Caray, Caray!

There's a replay of Pablito's heartbreak and the sisters' confrontation with Tadeo, and the sisters leave. Juan tells his remaining audience that they've completed their vow to Libia, and now it's time to move on.

But that night, he rides into the darkness calling Sofía's name. He throws himself into the swimmin' hole, fully clothed. I think he's trying to drown himself, but maybe not, as he rises to the surface and shouts "No more pain! No more tears! I'm a dried-up tree!" (I know this is an odd thing to say, but if you Google "árbol seco" you get tons of hits - I think there's some cultural significance.)

The full moon shines through a tree that isn't completely dried up, but has probably seen better days.

Sofi meets Tadeo at the church to donate all of her clothing to the health clinic. (Interesting, because she left most of her clothes behind when she left the hacienda too - and Gabi planned to burn them.) She doesn't want the clothes to remind her of the time she spent at the Reyes' house. Tadeo warns her not to make this decision all by herself. She and Juan have a sacred bond. "Love is of two." Sofi says "betrayal is of one," and if it had really been love between two, it wouldn't have been destroyed with deception and lies.

She hands him bundles of clothes, old and new, and recognizes the wedding dress Juan bought for her. (Tadeo watches hopefully as she flashes back to when Juan gave her the dress; Juan turned away so that he wouldn't doom them with bad luck by seeing her hold it up to herself.) Sofía gets weepy but doesn't change her mind. "How wrong I was. The lie destroyed the strongest love." She hands him the dress.

Meanwhile, Oscar looks at his mother's ring that he gave to Jimena and remembers giving it to her in their heart-shaped outdoor honeymoon suite. Meanwhile, while playing the guitar and singing a sad song, Franco remembers some of his various early run-ins with Sarita, none of which seem very promising in my opinion.

The sisters tell their grandfather what happened. "all that time, they were just lying to us! And to think that you protected and defended them!" He apologizes to them, but says they fooled him too, and he's a fool, and he's lost the most important battle of his life, which was to protect the girls instead. That's what hurts the most. They gather around him and commiserate over having been deceived by vengeance.

Juan gets home, still wet, and scolds his brothers for their long faces. They need to move on and get back what's theirs - the hacienda, their land, their origins. Oscar asks why. Without their women, why bother? Franco agrees. He doesn't feel like fighting. Juan says they need to start over again. He makes them do the "Reyes are united" thing.

Eva goes to the bakery. Quintina stops her and says it's best if she doesn't go in - the girls have left, but first they and the boys exchanged a lot of terrible words and it's going to take a long time for them to forget.

Still at Grandpa's, Sofi tells her sisters that if there's one way that they're similar to the Reyes, it's that they're always united. "From now on, we'll be more united than ever!" Grandpa applauds.

Gabriela shows up. "Such a moving scene." Grandpa tells her not to spew any venom, "because this time I'm up for anything!" (Yeah, like what?) Gabi whines that he's always up for defending them against her, but not from "the strangers." She blames him for what happened. "Only you!"

Sofi defends him. "If you came here to enjoy our pain, go ahead, Ma, do it!" They're suffering and they won't hide it.

Gabi puts on her earnest face and says no, no, in no way does is she pleased about their pain. They've always accused her of not loving them, of being a bad mom, but all she cares about is protecting them. "A mother never makes a mistake, but you've never given me a break. They've been laughing at you. Now you can understand my pain when I found out that your father had cheated on me, but there's no grudge in my heart. So you can move back in whenever you want. It's still your house, and I'm your mother."

Sofi asks what will happen if they move back in? Will she make them bow their heads in subordination? Gabi sadly declares that Sofi's still defiant even after suffering the worst humiliations a woman can. Sofi says Gabi knows more than anyone that she's lost everything, not just her dignity. Gabi says she'll respect their decisions, when they respect her opinions as their mother, they'll all go back to normal if they each do their part.

Grandpa expresses doubt. She scolds him because he's always nagging her to be nice, and now that she's finally doing it, he's doubting her. "Is there no way to please you, Father?"

Sarita steps forward and says she believes Gabi and totally agrees with everything. They hug and make up. "I expected no less from you," Gabi says proudly.

"I'll come back too. I hope you can follow through on what you just promised," Jimena says.

"What do you say, Sofía? What's your decision?" Sofi says she appreciates the offer, but she isn't sure why she should go back to the house - "you continually make me feel as if I'm not your daughter."

Eva is at Rosario's, saying she deserves all of Grandpa's hate, and she's afraid to face the sisters. She thinks she should find them and ask for forgiveness, but she feels too badly. Rosario tries to comfort her and offers to go with her if she wants to talk to them, but asks her to be strong and not let them win. "That's what you've taught me." Eva wants to go alone, so that her problem with them doesn't interfere with Rosario's relationship with them.

The cantina crowd is cheering in anticipation, so Rosario goes to her public. Eva prays and practices asking the sisters' forgiveness. Rosario sings a sad song about things going wrong, and breaking a mirror and getting bad luck. "Then, and only then, you'll cry." Eva watches proudly in the audience.

Sofi follows her mother into her study, demanding to know whether she's her daughter or not. "Of course you're my daughter! What happened is that... look, we'll save this conversation for another time. I told you you're my daughter and that I welcome you with open arms. Isn't that good enough?"

Sofi says fine, but we're going to have that conversation, preferably real soon. Gabi impatiently agrees and asks how such a dainty girl as Sofi could have fallen in lough with that coarse brute? Sofi sits down and says she'll speak woman-to-woman. Juan awakened in her feelings that she had thought were dead. She goes on to describe all the feelings that Feo has awakened in Gabi - albeit in twisted form - helping her conquer her fears. Gabi looks thoroughly nauseated and says "I never thought that one day I'd hear one of my daughters speak like a... a slut." Sofi is not fazed and says that if a slut is someone who dares to love, then indeed that could be her. She lectures her mother some more about the glory of love. "Too bad you'll never get to know this."

Gabi seems overwhelmed by... it's hard to say what, but she's not happy. Sofi excuses herself.

Sofi has changed her clothes (I don't know where this dress came from) and restores her bell collection. Then she sits on her bed and remembers some happy times she had there when Juan snuck up to see her. "Why, Juan? Why?"

Grandpa chastises Juan for abusing his goodwill and taking advantage of him after he stuck up for them. "And all that for what? So you could repay me with betrayal." (Like the time Oscar scoured the countryside trying to spring him out of the old folks' home and later saved him from a snake? Or the time Juan saved him from falling down the stairs in his wheelchair? The time all three of them hoisted him, wheelchair and all, down from his balcony so that he could harrass Gabi? Yeah, what a bunch of jerks!!) And of course Juan disappointed him the most. "I thought you were gallant, but now I see you're a coward." He tries to get Juan to answer. "Even the worst delinquents find some words to defend themselves." Juan says he doesn't want to defend himself. Grandpa's right; they were wrong and now they must pay for their mistake.

Grandpa asks why. Juan says it was for the pain of losing their sister. Oscar adds that it's also for Bernardo tricking them. Grandpa insists that Bern really loved Libia. Oscar says Bern never told them he was married and had a family. Juan says Bern tricked their sister, and that's why they tricked Grandpa's granddaughters. "Bernardo deserves to be pardoned, but not us?" Grandpa has no answer. He pats Juan's arm. Juan pulls away.

Now Sofi is visiting her father. She's mad at him. "If you'd been honest with Libia from the start, none of this would have happened! Now we're paying for your guilt, Dad!" Then she begs his forgiveness for speaking to him that way and prays for him to help her.

