Warning: there are plenty of spoilers about the Spanish drama Velvet ahead.
Fashion Insight: You can never go wrong with Chanel
Ross and Rachel of the Week: Clara and Mateo
Spanish Culture Clue: An out-of-wedlock child isn’t nearly as scandalous as one would expect it might in the Catholic Spain of the Franco era. I suspect some liberties have been taken.
Language Point: “No te preocupes” rolls off the tongue, even when Ana is talking to people with whom she would usually usted.
We see B-roll of Paris. At the hotel, Raul discusses dinner plans. Alberto says that he is getting sick. Ana says she has a cold. Hence, they can’t join in the run. Raul and Rita leave for dinner, and Ana and Alberto scamper across the hotel lobby.
Yes, dear reader, they scamper.
But then> We see Ana and Rita enter a huge suite. Sometimes the production values of this show are a little, um, off.
Back at Velvet, Pedro is rehearsing his proposal ans is surprised by Mateo. In the poffice, Mateo tells Clara about the proposal and also that he would like to spend more time with her. Sure, he had another girlfriend, but she had Pedro, so they were even.
Pedro and Clara arrive at Pausa. Pedro has worked out a plan with the piano player and the waiter. But then! A woman from his hometown, Rosa Maria, shows up looking for Pedro. She has a son, Manolito–and Pedro is the father. Clara is happy to see Rosa Maria because it interrupts the proposal.
Back in Paris, Alberto and Ana return to scampering, this time to dinner at a super-fancy restaurant. Ana is pretty sure she sees Coco Chanel at another table, a sign of a perfect evening. Soon, Ana and Alberto are back at the hotel and in bed.
At Marquez Manor, Patricia sneaks in the door to find Gloria waiting up for her. Gloria discovered that Patricia tried to buy off the PI, but it is Gloria who has the photos of Alberto and Ana.
In the morning, Rita calls Pedro from the hotel lobby to see what happened. Apparently international long-distance calls were super cheap and easy back then. He tells Rita that the proposal didn’t happen but before he can explain, Rita sees Cristina across the lobby. Shocked, Rita hangs up and takes the stairs to warn Ana and Alberto. Rita gets Ana out of Alberto’s room just as Cristina gets off the elevator.
Doña Blanca goes to Devastatingly Handsome Maximiliano’s room and gives him money. It is her savings of 20 years, but she hopes it makes up for not being a mother to him and helps him get on with his live. She sees his packed suitcase and asks why he is leaving. He says that he needs to get away. Upstairs, Mateo arrives at work, sees that Clara has no ring, and commences flirting.
D.H. Max meets his accomplice at the bar, gives him half, says he needs to make a call, and then accuses the accomplice of stealing his wallet. Don’t expect honesty from a dishonest person, right? The police arrive and D.H. Max gets his money back.
Speaking of dishonest people, Luisa goes to deal with sleazy Don Francisco and his wife again. She cuts her hand to get out of the appointment. Doña Blanca takes over the fitting and tells sleazy Don Francisco to go elsewhere if he is looking for more than a seamstress.
Back at Marquez Manor, Dona Pilar calls on Gloria. Pilar knows that Gloria was blackmailed, and guess what? She knows what the secrets are, too. Have a nice day, Gloria.
There is entirely too much back and forth in this show, because now we’re back to Doña Blanca telling Luisa to look for a job elsewhere. The problem is that sleazy Don Francisco is a big customer, and he’s making trouble. LUisa runs into Doña Cayenta and tries to enlist her help. Doña Cayenta tells Luisa to be grateful, a useful reminder of the dangers of bringing third parties into conflicts.
On the sales floor, Patricia is shocked to see her friend Susu come in. None of Patricia’s friends know she has a job. Patricia is mortified, and she is surprised that the other clerks don’t understand her pain. But give her credit. Patricia does her job, and like a good frenemy, Susu promises to tell everyone at the club about what a good salesperson Patricia is.
Meanwhile. Pedro gets ready to meet Manolito. He’s really excited. His guys can swim! Pedro sees Clara in the hallway, but neither will be upfront with the other about what’s going on.
Back at Marquez Manor, Gloria sees the mysterious stranger. She’s upset that he sold his information to Pilar, but he says that Pilar paid double. Don’t expect honesty from a dishonest person, right? But he also says that he didn’t tell Pilar everything, and he won’t tell her, either, if Gloria agrees to pay some more.
We return to Paris. Ana agrees to wait up until 1:00 am for Alberto. Rita is mad because Ana won’t go out. Cristina, dressed to kill, goes to dinner with Alberto at the same place he took Ana. Really, Alberto isn’t very smart, is he?
But we can’t continue this story line yet, because we are dealing with producers who have ADHD or something. Now, we see D.H. Max go to Doña Blancaa’s room to confess. He is not her son, but he grew up in the same orphanage that he did. When Eduardo died, three months ago, D.H. Max took the scapular and went to look for Blanca. He and other orphanage restident were going to pull a scam, but then he had second thoughts. “You can’t start from scratch by lying,” he says.
Sleazy Don Francisco is waiting in the alley for Luisa. He threatens to tell her husband about the affair.
And now, we go back to the fancy French restaurant, where Cristina tells Alberto that she overheard the waiters gossipping about Alberto having a regular table but not a regular companion. Alberto tells Cristina that it was just an old friend and that he is in love with her.
Meanwhile, Ana waits. Rita whines about being unlucky in love. These ladies are really pathetic, aren’t they? I mean, they are on an expense-account trip to Paris. Many years ago, I was fortunate enough to spend a weekend in London on expense account, and trust me, I had a lot of fun. I went to a club and saw a band called 999. These two can’t get beyond room-service alcohol and general whining.
Alberto and Cristina return. Cristina is very drunk and wants to spend the night with Alberto even though she is, you know, respectable. Ana hears them in the hallway and knows that her night of passion is not happening. Alberto waits for Cristina to fall asleep and knocks on Ana’s door and this is so pathetic I can’t continue. In fact, it is so pathetic that the episode is over.
