Friday, May 01, 2020

Me Declaro Culpable #54, 5/1/20: May Day—May Day, Save the Women and Children First


There are four in play that need saving STAT--Gabe, Nat, Nat’s baby and Alba (and maybe Franco later) First things first—a petit revue from yesterday, hooked onto today’s episode.

Bertie pays a call to Alba (first of many prison visits this episode)
Bertie is gloating as she tells Alba about her questionable parentage. Her cruddy old powerful lawyer daddy thinks it’s so, so he must have had some proof, like DNA test results. The result is that Gabe is now living with Papi and not only has had custody transferred from Ingrid to Mau, but he’s also now Gabe’s legal guardian. (I guess that’s good news for now.) Alba is all cara de impactada that she is Mau and Maria Luisa’s bastarda illegitimate child. She asks Alba to say hi to Nat and that she loves and misses her. Alba says to tell her herself. Bertie can’t stand the idea of seeing her daughter from behind Bullet Proof Plexiglas, but promises to give Gabe some hugs for her. Alba recoils in anger. Bertie enjoys her verbal conquest with a witches' laugh saying that when the end comes for him, she’ll be there to pull his plug—an act of love, no?

If Pao had been an oyster, he’d be a dead one
Julian drills down through Pao’s thin shell of self-confidence in the most emasculating way. Julian claims to be Nat’s baby’s daddy calling into question Pao’s manhood. He tells Pao how Nat would seek him out, left unsatisfied by Pao’s prowess en la cama.


Gabe gives Julieta a Ringgy-Dinggy
He’s ready to have her come for a conjugal friendly visit. He sends Julieta an updated selfie. She thinks he’s still muy guapo. He has lots of news to share, so she shouldn’t dally. He does tell her he has an abuelo, Mauro, and other relatives.

Grandpa tucks in the tyke
But who is that sleeping in the corner? Not important.

Bertie abandons the home fires
Franco finds the note Bertie left him. She’s off to spend a time with Papi, because, “You know, you’re never around and my Nennie is locked up. If I’m to get into more mischief, I need to be around people. Love, Bertie.” She shows up with two rolling suitcases and a sly smile. Mau is not all that happy to see her.

Lets Make a Deal
At the office, Tizzy hands Franco his divorce papers. Franco wants to read the terms first ‘cause he doesn’t just want to hand over everything to Bertie. Tizzy says he won’t get a better deal elsewhere or later, especially if they go for a contested divorce. So, Franco wants to know, what is the deal? He wonders out loud--Freedom (libertad) for Alba in return for what? Yours? (I heard Franco say “suya” which could mean yours, his or hers. In trying to parse this out, I think Franco was referring to Tizzy’s transparent attempt to suborn a witness on the stand. Spanish is not always easy to translate, even in context.) Whether Alba is freed or not, Bertie isn’t going to change her mind nor her terms and, as her attorney, she and Tizzy have an "understanding," so SIGN IT.

Alba’s new status is confirmed
Ingrid, of all people, tells the truth and confirms everything Bertie told Alba about her family ties. Only, instead of a cold, sepia-toned delivery through Plexiglas, we get an animated delivery complete with colorful hair, clothes and hands flapping everywhere, framed by Aqua-toned scenery.

Bertie greets her nephew, who is still in bed
[Nothing good or bad happened.]

Pao pays a visit to Natalia
He’s all steamed up from the crap Julian has shoveled into him. Poor Nat thought he’d changed his mind about the baby-thing. No pis. He’s more than pissed that she played with his feelings, why? out of pity? manipulation? He denies the baby is his, after all, she’s spreading it around that he can’t function as a man. And if, as she claims, she’s never been with anyone else, she must have gotten pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Or maybe this was a ploy to get him to drop the charges. No siree, bob, not gonna happen. (Pretty low blow, there, Pao, even for you.)