Next Grandpa proceeds, in front of Pablito, to scold and fire Quintina for her loyalty to the Reyes. He fires her. She begs him not to and says it's hard for a squire to serve two masters. She doesn't even mention that time when they were in that crash and Grandpa was unconscious. She ran back to the Reyes', presumably on foot, to summon help.

He doesn't even want to see her again. "What am I going to do without you?" she asks tearfully. "I'll die of sadness."

Pablito salutes and asks if he's demoted too, if he can't be his general any more. "Kids have nothing to do with the problems adults. You can visit as often as you want."

Quintina begs a little more, but is rebuffed. "Bye, Quintina. Goodbye forever."

Jimena remembers getting the ring in the heart-shaped ring of candles and rose petals, and then she remembers giving it back.

Oscar washes dishes at the bakery. (The neck brace and sling are for real, by the way; Jorge Salinas fell off his horse.) He flashes back to Jimena giving back the ring too, and saying "save it for your next revenge."

Juan looks at the Robles-Reyes baptismal gown that Sofi left behind. He throws it into the Magical Mystery Trunk and slams it shut. Oscar says Juan's not eating or sleeping, just drinking coffee. He'll get sick. He tells Juan to pull himself together. Juan says he's nobody without Sofía. He has no reason to smile or to cry. He's a dried-up tree, he's got a dried-up soul and a dried-up heart. He has no hope of Sofía forgiving them. He's got nothing to lose. He has no tears (he says, wiping his eyes). He'll never cry. Never! Oscar pats his shoulder.

Sofi talks to her still-flat belly and promises that she'll be both mother and father to him. Feo comes in and humbly offers his help and support. He wants to show that he's not the bad person she thinks he is. Since they're still married, he's willing to register their child in his name. He'll promise to care for him as if his own. Sofi nixes this and asks, "how can you imagine yourself as father? You treat your true child Luisito so badly. I don't need you."

He promises to be a better dad from now on. "I hope so," Sofi answers, "for the good of your child. Good night!" He humbly and politely leaves.

"You don't need a father, my dear," she tells her belly. "You've already got one... though perhaps you'll never know him." She sighs.

Next day, Quintina is distracted and knocks over a sheet of rolls. Juan angrily chews her out. "I'm not annoyed, dang it!" he screams. "Just pay attention. That's all I ask!" Oscar and Franco pat her shoulder as she slinks out, hurt. Oscar and Franco ask him to calm down and remind him that they're going through the same thing he is, but it's unfair to take it out on others. Juan seems determined to jealously guard his pain. Then he has a mood swing and says they've got to put all their energy into getting their stuff back. They've already avenged Libia. Now it's time to avenge their parents.

They start by going to the lawyer and asking him to hurry up and resolve their claim. The lawyer explains that these things take a long time, they need to be patient, plus they haven't even brought him all the required documents yet. Oscar says they've been looking. Franco says they need an answer. The lawyer says they can have their answer after they complete all the legal proceedings. If any documents are missing, justice will be delayed, he won't be able to continue, and regrettably they'll lose their land.

Meanwhile, Raquel gripes to Benito that Ricardo's "famous friend" still hasn't shown up. Not even any news of him. Benito weakly suggests that she be patient. Panicked, she reminds him that the Reyes could win the judgment and throw them out of the house. Benito says they need to find the documents that prove the hacienda belongs to them. Raq says she's looked everywhere. They've got nothing to show that Ricardo acquired these lands legally.

Sarita's all recovered from her heartbreak, angrily saying she's not going to cry over those bricklayers because that'd be just like giving them the pleasure of vengeance all over again. Jimena is not quite ready for this stage of mourning yet. She tells Sarita to look her in the eye and say she's not suffering for having lost Franco. She reminds Sarita that he could go back to Rosario.

Rosario runs into Franco. She tries to express sympathy over what happened. He apologizes for all the hurt he caused her. She apologizes to him for his two brushes with death, which she feels were her fault. (Why blame Feo?) He says maybe those were to show her how much he loved her. He says he's still married to Sarita and will respect that even though they're separated now. Still, he'd like to know why she dumped him.

"I never stopped loving you. I stayed away from you because I'm not the right woman for you. So I decided to sacrifice my love for you so that you could be happy with Sarita. But I never stopped loving you, never." She totters off in those crazy shoes.

Juan shows up at Father Tadeo's office. "Why'd you send for me? Supposedly it's urgent?" Sofi is two steps behind him. "Good afternoon, Padre..." She and Juan stare at each other. "Why'd you send for me?" she asks, but she already knows the answer...

"To save your love, my children! To save your love!"

Nice try, Padre.

Mexico airdate: 29 de Mayo
Word of the day: Trámites - Steps, formalities, procedures, proceedings

Next time:
Feo acts like a jerk, giving the sisters a new, improved version of his last conversation with Bernardo. Granpa questions some of the details.

Labels: Fuego

Chef Ern is trying to figure out a way to use his niece and nephew to score with Lorena when he gets the call that his sister and brother in law died in a car crash. He asks Lorena not to leave him alone. They all get in the car and head back to his house. He leaves Lorena in charge of the kids while he goes to the morgue to identify the bodies. He tells Lorena to call his other nephew Ivan, who gets out of school later than the little ones, and to call Raimundo and fill him in.

Arturo finds Valeria on the street and tries to sweet talk her, she gives him the hand and tells him to keep on walking.

Jaime finds Maruja and they chat, she gives him a big hug and then thinks she is being too intimate, Jaime says except for Vasco that was the first hug in a looooong time that he has received that had any real feeling behind it. They go inside somewhere and chat for a while, Jaime says he’s getting divorced and starting over, which includes Maruja’s friendship, if she allows it. Maruja has a look that says she’ll allow more than that but she’s trying to appear demure.

Lorena calls Ivan, who is pretty rude to her and tells her “whatever lady I’ll come home later don’t call me any more.”

Alonso makes promises he can’t keep to Florencia, then fumes about it in his office. Valeria tells him to chill out and tells him that it’s working out well for her and her kids staying at Paula’s house.

Ivan shows up at Paula’s house and is told that the little kids are Bettina’s cousins. Ivan and Bettina talk about Lorena and can’t figure out if she’s cool or not.

Chef Ern returns home and has a good cry. When he goes to the other room to see the kids, the doorbell rings and it’s Monica. I guess Raimundo filled her in too and she’s here to take advantage of Ern’s state, I mean, she’s here to help. She immediately kicks Lorena out of the house. I guess she can’t carry out her inappropriate seduction with her there, right?

Vasco and his mother interview a nurse, her previous experience is in a psych hospital. Vasco thinks she’s all wrong until Barbara tells him that Sara is crazy, maybe this lady will recognize it and be able to protect Hortensia. Vasco buys it and they hire her. Nurse Ratchet has even less personality than Alonso and she walks like a robot. I predict that Sara will make short work of her.

The director lady of Clinic #23 calls in Alonso, she tells him that she made a big mistake before giving Bruno the promotion, as of right now Alonso is the new boss. Alonso’s expression doesn’t change AT ALL. I mean not even a twitch. Maybe if she made him a bad sandwich she could get a reaction. Nothing. He looks as confused and constipated as ever. He goes back to his office, where Sara is fuming that he had the nerve to not just stay chained to his desk. He needs to dump her, and quick. He proudly tells her of his promotion, she immediately craps all over it saying that it isn’t as good as being a director or going to a hospital, but whatever. He manages to emote his annoyance in this scene, so he is alive after all, not a robot. If this were a real life buddy, this would call for the old take him to a bar under false pretenses and spend hours hammering into him that he needs to dump his girl treatment.

Monica is very unsympathetic to Ern, who wishes she wasn’t there. Eventually Ivan shows up and Ern takes him to the other room and tells him his parents died in an accident. He stops being a typical pain in the ass teenager for a minute to look impactado.

