Caray, Caray!

reina3

I will put up a recap tonight, probably brief because one of my book clubs meets tonight. At least it's on Zoom, so less time driving somewhere.
 

reina3

#35 – Parte 1 de 2

This will be a quicky

Matos is rude to Sofia when she asks how her work looks. She overhears him telling someone on the phone that “he” can’t come here. He’ll go to meet him. Sofia puts a microphone in her pocket. She sends a text to Oleg and he and Paloma follow Matos.

Oleg has a long lens on his camera, pretending to be a tourist. A man shows up to meet Matos, and Oleg has Paloma turn so that his taking pictures isn’t so obvious. We see a picture of a man. Matos: “Don Rubén hasn’t seen it?" The other guy produces something wrapped in a handkerchief, and some object that’s metal is shown.

Gallardo, hotel security in Buenos Aires, is looking at the videos that other guy gave him of the cameras near the bridge. He notices a skip and also sees that Camera 2 is missing video between 11:35 PM and 1 AM.

Matos is on the phone in his office. Sofia opens the door and slides her phone inside.

Fedor explains that they want the best poker players to notice them. He’s going to memorize the cards in the center and calculate probabilities. Teresa’s math skills are shown again. She can quickly figure out Fedor’s plan. Batman and Sheila have looks on their faces like I did in some long-ago math classes.

Gallardo comes to where Luciano’s family lived. A neighbor says the family left, but Lucho wasn’t seen leaving with them.

Teresa, Pablo, Fedor and Sheila descend in the elevator. I remember that Teresa still has that key Lorenzo Motati gave her. When they enter the casino, Mortati surprises me and doesn’t complain about Fedor and Sheila.

In Mexico City one Deputy Cárdenas arrives at the National Palace, the residence of the President of Mexico since 2018. The president used to live in Los Pinos. Danilo greets them. Why did Bebita agree to attend this dinner? She said before she’d only come if Güicho came back to the palace. She wants Danilo to come along, and Epi lets it slide.

In B.A. Lorenzo introduces Hugo as one of the best poker players in the city. Pablo is asked to join. He declines saying he’d never dare play against Elena.

Team Peru listens to Sofia’s cell recording. Whoever Matos is talking with, they’re discussing that metal thing Oleg took a picture of. The recording: “It’s amazing, and we haven’t finished getting it out.” A German archeologist is going to certify its authenticity and then sell it. Some meeting is set up at a church at 11:00 the following morning. Oleg thinks they’re close to finding the Jinete Rojo. [I’m still not understanding how Oleg knows this.]
 

reina3

#35 – Parte 2 de 2

There’s a long and well-done scene of Teresa winning hand after hand. Fedor is right behind her and seems to give signals to Pablo. Pablo then does something with his fingers and Teresa bets.

Gregorio and Samuel are watching Teresa win big. Sami asks if Lorenzo told him why he (Sami, I presume) came. He then says that Lorenzo’s business in Mexico is complicated, and he’s looking for new routes in the south to distribute his product.

Faustino sums it up. They have to follow Matos to the archeologist and then that guy to the Jinete Rojo. The plan is to find the camp and trap the Jinete Rojo. "We’ll have to find a way to force him to give us the key."

Lots more poker. Hugo looks sick.

Bebita all but rolls her eyes when the wife of Deputy Cárdenas admires her for staying in the background and not upstaging her husband.

Hmm. Epi has apparently maneuvered Cárdenas into having a picture taken with him. Danilo took the picture. Cárdenas approaches and wants to be assured that the picture is not for publication, only for the attendees. Also Cárdenas seems to be taking an interest in Danilo. But he’s not discreet enough, because Epi’s eagle eye has seen a way to manipulate Cárdenas.

Lorenzo comes and asks Teresa to come with him. Only Teresa.

Pablo has a drink with the hotel manager, still flirtatious. He tells her he and Elena have an open relationship. The woman mentions Los Tres Pibes (three kids – this is apparently a common word in Argentina). She goes on to say they’re all inveterate gamblers.

It turns out Teresa has been taken to a special room, where she is to play poker with Sami, Hugo, and Gregorio. It’s said that Gregorio is a federal judge. Uh oh. No Fedor. When the men roll up their sleeves, we see anchor tattoos. I watched and re-watched, but I couldn't tell if all three or only Sami and Gregorio had them.
 

reina3

thanks novelera !!!

