"...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.