Silvialogy 3x26

by Dr. Pied Piper 


LHDP 3x26

(If you want to watch the Silvia-only clip without downloading it, the link is at the end of the post. You can also download the full episode here.)

From last episode: Mr. Chipmunk is in the holding cell with Don Lorenzo who is determined to do a Dick Cheney just to get a confession out of him. Paco sends Mariano home for a time out because his pain about Bernarda's death all rush back upon seeing Mr. Chipmunk. Lucas and Sara are planning a getaway to Madagascar for Sara's 18th birthday. Since Mariano is home, Paco asks him to tail Lola whom he suspects of having an affair; the two end up flirting. Ruth The Mole activates Plan B and sends the bad guys to the comisaria to "rescue" Mr. Chipmunk (although she herself has carried on the facade of being another innocent bystander). They get in by pretending to be bad cops and cadavers in a body bag - Silvia is Ground Zero for this operation.

Silvia is being led down the stairs by the bad guys to take her place amongst the hostages. Great acting from MA when they throw her down the floor. Drama School pays off. Curtis, who was shot (AGAIN!) when he went to the holding cell and was used as a negotiating pawn instead, is dragged next to Silvia.

Silvia calls Quique over to assist her in stopping the bleeding. Silvia proceeds to remove her SUJETADOR to use as a torniquet. At which point I too want to get shot just so Silvia can patch me up with her bra.

Bad Guy asks what Silvia is doing. Really? Can't you just enjoy the show? Silvia carefully removes her bra and waves it at Bad Guy to prove that there aren't any hidden weapons.

Really, there's no weapon, and if I were you, Bad Guy, I'd prostrate my self in front of that piece of clothing, because I know the sacred place where it just came from.

Hello, nipples! Okay, carry on then. Silvia uses her bra as a torniquet to try to stop Curtis' bleeding. Curtis, you're one lucky sonofabitch. I want to be that bra in my next life.

Silvia looks at Paco - DL needs his insulin shot or he could die (or go on a diabetic coma). Before she crawls over to Paco, et. al., she asks Quique to apply pressure to the entry wound and tells him not to be afraid.

Silvia talks to Ruth, Montoya, and Paco about her father. Paco looks over to the Bad Guys and sees the body of Eva Internal Affairs, who was killed earlier before she could testify against Mr. Chipmunk. (Pove, who was standing near by, got sprayed all over his face by Eva's blood, hence his 2-episode red face makeup)

Paco cowboys up and decides to talk to the bad guys. He wants to negotiate: give DL his insulin shot and Silvia will patch up Uriarte's gunshot wound in the leg.

Silvia stands up when she hears Paco pimp her name: "Dr. Castro can save the life of your boss."

Bad Guy points a gun at Silvia, who remains calm and brave. She says that their boss will die without medical attention, and she is the only doctor on the floor.

She asks Bad Guy to let her get the medical instruments she needs and she can save his boss' life. For someone who was just shot by these very same fuckers (and boy, were we reminded over and over via slow motion flashbacks), Silvia remains brave and defiant in front of a loaded gun pointed at her head. I love you Silvia! Will you Marry me?

Silvia is at the holding cell applying a torniquet to Uriarte's leg to stop the bleeding while DL still has him in a choke hold with a gun pointed at this neck.

When Silvia attempts to give DL the insulin shot, Uriarte stops her, and with his goons all pointing their guns at Silvia, Paco, and DL, Silvia has no choice. DL tells her not to worry about him and to take care of Curtis and Rita (who, as anyone can expect from LHDP, goes into labor).

Uriarte wants to escape and demands a helicopter for a clean getaway. DL says No Way. Chipmunk says that if they don't comply, his goons will throw a dead body outside the window every 10 minutes. And then I tuned out because Silvia has left the building! Nah, not really, only the holding cell.

Next, Silvia is at the shooting-range-turned-maternity ward. She's giving clean towels and instructions to Povedilla because she has to go attend to Curtis. There's a scene when Pove was panicking and talking to Silvia where MA was trying hard not to laugh (7:03). Next scene shows a completely serious Silvia.

Silvia goes back to the floor to check on Curtis. He is still bleeding and being held by his secret lover Quique. Montoya comes over to assist.

Silvia cuts Curtis' shirt to reveal the really bad fake blood smeared all over his hairy chest. He is still bleeding profusely and Silvia says he needs a transfusion. WHAT? HERE? NOW? HOW? We learn that Curtis' blood type is O positive.