I think the one thing that's clear about team Peru's plan is 'Sofia doesn't get hurt' (because there is no where on this earth to hide).

I did notice that the key Oleg gave her didn't seem to work and so the microphone didn't get planted.

Juanita, if you are still confused about Gallardo's ex, I too think he was just throwing that out as a reason for requesting the Puerto Madero (bridge) security camera footage, (looks like Fedor's mastery of the web came through in erasing key sections).

so the Epi dinner discussion included sex-ed books for elementary school?

anchors aweigh, and it looks like Tesa is getting hustled.

I didn't know this [Sailors were fond of adding 'a' to words to make new ones, for example, 'astern', 'aboard', ashore', 'afloat', 'adrift', 'aground', etc.] (from "The Phrase Finder")

 

reina3

Thanks for the recap, novelera. Appreciate you doing this on a busy night. I lol'd--"Batman and Sheila have looks on their faces like I did in some long-ago math classes."

Yes, deb, we are on the same page about Gallardo’s “ex”. But there was a glitch in the footage that made him suspicious. Glad he didn’t get any info from the neighbor. And deb, thanks for the sailor vocab. Interesting.

Looks like Teresa was playing Texas Hold’em. She had a quiet panic when she was brought to the special room to play with Los Tres Pibes. If anyone can pull this off, it’s her.

So, the conservative, family values Cardenas is a closeted gay man, married to a clueless woman. He’s taking a big risk with Danilo. Not sure if Epi’s gaydar works well. Will he question Danilo? I don’t quite remember, but I guess Epi never discovered that Danilo and Alejandro were lovers. And Danilo never saw Epi with Teresa in those last eps of season 2.

Do you think the woman who works with Matos is suspicious of Sofia? Don't know if she bought Sofia's excuse for being where she shouldn't be. Wonder if she will tell Matos and they will compare notes. He questioned why she stopped working on her drawing.

Will Pablo jump in the sack with Julieta for the cause? Will it be a problem for Teresa?

I have tonight’s recap.

 

reina3

¡Muchísimas gracias! novelera, for doing this fine recap on a very busy night. And I loved your math class memories.

I was a bit surprised that Sofia left her cellphone inside Matos' office. Clearly, it served as a microphone for TeamP, but it's likely to be discovered at some point in the near future. Is there really nothing on it that could reveal Sofia's identity, or calls she has made or received? Even if there's nothing of that sort, it would quite likely alert Matos to the possibility of an unfriendly intruder. (Worrying is one of my specialties, indeed, one of my talents :-)   )

Speaking of Sofia, I could be wrong (indeed, the odds are good), but I was under the impression that the reason Sofia didn't get into the office when she was about to use the key wasn't that the key didn't work but rather that some employee (a cleaner, perhaps) came along and she aborted the attempt.

Your recap, along with helpful comments from dondi356 and deb, has finally set me straight about Gallardo and the recordings he paid for. Many thanks to all.

Now back to worry mode: Teresa's facility in math was evident last night in the scene where Fedor describes his method. But a large part of that method involves impressive memorization of the cards, and I'm not sure that Teresa has that talent as well. Without it (and without Fedor), how will she succeed against three very experienced poker players? I guess we'll find out, perhaps tonight. In the meantime, I'll worry.

I'm under the impression that all three men had anchor tattoos, but I'm not sure.
 

Reina3

Novelera, Juanita, thank you so much for your recaps this week. And many thanks to everyone who commented.

Just as Epifanio is telling Delio that they'll have to find another way to get to Cardenas, he decides to flirt with Danilo. And Epifanio notices. "Las vueltas que da la vida compadre" Epi tells his good friend.

TeamP are very concerned about Sofia being in danger, I'm beginning to think that's exactly what's going to happen. But they'll probably have followed Matos to see the guy from his call, so the location might shift from the gallery.

When Gallardo was looking at the footage, I noticed that it skipped time from around 11:30pm to 1:01am.

So the tattooed guys have tripled? Did not see that coming. Which means none of them is El Ginete, but maybe they do know him/her. Did Karen meet the guy(s) with the tattoo, or did she say that El Ginete Blanco talked to her about him?
 

reina3

Thanks, Novelera.

