Caray, Caray!

Please note the following:  

Due to the subject matter of this novela there will be strict moderation of the comments. Anything about current or past real-world political situations will be removed.  Discussion will be limited to the story, the production values, and the actors' performances.  Also, episode discussions will be closed once the next episode's recap is posted.
 

UA: Mario is the Super Devil Incarnate!
 

Thank you, Urban. The recap was so creative and very entertaining.

Yay! Noemí's demise was diverted for the moment and at least she found out the truth about that rat Mario from his own lips./ Natalia is pressing charges against Omar and could not be dissuaded by Alonso's self interest./Cecilia told Alonso off and never admitted to having sex with Emiliano./Omar had to spend the night in jail./Alonso correctly self labeling as a bad father, bad father and bad son.

Boo! Cecilia doing the deed with Emiliano./Regina wanting to go after Emiliano one more time when he left in a huff/Too much Teresa


 

Thank you Urban, this recap had all of the important twists and turns.

I am truly disgusted but not surprised by Cecilia doing the deed with her nephew, yuk!!!
Omar is so pathetic, another disgusting character.
The MVP in this episode is Natalia, standing up for herself.
Teresa is also pathetic, whiney, lunatic, loser....
I had completely forgot about that video, Mario is such a devil.

So in summary Omar, Teresa, Mario, Cecilia, Lorena, Emiliano, Boo, boo, boo!!!!

Natalia, Regina Yay!!
 

Yes, they finally crossed the incest line. What truly kills me is Isela pushing Cecelia into this without regard for what this could do to her conscience, however small it is. She knows about Cecelia's cocaine habit and probably knows what triggers her to go back to that crap. It makes me wonder whether she cares about Cecelia or not.

Would this freak Mario out? He has no limits so far.

I am having difficulty believing that Alonso would allow Omar to get away with having abused Natalia like that. I think Dr Carreras needs to have a looooong talk with him.

Regina showing the video to Gerardo is going to cause him to sweep his apartment to find the cameras. Will he suspect Mario? Maybe not right away. Regina should also think about this. What will be interesting is how Teresa reacts to this. Will she even care?

Of course, the first important thing about this video is that it will further delay the union of Regina and Gerardo so when that finally does happen the network better not censor it.
 

One more time: Ximena needs to grow up and face the truth about her toxic mother.
 

Hi everybody!!!

I've been away at a place with no internet capabilities (incredibly, such things actually DO still exist! Who knew???) and, my first full morning back at home I wanted to come on here and pull up a seat on your patio (after, of course, having spent a good bit of time before bed last night apprising myself of the situation and general conversation of the fine folks here on the patio... which- seeing as it was my first night spent back at home- is I think hardly a good example as to what 'priorities' are but, hey! they're my priorities, right?? ;-) Anyway, nice to 'see' you all again!

Regarding this: Omar is a beast, isn't he? A man who obviously had a great deal of power and influence when he was young, spry, and in the prime of his life, and now that he's well, NOT, is reduced to the most bestial, primitive (i.e.- brute violence, thuggishness) ways that he can still be 'the biggest kid on the block', of course doing so to the most vulnerable people he can. Talk about the dangers of a dying empire, personified in this man. He's nasty, disgusting, and pathetic (but not in any way that could elicit any semblance of pity for the man).

