Thursday, May 09, 2024

El amor no tiene receta, #48, "The smart and the reckless, thy name is Esteban"

Kenzo tells Nandy that he loves her. She can barely believe it, she’s never known love, only rejection. She loves him, too, but is afraid of being this happy. He is also scared of losing her or his kids because Felipa will do her best to ruin everything. They hug. Have we seen them kiss yet?

Paz is taking out her anger on a bell pepper. She is cooking and telling Emy about Ginebra’s visit. She is not jealous, she is furious, Esteban only used her, made a fool out of her. But it’s her fault, she wanted to fly too high, now she has to come back to reality. Emy listens to her but is more worried about Paz cooking while being this mad. She’s hungry. This is a woman who has her priorities straight. Respect!

Esteban is trying to comfort Gala, asking why she would need to hurt herself. She needed to feel valued, she never felt complete. She can’t even look in a mirror, she hates everything about her. She doesn’t know when it all started, but ever since mom died she stopped feeling like herself. Esteban apologizes for not knowing how to take care of her. Gala says this is about losing her mom, he did everything he could. But why break up with Paz, since they were happy? Because love is not enough sometimes, Esteban explains, and now they must focus on her. They need to tell grandma, face this as a family. They hug.

Gala wants to know if Esteban found out something about Ginebra and he thought-bubbles that he can’t put her in jeopardy. Gin sends him a text message just then warning him not to tell Gala anything (the power of the chip, I guess). So, Esteban says that Gin is innocent, she’s a good woman and mother (he barely manages to say it with a straight face). Gala doesn’t understand, especially after seeing Gin hit Samara. Gin sends another message congratulating him for what he said, which makes Esteban wonder…. Come on, boy, prove to the Patio you are not just a pretty face. He tries to cheer up Gala again, together they will fight for her to get better.

Fuego is on his hospital bed (half torso and bicep exposed), with Elvira keeping vigil. She remembers how he jumped in front of a bullet for her just as he moves a little. She grabs his hand. Then she whispers that he’s always been so loyal, but she no longer knows how to love, she can’t allow herself to be this weak. Fuego is actually awake and listening, but he hides it, as Elvira continues by saying that he made her feel beautiful again.

She adds that she’s becoming crazy, but Fuego protests, saying she’s not. He’s happy to see her, he will never hurt her or pressure her, he cares about her and he can see she’s hurting for him. Why does she care so much?

He will never be able to offer her as much as she could offer him, she’s even paying for his hospital bed. He’d like to hear her say everything that she said before, this time more clearly.

He grabs one of her fingers (hopefully not the milddle one), while she starts talking about the many years since they’ve known one another, and how much she values him. He has become something more, something she doesn’t want to understand because it goes against everything she stands for. She’s not indifferent to him, but she can’t go any further with her feelings.

Fuego then says he can’t impose his presence on her any longer, he will resign.

Humberto is with Paz, telling her the family is finally home. He is also taking care of her restaurant reopening. Paz is very thankful, but he says she deserves it. She weeps, he asks her to stay positive and trust him. She breaks down, she doesn’t even know who to trust anymore.

She tells him about Esteban breaking up with her in the worst possible manner. They hug. Esteban’s love evaporated, she doesn’t even know if he ever felt anything at all. Humberto thinks this is so typical of his cousin, but Paz doesn’t want to hear him badmouth Esteban while he’s not around to defend himself. He’s done a lot to help her, so she doesn’t get it. Humberto insists he bailed when things got more difficult. Paz thinks he’s a good man, but Humberto says she doesn’t really know him, why does she think he and his father get along so badly? Paz no longer wants to know the details about that feud.

Humberto then tells her Sam spoke to a judge and Paz only wants to know if she is doing well. Humberto says she is doing fine and she only said good things about her. Paz is happy, Sam reminds her of her own daughter. Humberto says he is searching for evidence to help her, he even went to see the moms’ group, but they are not really cooperating; Paz asks him not to push them, maybe the people from the barrio will vouch for her.

As he leaves, Humberto tells her not to cry for a man who doesn’t deserve her. Paz doesn’t want to hear this, but he insists she has many things to fight for and he’d like to stand by her. But Paz has had enough of men betraying her, she only wants to focus on her work and her family from now on. Humberto says he’s not playing with her, Paz only says she might come to trust him in time. Telenovela rules says she will trust him just in time for Esteban and Ginebra to announce they are dating. 

Esteban is alone in his office, remembering the attack against himself and Ginebra. All evidence pointed at Rubio but since Gin killed her husband, all the evidence could be faked. Esteban realizes Rubio wasn’t the killer, he’s defending someone. He flashes back to Berenice’s death, wonders who could force Rubio to take the entire blame.