Cardenas was so ungiving to Epifanio that I thought he might become an addition to the general's plan to thwart Epi. But here Cardenas is spending too much time talking solo to Danilo. Here's hoping Cardenas is shrewder than he appeared to be.

Uh-oh, Teresa alone in a poker game with the three anchor tattooed players. Teresa has nerves of steel, but Team Argentina better set off a fire alarm or something.

Deb, I like vocab. Thanks for the info on sailors adding "a."
 

reina3

Great comments, all. Juanita, Sofia did get her cell phone back, but Matos' assistant came up on her just as she'd retrieved it. Later she and the rest of TeamP listened to Matos' end of the conversation and know about the 11 AM meeting the next day.

I also thought Sofia's first attempt to get into Matos' office to place the microphone was thwarted by a cleaner dusting the hallway. Her key worked later when she retrieved her phone.
 

reina3

Recap will be up later today due to World Cup.
 

Reina3 #3 part 1

Washington, DC. Ernie and Charlie are on a different kind of secret mission. They are tailing Kozar and pull up to some secluded place. They meet here every first Friday of the month, Charlie says. And Kozar never fails [to show up], Ernie says. Charlie asks, how long have you been doing this? A couple of months, Ernie replies, I followed her twice but never dared to go in.

That’s smart, Charlie says, now let’s go before they find us. No… I need to find out what Kozar’s hiding, Ernie tells him, I need something to negotiate with her. Kozar’s not happy with the results. And when she’s pissed off, she doesn’t just fire you… understand? Charlie understands because that’s exactly what happened to Higgins. He tried to blackmail her and now he’s dead. Ernie knows but thinks they are smarter than he was.

Kozar gets out of her car and walks to the entrance of the building as Ernie and Charlie watch. What kind of proof do you think Higgins hid, Charlie asks. Ernie doesn’t know, Kozar didn’t say. But it’s got to be big.

Kozar is met by a man at the entrance. He asks if she made any progress. Not yet, she answers, but I’m confident that we will soon. The man says they won’t be very happy to hear that. Kozar is aware of it.

Charlie asks, do you think what Higgins knew had something to do with this meeting? It’s likely, Ernie replies. They proceed to get a closer look to see what is going on inside.

The man escorts Kozar into a huge room that’s dimly lit with candlelight. He announces Kozar’s arrival, and the meeting begins. Let’s not fight about it, please, someone says. Kozar starts, I understand that there have been some concerns. I want to reassure everyone here tonight that everything is well in hand. Ernie has binoculars and Charlie takes pics with a camera with a telephoto lens. They don’t recognize any of the participants.

We are all exposed, a participant says, we’re at risk. It’s not comfortable. Someone replies, it’s nothing personal Mr. [I didn’t catch a name here]. Outside, Ernie wonders what the ---- are they talking about? [What is this group? A modern-day Illuminati plotting a New World Order?]

We go to Buenos Aires, where Teresa stalls and does her best to get out of playing cards with the three amigos. She was under the impression this was a business meeting. Business can wait, Mortati says, just relax and destroy them. Hugo says they are playing no limit. Each chip is worth 15K. Gregorio says the buy-in is at least two chips and no matter what, you must play.

Teresa focuses on the anchor tats that all three men have. Sami notices her staring. Teresa apologizes and asks about the tattoos. Are you part of a sect or are you big fans of Popeye? Everyone laughs. Yes, it’s weird for three grown men to have the same tattoo, Sami replies. When we took a trip to Japan, we learned the legend of the red thread of fate. Teresa is not familiar with this.

Hugo explains, the Japanese believe in an invisible red string that magically unites destinies. We thought the idea of being forever united was cool. And here we are. Gregorio picks up, you normally get the red thread tattooed on your pinky, but we thought it too feminine. So instead we got anchors on our forearms.

The guys are ready to start playing. Teresa stalls them again. She wants a tequila. Tequila is served and cards are dealt. Teresa nervously looks at her cards. Mortati sneaks behind her---what’s wrong? Are my 3 friends that intimidating? Teresa says she should call Felipe and let him know she will be very late. The guys trade some suspicious looks.

