Caray, Caray!

Well, I have come full circle. When I heard that Caray was going to cover "La candidata" I watched the very last episode. The final scene of the last episode is what made me want to recap this novela. So, I am coming back to where I began and a very fine ride it has been.

Thank you to Urban, Alfredo, Anita, Cynthia, and Sandie for being a great recapping team to work with as well as all of the commenters and readers who stopped on by. All of you made this so much fun.

Campaign appearance--Regina's appearance is being held in front of the Monument to the Revolution. Regina arrives to the chants and cheers of the crowd. Escalante is there, too, when he gets a phone call from a very angry Gerardo shouting that he wants to see him. It is urgent. Escalante tells him he can't come because he is at an event. Gerardo demands to know with who. A drug trafficker? Who? Ignacio shouts at Gerardo to stop. Escalante's mood has changed and he surmises that Gerardo wants to play hardball. Gerardo better hope that nobody has listened to him so he doesn't have to suffer the consequences. Gerardo isn't afraid of Escalante's threats. Escalante calls him a fool and clarifies the situation: he does not threaten, he acts. Gerardo will see. Escalante hangs up.


Ignacio's place--Ignacio, looking more in touch with reality with his bloodied face,asks if Gerardo realizes what he has done. He has ruined Regina's candidacy and has sentenced them all. All Gerardo can do is huff, puff and rant that Esclante is an imbecile. Gerardo next attacks Ignacio. He grabs him by his collar and screams in his face. He is angry because Ignacio knew all about everything but hid it from him. Hasn't Ignacio learned anything? You cannot negotiate. You cannot! Andrés has to pull Gerardo off of Ignacio. Next, Gerardo is on his phone trying to get in touch with Regina. Ignacio tells him enough already. Gerardo wants them to locate Daniela. Gerardo runs out of the house shouting for them to call Mauro and ask him for protection. Ignacio keeps shouting asking Gerardo what did he do as he and Andrés follow Gerardo from the house. Finally Ignacio stops and asks again: What did Gerardo do? Gerardo already killed them all including his own daughter.

Campaign appearance--Escalante is on the phone with El Chulo telling him it did not work. That imbecile Ignacio opened his mouth. Gerardo knows all about it. They have to act right away. Escalante hangs up and he turns his attention to the political appearance. Regina is thanking all of her supporters from the Women in Action and Solidarity organization for coming and sponsoring her appearance. She thanks them for believing in her and mentions that they are in the last part of the campaign which will be the most difficult part yet.

Gerardo's car--Gerardo is very upset on the phone telling Mauro that Lascuraín and Escalante already know. They are going after his family. He tells Mauro he needs protection for them. Regina is also in danger. Frustrated he tells Mauro he has to do something. Mauro looking depressed with a glass of whiskey on his desk tells Gerardo in very sober tones that he is sorry. He TOLD Gerardo to negotiate. Mauro also admits that he has lost his authority. The intelligence services are no longer answering to him. Gerardo is now desperate when he hears that no help is coming.

Alonso's house--El Chulo is filling Alonso in on how they discovered what Escalante was up to so the order is to go against everybody. This means the war has started. Alonso wants "go against everybody" clarified. There will be no more negotiations. Regina has lost Escalante's protection. That means the road is wide open for Alonso. Alonso gets in El Chulo's face and tells him Regina is not to be touched. El Chulo's goon-guards get ready to attack. El Chulo puts a hand on Alonso's chest and calls off his pistol carrying posse. El Chulo tells Alonso the bad news. It is too late. Nobody is going to save Regina.

Gerardo's place--Somebody is pounding on the door. Emiliano, who is completely ignorant about what is going on, innocently opens the door. There are two good-guards. Emiliano asks where Héctor is and is told to just forget about him as they force their way into the apartment. They ask Emiliano where Gerardo is. He says he is not here and asks who they are. That unhelpful response and request is met with a fist to his mouth that sens him flying to the floor. Ximena hears the ruckus and comes out from her room. The guard-goons next focus on her. Emiliano asks them to not do anything to her. They slap her around and hold a gun to his head.

Andrés' SUV--Andrés is in his SUV leaving a message for Daniela on her phone: it is urgent that she call him because they need to talk about something very important. As he is getting out of his SUV, another SUV appears, drives by and he is riddled with bullets.