Mauro is with Sam, Monito and Cobija in the park. He lets the kids with a bodyguard and meets with Mireya. She tries to play hard to get, she is free, but her sister is still in jail and she only came to tell him they will never see each other again. Mauro can’t stand to hear this, he loves her, no point in denying it any longer. He hugs her and she allows it, but then says he can never do that again. He knows she feels the same way, but she wants him to stop. Their families hate one another! Oh, Romeo and Juliet in their 40’s. One is a criminal, the other a single mother. So 21st century! Shakespeare would be proud.

And they go round and round about who did worse, Mireya asks him to help get Paz out if he cares so much. Mauro says she helped him realize he can have a better life. She insists he help with getting Paz out of jail.

Esteban has come to demand Ginebra tell him how she is spying on him (and once again, he's all alone!). She won’t say, but if he speaks to someone, his daughter, Monito or Sam will pay. He screams that she’s lying about everything, and she is the one who killed his wife. Ginebra doesn’t confess, but Esteban links the whole thing to Rubio taking the blame. There was no attack on them in the house, she told him Rubio killed her husband but then she confessed it was her. She killed Berenice to be with him, to get her hands on the family fortune. Ginebra denies again, why would she wait 6 years to put her plan into motion then? The Patio would like to know that, too.

Esteban insists Rubio is lying because he’s covering for someone. She killed her husband, kidnapped her daughter, hired a sniper… she is capable of everything. She now has the chance to tell the whole truth. If she killed his wife, he will… He looks like he’s about to explode. She mocks him, did she love that woman so much? He gets mad, pushes her to the floor, Gin actually looks scared. She’s a tiny woman, Esteban could kill her with one hand tied behind his back if he wanted to.

Still on the floor, she says she has cameras in the entire house, she wants to be seen hurting on them, puts on an act about being afraid of him. Only when she’s out of camera view does she become her normal psycho self and tells him he can’t do anything against her. She knows where his kids are and where Paz is. And if he killed her, Paz would never be with him.

Esteban wonders how she manages to control everyone. She says this is not about power, this is about knowing everyone’s secrets and what buttons to push. He promises he will find a way to take her and her brother down, she’s a black widow but she won’t win for much longer. She laughs it off, there is nothing he can do about it, she is much worse than he could ever imagine. And I’ve never seen Ginebra look prouder. She’s a psycho, but she’s owning it. Kudos, I guess…

She pulls out a gun. Esteban says he’s not afraid of her. Gin actually hands him the gun, could he pull the trigger? Of course he can’t and Gin enjoys seeing the terror on his face.

The bodyguard who is watching the kids sees a video of the confrontation between Esteban and Ginebra and goes to tell Mauro about it. Mauro knows Ginebra can held her own (can she ever!), but tells him to go home, he will stay with the kids.

Jeronimo is receiving messages from internet trolls about his dad and Gala. He ignores them and sends Gala a message, wanting to know if she’s doing better. Kenzo comes to speak with him. He wants to talk about Nandy, so Jer asks him if he’s gay? The day he will want to get closer to Nandy, he will have to “be” with a man. He does have a point.

Lupita, Nandy and Pepa are doing laundry, hoping to have Paz with them soon. Pepa has a hard time talking about their time in jail, he suffered a lot. Nandy is used to being badly treated, so Lupita and Pepa encourage her, too.

Mireya arrives just as they are about to hug and joins in.

The doctor has come to take blood from all the kids (why?). Bosco doesn’t get it, but apparently Esteban decided this, he wants his kids to be well (Light bulb moment for Adriana Noel, he’s looking for poison). They talk about Gala’s situation and Eder and Bosco promise to stand by her just as she was always with them in the past.

Ginebra is now offering Esteban wine. He’s furious, still thinking about everything that Gin has ever done. He now believes she even orchestrated Lupita being attacked by Rubio. And he confirms that his kids are being tested to see if they haven’t ingested something bad. Why is she doing all of this, when did her soul get so rotten? Gin says he’s come from nothing, too, he always wants to prove himself, too. Esteban says she wants him, so if she stops tormenting the people he loves, she can have him. He will never love her, but he will play along.

Gin dares him to kiss her to prove that he can be with her. He barely gives her a peck on the lips, she asks for more, kiss her like he’d kiss Paz and then she will make all his dreams come through. He looks disgusted and terrorized, but he complies, and he goes in for a hot smooch. But then Gin turns into Paz and we realize Esteban is fantasizing about her. When they stop “Paz” asks her how could he! Then Gin is back, she’s happy about the kiss. Esteban asks her to do what she has to do now that she got her real kiss. She turns to her phone.