 

reina3 #36 part 2

Mortati tells Teresa to relax, there’s nothing to worry about. Teresa mentions business again. Gregorio tells her to forget about business for a while. Let’s play. They toast and clink glasses. Teresa slams her glass on the table. It shatters and cuts her hand. And Mortati escorts Teresa out of there. Phew.

Teresa explains to her group she had to do something or else they would have found out she can’t play poker. Sheila tells her next time say you have a migraine. Pablo asks, do you think any of them are the person we’re looking for? She’s sure of it. Which one is the thing. All three have the same tattoo, just like Karen said. What do we do now?

CDMX. Cecilia Cardenas has sent Bebita flowers and a thank you note. Epi tells her she should send a thank you and invite Cecilia to the palace for coffee. Bebita says Epi has forgotten something—Guicho. Epi snarks, have I already been reelected? No one told me. No. Cardenas hasn’t supported me yet.

Bebita negotiates. She can get friendly with Cecilia even though she’s superficial and vain. But only if she can see Guicho. Epi says, “La burra al maiz” (The donkey to the corn, meaning, here we go again.) Keep your word and I’ll bring Guicho tomorrow, he says, the condition is help me with everything I need for my reelection. Bebita holds up her glass and promises she will help him with everything. Epi is suspicious. No, she means it from the heart. He says he’s not used to her treating him well. [good grief]

Cusco. Oleg, Anton and Faustino are at the church waiting for Matos’ meet up. Matos arrives, he’s on the phone with the museo worker, Ana, who is out waiting somewhere. I’m dropping off the archaeologist where we agreed, where Ruben’s men will pick him up, and then back to Cusco, he tells her. Ana asks if he’s coming back to the gallery. He’s not, he doesn’t have any classes and he will run some errands. She asks when she will meet Ruben. You’ll meet him when he wants to meet you, Matos replies. She’s not happy. If I’m taking the same risk as you, I should at least know…. Matos cuts her off, the archaeologist is here, I’ll call you later.

Matos calls to the guy and two men approach him. Faustino is standing nearby. Oleg and Anton are at a distance. Anton takes photos. Matos shows them the piece [I think] Then the men get in Matos’ car. Faustino walks back to Oleg and Anton and our guys follow.

Teresa and Sheila have been busy looking for info on the Three Amigos. Sheila tried to enter Hugo’s place of business. Fedor was right, she says, the top two floors belong to Dorfman Transport. Hugo’s business. Security was too tight, Sheila couldn’t get past reception. They wanted her to go through a metal detector and Sheila had to tell them she is pregnant.

Sheila wonders if all three are Horsemen. No, Teresa replies, Karen said it was only one. But all three fit her description, Sheila notes. The underground casino, the tattoos. Sheila hopes that Fedor, Batman and Landero are having better luck.

And speaking of Landero, she asks Teresa, do you think Landero’s enjoying the seduction of that Julieta? Uh, oh… Teresa stops in her tracks. The thought clearly upsets her. No way, she says, he’s not doing it because he wants to, he has to. Fine, Sheila responds, but in m experience, a man is a man. Teresa is ticked. Hey, girlfriend, stop putting ideas in my head. This is the only way to get access to Julieta’s computer. Sheila gets the last word---as long as that’s the only thing he gets into. Teresa’s heard enough. Next stop, Samuel’s place.

 

reina3 #36 part 3

Pablo comes to seduce Julieta as directed, meanwhile Batman makes his way down to the inner workings of the hotel. I cut the seduction dialog, recappers prerogative. Sorry if you enjoyed it. Anyway, the talk leads to kissing and the office desk is cleared for landing. Julieta wants to find a room, she would get fired if caught. Pablo talks her into taking the risk. And Batman shuts the power off. Julieta takes off to deal with the situation, leaving Pablo in her office.

Susana goes over Bebita’s calendar. Bebita wants her to cancel everything. Guicho will arrive tomorrow and that is important for her. Susana says this is the worst thing to do now. The president has to believe nothing has changed. He might get suspicious. She adds, and if he finds out you intend to run away, you could suffer your father’s fate.

Bebita is shocked. Susana admits Danilo filled her in. Bebita says it’s okay, Susana has the right to know. She tells Susana she needs to make a phone call. But before she goes, she turns back to Susana. If you know how dangerous Epifanio is, why are you here? Because it’s important to me that you and your son are safe, Susana replies. Is that it, Bebita inquires, or is there something else?

Susana has a hard time meeting the First Lady’s eyes. The truth is, ma’am, I’ve never done anything more important in my life, and… I see you fighting so much for your son. I think it’s important you both get to safety. Does Bebita suspect her of something? She has a weird look. But then she thanks Susana for everything she’s doing. I couldn’t do it without you, she tells Susana, while keeping a lingering look. Then she leaves and Susana has to take a breath. [okay, is Susana in love with Bebita? Does Bebita suspect? Will Bebita use this to her advantage?]

Pablo gets to work on Julieta’s laptop with Fedor giving him instructions. To make a long story or scene, short, Pablo manages to hack the laptop seconds before Julieta returns. Julieta is still in work mode. Pablo says she can make it up to him later.

Teresa and Sheila are parked in front of Sami’s building. He catches them. Looks like he’s been bike riding. Are you following me, he asks. I noticed something strange last night, the way you looked at me… I know… you like me. Teresa stares at him. He smiles, It’s a joke. Anyway, this is where he lives. Teresa plays clueless.

He asks about her hand. It’s nothing, she replies. He asks why she’s here. She says her real estate people recommended this area. Since she wants to do business here, she needs to set up shop somewhere. He wonders why she doesn’t have her bodyguard with her. Lorenzo said he’s always with her. Usually, Teresa says, but I thought I’d be safe here. If not, then I’m not interested. What place is safe nowadays, Sami replies and adds, see you tonight. You owe us a rematch.

Bebita calls Garrido. I’m almost certain Epifanio will come through. Garrido asks, did he mention when your son would return? Tomorrow, Bebita replies, if this works out, when do you think we can leave here? Garrido says hopefully by the end of the week. Then what, Bebita asks, what happens with Epifanio? Are you going to continue what my father was doing? Garrido responds, if you mean finding a way to get him out, yes. In fact, I’m looking for someone who can do the work Vanessa did. That won’t be easy, Bebita says, unless you find him a lover.

Why is Epifanio protecting Teresa Mendoza, Bebita asks. Garrido says she is looking for sensitive DEA material for him. That’s why he broke her out of jail. Garrido wants to get back to Bebita’s escape. He needs her to find the right time. This isn’t about strength or smarts, he tells her. She worries but he is sure they will succeed. We must, Bebita replies, or I will lose my son.

 

reina3 #36 part 4

Oleg and co have followed Matos’ group to the rendezvous place. Faustino asks, when is this Eloy guy showing up? [who is Eloy?] Oleg says it will happen fast. Anton asks, what do you think Ruben showed that guy [the archaeologist?] on video? Faustino thinks it must be huge if they brought someone [the archaeologist?] from Germany. [did I get that right?] Oleg mentions something about a pre-colombian cemetery. Unfortunately, men surround our guys and haul them away.

Washington DC. Ernie and Charlie review what they found. Charlie points out, this guy is the CEO of one of the biggest law firms in NY. Like everyone else at the meeting, he’s on the list of the 400 richest people in the US. He takes out a pic of Kozar at the meeting and ribs Ernie, I printed this for you if you want to make an album of your girlfriend. Ernie calls him a ---- [choose any word that fits]. He tells Charlie, last night you cried “I was scared”, now you make fun of her. No, Charlie replies, of you.

Back to business. Ernie notes all kinds are there… bankers, investors, oil industry, lawyers. They are from all over the country. I don’t understand what they have in common besides being multimillionaires, he says. Maybe they meet to do more business, Charlie opines. What’s suspicious about millionaires meeting in a house? They are at a loss for answers. Ernie says he found out that none of them took a private plane, they all traveled commercial. None are staying at fancy hotels. It’s weird.

Kozar calls Ernie. She wants to see him immediately. Charlie asks, do you think she suspects us? Ernie says no, she wouldn’t have even called. Charlie laughs, okay, I get it. He’s thinking it’s a booty call. Ernie calls him immature. Have fun, Charlie says.
Bebita has a therapy session. The Dr. mentions reducing her medication dosage but since Antonio’s death, he doesn’t think it’s a good idea. She tells him she hasn’t been taking the meds for the past few days. They confuse her, make her sleep. He explains that traumatic events could arouse self-destructive feelings. If you are referring to suicide, she replies, I haven’t thought of it. Not for a second.

