Rapunzel

I live in San Diego and sadly, the tunnels are very real and are all along the boarder and keep moving, which is why ICE and the DEA have such a hard time shutting them down. The tunnels are one of the reasons a "wall" will never really work. There are always ways around it, and many have been able to move fairly freely back and forth between the US and Mexico. The drugs, unfortunately, do as well, despite efforts to stop them.

Thanks Marsupial. You articulated many of the issues I have with the US Version quite well. I also tried to view this as a completely different story, separate from the original though sharing some similarities. However, that is not how it has turned out so far. With a bigger budget, known actors, higher production values, etc. I was expecting more from this version. Instead, it has just made me miss the original all the more. This version is creeping along and does not have the same character development or variety of characters that the original has. The setting is also no where near as interesting and that plays a pretty key part in the original. Though the original had more episodes to work with, this version is still just creeping along and has accomplished what the original did in a few episodes, as I mentioned in an earlier post. This back and forth between Mexico and Texas is ridiculous - especially for someone who wants to get out of danger and start her own life. They are making the character of Teresa seem just stupid, which she wasn't in the original. This version is a let down for me as I know how Teresa was originally portrayed (and she had basically the same info in the first episode as the Teresa in the current version does), but they are making her seem so ignorant in this version and not able to turn certain things to her advantage. I'll put some info about Brenda in spoiler tags for those who don't want to know how she was in the original version.

I lived in Japan for several years and have seen the competition live. They do not adjust obstacles - everyone competes on the same course. This is partially why it is so difficult and that, in its 32 seasons in Japan, all four stages were only completed a total of five times (by four different competitors). The courses in Japan seemed to me to be much more difficult. I don't understand why some of the contestants on the American version don't watch the YouTube videos that are out there showing them how to complete certain obstacles that most on ANW fail on. Many Japanese competitors have figured out the trick to some of the more difficult obstacles. I think the only reason more haven't finished in Japan is because the course is harder. ANW steals most of the obstacles from the Japanese original and, in some cases, even dumbs them down.

No worries - all are very interesting subjects. I'm spoiler tagging some info on Griselda for those who may not want to know much about her and her history. Griselda was basically one of the first female drug queens and started back in the 70s, which is why I wish they would make an accurate series out of her life. I'll spoiler tag some additional info on her family, which also helps distinguish her from Teresa in "Queen of the South." as well as "La Reina del Sur." Nothing too major, just a fact about Griselda's real life.

No, definitely not Griselda. Queen of the South is based on a True Story (read the book), but not Griselda's. They have completely different life paths and are in completely different locations/eras in real life. As one example of the differences, Teresa, in Queen of the South, and in real life, was from Mexico (called "La Mexicana"). Griselda was from Colombia and spent time in Miami and New York. The time periods are also different - Griselda was big in the 70s. The real life Teresa (whose name is different in real life, I believe), is more recent than then 70s.

Did you watch the Olympics this year? Those girls had way more muscles and far more athletic builds than Kacey can ever hope to have. