Caray, Caray!

telemundo

Wow, LXV, you really got stuck with a confusing week! Thanks for working it all out. I have no idea whether the 1-2 pm showing of La Fan is a repeat, a separate episode, or goddess knows what. My wild guess would be that Tuesday's gran estreno might be repeated Wednesday at 1, and Wednesday's episode 2 might be repeated Thursday at 1, in order to give more people a chance to watch the novela from the start, but that's just a totally wild guess.
 

Telemundo: Yes, Juanita. That's a pretty good wild guess; I'll go with your speculation about the double showing of La Fan, being a repeat of the first episode. I am enjoying the obvious authority of your spellcheck that turned goodness into goddess. I'll take it either way!
 

I think you're both right because they've repeated new shows during the day for the first week only. I remember them doing it with "Tierra de Reyes" and a couple of other shows.

I have a Silvana question, but I'll wait until the show is over and the recap has been posted so I don't give anything away.

 

Thanks, britishcomedyfan Your opinion is much appreciated. I've not experienced that repeat before, but it makes sense. And thanks for your restraint on the Silvana question. I'm sure there will be lots of coverage once the final has aired.
 

SILVANA – EL GRAN FINAL – Parte 1 de 3

Diabetics, beware! The saccharine nature of this final may be harmful to your health.

We start of with a shocker. María José is in the backyard of the Gallardo half of the duplex. She’s hanging clothes on a clothesline. Two kids, a boy and a girl, are running around. One more child, Marisol, comes downstairs and says that the TWINS need a diaper change. And Majo is pregnant with another one!

Vicente comes home with a bunch of guys. Looks like they’re all sweaty from playing soccer. Vicente wants to have a BBQ. Majo says she was up until all hours because Vicente wanted pozole, and now he wants to have a BBQ! The soccer buddies troop upstairs to clean up. We see Majo yelling at Vicente and then…we see her on the sofa, saying No! No! No! Please! Angie comes in and tells her to wake up. Majo says she had a horrible nightmare. Angie wants her to come to the terminal to help her choose some fish for a celebration about her terrific score on the SATs.

Majo and Angie arrive at the terminal. Majo is griping about the horrible long ride on a bus. Angie puts her in the back of a van and says something about Vicente being late. Angie must have corvina (sea bass) for the ceviche. Angie then locks Majo inside.

Inside the terminal, Poncho, Stella and Dominique announce that “they” are expecting. Manuel is happy for them. Manuel goes on to say that life also smiled on him, and Chivis arrives. Everyone applauds. Manuel announces that La Señora Chivis, alias La Langosta, and he are officially a couple. Poncho asks how much longer he’s going to keep on calling her La Señora Chivis.

Stella congratulates Chivis and gives her a hug. Angie comes inside telling them all to hurry. Angie opens the back of the van and has Majo sit there. Angie, Poncho, and Jorge appear wearing cardboard cutouts of fish or a strawberry. They hold up a sign saying she used to be insecure, but not any more. Don Benito and Trini dance up. Al dances up with a sign:

Then the whole bunch of them go Bollywood in the terminal parking lot doing a synchronized dance. Manuel and Chivis dance down the center. Then Vicente appears. He’s holding a bunch of cardboard signs, and various of the cast members pull the signs off one by one. Each says Por tí and then a phrase follows: Soy major persona … apprendí respirar sobre el agua…volar sin alas…caminar sobre fuego…reír con ganas…seré un hombre nuevo. [For you I’m a better person, I learned to breathe underwater, fly without wings, walk on fire, laugh heartily and I’ll be a new man.]

Vicente kneels down and opens the ring box. Majo: “Oh my God!” She grabs the ring, puts it on her finger and shouts YES!
 

SILVANA – EL GRAN FINAL – Parte 2 de 3

Jorge and Angie are looking at the pictures from the parking lot celebration. She tells him she’s going to visit her father at his new place today. She teases him about appearing medio greñudito in the photos. [Wild, shaggy hair] Then she tells him she was teasing; she loves his hair. He tells her they are almost half siblings, and she wrinkles her nose.

Majo and Vicente get some advice from their elders inside the terminal. Majo says she promises to send at least one of their kids to a private university. Vicente insists the public ones can also be good. Stella says it’s important to set rules for the day-to-day stuff. She herself insists on sleeping on the right side of the bed, doesn’t like to be bothered in the bathroom, says that the closet is all hers, and wants her back scratched every morning.

Vicente thanks his father for everything he’s done for him. They all toast Marisol, the mother of the Gallardo children. Majo promises to name their first little girl Marisol. Chivis says she believes that Marisol is watching them from on high

Trini has organized a staff meeting at the bakery with Don Benito, Margarita, Rocío, and Juanito. She has big plans for growth of the business. She wants the quality of the product improved. She tells Juanito to be more formal with customers. Rocío is kind of shocked, and Margarita tells her she ain’t seen nuthin’ yet (basically).

Manuel has asked Poncho to come to his office. Poncho is kind of nervous. He thinks it’s advice about being a father. But Manuel wants him to take more of a leadership role and he wants to train him to some day take his place.

Majo, Angie, and Lupita arrive at AJ’s house. He has on a “World’s Best Daddy” apron and is excited they’ve come. He has a surprise…a Siamese cat. They decide to call the cat Dulce de Leche. He cooked them some mole, even though it’s not HIS favorite dish. He’s going to have a caprese salad as he wants to lose a bit of weight.

AJ makes a toast (with water). He says that maybe this wasn’t the happy ending he hoped for, but having his children here makes him very happy. He wants them to be comfortable bringing their boyfriends to visit whenever they want. Chivis sent him a family picture. [There’s a space like she might have photoshopped herself out of it!]
 

SILVANA – EL GRAN FINAL – Parte 3 de 3

Un mes después…

Chivis is in a gorgeous white dress. Trini thinks it’s middle class. She goes on to say that you can’t lose “class”. You’re born with it; you die with it; and you can’t change that fact. Chivis says to cut it out; she’s getting ready to get married. Trini corrects her. It isn’t a marriage ceremony. There will be no priest. There will be no judge. Angie says that it’s an engagement ceremony. And, if her mother isn’t getting married in church, it’s because the divorce isn’t final and a Catholic wedding (that of AJ and Chivis) takes a while to annul.

Jorge and Vicente are helping Manuel into his suit jacket. Vicente says he’s trembling. Manuel says there’s going to be an engagement ceremony, and this is an important thing. Pedrito tells him he looks like one of those guys on the wedding cake.

The event is at the outdoor area of the terminal, all decorated with flowers. Pedrito and Lupita announce their parents. These two want their parents’ new partners make some promises. Pedrito has Chivis promise to let Manuel watch all of his team’s soccer games. He wants her to laugh at all of his bad jokes. Pedrito would also like a new bed for himself! He wants Chivis to promise to leave the picture of his mother on a table. Chivis promises to do all this

Lupita has Manuel promise to tell Chivis every day how beautiful she is, to hold hands with her when walking, and to take her to Key West more often.

Chivis and Manuel exchange rings. They kiss while their love theme plays. All the kids surround them, and, just then, Lucha arrives. The priest also arrives late, saying he was stuck in traffic. He sorta, kinda blesses them. And he says: “Long live love! And let the party get started!” We see each couple kiss or embrace. We also see Dom getting a look from a handsome guy. We’re not sure if he just met the guy.

We see Manuel and Chivis preparing to go to bed together at Manuel’s house [although the room looks different]. She gets him to put out first one, then the other light. She says can’t help being a bit conservative. They are just getting busy when there’s a knock at the door. ALL the kids run in and start a big pillow fight!

Now it’s daytime. The whole cast is outside the duplex dancing to the theme song.

FIN

 

Silvana

thanks so much novelera for this and all of your wonderful recaps!
cute ending,
alabado!

(so how many packs of chewing gum were used to make this novela)

 

Silvana sin lana:

Gracias, novelera, for the recap. After watching the penultimate episode early yesterday and then the finale, I'm seriously wondering if I somehow missed something or if the show glossed the hell over

1. Rocio apparently deciding to stay in Miami with Margarita and Benito (which I'm not necessarily averse to, but come on!);
2. Silvana and Antonio Jose deciding to get a divorce.