He asks how she’s managing her grief. I’m very sad, she tells him, there’s an emptiness. Loneliness. But most of all, I’m angry. He looks surprised and asks, have you had more thoughts about that episode? About the suicide? She answers no. She can’t really remember anything. He brings up hypnosis. It might help her remember. More than that, it can help her understand what happened that day. She’s open to it. He wants to start tomorrow. Tomorrow, she asks, so soon? Dr. says see you tomorrow and leaves.

Sheila keeps watch on Julieta while she works around the hotel so Fedor can look at her laptop. They start with Sami’s file. It has a list of his favorite drinks and his casino stats. There’s an item in red: Estefania Oliveros $2,600. They check out Hugo. He has the same red item: Estefania Oliveros $2,600 and Gregorio also has the same amount for Estefania. Pablo thinks it was useless to hack Julieta’s laptop. Teresa tells Pablo he has to continue with the seduction game. Pablo doesn’t see how that will work. Julieta isn’t naïve. She won’t talk that easily. Batman says, maybe we give her a little push to spill the soup.

Ernie and Kozar argue. I am not sitting on my ass, he says emphatically, I’m working. She questions, did you find someone to spy on Vargas? Garrido hasn’t found anyone safe yet, Ernie replies. Kozar says to pressure him. That’s what I mean when I say you’re sitting on your ass. Garrido isn’t the only one, Ernie says, we still have the priest. Kozar asks about the kid (Mateo). Ernie says he hasn’t called in a while.

 

reina3 #36 part 5

You are leaving me without a choice, Kozar says. I’m doing all I can, Ernie answers, it’s just a matter of time. She exclaims, time?! Time? When? When they run out of patience an kill me?! [There’s a slip of the tongue.] Ernie asks, they?? Wait… They who? She doesn’t answer that. She tells him she needs results. Don’t come back until you have them. Ernie leaves and Kozar looks freaked out.

Back to Peru. Our guys are being held in some building. Faustino is out on the floor and Oleg and Anton are held at gunpoint. Matos questions them. What are you looking for? The German guy starts, why is this important? They promised everything is under control. Then we speak to Ruben and cancel everything. Matos tries to reassure him. The German asks, what if they are police? They’ve seen our faces. Will we just let them go? [wonder if Oleg and Anton know German]

Faustino wakes up, stays still and listens. Matos says they are foreigners, not police. Call Eloy and tell him what happened and ask what we should do. Faustino takes action. He grabs a shovel and whacks a guy. This starts a fight. Shooting starts, but our guys get the upper hand and the baddies seem to be shooting each other.

Our guys pick up some guns and the shooting continues, until there’s only Matos and another guy. The other guy is shot. Oleg asks Matos, how many men is Eloy bringing? Matos is shaking in his boots. He doesn’t know. Faustino asks, where is the archaeologist’s camp? Matos doesn’t know. He says my orders were to bring him and then… Matos motions to the dead guy. That’s Eloy. There’s some kind of transmission. Someone saying I’ll be there in five minutes. Anton takes Matos away to tie him up.

Faustino wants to leave. Oleg says no. Faustino worries, what if there’s an army out there? Oleg takes some things out of Eloy’s pocket, including something in an envelope. He tells Faustino to hide Matos’ car. Quick, we don’t have much time.

And we are out of time.

The Peru caper was a little confusing to me, even on a rewatch. So please feel free to add or correct.

 

reina3

Wow! I always watch on Friday and just let things roll by me. I know you'll thoroughly fill in the confusing parts to perfection. Thanks so much, dondi, for another amazing recap.

While reading the recap, I jotted down a few things. First of all: Charlie smiles! And it wasn't an evil, I'm about to kill someone smile. It was genuine good humor. I enjoyed Charlie and Ernie spying on Kozar's meeting. For once I felt almost on their side. I was surprised that Charlie knows Ernie is getting busy with Kozar on the regular.

Que the hell! Why do these Three Amigos (thanks, dondi) think Teresa is obligated to give them a re-match. I know they're on a different mission, but I'd feel SO tempted to tell them to stick their re-match where the sun doesn't shine.

I wonder if the quarts of fake blood were starting to get low during this shoot-out. As I've mentioned, I detest these scenes where a bunch of extras get killed.

