Caray, Caray!

"MIRADA":

RGV Chick: The villains still cooking up more special diets of EVIL.


 

MIRADA #100 COULD THINGS POSSIBLY GET ANY WORSE? THE ANSWER IS YES.

Part 1

Well, if we hit a low point yesterday, today we found out there was a sub-floor. And we plunged right down through it. Along with many of our characters. Not sure if Zoloft and Zinfandel are going to be enough now, Patio. Yikes.

Let's just get this misery written down and done!

We begin with Alberto showing up at DocSoEvil's apartment to castigate him for pressuring Marina to let him see Rafa yesterday--and then not showing up. (Our good doc was too busy strangling Ramona and tossing her in the lake.) Ricardo shows up right on his heels to tell Alberto to butt out (Marina doesn't need YOU, she has ME!). Which gives Sotero another chance to gloat--see Beto, you're irrelevant. Not the dad and not the fiancé either. Run along.

Exit Beto. Then Ricardo, in high, protective dudgeon, tries to lay down the law, saying that Sotero must abide by conditions their lawyer laid out. No I don't, sneers Doc Mask, and you have no more business here than Beto. I'll read this contract at my leisure and let you know tomorrow what I think. But Marina will do whatever I ask in order to protect her son. And don't rile me, or I might demand custody instead of just visitation rights.

Guess who's holding all the cards right now? And enjoying every minute of it.

Okay. The writers aren't totally heartless. They try and distract us from this horror by a catfight between ChoochMooch and Angustias.

And if that doesn't work, how about a hunk a hunk a burnin' love scene between Lino and Vanessa?

Let's start with ChoochMooch. She's lounging on the couch in some sort of plunging neckline shortie nightgown, supposedly waiting up for her daughter. Angy remarks that she's going to catch a cold, sitting around uncovered [destapadita]like that. (More like she's hoping to catch a don Luis! but that comes later.) Angy reminds her that Vanessa is now independent and doesn't need her. And maybe ChoochMooch should get an actual job instead of hanging around friends' houses half-undressed.

Seems like a reasonable suggestion.

Well, Chooch is not the only one half in and out of her clothes. To our surprise, Lino is not offended by Vanessa wanting to help him in his career. No, no, he's touched by her generosity and burning with love. Within nanoseconds, they've progressed from "but you have a girlfriend" to BUT WE LOVE EACH OTHER!and where's a hotel room when you really need one? Off they go to shed clothes and get busy as fast as they possibly can.

Well, it's been a long wait. And somebody should be happy with this episode. We sure aren't.

Of course the writers remind us that the course of true love is not going to run smooth. During all this smouldering grappling and kissing, undressing and passionate furthermores, little Sour Apple Anita keeps calling Lino's cellphone and getting voice mail. Nopis. Not going to be smooth sailing for our young lovers.
 

MARINA #100 COULD THINGS POSSIBLY GET ANY WORSE? THE ANSWER IS YES!

Part 2

We see one happy smooth sailing lover though--Erick. He's announced to the whole bar that he's the happiest guy in the world so come on up and grab a drink! Ah, but Anita now phones him. To find out if Lino has left for home yet. -Gosh no. He didn't even show up for work tonight. Had an emergency.

Oh yeah, a Love Emergency. But Anita won't see it that way.

The writers throw us another bone--don Luis telling off Chucha. It's fun. But not fun enough. Here's how it goes: She slithers into his office saying "May I...?". -You're already in. Why ask? he growls. Next our middle-aged vamp launches into a "Surely you understand I only lied to you because I was so ashamed and humiliated by my financial woes.

-Tell it to Granny!

-But what about our love? -What love!? -But, but, but I was in love...I miss you, I need you, I desire you, I...

-SACATE! [Get the hell out!}

Totally satisfying scene. Love me some Luis when he's angry like that.

And even more when he's repentant. As he was with Marina later on. He finds her huddled in a chair, sipping tea and obviously distraught over the disastrous turn of event. He tries comfort first, reminding her that mothers have more rights in these matters. -No, they don't. It's equal rights now. -Well, you're an Ocaranza! -Doc Sotero doesn't care about that. -Maybe not. But the authorities still do. Name and power still matter!

But then the tone changes. His face crumples as he sees her distress. -You're living this hell through my fault--for trying to separate you from my son. And now I'm paying for it seeing you suffer. Daughter, please forgive me. I did it all wrong. I failed to value you, failed to defend you, my own flesh and blood.

Marina looks at her father, as if understanding for the first time, that he's come to realize his bitter mistakes and the tragic horror of his callous treatment.

Quite a scene. Well played by both actors.
 

MIRADA #100 COULD THINGS POSSIBLY GET ANY WORSE? THE ANSWER IS YES.

Part 3

Lino arrives home floating on air, clicking his heels, over the moon happy to be instantly interrogated by Yola. Where were you? I know you weren't with Anita. -No, I was with the Love of my Life, the woman who's supporting my career, the woman I love with all my heart!

Guess who's listening at the door? And who hears that yes, Lino cares for Anita. But he doesn't love her the way he does Vanessa. So, he'll tell her the truth.

Ah, young lover. Do you really think it's going to be that easy? Not in real life, and not in this story either. As she listens in, we see Anita's wheels turning, figuring out how she can short-circuit this enchantment. And she comes up with a doozy.

But back to Marina and her father. She's realizing that for the first time don Luis is speaking from the heart. And he admits that he regrets so much...his pride, his stupidity, his uncaring. Marina has emotions she's struggling with too--hurt, resentment and anger. She can't get over these overnight. Well, don Luis is committed to defending his family a "capa y espada" (with cloak and sword, no matter what)He's not going to let anyone mess with his family!

Very touching. But the scene flips to Vanessa, back in her room, gushing to an excited Angustias that True Love has at last won out. She and Lino are back together, crazy in love. And Anita? Oh well, he'll talk to her. And she wants to talk to her too. More giggling and gushing about destiny and whatnot. Girls, settle down...it's Not. Going. To. Be. That. Easy.

Okay. Back to don Luis, who right now is very high in my books. DocSoEvil arrives at the door to exercise his parental rights. Luis is all schmoozy and welcoming...-Ah you scoundrel! We expected you yesterday but you didn't show. Very disappointing...-Uh yes I had an emergency. -Well let me offer you something--a tequila...a cafecito? Do sit down.

And suddenly our big brown bear lunges, grabs Sotero by the throat pushing him back on the sofa and growling "Give up your claim to my grandson or I WILL KILL YOU!"

I know, I know. Luis is an old scoundrel himself. But every once in a while he just does something that warms the cockles of my heart. Like now.
 

MIRADA #100 COULD THINGS POSSIBLY GET ANY WORSE? THE ANSWER IS YES.

Part 4

Sotero is unfazed. -Do you feel guilty for what you did Luis? For encouraging me to do anything I wanted to Your Daughter. Be careful. Because you could lose in all this.

Luis grabs a handy metal object to crush Sotero's head at this point, but Prudencia arrives and stops him in time. Pru! Did you really need to come in just then? Well, she did. And tries to pour oil on troubled waters.

And oh boy, are the waters troubled back in the vecindad. Lino is at Anita's, ready to share the news about his renewed love. Ah, but first Anita has some news for him. She's pregnant. (Didn't they just make love yesterday? How could she know already?) Well, no matter. He doesn't think she could be either. They took precautions after all. -Well, sometimes that doesn't work, simpers Anita.-And I'm always regular but now I'm late. So I took a home pregnancy test. -But sometimes those are wrong. -Yes, that's why I took a second one. I'm pregnant for sure.

Oh boy. Anita has all the answers. Plus a question: Aren't you happy that we're going to be parents? Mama Chole enters at this point and exclaims WHAT!?

Whew. Back to the Big House where things aren't any better. Prudencia is asking Sotero to forgive her husband. He was angry. -And violent, snaps Sotero. And goes on to sneer and goad Prudencia until she too lunges at him. -You abused my daughter! Oh no, we were lovers. Isn't that right Luis? -No! But you made me believe that lie.

Marina enters the room at this point and Sotero is licking his lips, calling her Bonita, mi Bonita, and purring that he's anxious to see HIS son. -And don't think for a moment that I accept your conditions. Only see my son once a month! Under supervision! Can't take him anywhere! Don't make me laugh.

And steps forward to demand she hand over Rafa. -I want to hold him. Give him to me.
Marina can't bring herself to do it. I can't bear to watch. Finally Prudencia says softly, Give Rafa to him.

Could things possibly get any worse?
 

MIRADA #100 COULD THINGS POSSIBLY GET ANY WORSE? THE ANSWER IS YES.

Final part

Sotero holds his putative son like like he's holding a table lamp. Or a lab specimen. Baby Rafa whimpers. I'm ready to jump through the screen and strangle Sotero myself. Finally the assembled can't bear it any longer and makes him hand Rafa back to Mom. But Sotero is undeterred. "We can still be together Bonita" he sneers. " Your relationship with Bazán is not that serious. We can marry and raise our child together."

That's more than enough for Luis. "Te vas a cargar el payaso, chamuscado" he roars. (you know the translation class) now Sacate! (you know what that means too.)

Sotero saunters off-- but adds that he'll be back later to take little Rafa for an outing.

There's a brief scene where Erasmo is back at the ranch, asking Zackrat for work again. Who cares? We're too busy wringing our hands over other developments.

It's almost a relief to be back in the vecindad. Almost. Chole is furious that Anita didn't have enough self-respect to hold out for a white wedding before getting busy. After all, how was she raised? But by golly, with things the way they are, there'd better be a wedding within a month. Before she starts to show. No way is Mom going to put up with any "union libre" like some folks do these days.

On the other hand, Susana seems to be encouraging Prudencia to go in just that direction. Under the guise of discussing Marina and whether or not she could bring Rafa to the hospital every day, she simpers "After all, you're in pretty tight with the director, Fernando. I'm sure he'd do whatever you want."

Prudencia is not at all interested in exploiting that old relationship. She's very taken with the way Luis is handling family life right now. He's really changing. -Oh he'll never change, snaps ChoochMooch. You wish lady!

Another brief scene with Doña Enriqueta comforting Marina and Ricardo at the hospital and making herself available to care for little Rafa there every day. Marina, still devastated, remarks that it's as if wee Rafa sensed how evil Doc Sotero is. He started to cry as soon as he held him.

Hey, we were crying too Marina. Big-time. So speak up now Patio. Shall we have a contest to come up with the many ways we'd like to torture Sotero to death. Me first! me first!
 

MIRADA

JudyB, thanks for this excellent recap, depressing as it was. Not your fault at all. I even looked over the recap again trying to find something to argue with you about since I know you've been spoiling for an argument. :-)

Sorry, I can't help with that, just nothing to argue about. Just a whole lot of depressing stuff. I'm probably the only one here who thought that Lino and Vane would not get together, but I was delighted they did. I felt bad for Anita but I never thought she would pull the old preggers trick. Amazing stuff, modern technology. Drug store pregnancy tests can go positive in a couple of days!

The rest of the episode is just as bad. And yesterday I thought I was over Ramona's demise but this episode caused flashbacks and TN PTSD. OK, I will admit that TN PTSD is somewhat less severe than the real deal, but still...

andy
 

MIRADA

“high, protective dudgeon” was the ultimate Judy. Pure poetry.

“if we hit a low point yesterday, today we found out there was a sub-floor. And we plunged right down through it” said it all. And perfectly.

Your title could not have been more befitting. Isn’t it a TN staple (and one in reality as well) that things can always get worse? Unfortunately, they often do and certainly did here as well.

“Sotero holds his putative son like like he's holding a table lamp. Or a lab specimen” raised your mother’s ire and I can see why! He and his story line just sound ghastly.

“Angy remarks that she's going to catch a cold, sitting around uncovered [destapadita] like that. (More like she's hoping to catch a don Luis! but that comes later)” had me smiling in appreciation.

“passionate furthermores” was my favorite.

“Zoloft and Zinfandel”. Hmmm. I also recall “adult beverages” and “ice cream”. Am I sensing a theme here? 😊 This storyline seems so depressing and draining, I give the patio credit for enduring and sticking with it. And for you, our esteemed recapper? Fields of flowers, a fragrant beverage, soothing music and much gratitude and appreciation are but a few suggestions for one so dedicated.

Thank you Judy!

Diana
 

MIRADA

Ugh I’m bummed I missed the episode despite any frustrating scenes. Thanks for the recap! Helps me a lot lol

I smell a fake pregnancy. What a coincidence that Sour Apples overhears Lino talking about his night with Vanessa then all of a sudden Sour Apples is pregnant. How original, telenovela writers....NOT!

I’m gonna have to at least watch the Luis/Marina scene. While Luis may now regret causing Beto and Marina to break up, he’s still trying to use his grandson as leverage to keep the Ocaranza name alive. I still think Beto should change his last name.

Doc Mask had an “emergency”...uh huh sure dude. More like a murder to carry out. Hearing him call Marina “bonita” makes my skin crawl. It’s just gross.

Maybe I’ll be back later after I catch up on the episode.


 

MIRADA
JudyB--I haven't read the recap, nor am I more than halfway through the episode, BUT, BUT, my screen started to SIZZLE (and you know where). Move over FC, TBLMOE (Fernando Colunga), 'cause here comes EO (Emmanuel Orenday) for us to swoon over.

I stopped watching where our Big Brown Bear grabs Doc WrinkleFace and tells him yadda yadda or I will kill you. Way to go. It's about time someone put a scare in the little weasel. Not sure how it all ends, but that much was very safisfying.

Back to the TV. See you all on the morrow.
 

Hi Long-Suffering Patio. Before I go any further, let me remind you that my good friend and Chief Lifesaver Anita is going to be handling tomorrow's recap (if she has recovered from the Vanessa-Paulino love scene that is). I'll be riding herd on a 23-month old little tornado tomorrow from dawn till dusk and will be totally missing in action from CarayCaray.

But I'm glad Anita enjoyed our surprise reconciliation twixt Vane and Lino. Most of us were foreseeing further quibbles and kvetches, but no, passionate lovemaking it was. What we saw of it. Let us not forget this is showing at an after-school special time. So more hints than action.

Ah Andy, what's become of our legendary fights!? We're getting like an old married couple here. So I'm hoping you recover from your TNPTSD soon. I'm a lot more bothered by Doc Sotero holding Rafa like he's a dirty dishrag than about Ramona's strangulation. Is that wrong? Probably is.

TF..If you're bummed at missing the show, you're going to be even more bummed watching it. Pretty miserable to see DocSoEvil enjoying himself so thoroughly. Still, don Luis did shine from time to time. The near strangulation of Sotero was sweet.

Diana...Loved this... "Fields of flowers, a fragrant beverage, soothing music and much gratitude and appreciation are but a few suggestions"...I'll take it amiga. 'Cause this was truly miserable to watch and even more miserable to recap. Like hearing chalk scrape on a blackboard over and over. I'll wrap those lovely images around me tonight and try to recover.

Wishing everybody a good evening. And say a few prayers that I can have the energy of a 30-year-old tomorrow instead of an almost 80-year-old. These rambunctious toddlers can be a true Mount Everest for aging grannies.

 

"MIRADA":

My personal thoughts on today's episode:

1.) Don Jackass trying to up the ante against Creepy Doc, who in turn, calls him out on having our Protagonista kidnapped by the Creepy Psycho (We all know what happened inside that cabin).

2.) I wonder if anybody will find Ramona's body floating ?

3.) Suzy from HoVille still wanting to get some from Don Jackass ?

4.) Why is Prudencia still with the IDIOT ? I thought she divorced him ?

5.) I cringed when he called Marina "bonita" too. It was stomach churning.

6.) LuCrazy needs to go away.
 

MIRADA

Judy -- thank you for another stellar recap. I hope you get a good night's sleep for tomorrow!❤️

All I can add is "ditto" to the comments here already. I hated this episode, hated Sotero in the Ocaranza house, hated to hear him speak, and loathed him holding Rafa. What an odious character!!! No, I can never like the actor, either, ever again. He has done a superb job with this role.

Oh, and Ani's fake pregnancy.....that girl has sunk so low to try to get Lino. Yes, Judy, I think they only "did it" yesterday.

Well at least Lino did not go ballistic when he found out Vane bankrolled his singing demo. That was a nice surprise.
 

Good recap with what you had to work JudyB. But it was good.(The recap) the
Episode was horrid.

I really liked that scene with father
And daughter. She really needs her father now. I love The way he defends her. Yeah he's a scoundrel,with heart.
He said it all what he did to his daughter and I really believed his remorse. He meant it. But ya do have to wonder,was it just to keep the gran
Baby. I think He was really sorry, huh
We'll see what the future holds.

Ricky is not much help to Marina. He
Really can't do much. He's short. It
Kinda takes away from the rescue of his lady love. Where as beto is tall &
Hot lookin. He can swoop marina and Jr
Up and away from docSoEvilNasty. Lol.
Ricky,lol can drag them away.lol. this
Was a terrible horrible episode I'm just rambbling. This man can't help it if he's short. Hes gonna get a broken heart and he don't deserve it. He does
Love marina, but the heart wants what it wants. And marina's heart want beto
Beto's wants marina. Lucreepy don't have a heart, and if she does it's all
Burnt and chared. Ok thats it for now.

Maybe This is the last week for snakes
Celebrating. Thank you JudyB. Enjoy
Your grandbabies. They keep you young.
 

Thank you, JudyB. Thanks to your faithful and outstanding efforts MIRADA is gaining quite a patio! Just want you to know you are appreciated!

I first saw Doc Mask in Manana es Para Siempre. My first novela other than a few DVDs. He played a charming, happy-go-lucky free spirit. This is quite a change. He is doing a great job. The smirk on his face when he was arguing with Beto said it all. He made a smile evil

So I had trouble enjoying Vane and Lino because I was sure telenovela ruled required a pregnancy. Writers couldn’t you have surprised us?

Noticed Pru’s dark lipstick and bright red blouse. I don’t recall such strong colors on her before. New etapa for Pru?

How did Luis get his face to turn red when he grabbed Doc Mask? It was bright red. Now that’s acting!

Made a note of something I wanted to comment on and it auto corrected to “hope tornado maps”. Any ideas what I’d could be?

Mely
 

Got it! Judy B I hope your little tornado naps!

Mely
 

Mely - I saw first Doc Mask actor in MEPS, too when he was paired with Ariadne Diaz, whose character cried all the time, and we started calling her "sniffles" and him "curls". His character was a nice guy.

First day of school in our county. The buses are rolling.
 

MIRADA

JudyB. you certainly deserve " Fields of flowers, a fragrant beverage, soothing music and much gratitude and appreciation" and a medal to go with it. You have forged on through all the misery and, amiga, you are the bright star that keeps us here day. after day. Thank you for all that you do.

I share everyone's sentiments regarding the odious Doc SoTerrible. I am tempted to FFW through all his scenes but then I'm afraid I'll miss something important.

JudyB, Luis finally did something that gained him some points from me. He seemed truly sincere when he was talking to Marina' and I cheered when he went at Doc SoTerrible. I can see how he can warm the cockles of your heart. Good luck with the little tornados; I will be thinking of you all day.
 

MIRADA
Ay de mi! Mirada and JudyB took me to the heights of delirium just to plunge me into the depths of Telenovela Inflexible Rules for Writers, just to make the rest of my day miserable.

Anita's "news" and Doc WrinkleFace's smirk did it. Poor Lino; poor Marina; but above all, poor Rafa, and lest we forget, poor Ramona, Who Learned Too Much.

JudyB has put me in the harness and I'm about to take the bit, but she still holds the reins (aka reigns) for this story. See you all sometime this evening.
 

MIRADA
Steve reminded me of Ramona's dead body floating down the river. I wish they would find her right away, fix the time of death, death by strangulation and go looking for suspects.

Don Luis (he earned back his given name as far as I'm concerned) remarked how WrinkleFace missed his appointment to see Rafita and Doc answered something came up. I know it's far fetched, but I wish somehow her time of death and Doc's absence could be linked. Ah well, something will come up to SINK the doc before the end.
 

MIRADA

I should really stop watching these silly TNs. Believe it or not I had a little trouble falling asleep last night. I kept wondering just how long it had been since the little Anita/Lino tryst... If it really was just a day or two, how could anybody believe she was pregnant? "Gee, Lino, I'm like clockwork and here I was three hours late so I went to buy two home pregnancy tests, and sure enough..."

Well, it's still better than keeping up with the news, that only makes me suicidal.

Judy, I hope you're doing OK with El Tornadito.

andy
 

MIRADA
Just so we keep things straight--the numbering got off earlier in the week or else RVG's numbering is off. Friday is supposed to be #100. Since JudyB already used it, I'll make it "#100 bis."
 

MIRADA
Friday, Epi #100 bis *HOW THINGS WENT FROM PEOR TO WORSE*
Some scenes combined where it makes sense - Part 1 of 5

Ricky tells Marina there’s nothing she can do about keeping Doc Charred and Burned (aka as DCB – just for this episode, since he’s referred to or in and out of so many scenes) away from living with Rafita (Dictionary says convivir = to live together, but I’m thinking that technically it means sharing custody. However, we know DCB’s ultimate goal is to have Marina Living Together with him. Of course he doesn’t care one whit for Rafita—he’s just a convenient object to use to force Marina back to live with him—but I digress. Sorry.) All Ricky can do is hug her and Rafi and plant a kiss on Marina’s forehead.

Don Luis is talking to his lawyer about doing something to fix this mess, but cautions that he never intends to have the fact that he registered Rafi as his and Prude’s son ever to come to light. He reminds the lawyer that money can fix anything (con dinero vale el perro = with money even a mutt is valuable) and urges him to find a way to get rid of that DCB jerk, legally, of course. Chooch joins the conversation. It’s hard to tell how much she heard, but she reminds Luis that he started all this mess (though he likely doesn’t need reminding). She says, in very unlike Chooch words that we all make mistakes, as did she (with hiding her financial situation and taking advantage of his generosity). Luis wrings his hands. He doesn’t know what to do. He feels his hands are tied. Chooch generously says she’s the only one who knows how to get him to relax. She can’t this time around. She earns a Sacate (= to Largate, but a mite worse). Chooch doesn’t give up and it doesn’t take much for Little Louie to override Luis’ brain, especially when he hears they are alone in the house. They repair to her bedroom. (Whew...for a moment there, I thought she was ready to let him desecrate the desk). She enjoys their stolen moment; he gets rid of pent up frustration (big difference).

Doc Fernando gives Pru the bad news. He can’t permit baby Rafi to come to the hospital every day; it’s against the rules and besides it’s not the healthiest place for a baby. He touches her shoulder and says he’s there to listen.

Yola finishes giving Margo his PT (which will soon be PTSD). Baldo arrives and gives them the “bad” news about Anita.

Lino and Vane’s lips run into each other at work, then the rest of their bodies. She and Lino trade Te Amos and she asks if he talked to Anita yet. Well, he saw her, but didn’t have a chance to say anything because...Vane hears him hesitate, but he goes on to tell her how much he loves her and only her. Then he slides reluctantly into the news of Anita’s pregnancy. Cara de Impactada de Vane.(Vane, Vanesita, please get Lino to share when the deed took place and count the days to the pregnancy test.) Lino implores her—it wasn’t in his plans. Vane says she understands about “novios with benefits.” He pleads—she doesn’t understand. He will take care of the baby, give it his name, but he doesn’t want to be with Anita; he wants to be with her. She tells him he is an honorable man and he needs to be responsible for his actions and marry her. He doesn’t want to marry her; he wants to be with Vane. She says no and flees before she weakens her resolve.
 

Friday, Epi #100 bis *HOW THINGS WENT FROM PEOR TO WORSE*
Part 2 of 5

Beto finds Marina crying in the hospital hallway. They commiserate briefly. He caresses her face gently. She lets him. They have to find a way to keep DCB away from her and Rafi. He’s positive she has good arguments against a shared custody, the charges of rape back in Valle del Bravo. Mari says they aren’t valid because of the gossip that she and DCB had been lovers. Well, what about testimony as to his bad character? Sadly, it won’t change the rights he has over Rafi. She doesn’t know what to do to keep him away. Apparently Beto has enough free time to sit down with Mari and put his arm around her shoulders, which she does not reject. He gets angry about the situation and bangs his arm away from Mari, just in time for Encarnacion not to see the two of them with his arm around her. She reminds Mari that she’ll be taking care of the baby after she’s finished her tour of duty (Hmm. Wouldn’t it be the other way around—she’d take care of the baby WHILE Mari’s on duty. Well, if that were the case, we wouldn’t have the brouhaha that follows later that day.) Beto weakly offers to take care of Rafi, but Encar reminds him (gee, there sure is a lot of reminding today) he has no ties to either Mari or Rafi and she’s quite capable of looking after her daughter-in-law’s baby. (Isn’t she getting a little ahead of herself here?) But still, she has a good heart and promises Mari that Wrinkle Face (just had to get that in somewhere here) just can’t show up whenever he feels like it.

Anita ponders the words she overheard Lino saying about Vane. Her face says GUILTY. She then asks an absent Paulino to forgive her. (Telenovela Rule #68 says that once the two are married, she will miscarry and lose the baby.) Hope Lino doesn't get roped into a church wedding.

Chooch and Luis have finished what they started and are getting dressed again. She’s telling Luis how they need each other. He, OTOH, says he only needs a roll in the hay. None of this lovey-dovey stuff she keeps dumping on him. As he exits, the empty house isn’t empty any more. Angie is there, surprised to see Luis coming out of Choochie’s room adjusting his jacket. We’re all sure that Angie will runteldat to Pru.

Eric is in the midst of a proper noviasco kiss with Yola when Margo returns from somewhere. He berates Eric for his behavior, explaining that he’s old-fashioned. Eric apologizes for not coming to him first to ask if he and Yola could go out, but Margo, trying to be more up-to-date, accepts their noviasco on condition that Eric had better respect her, be good to her and take care of her. With his arm wrapped around Yola, Eric heartily agrees.

Doc Charred and Burned (have to give you all the visual once in awhile) and his lawyer have gone to see the judge with a new petition. They tell him that Marina Rios refuses to share custody, nor allows him the right to be the father his child needs. They urge the judge to approve an addendum to correct this injustice. The judge (if anyone cares, he was the wimp in Un Refugio who fell in love with Violeta, but never told her he was already married until the wife shows up and breaks Vi’s heart) looks a little skeptical and definitely uncomfortable. He says he can’t alter a court order merely because he’s asked to by one side or the other. It has to be something both sides agree to. Slimy Lawyer pulls the discrimination card from up his sleeve and plays it. He blames the situation on Marina’s whole family. They don’t want him near the child, a man disfigured in a fire when he was saving the mother of his child. So you see what my client is up against, right? The judge says all he can do is issue another order demanding that the mother live up to the terms of the original order. The two are ok with that.
 

Friday, Epi #100 bis *HOW THINGS WENT FROM PEOR TO WORSE*
Part 3 of 5

Angie does indeed tell Pru she saw Luis coming out of Choochie’s bedroom. Pru is sure it was something innocent, a question or such. Angie scoffs, in the middle of the afternoon? In an empty house? Pru defends him, pointing out they hardly ever even talk to each other. Angie thinks that is a put-on. She’s doggone sure there’s something going on between Choochie and her husband. Pru continues to defend him. Luis may be many things, but he’s never been unfaithful. Angie retorts, Pru, open your eyes, Luis is a MACHO MAN (and we all know what that means, right?) Angie keeps raising her voice. Pru crumbles. Enough and she storms out of the room.

Beto and Rapunzel are have a little tête a tête about crazy Doc Crazy. He’s rejected every offer Marina has made. She says it sounds like him. Beto catches that and says it sounds like she knows him. She denies it. He’s obviously a psychiatric case, obsessed with Marina. She thinks Marina should give a little on her side, let him be with his son and for that matter, both of them. Beto is incredulous at her suggestion. She points out that continuing to oppose him solves nothing. Maybe she should change her attitude and things might be better. Rap volunteers to talk to her or have Pru talk to her. Beto doesn’t think so.

Yola and Eric have come, with great trepidation to the hospital to introduce Yola to Doc Fernando. He’s overjoyed with the transformation in his son and owes it all to Yola. She’s quite surprised when he gives her a great big hug.

Pru stops in to see Luis, needling him a bit about deciding to work from home. He answers, truthfully, but not completely, that he wants to be present when that Overcooked Kebab shows up. He waves aside her comment that it was unusual for Chooch to decide to stay home, too. Luis says he doesn’t care what she does. So, muses Pru, you’re never going to forgive her? Luis says he’ll never trust her again (se brincó las trancas = jumped over the bars on the windows = my definition is she jumped the shark).

Lino and Margo have a father-son talk about responsibilities. Margo prides himself and his family as being of La Ley y La Palabra. Lino says he’ll try to be a good father to the baby and educate him properly, with a good example, like his father was to them. They hug. Margo says this is not what he had hoped for him, but he’ll always support him. (Note: Lino never said he’d also be a good husband….)

Vanesa is back home, hair artfully arranged on her pillow, distraught. Angie appears and asks what’s wrong. Vane tells her how hers and Lino’s dreams went downstream (along with Ramona). She told Lino she couldn’t in good conscience be the one responsible for leaving a nice girl like Anita alone in her condition. She and Lino were never meant to be together and she has to accept it.

Anita is radiant, already planning a wedding, a house and a houseful of kids, err, one kid. Lino is automatically answering sí, sí, sí to her queries, without looking at her. She finally asks the million $$ question, does he really want to marry her? He finally looks up and with an unenthusiastic sí (which she surely has figured out) and Anita is over the moon promising to be the best wife he could ever want—sweet, compliant, etc. etc. She lurvves him.
 

Friday, Epi #100 bis *HOW THINGS WENT FROM PEOR TO WORSE*
Part 4 of 5

Hildy has come to call on Vanesa. Since Vane has been too busy to furnish her with a signed document renouncing Edson’s inheritance, she’s taken the liberty of preparing one for her. Vane starts signing it without reading it. Hildy points that out. Vane says she trusts her, to show Vane is not a bad person and although Hildy hates her now, Vane will always care for her. Hildy says goodbye and tells her she’s planning long trip. Vane says she hopes one day Hildy will forgive her—it was an accident in which they both could have died.