And Benito changing the bakery's name for Trini...in-show it made sense, he is/was utterly smitten, but my God did she ever not deserve that.

OTOH, the final 1.5 episodes were indeed super sugary sweet, random dance numbers and all, and carried almost entirely on the shoulders of Carlos Ponce and Maritza Rodriguez. And in that respect, it worked. This perhaps makes this the overall nicest novela I've ever seen in my limited experience. Even allowing for Trini, the most irritating comic relief I've seen since...wow...give me a minute...
 

Silvana

Muchísimas gracias, novelera, for this and all your other marvellous recaps.

I confess that I was very disappointed in this diabetes-threatening finale. I suppose it was an appropriate non-conclusion to a novela that depended on repetitious filler for the last few weeks. Instead of providing some satisfying closure for the Génesis thread and something other than a "Best Daddy" apron for AJ, the episode simply showed that the cast can hold signs and dance. I was especially ticked off at the handling of AJ. Best Daddy?? Give me a break! The apron should have read "Best Daddy Who Defrauded His Friends and Associates and Deserted His Family for Months, Leaving Them Impoverished, Without a Home, and in the Hands of His Corrupt, Sleazeball Lawyer."

I was also astonished at how the writers thought Manuel and Chivis' children should behave at the end. Perhaps if the kids were 5 or 6 years old, I'd understand. But with Chivis and Manuel finally together and about to make love, their supposedly mature and considerate children barge into Manuel's bedroom and start a pillow fight! [Several expletives deleted here.]

OK, I'll stop ranting. I enjoyed your recap and laughed out loud at deb's "(so how many packs of chewing gum were used to make this novela)."
 

I'm right with you, Juanita, though the majority of my ire was indeed directed at the past two or three weeks of episodes rather than the finale itself. I've never seen a novela that circular for that long before, and it was bonkers; Antonio Jose getting a free pass on his past villainy, comparatively, was an unpleasant (now that I'm reminded of it) bonus that got eclipsed by the blinding light of SHUT THE *%#*&! UP, TRINI!

*ahem* Okay. I'm better now.

As for the actual ending: considering that, if memory serves, we only ever got to see two couples get it on in the entirety of the show (Poncho/Jennifer and Vicente/Maria Jose), and considering the show's utterly light touch with Silvana, it just figures that their kids would break up Manuel and Silvana's second and first real night together. Especially since they're all living in the duplex together, technically step-sibs-to-be and dating each other and when The Bold and the Beautiful does this I call it legally acceptable ew...
 

Silvana

BillC, I didn't see your first comment until after I'd posted my rant, but I was/am very much in agreement with you. And I'm delighted that your second comment so eloquently expressed my feelings about Trini as well! :-) Your remark made me feel better, too. :-)

I still feel outraged at the pillow fight. These are grown children, adults, who have supposedly been wanting Chivis and Manuel to be happy together for quite a while. To me it's unthinkable that anyone over the age of, say, 10, would deliberately interrupt a couple in that situation. You're right that the show has reflected Chivis' modesty, but for me it would have been more realistic and satisfying had we seen Chivis and Manuel in bed together and then...still in bed together in the warm glow of post-coital bliss [yikes, I can't believe I wrote that].
 

Silvana

I was disappointed in the last two episodes. The writers had us believing for the entire series in the villainy of AJ, and then they quickly gloss over his many faults and have him wear a Best Daddy apron and cook for the kids. Incredible.

But, I guess the tone of this TN was consistent: Light, frothy, and nonsensical entertainment.
 

SILVANA:

Novelera- Thank you so much for this wonderful recap, and all your others. The comments so far on this finale are cracking me up. You all state so perfectly how I felt while watching. My eyes were rolling so much, that I worried they would pop out of my head.

Allow me to go point by point on the things I noticed and/or annoyed me…In the first few minutes we have Majo (who is still lazy, uneducated, and unambitious) go from having a nightmare about becoming Vicente’s poor, barefoot and ever-pregnant wife, to happily accepting an elaborate proposal from him. Que?! By the way, Vicente has never been a lazy layabout, and unlike Majo, he’s actually going to college to get a career. If anything, her nightmare should have been about him dumping her lazy butt, and taking off with a more accomplished and educated woman.

Then we see that AJ is among the singers and dancers during the proposal. Oh, come on! They really want us to believe that he’s come around so much, that he would even sing and dance like a buffoon while Vicente proposes to Majo?

Then of course, there is absolutely no mention or resolution to all of AJ’s swindles and he court case, and no explanation of how he’s able to afford his palatial new home.

Then we hear that Chivis and AJ aren’t actually divorced, but she and Manuel are having some kind of commitment ceremony that is neither legally nor religiously significant. So why have it? Why not wait until the divorce/annulment/whatever is final? Was this just so that Chivis would feel better about having sex with Manuel while she’s still married? Because that’s all I can think of.

And speaking of sex…ITA about the complete idiocy and inappropriateness of grown children barging in on their parents on their first night of sharing a bed. How did they know they weren’t already naked and getting busy? We already got enough family love during the commitment ceremony. Sorry, Writers, that was a FAIL. By the way, the room at the end was both of their rooms, with the wall in the middle torn down to form one big room with one big balcony. And so it looks like their room is in the middle, while their respective bio-families live on their sides. During the final dance scene, we also see that the duplex is now one uniform color to represent the joining of the houses.

Finally…Trini! Ugh! Rocio and Margarita should run for the hills, or L.A., and poor Juanito should find a new job.

 

SILVANA

Thank dios that's finally over!
I think the writers assumed we had much more affection for MaJo than we actually did. That extended proposal/ dance sequence would have been really cute if it had been to please a character we loved. I still see her an insufferable, entitled snob (not as bad as Trini, though) and think that Vicente could do much better!
So many things didn't add up for me, or were glossed over so quickly after weeks (/months) of nothing-happening nonsense.

 

LA DONA

Did anyone notice that Daniel looked nervous when he read about the Colonel's arrest ?


 

SILVANA

Novelera: You're right about Chivis sending AJ the family picture, which all but says SPACE & don't come near me ever again!


 

Silvana. Excellent recap, novelera, a gran final to your other wonderful recaps of this telenovela! Also great comments by all. Most of what I would have to say would be a repeat of what others have said. I will just add that there were WAY too many plot lines left dangling--especially AJ's legal case. A plea bargain with a short jail term and restitution would have been plenty upbeat considering the frauds he committed. Also, besides Génesis: Chivis' career? MJ's job or "vocation"? The divorce and annulment, which I assume had both been put in motion by the last episode? I totally agree with Vivi that the engagement ceremony--which kind of looked like a wedding with Pedrito and Lupita presiding--was just plain silly. It would have been relatively easy for the writers to tie up all the plot ends in the last few weeks of the novela rather than creating so much filler--it's as if they didn't care and were just phoning it in. BTW, I think I will be doing the same thing that Doris is: trying the first few episodes of La Fan to see if it's watchable--it is at a very good time of evening for me.
 

LA DONA

SpanProf: Rafael looked a bit nervous when he found out about the Colonel's arrest last night.

Meanwhile, Gambino went psycho on Monica & Magarita... AGAIN!


 

Silvana--
Thanks to all you recappers who suffered through this and were willing to keep recapping. Thanks to all the commenters who held my interest all the way to the end.

I honestly don't know why I watched it after the first month. It was actually a good story. Like all of you, I was left disappointed that the good parts of the story had no conclusion and so much of our time was wasted on nonsense, endlessly repeated.

MIA from the end--Andres, Genesis, Jennifer, Steve the chauffeur. They all had major plot turning roles and didn't get to see anybody's HEA.

The pillow fight was just stupid.

Sorry, but I'm closing the book on Telemundo for awhile. Bring back a quality telenovela like Reina de Corazones and I'll be glued to the pantalla for 8 months, if it takes that long.

Hasta la vista, amigos. You all made it fun.
 