Salomon buys Nandy a high-quality wig. Yes, it was expensive, but she deserves it. Mireya says that yeah, they have to feel good for themselves, but if they can wow Kenzo, too, why not? Nandy is happy with the gift, but finally decides not to use the wig, it would be like hiding. And she won’t do that anymore, she will keep her short hair. What she will do instead is change her hairstyle. She becomes a blonde.

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Comments:
Adriana: Intriguing job on the recap of last night's episode. Keep it up!


 

Merci, Adriana, and good work.

How long will Esteban endure this before going mad? How will he be able to communicate anything to anyone? Who will lose his mind first, Esteban or Mauro?

I noticed that the spy necklace was missing, so it was probably stolen in the women's prison. If it still works Ginebra could find out who has it and bribe her to return it to Paz so she could spy on her. Or will the women in that cell block protect Paz because of her food?

Mauro would have noticed the absence of that necklace but he said nothing.

Humberto is not being totally honest with Paz either and that has me worried, especially since it now appears that we are only just over the hump on this story. At this rate we will never hear from him or Porfirio about how and why the estrangement happened.

It has also occurred to me that any money Ginebra has in offshore banks would likely have been scored outside of Mexico so those murders were outside of Mexican jurisdiction. Which means that she will likely never go to trial and therefore will have to die at the end of this story unless she fakes her death and starts over like we saw five years ago in the short version of Cuna de Lobos.

I am not sure how to feel about Elvira at this point. She is a bitch but didn't deserve to have her father take away her baby back then. She is not responsible for how Ginebra became what she is, but we know Ginebra will never believe that.

Finally, if Sandro is Ginebra's spawn, under what circumstances was he conceived? Ginebra is vain enough to not want her body ruined by pregnancy nor would having a baby to sell it to the highest bidder be a time-efficient way to make big money. Would Felipa know the answers to those questions?
 

Adriana thanks for filling in the blanks on the discussions. I didn't realize all the kids were having blood work, but I watched this episode on my phone last night so it was a small screen and I need the CC's so some of the action I miss while reading. Gee, the one who needed the blood work was Esteban though. As someone mentioned yesterday, I believe, Mauro will probably be the one to turn on Gin and depose her and her reign of terror. So the timeline is still 6 years ago per Gin's statement to Esteban, so not too much time has transpired since the death of Gin's husband and Sam's memory loss. Probably only 2 or 3 months, which could explain Gema being able to put Sal on the hook as the baby daddy candidate.
 

UA, about the necklace, my theory is prisoners have personal items like that taken from them and return them (hopefully) when they are released. If I were Mireya I wouldn't be wearing his gift anymore (especially since it was so ugly).
 

Urban, I can totally see Gin getting away at the end, faking her death and starting over someplace else.
It would be a normal conclusion to her character arc. She's a nutty criminal, but she is also a surviver, she could move to Timbukto, for all we know, pass herself for a rich heiress and marry the Governor of the land before Paz has the time to prepare one portion of tacos.

Kat, Esteban was asking why did she wait 6 years to go after him, because 6 years had passed since Bere's death at the start of the story. We don't have any type of solid facts about how much time has passed since then. But Sal being the baby daddy would make it about a cople of months... hmm?
I was the one to mention Mauro turning on Gin, but I'm sure we've all been thinking it.
 

Kat, that is probably SOP but novelas don't always get this right.

I agree that it was not attractive. She should have suspected something because Mauro comes off as a man who would have good taste in things. He looks great in turtlenecks (Are those coming back in style? Esteban also wears those.), has the right haircut, and knows about wine.

Samara is now 7 years old. A year has passed since the time jump. The face-paint party was on the 7th anniversary of her disappearance from the hospital.

I don't think Gema is pregnant by Salomon. She was quite evasive when her madrina questioned her.
 

Thanks, Adriana, I enjoyed reading your recap with my breakfast. I can’t imagine how Esteban must be feeling. He really has no way out. He is still working to solve this but what would he do with the information.

I’m glad Paz told Humberto not to speak badly of Esteban when he wasn’t here to defend himself. I guess he’ll do what it takes to win her, but I don’t think she’ll date him.

I thought Esteban kissed Ginebra to get something in return. Was it Paz’s freedom or something else?

I wonder if Fobo will really resign. At least Elvira seemed to be softening. But I wonder how she’ll feel about Ginebra and Esteban dating. I don’t think she was thrilled that Bernice married him as she still seems to look down on him.