Ivan has quite a meltdown, directing much of his anger at Ern. Understandable considering his age, his bad attitude about everything, and the situation. Raimundo eventually shows up and saves Ern from Monica, he takes her home with him.

At the restaurant, Rosy and Lorena talk about how bad it is for these little kids to lose their parents this way. On a side note, I have to say this is the calmest restaurant kitchen of all time. I have worked in some aspect of the restaurant business for most of my career and let me tell you – no kitchen on earth is like this. Even when it’s a slow day, there is noise noise noise. Usually there is some horrible Mexican music blasting away from the dishwashing/prep area, then lots of yelling between the kitchen staff and wait staff. I guess that wouldn’t fit in right with the scene, so they didn’t keep it real.

Sara tries to tell Alonso about her big plans for Hort coming home and how she’s all that and everything else too, he is starting to get tired of her and it’s obvious. She tries to distract him with some nookie but he says no thanks, and leaves. She fumes. I would congratulate Alonso on waking up but I’m not sure he really is waking up, he’s just tired of her because she doesn’t fawn all over him all the time.

Lorena comes to Ern’s house after closing the restaurant, he’s up in arms about what to do with the kids. Ivan comes out and confronts him again, did he tell the younger ones that their parents are dead? He swears that if Ern doesn’t tell them, he’ll do it himself. Much crying from everyone. Ern’s crying isn’t ugly at all, Ivan’s is a good 6 on the scale. He’d be higher except he has a damn good reason to be crying. Stay tuned for some blubbering that ranks higher on the scale.

In bed, Zulema and Omar talk about what a disappointment Sara is. Zulema tries to start something up with Omar who (I’m not kidding) physically pushes her back away from him. Obviously, she is offended by this and says he doesn’t find her attractive any more and she feels horrible. He tries to kiss up to her but she isn’t having it and she turns out the lights.

Valeria is with the girls, crying about leaving home. She is worried about harming the kids, the others say the kids will survive, they are the voice of experience with divorce. Greta tries to steer the conversation to pity about her own divorce but Maruja very adroitly nips that in the bud and calls her out on being a drama queen. They are here for Valeria today, not for Greta. They all pledge their support to Valeria.

Meanwhile, Arturo is in his t-shirt and pajama bottoms, on the phone with Jackie telling her that he isn’t going to come meet her. She gets bitchy and he tells her to quit calling him and hangs up on her. Stupid blonde mother comes in, pulling an 8 on the ugly crying scale, whining about the kids being gone. I hope this isn’t the beginning of an attempted redemption of Arturo – he defends Valeria, saying she wouldn’t ever keep the kids away from them, and that she is right and he is wrong, he’s stupid, etc. Oh no you don’t – no sympathy from me you dirtball.

I guess Vasco didn’t tell Sara that they were hiring a nurse, because Sara is getting info from Alonso about taking care of Hortensia. Of course Sara just wants to kill her so I guess she wasn’t thinking about a nurse. Alonso says she needs to hire someone, it’s a big deal to take care of her. He gets an emergency call and leaves, Sara worries about him being so distant. Um, maybe because you are an evil, self-centered bitch? Just a thought. Sara walks out to the front desk, Vasco is there. Let me recap this conversation old school style –

Sara – ok I have the papers to take Grandma home. If you have a problem with it tell the doctor.

Vasco – nope, no problem.

S – ok I’ll take her in my car.

V – ok, I’m coming with you.

S – Enough already!

V – No it isn’t enough. You are capable of doing anything, like pushing her out of the car and saying it was an accident. I’m coming with you and staying at the house. I won’t leave you alone with her for one single minute!

S – You’re coming back to the house?

V – Yes, why so surprised? Did you think you’d get rid of me that easily?

Vasco does a good job in this scene – he has the upper hand and he knows it. He’s calm and cool. Sara just flares her nostrils and fumes.

Barbara moves back into the mansion and is glad to be home. The maid asks about Jaime, Barb says he has other plans.

Jaime gets turned down for a job, he’s overqualified. He says he doesn’t care, he’ll take whatever. Is he being turned away because of all the nasty business? The guy, who looks like a troll, says no no nothing like that, hey if I find something I’ll call you, good luck. He didn’t add “don’t let the door hit you on the way out” but it was there, unsaid.

Zulema tells Maruja that she thinks Omar has another woman, because they almost never get busy. Maruja asks a bunch of questions, like does he come home late, is he wearing cologne, is he trying to look younger? No, no, and no. Then he isn’t cheating! This makes Zulema even sadder, because it means he just isn’t interested in her.

Omar appears to be having trouble at work, he doesn’t know how to use a computer. His smarmy boss talks down to him and makes him feel stupid.

Hort finally comes home. Vasco and Barbara wheel her into her room, with Sara close behind. The nurse presents herself, Sara is more confused than ever. Vasco and Barbara present a united front – they hired her, she is in charge of Hort 24 hours a day. Sara stomps off, looking like she’ll start crying. After she’s gone, Vasco tells the nurse that Sara isn’t allowed near Hort for any reason.

Sara yells at her empty room, Vasco comes in and tells her to shut up. She gets indignant about him hiring the nurse, he says her protestations make her look that much more guilty. She says she won’t allow him to keep accusing her, he says he won’t allow her to kill Grandma!

Ern has finally broken the news to the little ones that their parents are dead. The little girl is crying like her REAL parents are dead, I wonder what they told the poor girl to make her cry so realistically. Ivan looks on from the other room.

Sara finds Chalo in the mansion, she wants him to leave but he wants to live there. Barbara comes in and sees him, Sara says he’s some guy looking for work and Chalo butts in saying that Sara already hired him, he’s the new chauffer. Sara looks nervous, Chalo looks satisfied, Barbara looks suspicious. I would be too, most people don’t go looking for jobs in shirts open to their belly buttons like Chalo’s shirt.

Tomorrow – Alonso wants to dump Sara (woo hoo! Please go through with it), Chalo squeezes Sara some more, Sara threatens Lorena not to tell about her and Chalo but Lorena isn’t afraid of her. Looks like Sara’s web of lies is slooowwly starting to unravel.

Labels: enemiga

NOW COMPLETE

Hi everybody, this is your substitute recaper. As always I wish I could be faster, but alas English is my second language and takes me a while to construct readable sentences. Enjoy!


We begin with our detectives extraordinaire gaping at Jacky and Ickturo kiss. Greta fumbles with the camera and takes a picture. Paula is extremely happy; she knew that Jacky would betray Dario, but she never thought that she would do it so soon. She can’t wait to give Dario the news.

In the hotel room, Jacky and Ickturo are talking about their work. Ickturo is almost certain that without Hortensia, Sara will bankrupt the company. Jacky is worried because she doesn’t want to lose her job. Ickturo reminds her that “a rio revuelto, ganancia de pescadores” (if the river is whirling the fishermen will catch more fish) He plans to clean the company up before Sara. Jacky likes this plan.

Ray tries to have a civilized conversation with Dario; he asks politely if he thinks that Paula will take long to come back. Dario tells him that he is sure that Paula will take a loooong time. Ray tells him that he will wait for her. Betina comes into the room, and Ray tries to break the tension by introducing himself to her. Betina (as always) goes straight and to the point; yes, I know who you are; yes, my mother has talked about you; but, no she doesn’t love you because she still loves my father. She then turns to Dario and asks for help with her homework thus leaving Ray with no option but to leave. When he leaves, Betina tells her father to divorce Jacky and come back home with them. Dario tells her that he would love to do that.