Bedazzled in Plaid (new Spring line for some men) arrives to take Pao’s place
How we wished Nat would hang up and walk away, but nope, she’s already feeling depressed, so why not stay for another round. (I noticed Julian didn’t sanitize the phone. You’d think he wouldn’t want any of Pao’s cooties.) Jules takes advantage of her state of mind by passing himself off as her guardian angel. A true love wouldn’t walk out on her. That’s why he’s here, ready to assume the care and nurture of her and someone else’s baby. (In any other tn this would be a noble gesture.) For one second, Nat says there’s no comparison, but in the next second, she caves.

Insincerity hides behind a mask of sincerity
Mau sweet-talks Gabe into telling him all the details of his relationship with Julieta and draws him in as an ally by recounting how similar his own experience was when he was 15. It worked.

Franco does the deed
Ok, you voyeurs, get your heads out of the gutter. Franco signs the divorce papers and hands them back to Tizzy. He still doesn’t think Bertie will let him off that easily.

Julieta gets the shove
Mau is quite genteel as he greets Julieta to his home and introductions are made. Julieta recounts the initial attraction and is sincere in her feelings for Gabe although she tried not to cross the line for as long as she could. She thinks things are going well. Mau wipes the smile off her face by threatening her with jail for sexual abuse of  minor if she dares contact Gabe again. (I guess that includes sexting.) Julieta chooses the discretion of a stay out of jail card is better than the valor of insisting on keeping the relationship going. She reluctantly leaves with nary a hello or goodbye to Gabe.

It’s Franco’s turn to pay a visit to Alba
After they confer about hers and Gabe’s new status, Franco understands Mau’s drastic 180 D. in his attitude towards Alba. He tries to lower her anxiety over Gabe being in Mau’s clutches hands. He’s sure Mau is doing it to ease her mind. It’s certainly better than being in Ingrid’s clutches. Alba’s real anxiety is provoked by Bertie. She repeats that Bertie is sick and who knows what her limit for malfeasance is. She doesn’t want her anywhere near Gabe. She suspects that Bertie had something to do with Gabe’s kidnapping. Franco doesn’t think Bertie is smart enough to pull off something so complex, but promises to protect Gabe. He then shares the news that as of a little while ago, he’s a free man. The divorce papers have been signed. (I say how free is a man who is STILL wearing his now ex-wife’s wedding ring.) He’s waiting until she’s free so they can be together forever. (I’ll be watching that left hand of yours, Sr. not-married-any-longer Urzúa. Maybe there’s some sort of ceremony ahead for them. Ya veremos.) After some lovey-dovey, he signs off.

It’s bullets or besos, you choose, mi amor
Bertie has come to see Tizzy at his place. He gives her the bad news first. Franco outwitted him and so Alba will probably be set free. Bertie reminds him that he promised to keep her in prison—no goodies until she’s permanently behind bars. Tizzy says he held up his part of the bargain. Now it’s her turn. He tells her Franco has signed the divorce papers. She hesitates, too long. Tizzy explains that if she doesn’t sign and he doesn’t get his reward, he’ll take it upon himself to see that Franco is permanently removed from the scene. To prove it he has Bertie call Mau who is dining with Franco at a time and location where Tizzy has a sharpshooter aiming at Franco’s head from above the restaurant dining area. Bertie signs. He calls the sharpshooter who calmly puts his armament back in its carrying case and walks away. Tizzy is surprised she would choose life for Franco. She tells him the only person who can, could or should kill Franco is herself. (Note she doesn't say "will.")

Lollipop Girl pops up
It looks like Gabe and Mia have a date for him to accompany her to her next chemo session.

Pick one; both his daughters want him
Following the non-assassination attempt which neither Franco nor Mauro were aware of, they have been arguing over who is responsible for sharing what and how much information with the other. It’s a stale mate. Mauro explains to Franco that the happiness of one daughter condemns the other one to unhappiness. He can’t have it both ways.

Aha! Yes, we have some bananas
The bananas are on the table. Surely the monkeys will get them for this scene. Katia makes her move (the one she didn’t get in PASL) on Pao. [This scene has been blocked by your recapper, sorry for the inconvenience.]