Marcia is interesting, I find. If only because she is, essentially, a normal girl- flawed, some might even say inclined to some of the negative (i.e.- money-grubbing, opportunistic, willing to disobey moral, decent, or human regards at times if it suits her purpose, etc.), but about how many people in this world could you also say that about? What I find interesting about her is that you have this (for better or worse) fundamentally 'normal' girl who is in a world that is anything BUT 'normal', and is waking up to this. It could be said that she is getting a crash course (the 'Dummies' guide, if it were) of a world that Natalia, Noemi were brought into gradually until- by the time that they became aware of it- it was their life- and for varying reasons (family, fear, perhaps borne out of the awareness that they are women who would be rebelling against a fundamentally very violent 'male' world in which their value is relatively insignificant but also perhaps a fear of the unknown should they DO try and rebel, guilt and manipulation, a sense it's their own fault, etc., etc.) they COULD not get out of it. What I find interesting about the world that Giselle Gonzalez has taken us into now in regards to the people in this story, is how acutely she makes us aware of, basically ALL of the women in this and their situation *BANG!* right at this moment, and how interestingly she delineates the responses to the same situation of being a woman in a horrifying 'male' world. If you stop to think about it, it could be said that the entire theme of this story is, really, about women and their realities, with politics merely a backdrop for this. Think of it like this:

Noemi: Aware of the horrible world that she lives in and around- basically (meaning, without knowing EXACTLY what it is in detail). Drinks to deal with said horrible reality, as well as to avoid it.

Natalia: Aware of the horrible world that she lives in and around. Tried to be the best that she could in it, quietly, so that it wouldn't hurt her and her life directly. Her husband- PERSONALLY- is making that an impossibility, through absolutely no fault of her own. Recognizing that (and being a very healthy and well-balanced, rational, good-hearted person), she is attempting to find ways to deal with this in order to save herself.


 

Natalia (cont'd): Standing-up for herself didn't work, defiance in order to show a sign of strength also was beaten down and did not work, now she is trying to see if the outside world- the world of the law and law enforement- can help her. She is a woman determined, but just needs to find out how to do it. With so many things going against her (age, (unfortunately) gender, etc.) this a remarkable exercise in fortitude, endurance, and strength. She is really and truly, a simply wonderful character. She is a gift of a character to play, and of course, Helena Rojo is a true gift to the character (and to us) as well.


Regina: Was never TRULY aware of the world that she lived in and around. This story is about her fierce awakening.

Marcia: New to this world and as such playing a very minor part in it but, like Regina, gradually awakening to it, and trying to figure out what she can do about it for herself- her sanity, life on the greater scale, but also things like the person that she is, AND the things that she may NEED in life, as well. But also, of course, is trying to do this with the very limited experience that she has, as well as the comparatively limited tools that she has at her disposal to use.

Magda: Subservient to the world around her, whatever it is.

Isela: Fully aware of the world that she lives in and around. Doesn't like it, but- opportunistic and self-serving to the core, recognized that 'if ya can't beat 'em, join 'em'. Fully embraced the darkness and is now one with it, whilst still vituperating against it. Whether she was before she entered into this world or not is unfortunately now entirely irrelevant, Isela is dead of soul and black on the inside. She is aware that there are SOME feelings of motherhood and humanity that she should bring out at times, but now is so completely unaware of what they are in her or how to do that. Perhaps because of this, she is bitter towards this world, to the extent that she will use her daughter in whatever way she can to lash out against- NOT, of course, 'it'- but against the things that HAVEN'T succumbed to it (morality, the law, Regina, Noemi, Emiliano, impressionable youth), let alone embrace it as she has.

Cecilia: The human pinata. Beaten about at all sides by everyone around her who were supposed to nurture, care, respect her, and show her that the world is a good place and that she and life are valuable. Both these people were wholly unwilling and/or unable to do this, so she has none of those things to the point that she doesn't even know what they ARE... just that she doesn't have them, never has had them, while she seems that EVERY F**KING OTHER PERSON in the world does in some degree, certainly much more than she has. As such, a little bit of SOMETHING goes a long way with Cecilia, something which both of her parents in their own way take advantage of and exploit for their best interests- Mario because he's inherently an evil person, Isela because (whatever her rationale for being so may be) she is an opportunistic one. As such, she is fully aware of the world that she lives in and around. She is also, fully one with it. The difference with Cecilia is that- while it is the only thing that she knows and as such is now a complete MASTER at it (being taught by two of the best, she is as fluent in this horrible world as anyone can be)... she is aware that it is a horrible thing.