Ignacio's place--More goon-guard assassins have arrived at Ignacio's. With a gun pointed at his throat Ignacio in his usual measured delivery begs them no to kill him. He pleads with them to please allow him to talk with Escalante.

Campaign appearance--Regina is knocking it out of the park with her uplifting speech focusing on "people" and getting rid of corruption and returning equality to the people of Mexico.

Gerardo's car-- At the same time, Escalante is on the phone with Gerardo letting him know that he has Ximena and Emiliano. Furthermore, he is at a political appearance with his "beloved" Regina and he wants Gerardo to know that he is afraid that something is about to happen; something that Gerardo is not going to like. Escalante asks if Gerardo is going to continue to go against him or is he going to just admit he lost. Gerardo warns him not to do anything to his daughter. Everyone has their limits. Escalante laughs. Yes, Gerardo's right "everyone does have their limits" but before Gerardo gets to his limit, his daughter could die. Escalante hangs up and Gerardo is left screaming "Escalante" to no one but himself in his car.

Campaign appearance--As Regina continues speaking, several trucks appear with masked men who start shooting their automatic weapons: in the air. Everyone scurries and scrambles for cover including Regina. Escalante just stands and watches from next to an SUV as the event explodes into chaos. Then the shooters are gone as quickly as they came.

Gerardo's car--On the radio, Gerardo hears about the attempt on Regina's life that was made at her campaign appearance. They still do not know the number of victims. Gerardo's phone rings. It is Escalante who seems quite pleased to tell Gerardo he now should knows that he does not lie. Escalante also knows that Gerardo is at his house's entrance and there are people on the inside with his daughter. Does he still want to continue going against him? Gerardo only wants to know what they did to his daughter. What did he do to Regina? Escalante assures him he still has time but it all depends on him.

Gerardo's place--Emiliano's and Ximena's faces are bloodied and bruised as the goon-guards continue to beat them. Emiliano is tied up.

Gerardo's car--Gerardo tells Escalante to stop everything immediately. Escalante agrees but with one condition: he wants to see Gerardo in front of him in two hours.

Campaign appearance--Ecalante calls his men and tells them to stop everything for now. At the campaign appearance, Regina is being rushed into an SUV.

Gerardo's place--The guard-goons clear out of Gerardo's but not before threatening Ximena with a gun. Emiliano calls out to Ximena. She is conscious but is not talking. Gerardo bursts in and goes directly to his daughter. Ximena's hands are all bloody. He asks her what happened. Her thighs are covered in blood and all she can do is cry and wail about her baby as Gerardo calls for medical help.

Regina's SUV--Daniela is almost hysterical as she talks to Regina. Regina maintains her composure. It is apparent she has been thinking about what has just happened. Daniela hopes that nobody got killed. They were shooting in the air. Regina starts talking about knowing who is behind this all. Daniela keeps asking who. He didn't react says Regina. Regina tells her to just quiet down as Escalante gets in the SUV. Regina asks if there is an explanation for what happened. Escalante says it is evident that somebody does not want her campaign to continue. Regina is looking at her cell phone and sees a text message.

A judge's chambers--A judge is talking to Isela about what kind of deal he might be able to offer her. It is clear that he knows her from having frequented her cabaret. She is assuring him that his name never appeared anywhere written on any list at her establishment. He asks what she wants. She wants her daughter Cecilia to be kept out of it all. The judge says she is asking too much. They already had a deal. Isela doesn't think she is asking for so much. All she is asking is that her daughter remain free and that her record be expunged. Isela admits that her daughter is an idiot and was used by her father. Isela also has much more information she is willing to give up and that information just might be useful in the judge's "moralistic" campaign to get a seat on the Supreme Court. He has a lot to gain and all she asks is that her daughter remains free and without any fault.

Alonso's house--Alonso is talking to Ochoa and the guard-goons. They can do whatever they want to Gerardo but when it comes to Regina and Emiliano who are his family that is where he draws the line. If they cannot protect them there is no deal. Ochoa says they can try to cover Regina. Alonso reminds them of just what happened at her campaign appearance. There were bullets flying at the event. Ochoa says that was Escalante's doing. Alonso tells him that Escalante needs to be stopped. Alonso gets a call from Mauro. Mauro tells Alonso that they have to move fast because there are plans to kill Regina.

