Caray, Caray!

Tonight, Jacqueline Bracamontes is Irma de los Peces (Irma of the fish [think "Pisces" is the sign of the fish]).

Bloody footprints on tile. Gravel and water. More footprints, leading to a woman sitting on a piano bench, covered in spatters of blood.

Still not loving the new theme song…but I do love Jacqui's black sequin dress. I want one.

Irma is led out in handcuffs while the DIEM crew collect evidence. Moran tells Capellan, over the phone, that all they know is it was done with a lot of violence.

Flashback: A cheerful Irma bids her fish a good morning. "Mommy's going to feed you all, babies!" A pissed off dude comes in and gives her a hard time for being so cutesy with the fish. "You treat them better than you treat me! I'm hungry." She hightails it out of the room and gets his breakfast out of the microwave. He's looking at her notebooks and he asks her if she plans to continue with "this." "The University?" He says it seems less like a University and more like a place where they teach her useless things. She starts to remind him that he studied at a Conservatory, but he interrupts her and says she stopped studying "for love"…or so she made him believe. Irma reminds him that he consented to her going back to school. "What for? So you can learn how the oviparous animals reproduce, and the oviviparous, and the viviparous?" Jackass rips the pages out of her notebook and rips them up. She tries to walk out, but he grabs her by the arm and says he lost his appetite. The cameras focus on the fish.

Those are the "ovíparos" oviparous animals lay eggs with no embryonic development inside the mother, "ovivíparos" oviviparous animals lay eggs after the embryo has developed inside the mother, "vivíparos" viviparous animals give birth to live young…go forth and use those terms in everyday speech. Also, since I'm thinking about accents and grammar, and why those words needed accents, the stress in Spanish is typically on the second-to-last syllable, so you need an accent whenever you're trying to indicate that you're putting the stress anywhere else. And the accents are important because an unaccented and accented word might be spelled the same way, but have different meanings. For example "esta" (ES-ta) would mean "this one", but "está" (es-TA) would mean "it is."

Jackass, AKA Alfonso, goes over to the piano and takes a pill. He sits down and starts to play while Irma starts taping her notes back up. The phone rings and he yells at her to answer it without missing a beat. It keeps ringing and he tells her to either answer it or take it off the hook. By the time she picks it up, he's stopped playing. It's Raul, a classmate of Irma's. Alfonso picks up the extension to hear the conversation. Raul is offering to swing by her work and give her a ride to school today. She says she's not going because she hasn't finished the anatomy homework. He says it's not a big deal and he always turns his in late, but she doesn't like to. Raul says he'll call her tomorrow, then. When she gets off the phone, Alfonso is standing in the hallway behind her. He asks who it is and she tells him it was a classmate, calling to see if she'd finished some homework. "You know I can't practice with interruptions. Tell your friends to call at other hours." He grabs her by the face, gives her one of those semi-threatening little too-hard pats on one cheek, then kisses her. He says he's going to the conservatory. Irma asks him if he'll be home early, just because. He doesn't answer her, just looks pissed off and leaves.

OK, rant #1…if you have to lie to your SO all the time because the truth would upset them, hello, maybe it's not such a good relationship for you! And rant #2…yeah, dude, I get it, I need to keep my mind on my work when I'm practicing too, but that's why I turn the damn ringer off the phone! And if I don't and it rings, well, that's my own damn fault, isn't it? Jerk. And rant #3…you played for less than a minute and just because the phone rang, now you're going to stop and go practice at the conservatory instead? Why didn't you just go there in the first place for your precious peace and quiet! And I think I'm done now.

Aranda comes into Capellan's office and reports that they found a lot of "anti-ansiolíticos" (anti-anxiolytics), "sedantes" (sedatives), and "antidepresivos" (antidepressants). Capellan asks if they've already done a toxicology screen on the body and on Irma. She wants to know as soon as the tox screen is done and she wants a psych evaluation on Irma. She tells her to concentrate on the family history. "Irma Puente is the daughter of one of the best performers Mexico has ever produced." (concertista=performer). Capellan is looking at a news article on her computer about the suicide of Alejandro Puente.

Flashback: Irma is cleaning the glass on the front of one of several aquariums. Her boss, Don Victorio, comes to hustle her out of the shop before she's late for school. When she says she's not going, he says she can't skip…it's only the first semester! Irma lies and says there aren't any classes today. He buys it, but marvels at how nowadays they'll cancel class for anything. He's quiet for a while, but then says he's been wanting to talk to her about something important for the last few days (hace unos días=since a few days ago). He says, "Soy cansado, yo quisiera jubilarme" (I'm tired and I'd like to retire). Irma is afraid he's thinking of closing the "acuario" (aquarium…but I think it's more of a fish store). What he actually wants is to sell it to her and have her pay in installments. That will be his "jubilación" (pension). One guess what her loving husband is going to think of that. Irma says she can't buy anything right now. He tells her to think about it and talk it over with Alfonso. "Music is beautiful, but it's not always enough. This store could be your future." He says they should get together and talk about the "forma" (the form; how they're going to do this; the terms), but to be honest, if the business has grown, it's been because of her dedication and hard work. "Te pertenece mas a ti que a mi." (It belongs more to you than to me.)

Alfonso is playing at home, while Irma is trying to talk to him about the shop. His argument to "Princesa" (princess…and I do not think he means this in a flattering way…and also, FYI to Mr. 5ft, I would prefer "Reina" [queen]) is that they don't have the money. When she mentions doing it "a plazos" (in installments), he scoffs, "What? With your salary?" Irma says the shop makes enough that she can pay herself a salary and have enough for the payments. He asks, quite reasonably how much the payments would be and what the interest rates are. She doesn't know yet. Then he turns it around on her and says she doesn't know anything and what she needs to do is save her salary because what he makes isn't enough. Irma points out that if she doesn't buy it then he'll sell it to someone else and she may be out of a job. "So? You'll get another one. I don't see what the problem is."

At this point, I screamed at the TV. This guy is a jackass AND he's stupid on top of it. I know she doesn't have figures yet, but duh, of course she'd be making more as the owner than as an employee, which would keep him in booze, pills, and sheet music even better than her salary does now. And if he's so concerned about a steady income, then maybe he's the one that ought to get a regular job that pays more! He acts like he's the one maintaining her, when really it's the other way around. Show a little gratitude, damnit!

She leaves the room and he reaches for the pill bottle again, and don't tell me it's water in that glass. He goes back to playing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

Irma talks to a woman, by a van with "Neptuno" (Neptune) on the side. This appears to be the shop's supplier. The woman, who is rocking a lovely curly bob, tells Irma that her husband is wrong. She thinks this is a great opportunity and the old guy loves Irma and she really knows the business well. She tells Irma that she didn't have "en que caerme muerta" (anyplace to drop dead; so broke she couldn't even afford to die, in other words) when she bought her first van and now she's zooming all over the place making deliveries. "Well, Alfonso says…" She interrupts and says it's impossible that Alfonso doesn't let her do ANYTHING. "Sure he does." Before the other woman can respond, she's kicked by the bun in her oven and sits down in the front seat of the van. "The kid doesn't like for me to work!" Irma says if she was in her shoes, she'd rest all the time. "Well, sure, but then you'd go crazy. Have you thought about it?" "About going crazy?" "No, of going to see my doctor." Irma says Alfonso is over 50 and she's not going to have kids, but she's got fish. The other woman gets all excited and tells her to come look at the black-tailed fish she brought.

