Wednesday, February 28, 2024

El Amor No Tiene Receta, #2: There Are No Co-Incidents


Genebra placed the stolen baby girl in the perfect crib. As Mauro explained how he beat the hospital security systems the baby cried. Genebra ignored the crying and left the nursery [For which she is awarded first place for Bitch of the Year].

The baby's birth family was crying hysterically in the hospital. Vermin watched them with his face barely readable. Mireya threatened his life if she ever found out he had anything to do with the baby's disappearance.


Six Years Later

Paz thought about her missing daughter on her way to work. At the same time little Samara was being scolded by Ginebra for displaying emotion. Elias – Ginebra's wealthy husband – behaved as a good family man and gave Samara a lovely silver barrette for her birthday. The child was both grateful and excited. Ginebra punished her for this by piercing her ear with a stud earring, causing the lobe to bleed as she scolded her for the emotional display. Mauro shook his head at this but only Elias and the audience saw this.

The two older children of Esteban (Bosco and Gala) talked about their mother as they went downstairs to breakfast, which was being prepped by their father and younger brother. This was also the anniversary of Berenice's death,

Paz visited Vermin in the prison [Why?]. He still had the loco idea he could be with her again to which she said “No way!” She gave him the last chance to tell her the whole truth. He flashed back to it in his head but did not tell her anything.

Samara gave Ginebra a drawing of their family which her momster rejected as she rejected everything about her. Mauro was left with the task of consoling her.

Paz and her family had a small taqueria and there was the usual morning routine of yelling out tasks and getting things done.

Ginebra worked out on a punching bag as Mauro watched. He cautioned her that she needed to play The Perfect Wife. He reminded her that they had had a difficult life and were now alone. It would only be a little more time. She briefly mentioned their plan [which seems to match my prediction]. She told Mauro that upon discovery of the will's contents they will proceed.

Esteban arrived at the office and was told by his friend – Kenzo – that he should have taken the day off. Esteban said that would not have helped. He had to be there because of Elvira's attitude. The police had ruled that Berenice's death was not a suicide and he could not rest until he learned the truth.

Using artificial intelligence programs Ginebra and Mauro created a faked video of Berenice blaming Esteban for anything that would happen to her, i.e., her impending suicide. The video is addressed to Elvira.

Esteban had a flashback to his childhood. It faded as he discovered he had car trouble near a street fair in Paz's barrio. He made a phone call as a fat bald guy came after him with a tire iron. Paz ran out to stop anything from happening.

Mauro assured Ginebra that no one could identify this video as anything deep-faked. He was going to keep the original under lock and key. She was pleased, saying they can go to the next step.

Esteban thanked Paz but she told him he was such a target with that face, that car, and those clothes. She got some men to help push the car out of traffic. He was a little surprised. [I hate the phrase Meet Cute but that's what this is.] She is clearly impressed with him.

Samara served imaginary tea to her plush animals and hoped that someday her mother would love her and hug her as she was hugging the plush rabbit. [This makes my blood boil.] She was wearing the earrings.

Esteban called Kenzo to get a mechanic down to fix the car. He invited her out to eat but she invited him back. They went into her place.

Elvira was being driven somewhere. She passed through the barrio [Why?] and had a flashback to her confrontation with Esteban. Her phone rang and it was the faked video. As she shouted “He killed my daughter!” we see that the man who picked up Eder at Berenice's death scene is Elvira's chauffeur.

Elias worked on his laptop at the dining table to the sounds of the water fountains outside the picture window. Ginebra came down, telling him that he needed to spend more time at home because he was neglecting Sam. He counter-accused her of not paying enough attention to her. She said she was at home all day when he was working or on business trips, saying also that the three of them should take a trip together. He was well aware that there was no love in her for Samara. Here is revealed that he was leaving his entire fortune to Samara which did not please Ginebra who said only that she was too young to manage such an inheritance. He told her not to insult his intelligence; he knew she mistreated Samara. She agreed conditionally, accusing him of loving the child more than her, However, Elias ultimately did agree to the trip. Only we flies on the wall saw that she was satisfied, but not in the way Elias wanted.

Paz and Esteban looked at a mural on the wall outside her restaurant, which she said was done by her nephew. They then went inside. Mireya and her employee [name?] were obviously impressed at the sight of Esteban. Lupita introduced herself as Paz fetched some hand sanitizer because the water wasn't running. Mireya and the other chick took delivery baskets out as Paz started cooking. [We also wonder at who did the interior decoration because the colors are ones that inspire hunger.] Esteban meets the nephew. There was something regarding the plumbing problem but I didn't catch it.