Jail traffic is heavier than road traffic
Bertie has recanted and decided to pay a visit to her inmate daughter. She makes it all about herself. Nat finally has had enough and tells her so, but not before Bertie reveals she knows about the “thing” inside Nat. Nat guesses it was Jules that told her. Bertie is furious at her for not using protection. Bertie insists she must get rid of that mistake. What would people think if she ends up an unwed mother. Nat insists this baby is not a mistake and she’s not about to lose it. In fact, Nat doesn’t want her to come visit anymore. Bertie is too much of a Debbie-Downer. That’s totally ok with Bertie. Nat hangs up and walks away. Bertie taps furiously on the Plexiglas to get Nat’s attention. She wants the last word, but doesn’t get the satisfaction of having it.

Is Random Hubby making inroads with Julieta
Gabe keeps trying to reach Julieta. She watches it ring and finally turns it off. Random Hubby (RH) watches her suffer. He hates to see her go through this, pero bueno, he has the best solution for all of them. He’s heading back to the States and he’s taking Pedro with him—just like that, no negotiating. That way she’s free to do whatever she likes (Come to ponder on all this I think Pedro would have made a much better Gabe, a little more mature, a little more credible and not as much hair to lose—AND—he’s been through leukemia before in CME. I wonder how many writers’ sessions they went through before deciding the boys’ ages, and having to take into account their mothers’ ages and pasts. Ah well, I’m glad I had no input on this tn.) Gabe is so desperate to get in touch with Julieta that he arrives at her doorstep in a taxi, only to be greeted by RH. He says glad to meetcha, they shake hands and RH says they need to talk, hombre a hombre. (I guess that happens on Monday.)

Tizzy cashes in his Chip(pie)s
Bertie is meeting Tizzy in a restaurant. She tells him her divorce has left her unsettled, unstable, insecure, but also the visit with Nat in prison. Tizzy tells her that there’s no going back. (I can’t remember now which face-to-face talk they had where he says that soon they will be married and I thought, they are both BSC.) What has her most on edge, she tells him, is that once Alba is released from prison, she and Franco will live their love story openly. So, Tizzy’s chips don’t fall his way, because Bertie makes him take on one more job—to make sure Alba never leaves prison. (As the camera focuses on Bertie’s face, I would want to say she is really a beautiful woman, if she weren’t so evil and messed up.)

Labels:


Comments:
May Day! May Day! What a fun tribute to this day. We are all on a crazy never ending dance around the maypole with this tn.

Loved it all, but especially "If Pao had been an oyster, he'd be a dead one". He even looks a little like an oyster with his slimy cries and greasy man bun.

I really cracked up with "But who is that sleeping in the corner? Not important." Is it really necessary to have her there around the clock? If he's "up" for his conjugal friendly visit, I think he'll be okay overnight. And, if they insist on her staying there, get her a cot or a bean bag chair.

Your musings of Pedro ending with "AND - hes's been through leukemia before on CME" were pretty good!

I noticed Roberta actually walked into Tizzy's place. She wasn't even limping. It's funny, but I was also thinking how pretty she looked today. Those meds are working wonders.

Thanks again, Anita!
 

Bien hecho, Anita! You got it all.

Tofie -- wherever she is -- could probably do better than this, but...

Alba, keep your cool around this loca. Don't give her the pleasure of your pain.

Julián, you only wish that were true. Pathetic.

Paolo, you are so socially naïve maybe you should enter a monastery.

Alba, Gabriel's life is in more danger than ever if Mauro can't keep Roberta out of his house.

Gabriel, that cute girl patient is waiting for you.

Mauro, a nurse isn't enough; Gabriel needs a 24/7 bodyguard, too.

Natalia, I would never take any guy back after a conversation like this.

Bianca, see if you can stay there for a while. Gabriel needs as much help as possible.

Natalia, scratch Julián and your mother off the visitors' list. They are still gaslighting you.

Julieta, this was inevitable, one way or another.

Franco, listen to Alba this time. She is right about Roberta.

Mauro, we agree with you, but your timing couldn't be worse.

Tiziano, you don't know how Roberta deals with blackmailers.

[How did nobody spot that sniper?]

Mauro, we know this isn't easy, but you have a duty to protect everyone from Roberta.

Rock music = empty sex; classical = The Real Thing.