Alfonso is practicing when Irma comes home. Sorry, I don't recognize this piece, but damn do I wish my hands could still move like that…damn arthritis! And possibly also lack of a full-size keyboard on which to practice. Irma has brought home a new baby and she puts the plastic bag in the aquarium so the water will be the same temperature before she lets the new guy or gal out with the others. Alfonso interrupts her fish bonding to ask her if they should eat. He upsets her by calling it a new "pescadito" and she corrects him that it's a "pez" (I think the difference is that pescado is usually dead, cooked, and on your plate, but a pez is alive and swimming…someone correct me if I'm wrong). He starts in with the bitching…"How many damn critters do you need before you're satisfied?" (bichos=critters, little creatures). The light and electric bills have arrived and he left money out for her to pay them. Irma asks what he'd like to eat. She's not eating because she had something earlier and she needs to finish her anatomy review. "If it's anatomy, I think I can help you," he says, grabbing her from behind and kissing the side of her neck. If he wasn't a stupid, menacing, jackass, that might have been romantic or at least funny. Instead it was possessive, threatening, and bordering on violent. She breaks away and says she's really got to finish her studying. He says "Fine! I'm in my house and I can't eat. I want to be with my wife and I can't! What I do doesn't matter. All day, working for nothing! Better I should get into a trash can and rot there!" Irma weakly says "Alfonso," but he rounds the corner.

The tox results arrive and Moran gives them to Gerardo. He slips the disc into his computer and says "As I supposed! It was the husband taking all those pills, not her." Moran is confused, but Gerardo smiles.

Flashback: Raul gives Irma a ride home from class and tells her about her nickname among her classmates: "Irma, la de los peces" (Irma, the one of the fish; Irma the fish girl). Irma laughs. Raul gives her a present--an embroidered fish with a tassel that looks like it's meant to hang off something, like a rearview mirror. He goes around to open her car door and Alfonso looks down from an upstairs window. Raul asks her not to leave school and she doesn't answer. She stops to pick up the fish she dropped and Raul watches her go inside before he leaves. Alfonso watches him.

Irma starts to get into bed, but Alfonso barks at her, "Where were you?" She says she was at class and he accuses her of lying. "I don't tell lies. I'm not like you. I called you the other day at the conservatory to ask you something and you weren't there." He asks her who she was with and when she insists she was at class, he turns on the light to demand to know if she needs to be with someone younger. "I'm not enough for you anymore? You need someone to do things to you that I don't do? To touch you like this?" She struggles to get away from him and he backhands her and screams "You don't like me anymore!" What happens next is left to the imagination, but there's more hitting and her screaming "no!"

Capellan, Aranda, and Moran meet in Capellan's office to discuss the case. Aranda says that Alejandro Puente, the father, was a performer and the "maestro" (maestro; conductor) of the National Conservatory of Music…Capellan doesn't need to hear this bit. Moran says he was diagnosed with "artrosis"(degenerative osteoarthritis), "artritis degenerativa" (degenerative arthritis). Capellan opines that he probably couldn't live with the idea that he was going to have to stop playing. His wife died of cancer in '95. Irma was the only daughter and she found her father with a bullet in the "sien" (temple) in 2004. She got psychiatric help, but 3 months later, she married Alfonso, a pianist and former student of her father's, who was 20 years older than her and addicted to antidepressants. That makes it sound like if the psychiatric help had worked, she wouldn't have married him. Capellan says it's a history of constant losses and rapid substitutions. Moran gets a call announcing the arrival of Don Victor. Capellan asks to have him sent in.

Flashback: Irma is at work, wearing large dark glasses. She tells a couple to remember to leave the fish in the aquarium in the plastic bag for 2 hours until the fish gets used to its new home (we always used to do it for half an hour…I guess times have changed). The happy couple leaves with their new aquatic child. Don Victor comes into the shop and asks if Irma has thought about it. She just keeps dusting things on the shelf. "Did you talk to your husband?" Irma starts sniffling. "I suppose he didn't agree?" She just keeps dusting. "Irma? Come here, please." He's looking at some fish. "Have you ever asked yourself why fish have that special fascination for you?" She says they make her feel "acompañada" (accompanied). Don Victor says they're hypnotic. "They move without ever stopping. Like they're always looking for the way back to the sea." He looks at her sadly and takes of her sunglasses. "I got up half asleep to go to the bathroom and I hit myself on the door." This is such the typical story that "hit myself on the door" might as well be code for "my husband beat the crap out of me" and therefore no longer useful as a lie. Even Mr. 5ft knew she was saying "I hit myself on the door" even though he didn't understand the words. Don Victor says he's got too many years on him not to know that those aren't the marks of love. "Irma, the difference between us and our captive fish is that for us there is ALWAYS a way out. ALWAYS." Irma starts crying and he hugs her. It sounds like he cries with her.

Alfonso comes home with flowers. They always come home with flowers after their wives accidentally hit themselves on doors. Bastard. He asks if she didn't go to school. Oh, look, he's got a box of chocolates too. That ought to make everything ok. She says she couldn't go to school. On account of having run into a door. He asks her to forgive him and says he doesn't know what happened to him. He offers her the flowers. "Look. I brought you those tights you like so much." Oh, so not chocolates, then. He gets whiny. "Forgive me, Irma." To paraphrase Oz on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "I can't help feeling like the reason you want me to forgive you is so you can feel better about yourself. That's not my problem." So suck it, jackass. Irma says she doesn't understand why she can't buy the aquarium and why she can't study and why everything bothers him. "I can't do this anymore, Alfonso. I feel like I'm going to go crazy." "Please forgive me!" he whines. He says he doesn't feel like he knows his wife and like she's always thinking of anything buy him. "So how's it going with your little friend? That imbecile. You know, with the car?" Careful, your jackass is showing. She says his name is Raul. "You like him don't you?" he asks all tearful--like I'm supposed to care. When she asks how he can talk to her like that, he starts with "Irma" a touch too loud and coming towards her. She covers her head with her arms and screams. He gets hold of himself and says he doesn't want to keep fighting and everything will be fine. "Forgive me, please, I swear it will all be fine, forgive me."

Don Victor chats with Capellan in not an interrogation room, or her office, but some room with a couch. "She worked with me for five years. I offered to let her buy the shop, but her husband opposed it. In the last year, she was living in a profound fear and great sadness. She couldn't find a way to get out of there."