Novelera, great job of covering the episode and thanks for the warning of the saccharine nature of what was in store. Like others, I can't believe the writers felt this crock of you-know-what would be fine and dandy with its viewers. I am extremely annoyed by so much time being spent on Majo's engagement, how AJ's character went unpunished, as well as Trini's irritating character ending just as it started. In fact, all those who commented before me have reflected my thoughts on this subject. The only redeeming quality for me is that the suffering is over. Finally, as Anita said, thanks to all the recappers who suffered through this.
Helen
 

SILVANA:

I wouldn't have even minded that AJ skipped jail had the writers actually explained how that happened, even if it was farfetched like all the people he swindled deciding to forgive and forget and drop the charges, or that AJ only had to do 6 months of community service. Just something. ANYTHING! It was such a major plot point. Actually, it was THE central plot point that propelled the story from the first episode (as much as this thing had any momentum). How did the writers think it was ok to just drop it?
 

SILVANA

novelera and J --- First, I want to thank you for Thursday and Friday's recaps! I have had a hectic schedule, barely had time to read them, and no time to comment.

I want to thank our entire recapping team for slogging thru this turkey of a telenovela: Juanita, J and novelera, for hanging in there and taking one for the Patio. ( I hope I did not forget anyone) Bless your hearts, you deserve hazard pay for your time and work!!! Thank you, again.

novelera - Thank you for recapping this Por Fin episode!
Well, stick a fork in it. This turkey (of a telenovela) is done. Thank goodness. I FFWD>>> thru most of it so that I would not throw the remote control at the screen. I was extremely disappointed in the Por Fin.

“going Bollywood” is a good term for that dance number. I was thinking “Grease” (You're the One that I Want). LOL Then Vicente with the cue cards a la “Love, Actually” was a bit much.

That comment of Trini's about the Gallardo’s middle class-ness being contagious like Zika really turned me off. Nothing funny about Zika virus, IMO.

Egads. Good thing Manuel & Chivis still had their clothes on when the kids burst into their room for the pillow attack. QTH was up with that pillow thing??? Sheesh.

deb - ”(so how many packs of chewing gum were used to make this novela)”
LOL!!!

Juanita – I agree with you about the AJ scenes. That was the most ludicrous stuff ever.

Vivi – ITA with you re: Majo’s nightmare.

Anita – Andres was in the final dance number, looking very happy.

Well, I need a vacation from telenovelas after this one. I might watch he first episode of La Fan and see if it is at all tolerable, but I have my sincere doubts.

I have enjoyed sitting at the Patio of Lowered Expectations with everyone! You are a great group of people and made this show tolerable.
 

Silvana--
doris--if Andres was there, he must have been in the background, or I had probably already tuned out. I don't think it even took me the actual 44 min. to watch the episode I was so disappointed.

And there wasn't even a real wedding, when as Vivi said, there could have been one, even if it had been a civil one.
 

SILVANA:

Wouldn't it have been SO much more satisfying, if instead of a song and dance marriage proposal, we got a song and dance number of Vicente and Majo studying together at the university? Sorry, my mind is working furiously to think through how they could have salvaged this tn in the final episodes.
 

SILVANA:

...song and dance number of AJ picking up trash in his orange prisoner jumpsuit. Song and dance number of Trini kneading dough in the HOT kitchen of the bakery. Ok. I'm getting carried away. :)
 

La Doña (Capítulo 35) - Lunes 1/3)

A tired and upset Mónica tells Adolfo, her doctor friend, that she feels
terrible about Lydia, her best friend, her sister. She says she doesn't
understand why the worst things happen to the best people. Adolfo says
doctors too don't understand this. He tells her that she has a great
heart, for her father, for Lydia, for...Saúl Aguirre. Mónica realizes
that he saw them kissing. "Do you still feel the same way?" Adolfo asks.
"Yes," replies Mónica. She adds, "But you can't force a foot into a
shoe" (A la fuerza ni los zapatos entran). [I.e., you can't force someone to love you. She then cites an even more often-heard dicho, Cuando es pa' ti aunque te quites, y cuando no, aunque te pongas (When it's your time, there's no way to avoid it, and if it's not your time, you can't make it happen).

Saúl phones AG while she's watching the arrest of Céspedes on TV. She
ends the call quickly and then observes, "This is just the beginning,
Colonel."

Jaime comes to see Saúl and tells him that AG sent one of her killers
into their neighborhood, and that Jaime recognized him.

Adolfo suggests to Mónica that she sleep at the hospital since she's so
tired. Mónica tells him she has to go to work; if she doesn't work, she
doesn't eat. He offers to give her a lift (aventón to wherever
she's going, and she accepts his offer.

Lázaro wakes up with Yesenia asleep beside him. "Good morning,
gardenia," says the very happy Lázaro. [Sorry, but I find this sequence
too painful to describe in detail, since I think Yesenia is still
playing him.]

Jaime insists to Saúl that AG sent her thug to the neighborhood because
she's still interested in taking it over.

Regina comes to see AG. She observes that yesterday, AG was very
annoyed, but today she seems very happy. AG refuses to explain or
confide in Regina.

Céspedes is in custody and is being questioned by General Raúl Ibarra,
who tells him he's the military prosecutor assigned to his case. Ibarra
mentions that until now, Céspedes' record had been impeccable
(intachable). He asks whether Céspedes has anything to tell him.
Céspedes replies that right now, he simply wants to find out who has
gotten him into this mess, and he wants to consult with his attorney,
whom he hasn't yet contacted. That doesn't matter, Ibarra tells him, his
arrest has been well publicized. With that, the general signals to his
men, and in walks Braulio. Braulio wants to be left alone with his
client, their dealings are strictly confidential.

At the breakfast table, AG announces to Regina and Isabela that tonight
there will be a dinner in honor of Diego and Isabela. The dinner will
show the world that Isabela's life continues normally, so no one will
suspect that she was involved in the accident. Regina objects, but
Isabela sides with AG, and AG overrides Regina's objections.

Rafael and Leticia are arguing about Emiliano when suddenly Rafael sees
Céspedes' arrest on TV. He stares at the television in a state of
shock. Leticia is puzzled and not at all pleased that he's focused on
the TV and not on the discussion of their son.

Céspedes tells Braulio he's sure AG was responsible for the trap.
Braulio denies this and says that clearly one of Céspedes' men was
behind it. When the Colonel says that his men have his utmost
confidence, Braulio replies that confidence can be bought. He suggests
that perhaps there's something relevant in the Colonel's past. Céspedes
concludes that AG has something on him from his past. "Why is she doing
this? Who is she really?" he asks Braulio.
 

La Doña (Capítulo 35) - Lunes 2/3)

Mónica is talking on the street with Margarita when she catches sight of
Gabino and runs at him, furious.

The Colonel and Braulio talk, with neither giving an inch. Céspedes
finally threatens to drag AG into this. Braulio tells him that if he
mentions AG, he'll be destroyed.

Jaime asks Yesenia and Lázaro whether they've seen AG's killer, that
he's been in the neighborhood. Yesenia quickly realizes that the killer
has been following her to get to Lázaro, and that when he does so, he'll
kill them both. (And she's right: those were AG's instructions.)

Mónica and Gabino continue to argue. She again accuses him of lying
about the accident and of selling out to Rafael and the others. He calls
for reinforcements (did he say "ambulancias"?) and two uniformed guys
show up almost immediately. They grab Mónica and Margarita and all their
goods. A crowd gathers and Mónica tells them that the policeman's name
is Gabino and he is corrupt. I think he tells the crowd that the women
are sick and he's looking out for the wellbeing of the community.

Saúl is at Daniel's foundation when Daniel comes in. They talk, but
suddenly Daniel's attention is diverted to the newspaper, whose front
page carries a big headline and photo of Céspedes' arrest. Like Rafael
earlier, Daniel can focus only on the news of the arrest. "Do you know
the Colonel?" asks Saúl. Daniel keeps staring at the newspaper.