At the hospital Barbara is whining (so what’s new). She tells Vasco that she is tired and wants to go home. Vasco tells her that they will leave as soon as he has heard from the Doctor. Barbara is relieved because she thought that Vasco wanted to stay with Hortensia. Vasco tells her that Hortensia is safe right now because she is in the emergency care unit, but he is sure that Sara will try to kill Hortensia later. He wants to hire a nurse to take care of his grandma, but not just any nurse; he wants somebody tough, somebody that won’t get intimidated by Sara. He asks his mother to see if she can find somebody like that. Alonslow comes in and tells them that Hortensia’s situation is the same.

At the restaurant, Ernesto thanks Lorena for recommending Maruja. Lorena tells him that she was sure that they would get along because they are the same. Rosi comes in to pick up a salad and a steak for a costumer, but she is not her usual happy self. Lorena wants to know what’s wrong. Rosi tells her about the photo session and how ugly she feels. Lorena tells her to cheer up; she has something that the other girls don’t have: Julian’s love.

At casa pobre Julian is talking to his parents. He tells them how happy he is with his new job. He likes everything especially the girls. His mother reminds him that Rosi is the jealous type. He tells her that he is being extra careful; he even took Rosi to his photo session. He changes the conversation and asks Oscar about Hortensia. He tells him that he doesn’t have any news.
At Alonslow’s house, the black widow (I’m still hoping against hope that she is just an unlucky person and not a murderer) brings Toribio into her house. He is blindfolded and tells her that he won’t complaint if she takes advantage of him. She then takes the blindfold off and shows him the food that she prepared. Toribio wants to know where she got the money to buy everything. She tells him that she used part of the money that he gave her. She says we'll eat the right way today and she implies that tomorrow the'll figure out something else.

Alonslow and Sara are at the evil mansion. Sara wants some love, but Alonslow is not in the mood. He tells her that he can’t do the deed there, besides he is very tired and wants to rest. He kisses her good night and leaves. Sara has a flash back of Chalo telling her that Alonslow doesn’t love her, and she tells us with clutched teeth that she doesn’t find any satisfaction in having everything if Alonslow doesn’t belong to her. Cut to commercials.

Back from commercials. Lorena is closing the doors of the restaurant and looks pensive. Rosi wants to know what the matter with her is. Lore tells her that she saw Alonslow at her school. Rosi asks if she felt something (“te pudo?”). Lorena tells her that no, she didn’t feel anything, but she is a little curious; she doesn’t understand why Chalo didn’t tell Alonslow. She believes that Sara and Chalo share more than just the bed. They must share a very dark secret.

At the kitchen, Maruja is telling Ernensto that they are going to need to expand the fridge. Monica walks in and wants to know what they are talking about. Maruja tells her the idea. Monica is all smiles and tells them that she thinks is a great idea and she would like to hear more about it. Maruja leaves and Ernesto wants to know what the reason behind her attitude change is. Monica tells him that she wants to make love not war and since she is a very determined woman, she has decided that she will get Ernesto back. She calls him my “amorcito”. Ernesto tells her that he is not her “amorcito” and he also is a very determined man, however because he wants peace in the restaurant, he won’t argue with her. He leaves the kitchen and Monica looks hopeful.

Alonslow arrives to his house. He feels guilty because he thinks he is deceiving Sara. He tells us that he can’t stand being with her. He starts looking for his father and can’t find him.

Toribio is still at his neighbor’s house. The black widow tells him that she had forgotten how fast the champagne goes to her head. She tells him that the last time she celebrated was at a funeral. Toribio asks her if she celebrates at funerals. She tells him that at the beginning she didn’t, but then she got used to celebrating after burying so many husbands… oops she realizes her mistake when Toribio asks her what husbands. She tells him that she is talking about her friend's husbands. –Didn’t you say that you didn’t have any friends? She changes the conversation and tells him that he is not as drunk as she tought. Toribio says that he is not drunk and to show her, he stands up and tries to walk in a straight line. He promptly fells and doesn’t get up. Black widow goes to check on him and realizes he is asleep.

At Rosi and Maruja’s house, Rosi is measuring herself. She is very unhappy with her body. Lore tells her to stop it because she is very pretty. Julian comes in and when he notices that Rosi is in a bad mood. He tells her that he would rather leave and come back another day, he doesn’t want Rosi to dampen his mood. He is still remembering the photo session when he receives a phone call. It is “Elenita” and she tells him that he looks kind of overweight in the photos. He needs to start a diet. Now Julian is the one worried about his body.

Paula arrives at her house and finds Dario sleeping in the couch. He wakes up with a start, and Paula runs to hug him. Dario misinterprets, he thinks that Paula wants something else and tries to kiss her. Paula tells him to stop it; it is not what he thinks. She needs him she is going to show him something that he needs to see. She hugs him again and Dario tells her that she drives him mad. Paula looks at him with pity and tells him that he will go mad once he sees what she has to show him. She pulls him by the arm and they leave.

The other half of the detective team is at Valeria’s house. After making sure that “La fiera” (the mother in law) is asleep, she tells Valeria everything about Ickturo’s affair. Valeria can’t believe it. She knew that something was wrong, but now she doesn’t know what to do. Greta tells her that she should take a decision. And if she decides to leave Ickturo, she and all of the other friends are there to help her.

Meanwhile Paula took Dario to his house; he goes into a defensive mood. Is she trying to get him into trouble with Jacky? (I can’t believe Dario, just a few minutes ago he told his daughter that he wanted to come back with Paula and now he doesn’t want to upset Jackeline?) Paula tells him that no, she is way over that, what she wants is to help him open his eyes. He wants explanations. She tells him that she’ll explain, but they have to go into his house.

Alonslow is looking for his father; he goes to the neighbor’s house and asks her if she knows where his father is. She tells him that he is sleeping, but when she tries to explain, he tells her that he doesn’t need an explanation, that his father is an adult and can do whatever he pleases. He then tells her good bye and leaves. She thinks to herself that it is better that he things bad of her than for him to know that his father is drunk.

Back at Dario’s house, Paula sits herself in the couch and tells Dario to relax. Dario tells her that it better not be another of her scandals. Paula tells him that she is not like that anymore. She tells him that before, she used to dream with the day when he would know what kind of woman is Jacky, and today is that day.

At Ickturo’s house Greta is holding a sobbing Valeria, she still can’t believe it, however she has the proof now; she can’t denied it anymore. She suddenly toughens up and tells Greta that she won’t let him deceive her any more; she needs a copy of the picture because she will divorce him. Greta tells her that she’ll get it for her and excuses herself she has to go, but she tells Valeria that she has all their (Maruja, Paula and Greta’s) support.

Dario is very nervous; he is drinking and still thinks that Paula is trying to create problems with Jacky. Paula asks how much money she(Jacky) has spend. He acknowledges that Jacky likes to spend more money than what is reasonable. Paula laughs and tells him that he has always been a penny-pincher. Dario says that she never understood that it is good to save for the future. Paula says that his future was with “her”. Dario drinks more, Paula tells him not to drink too much, and he needs to be sober for what is coming. Jacky walks in right then and throws a hissy fit when she sees Paula. She orders Dario to kick Paula out. Paula smiles and tells her to sit down and shut up. Dario backs Paula and tells Jacky to sit down and asks her where she is coming from. Jacky finally understands that something is wrong and is at a loss for words. Paula doesn’t hesitate, she tells Dario that Jacky is coming from a Hotel, she has been with her lover and she (Paula) has the proof. She pulls the camera out and shows it to Dario. Dario can’t believe what he is seeing. Jacky starts stammering and telling Dario that it is a big fat lie. She even asks God to kill her right where she is standing if she is lying. Paula tells God to please answer Jacky’s request but to wait just a little longer before killing her because seeing her suffer is so much fun. Jacky can’t take it any more she tries to hit Paula, but Dario stops her. Jacky then turns to Dario and swears that what Paula is saying is a lie. Paula says that that is enough; it is time to leave the love birds by themselves, if they want a copy of the picture, she’ll provide it, and she will even give them an enlargement if they want. She leaves the house.