Flashback: Raul thanks Irma for loaning him some notes, which he has come by her place to pick up. Oh, this is going to suck. He asks if she's going back to class tomorrow and tells her she'll flunk out if she keeps missing class. He asks her to go for coffee or ice cream, but she refuses. He says he'll be in touch and as she walks him toward the front gate, Alfonso comes in. He introduces himself as Irma's husband and Raul introduces himself as her classmate and offers his hand. The guys shake and Irma rushes to explain that Raul needed to borrow her Chem notes. "Is dinner ready?" Irma says it's not. "Well, I like to have something to eat after I make love…don’t you two?" Raul looks shocked and says he'll call Irma later, then he runs out of there as Irma runs up the stairs. Yes, Raul, you caught the vibe, and what did you do? Run for the hills. Thanks, dude. Sorry, not his fault. And that's going to be no consolation to him after it all goes down. Irma, for some unknown reason, didn't lock the door behind her when she went inside. Alfonso comes in after her and tells her to wait…"You didn't even greet me!" He sits down in the hallway and starts pulling papers out of his briefcase. "Why do you do this to me?" He says it's because he's a man (on behalf of the DECENT men I know, I call BS on that) and he knows when "me quieren ver la cara" (they want to see my face; someone's trying to put on over on me). Irma says Raul just came by to pick up some notes. "He wants to sleep with you. That's if he hasn't already." "Why do you say that, as if you didn't know me?" "It seems like I don't know you." Irma says he's changing and he's not like he was before. He's more…He interrupts her, "More what? More crazy?" He goes over to the aquarium and uses a net to take out one of the fish. Irma panics. "In this moment, you're going to forget that damn university…do you understand?" She agrees, to save her baby, and he lets it back down in the water while she cries.

At the shop, Don Victor talks on the phone, while Irma skims a tank. He gets off the phone and comes over to tell her that someone wants to sign a contract with him within the hour. "But if you say you want it, I'll go back on the deal, I'll go back on it right now!" She says no, they've already talked about it. "But you'll be out of a job!" "I'll find something, don't worry. Hurry up or you won't make it in time."

Raul talks to Aranda. He can't believe it. "Did you and Mrs. Puente have a romantic relationship?" Raul says she always kept her distance and her respect for "that guy" above all. "She was always there for him. Leaving everything. She didn't leave in peace. He spent all his time tormenting her with his obsessive jealousy of everything and everyone." He says he knew her for five or six months.

Flashback: Irma mops the floors at night, and Alfonso comes over, drink in hand, to ask if she didn't go to the university today. I could kick him. I could do worse, but that's a start. "You told me not to go anymore." He laughs and says he's surprised she does what he says. "You're going to forbid me from more things." He plays innocent and says he's not going to forbid her anything and if she didn't go to class it's because she didn't want to. "Don't blame me for it." He asks her what's wrong. "The 31st is my last day of work." She says after that she'll "aflojar" (slack off). He ignores the sarcasm and says she'll find something, and besides with the orchestra and his classes, they've got enough to get by. She stops mopping. "You told me that we couldn't buy the shop because we needed my salary to live on. That we couldn't make the monthly payments…and now you say the contrary?" "You made a proposal, if I can even call it that, and a childish one at that! You didn't even know what the payments would be, or the interest!" he shouts after her.

The supplier, Toni, comes by the shop again, as Irma is finishing packing up the whole shop. Toni asks if "he" hit Irma. "How can you be with a guy who does that do you? Please!" She asks if Toni wants her to leave him "a estas alturas?" (at this point; now; this late in the game). Toni says that's an option. "You don't have a husband, you have an excuse not to do anything with your life. You're going to go crazy if you stay with him."

Toni talks to Aranda. She doesn't know if he ever abused her sexually, but she says he did hit her. "La acosaba, la presionaba, la tenia encarcelada, pero a Irma lo que mas le pesaba era que no podían tener hijos." (He harassed her, he pressured her, he had her imprisoned, but what weighed most on Irma is that they couldn't have children.)

Flashback: Irma gets ready for bed and Alfonso watches her. He tells her to leave her stockings on. Irma says she saw Antonia today and she's pretty far along in her pregnancy. They couldn't have kids either, because her husband also had "paperas" (mumps) when he was young. Alfonso reminds her that the doctor said "maybe" it was because of the mumps. "Why do you keep repeating this to me?" Irma wants to go see Toni's doctor and that she said it wasn't that expensive. He says they don't have money for it and besides, she's over 30. "What does that have to do with it? Antonia's about my age." He laughs and says it's different. "Antonia's a businesswoman. She has her own business." I'm seething. Seething. Seething. Seething. Boiling. Seething…. "And?" "She's well kept, she's whole, but you, my love? You've had to work and you're a little worn out." He says they'll just have to make the most of it and starts kissing her. Nasty ass jerkface.

Alfonso practices and Irma comes over to sit near him. He stops and asks what's wrong with her. "Are you worried about your job? Don't worry it will all be fine." "I wanted to buy the shop from Don Victor." He says it's done and gone, let it go. "Alfonso!" She gives him a hard look and says she wants a separation. This is the dangerous time. Right here. Not before she leaves him, not after, but while it's in process. I wish she wasn't doing this alone. She has to repeat herself. "Last night you wanted to have a child and now you want a separation? Don't be childish!" She's furious at him calling her childish. He tells her to just buy another fish. "Don't you make fun of me! I don't want to keep living like this!" She says she wants to have her own life. "What have you been watching on TV?" "Don't make fun of me!" He asks how she'll live, she has nothing, she's no one, she doesn't have a career or a job…she's nothing! Irma mumbles "eres un tarado" (you're an idiot). He tells her to say it looking in his eyes. She tries to get away from him, but he grabs her from behind. She goes running down the hallway and he stalks over to the fish tank and knocks it over. Oh, it's on now, jackass.

Capellan talks to Irma in an interrogation room. "There are those who say that fish don't have souls. Did you know that, Irma? I don't believe it. It's that in the tank [pecera] they're not in their natural habitat. They're not free. There, enclosed in the tank, decorated with corals and plants, they're there to give pleasure to those who look at them. But they're not free. Is that how you felt, Irma? Like a fish, a prisoner in the tank?" Irma tries to talk, but it takes her a while. "I, before, I wasn't a fish. But he suffocated me…every time, less air…I couldn't breathe…he wouldn't let me breathe. And I couldn't take it anymore. I had to become a fish." "How? How did you become a fish, Irma?" "Swimming with them. In silence. Hasta que nos mató." (Until he killed us.)

Flashback to the tank falling over again. The fish flop around on the floor and Irma comes over, in shock. Alfonso tells her to clean it up. Irma cries and reaches toward the fish. My instinct is to yell at her to grab them and get them into some water, but I know that most tap water is chlorinated and that kills them, so unless she had some non-chlorinated, and non-chemical-infested water lying around, there's nothing to put them into so they survive.

Irma takes the fish and wraps each one up in a piece of newspaper. She picks up the box of tights he'd brought home and takes the tights out of the box.

Alfonso practices Moonlight Sonata again, if a bit violently. Irma walks out, on her bloody feet, toward the remains of the tank, while Alfonso screws it up and starts over. She starts putting the larger rocks from the tank into the stocking. Alfonso screws up again, bangs on the keys, and makes another bad, angry start. Irma comes up behind him, calls his name, and whacks him with the rock-filled stocking. As the butterfly flies away, she continues bashing his head in.

Alfonso's body is lying on the floor, as is the stocking. The camera pans up from Irma's bloody feet and she's sitting on the piano bench. She looks up at the camera.