Natalia, don't forget who prevented you from telling your father the truth. Everything is about her. No contact will be best for you.

Tiziano, we warned you.

Can't figure out how thick-headed Tiziano has to be to not see that Roberta is BSC, but I have a male friend who has had friends with this problem. They were willing to date psychopaths if they were beautiful. It never seemed to occur to them that some of them could be taking inspiration from Lorena Bobbitt.

Based on this episode I think we can expect at least three more murder attempts before the end. I do pity Mauro right now because he is not in a good position and he could be one of Roberta's targets.

Time to turn into a pumpkin after I post to the other thread. More tomorrow.
 

Oh my dear, that was magically delicious. And let me get in first -- well, second -- with my favorite morsels:

"If I’m to get into more mischief, I need to be around people. Love, Bertie.”

"We get an animated delivery complete with colorful hair, clothes and hands flapping everywhere, framed by Aqua-toned scenery."

"Bedazzled in Plaid (new Spring line for some men)"

"Ok, you voyeurs, get your heads out of the gutter."

"Tizzy cashes in his Chi(pie)s"

"Jail traffic is heavier than road traffic."

"(I’ll be watching that left hand of yours, Sr. not-married-any-longer Urzúa."

"Lollipop girl pops up."

And the winner is:

"Aha! Yes, we have some bananas The bananas are on the table. Surely the monkeys will get them for this scene."


 

Okay, I guess I was third. Too many favorites, too slow typing.
 

Ah Anita, you're a magician. You crafted a delightful recap out of another dreary, circling-the-drain episode.

Loved this phrase:

"Julián drills down through Pao's thin skin of self-confidence in the most emasculating way." Oh my that was painful scene to watch; the words and the insinuations were so devastating. Ugh.

and this:

"Julieta chooses the discretion of a stay out of jail card." My goodness, Mauro played that hand very well. Seemingly understanding of Gabe's romance as he ferrets out just how far it went--then using that knowledge to get Julieta running for her life. Still a formidable chess player is our Mauro.

And this whole paragraph was a hoot:

Franco finds the note Bertie left him. She’s off to spend a time with Papi, because, “You know, you’re never around and my Nennie is locked up. If I’m to get into more mischief, I need to be around people. Love, Bertie.” She shows up with two rolling suitcases and a sly smile. Mau is not all that happy to see her.

And this was a superb heading:

It's Bullets or Besos...

Do love the ring of that. As for actual rings, maybe Franco is into saving money. He'll just keep that old wedding ring warm and re-purpose it for his marriage to starry-eyed Alba.

Thanks so much Anita. I think all of us on the team are happy to be heading into the final week of this. In the meantime, we'll continue to keep a close eye on Paolo's fruit bowl now that we know bananas have been added. I noticed at Julieta's it was nothing but apples. They looked like Red Delicious. Yes, I've been driven to this, cataloging people's fruit collections. Wonder if Gael and Julián have any. Somehow I doubt it. Their bowls are probably full of...well, never mind...



 

Good morning , patio pals. I woke up to sunshine today.

Anita...thank you...wow..just wow. You have mad skilz. I enjoyed ever word and you gave me smiles and a few smirks. These people, right ?

Maur is a cagey old bird . I am glad that he brought Gabe into his home away from Ingrid's brews and crazy clingling and clutching. And he dispatched Julieta very quickly. You have to admit that the guy is efficient.

I was glad to see cute , Lollipop back in the picture. I hope that she and Gabe will both survive. Do we know if Gabe really has leukemia or if has symptoms are the result of Tia' s teas?

P.s. If we are taking a poll, I always have Honeycrisp apples in my frig. I just groundout that my cousin Drew 's masters started out as pomology. #applestooranges

 

Anita this was so dramatically funny.
Emphasis on dramatic.

The fast talking lying liar of a nasty lawyer sucks natty in again. This girl
Has no fight in her. She easily just
Falls into whatever someone tells her.
If she loves pao as much as she says Y not fight for it like als did for dad?
Even her sick evil twisted poor excuse
For a mother was fighting for dad. One
She lost thank goody. Maybe,says the commenter with trepidation. Psycho
Up to something. murderous.