Ickturo is arriving home without even imagining the storm that is waiting inside. He looks at himself in the mirror to make sure that there is no evidence of his rendezvous with Jacky.

Back at Dario and Jacky’s house they are still arguing. To make the long story short, when Jacky realizes that Dario won’t believe her, she confesses the truth. Yes, she has a lover and it is all Dario’s fault because he has been a terrible husband. When Dario insults her and tells her that Paula was always right and that she is “una cualquiera” Jacky finally tells him the whole truth. –Did you think I married you because of your looks or because I loved you? I did it for the money. Dramatic music plays in the background.

Ickturo enters the house and he sees Valeria waiting for him. He asks her if she is waiting because she is jealous. Valeria tells him that no, she is done with jealously and also she is done with him. Ickturo doesn’t understand. Valeria shoots with both barrels. –I gave you my whole life, two children and for their sake I’ve put up with your mother and with your ravings of grandeur. I even forgave you for stealing my money, but no more; I want a divorce. Ickturo tells her that he doesn’t understand. Valeria tells him that she knows that he has a lover and she also knows he is coming from the hotel where they were together. Cara de impactado de Ickturo.

Jacky is not having it easy either, now that she took her mask off she lets Dario have it. She tells him that he is not man enough for her. Dario can’t believe he destroyed his marriage because of her. Jacky tells him not to blame her, he is not a victim, he saw what he liked, and he took it. And she is not cheap; she knows what she is worth. Dario tells her that she is not even worth the coins that he has in his pocket. He pulls those coins, throws them to her and tells her to pick them up and leave. She offends Paula and provokes him by telling him that he is not a man. He wants to hit her, but contains himself, instead he kicks her out of the house.

Ickturo is desperate; he swears to Valeria that he is coming from the office. She tells him that she has proof; she has a picture of him and Jacky. He wants to see it. She tells him that she’ll show that picture to the judge. Ickturo changes his tune. He asks her not to do that, the judge could take away his visitation rights. Valeria says OK, but I want my money back. He agrees. She says that since everything is settled she is going to wake up the kids because they are leaving.

This was one of the most rewarding scenes of the chapter. Dario goes into their room and takes all of Jacky’s things and throws them out the window while telling her to get out because the house is his and she is not staying a minute longer.

Ickturo is now on his knees, he is pleading with her not to take the kids. The-mother-in-law-from hell comes downstairs and tells Ickturo to get up. He tells her that Valeria knows that he has been unfaithful. La suegra justifies Ickturo and tells Valeria that Ickturo had to get from somewhere what he was not getting at home. –Besides, Barbara is a real woman. Valeria realizes that Ickturo has more than one lover, slaps him and leaves.

Maruja, Greta and Paula congratulate themselves in a job well done. Paula is worried about Valeria.

Ickturo is crying, when his phone rings it’s Jacky she tells him that her husband found out about them and kicked her out of the house, she wants him to help her. He tells her not to bother him and to go to a hotel. His mother comes and tells him that Valeria is taking the kids. She wants him to stop her; she’ll die if Valeria takes the kids. Ickturo tells her that it’s all her fault because Valeria would have forgiven him eventually, but now she won’t. He cries like a baby in her mother’s arms.

Valeria arrives at Paula’s house and asks her if she can stay. Paula tells her she can stay as long as she wants.

Sara is trying to get the money for Chalo. She checks the accounts and finally finds out that a customer is going to make a payment for a big amount. She calls the costumer and tells him to deposit to a different account. She gives him her account number.

Jualia, Rosi and Lore are talking about what happened to Hortensia. Lore is worried about it. Rosi says that it is Divine justice. Julian tells them that Vasco thinks it was Sara. He asks Lore if she thinks that Sara would be capable of killing somebody. Lore tells him that no, she doesn’t thinks so, but when he leaves she tells Rosi that she believes that Sara is capable of that and more.

Alonslow calls Sara to let her know that Hortensia is doing much better; Sara feigns that she is happy about it and asks Alonslow if she can take her home. Alonslow tells her that she’ll be able to do it very soon.

Jacky goes to Ickturo’s office to asks him why he didn’t help her last night. Ickturo is moody and tells her that he is not feeling well. After talking back and forth about whose fault it was that they got caught. Jacky tells him that the silver lining is that now, once they divorce their current spouses, they’ll be able to marry each other. Ickturo looks like he just swallowed something really bitter.

At the black widow’s house, Toribio just woke up and wants to know what happened. BW makes him squirm a little, but finally tells him that nothing happened, he was just too drunk and went to sleep. She also tells him that Alonslow came to look for him. Toribio is embarrassed.

Alonslow comes to Paula’s house. He wants to know how Valeria is doing. Paula tells him that she is showing a tough exterior, but in the inside she is hurting. Valeria comes out and greets Alonslow. He tells her that she can count on him. Valeria asks him to help her find a good lawyer. Alonslow says that he has a patient that is a lawyer; he’ll ask her for her help. Valeria leaves to her room to get ready to go to work, and Alonslow and Paula are left to ponder about the damage that Jackeline has done to their lives.

Sara checks her bank account and sees that the deposit has been made. She is happy and thinks that with that money she’ll be able to keep Chalo quiet for at least a month. She goes to the bank.

Ernesto receives his sister’s unexpected visit. She asks for a minute and calls him little brother. He knows that whenever she calls him little brother is because she needs a favor. She tells him that she is receiving an award and wants to invite him to the ceremony. He is very happy for her and wants to celebrate, but she tells him that she doesn’t have the time because she has to go pick up her kids. They kiss goodbye and she tells him how much she loves him. Ernesto tells his sister that he loves her too. She leaves.

Dario goes to see Paula. He is very sorry for what he did to her. He can’t believe he left Paula for Jackeline. He asks for forgiveness. Paula tells him that she suffered a lot, and that there was a time when she hated him, but now she forgives him. Dario cries and swears that he’ll never hurt her again. They hug.

Ernesto is driving when he receives a phone call. It’s from his nephews’ school. They tell him that the kids have not been picked up, can he come? He says he’ll call his sister and if he can’t find her he’ll pick up the kids. He tries to call her, but she doesn’t answer.

Chalo is counting the money that Sara brought him. 50,000 pesos. Sara tells him that it was not easy to get the money and Hortensia is still alive and kicking. Chalo tells her that that is her problem. He doesn’t care, he just wants the money. Sara tries to seduce him but Chalo doesn’t let her touch him. He tells her that he won’t let her deceive him again, they only have a business relationship. Sara is upset and leaves.

Vasco is at the only hospital in Mexico to take off his cast. As he is leaving he finds Alonslow and he informs him that his grandma is better and she’ll be ready to leave tomorrow. Vasco is worried and as soon as Alonslow leaves he calls his mother to tell her to hurry up looking for the nurse, they need her for tomorrow.

Lorena is selling her panquesitos in front of Ernesto’s nephews’ School. She sees Ernesto come out with the kids. The kids are happy to see her, but she notices that Ernesto looks tense. He tells her that he is worried because when he saw his sister in the morning she told him that she was coming to pick up the kids. Right then his phone rings we only hear his side of the conversation. He tells whoever is on the other side that yes, he is Ernesto Mendiola. His face changes and we know he has received bad news. Lorena is worried. He tells her that her sister and husband had a car accident and that they are both dead.

The end

Labels: enemiga

Cecilia angrily leaves Antonio with his 'prometida.' Antonio tells Federica that he doesn't love her and he only promised to marry her to keep her from jumping off the bell tower. Federica says that she will kill herself if he doesn't marry her. Antonio says to go ahead. Josefa listens to all this behind Antonio.