Beto hands in a report Doc Zamudio (papá de Rapunzel—storybook Rapunzel was a good girl, this one is the Blonde Witch of the West, minus pointy black hat and green skin). He tells Beto that his daughter has told him everything about his relationship with Marina and the baby. Beto says Blondie knows how much he cares for Marina and her son — a son, interjects Zamudio, who isn’t his. He warns Beto not to abuse the love and patience his daughter has for him. She put her heart in his hands and he’d better not forget it. That's some scary man. Poor Beto.

Lino can’t sing or play, but he’s got to go to work. Yola feels for him. She asks if he’s going to renounce Vane. He says he’d never, but she ended things. Anita’s happiness was more important to Vane than theirs.

Angie is again in the wrong place at the right time to get a gander and what Luis and Choochie have going on between them. Choochie is on her way out and talking to Luis by his office door. She reaches up in a very familiar gesture, strokes his face and nuzzles his neck. Angie takes it all in.

Before Angie can runteldat to Pru, Hortensia announces that Doc Lacks-Half-a-Face is at the door. Marina panics and Pru sends her out the back door with Rafi. She thinks she’s clear when Doc Charred and Burned’s lawyer is waiting for her—going somewhere in a hurry m’dear? DCB is right behind him, followed by a uniformed policeman. DCB demands she hand over the baby for a visit—he has a court order allowing him to do it. Marina is even more panicked as she is told to hand the baby over. DCB swears he’s only taking Rafi to the park for an outing and plans to return him a little later. They forcibly take the baby, who doesn’t put up a fuss at all. DCB races off toward a car with Marina and the lawyer right behind. DCB gets in the passenger side and the lawyer gets in the drivers seat with Marina screaming and hanging on, to no avail. (Are there no infant seat laws in Mexico? The police should have stopped them.)
 

Friday, Epi #100 bis *HOW THINGS WENT FROM PEOR TO WORSE*
Part 5 of 5

Lino runs into Vane at the office—can’t we be friends, he asks? Guess what the answer was. Vane offers to resign her job. Lino says he’s the one who should resign. Vane says no, he needs the job.

Doña Toolbelt is talking to Anita about the boda and after the boda. Baldo will be helping them out financially. The radio blares in the background. Suddenly Paulino and his one song is being promoted. She gets all excited as she listens to his words of love and even Anita gets into the swing of things, though she knows the song is not for her. (Mmm. That guacamole sure looked tasty.)

Back at the big house, general panic ensues. Mari relates the incident in detail. Ricky arrives at Luis’ place to join the uproar. Luis says he’ll go out to check nearby parks. Choochie is told not to offer her opinions. There is tea for Marina. Ricky decides to go to DCB’s house and he’s out the door.

Meanwhile at DCB’s house, he and his lawyer are congratulating each other on how easy all that was. Lawyer says the policeman was a good touch. However, the lawyer tells the Un-Dead Doc, he’d better abide by the court orders and return the baby the same day. For now they have the judge on their side. After he leaves, Un-Dead Doc tells Rafi how easy it would be to get rid of him, but for now he needs him to get to his mother. Damn him for being Beto's baby, but nothing will stop him from claiming him to get what he wants.

Vanesa stops Lino at work and tells him about the “kidnapping.” They dash back to Luis’ place. He still hasn’t returned Rafi. Marina's lawyer arrives in the midst of all the hullabaloo.

And there we leave it until Monday. Not exactly a cliff-hanger. Pru didn’t have a chance to finger Luis, no one has uncovered Anita's perfidy and Rafi is sleeping peacefully in the arms of a killer. (But how about his diapers and his bottles of breast milk--did he grab the diaper bag, too, when he grabbed Rafi?)
 

Thanks Anita.

Ugh I hate DCB and his lawyer! I hope Marina can get Rafa back. I would love to see Beto and/or Ric punch DCB in the face or something.

Luckily Angustias knows how to eavesdrop without being seen. Pru needs to see with her own eyes what’s going on because obviously she doesn’t believe it otherwise. Hope she gets the chance.

If I were Beto not only would I not want Rapunzel as my wife but I also wouldn’t want Doc Z as my father in law. Hope Beto gets out of that relationship unscathed but who knows. Rapunzel could easily do something else against him and/or Marina.

Even though viewerville knows it’s a lie, Vanessa is pretty admirable for giving up her happiness so that Lino’s (fake) child will have a father and a complete family.
 

Anita I didn't see this episode, yet.
But I'm pretty sure you covered all the dark disgusting parts of it all. I hate The thought of that precious lil
Bundle being in the arms of Lucifer's
Lovechild. Poor kid is probly so very
Confused. Can't tell just what the hell he lookin at. Half his face works
And the other half is lookin straight
Ahead at nothing,(help mommie I'm in the twi-light zone). Poor baby.

The scoundrel has made an appearance.
So that proves is that his brains are
In his Dockers undies. Man you take 1
Step forward, ten steps back. Pru will
Have to catch him before she believes he's a jerky scoundrel.

When you let them go they sometimes come back. Vane let lino go. He will come back. If the only way to get a man is a fake baby announcement he was
Never with you to begin with. He's just not into you darlin.

Does the charred one think the baby will get up and go to the bathroom an change his own diaper. No milk, no food. No diapers. This is nuts. I just cant. Talk. About him. No more.

Ricky Ricky Ricky. Sweet well meaning
Bobble head ricky. Givin marina that bad advice. Stop it Ricky. Please. He
Won't.

Choochi stealin and gettin some on The side. She'd better enjoy it, her days
Are numbered.
Anita thank you for great retelling Of This somewhat annoying episode. But have no fear, happy endings are near.


 

MIRADA

Wow Anita...another tour de force! And loved all your nicknames for Doc Sotero:
Doc Charred & Burned
Doc Lacks-Half-a-Face
Doc Wrinkle Face

And your title was spot on..From Worse to WORSE Ugh, I was so upset at Sotero making off with the baby, without taking diapers or milk, as everybody noted. But what really had my screaming was he got in the passenger seat holding the baby. Does Mexico not have the same laws as the US? You've got to put the baby in a back facing car seat in the back seat. Period.