IMO Ana is ruled out as the Red Horseman. She seems clueless.

Sheila reminds us of her time in the "world's oldest profession" when she tells Teresa that a man is a man.

I loved "recappers prerogative" and am thinking of using it in the future!

I also picked up something about Susana, especially since she admitted her sexual preferences to Danilo. She may have a "thing" for Bebita, but I doubt she'd ever try to act on it.

For some reason Sami is the one of the three that bothers me the most. Maybe it's just the actor's looks. But he looks like someone who killed small animals as a little boy.

The mysterious Eloy is killed right off the bat? The expression: the plot thickens doesn't exactly apply here. This plot is still runny.

Isn't Bebita's shrink another one of Epi's lap dogs? The thought of Bebita being hypnotized worries me. Why didn't she just say that her son is coming home tomorrow, and she won't be able to do it.
 

reina3

Wow, dondi356! Your recaps are always superb, and this one was that and more. And this time you even included some Spanish that I hadn't understood, along with some delightful humor ("the talk leads to kissing and the office desk is cleared for landing").

I'm beginning to lose confidence in my theory that Ana will turn out to be the [I'm not sure which] Horseman. At first, she seemed appropriately knowledgeable and suspicious, but last night Matos clearly dominated her. (Hmm...then again, Abel seemed at times to dominate Karen, but ultimately that wasn't the case. Perhaps Ana is using the same playbook?)

What was going on in the scene between Susana and Bebita wasn't clear. Susana's expressions made her seem a little untrustworthy. I also had the feeling that Susana was physically attracted to Bebita. I even found myself wondering for a moment whether the feeling was mutual.

I was NOT happy to hear the doctor say that Bebita's hypnosis will start the next day. I don't have a good feeling about what Bebita may reveal under hypnosis.

I was totally confused by the last scene in Peru. I was surprised that Oleg and Anton were caught by surprise, and I didn't understand at all what Faustino was doing. I thought he had left the two of them to do something useful, so I at first assumed that only Oleg and Anton had been taken prisoner, and that Faustino would manage to free them. The next thing I know, Faustino seems to be unconscious on the floor near Oleg and Anton.
I wasn't sure what would happen, and, like you, dondi, I wondered whether Oleg and/or Anton understood German. My guess is that one or both of them may.

Again, MANY MANY THANKS for this splendid recap!
 

Reina3

Okay, I watched the Peru scenes one more time because I was so confused. The German archaeologist was killed because he reached for something—a gun? Eloy was the one on the radio transmission who said, “I’ll be there in five minutes”. Oleg took stuff from the dead German (Werner). Maybe the artifact in an envelope was one of the things he took.

Thank you, novelera. I also enjoyed Ernie and Charlie spying on Kozar. And now we know what happened to Higgins. That group had him killed because he knew too much. IIRC, mwendwaE wondered if Charlie or Ernie would change sides. Once they get the lowdown on Kozar’s group, an alliance of sorts could form. Will one of the results be Epifanio’s reelection?

Sheila always calls it as she sees it and she’s usually on target.

Sami bothers me, too. “he looks like someone who killed small animals as a little boy.” He does have more of a creep factor than the others. Gregorio is a close second for me. But maybe we should watch out for the least creepy one, Hugo.

Thank you, Juanita, for letting me know I wasn’t the only one confused by the events in Peru, especially by the last scene. I know Faustino left the others to get better binoculars from the car, but the bad guys got to him and knocked him out.

I’m worried along with you and novelera about Bebita’s hypnosis. Will the Dr. go running to Epifanio? Will this mess up her reunion and escape with Guicho? Chances are good it will.

I think we all sense something with Bebita/Susana.

They left us with an interesting cliffhanger. As novelera said, “… the plot thickens doesn't exactly apply here. This plot is still runny.”

 

reina3

Dondi, thanks a bunch. Super job. How you describe the action with Pablo and Julieta is too funny.

Bebita should realize by now that Epifanio was behind her (probably setup) "suicide" attempt. No need for hypnosis. This psych is on Epi's payroll, not hers.

Sorry to see the German go, only because I want to hear German (took German in high school, most forgotten).

Niecie
 

reina3

thanks Dondi !!!

it always amazes me how you not only get all the detail but the nuances as well.