Juan Pablo Shuk's character is named Gonzalo and it turns out he is an old school friend of Santos and knows Cecilia, of course. He is also apparently involved in politics. The police come to arrest him for treason but he manages to escape from them.

Luisana admits to Santos that she went to El Miedo to provoke DB. She can't accept that Santos would prefer DB to her. She shows him the merchandise but Santos is not interested. Later Luisana goes to town to find out all the dirt she can on DB.

Santos and DB have some river sex and then DB scares Santos by suggesting that she would like to have his baby. He leaves her in disgust.

At Josefa's urging, Federica makes good on her threat to try and commit suicide again. She drinks bleach ('lejía'). Josefa summons Cecilia, Antonio and Marisela to the hospital. The next day Cecilia and Marisela leave San Fernando without Antonio.

Orestes demonstrates very poor intelligence. First, he arrives drunk at El Miedo and accuses DB of murdering his father. Then he finds out about his father lending money to DB to buy El Barquereña on condition it was paid back within a year. Since that didn't happen, he decides that El Barquereña, or El Miedo, as it is known now belongs to him. No matter that with Pernalete in DB's back pocket, Orestes is very unlikely to succeed in a legal claim against DB's ownership of the Hacienda. Orestes boasts to everyone in the tavern (including DB and Melquiades that he is now rich and owns El Miedo.) I predict the remainder of Orestes life will be quite short.
In a very sweet scene, Marisela asks if Santos has been thinking about her while she was away. He says that when she isn't there, he missed the sunlight of each day and the sugar in his coffee. Santos says that he doesn't know why but when Marisela isn't around, he doesn't smile. And then the witch Luisana comes and demands to know who this 'girl' ['niña'] is that Santos misses so much - another rival?

Labels: barbara

Well, I can't let PdG end without doing a memorial to the demise of Juan's beloved truck. Here are some pics as it sinks into the swamp in Friday's episode.













Camioneta - en paz descansa.

Labels: gavilanes

Meanwhile Padre Tadeo performs the mass.

Ofelia complains to Margarita about hiring Eva, since she feels Margarita is only using her in order to get information about Rosario. Margarita insists she was only giving a hand to a desperate woman, but Ofelia says she knows her better than that. Margarita has never cared about anybody but herself and only does what interests her. Margarita admits she does want Rosario to learn the truth about her. Ofelia warns her she may not like what she herself finds out and asks her to leave town and to never come back there again. Otherwise, if Margarita learns the truth what she finds out might cause her a lot of grief.

Meanwhile, the sisters place flowers at their father’s crypt and the brothers make their way to Libia’s tomb. The brothers arrive at Libia’s grave site in the bat cave and Juan tells Libia they plan to tell the truth about her today, and then leaves another concha. (I really wonder just what happens to that concha once the flower glows.)

Back at Augie’s he and Eva get ready to visit Bernardo’s crypt but Eva’s worried Gabi will throw them both out again. Augie doesn’t think so since Raqui’s firing Eva was enough to satisfy Gabriela. He shakes his head and says that Gabi has chalked up so many evil deeds that she couldn’t possibly manage to repent for all of them in her lifetime. (Couldn’t have said it better myself.)

In the hacienda’s kitchen, big mouth Hortensia and her two sons are delivering and putting up the produce order. Fernando is coming down the large stairway above and overhears their chatter. They are discussing how painful the memorial mass was and that today the Elizondo girls might be taking communion beside the Reyes’, but in an instant they might be split up. Rigo tells his mother to be quiet because someone might hear her, but she doesn’t believe anybody is around. She fairly shouts that “It’s all so sad. I am sure that up in heaven Don Bernardo Elizondo and Libia Reyes are still in love with each other.” Fernando stops in his tracks at this and says to himself in a big “A-ha!” moment, “Libia Reyes?”

Meanwhile, the three Elizondo sisters and the three Reyes brothers ride to Libia’s grave site while Padre Tadeo prays at his little office altar for God to enlighten the sisters. “Let there remain some bond of their love; the truth should unite them more and never should it divide them.” (I think God has just left his office and his cell battery is dead. Tadeo will have to leave a number.)

Back at the cottage Eva and Augie are returning and discussing how time flies since it’s a year now that Bernardo has been dead. Augie says he cannot forget the young girl who showed up at the wake that night. “What was her name, Eva?” Fernando appears in the doorway just then. “Libia Reyes,” he answers for her. “She was named Libia Reyes. --Isn’t that right, Eva?” Eva is at a loss for words, ‘cause she knows she’s just been outed. Augie asks Feo what he is talking about and Feo tells him he heard right: the little girl who showed up that night claiming she was pregnant with Bernie’s kid and that they were in love was named Libia Reyes. Why, he just found out himself. “She was the Reyes’ sister.”

Augie can’t believe it and asks Eva if it’s true or not. “That can’t be true. That would be crazy!” he tells her. Eva is too impactada to answer --much to Augie’s chagrin. She tries to find the words to explain to Augie, but Feo jumps in instead. “Am I lying, Eva? You knew from the first, and it was you who let them in and hired them as bricklayers. Isn’t that right?” Augie keeps demanding the truth from her. Finally she stutters that yes, she did know and Libia was in fact their younger sister. Augie’s jaw drops to his lap and it’s obvious from the smug smile on Feo’s face that he is enjoying this little scene way too much.

As soon as she can, Eva runs over to the bakery to warn Quintina that Don Augustin knows the truth about Libia being the Reyes’ sister. The others need to be warned too. Quintina tells her it’s too late for that now. Juan has already taken the girls to the tomb and is planning to tell them the truth. Eva also now hopes that God can enlighten the three Elizondo girls but God is still out of the office and his cell is on the charger.

Fernando has returned to the Hacienda. He sits Gabi down and tells her that Libia, the girl that crashed Bernie’s wake was the Reyes’ younger sister. At the same time Juan is telling Sofia, Jimena and Sarita that Libia was the name of their sister and that she was the young girl who was involved with their father and who was pregnant with Bernardo’s child. All three of the sisters are wide-eyed, double take impactada at Juan’s unexpected revelation.

Sofia nearly blows a gasket when she hears that Libia was The Girl and she screams at Juan about not having told her before despite all the times he’d had the chance. He admits that he was just too scared to lose her once she learned the truth.

Jimena yells out suddenly that she remembers now that they were not the original bricklayers hired to build the cottage. “So what was the real reason you went to the hacienda?” she screams over the (suddenly) loud sound of the falls. (Anybody ever remember those falls being that noisy in other scenes?) “—To get revenge,” is Oscar’s reluctant answer. “—For what? I didn’t hear you!” “—To avenge the death of our sister! To kill everyone! That’s why we went!” he screams back through the din outside. Sarita starts repeating over and over, “I knew it. I knew it. I knew it! You came looking to harm us.” Franco wants to explain, but she stops him cold. “What Oscar just finished saying doesn’t need an explanation. It is very clear. You came to the house looking for revenge.”

Sofia asks Juan if it’s true, that they came to the house that day looking for vengeance and he admits it is. They share a veeeeerrrrry long look of shock, betrayal and unbearable shame. (I gotta admit EY, that even under that skuzzy beard, you relay one hell of a credible look of “unbearable shame” for the camera. Yep, I hate the dopey dude you’re playing, but that look is another one for the record books, big boy.)

Back at the cottage Augie is upset with himself for letting the Reyes’ deceive him. “They tricked me. They lied to me!”

We beam back to the bat cave as Jimena demands to know from Oscar why they showed up at the hacienda that day. He hangs his head in shame and confesses that it was in order to take vengeance on the family, but insists that they fell in love with them all and couldn’t continue with the promise they’d made to their dead sister.