Oh well, it's just a story, just a story.

Color me heartbroken as well, that our dear scoundrel don Luis has gone back to being simply a scoundrel. As you noted, "Little Louie" took over yesterday. And our wee detective Angustias is on the case. Sigh. I was hoping for a happy ending for our two grandparents, Prudencia and Louis. But it's not looking good right now.

Other gems:
Vanessa, her hair artfully arranged on a pillow
Slimy Lawyer
your notation of how good that guacamole looked. I thought so too!
the call out to the magistrate who played a jerk in Refugio. One plus for that actor is his enunciation is superb. Even with the poor sound on our TV I can understand his every word

And this very succinct description of the action:

Chooch and Luis have finished what they started and are getting dressed again. She’s telling Luis how they need each other. He, OTOH, says he only needs a roll in the hay. None of this lovey-dovey stuff she keeps dumping on him. As he exits, the empty house isn’t empty any more. Angie is there, surprised to see Luis coming out of Choochie’s room adjusting his jacket. We’re all sure that Angie will runteldat to Pru.

Perfectly put. You're a marvel Anita. And the best friend ever! Thank you.
 

MIRADA

Nina, and now, in addition to all of Anita's great names for Sotero we have yours:

Lucifer's Love Child

Laughter is a great way to start my morning. Hah!
 

MIRADA

Thank you for your recap, Anita!! I appreciate your generosity to us and in giving Judy a night off.
And I LOVE your title for this episode. From peor to worse, indeed!

”Vanesa is back home, hair artfully arranged on her pillow,”
LOL
”(papá de Rapunzel—storybook Rapunzel was a good girl, this one is the Blonde Witch of the West, minus pointy black hat and green skin).”
”(But how about his diapers and his bottles of breast milk--did he grab the diaper bag, too, when he grabbed Rafi?)”
My thoughts, exactly, when that happened! This guy has to die before the Gran Fin. Jail is too good for him, plus he could get out and wreak havoc all over again in ….. veinte años.

Wow, little Rafa has the longest, thickest eyelashes that would make any woman envious.

Why does Marina always hold that baby so that he is facing outward? What is up with that???

NOoooooo!!! I can NOT believe the writers let Sotero take that baby away!

So, now I have checked off “Faked Pregnancy” from my Bingo cards (thank you Ani), and
“Kidnapping” (thank you Doc Chamuscada), and still no Bingo. ;-p
 

MIRADA

NINA said --- "...,(help mommie I'm in the twi-light zone). Poor baby.
OMG, Nina, that earned a bustin' out loud guffaw from me. Thank you.
 

MIRADA

That and Lucifer's Love Child were two "keepers" Doris. Nina just keeps cranking' 'em out.

Thought Mely's observations the other day were interesting too...how Prudencia was wearing brighter colors and brighter lipstick. A sign of getting stronger? less "encogida" and self-effacing? She's going to need to be to stand up to don Luis and the discovery of his betrayal.

And appreciated every one's good thoughts for my day with the Little Tornado, "tornadito". We grandparents are good for "intervals", but the long-haul marathons of child-rearing are only for the young. In the best possible world anyway.
 

MIRADA

Judy - I'm glad you survived the "tornadito" day. It's wonderful and exhausting.

Did anyone notice, the other day when ZackRat was playing darts in the office while talking to Erasmo, that he never could hit the middle of the target? I thought that was a nice touch.
 

"MIRADA":

Doris: I hope you're right about Creepy Doc getting his BIGLY anvil in the Gran Final (hoping it's 2 HRS).

I also noticed ZackRat was playing darts in the office too.

Judy: I've always known Don Jackass is & will forever be a total jackass. Still wondering why didn't Prudencia divorce his ass a long time ago ?

Is the mansion & wealthy good life too juicy for her to give up ?


 

MIRADA
Taking a peek at the comments with coffee in one hand, two eyes on the screen and fingers on the keyboard....thanks for the verbal applause. It was my pleasure. Recapping really makes you pay attention to the characters and the action. You get to know them very well. Sorry I won't be available to do it again for JudyB before this goes from MAS PEOR a LA BODA (and please don't let it be Lino and Anita's).

Doris--"Why does Marina always hold that baby so that he is facing outward? What is up with that???" My theory is that they have to make sure the babies can see their real mothers most of the time. This is not the first baby I've seen turned facing outward most of the time, awkwardly. These little tykes work long hours, along with the actors. They do not always meld with their screen mommies, daddies or grandparents, et al, so the real mommies are always nearby. Remember FELS? Each baby had her own nun? One way to keep mommies near is to write them into the script.

Close to that being a gripe of mine is the one where they never use a baby carrier when they go anywhere, or show car seats or strollers. They are always carrying the baby wrapped up like an Inuit in winter, inside or out. As many times as Ricky has told Mari he'll pick her up instead of her taking a taxi to work, we never see how they get there. Did he go out and buy a car seat? Even in the scene where the kidnapping took place, the chauffeur was standing with the back door open--waiting for Mari to hop in. I doubt there was a car seat in there.

Nina--like everyone else commenting, we always enjoy your special talent for painting pictures with very clever words. Loved the Help Mommie quip.
 

MIRADA

Anita, thank you for your explanation about why Rafa is held facing outward all the time. That makes perfect sense!
 

MIRADA

I heard something awhile back in an
Interview about children actors. This
Person was talkin about the politics
Of child actors. Now I don't know if this is the same in other countries,or
If it's just for soap/novelas. But he
Said that children are only allowed 30
Minutes before the camara, which is Y
They use twins if the roll calls for more than 30 minutes. Ive seen that in
The movies to when the closing credits
Are Rollin up you see the child's name that played the character and it's two names, twins play the same part cuz the first 30 minutes is up for one and
Other is put in. So is rafi part being play by a set of twins? I don't know.
It's not important now anyways, there
What 12 episodes left. I just want to see rapunzil,the chared wrinkled one &
Dr zam...whatever get knock off of his pedestal. He thinks his daughter is so
Great. She's an intitled lying brat. That's The way he raised her. Pompus
Just like him.