Braulio tells AG about his meeting with Céspedes. "He's not the man he
was a few days ago." AG is delighted: "We want him totally discredited
and destroyed where it most hurts him" (completamente desprestigiado
y destuido donde más le duele). But they've also planned a Part 2, where Céspedes will tell them the names of the other Monkeys, and soon after that, he'll die.

Mónica and Margarita have apparently not been arrested, just threatened
by Gabino, but all their things were confiscated: the bicycle, the
tortas, everything. Mónica says he can do this because he's the police.
There's only one solution, she says gravely, standing in front of AG's
office building.

Yesenia and Lázaro have come to the bank to cash in the check. They hope
this will give them enough money to get away from the neighborhood and
AG. Yesenia talks about the places they might go: Paris, Italy,
especially Venice with its gondolas, Las Vegas. Their imaginings are
interrupted by a bank emplyee who tells them the the check was
cancelled by the account owner. Yesenia realizes that she's been had,
and that AG gave her the check simply to be able to have her followed.

Mónica accepts AG's offer of employment as AG's personal assistant. AG
tells her that she has made the offer because Mónica is honest, is
loyal, and saved her life. Mónica is still a bit unsure that she's the
right person, because there are so many things she doesn't know. AG
tells her that she'll learn. AG wishes she had had such an opportunity
and someone to help her when she was young. Perhaps her life would have
been less difficult, it would have been different.

Yesenia and Lázaro realize that they were foolish to trust AG, that she
gave them the check just to be able to find Láazaro. Yesenia is
determined to make AG's plan backfire (Le va a salir el tiro por la
culata).

Saúl tells Daniel he didn't realize that he knew Colonel Céspedes. Who
told you that I know him? asks Daniel. The look on your face, replies
Saúl. The event has clearly had an impact on you. The quick-thinking
Daniel tells him that the impact is because of the ecological disaster:
"According to the article, this guy was trafficking not just in drugs but
also in rosewood. Do you know how many years it takes to grow these
trees?"
 

La Doña (Capítulo 35) - Lunes 3/3)

Rafael insists to his wife that he doesn't know the Colonel, and that
his only concern is Emiliano. Leticia tells him that AG has invited them
to a dinner tonight for Diego and Isabela. Emiliano isn't invited.
Emiliano overhears this.

Mónica hesitantly asks AG whether she could hire Margarita. She makes a
case for Margarita, and finally adds, "I don't know whether you know,
but Margarita was raped. That's why she's so timid. Miguel Preciado
ruined her life." OK, OK, responds AG, you can use her as an assistant,
but only when you need her, like tonight, when I have a dinner. But my
assistant will be you.

Emiliano is furious that he was not invited to the dinner. Diego, after
all, is his best friend. Rafael explains that this is just a temporary
situation until things calm down. Emiliano says that people are making
fun of him on social media. Rafael assures him that his mother and he
will work at cleaning up his image.

Saúl has contacted Karen, the detective from Veracruz who thought he was
a suspect in Miguel Preciado's disappearance. Saúl seeks her experience
in helping him put together a case proving that Lydia was not at fault
in the accident.

Yesenia and Lázaro tell Felipe about AG's cancelling the check and
sending one of her thugs to follow Yesenia in order to find Lázaro.
Felipe says he knows an honest journalist who may be able to help, but
to make a case against AG will take a lot of time. Lázaro is very upset
at the thought that AG may be able to learn that Mónica is her daughter.
"She has to continue to believe that her daughter is dead!"

Saúl and Karen go from store to store, looking for security cameras that
might show the accident. They have no luck. Saúl observes, "Just by
chance, all the cameras that point at the traffic lights are out of
order." They both realize that this is not "by chance." Saúl is
determined to find something that will help him prove his case.

Jaime comes to see AG. She says she's sure his son has told him that she
is no longer interested in his neighborhood. So why has he come to see
her, she asks. He asks why she has sent one of her killers to the
neighborhood. "I don't hire killers," she replies. "OK, bodyguards,"
he says. "Why did you send him? When are you finally going to leave my
family in peace?
 

La Doña

I'm sorry this recap of Monday's episode is so late and so awkwardly formatted. I said a couple of days ago that I wouldn't be able to do a recap tonight (Tuesday), my normal recap night. When I saw that no one had done one for yesterday's episode, I decided to put one together. But I hadn't counted on my usually reliable text editor going bonkers and causing me almost to throw in the towel. I finally fixed most of the problems, though apparently not all. Anyway, for what it's worth, here's a recap of last night's episode.
 

SILVANA

So... at the end of it all, I am left thinking:
Did anything actually f**king HAPPEN in this stupid novela????? This tn had about as much depth as an episode of La Voz Kids.
WORST waste of time in my life. thanks Gods for you alllllll who at least made it less disgusting.

Empty, saccharine sweet, devoid of any substance, and too precious by half. Christian fundamentalist television shows offer more stimulating and rewarding fare. And to anyone who says "Oh, it was just nice and light and made me smile and feel good", I just have to say:

"Go watch 'Teletubbies'".
 

LA FAN

HI everyone!! :-)

Just a note for all of you, in case nobody realized...

While the original story of 'The Fan' was written by Angelica Vale, the show itself is being produced by Marcela Citterio (whose last project was our beloved 'Reina de corazones'!!

Just to let you know!
 

LA DONA:

Juanita- Many thanks for the fabulously detailed recap! No need to apologize for lateness, since it wasn't late.

Gabino really doesn't give a damn that Monica and the others now know what a corrupt jerk he is. He was threatening to have Marg detained because she isn't on the permit Monica originally got to sell tortas, and according to Gabino, she could be carrying disease and be a public health hazard. Jerk!
 

La Doña

Many thanks, Vivi, for your reassuring remark and your clarifying the scene with Gabino, Mónica, and Marg. I knew that I hadn't grasped all that Gabino said, but I felt pressed for time and so didn't go back to look at the scene again. What you said really helps.

BTW, I LOVED your clever and incisive comments re Silvana!
 

LA FAN

Stevey - I saw that somewhere on the intertubes, and I was a Reinamaniac. She also wrote Amor en Custodia/Amores Verdaderos, and I liked AV a lot, too.

That is the only reason I'm still sitting at the Patio of Lowered Expectations, recording tonight's episode and giving it a chance. 😉
 

Silvana

Thank you, novelera, for recapping the finale! I will miss some of the characters but I am glad that I no longer need to recap this one.

I really don't understand why Telemundo didn't change the plot since there were obvious problems with the original. They had to make it more American/Mexican and get rid of the Chilean references, but they also had to add in so much filler to get it to 121 episodes that they could have resolved some plot lines and/or changed some things. The original would have been the equivalent of less than 90 Telemundo episodes, so they added A LOT of nothingness and flashbacks. Maybe that would have been too much extra work (to be creative)? Silvana was almost a clone of Pituca sin Lucas, right down to the colors of the duplex. Some scenes were almost word for word so it's not like the writers spent a lot of time on the scripts. A few episodes and almost all of the Vicente/Majo [Salvador/Jesús] & Lucha/Andrés [Gladys/Felipe] scenes are on Youtube if anyone interested - or wants to test their comprehension of Chilean Spanish.

I don't know if I'll be checking out La Fan or not. I'm going to be busy with work/classes again soon so I may take a break from new telenovelas for a short time and just continue binge-watching Marido en Alquiler and finally start Reina de Corazones.
 

LA DONA:

Juanita: Gabino, Emiliano, Isabela, etc., all but forming Monkeys 2.0


 

La Doña, Thank you, thank you Juanita, for putting SO much care & detail into your recap. As I've said before, the Spanish is difficult for me this time and I am ever so grateful, especially with the addition of dichos. So the monkees-at-large are all starting to get the message that the noose may be tightening. There's no way to escape the crimes of the past, even with an exemplary career in social service, like Daniel's. And everybody seems to be noticing: Saúl can't help but notice Daniel's reaction & Rafa is oblivious to Leticia's pointed questioning. As for Laz & Yesi, I don't know how long she can keep up the act. So,she was relieved that Laz didn't have it in him last night; soon, he's going to want to do the deed. It won't be pretty. Nonetheless, I do have a small soft spot for her, despite her deception.
 