I’m with others who think it will have to be Mauro that brings this to an end.

It looks like Jeronimo will stand by his dad. I hope so.

Liz
 

Thanks, Adriana, for a great recap. I admit I FF'ed through a couple of those scenes, so I appreciate you filling them in so beautifully -- I'd rather hear it from you. I love this novela for its themes, its acting, and its non-formulaic surprises, but there are just too many scenes that are hard to watch.

If Gin doesn't meet a convincing end, I may never be able to watch another tn without being afraid she'll pop up somewhere.

Isn't Abdul just the scariest babysitter ever? I'm surprised no one called the cops. Neither of those kids looks anything like him. Maybe Cobija, a little.
 

Cher Adriana , WOW...You did a great recap! merci for the amazing job you did on that scary episode that made everything seem to be going Gin's way .You gave us every moment of terror.

Daniel's portrayal of Esteban 's fear , repulsion , and hopelessness was so well done. Upon figuring out that Gin was responsible for Berenece's death made him completely lose it as he pushed the evil queen to the floor . Gin seemed to feel triumphant when that happened , so she is both a sadist and a masochist . Then, Esteban noticed the camera. Watching her insist that Esteban kiss her like he kisses Paz was so creepy. Ugh. Will she demand that he sleep with her ? Will he be able to comply? Could he physically be able to perform for this monster?

I couldn't figure out why the kids were all having blood taken . So...did Gin tell Esteban that she was poisoning them Or did he just suspect that ? Poisoning would have had to have started after Paz was sent to jail because she was preparing their food.

Urban, Gin was pregnant with the baby girl she lost after delivery. That's why she had Mauro buy Paz's baby .

Yikes...where are the writers going to take this story ? How will Esteban get out of this awful trap Gin has him in ? He is between the devil and the deep blue sea ...well , between the devil and devilish Gin, who wants him to want her . How far can she make him go ? Intimacy? Marriage? Will Esteban tell Elvira that Gin killed Berenece? Will Elvira tell Esteban that Gin is her daughter? Does Esteban know that Elvira had another daughter ? Susan
 

Thanks, Adriana. The recap was fantastic. Nothing to add. No matter how I complain about characters or plots, I keep watching. Ginebra might go down as a legendary villain in the end. Esteban was smart getting blood taken from ALL his kids.

Blue Lass, so true and so funny about Abdul. Poor Cobija if there is a resemblance.
 

Adriana, that you for the wry wit you sprinkled throughout which was the perfect antidote to the ongoing overt cruelty throughout. This was an incredible recap.

"Their families hate one another! Oh, Romeo and Juliet in their 40’s. One is a criminal, the other a single mother. So 21st century! Shakespeare would be proud". Indeed he would...

He grabs one of her fingers (hopefully not the milddle one)" was a clever respite from the madness.

As everything further descends into hell, I can't help but wonder where things go to from here. Even if Esteban's chip can be removed how can he research a physician or vet when his every word and movement is tracked??

I agree with everyone who said Mauro is the key. He is going to need to go rogue. And God willing, quickly.

I am more worried than ever about Sam and Monito; their health and safety continue to be in grave jeopardy. Perhaps Elvira might become aware of Gin's true nature somehow. Something has got to give.

"Isn't Abdul just the scariest babysitter ever? I'm surprised no one called the cops. Neither of those kids looks anything like him. Maybe Cobija, a little". Thanks Blue Lass, we needed that!

Thank you Adriana, this was marvelous.

Diana
 

Anonymous 10:21AM I am well aware of Ginebra's pregnancy and stillbirth. Her motive for that pregnancy was to insure an inheritance from Elias, as he expected her to give him at least one child. Her contingency plan backfired on her when he saw the surface of her cruelty to Samara and left everything to the child in his will.

I posted it rather late to Monday's discussion but since Ginebra always seems to think of contingencies she must have a stash of Viagra or Cyalis to guarantee performance.

TN Law typically dictates that no huge secret ever stays buried. Elvira will eventually reveal that Ginebra is her daughter; she has the DNA test results as proof. She is chomping at the bit to tell this. Esteban is screwed either way in the matter of which revelation happens first. Elvira is eating out of Ginebra's hand right now so Ginebra can easily lie her way out of any accusation that she killed Berenice. Elvira might kick Esteban out of the mansion if he is not already married to the Black Widow In Leather.

So far only Ginebra, Mauro, and Vermin know that Samara is Paz' stolen baby. That is likely to be the last secret standing.
 

Testing... sorry if anyone sees this. Just trying to figure out why I can't comment from my computer. If you are reading this, I've obviously solved the problem
 

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