I saw the episode today, in that scene
Where vanesa was signing those papers
Hilda brought, she was signing them sideways except for one. And hilda did
Not look like she was ready to say goodby to get vanny.

How did vane & lino get to the house so fast? Lol its like they left one part Of The studio and came in another
Door. Which is probly what they did.
Angsty saw Luis and sudonothing at it again. Thats 1, 2, the third time pru
Will see it. Just watch, 3 strikes and your Out. Louy louy louy, why didn't you Keep little louy zipped up. When was The last time he had relations with pru? Don't matter cuz it ain't gonna happen now. Stupid louy.

 

MIRADA

Excellent reca, Anita, but then I expected nothing less :-)

Oh, JudyB, your bitter sweet Luis just lost his points...and this time it was in Pru's palace...how stupid can he get. I don't know about you all, but if my assistant/housekeeper/whatever came and told me that my husband and my BFF were in the next room and too close for comfort. I'da gotten my a$$ up and gone to take a look...Pru just sat there...waiting for the DCB! How gullible can the woman be? BUT as JudyB always says...It's just a story, it's just a story...

I'm not even going to touch the taking of the baby...it was too upsetting...

Anita, it never occurred to me why Rafa kept being held facing outward. I first noticed it when Luis held him the first few times. I'll echo Doris...perfect sense.

I was hoping Hilda would break down an invite Vanessa to go with her. What I'm curious about is what Vanessa actually signed. Hilda made it a point tha she should read it and urged her to read it when she got the copy. Could she have changed her mind and left Vanessa part of the business...it sure would be convenient, especially now tha Vanessa is looking for another job.
 

MIRADA AND HILDY

To those interested in the document Vane was signing--Hildy wanted a signed statement from Vane where she renounced all rights to Edson's inheritance.

Vane was "too busy" to do it, so Hildy had one drawn up for her to sign. If anyone has had to sign a will, medical directive, power of attorney or other official document that is to be filed in a court, not only do you sign the last page in full and date it, but so the court knows nobody substituted a page or falsified it in any way, you have to either sign or initial and date all the other pages, too. That's what Vane was doing. Since those documents have very little space at either the top or the bottom, most times you do it sideways in the margin.

Hildy actually said (but I didn't convey), when Vane finished signing without reading, that there was nothing in the contents that would prejudge (prejudicar) her, or prejudice her, i.e. not saying anything against her that would harm her.

Aha! RGV, you might have something there about Hildy changing her mind, but Vanesa gave her the opportunity to say she was forgiven, but nothing happened. She remained cool and aloof and said nothing as she left while Vane was saying she hoped someday she could forgive her.

It would certainly be a nice surprise for Vane if she does. After all, she still has to pay the agent and the guy he got to make the demo. Maybe it will become so popular that Lino can take over payments. I have a feeling he's going to be too distracted by all the female troubles he's having. But, we shall see, eh?
 

MIRADA
Nina--Thanks for the explanation on the 30-minute rule for infants and toddlers. What on earth do they do when characters actually have twins? Do they find quadruplets? It would be interesting to learn at what age they no longer have to have doubles.

OT--I fondly remember Rafael Manrique y Arrellano, Hipolita and Luis' son, who was about 3 or 4. He was adorable. He tolerated being dressed up in 18th C. clothing and bounced around from here to there. What got most of us is that he didn't seem to like Lucero--they just couldn't interact like mother and little boy. He was constantly looking away whenever he was supposed to be listening intently to her, or wouldn't go to her in the scenes that required him to. Adalgisa, the maid was much better. He did like Luis, though, a lot (as did we all). We heard that he was actually the nephew of the actress, Iran Castillo, who played Catalina, Hipolita's half-sister (not confirmed).
 

MIRADA

I remember that well, Anita. That little guy couldn't see Lucero for dust but he loved Fernando Colunga and would just light up like a Christmas tree when he was around. Guess Fernando has that effect on a lot of us!
 

MIRADA

I've always heard about child actor labor laws and time limits to work each day, and how twins are used. Nina, you heard correctly

When Vane signed Hilda's papers, there was something in Hilda's body language that made me feel she was a little bit hesitant to leave. I had my hopes up that they might reconcile or at least Vane would be "forgiven." But Hilda walked out the door, and I was disappointed. Maybe time and that trip will help heal her heart. Fingers crossed.
 

Thank you Anita. A fine and detailed recap!

I have noticed most of the actors hold Rafa facing t hem. I have only seen Marina hold him this way one time and that was this week. I just assumed Claudia just wasn’t comfortable with babies IIRC Doc Mask cradled him and held him comfortably.

The scrawny cop in his too big hat and uni had to be on purpose. He looked nineteen! Apparently enough muscle for that crew
Check out Luis’ watch. It’s a clock on a strap!

LOL when Doc’s attorney claimed “discrimination”.

Mely
 

FYI as of April 2016 Mexico had no child car seat laws. I did read that Mexico City requires children under 5 to ride in the back seat.
Mely
 

Mely...thanks for that info on Mexico’s child safety laws in Mexico. Alas there have been many deaths here from parents inadvertently leaving their children in rear facing car seats. So little ones are still endangered one way or another. Glad at least the little fellow (or fellows) seem to be comfortable and relaxed with all the actors. In some telenovelas it’s clear that they’re very distressed being on set.
 

"MIRADA":

Judy: Big question is whether Vanessa & Lino will be at least friends in the end ?

Something tells me they're going to be endgame.
 

MIRADA
Steve--That question was already asked and answered by Lino and Vane. I guess you missed it.
 

"MIRADA":

Anita: Here's a new hash-tag: #FREERAFA
 

MIRADA

Anita, thank you for this splendid recap. I'm sorry I'm late to the party, but stuff happens and I've been running around a lot.

I'm still hoping for some kind of reconciliation between Hilda and Vane. It looks like they want to, it's just that it's so hard for Hilda. She heard things from Vane that she really did not want to hear. JudyB had it right, a complete confession made Vanesa feel better, but poor Hilda felt a lot worse.

I'm looking forward to today's episode, things are now moving very fast now, I don't want to miss anything.

andy