"Irma Puente Berrueto se entregó a la policía y confesó el asesinato de su marido. El diagnóstico psicológico determinó que Irma padecía de una depresión maniaco-compulsiva profunda. Por lo que fue internada en un hospital psiquiátrico. No volvió a hablar jamás."

Irma Puente Berrueto turned herself over to the police and confessed to the murder of her husband. The psychological diagnostician determined that Irma suffered from a deep manic-compulsive depression. For which she was interned in a psychiatric hospital. She never spoke again."

I will agree that there are delusional symptoms and depressive symptoms, but I have no idea what that diagnosis is supposed to mean, since it doesn't exist in the DSM IV TR and I can't find an analogue for it. I also don't see any mania in her behavior, and I'm not sure I would call any of her behavior "compulsive". Thoughts?

Next week: Aislinn Derbez

Labels: asesinas

Labels: triunfo

It is a dark and stormy night...

Victoria finds herself alone with Emanuel at the remote hacienda of the Ruiz y de Teresa family. Now this is episode #128... 128 hours we've spent with this family (give or take a few commercial messages) and does anyone remember even once hearing this place mentioned? ... I thought not. Well, nevertheless here we are, alone with our main couple and Vicky was about to whip up a batch of Marianela's famous chicken soup...

Think about it for a moment, is there anything that is uniquely Victoria? She has Marianela's eyes, she smells like Marianela, she kisses like Marianela, she wheezes like Marianela, now it's Marianela's soup... oh, I forgot... there is that endearing Vicky lisp... nevermind.

Ouch! While we were distracted, she nicked her finger. You guessed it... she bleeds like Marianela... Sorry Emanuel, no soup for you. Just as well, a clap of thunder... lights go off... a startled Vicky clings to Manny... sipis, everything is right on schedule.

Back at the naco dorm, Gretel profusely thanks Netty for her successful intervention on behalf of Oliver. I doubt that Netty ever even entertained the prospect of any other outcome. Her concern at the moment is for Emiliano. She thinks that it's high time that Gretel reveal the truth to her dad. Gretel has one abiding fear in that regard... Fedra, who is ,

"...capable of doing the same to my father as he did to Uncle Luis Felipe."

Meintras tanto, like a feverish squirrel in search of that one special acorn, Lorenzo frantically ransacks the house in quest of the Lirio loot that Muñeca and Flor have stashed away.

Eman and Vicky are having a candlelit chat in the kitchen. He thinks she needs to eat something what with her being skinny and all.

"Are you trying to fatten me up?"

"Well a few extra grams wouldn't hurt."

"Well, I've never been fat and I never will be."

He reminds her that Marianela is fat and beautiful. I think it's time to change the subject, this conversation is not headed to a good place. Vicky leads in another direction. She doesn't want to talk of Marianela. That suits Manny just fine since now it's just the two of them here and certainly she must feel as he does, that there is something going on between the two of them and they are both adults.Now here we have the perfect opportunity for a major revelation as Vicky has difficulty keeping Marianela's childhood memories of this place separate from what she is saying. Eman's antenna goes up, but his pea brain is easily headed off at the pass and he ends up taking her to see the master bedroom.

If you recall, Brandon has paid a visit to Muñeca at her office and is poring over financial records in hope of establishing a case against el Lirio de Plato. Suddenly he discovers a fascinating fact that completely throws him off the scent.

"You adopted Ilitia?"

This was not information that Muñeca wanted to share with Brandon.

Aided by candlelight... does anyone think the power'll be restored tonight?... Manny and Vicky have found their way to the master bedroom.. Just one bed. There are other bedrooms but none have been prepared. Fancy that. Eman sees no problem. Lots of room. Vicky has a few impure thoughts as Manny explains sleeping arrangements. Back-to-back, even an intervening pillow if she wishes. No, she'll just... He assures her,

"Nothing will happen."

No. She's a restless sleeper. She'll make herself comfortable in the parlor.He asks,

"Are you really afraid to spend the night with me in the same bed?"

We'll let her think that over as we rejoin an increasingly nervous Gretel , flanked by a supportive Oliver, is trying to stammer out an explanation for her last utterance. An astute Netty already realizes that her fear stems from having witnessed Fedra's death of Mari's dad at the hands of Fedra. As Gretel melts down, Netty leaves the two alone and goes to make tea. Oliver croons soothing words to his frightened bunny, reassuring her that she was powerless to prevent Luis Felipe's murder.

Vicky cloaks herself in bravado.

"No way."

He asks her if she is afraid that he'll embrace her or perhaps even kiss her... but no, Manny is every inch the old-fashioned gentleman (caballero antaño) and decides to sleep in his little hammock with the chiminea to keep him warm. He'll be just fine. He reminds her to leave the door open to allow the heat from the chiminea to warm the room and then leaves. Our Vicky (or is it Marianela?) is feeling rather randy. After he's gone she mutters quietly,

"Emanuel, careful, it's more likely that I'll be the one to go out in the middle of the night to assault you... Marianela control yourself, por favor. Ay Dios mio, I won't be able to sleep. I'll spend the entire night thinking about him."

And with that, she lies down without even kicking off those high heels.

Muñeca tells Brandon the truth about Ilitia's roots. Unlike Eman, Brandon doesn't require a map. Muñeca pleads with him to keep her secret fo Ilitia's sake. Of course Brandon agrees and then realizes that this explains a lot. As he fondly enumerates Ilitia's character flaws, Muñeca has an epiphany of her own,

"You're in love with Ilitia, verdad?"

She asks, then adds,

"Just how far have you two gone?"

In the children's room, Lorenzo kneels at Cristian's bedside and touchingly addresses his sleeping son. He adores him and loves him dearly. He's sorry about the thing with his mom, but he'll make it up to him (resarcir). He kisses his forehead and then he has a sudden inspiration,

"Flora and Muñeca must have hidden the money here in the children's room."

He deduces that the brat (escuincle), Manzanita, would know.

Axel and Dee stroll into the kitchen arm in arm but quickly separate upon seeing a tearful Nereida cutting up an onion. He says,

"Buenas noches, Delicia. Thank you for this day, it was (here he turns and mouths maravillso) simple (sencillito), simple,"

and hurries off. Nereida notes that Dee looks quite happy and Delicia observes that Nereida looks bitter. They are joined by Paula who sees that Nereida is continuing to cry.

"Bernardo's still missing."

She's lost the love of her life. Dee offers that she should be jumping for joy then escapes. Paula agrees. Nereida seizes the opportunity to inquire about the size of the cellar and confirm that to enter its passages one must go through General Maximo's quarters. Well, we needn't have worried about poor Bernardo. Looks like the cavalry is on the way... wearing high-heeled shoes.

By refusing to answer her question, Brandon confirms Muñeca's worst fears. He tries to do damage control by telling her that it happened before she married Emanuel, but this is small consolation. She knows that he still has feelings for Ilitia then listens as he babbles incoherently about his mixed feelings toward her daughter. She indulges herself by smiling at the sweet sincerity of his protestations then shakes it off and sternly warns him that it must never happen again.

A voice booms out of the dark shadows,

"Manzanita, Manzanita niña bonita, wake up, por favor, Mañanita."

