isa knows something.
 

I don't recall if anyone has mentioned this, but do you think that Rom was wanting to reveal that Andres was his son and heir and Angela was threatening him not to?
 

Yes, yes, Nanette, I kind of thought so, too and I don't think anyone mentioned it. All along Angela has not wanted her son to be anything like the Alarcons that were inhabiting the planet, so keeping his name out of the gene pool (which he was already in) was one of her tactics.
 

Flaco theories: the priest at the retreat is the GKK and Ben's son.
 

Anita: would Angela kill Rom to see that does not happen. Hmmmmm.
 

Nanette--I don't think the priest can be Ben's son, because he's supposed to be one of Elisa's relatives. However, that doesn't eliminate him from being the GKK.
 

I don't believe Angela is a killer. It's not in her. She wanted to keep Rom from revealing that Andres is his son because she wanted to continue living there and not have everyone looking down on her for having a relationship with him. I think she had the power perhaps because she found it when she was cleaning up his room and thought it might be a good idea to keep it in case it she needed it to protect herself later.
 

Cathyx: So another GKK suspect. Just kidding about Angela. I do not for a moment believe she killed him. Would be an interesting twist, though I personally wouldn't like it.
 

I'm still sticking with Benjamin as the killer. I know some of you were saying that it's too obvious, but it was obvious that Jorge was a woman, and they made a point later to show us that she actually was a woman as if we couldn't guess it from the moment she opened her mouth.
 

Great recaps and great conversations !! I think the Jorge/Manuela character is so facinating !! oh...and I think the Dr. is the serial killer !!