La Doña

wow, thanks so much Juanita!

I like watching the Colonel, the way he walks around as if every bone in his body had been broken at some time, and the way he tilts his head and slurs his words, an interesting actor, but especially liked that he was not intimidated by Braulio, who made it sound to AG that they had broken him.

hmm, and the Colonel hadn't called his lawyer when Braulio showed up, will he go with him, Braulio made it sound like it's easier to make a military trial go away than a civilian one.

Yesenia and Lazaro had to sneak out of the tenement for fear their stalker was watching, where will they go now that they know a killer has them in his sites, and how will they explain this all to Monica?

and tonight Monica will be working AG's dinner party and of course Regina should be there.

LXV- without the check does Yesenia have any reason to carry on, but they may have to team up just to stay alive, and protect Monica.

 

La Dona

Of course, Yesenia is in desperate need of money, but her ultimate motivation is revenge for Gilberto's death. I think she does care platonically for Lazaro and genuinely wants to protect Monica. She's more then pleased Lazaro can't perform.

Side note on Gilbert's death and not to vindicate AG..... Braulio did not tell AG that he coerced Gilberto to confess. AG believed Gilberto confessed and agreed make him pay for betraying her.

Rose
 

La Dona

Juanita, thank you so much for the recap. I wanted to understand so much the conversation between AG and Monica.

I am so excited to see how this assistant thing turns out.

 

La Dona:

Back again after watching epi 36, can someone tell me what the heck happen at the end of the episode with Ysenia barging in? Also does Monica so far knows that she is related to Ysenia? Cuz I thought I heard Ysenia shouted her last name Sandoval...
 

LA DONA:

Tatiana: I noticed that too. Does Yesenia know she keeps making herself a bigger target & signing her death warrant ?

Does Regina even work ?

 

LA DONA:

LXV: I also noticed that the noose is slowly tightening around the other Monkeys: Daniel looked nervous as Hell & Rafael was oblivious to Leticia's questions.

I'm still awaiting the 5th Monkey to show up. It could be the young doctor's father for all we know.

 

La Doña

Tatiana- ok Regina is found out and admits to being AG's sister but doesn't want Monica to reveal to AG her connection with Yesenia (that she gets her cards read) but then Yesenia comes barging in and reveals to all that she is AG's aunt (Sandoval is AG's last name, Monica and Lazaro go by Hernández) this sends Monica spinning who goes outside with Margarita thinking she has been betrayed but vowing to get to the bottom of this.

 

La Fan. I watched the first episode of La Fan last night. Seems like a pretty standard farse, not badly executed. In fact, I will probably be using the first scene as an example of farse in my literary analysis class. It's pretty obvious where the plot line is going--also very standard and even classical/romance: a child of unknown paternity (supposedly), a virtuous orphan (Valentina), etc. I expect the novela will end with recognition scenes, weddings, etc--just like a late classical or early modern romance. (Btw, I study 16th-c. adaptations of Daphnis and Chloe). I will hang in at least for a while.
 

LA DONA:

Deb- I laughed when Monica went OUTSIDE and swore to get to the bottom of the Yesenia-AG-Regina mystery. Hello! If she wanted more info, she should have stayed where she was, eavesdropping! She's missing all kinds of juicy tidbits being outside, instead of inside where all the action and revelations are going on.
 

La Fan

the style of Marcela Citterio (Reina de corazones) keeps evolving, as she writes another fast paced novela, (a lot sure happened), filled with a lot of familiar faces with more to come like, Lupita Ferrer, Laura Flores, Catherine Siachoque, Fabián Ríos, Gabriel Valenzuela, Wanda D'Isidoro...

Gabriel Porras is good as Lucas' manager (trouble maker)

Val is a member of a group of gals, the "Lucas' Locas" that are screechy fans of Lucas Duarte.

while on a trip to Cancun Gabriel inquires about an old girlfriend, she moved to LA, had a child, and died, but wait Val has adopted the son and has a picture of his mother on the wall to prove it, but won't say (doesn't know) who the father is.

in short, Val (the flying pizza) saves Lucas, but wait they were filming his novela, upsetting everyone and getting her fired, Lucas is later caught cheating on his girlfriend (the other star in the novela), with a narco ?? wife, the ratings dive, so Gabriel comes up with a plan, a contest to win a lunch with Lucas, and picks Val as the winner.

Ximena Duque takes over a shipyard company as her brother retires, acing out Pablo Azar, and Jonathan Islas gets hired on.

 

La Doña

Vivi- yep, why on earth did she leave?

I laughed at Emiliano throwing cushions at the tv, he'd make a good novela watcher, and how stupid to post that video, but isn't that how that works, the more the parents cover for their kids the more they screw up.

 

LA DONA:

Deb: I've been asking myself the same question on why did Monica leave ? She's missing out on the good juicy secrets being exposed.

Vivi: Did you notice that Ximena came back to the DF much to Saul's surprise ? The big question is how long before AG finds out Ximena is back in town ?
 

La Fan

I loved the fast paced humor laden episode. There was plenty to laugh about from the sight gags to the slap stick. I especially enjoyed Adriana's reaction to being called "señora" as well as her losing her heel on the way to see her dad.

Deb, thanks for identifying some of the new faces. There are many I have not seen before.

Seeing Angëlica Vale again after all of this time is a special treat.

I will be watching tonight!



 

La Fan

I watched my recording while working, so it did not get 100% of my attention. I thought it got off to a good start and (so far) was not as ~stoopid~ as I thought it might be. There've been quite a few on Looneyvision where I give up after the first veinte minutos, so I am encouraged that I enjoyed this first episode, all the way through. I even truly laughed out loud over the window washer/girl in the office scene.

Oh, the Hollywood egos of the characters that are actors! Reminded me of Jaime Camil's "Rogelio" in Jane The Virgin!

I recognized Azar and Islas from Bella Calamidades and if Catherine Siachoque will be on, it should be fun. I think her hubby Miguel Varoni is supposed to have a part, too. And Scarlet Ortiz is all grown up since I last saw her.

La Fan has now been set as a series recording on my DVR, and time will tell. I'm more hopeful, now that I've seen the Gran Estreno.

The nice thing I really (!!!) liked about La Fan is that their speech is not the rapid-fire that it was in Silvana, and I could actually understand what these people were saying. After all, I watch telenovelas for ear-training first, vocabulary second. Reading English CCs doesn't help my Spanish at all, nor does reading rapid-fire Spanish CCs because my brain cannot keep up. LOL
The pace of speaking in LF is just right for my old ears. :-)
 

La Fan

Thanks, deb, for the brief, almost recap! I thought I'd watch the rest of the week. I was grateful I didn't have to recap the first episode. There were a lot of moving parts, to say the least! The slapstick at the beginning with the pizza costume almost had me delete the recorded episode. But then they introduced Gabriel Porras, who makes everything he's in better.

The first novela I saw Gabriel in was Madre Luna, protagonist. He was a heroic cop in El Señor de los Cielos, an evil rapist/monster in La Reina del Sur, the wonderful undocumented guy, Carlos, in Bajo el Mismo Cielo. He was also in Corazón Valiente and la Casa de al Lado.
 

La Fan. There was also some good cultural information in this novela--the idea that you have to have family or social contacts in order to get a decent job. Vale's friends marvel that she's able to do as well as she has--employed most of the time--despite being an orphan since childhood. Enchufe really matters in Hispanic culture.
 

La Fan

SpanProf, you sent me to my online Spanish dictionary. Enchufe was absolutely NOT in my vocabulary!
 

LA FAN

Hello, everybody! Adriana Noel here. For some reason I can't seem to get connected to my google account, so I'm posting this as an anonymous, but it's me, the prodigal tn watcher, maybe, possibly tuning back in to see this story.
I like the premise, the leads are OK, I think it will be fun to see a behind the scenes/ telenovela mocking itself routine. Plus, I love most of the cast, some very good names are in this.

Thank you, Deb, for your quick recap. This reminded me of the ones you used to do for Santa Diabla (or was it another one) - short, quick and hilariously comprehensive.