Good, grampa got rid of Mrs Robinson.
That was not a good storyline not in
The afternoon. Or anytime for That matter. Now he's taken his lil balding
Head over there and random hubby is gonna give him a talkin to. Which he
Needs. Depending on what the talk is about.

"Mau sweet-talks gabe into telling him all the details about his relationship with Julieta, and draws him in as an ally by recounting how similar his own experience was when he was 15. it worked." Yeah grampa was hot to trot
With that smooth talkin barratone voice. Now he's an ol geezer that's to
Old to trot. Alba need to get her Son away from him cuz he's just as weird
As that crazy spawn he spawned.

Juls is a lo life. And why Did pao let him get to him like that? I guess he was worn down by katia and the liez just easily slid in.

Next week should be a real Humdinger of a week of episodes.

Thank you Anita.

Ok y'all try and stay safe out there,
Don't breath to hard around to many people, and wear your mask. If you feel inclined that is. Incline incline

Happy weekend♡

 

Anita – Thank you for your recap and the snark!

Lots of favs in your recap, but at the top of the list are:

-- “You know, you’re never around and my Nennie is locked up. If I’m to get into more mischief, I need to be around people. Love, Bertie.”

-- Bedazzled in Plaid (new Spring line for some men)

-- cooties
(LOL Maybe he had his cootie shot?)

-- It’s bullets or besos, you choose, mi amor

Mauro did the right thing, busting up that affair between Gabe & Julieta.

Gabe did not seem very broken-hearted after finding out Julieta is out of his life. Hmmm…..

I noticed Franco still wearing his wedding ring, too. What’s up with that?


JUDYB – “He'll just keep that old wedding ring warm and re-purpose it for his marriage to starry-eyed Alba.”
LOL

I seriously do not care who Natalia ends up with. She deserves both Julian and Pao, so either/or.

I did 2 1/2 hours of yard work this morning, in the beautiful warm sunny weather. Yay! It was sorely needed and now I can rest.

URBAN - I watched one telenovela that Tofie watched (cannot remember which one) and always enjoyed her/his comments.
 

Anybody know what is following this show ?

Beautiful ,sunny day here. Finally set up the easel on my picnic table and started painting . I am not good , but it wasis therapeutic. Maybe Rob and Ingrid should give it a try.
 

It always seems like there are too many loose ends to tie up before the end of a novela.in MDC maybe the only thing that really needs to happen is for Roberta to go.....I'm voting on self-combustion.

It's still a guessing game for me as to who killed Roberta's mother.
 

Victoria--I'm going to say probably not. If Roberta really did watch her mother being burned to death, she saw the agony and pain. I think she'd rather avoid that end. But, if she is going to off herself, an overdose of pills would be more likely. She really doesn't like to experience physical pain--although we watched her injure herself in the name of hurting Franco. I think she loves inflicting pain on others.

I'm now worried about Tizzy and Alba. The ease with which he was able to murder Rufino inside a jail and have no visible guilt about it, does not bode well for Alba. However, he's not her lawyer and she could refuse to see him. Paying off the guards is a different game entirely in a women's prison.

Hmmm. That reminds me, someone (who was it?) paid off a guard there to make sure nothing happened to Nat. I guess it could go either way. So who is the next victim? Nat trying to save Alba or Alba trying to save Nat. And what about the baby....

You're right. Too many loose ends. Will all or any of Roberta's crimes come to light? Julian's? Ingrid's? Tizzy's? My what a line-up of criminals (trying to leave out Mau's for the time being--it was sooo long ago....).
 

Susanlynn, my two-week TV sched shows CULPABLE jumping from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on the 11th, then being replaced the following week by...AMOR ETERNO. Also, that week COMO TU NO HAY 2 disappears from its 10 p.m. timeslot and doesn't reappear. So I have no idea what's going on. I just count on the DVR to magically find everything.
 

Blue Lass

Last week the rumor was that 'Como tú no hay 2' was being cancelled.

I can't stomach Urine so I passed up on that one.

How will we find out which oldies they'll rerun since they had to stop production?
 