Samara went into Ginebra's dressing room and picked up a lipstick, wondering if her mother would love her if she were pretty. Ginebra caught her in the act, called her a stupid child, and pushed her until she fell on the uncarpeted floor. She then took out a red belt for the usual purpose. Samara begged her not to do this and cried. [Cries of nuclear explosion from all flies on the wall. P.S., this room looks like it's in a department store.]

There was a dispute between teens in the barrio. The corn-rowed girl's name is Gema.

Paz talked about the business as Esteban flashed back again to his childhood. They then shared their 6-year-old tragedies.

Paz served tacos to Esteban, who enjoyed them. He thanked her for telling him about her daughter. There was a drawing on the wall behind Paz that looked much like Samara. Paz flashed back to when she was told of the disappearance. She told him it was considered a cold case but she sensed that her daughter is alive. He took her hand and the music played.

Some local official approached regarding health violations in the restaurant. From her silent smirks we see that Gema had ratted them out.

The employee chick spotted Esteban's car and was really impressed. Kenzo arrived, saw, her and we have another MC.

Which does not happen when Rubio spotted Mireya who got away from him by riding her bike into a path he couldn't follow in his pick-up. He sent one of his flunkies after her on foot.

Mauro got off the phone with a connexion who told him that Elias' will favors Samara. Ginebra said they now had two in their way.

The health inspector closed the taqueria. Esteban offered to help Paz with the problem.


Revised with additional details. – UA


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Comments:
Thanks, Urban. I really needed this since I missed about 20 min. due to Uni weather/tornado warnings. Paz visiting Vermin in jail was telenovela stupid and unbelievable. The will: Ginebra mentioning that Samara is too young to manage the fortune. Is Elías terminally ill or has she “unintentionally” alluded to a plan to murder him? Did I miss something? So far so good but I could do without the child abuse as well as Mireya being pursued by the local thugs.
 

Thanks, Jarifa.

I am currently watching this On Demand to fill in some blanks because I think it's important to have them early in the game. I may not be able to do this consistently but I will do my best. At least I can edit when we post this way!
 

Urban, thank you for your crystal clear, well written recap of a very sad episode.

"Samara served imaginary tea to her plush animals and hoped that someday her mother would love her. [This makes my blood boil]" said it all. Every scene with this dear child was extremely disturbing. Ginebra's "piercing" Samara's ear was especially cringeworthy.

I think we are suppposed to believe that Elias is a good man. No good man would leave a supposedly cherished child with a "mother" who clearly despises her. By telling Ginebra what his will entails, he has likely signed his death warrant.

As you noted Paz visiting Vermin in jail was inexplicable.

I give Paz credit for her indomitable spirit, for her hope, her courage and embracing life. "Meet Cute" perfectly describes what happened with Esteban. It was cathartic to see them exchange their painful stories. However, her cheery demeanor certainly seemed to have a positive effect on him and it was so nice to see his killer smile.

Diana
 

Jarifa, were the tornado warnings in your area? So scary.

If so, I hope you and everyone stayed safe.

Diana
 

Urban, thank you for that excellent recap that didn't miss a beat as we settle into this show .

Vinegar ...hey , my tablet changed Ginebra and it usually has pretty accurate intuition , so ..Vinegar is wickedness in a skin tight sheath . Watching her box and kick that punching bag made me want her to be the punching bag.

Esteban's younger son and daughter were Gael's children in " Invencible ." The little actress playing Samara was the cop's daughter in " Invencible."

I must say that casting Daniel and Claudia together was a great idea. Their meet cute moment was ....well...cute...and touching . These two seem to have lovely , positive personalities and matching smiles . The words charming and charismatic come to mind. I guess we have all met people like that who pull you into their orbits like magnets .

Daniel's Facebook and Instagram show how the cast is getting along backstage just as they did when he was on " Invencible." He loves to use his phone to capture his cast mates or do a funny sketch or sing or dance .
Susan
 

Esteban's friend Kenzo Figueroa is played by Nicola Porcello , A Peruvian\Mexican footballer and reality star. I guess he is quite big in Mexico .

That video that Mauro made of Ginebra as Berenice was creepy and will put Elvira on a relentless mission to destroy Esteban, who is evidently still working at her company . I am amazed that Elvira didn't fire him . Do we know what kind of company it is?

I cannot stand watching the child abuse , and those neighbor guys are disgusting and scary .
Susan
 

Filled in most of the missed deets, but there are still a few gaps.

Based on the prison conversation I think that Paz visited Vermin once a year to see if she could get the truth out of him. No success so far and I think his delusions of getting back together with her are going to put her in danger.