It's Lirio de Plata. Well, close enough. He needs to know were the money is hidden. She has doubts.

In trying to convince her of his authenticity, this Lirio manages to attract the attention of Flor who has no doubts,

"Ay, señor Lorenzo. Besides amusing your wife, now you put on this disguise in order to entertain the children?"

Manzanita rats him out telling her that he is looking for the money. He protests that he's just trying to protect Muñeca and threatens that by not helping him find it, Manzanita will be responsible for Muñeca going to jail. He calls Flora a metiche and stalks out. Flora reassures the little apple that Muñeca is not going to jail as she tucks her back in.

Spooky music and a creaking door accompany Nereida into Maximo's bunker. He is asleep, vocalizing his pleasant dreams of Fedra,

"Serpent of Evil, I'm going to dispose of you... rat from Hell."

She slips past him and enters the labyrinth. Some labyrinth. Oh well... Bernardo is giving himself a pep talk as he turns over his chair. Nereida rushes to his side and smothers him in kisses. Boy, is he ever glad to see her,

"Untie me!"

Not .
So.
Fast.

She wants to know what's in it for her.

Emiliano is in his cups. He stands at the bar but at least he is using a proper glass and not a straw. Benigno intrudes. He tells Emil that it's bedtime. Emiliano decides to unburden himself upon the nearest ear. Sorry Benny... you're it. He whines about how he's finally opened his eyes and come to the realization that Fedra has had a negative impact on his life and that of his children. Well hold the presses for that news flash. Have you ever wondered if Emiliano is always somehow reading from yesterday's (or the previous week's) script? A wise Benigno counsels that a bottle of whisky won't solve anything.

"Now finish your drink and go to bed, I'll be taking the bottle."

He leans on the bar and quietly calls out for Gretel.

"I miss you so much. Where are you?"

"Here I am, Papá."

It's a Festivus miracle!

Turns out that in exchange for setting him free, Nereida wants to be mistress of the keys once more and oh yeah... Mrs. Bernardo. What a coincidence, during his incarceration the only thing he could think about is how much he missed being in her arms and how much he wanted to marry her. No kidding? She hurries to untie him, he grabs her and kisses her and... oh my goodness, now he's stripping off her clothes, hmmm, black bra... black panties... yikes ! It looks as though they're going to consummate this thing right here in the cellar with the rats as witnesses.

He kisses her shoulder and tells her that everyone in this house will respect her as la señora Nereida Pérez de Izquierdo.

"Oh no."

"¿No?"

There's a pause in the action as she corrects him,

"la señora Nereida Pérez Y de Izquierdo."

"Of course!"

"Sounds better with the alcurnias (lineage)"

"With alcurnia, Y de Izquierda, mi vida."

He invites her to sit down for the ritual of love. She's game. Calling her his angel from Heaven, he kisses her arm, pulls it gently behind he back and begins to bind her wrists. I've never heard of this ritual of love. Must be a Mexican thing.

"What are you doing?"

Uh oh, this ritual of love has taken a nasty turn. He tells her that he is leaving her there. How dare she blackmail him? He ties the gag around her mouth and exhorts her to enjoy her honeymoon... with the rats.

In the dressing room of la Mala Noche, the Queen of the Night is despondent. The head pirate guesses that the Queen won't be dancing tonight, but he guesses wrong. It's the one thing that can lift her spirits.

"Bernardo warned me."

Drat that Lorenzo! Oh my, how she misses her Bernardo.

The reunion between Gretel and Emiliano is very touching. He asks about her health. Has she been taking her medicine? Gretel informs him that she has never been better and doesn't need no stinkin' medicine. She's with a man who loves her... proving that he up on current affairs he guesses,

"Oliver?"

He wants her to come home. Briefly put,

"No way. No how."

He weeps and pleads.

"You have to let me go, Papá, para siempre."

More lagrimas y por qués. Emiliano is a clueless boob, but he dearly loves his daughter.

Vicky is restless... and horny. It must be the rutting season for skinny Spaniards, We've never seen her quite like this. She sits up in bed and frets. She can't quit thinking about him,

"¿Por qué Dios mio, por qué, por qué?"

She asks the question that we've been asking for... well, the last two years.

"Why did I leave without giving him a chance to explain? It was all my fault. "

She gets up and goes into the room where he is sleeping in the hammock. She stands over him and debates with herself. She wants to wake him up, tell him the truth about Victoria de la Garza and then... She actually says out loud that she is dying for love of him. She turns to walk away but his hand snakes out and grabs her hand,

"You're not going anywhere."

At a motel somewhere on the road to the hacienda, Jorge, Andres, and Doris worry about Vicky and Manny. They needn't. Jorge has arranged for rooms,

"All we can do is wait here tonight and hope that the storm passes."

Andres knows the road and if this rain doesn't stop, no way they're going to be able to reach the hacienda,

"...see you guys in the bar."

Doris seems very worried about her friend having to spend the night alone with Emanuel,

"What a disaster."

After having boldly stepped forward, Vicky meekly tries to retreat. He asks why she was watching him.

"I was a little cold and wanted to be near the chiminea."

He offers her the hammock and even offers her a lesson in hammocking, lifting her and depositing her in the hammock.

Wow! It's warming up in here. Here tells her the truth is that she came in to be near him and that the mechanics of the hammock would facilitate closeness. She wants to be serious. He is. He tells her that he is bewitched,

"...loco, loco. I'd give anything to kiss you. ¿Sabes?"

Doris and Andres have changed clothes and he joins her in the bar where she is snacking on
cheese cubes and meatballs while sipping a drink.

"I'll have what she's having."

"It's a soft drink."

"Then I'll have a beer."

He has plans for the evening which include her. She does not share his enthusiasm and reminds him of Jacki. He informs her that he got bored with her and her jealousy. Doris calls him descarado (cheeky). He admits it,

"In fact, I'm so cheeky that ,my love, I came here tonight to ask you to spend the night with me. How about it?"

Wow! Bold and refreshing. No beating around the bush for this lad. Doris does not seem as impressed as I am. As he reaches to caress her face, she recoils in apparent disgust. Hey it was worth a shot.

Victoria (or is it Marianela?) and Emanuel warm themselves in front of the fire.

He leans in for a kiss. ¡GOLLLL!

Sadly, la Reina dances.... sadly.


Her fans love her.

Speaking of sad, our poor sad doofus Emiliano actually asks this,

"I want to know the reasons why you won't return to this house?"

I'm not kidding. Those are his exact words. Gretel tells him. Well, he wants the whole truth. She struggles internally then says,

"Fedra is perverse, Papá. A woman with no morals, without scruples. She's the world's worst liar."

Ummm, Gretel, honey, I think pretty much even your daddy already accepts those facts. She goes on,

"I was eight years old, when Uncle Luis Felipe died... "

as she is about to finally reveal the horrible secret she guards, up walks ... Bernardo, looking fresh as a daisy,

"¡Gretel!"

Maybe next time.

"No Emanuel, no, no, we shouldn't have done that. It wasn't right. It wasn't correct. You're married."

"Perdón, I was just demonstrating the kiss we have to give tomorrow in the filming. Sorry."