Silvia crawls over to Paco and suckers him into giving blood. Et voilà, instant blood transfusion. Paco tells Curtis he's also receiving his cholesterol... Small talk, blah, blah, blah, Small talk.

Back Stories

There are SO MANY! Lucas and Aitor are outside fighting over Sara (what else is new?) while trying to rig the comisaria's ventilation system. Lola and Mariano's innocent flirtation is no longer so innocent; daydreams, heartaches, expectations, attractions, and all those other messy stuff are already in play. They almost kiss but are interrupted by Carlota and her little sheriff star necklace. Later on, Mariano and Lola realize that written on the pendant are coordinates. They enter the numbers into a GPS which leads them to the cemetery - the grave of Lucas' mother. They go down the crypt where (gag!) Lola and Mariano think it is the best time and place to talk about their feelings, the impossibility of their situation, etc. And they kiss. AND KISS AGAIN! In a crypt, in front of an open grave with a skeleton inside - THEY KISS! What the FUCK is wrong with these fucking writers? Seriously! I thought they would start making out right there and then if not for the lapida (grave marker) falling over revealing another grave. Inside they find all sorts of documents which include pictures of Ruth all lovey-dovey with Mr. Chipmunk.

Meanwhile, Bad Guys take Ruth to the holding cell. At this point, the comisaria still doesn't know that she's the mole, so Montoya tries to defend her and he gets smacked. Ruth "pleads" to "Loren" (remember, they used to date, so she can forego the formality of calling him "Don") to let Uriarte go or the bad guys will kill all of them, including her and his grand daughter - all the while with a gun behind her ready to shoot DL if needed. Just as she says that "sometimes, in order to free a life, you have to take another", DL's cell phone rings. It's Mariano, who tells him that Ruth is the mole. At this point, Ruth surreptitiously pulls the gun behind her ready to shoot DL, but DL pulls his gun and shoots her first. And shoots her again. And again.

The clusterfuck that is San Antonio is highlighted by a series of montage: Ruth dying, Montoya crying, Pove panicking, Rita crowning, DL crying, baby coming... Quique craddling bleeding Curtis on this lap... I am now half-expecting everyone to break into a sing-a-long of Se Me Olvido Otra Vez

DL faints from lack of insulin and Chipmunk is freed from his choke hold. Bad Guys lead their leader out of the holding cell, but the comisaria is surrounded and they have to find a way to get out of there. So they corral everyone into the main floor and start to choose hostages. Just then, the ventilation sytem starts working, Lucas knows that Aitor has succeeded in doing whatever it is he is supposed to do, and winks at Sara.

I don't know what happens next, I guess the vent system starts pumping carbon monoxide CO2 into the air, and everyone starts fading. Pove puts headsets into Rita with Pachelbel's Canon in D playing to calm her down and also to provide for the dramatic music as one by one, everyone starts falling down. VERY CHEESY SCENE, especially when the last 2 standing were Lucas and Sara and of course they fall into each other's arms. SOMEBODY, PLEASE SHOOT ME NOW BEFORE I SHOOT THESE TWO!

Just then, Aitor walks in with a mask to see everyone on the floor, and the scene before him is kinda like the morning after one of the parties at the University 24/7 Bar. The cops and SWAT team barge in. THEY AREN'T WEARING ANY MASK! WTF?

THE END?

Uhm, NO. It's a cliffhanger and you don't know who dies and who survives, who goes to jail and who gets their heart broken. The story arc will go on for another 5 episodes or so before El Kaiser comes in.

Watch the episode in HD

Piper's Commentary: For some reason, some folks pick this episode as one of their favorites and I don't really know why. The whole episode fails in the realism category. It's like someone presenting you with a loaded baked potato with all the goodies like sour cream and chives and bacon and cheddar. WITHOUT THE POTATO. Well, this episode is that loaded baked un-potato.

First of all, how can a police station, you know, WHERE THE COPS ARE, be held captive by a band of hoods? Really. How could Curtis survive after this? How could anyone not miraculously recover after being patched with Silvia's bra?

AND that fake blood! Good gawd! Whatever it was, it didn't look anything like blood, which is kinda distracting afterwards especially the way it's smeared on Pove's face.

And all these triangles: Luca-Sara-Aitor, Paco-Lola-Mariano, Silvia-Curtis-Quique... yeah, yeah, we get the point. And we all know the only triangle I understand can be solved by the Pythagorean Theorem a^2 + b^2 = c^2

So this is the end of this semester. I just have one last lecture to post, then I am leaving the podium temporarily to my colleagues who I'm sure will not miss me. There are still a few pre-Pepa episodes in the next season, but they can wait. I can also go back to the first 2 seasons and give more comprehensive lectures (and pictures), but that too can wait.