We also now know that Mauro and Ginebra are siblings with no blood relatives left. He has enough education or training to be able to make serious money in tech and she had enough to attract a wealthy man. However, I agree that Elias is not long for this world. I didn't add this detail but I don't think he ever witnessed her undeserved corporal punishments of this tragic child.

Obviously Mauro is getting well-paid by somebody to fake that video. If that somebody is Ginebra she has more ambition and greed than we know about.

I pointed this out before, but what we see Ginebra doing now would have been done to the adult protagonists in their childhoods by their toxic mothers.

How the hell can you operate an eatery without running water? I have to wonder if Rubio is behind this somehow and if he is related in any way to Gema.

Bonus Info: Harry Geithner (Elias) is 19 years older than Altair Jarabo (Ginebra). Good casting.
 

It is great to see Harry G. I haven't seen him in a telenovela in a long time .I think the first show I ever saw him in was " Amor Real."
Susan
 

Thanks Urban, great recap. This show has started off running.

I wonder what the connection is between Mauro and Genebra and Bernice and Esteban. Why did they want her dead and are now framing Esteban. Elvira sure believed the video. You’d think you’d be suspicious that it showed up 6 years later.

That was a cute restaurant. It seems someone wants to cause trouble for Paz and her family.

I liked Kenzo’s meeting with the girl at the car. I’m still not up on who’s who, except for maybe 8 main characters. It’s hard to watch that sweet little girl being mistreated by her mother. I wonder if the uncle has any real feelings toward her. He’s the one that comforted her.

Hoping Paz and Samara will be reunited and we don’t have to wait too long to discover they are mother and daughter.

Liz
 

Urban, thanks for the extra info.
 

Thank you Urban! Love the recap as well the extra information.

Genebra is definitely cold-hearted and it's hard to watch. It's also surprising to me that she doesn't even try to fake being the loving mother considering the effort she puts into pretending to be the loving wife.

I might have heard wrong, but I thought they said Bernice's death was ruled a suicide, but Esteban still doesn't believe it and he's determined to prove the that it wasn't suicide as they think.

Gema was dating one of Paz's nephews (the older one I think) but when we first see him in the beginning of the episode, he's fresh off hooking up with some other girl and making some sort of 'players gonna play' comment to his brother. Later in the episode, it's clear that Gema found out about the other girl, and I believe that's why she reported the restaurant, to get back at him. But I'm still not sure who Rubio is (is that the guy who ruined the baby shower 6 years ago?), as I still don't have all the details straight so the set up could be more complicated than just a woman scorned.

I wonder now if Genebra was actually involved in Bernice's death, or if she's just taking advantage of the situation now? The only reason I wonder is, if she did kill Bernice, why wait years to frame Esteban? 6 years seems like a long cooling off period if your original plan was to kill one person and frame another. But then I guess she could have killed Bernice for whatever reason and wanted it to look like suicide and then decided years later to try to frame Esteban for a new reason/scheme.... hmm.
 

Darcy..thanks for those details . Yes, I think Rubio is the awful gang leader who ruined the baby shower and grabbed Paz. Gema looked so disgustingly joyous watching Corazon Contento was shut down. She looks like teenage trouble.

I like the instant attraction portrayed between Paz and Esteban . I think this couple will have great chemistry and spark on the screen. I also noticed that in the meet cute scene, music was playing that I am sure will be the couples ' theme song. I think the song is sung by Juan Osorio's son.
Susan
 

Thank you, Urban, great recap of a show that already has me hooked.

My theory is that Ginebra did have a hand in Berenice's killing. Remember when she sent Mauro to fetch her a baby, he asked if she needed help with the "other" plan and she dismissed him pretty abruptly.
He does seem to be in her corner 100%, they must have had an awful upbringing. Which does NOT excuse Ginebra's treatment of her faux daughter!! Actually watching that child be abused on screen makes my skin crawl, I get physically sick even if it's just make believe.
I agree that Elias might not be long for this world, but I feel like Mauro actually cares for Samara, which might prove useful down the line.

Liked the meet cute, and of course I LOVE Esteban. Seeing who plays his daughter, same actress who played her in Amor Invencible, was another cute moment- they have great father-daughter chemistry and get along great in real life.

I am.intrigued by Ginebra's plans with Esteban and his family. Could she be after their fortune, too? What is it that they sell, we haven't seen any avocados fields in this one for now.
 

Susan, did you help recap Vuelve!. I came to that telenovela late and have a half dozen to finish watching. I keep hoping to see other old telenovela recommendations on this forum . My daughter-in-law was born in Colombia, raised in PR so I decided to try to learn Spanish so I can understand her and her family. Duolingo and telenovelas have been my teacher for the past year.
 

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