Uribe

 

Thanks for letting me know, Victoria. I’ll try not to get too attached.

If they’re going to start canceling shows that are already underway, though, I’d hesitate to start something new. Does Telemundo do that, too?
 

I think it was Julian who paid a guard to protect Natalia. If it was him I think Roberta and Tizzy know.

I have never heard of Univision cancelling a prime-time novela with "low" ratings. They typically move it to daytime, post-midnight, or to Unimas. My usual site is completely out of date.
 

Victoria--Urine indeed. I don't like him much either, after enduring him in Mi Corazon es Tuyo. If this tn is cancelled due to the coronavirus, hurry to see if you can find Quien es Quien on YouTube or elsewhere. That is the one Como Tu is based on and it stars much younger protagonists and a more interesting cast altogether. Eugenio knocks it out of the park as the twins raised in different families and social classes. This was originally on Telemundo in 2016. I thought, after the first episode, it was not one I was going to watch, but the "four" leads are really engaging.

Eugenio Siller = Pedro “Perico” Perez, a half-hearted musician from a humble home and Leonardo Fuentemayor, privileged son in a business career (quite a contrast to Nicolas/Javier "El Dragon" of Reina)
Laura Flores = Ines Gonzalez, Perico’s mother (she uses barrio slang/inflection rather than the vocabulary required in Reina de Corazones)
Kimberly Dos Ramos = Fernanda Manrique, Leonardo’s prometida (was sweet Patricia in Marido en Alquiler, disGracie in VEA and in Rubi; this was the first tn I saw her in and liked her)
Danna Paola = Paloma Hernandez, Perico's long-suffering girlfriend (I really liked her in this role)
 

Urban A is right, it was Julian who paid a guard to look after Natalia. He also slipped the guard a small package that, IIRC, told the guard to put in Alba's cell. Nothing more of that has been shown, to date.



" Blogger Victoria said...
Uribe"


And here I thought you just didn't like him and had a nickname for this guy (in your original post). LOL
 

BTW--Since we are seeing MDC two years after it was produced, you might be interested to know that Daniela Castro won the TVyNovelas Premio in 2018 for Best Antagonista in MDC!
 

OT --- QUIÉN ES QUIÉN was a fun telenovela to watch. We had a nice table for it on the Telemundo Patio.


Wouldn't it be nice if T'mundo and Looneyvision re-ran some of their greatest hits? I would totally watch again if rerun in one-hour installments:

La Hija del Mariachi
Yo Soy Bety la Fea

Corazon Salvaje '93

 

I'm closing some of the early episodes to new comments, so I'm kinda rereading some of them.

Remember when Luciana was killed and dumped in the dump? We (or I did) spent an inordinate amount of time speculating on the possible importance of the ring Roberta took from her finger. I think she wore it a couple of times after the fact and then....nada, nothing, not even an investigation into a possible murder. Did we hear anything else about it? Surely the police didn't write this off as a suicide (I can just see Luci wrapping herself up and flinging herself over the garbage heap.)

It must be a case of "The Monkeys Forgot."
 

Julian handed the guard a package of money and told her to put NATALIA in Alba’s cell. I’m not sure why, though, and that’s probably another thing the monkeys will never tell us.
 

Julian (thanks, BL), being the snake he is, is a) doing Bertie's bidding that NOTHING can happen to Nat while she's in prison and he knows Nat and Alba have a connection; b) planning on killing Alba and blaming Nat; c) killing Nat and blaming Alba. So, we have the Three Door Game. Which one will the monkeys choose? Or it could be d) none of the above (which is more likely, as you say).
 

Ooooo intriguing. I had gotten as far as a) but the rest never would have occurred to me.
 

Are yoh sayibg they are gonba move "Amor Eterno" to daytime? Why praytell
Would they do that. They could put "quiero amarte" on at 2:00. Now that was a goooood one. The eye candy was
Absolutely yummy. I even googled the song in the opening and the closing credits. They should leave nihan and kemal where they are, its just getting
good. Again. I guess they gotta work
According to corona.
 

"Are you saying they are gonna"....
Is what it was suppose to say, not all that dribble.
 





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