She asks him not to toy with her . He wants to know why suddenly she seems to have changed her attitude toward him. Before if he had tried to kiss her she would have taken his head off.

"This time you seemed to enjoy it."

They argue back and forth with a threat of a slap followed an angry defiance but I'm wearying of this incessant badinage and am wanting to post this recap. Clearly, just like the promise of soup, there seemed to be the promise of... well, suffice it to say there will be no nookie for you, at least in this episode, Emanuel.

Oh, Vicky did drop one final bomblet as they argued about Marianela,


"...she still loves you."

Carlos

Labels: llena

Mini Summary: The gang at JJ’s celebrate the return of the kiddies; no one calls Elsa; Yolanda spends the night at JJ’s but sneaks out early in the morning; JJ asks Ale to marry him tomorrow and she accepts; David tells Gabi just enough truth, and gives her plenty of loving, to keep her satisfied (for now); battered, bruised and broken Edgar becomes roommate to an awakened and recovered Susana at the hospital; the hospital calls Edgar’s only phone contact- Adolfo, who finds an unconscious Edgar; Elsa takes a hard look at herself, her attachment to and jealousy over JJ, and her treatment of Mauricio—she decides she wants Mauricio in her life; the kiddies share their tale of kidnapping, Yolanda and Edgar with the gang and Leo; Caramelo gives Yolanda a promotion to Tia, and demotes Elsa to Tia; the writers give us an easy way out of this custody nightmare by having Caramelo choose to live with the newly solidified family at JJ’s (new mommy and all); Elsa accepts this, but does not accept being bullied by Dante and his goons; Edgar convinces Susana to team up with him to hide from Adolfo’s wrath—they leave the hospital before Adolfo shows; Leo throws Adolfo off his game by taunting him with his latest failed attempt at assassination (it was a guard that was killed by Hernandez, not JJ); Susana fruitlessly searches her apartment for the money and the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter diamonds; at their hotel hideout, Susana tells Edgar all about the money acquired from selling THE LETTER, and shows him THE PICTURE, THE SHOES, and THE DIAMONDS.

Full Recap: Limon has lost consciousness and his wig, and JJ has lost the power of speech, at the sight of the two beaming kiddies, safely delivered to the front door. They are both soon joined by joyous Lucha and Ale, and the kids and adults join together in happy hugs and kisses. Limon reminds Ale of the power of faith. From now on, she’s a believer! This giddy scene is interrupted by the entrance of Yolanda, who lets them know that she came with the kids. Caramelo elaborates further by telling them Yolanda was kidnapped (fue secuestrada) with them. Ale introduces Yolanda to everyone as a friend of her Tio Mario. She is immediately invited to sit down and to eat, and asked if she needs a doctor for her head wound. She takes a seat, turns down the offer for a doctor, and since Chicles already took the two lady-folk to dinner, she is only in need of a bath. They gladly offer her the bath facilities and convince her to also spend the night, with much urging. Lucha is so happy to have her little scamp back that she promises to never scold (regañar) Chicles again (we’ll see how long that lasts). Caramelo moves Yolanda to tears by declaring her to be Tia Yolanda for how well she took care of them during the ordeal. Chicles also thinks Edgar deserves props, leading Ale to wonder what Edgar they are speaking of. They all shoo away the bad thoughts to once again celebrate the return of the kids.

It would be nice if they actually thought of spreading some of that joy on to Elsa, because she is spending a sleepless night of regret and worry. Luckily, she has Kindhearted Ulises to share her woes. Woe #1: Her heated argument with Ale, when what happened to the kids could have happened to anyone. She realizes that her rage (coraje) had to do with feeling that Ale stole JJ from her. Woe #2: JJ was never hers to begin with. He never loved her. Woe #3: Mauricio The Wonderful came into her life, helped build her confidence in herself. And what does she do? She kicked him to the curb. (mandar al diablo/send to the devil) She’s so stupid! She’s done everything wrong. Woe #4: Her little girl is missing, and what if they don’t find her?! She can’t even think about it or what might be happening to her. Ulises thinks she’s having one of those moments, when she’s at a crossroads of confusion and regret thinking about her life. He thinks it’s best if she goes to bed to get some sleep, and pray to San Jose for a miracle. The next thing she needs to do is to stop being stupid about Mauricio. In addition to being an absolute babe (bonbon), he’s also a good man and he loves her like crazy.

Ramon, who is really burning the candle at both ends, calls Leo from the office. They’ve identified the two corpses found at the kidnap site- Pablo Cantu and Luis Delgado (aka Ears). They used to do business with Felix. And their fingerprints appeared on Ale’s car, so they for sure were involved in the kidnapping. All most likely under the orders of Adolfo.

At the hospital Pretty Eddy, who isn’t looking so pretty at the moment, has just been wheeled in to Susana’s room at the hospital. She obviously doesn’t recognize him with his face swollen to twice its normal size and black and blue. Two doctors are attending to the pretty patient who was comatose until recently. They are pleased with her recovery. She gets released tomorrow, but has no friends or relatives to pick her up.

At Adolfo’s, he and his partner (socio) Dante have just come to an agreement. Dante will go see the girl tomorrow. Just as Dante leaves, Adolfo receives a call from the hospital. They found his number in the phone of an unconscious man- around 35 years old, black hair, strong, formerly handsome… Adolfo knows who it is, but says it’s the relative of one of his servants.

Back at Elsa’s, she has not taken Ulises advice to go to sleep, but she has taken his advice to stop being stupid about Mauricio. She calls Mauricio and asks him to accompany her to JJ’s the next day to find out if they’ve learned anything new about the kids. She’s dying of anxiety over the kids and can’t sleep. Mauricio tries to calm her down and asks if she wants him to come over. She turns down the offer since it would be too much to ask of him, but she still wants him to come with her tomorrow. Mau wonders if she just wants him to come with her because she doesn’t want to go alone. She brings a big smile the big guy’s face by telling him the reason why she wants him to come is because she wants to see him.

At the hospital, Adolfo is trying to figure out what happened to Edgar and making sure the police haven’t been brought into the matter. As he talks to the nurse and a comatose Edgar, Susana trembles in fear on the other side of the curtain, recognizing the familiar evil voice. He tells the nurse that he’ll be back tomorrow to transfer him to a private hospital. (Either Eddie will get the same private medical care as Felix, or he’ll be joining Garnica on that “aquatics team.”) A while later, the nurses gossip about the poor man and his injuries- multiple fractures in his arm, and bruises all over his body. And how’s Sleeping Beauty? ( La Bella Durmiente) She’s awake, has all her faculties and no permanent damage.

At Casa Genoves, David and Gabi are showing us that just because you’re married, doesn’t mean you can’t still bring the sexy. They bask naked in afterglow under the sheets. Gabi is promising she can keep a secret, if David tells her all. She wants him to have confidence in her. David decides to tell her a bit more about the plan to foil Adolfo’s plans to kill JJ with a fake hit (asasinato falso), and that’s what he, JJ, and Leo were celebrating when she called (he leaves out Fausto/Mario). Never one to be satisfied with sketchy details, Gabi starts to ask more pointed questions about the whos/whats/whens/wheres/and whys. David puts a halt to her questions, asking her to just trust him. And he has no idea who the mystery woman who has been calling is either. He doesn’t have “amigas”; she’s the only woman in his life. Gabi wonders if it could be a former girlfriend. David doesn’t know and doesn’t care. He’ll speak to whoever it is next time. What he does know is he loves her with his whole soul and he doesn’t want to be with anyone else, he simply can’t. He only wants to be with her. They get back to married couple loving.