Sabbatical, what a novel idea... and after the 54th episode, she rested...

"...And Maybe Then You'll Know What Love Is"

 by KalikeCA, Esq

As we saw in the last lecture, love can give a person courage and strength. However, it can also make a person act irrationally, as even Pepa acknowledged that there are a lot of "shitty things that a person does thanks to love."

This was certainly true in Pepa's case. After one too many shots of tequila, Pepa, in an inebriated state of love, told Silvia that she wanted to have children with her. Once sobriety set in, Pepa unintentionally humiliated Silvia while venting her frustrations to Paco and literally got her mouth "busted open for love" as a result. But Pepa was so in love and wanted so desperately to make the woman she loved happy that it led her to genuinely believe that if she found a man to impregnate herself, Silvia would see how much she loved her.

Although love clouded Pepa's judgment and only exacerbated the situation, it was also love that prevented Pepa from walking away even when Silvia asked Pepa to let her go. Pepa's love for Silvia was so strong that she literally couldn't "stand the thought of being more than 2 centimeters apart" from her and it was this love that made her fight for their relationship. And if this meant that Pepa would have to file a bogus mobbing charge against Silvia and pretend to be pregnant and dating someone else, then Pepa would do it. Because love had convinced Pepa that she couldn't be, and never wanted to be, just friends with Silvia.

Love sustained Pepa's faith in her belief that she and Silvia were always meant to be together. Faith that they would eventually reconcile. Faith that she didn't need a Top 5 list of fantasies, because "the only star (in her life) will be (her) redhead: (her) fiance, the one who's going to be (her) wife." Faith that if Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, Raphael and Natalia Figueroa and other celebrity couples can be happily married, then so can Pepa and Silvia.

Upon her return to San Antonio, Pepa was socked in the face with love, and from that point on, she let it become the driving force behind her major life decisions. Love got her to stay in San Antonio. Love allowed her to believe that she and Silvia could be more than friends. Love motivated her to fight for their relationship even when it seemed like a lost cause. And love overpowered her fears, erasing them and leaving only joy. The pure joy that can only be experienced from staring into the eyes of your true love. A love that leaves you with a million-watt smile and a feeling you can't get rid of and, you realize, you never want to get rid of.

Because once you've been socked in the face with love, you know what love truly is, and you realize you'll do anything you have to in order to hold on to that feeling.

kalike

*The titles for these first two lectures are based on lyrics from the song "Sock You in the Face with Love" by The XYZ Affair.

"I'm Gonna Sock You in the Face with Love..."

  by KalikeCA, Esq

Who is Pepa Miranda? Before we can answer this question, we first have to ask: what drives her? What motivates Pepa to act the way that she does? It is only after we answer this question that we can truly begin to understand who Pepa is. After all, a person's motivations help shape who they are - their character traits, their decisions in life, etc. So, what is the driving force behind all that is Pepa Miranda? I believe the answer to this question is love. More specifically, Pepa's love for Silvia, because "Silvia is who (Pepa's) dreamed of (her) entire life."

Pepa is a self-professed "romantic fool." When Pepa falls in love, she falls hard, as if she's been punched in the face with love. It gives her "the feeling you get when someone rubs you with their fingers and your stomach turns queasy like you just got off a carnival ride," and it literally becomes the driving factor behind her life decisions. Pepa decided to stay in San Antonio because Silvia - her love - asked her to. And even though Silvia made it clear at this point that she's straight, Pepa is "not the kind of person who gives up." Her love for Silvia is so great that she was willing to be around Silvia in any way that she could, even if it was only as friends sharing breakfast at the shooting gallery or working on a case together.

Love gave Pepa the courage to ask Silvia out on a date when she sensed that there was something more than friendship between them, and love continued to give Pepa hope after she was stood up on their date. When they finally kissed, it was love that provided Pepa with the patience to give Silvia the time she needed to process their new relationship, and love that helped her find the right words to say to alleviate Silvia's fears and teach Silvia how to be with her.

Love saw Pepa through Silvia's journey of self-discovery. She literally felt it wrap around her on that day in the countryside, when Silvia showed Don Lorenzo that Pepa was the person she loved, the person Silvia wanted to spend her life with. And love carried their relationship to the point where they were living in domestic bliss a year later.