A few other things I noticed after watching the first show
Salma, the actress played by Scarlet Ortiz (who I LOVE), plays the good girl in the telenovela they are shooting, but she's a total diva in real life, one that is a pretty crappy mother, too
Her son is in the same football (soccer) team as Valentina's son - I mean adoptive son, I think. Her friend, Lucia, had a thing with Lucas' manager and Val has been raising the little one since he was a baby. There is a mention that Lucia died a few months after giving birth, but not at child birth. Hmmm...

Gabriel Porras' character used to be a child star before Lucas started stealing all the good parts and the fans. He is now a sort of personal manager/ assistant, who basically takes care of Lucas and cleans up all his messes. He is the one who has the idea to have a contest for a fan of Lucas', in order to clean up his cheating image.
Valentina wins the contest, and she shows up at the paparazzi filled date dressed like a retired chemistry teacher (pearls included)going to tea with her favorite students.
She has three girlfriends, all part of the Locas Lucas club - the blod one is sister with Jonathan Islas, I think.

Lucas is a douche, who is dating Salma for show and cheating with a married wife (the husband is played by an actor who played almost the exact same role in Tierra de Reyes).

Ximena Duque is Lucas' niece (it's her father who leaves her in charge of the company, not her brother). She will definitely fall for Jonathan Islas, who just got a job at the company as a window washer or whatever they're called. She has a tense relationship with he mother, but she sees to adore her father.

That's about all I remember. I hope I can tune back and watch the next show soon - it's funny enough, but not too stupid for now.
 

La Fan

Wow, Adriana Noel. Nice to hear from you! I really didn't expect any comments at all about La Fan, since most of us who were watching Silvana sin Lana were not enthusiastic about such a broad comedy and La Fan appears to be. But it does have an amazing cast.

Miguel Varoni is in it with, I think, a black wig and glasses. He's the director of the novela, and might be gay. I think I got the gay part from the promos.
 

La fan. Novelera: I believe another word for enchufe is palanca.
 

LA FAN:

I haven't seen this yet. I'll save this for weekend watching. Great comments so far, I so I'm looking forward to checking it out. I really don't need another telenovela right now. I'm watching too many. Adriana! So good to "see" you! Happy 2017. I hope your little girl is doing well.

If anyone is interested in reading a full recap of the first episode, Kat/5 Ft. Latina has posted one on her blog site:
http://5ftlatina.com/cohete/2017/01/18/el-gran-estreno-de-la-fan-tuesday-11717-1/
 

La Fan

according to wiki...

"The series is an original idea written by Angélica Vale in 2009, adapted by Marcela Citterio, and is directed by Miguel Varoni, Claudio Callao and Otto Rodríguez"

Miguel Varoni also plays the director, Justin Case.

 

La fan

Interesting!
 

Jarifa - I like your Maneki Neko cat avatar. 🐱
 

Doris, I can see why: What a cute kittie cat you have for yours!
 

LA FAN

Hi, Vivi! I've been away from the blog for a while, I haven't had any time to watch telenovelas. La Fan seems funny, but it's a little on the stupid side - I don't know why they can't make true comedies anymore, everything has to be exaggerated these days.

My daughter is fine, runs around the house all day, says a few words (mostly "mama" and "hello"), blows kisses, waves good-bye, toddler stuff. She is delicious and a big reason why I don't have time for tns anymore.

Adriana Noel
 

La Doña (Capítulo 37) - Miércoles 1/3

Saúl confesses to Ximena that he and AG are in a relationship, and that they're not just lovers, he's in love with her.

AG is about to have a dinner party supposedly in honor of the noviazgo of Isabela and Diego. She intends the party to show that Isabela continues to lead her life as always and was not involved in any way in Emiliano's car accident. Suddenly Yesenia bursts in, uninvited. She tells AG that her guests (Braulio, Valeria, Bruno, Leticia, Isabela, and Diego) may know La Doña, but they don't know the true Altagracia. Regina takes aside one of the women who work for AG and asks her to find Mónica and tell her she can go home. The woman does so. Mónica is upset. Regina has lied to her about her relationship to Yesenia, Yesenia has lied to her, even her father has lied to her. He told her that he has known Yesenia for a long time. She now realizes (me cayó el veinte) that he must have known that Yesenia and AG were relatives.

Rafael and Céspedes talk. Rafael thinks one of Céspedes' men had a grudge against him, found out about the deal with AG, and saw an opportunity to do him in with drugs. The Colonel still thinks AG is behind this. If he finds that she has set him up, he has ways to destroy people who mess with him. Rafael says AG would have no reason to do this. No matter who did it, the Colonel is worried: Miguel has disappeared, he [the Colonel] has been set up and arrested. Could it have something to do with the women twenty years ago? Rafael dismisses the notion, saying that the women were from poor families that no one cared about, and they wouldn't have the means to investigate, especially not now, 20 years later. Céspedes tells him it's urgent that they find out who is responsible, or the next one to be done in will be Rafael, or someone in his family.

Yesenia and AG go to another room to continue their talk. Yesenia says that she knows AG gave her the check so that her hired killer could follow her and find Lázaro, but, says Yesenia, "I didn't go right to Lázaro. Instead, I went to the Aguirres' neighborhood and talked to people I know there. They know you want me dead. If I disappear, they'll denounce you." AG laughs, pointing out that she controls many of the police, the judges, and the news personnel. Yesenia replies that she may not be able to punish AG in a court of law, but she can ruin her image that she cares so much about. "They'll know where you came from, your past, your marriage to Lázaro. I've written it all down, including the fact that you abandoned your daughter, who is dead because of you." [Yesenia thus cleverly attempts to fool AG about where Lázaro lives by making it seem as if she went to the Aguirres' neighborhood rather than going straight to Lázaro, and she also reinforces the idea that AG's daughter is dead.]

Saúl asks Ximena how AG could have made her leave the country and go to Madrid. Ximena tells him that AG knew her weak point and offered her what she always wanted: a responsible job at a top firm. "She did so to get me far away from you." "And you accepted her offer?" Saúl asks. "I refused it, but she threatened me," replies Ximena. We see her remember AG's revealing the evidence of Ximena's having an abortion, and asking her how she could have aborted Saúl's child. However, when Saúl asks how AG threatened her, Ximena simply begs him not to believe anything AG tells him, that he has no idea what AG is capable of.
 

La Doña (Capítulo 37) - Miércoles 2/3

Yesenia leaves AG's house. AG wants to resume the dinner. Isabela doesn't want to continue with the dinner. She's angry that her mother and her aunt have lied to her and told her that she had no family except them. AG insists that everyone pose for a photo that AG will distribute showing Isabela happily celebrating with her novio and family. Isabela reluctantly gives in and then storms upstairs to her room and locks the door. She doesn't know that Emiliano has already climbed into the room through a second-story window. Regina knocks on the door. Emiliano puts his hand over Isabela's mouth to prevent her from giving him away. He then removes his hand, and Isabela tells her mother she wants to be alone and they can talk in the morning.

Jaime asks Saúl whether there's something between AG and him. Saúl admits that he and AG have a relationship. Jaime is furious.

Yesenia tells Felipe and Lázaro that her exploit at AG's was worth it as long as she was able to mislead (despitar) AG about where Lázaro lives.

Isabela tells Emiliano that she didn't answer his calls because she was feeling sorry for Lydia. Emiliano says that at first he felt sorry, too, but then he realized there was no point, that AG and his parents will protect them no matter what. He starts to kiss her. She says this isn't the right time or place. He tells her triumphantly, "We're untouchable, invincible!" He removes his shirt and....

Mónica is furious that her father has been lying to her. She tries unsuccessfully to reach him at home. She finally reaches him on his cell phone. He tells her he's not at home, that he and Yesenia have been to a fiesta in Coyocan and are now taking a walk [liar, liar, pants on fire]. The next morning, everyone is back at Lydia's apartment. Mónica makes breakfast for her father and Yesenia but refuses to join them. Yesenia asks her what's wrong and gets a dirty look in response.