Up in her room Gabi says she wants the two of them to go to the Reyes’ and confront them face to face with the awful truth in front of her idiot daughters but Feo talks her out of it. He says the girls will only feel more threatened by her than the Reyes’ if she does. It would be best for her daughters to find out by themselves then come to her on their own. She needs to remember those three men are very shrewd. “—They are miserable wretches,” she says. “However miserably wretched they might be, they managed to deceive all of us. It’s clear to me that they came looking for revenge, to have your daughters fall in love –and they managed it. Perhaps they are doing to them what Bernardo did to their sister,” he reasons.

Gabi agrees and says they’ll have to be on their guard then because who knows what their intentions are. Feo says exactly, because who knows how they’ll react when they find out how she humiliated the girl at the wake the night she died. “—And that reaction will be worse,” adds Gabi, “when they know that you murdered their sister.” She then “lovingly” caresses his mouth with her fingertips. (Grrrr! It’s always like fingernails on a blackboard watching her do that to him, and especially tonight.)

Back at the tomb the sisters all are screaming around Libia’s grave site demanding to know just what the brothers’ plan for vengeance involved. Sofia asks how far they were planning to take things. “Perhaps you even thought to kill us, Juan? Well, did you?” Juan screams back yes, and then Franco insists that once they met them that changed everything. Oscar admits that the plan was to have them fall in love, then to seduce them, and then to leave them the same way their father left their sister. Sofia interrupts insisting that her father was never going to abandon Libia. Jimena sneers and wonders if they had even met their father. Oscar answers angrily that of course they had!

Juan begins yelling over the din outside that they met him when they found out she was pregnant with his kid, and they believed him when he said he was going to take responsibility and marry her; but Bernardo lied to them because he never told them that he was already married and had a family! (Hard to grasp that Daddy may not have been such a gentleman after all, isn't it now, Sofia?) Of course, Sofia and her sisters begin screaming that the Reyes’ love then must all be just a pack of lies. Juan says no, they love them and they brought them there to the grave so they could tell them the truth. (Sorry, but the only truth can be Sofia’s truth.)

Oscar tells Jimena that no it isn’t lies, that fate toyed with them and this vengeance changed into a marvelous love. Juan begs Sofia to believe their love for them is real “—With all our being! Believe me, Sofia! Take a good look at me! I love you!” and Franco swears then that they love them with all their heart.

Juan grabs for Sofia but she won’t have anything more to do with him. In typical novela fashion she screams, “Let go of me! --No Juan! Love cannot exist if it is not based in truth. How could you all? How could you all have done this to us?” She slaps Juan and tells him to never ever touch her again, then stomps off. The others reject Oscar and Franco likewise and then leave too. “It’s been carried out, Libia,” says Franco. Oscar looks away and adds, “It’s done now.” Juan looks up and says, “Lord, if that’s the way you want it, well, whatever you command so be it.” They share a sad brotherly group hug.

A bit later as the two groups of riders trot away from the grave site it is obvious that the charade has ended and the trust and love and happiness they all shared are now dead. Yes, yes. Death, now dressed in red, follows along behind and looks on as we in Viewerville note the not so subtle reference to the last scene of Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death when all has been revealed and all have succumbed. "…And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all." (Got it, class?)

While all of this is taking place, Eva is explaining to Quintina that it’s all been her fault for having let the Reyes’ into the hacienda to pass for the bricklayers. She knows that Don Augustin deserves an explanation from her she says. The sympathetic Quintina is impactada to hear that Eva did this knowing who they were and what they were going to do. (Quite frankly, so am I come to think of it.) Eva admits she knew from the first and that she did it because she was so “overcome from hate, bitterness, rage and pain at that moment" from all that Gabriela Elizondo had done to her and she wanted her to pay for it. (Yep, I’d say that about runs the gamut of emotions that rabid, female canine can arouse in every God-fearing one of us.) Afterwards though, Eva tells Quintina, she regretted it; but by then it was all too late.

Speaking of the Queen of Rome and canine females, Gabi confesses to Feo her rage at having been duped. However, what angers her most is the way her daughters voluntarily handed themselves over to their “executioners.” The thought hits her then that this means her daughters will certainly be leaving the Reyes’ and returning home thoroughly hoodwinked and humiliated. “—But if they do return home, it will be under my conditions!” she smiles. Fernando advises her that this will be the perfect time to assert herself as the long-suffering and sacrificing mother who is ready to forgive everything “for the good of her daughters.”

“We need to have them back in order for you to –“ “—to have them in my hands!” Gabi finishes his thought. “—You got it!” Fer smiles. They share another conspiratorial laugh together. “Yes, I’ll be the long-suffering, self-sacrificing mother ready to shelter them when they most need it!” Gabi nearly swoons from the perverse pleasure she’ll take in it. She immediately pulls out her rosary, turns to the over sized cross on the wall, and begins to pray again. (God better be back in his office and taking very good notes on this one.)

The six (not so young) lovers return to Reyes Central. Juan tries to make the sisters all understand they all still love them. (Anybody else getting’ tired of this besides me about now?) Quintina tries to cover over the obvious hostility but Sofia accuses her of being the brothers’ accomplice. She can’t deny it and asks what choice did she have? Jimena accuses her of preferring to betray them instead of the Reyes’. Juan swears to Sofia again that they were only frightened of losing them. “Well, Juan,” she says, “your fears have been realized. I cannot continue to stay in this house a moment longer.” Quintina gets on her knees as it’s obviously now her turn to beg them to stay. After all, “they are upright, worthy men,” she pleads.

Jimena quickly disagrees, “No they aren’t. They are avengers and they’ve succeeded. They’ve broken all three of our hearts. They’ve torn apart our dreams and our hopes.” She plans on leaving immediately if not sooner, too. They all go off to pack and Juan lifts Quintina up off her knees and tells her not to humble herself. (Here! Here! Enough is enough!)
===========

We are beamed back to Augie’s where Eva is now trying to explain her motives but he feels totally betrayed and refuses to listen. She knew all that time, from the very first, who they were and what they intended to do but kept quiet about it. “You handed us over to the enemy and without the slightest bit of mercy!” He feels guilty for ignoring the fact they came armed that day. “Why would you just let them in knowing they were coming to take their revenge? You, who proclaimed so much that you love my granddaughters as if they were your own daughters!” (About now I’m screaming at Eva to put the blame where it belongs! Why can’t she remember to tell him the real reason is because Gabriela tricked her and high-handedly stole her newborn daughter out of her arms and gave her away to Gawd knows who??) Eva swears she tried to talk them out of it numerous times but could never convince them to leave. “You delivered them to their enemies! Whatever happens to them now, it’s on your head!” He rolls away in disgust to drown in her own tears.

Back in the hacienda, Fernando is in his bedroom taking out Libia’s locket from its little wooden chest. He thinks to himself that he knows Sofia so well and that she’ll never forgive this betrayal. So, now is the perfect time to offer her all his “support.”
=========

We’re back at Casita Reyes and Juan continues begging Sofia to understand. She continues to refuse to forgive him or to stay. She reminds him that she warned him only lies and tricks could split them up and he stayed quiet about everything. She comes across her wedding dress as she’s packing and starts in again about the way he betrayed her truthfulness and affections. Juan cannot hold back any longer. (At last he lets Miss Self-Righteous Fancy Pants have it with both barrels.) “You don’t know what you’re talking about! Yes, my pain was consuming me, and all on account of your father! HE tricked US and made a fool out of my sister! As for us, we never respond with hate or vengeance easily, but after our sister’s death and your father’s duping her, we were filled with hate and bitterness, and with despair!” (Alas! Our jonnie wimps out again.) “--Don’t leave me, Sofia!” (Argghh!)