But love is not infallible. As strong as Pepa's love for Silvia was, and as much as it helped her realize her dream of being with Silvia, it was also Pepa's love (and a lot of tequila) that nearly tore them apart forever...

kalike

Note: I'm sorry to leave you all hanging, but this lecture is long, and at Dr. Booker's wonderful suggestion, I decided to split it up into two parts. I hope you've all enjoyed it thus far, and I will post the rest of the lecture tomorrow.

Silvialogy 3x25

by Dr. Pied Piper 


LHDP 3x25

(If you want to watch the episode without downloading it, the link is at the end of the post)
It is very hot in Madrid. According to Lucas in his monologue, it is 33C at 2 am. When Silvia gets up that morning, she sees that Lola is cooling herself by dabbing a bag of frozen vegetables on her forehead and chest. Silvia ambles out to get coffee and asks her sister what she's doing.

She then teases her about her plunging neckline, but Lola replies that Paco doesn't really see her. Lola decides she needs a cold shower.

Backstory: Uriarte is being held in the comisaria's interrogation room and his kickass lawyers are undermining the case as circumstantial. Mariano goes ballistic and yells that Uriarte is responsible for Bernarda's death. Paco sends him home to cool down. While his kickass lawyers are getting ready to walk out of there for lack of evidence, a key witness to a murder committed by Uriarte is found and is ready to testify. Unbeknownst to everyone, Ruth is pulling the strings to spring up Uriarte: key witness ends up dead.

Silvia is done with key witness' autopsy and is presenting the results to DL, Lucas, Paco, and Pove. (Pove?! WTF?) She does the groaning thingy to remind us that she has been shot and is still in recovery; per script. DL fusses over her.

Key Witness was poisoned and Silvia thinks it was most probably administered through a drink; he died 15 minutes after the poison hits his system. DL realizes that Key Witness was in the comisaria for more than 15 minutes before he died. Therefore, whoever poisoned him did so within the precinct walls.

(How many Silvia screencaps of this angle do I have?)

Silvia confirms his theory by saying that the only prints found on the utencils were those of Keywitness guy himself... and Jose Luis Povedilla!? (Okay, now we know why he's in the autopsy room - per script, it wouldn't be half as funny if he wasn't when his name is announced.)

(This must be camera guy's most favorite Silvia angle)

Pove immediately starts sweating (it's already hot to begin with) and cannot stop professing his innocense to DL and anyone who will listen. As a practicing Catholic, he offers to swear on the Bible. He volunteers to take a lie detector test. He offers to take pentotal / truth serum. DL asks him to shut up.

Meanwhile, Lucas and Sara are hooking up again; he promised her a trip to Madagascar on her 18th birthday, which apparently is coming very soon. Since Mariano is home on time out, Paco asks him to tail Lola as he is beginning to suspect that she's having an affair. Against their better judgment, Mariano and Lola start flirting.

At the comisaria. Uriarte's kickass lawyers are requesting that he be released immediately for lack of evidence. But DL checks Montoya's watch and tells them that by law, he still has 2 hours, 13 minutes, and 46 seconds to hold him without cause and he intends to do so until the very last second. *Snap!* At the holding cell, Uriarte ponders his fate while Paco, et.al., are in the adjacent cell. They try to scare him into confession by making up torturous sounds and later splattering themselves with fake blood. However, DL comes in, dismisses them, and volunteers to water-board Uriarte himself. Uriarte, who looks like a cross between a chipmunk and American actor Miguel Ferrer, activates Plan B: Ruth organizes a hostage rescue.

To gain access to the comisaria and free him, Uriarte's men masquerade as cop and cadavers from another precinct who all land in Silvia's lab. This isn't loss on our forensics expert and she suspiciously eyes fake cop.

After she opens one of the body bags, she sees that it is the same bad guy who shot her. (Flashback of Silvia getting shot. Again! How many times do those freaking writers have to remind us that Silvia got shot? Apparently, a lot, because they did again in episode 104!) But dead men don't look back at you and this one does. Silvia screams as Bad Shooter Guy gets up from the table.

Bad Guys chloroform Silvia and she falls on the floor unconscious. They then put on fake badges / IDs and are now ready to infiltrate the comisaria and rescue Mr. Chipmunk.

Watch clip in HD

Silvialogy 3x24

by Dr. Pied Piper 


LHDP 3x24

(If you want to watch the episode without downloading it, the link is at the end of the post)

Silvia is released from the hospital and she comes home to Lola's to convalesce. Everyone is fussing about her, to Silvia's annoyance, who keeps saying "Estoy bien" as they help her from the wheelchair to the couch.

DL sits right next to her and says it's better if she's in the hospital where doctors and medical professionals can keep an eye on her. Silvia says, "Papa, soy medico" (I am a doctor) and adds that she's okay.