Also in the morning, Leticia sees the video Emiliano made of himself lighting a marijuana cigarette with a 500-peso bill. The video is on all the social media. She shows it to Rafael. Both parents are upset. Rafael tells him his liberty is at stake. Emiliano tells them not to worry, he knows that they won't let anything bad happen to him. "That's what mamá said on television. We're a united family, we love each other, we always support each other, no?"

Regina and Isabela kiss and make up. Isabela tells Regina that she doesn't care about Yesenia, that Regina and AG are sufficient family. She also assures her mother that she hasn't had anything to do with Emiliano since the accident. [liar, liar....]

With Lázaro present, Yesenia tells Mónica that they have news for her: they're a couple. Mónica replies that she only hopes this is real, and that Yesenia doesn't deceive (engañar) her father, because if she does, she'll have to deal with Mónica.

Rafael tells Leticia that Emiliano is out of control and they have to put limits on him. She, especially, has to do so. She needs to spend more time at home with Emiliano. He turns to leave. Leticia implores him not to leave, that she can't control Emiliano by herself, he's at war with her. Rafael and she play the blame game with each other. Then she asks him why he wasn't at the dinner last night. Busy with what? Or, rather, with whom? Rafael insists he has to leave, but Leticia says no, nothing is more important right now than our son. "What are you hiding from me, Rafael?" "Nada," replies Rafael [liar, liar...], and he leaves.
 

La Doña (Capítulo 37) - Miércoles 3/3

Ximena talks with Azucena. "Saúl no longer feels anything for me." Azucena urges her not to throw in the towel so quickly; she should fight for Saúl. Ximena tells her, "The day I left, I lost him forever."

Mónica tells Margarita what Yesenia said and adds that she's not foolish enough to believe her: "Look, there's something very fishy here" [The usual expression is Aquí hay gato encerrado but apparently Mónica adds a few animals for emphasis: Aquí hay gato, perro, y hasta ratón encerrado.] Margarita isn't sure what to make of the situation Mónica is discussing, but she has something important to tell Mónica: Ximena is here. She slept last night in Saúl's parents' apartment. Margarita adds, "Saúl was very fond of her, and who knows what will happen now that he's with AG?" Mónica angrily insists that she doesn't give a rat's ass what Saúl does with his life and with his women (A mi no me importa, me importa un pepino, lo que haga o no Saúl con su vida y con sus viejas). She then leaves to go off to the hospital to see how Lydia is.

Saúl asks Lopecito for help with Lydia's case. He needs a list of the pending case files. Lopecito is reluctant to do anything that might hurt "la jueza," but Saúl assures him that he's not planning to insult Lopecito's boss, he just needs Lopecito to check the pending cases.

Regina calls Yesenia and tells her that Mónica works as AG's personal assistant and was present last night when Yesenia came to AG's house. Yesenia is astonished. "She saw me? Did she hear what I said?" Regina replies that she doesn't know, but it's important that they find out whether Mónica knows that Yesenia is AG's aunt. The call ends as Lázaro wheels himself into the room. Yesenia tells him she thinks she knows why Mónica is angry at her: "she already knew that I'm AG's aunt."

Rafael comes to Daniel's foundation. It's the first time they've seen each other in 20 years. Daniel is unhappy to see him and tells him to never come back. Rafael points out that Miguel has disappeared and Alejandro is a prisoner in a military prison. "I had to choose whether to look for Francisco or you." Daniel replies, "You looked for the wrong person." Rafael tells him that Francisco is out of the country, so that eliminated him. "Leave me out as well," says Daniel, "because I want nothing to do with you." Rafael replies that Daniel has spent years trying to be a saint, but he's not one, he used to be a Monkey.

Saúl comes to see Valeria (la jueza) in her office. He knows that she's the one who will decide whether Emiliano has a trial or not. He hands her a thick stack of papers and says, "I have compelling evidence that Emiliano not only should be brought to trial but should pay for what he did."

Mónica, in uniform, reads to AG her list of the day's appointments. Matamoros comes in to say that AG has a visitor who insists on seeing her. AG determines that she has no pending appointment and says she'll see the person, but at the office. Matamoros says he thinks she'll be interested in seeing this person. OK, says AG, and in walks Ximena, who tells her "You've made it clear that we weren't to see each other again, but I've come to defend what's mine." AG responds, "In my house? In this city? You still think that there remains something of yours in this country?" The camera pans to Ximena's face, and to Mónica's, and to AG's faint smile as the episode ends.
 

LA FAN #2

Another fun episode for me at least. I found out I could watch it free on the Telemundo website this a.m. Quite a novelty these days.

Anyway here are a few things from last night:

Salma has a son whom she does not know very well: he plays soccer! She is angry that Lucas is out with the "pizza": that common woman (may I add who also knocked her on her butt)

Vale turns into a motor mouth with Lucas whether it is at the "prize winner" interview or at her "prize winner" lunch. Lucas is not enjoying the lunch as much as she. Gabriel has to remind him via text that he is doing it for his image.

Very funny scenes with Vale losing an artificial finger nail in Lucas' soup. She does come clean with Lucas about it when he looks like he is going to eat it. Ewwwww!

Roxie's hubby has sent one of his thugs to do away with Lucas. He tells her that if that guy does not do it, she will be the one to bring Lucas to him. The thug starts the attack and chase in the parking lot as Lucas is trying to say goodbye to Vale. Vale knees him and manages to get Lucas out of there. She finds a place to hide: in a restaurant freezer where she quotes lines from certain chapters of certain novelas he has done. She keeps him as calm as she can. When the thug finally flees and they get out, the press is waiting for them and suddenly it was Lucas who saved his fan's life from her ex-boyfriend. Nobody who knows him believes it. The police ask for info about the thug but Lucas has nothing much to say. Vale thinks it must a girlfriend's husband. She describes a woman that they saw. Lucas says that that woman is a "little bit" married and finally admits her name is Roxie. Roxie calls just at that moment because her husband is making her. Does her husband want to kill him? asks Lucas. She says they will talk later and hangs up. The hubby will wait. Lucas insists Roxie has nothing to do with it.

Benicio tricks Adriana into firing twenty workers at the company. They go into protest mode and she knows nothing about it but will find out.

A private detective Gabriel has hired to find the deceased Lucía's child has found the boy: he is ten years old and living in LA.

The maid at Tomás' house tells him his wifey likes young guys. He does not look surprised.

Vals's rescue by Lucas is a hit on social media with his following.

Lucas stops by to see Vale because he has an offer to make she will not be able to refuse.



 

La Fan. I like this telenovela! It has some very sympathetic characters and cute farcical action. I think it's a better example of its kind of work (farce) than Silvana was of its (romantic comedy). I love Adriana's awkwardness, and the scenes where Vale punched out the thug. Also she lets Lucas take credit for saving them. I don't even mind the direction the Lucía (former ob/gyn on Eva la trailera)/Lucas story is heading, or that Gabriel isn't telling what he knows about the existence of Tomás. I think this novela will be fun--just don't take it too seriously. I also thought it was hilarious how Vale had practically memorized every episode of every novela that Lucas made. And the writers give us continuing information to sort out the characters.
 

La Fan. Thank you for the excellent succinct recap, Jarifa. It must have crossed with my comments. I also watched free on the Telemundo website this morning as I teach a Wednesday night class. That free repeat is one of the reasons I watch Telemundo novelas.
 

LA DONA:

Span Prof: Rafael & Daniel holding a special Monkey conference LOL.

They keep mentioning Francisco, but what's Francisco's occupation ? Medical doctor, powerful politico, TV celebrity ?


 

LA DONA:

Juanita: I liked how Rafael played the "You spent years trying to be a saint, but you're NOT one." card right in Daniel's face.


 

La Fan. I liked the way Lucas was touched and amazed that someone would be willing to lay down her life for him. He should be at least a somewhat better person by the end of the novela. I also thought it was funny how once he knew that Gabriel and the press were outside the freezer and they were about to be rescued that only then did he put his jacket around Vale's shoulders. Also very funny the way he worried that the cold might harm his facial skin and make him less photogenic.
 