At JJ’s it seems that the phone actually works, because Ale is speaking to Leo and telling him about the return of the kids and Yolanda’s involvement. Your recapper is too angry at our two otherwise lovable protagonists to share in their joy about the return of the children, or to really care about JJ’s proposal to Ale get married the next day. She says yes. I’m done with this scene. (Ok, Ale also said some stuff about the guilt killing her, loving Cara and wanting to be her mom.)

Early the next morning, Tia Yolanda sneaks out of the house. And at the hospital, Edgar has woken up from his drug induced sleep and getting news of his injuries from the doctor. He’s obviously in a LOT of pain. On the other side of the curtain, Susana is being discharged and given back all the items she came with, including THE PICTURE and THE SHOES. She clutches the precious shoes to her as the nurse advises her to wear flip flops instead. The doctor joins in. High heels like those are a no no for someone in her condition. She could lose her balance. In addition, she will likely have occasional lapses in memory, but it’s normal. She needs to take it easy and do her rehab exercises, until her body and mind fully heal. Back on the other side of the curtain, Edgar’s doctor tells him about Adolfo’s visit and that he’s coming back today to “transfer him to a private hospital.” Edgar doesn’t like the sound of this and decides he needs to leave, NOW, broken bones and bruises be damned. He tells the doc that he’s got a cousin who’s a doctor who can care for him at home. The doctor wants him to at least make a statement to the police about the guys who beat him up, but Edgar refuses. All he needs are his anti-inflammatory and pain meds prescriptions.

Yolanda returns to her condo and heads straight to Juanita’s room to search the mattress for THE LETTER. She is shocked to find not only the mattress missing, but all of Juanita’s things.

Back at the hospital, Susana get’s discharged just as Edgar is being dressed and put in a sling by the nurse. He finally sees her face, recognizes her, runs after her, and catches her just before she catches a taxi. He hobbles up behind her, scaring her, but convinces her to get into a taxi with him right away before Adolfo arrives. If Adolfo finds them, he’ll KILL them! They pull out just as Adolfo pulls up. He is shocked to find out from the nurse that Edgar already left.

At JJ’s, the whole gang is up, dressed and has visitors—FaustiMario and Leo. I’m guessing there was plenty of time to call Elsa. They explain about Yolanda disappearing before daybreak. FaustiMario is sure Adolfo must be threatening and controlling her, and Ale marvels at how some women will still stick to a man who harms her. Caramelo thinks Yolanda is good peeps (buena gente). The two kids tell Leo the whole story of the kidnapping from the beginning, horrifying the adults with all the scary details. Chicles gets to the part about Edgar letting them escape. Ale thinks it’s a miracle that Edgar, although one of Adolfo’s men, let them escape. They all argue the point about whether someone like that could have good in them.

In the taxi Susana explains how she ended up in the hospital. Edgar tries to talk her out of going back to her apartment since he’s sure Adolfo is on their trail. She insists she has to go to pick up a few things.

The doorbell rings at JJ’s, and the kiddies as usual run to answer the door (haven’t these adults learned anything?). Elsa and Mauricio are shocked to see Chicles answer the door, and even more so when Caramelo leaps into Elsa’s arms a second later. “Como estas chiquita?!” After Caramelo assures her she’s well, a royally ticked Elsa enters the house and wants to know why they didn’t tell her the children were back. JJ looks like he can’t be bothered. Limon tries to act like all it all just happened and they were about to call her. Chicles chooses the wrong moment to start a 100% honesty policy and calls out Limon on his lie. He announces to Elsa that they arrived last night! “Do you think I’m an idiot or what?!” Ale jumps in and says they were all just so excited (emocionados) that they forgot to call her. (Thanks Ale. That makes it all better.) Elsa responds with sarcasm- “Oh, that’s totally understandable. Of course!” Caramelo looks up at her- “Please don’t get mad tia.” This pushes Elsa to her limits. She accuses the Insensitive Gang of influencing Cara to start calling her tia again. JJ doesn’t try to smooth things over, instead he tells Elsa that Caramelo will no longer live with her, but instead will live in HER HOUSE, with HER FAMILY. When Elsa says she’s her mother, JJ yells at her that she’s NO ONE’S mother. He and Ale are getting married and adopting her. Elsa throws his ex convict status and inability to adopt in his face. Mauricio decides to jump in to diffuse the situation. He asks JJ to let Elsa take Cara tonight and then tomorrow they can talk about it calmly. Since everything that comes out of Mauricio’s mouth, including common sense, sounds like a threat to JJ, he goes after Mau and yells at him to butt out. Leo holds JJ back from getting physical with him. “This business is between me and her (Elsa)!” Mauricio says he’s just trying to find a way for them to deal with this in the most just/fair way. (There he goes talking that common sense to JJ again. He should know better by now.) Remember that Elsa has the legal rights over Caramelo, even if you don’t like it. JJ doesn’t like it, so much so that he wants to break Mau’s face. Leo holds JJ back as he yells at Mau, Ale starts yelling as well, and Leo shouts them both down to calm themselves. Caramelo goes over to give her Tio Limon a hug and tells her Tia Elsa that she doesn’t want to leave him. This is music to Limon’s ears. “What did you say my love?” “I want to live here with you. I don’t want to be apart from my Tio Limon. I want to be with him always!” She also wants to be with the whole gang who live in the house. JJ looks at Elsa smugly, as she clings sadly to Mau. Mau tries talking common sense again and tells Cara that she has to live with Elsa because she’s her mom (Social Services would likely agree with this). Elsa stops him and graciously says to leave her. If she doesn’t want to live with me, so be it. When she leaves, JJ and the gang act like they just defeated the Evil Witch of the West. Ding dong the witch is dead. Cara is the only one who has remorse that her Tia Elsa left being so sad. Well she’ll just have to get used to it because you’ll be living here with us! Cara wonders if this means that Ale will be her mama. Limon loves this idea! (Could it be because Ale will be living in the same house? If she wanted to live somewhere else, without Limon around, he’d change his tune.) Happy, happy, joy, joy!

At her police sealed apartment, Susana discovers that the money and the butter diamonds have been taken. “Me robaron todo!” (They stole everything from me!) Her shouts bring the landlord who is none too happy to see her. She accuses him of stealing her money and her butter. He didn’t touch anything; it was the cops and he’s going to call them now to tell them she’s returned. Edgar tries to hustle Susana out of the apartment. When the landlord tries to detain them, he gets a swift whack to his family jewels from Eddie’s cane. He’s left rolling on the floor in agony as Edgar and Susana flee.

Adolfo is scouring the newspapers for news of last night’s hit on JJ when he is interrupted by a call from Leo. “What the hell do you want?! Make an appointment with my secretary!” Leo needs to talk to him right now. In fact, he’s in his house. “Que?!” He opens his office door and is greeted by the stern face of Leo.