Teresa- A complete and total narcissist. Unaware of the horrible world that she lives in and around, and could care less about it or anything else. The only world she knows, thinks of, and cares about is her world and hers alone. Which makes that world as dangerous for anybody who comes even close to it than the worst aspects of pretty much any other.
 

What do you guys think about this? I look forward to any follow-up comments you guys may have! My continued best wishes to you all, and I really HAVEN'T forgotten about the 'upcoming telenovela' posting that I promised you guys... Lack of internet meant that I could actually work on it while I was gone, but now that I'm back I just have to get caught up on anything that may have changed or evolved since I left to make sure that I'm giving you guys actual, FACTUAL, information! But I haven't forgot, I swear!

Again, best wishes to you all... :-)
 

I think that the toxicity of the world that all these women are in is either driving them to strength or self-destruction. Thus far Regina is the only one who shows signs of strength, both moral and emotional.

Too soon to tell whether Marcia is a survivor or not. Two others before her are dead (Florencia and Susanna).

Isela is a lost cause and now that she's committed incest so is Cecelia. When the truth about her relationship to Regina comes to light this will drive Emiliano over the edge.

Noemi and Natalia are in a position to learn from Regina, but we can't predict yet whether they will. Noemi seemed stuck in the toxic mindset of the 50s... and lots of women took tranquilizers and drank in secret back then.
 

Thank you Urban - love the photo of the Roman senate. Stevey, I like your analysis of Cecelia as a human pinata - beaten by both parents with no one to really care for her or nurture her. I also liked your description of Regina awakening to the world as it is - well the grittier side of it. Mario's excuse to Naomi about him needing to run a prostitution ring to afford her and Regina's lifestyle was quite a rejoinder. She was silent after that. I wonder what Regina would have said to that. Its a pity that women such as Naomi and Natalia did not have lives of their own such as Regina. I think that she was the only woman that I saw in the senate - as a senator.


 

Excellent and clever recap, Urban. I loved "like a silent movies character caught in the act." I agree with Sandie: Double yuck on the incest! Btw, uncle/aunt-niece/nephew marriages used to be permitted (with a dispensation) in Hispanic society. Philip II's 4th wife (and mother of his heir, Philip III) was also his niece. That plus all the Hapsburg cousin marriages probably explains why in a couple of generations or so the king was what we would call developmentally disabled, died young without heirs, and the Borbones took over. But as late as the mid-19th century in Emilia Pardo Bazán's La madre tierra, when the 2 young lovers find out they are 1/2 brother and sister, the girl's uncle offers to marry her to save her "honor." She sensibly chooses the convent instead. In an earlier age a life of penance in a convent would have been a possible outcome for a character like Cecilia, but now it's very likely that it's curtains for her! And yes, indeed. Emiiano is kind of right that Alonso and Regina are arguably the worst parents on earth. Anyway, the plot just gets thicker and thicker. Unlike "El bienamado" this novela never makes me smile.
 

Stevey thanks for the analysis of the women in this TN. You are right on about all of them. The One thing I would add is that between Cecilia and Teresa it's hard to tell who is the most damaged. We don't know Tere's background so we don't know why she is the way she is, my guess is mental illness. Cecilia on the other hand has been driven to her life choices by her parents inability to well, PARENT.


 

Sandie: I'm looking forward to seeing Cecilia DIE sooner or later.
 

Oops, that's La madre naturaleza for Emilia Pardo Bazán.
 

2 different clichés.

 

SpanProf, "El bienamado" is still making me smile!
 

Been so busy all day, but I meant to thank you earlier for the great recap, Urban. I was very happy to see Regina renounce the party she now thinks is corrupt!

So how long is it going to take Mario to murder Noemi?

As for Cecelia, she should just blurt out, "Soy tu tia" to Emiliano. That will put the damper on his passions.