Gerardo's place--Ximena is asleep and the doctor is ready to leave. The doctor says she is out of danger. Emiliano asks about he baby. The doctor explains that Regina was under a lot of stress and that caused contractions and the hemorrhage. With rest and her medications, the pregnancy should follow its normal course. Left with Ximena, Gerardo gets a phone call from Escalante. A car is waiting for him outside of his house. He needs to leave. Gerardo says goodbye to Ximena. His eyes cannot take in enough of her. He cries and tells her she has to rest. He kisses her forehead. Before he leaves, he asks a favor of Emiliano: to take care of Ximena. Emiliano agrees without hesitation. Yes, he will take care of her. Gerardo next makes Emiliano promise that he will and he does.

Regina's office--Regina and Daniela are together. Regina is in an odd state of calm. She asks Daniela how she is. Daniela is crying and saying that she has never been so afraid. Regina tells her she needs to calm down and follow everything she is going to tell her. Before Regina can say anything else, Escalante and two guard-goons have come into the office. Regina knows something is up. He asks Regina how she is. She says she would imagine that he would know. Escalante sends Daniela out of the office to check on the social media reports about the assassination attempt. Regina asks if he is wondering if they are saying that he was involved. Escalante is not a happy camper. Daniela does not quite get it. Regina says that the attempt was Escalante's idea. Escalante smiles his best snake smile and admits he is guilty. He apologizes for the bad time he put them through. He wants to know who told her. Nobody told her. She figured it out when he remained calm during the shooting. Also, so much generosity was suspicious. Well, then the time has come to put all of his cards on the table. He tells his goon-guards to remove Daniela from the office. Daniela fights back. Regina tells her to calm down. Daniela is physically removed from the office. Regina tells Escalante to please stop manhandling Daniela. Regina reminds him he has her. Escalante informs Regina that Daniela's life depends on her.

A vacant building garage level--An SUV stops at a vacant building and Gerardo is delivered by two goon-guards to the open garage area. Nobody is there until more guard-goons bring in Ignacio. Gerardo asks Ignacio what is he doing there. Ignacio asks Gerardo if he did not realize what was going to happen when Ignacio told him not to get involved and Gerardo paid him no attention. Ignacio had to turn over Andrés and now it is Gerardo's turn. Gerardo still does not get it. Ignacio makes it very clear when he pulls a gun and points it at Gerardo. Gerardo has to kill him. It is the only way for Ignacio to stay alive and he sure does not want to die.

Regina's office--Escalante is talking to Regina. He thought that he could control her with her being distracted by politics but he was wrong. She is an uncontrollable woman. That was his weakness because he fell in love with her. He does not want to surprise her. He has to be next to her, at her side. She is beautiful, challenging, smart. Regina looks up and speaks. She tells him she is not interested. That does not go over very well. Escalante tells her she has an attitude problem that is going to lose it all for her. She could have been the most important leader of the country but she is stupidly "correct" about everything. He pokes her in the forehead to reinforce that comment. She will never arrive at the presidency. Now what is he going to do? He is going to support Alonso. He is going to tell her how it is going to be. She will continue with her political campaign but she will not win the election. It is just being done to keep up appearances. He tells her she is going to go with him.

Gerardo's place--Ximena is up and around and Emiliano is telling her what the doctor said. She wants to know where her dad is but Emiliano does not know. Ximena tells Emiliano she is afraid that something will happen to her father. She just has this weird feeling that something bad is going to happen to him.

A vacant building garage level--Ignacio still has the gun pointed at Gerardo but it turns out he cannot shoot him. He lowers the gun in tears. Gerardo rushes Ignacio for the gun with guard-goon guns trained on them both but everyone's attention is drawn to two cars that speed in. Escalante and Regina are in the first one. Escalante points out to Regina that her "beloved" Gerardo is still alive. Escalante is playing hard ball. It seems to be the only thing she understands. If she does not accept him, Gerardo will die and her son won't be far behind. Regina is forced to stay in the car. Escalante points his gun at Ignacio and tells Ignacio it is either him or Gerardo. Regina manages to partially squirm her way out of the car but is still restrained by guard-goons. Regina begs Escalante not to kill Gerardo. Escalante says fine; then he will kill her. As Escalante turns and points the gun at Regina, Gerardo has grabbed the gun from Ignacio and shoots Escalante in the back. A gun battle ensues with the guard-goons and soon the cavalry arrives in the form government security. They have arrived in the nick of time for Regina but not for Ignacio and Gerardo who are both mortally wounded. Regina cradles Gerardo in her arms as he dies. She tells him everything she can but he cannot talk. She is hysterical and screams whens she realizes it is too late and he is dead..