Sofia tells Juan that she would have understood his pain, but not this lie. She would have rather he carried out his vengeance the first day they met and killed her outright. It would have saved her the pain. “You got your revenge and it’s been cruel, very cruel.”

Oscar, likewise, tries reasoning with Jimena. She’s even more obstinate than Sofia and punches him when asking why he kept quiet and refused to be honest with her. He tries to explain. “We entered the hacienda to avenge our sister, don’t you see? We never thought about falling in love with you all. Never! Now look at me! I was afraid. I didn’t want to lose you, believe me, Jimena! Please!” Jimena says it’s all too ridiculous. She forgave his infidelity because he looked her in the eyes and admitted it, but this time it’s different. She takes off her wedding ring, tells him she is giving him back his promise of love, and tells him to keep the ring for the next go at revenge.

It’s no better between Franco and Sarita, either. “I kept telling them I doubted you all but they just ignored me, said I was too distrustful, I was exaggerating. I warned them that you had come to harm us!” Franco begs Sarita to understand that they still love them, but Sarita disagrees. “No, Franco. You don’t understand about love, because hypocrisy doesn’t fit into Love’s world view. You betrayed us. You were looking for revenge and you got it. You succeeded. There is no love in any of you, only a hatred that’s come to the surface. That’s all that there is!”

Before the three sisters leave, Sofia stops to give a prayer of thanks to the virgencita for having protected them during their stay there and asks for her support during this painful time. Suddenly Pablito comes home from school and notices the suitcases. He wonders if they are all going on a vacation. Sofia tells him they’re not and that she and her sisters are leaving the house for good. Pablito thinks this must be a cruel joke (one of the cruelest, I’d say) and then reminds her that she promised to stay and be his mother. She says she still will be and they’ll be able to visit each other as often as they like. (Save it, Sofia.) Oscar and Franco try again to persuade them to stay, but Sarita only sneers, “Good riddence!” at them before the three of them start for the door.

However, Padre Tadeo walks in just then, checking to see what happened after they had learned the truth. Sofia asks if Padre Tadeo was in on the ruse too and he admits he knew about it all, but that he succeeded in convincing the brothers to exchange vengeance for justice, a concept that seems to be a bit too esoteric for our three distressed and distressingly naive damsels to comprehend.

“I’ve been a witness to how these three generous men transformed their pain and rage into a true love,” says Tadeo. (How quickly you forget, Sofia, how Juan selflessly carried you out of a burning inferno, raced you to a hospital after you fell down those stairs in a daze and nearly miscarried, took that flogging for you from your insanely sadistic mother, and, oh yeah, rescued you from being beaten to a bloody pulp by Fernando that day at the Chili Pepper Rodeo. What was that, hon? Chopped liver?) “No, Father,” replies Sofia. “True love doesn’t betray,” is her arrogant, self-assuming statement of The World According to Sofia Garp. “This time you’ve made a mistake. They don’t love us.” (Chopped liver it is, then.)

Sofia and her sisters pick up their bags and head for home. Juan places Libia’s picture back onto the little shrine and tells the others that their oath to Libia has been fulfilled. He squares his shoulders and looks over at all of them, resolute. “From now on, let whatever has to happen happen.”

Labels: Fuego

Permalink posted by Jardinera654 @ 4:40 PM 85 comments

[Hola Guapistas. I'm a little under the weather this evening, so this recap is courtesy of Mr. 5ft. Yep, he makes hot tea, soup, and snark. Enjoy!--5ft]


Previously on Guapos, Rosario hires Alejandro to build stuff and pays him waaay too much and blows smoke up his back side.

Alejandro admits that they have no full time staff to help, and warns her about Constancio's back stabbing.

Rocky finds out that Bobby got Nestor's big fat check, and Alejandro introduces Rosario as their new big client to build stuff for.

Bobby asks if they need to wait and see if Constancio will steal this client, and Alejandro reassures them.

Socoro is still concerned about her rat bastard daughter. Horacio gets told about how she misses all the noise. The new chauffer is Chamuco.

Lina on the phone with Bobby: Lina is fussing as the nameless maid in a black and white outfit cleans the table and Lina's nails. Every time Lina starts straightening something the nameless maid who is apparently non-verbal bats Lina's hand away with the rag and starts re-cleaning whatever Lina touched. Bobby lets Lina know that they have a big client and that they are going to celebrate with a dinner. After Lina hangs up, the nameless maid decides that Lina can't be trusted with the phone and takes it away from her. And thus we get the fight over who gets to clean (nameless maid wins or loses depending on your point of view).

Andrea macks on Damian, until Braulio and Chamuco show up and then she cancels her request for the chauffer to take her out, and walks off with Damian.

Alejandro talking on the phone: Nestor shows up. There is some verbal sparring and then Nestor gets a hug.

Hugo shows up at the Casa of the Abused. Mili and Hugo talk. Mili thanks him for divorcing her. We are told that the wedding is in a year. Mili asks about Karla. Mili of course wants to know what Hugo is going to do about Karla and her spawn. Mili says she doesn't like to see him so upset, and that she still likes Hugo as a friend. Hugo leaves after they blather on for a while.

Back to Nestor and Alejandro: Alejandro tells Nestor about the job. Nestor warns Alejandro about Rosario since she was donating money to Constancio's presidency campaign.

Rosario is talking to Paulo, and is concerned that there might be a problem with Alejandro accepting the job. Paulo says she still loves Constancio and there is some denial.

Constancio still acting like Heffner and is not leaving the house and everything is set for him to be president.

The gang has a fancy lunch out to celebrate. Alejandro is contemplating what Nestor told him, and it is bugging him. Then he goes back to celebrating.

Rosario shows up at the Casa of the Abused and likes the look of the outside. It makes her all nostalgic with Paulo. Paulo is starts working on Rosario to get her to do something naughty. And off she goes to see in the house where as we saw in the previews last night she appears to be recognized by Luciana

Hugo packs up his stuff in preparation to leave. Hugo remembers being the hairy homeless guy with Mili. And so he dresses back up as the Hairy Homeless guy to go and raise heck.

Damian and Andrea bitch over drinks. She wants to know what is going on with the divorce and Damian says he has the original papers that Mili signed. They get all lovey.

The doorbell rings at the Casa of the Abused. In comes Rosario greeted by Luciana and Rosario is recognized. Oops. Rosario tries to leave and Luciana won't let her leave. Luciana explains who she is.

Damian wants Milagros' shares, but we will see how that works. Damian is willing to take Andrea away from all this. He starts to spill his plans. He plans to buy the company and sell the whole company.

Constancio has retired his Heffner act, and leaves to straighten out his life.

Rosario is still talking to Luciana. So they gossip about what has gone on.

Back to the party. Bobby wants to get to work on the contract, and Alejandro wants to wait. Nestor's warnings seem to have sunk in. They talk Alejandro into preparing the contract so that Rosario can sign her life away.

The girls are in the bathroom. Talking about how they miss the group all living together. Valeria is going to induct them into the spa cult. Mili suggests that they start their own business.

Karla offers homeless Hugo some money.

Luciana confesses all the evil crap she did to Mili. Rosario apparently still has issues with her treatment by the Belmonte clan. Rosario blames Constancio for all that was done to her.

Monday, Constancio shows up and Rosario moves more into view of the door (at least her back is turned to the door).

[5ft again...I would just like to note that Mr. 5ft doesn't actually know much Spanish and while I was sitting here making snide comments during the viewing, I don't think we can attribute his comprehension entirely to that. So let that be a lesson to those of you who think you don't know enough Spanish to recap!]

Labels: guapos