Paco asks if she needs anything and she asks for a glass of water. Meanwhile, DL takes a folder out of his briefcase, smiles at Silvia, and asks her if she's sure she wants to see it: it is about HER shooting. Silvia nods in agreement.

DL takes out the ballistic report to show to Silvia; the bullets match the ones in Caso de Uriarte. Silvia reads the report.

Lola protested questioning whether this is really the right moment to bring all these things up. Silvia turns to her ands says, "this is work, it is not personal. I cannot sleep without knowing"

Then Silvia turns back to DL and asks for the bullet they fished out of her. She looks at it reverently with flashbacks of that fateful night, knowing that it took away from her much more than a piece of her intestines.

The door bell rings and outside is a flower delivery guy. Paco teases that Silvia hasn't been home for 10 minutes and someone's already sending her flowers - until he looks at the card: the flowers are for Lola (who actually sent them to herself because she's been feeling neglected and wanted to make Paco a tad jealous). Silvia snaps out of her momentary reverie and correctly (and rather proudly) tells DL that the bullet came from a 22-calibre gun.

Extra scene of Pignoise singing Nada Podra Salvarte at Cachis while Aitor & Sara are enjoying some PDA, Lola and Mariano are dancing in another part of Cachis (exactly how big is this place, anyway?) for pretend date night, and Lucas and Paco conducting surveillance on Uriarte and his men.

Later on that night, Silvia is getting something from the refrigerator when she hears movement from outside...

...and sees a shadow lurking towards the house.

She stealthily moves towards the door and reaches out for the gun that she carries in her wheelchair.

As the doorknob moves, Silvia points her gun at the door and screams, "FREEZE or I'll SHOOT, cabron!"

It was Lucas who says "Silvia, soy yo!" Silvia looks to make sure it is truly him before she puts down the gun.

Silvia: Joder, Lucas! Don't you know how to ring the doorbell?
Lucas: Sorry, Silvia. I'm here to fetch Carlota. I didn't want to wake anyone.

He walks towards her then looks at Silvia's gun.

Lucas: What's going on? Do you usually keep a gun in your wheelchair?
Silvia: In this family, you eventually have to.
Lucas: I'm sorry for what happened, Silvia. I'm really sorry.
Silvia: You did not "officiate" over what happened.
Lucas: You only wanted to protect me... and you were the one who got shot. You lost your child and it's my fault.
Silvia: No, Lucas, a 22-calibre bullet went through my stomach. You're not responsible for that.

Lucas looks at his ex and kneels in front of her and takes her hand.

Lucas: I will not rest until the sonofabitch who did this to you is behind bars. You know that, right?
Silvia: Okay, my caballero, get moving.
Lucas: You're good?
Silvia (nods as she pulls her hands from Lucas' grasp): Go see your sister.

Lucas gets up, kisses her forehead, and leaves. Silvia, still in her wheelchair, stares at nothing.

Then she cries as she finally realizes that she has paid a very high price for a love that is never coming her way...

Caso de Uriarte update: Lucas and Paco's surveillance paid off when they got the man himself, Uriarte. They want to know who his mole is from within the force, so they took his mobile and dials the last number. It rings and who picks up but doesn't answer? Ruth Montalban. She's the mole.

Watch clip in HD

Piper's Commentary: For some reason, this has always been one of my favorite Silvia episodes, maybe because this is when Silvia is finally freed from the (imaginary) chains that bind her to Lucas (albeit she willed that chain upon herself).

We all do that sometimes - hold on to an illusion that somehow, somewhere, our love makes a difference. That maybe by loving someone long enough and hard enough and true enough and honest enough, they will somehow eventually love us back. Silvia learns the truth in the most painful way. She paid a very high price for the right to dream. In one clean sweep, her past (Lucas) and her future (the baby), both of which meant more than life itself, were taken away from her.

When she finally took her hand away from Lucas', she's affirming her intent to move on; that she has already lost so much and doesn't have anything more to give. And when she cries silently in the dark - away from Lucas and away from anyone's view - when no one else except herself can see the tears - she knows that she's crying for what could have been and what had come to pass. For a dream that's taken her a lifetime to build; for a sandcastle that she has created and nurtured and in one instance was swept away by that single wave from the sea.

So this is the end of Silvia 3.0. In this episode, Silvia version 3 died to give way to Silvia 4.0. And it can only make us appreciate how she, despite her despair and unimaginable pain, managed to pick up the pieces of her broken dreams and again allowed herself to believe that love can still prevail.