Alonso's house--Alonso is outside of his house smoking a cigarette when El Chulo arrives to give him an update, Did it come out like El Chulo wanted? Yes and the government even did his work for him by taking out Escalante. Alonso assumes that El Chulo is in charge of the "business". El Chulo says everybody thinks he is dead. Alonso did his part and El Chulo did his. He is in charge of it all and Alonso is president. Alonso says a big "Amen" to that!. El Chulo just has one more thing to tell Alonso and he can take it as a gift. With a great big smile, El Chulo tells Alonso that Gerardo was shot.

News studio set--Hernán is giving his report about it being several weeks after Gerardo's death and how Regina presented a plaque in his honor. Ximena his daughter was there at the ceremony to uncover the plaque. We see Regina put her arm around Ximena and they stand together.

Omar's house--It is time for the reading of Omar's will in the dining room of his home. It turns out that he left everything to Magda. Alonso is sure there must be a mistake. Natalia is not surprised. She opines that maybe it was an act of justice on Omar's part adding that Magda was more of a wife to Omar than she was. She excuses herself and leaves. Alonso follows. Magda is left smiling.

News studio set--Hernán talks about the strong campaign Regina has run in the face of Gerardo's death. It has been a grass roots campaign of the Mexican people without much money. On the other hand, Alonso has run a campaign that has been directed and supported by his party. Tonight they will meet in their last debate.

Debate stage--Alonso and Regina are in fine form. We hear their different solutions when asked how they would handle the economic crisis the country is suffering through. Expectedly, Regina's responses are much more social and people based while Alonso's solutions are rooted in the business world. We see people watching the debates at all sorts of places.

Polling place--It is election day and Regina and Alonso arrive to vote. They are cheered on by their supporters.

News studio set--Hernán is giving the latest vote count update and Alonso is winning with 55 percent of the vote to Regina's 45 per cent of the vote.

Noemí's or Cecilia's place???or mental hospital???-- Cecilia has been sitting watching the election results with Mario in his wheelchair. Noemí tells Cecilia it is time to go for today. Cecilia is dressed in a night gown and robe so it looks like she is living wherever she is. Cecilia kisses Mario and hugs him. She is in tears and does not look well. She goes into a bathroom, gets into the tub and cuts her wrists. She bleeds out in the bathwater.

A lower class gambing establishment--Teresa is playing cards and having the time of her life.

Mauro's bedroom--Mauro is having sex with a prostitute. When they are done, he pays the guy in cash but doesn't look any happier for it. He looks broken and depressed.

An airplane hangar and El Chulo's private jet--Alonso meets El Chulo on the tarmac and then they board El Chulo's private jet. There is champagne and "ladies" aboard. Where are they going? El Chulo says to celebrate. Alonso is not in the mood to celebrate. El Chulo says he can celebrate avoiding being arrested and with all of his money he robbed he can live like a king. El Chulo promises him that very soon Alonso will "be back". It doesn't take long for Alonso to be chatting up one of the ladies. It seems they are going to El Chulo's ranch.

The National Palace (seat of presidential power)-- Regina is making her inaugural appearance on the balcony of the National Palace which looks out over the Zócalo (info: El Zócalo--aka La Plaza de la Constitución is a huge city square in Mexico City dating back to the time of the Aztecs. The presidential palace is on the east side; the cathedral on the north side; city government offices on the south side; and hotels, restaurants and retail on the west side.) Regina is wearing a red dress and her presidential sash in red, white and green. Everyone is there including Daniela, Ximena and Emiliano, etc. Before stepping out on the balcony, Regina remembers what Gerardo told her about her promising him she would stay in the race until the very end. She answers him in her head that she fulfilled her promise. Now, she just needs the strength to continue. She steps out on to the balcony to be greeted by all of her supporters. She waves and cheers break out.

From a building somewhere on the Zócalo--We see Regina through the scope of a sniper's rifle.

Labels: candidata