Mauricio drops off Elsa at her door. She asks to be alone so she can think about everything that happened. Mau looks a bit put out, fearing he’s getting the cold shoulder again. Elsa asks him to have patience with her one more time. It’s just that what happened with Caramelo really hurt her. He knows. That’s why he wants to be with her to support her. But he doesn’t want to be taken for granted and ignored. She admits she has been self centered (egoista) in the past and taken advantage of him. But she loves him and she wants to be with him. She touches his cheek. Right now she just needs to be alone. He agrees to leave her alone, but he’ll be in his office if she needs anything. He goes in for the kiss on the cheek, but newly bold Elsa changes the trajectory and plants a firm smooch right on his kissable lips. They are in the midst of being transported by this kiss when Ulises interrupts. He’s happy to see the pair reunited.

Adolfo, however, is not happy to see Leo. This is harassment! If he doesn’t have a warrant for arrest or concrete proof, then he’s going to bring Leo up on charges of abuse of power. Leo’s not bothered. Proof is steadily coming to light. Adolfo still thinks they’ve got nothing on him. He’s not going to fall for these pressure tactics that they learn at the police academy. Unless Leo has an order from a judge, he needs to beat it. Leo’s ok with that. He just came for a social visit. He makes his way out, but then turns back to Adolfo. If Adolfo is looking for news of JJ’s murder in the papers, then he’s wasting his time. “Victoria no esta muerto.” The one Hernandez killed was a guard. Now they’ve got him in questioning and he mentioned a guy named Edgar Lopez, who he believes works for Adolfo. He used to work for the Genoves and is the prime suspect in Roberto’s murder. Adolfo plays dumb. He doesn’t know the guy. Leo goes on. This Edgar escaped from the cops after the attempt on JJ. Speaking of JJ, he gave the police the address of the location where two bodies were found. These same two were the ones who kidnapped two children from Ale’s car. “You don’t know anything about this?” Adolfo has had enough. He orders Leo to go. Fine by Leo. Soon he’ll have the pleasure of seeing Adolfo in jail.

Dante is at Elsa’s door with his two goons, outnumbering Elsa and Ulises. Ulises has her back as she tells Dante that she doesn’t want to talk to him and orders him to leave. He convinces her to talk to him, and Ulises to leave. Ulises says he will be in his apartment, but instead he sticks close by listening on the other side of the door. Dante wants to know exactly what Elsa told the cops. She defiantly tells him she told them the truth about what happened. That he had her sell jewels that didn’t have bills of sale, although he told her they did. He calls her stupid, since the problem was easily fixed with him giving the clients back their money. Elsa doesn’t know why he’s coming to look for her. The one who should be upset here is her, for him having involved her in something so disgusting (asqueroso). Dante doesn’t think he’s responsible for dragging Snow White through the mud. He’s done some investigating and found out she has a brother in jail for murder and smuggling. He’s sure she has the same criminal tendencies in the blood. Elsa tells them to get the heck out. Ulises senses the moment is getting tense and springs back into Elsa’s apartment. He threatens to call the cops if Dante doesn’t leave. He and Elsa stare them down as they exit. “Shoo shoo shoo.” Ulises begs Elsa’s forgiveness for having connected her with Zaida for the job. She tells him not to worry about it.

At the hotel Edgar explains that he’s hiding from Adolfo because he didn’t do something he ordered him to do. He has her order his meds though room service, since it’s too dangerous for her to go out. She will be his life line, and he swears he’ll protect her. He’s not going to hurt her. Now he wants her to explain the money and the butter.

At Casa Genoves, Ale interrupts Gabi and David’s meal with the happy news of the return of the kids. She then shocks them with the news of Yolanda and Edgar’s roles in the whole drama. Anyway, she has to head to the beauty salon, because JJ wants them to get married tomorrow! Gabi jumps up and gives her cousin (unbeknownst to her) a congratulatory hug. Ale convinces Gabi to come with her. They run off leaving David.

Back in the hotel, Susana has just given Edgar his shots, using her nursing aid experience from the States. Now it’s time to spill the details. She tells Edgar about the 1.5 million pesos that was in her bag, but hesitates. Edgar once again begs her to trust him. She begins the tale, detailing how she found Dora’s letter, then the photo of Gabi and the connection to the shoes she is wearing this very moment. Edgar’s still not getting the importance of all this. Then Susana takes off her shoe and shows Edgar what’s inside. Huge, sparkling DIAMONDS! Edgar is speechless.

Labels: verdad

ALGUIEN TE MIRA – últimas semanas

We’ve had horrible moments of graphic violence before but nothing like the sustained hideous sadism of Julián’s triple murder: Daniel’s lawyer, the lawyer’s secretary, and finally, Daniel himself.

Up to now, Julián has eluded justice with a combination of meticulous planning, skill and dumb luck. But this time -- this time! -- we were sure the forensic evidence would be irrefutable. The detectives would analyze the murder scene checking for things like gunshot residue, bullet trajectory, skill needed to resect a heart and suture the wound closed. And they would conclude that the scene was only staged to make Daniel Vidal appear guilty. They would know that Vidal was just a victim here. And this would lead them back to the police investigators’ prime suspect: Julián García.

Well. Obviously it didn’t happen that way. This Chicago Police Department is hobbled by forensic science more suitable to a 1940’s film noir than a modern-day thriller. Luisa Carvajal’s objections are drowned out by her superiors. They buy Julián’s staged crime. He goes free.

We move ahead several months. Despite Julián’s best efforts to incriminate him as the accomplice of Daniel Vidal, Rodrigo is finally exonerated and set free.

The bellies on Lola and Piedad are ready to pop. Even Lucía looks pregnant now -- whether it’s with a pillow or a baby, we can only guess.

Pedro Pablo is still in exile from the family home although amazingly, he has managed to keep clear of Lucía. Now that Rodrigo is free, Pedro Pablo will have to find somewhere else to live.

Benja is on the straight and narrow, living with Lola and the girls and seeing his kids regularly. He’d like to get back with Tati but she’s decided it’s her turn to be the wild girl. Uh oh. Alguien te mira, Tatiana!

Camila is a college girl. Let’s hope nobody tells her about Spring Break or the College Girls Gone Wild franchise.

Matilde is home with her parents and Emilio. Her emotional reactions to names and events are eloquent. Unfortunately, we, the viewers, are the only ones who can read them. Her doctor tells her parents about a surgical procedure that may help her. Julián does his best to scare them away from it.

In her campaign to win Rodrigo’s love, Valeria has finally taken the gloves off. Literally. Hat’s off, too. Not that it helps – he’s still obsessed with pea-brain Piedad.

Piedad promises to call him for the baby’s birth. She insists her engagement with Julián is still on but she is living apart from him until after the baby is born.

Julián’s Dr. Jekyll is determined to keep his Mr. Hyde at bay. You can almost hear him muttering under his breath: Must. not. kill. While the ever-more seductive Fantasma de Eva whispers in his ear: You know you want to.
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Okay. Your turn.

Labels: alguien, aurora, herederos, telemundo