La Doña:

Thank you so much, Juanita! Such a great, detailed recap.

It was almost comical how Yesenia and Lazaro kept piling on the lies, unaware that Monica knew that every word out of their mouths was a lie. How long can they keep the big secret of AG being her mama from her? What could they possibly come up with to cover all the lies she already discovered?

Ximena is a sniveling weakling. I can't stand that she's hiding behind Saul's parents, trying to make Saul look like the bad guy, and not taking responsibility for her own sins. AG played hardball with her, but Ximena was the one who gave in because she didn't want her own dark secrets to be revealed. I hope AG tells her off.
 

La Doña: Thank you Juanita. That was an excellent recap complete with vocal & dichos. You got every bit of the action. Things are moving fast & furiously. I kind of like the suspense of who is Francisco, the 5th monkey. Will it be someone we already know (doesn't seem likely) but they sure are setting us up for a big reveal.

Love the facial expressions of contempt & disgust on Monica's face. I don't envy her position in this, but that's what heroines are made of. So, at this juncture, who do we think will end up with Saúl? AG's out in my book, because she is destined for hell-fire (although a last-minute redemption may soften things a bit; I don't think she'll get off scott-free. She's done too much damage). Ximena's chances grow dimmer in my mind because she may just start to realize what an irredeemable rat-bastard Saúl has become. And I still can't quite see Monica in his arms.
 

La fan

Span Prof: I usually watch the Univision novelas and cannot believe how they continually shoot themselves in the foot with their incredibly slow posting of novela repeats OnDemand and charging to watch them on their website. Telemundo sure has the advantage.

So far, I like the novela and the characters. Yes, the key is not to take it too seriously. Lucas seems incredibly self-absorbed but not evil so I agree we can have high hopes for his evolution to a better person.

I liked how Vale was able to solve so quickly the "mystery" of who would want to kill Lucas. Her character is very well rounded: she is funny and nice but certainly not stupid.

Does anyone know who plays Roxie's hubby? I think the last time I saw him was in "Amores con trampa".

If they only listed ALL of the characters somewhere with their photos and actors. . .
 

La Doña

thanks so much Juanita for another wonderful recap! you really do a nice job putting these together.

so Ximena tells Saul "you don't know what AG is capable of", is there anyone left that has not told Saul this, as the signs of AG's evil keep bouncing off his head.

ah, Yesenia recognizes Isabela's boyfriend Diego as the guy from the hospital hovering around Lydia.

I with Yesenia have noticed AG does have a big thing about her image, she really comes down hard on anything/anyone that might taint it.

 

La Fan

Jarifa, I'm not watching La Fan, but I saw your wish for a place where you could find ALL the characters listed. Alas, I don't know of any place where you can see the names AND photos, but IMDB does a pretty good job of listing a lot of the cast. It also tells you what else the person has been in, and that sometimes can help you identify someone. IMDB may not give you what you want, or you may have already checked it out, but if not, it might be worth a look.
 

Thank you, Juanita!
 

La Doña

Many thanks, Vivi, LXV, and deb, for your kind remarks and very interesting comments. I confess I almost didn't get to post it. I started it last night and decided to finish it up this morning, but somehow I didn't manage to save it, even though I remember doing so. It simply wasn't there. Even my two super search engines couldn't find it. I was ready to throw in the towel. It turned out that even though I hadn't successfully saved it, my text editor did save it, but under a different name and in an obscure place. But there it was.

And just in case I've given a misleading impression, let me say that I'm normally not able to do more than one recap per week, usually on Tuesdays (though I'd happily do Mondays instead if someone wants Tuesdays). I know that lots of people have other commitments, and I'm not trying to pressure anyone. I just wanted to make my situation clear.
 

La Fan

wow, thanks so much Jarifa!

I like how this story moves right along, can't imagine how long the script is.

ok, we have seen Gabriel with Lucia, and now Lucas with Lucia, was he proposing to her, and Vale has said Lucia was devoted to Lucas, and we have heard Lucas talk about how she was cheating on him with another man, as was proven to him by Gabriel, hmm, and... awaiting more pieces to this puzzle.

and Gabriel's characters last name is the same as the actress' who plays Lucia, Bustamante, hmm.

Roxie's husband is played by Ricardo Kleinbaum (we got a good dose of him in "Tierra de Reyes"), oh and if there is a picture posted in IMDB it will show up in the cast list, that Juanita has pointed out.

 

Thanks for the character info, Deb.

I have a feeling there will be plenty of mysteries in this one.

 

LA FAN

Thanks very much, Jarifa, for the great minicap. So far, I like what I've seen, though I haven't completely fallen in love with the show.

I like what I think of as the Colombian approach to comedy: let the laughs come from the inherent absurdity of the situation and the dialogue and allow the actors to play it straight. There's a kind of bravery: this stuff is funny and we trust the audience to get it.

I think it was smart to capitalize on telenovelas' moment in pop culture (Think Jane the Virgin, for example). We've been well-primed for all the self-referential humor.

I like that the actor playing Lucas isn't exactly traditional galán material. He often plays the likeable schmo who gets the girl by kindness, sweetness and smarts. It makes his textbook narcissism here that much funnier.

The only thing I gagged on last night was Miguel Varoni's stereotypical "gay" character. Don't see the humor, Telemundo. Sorry.

Thanks again Jarifa. And thanks to deb and SpanProf for your comments. deb, you beat me to it with Ricardo Kleinbaum. He's an actor that gets a lot of work, that's for sure.
 

La Fan

wow, NovelaMaven, so nice to hear from you again, I was thinking of you and Jean the other day, if maybe you guys have given up on novelas all together, or if that is even possible.

 

La Fan

"if maybe you guys have given up on novelas all together, or if that is even possible..."

You're so sweet to notice. (I maintain that your comments are one of my favorite things about this blog.)

Every time I think I'm getting out... hah! And yeah, I think about Jean too and hope that all is well with her. I don't watch as consistently as I used to, but every now and then, something catches my eye.
 

La Fan

Adriana Noel- so nice to see your posts! yes Santa Diabla, but also we were posting on "Pasión prohibida".

 

LA DONA:

Vivi: You want to bet that AG exposes Ximena's darkest secrets as a nuclear strike ?

How did you like my Monkeys Session comment in regards to Rafael & Daniel talking ?


 

LA DONA:

Juanita: The Monkeys reminding me of the Dirty Harry movie, "Sudden Impact" from 1983.

AG is a violent version of Jennifer Spencer.
 

La Doña

LXV, like you, I've wondered about who Saúl will wind up with. My assumption has been Mónica, though in some ways she seems a little too young. Still, the other two candidates just don't seem plausible. As you say, AG is out of the question. No amount of redemption can suffice to justify her winding up with Saúl. And Ximena's aborting their baby would seem to rule her out as well. Thus, I'm back to Mónica. Too bad for the doctorcito, who in some ways seems to me a better fit.
 

LA FAN

Jarifa - It's nice to see you at our LF table on The Patio. Thank you for the summary!

NovelaMaven - nice to see you dropping in! I miss our ReinaManiac days.

I just now got to watch my recording. This telenovela won't win prizes, but I'm still enjoying it so far.

When we saw the scene with Lucía (was it in a swimming pool?) was that a flashback? I was multi-tasking and missed part of that.

The way Lucas 'mugs' for the camera & press is a hoot.

I wonder who is the father of Salma's son? It will probably be revealed in the future...

Varoni's interpretation of Justin reminded me of Sergio Mayer's "Luigi" in LFMB. "Aaaayyy, me dan mimiskis!"




 

La Fan

Doris, Luigi Lombardi is a perfect comparison.
 

La Doña: Yes, Juanita, I'm sad that the doctorcito will miss out. He's my fave choice for Monica. I realize that Saúl is THE galán, but he is SO flawed, I'm just not into him. This is not your usual novela setup. So anything could happen. Again, I've never been exposed to the original source material, so it's all speculation on my part. Loving the production though. It moves right along.
Thanks again for all you've put into recapping.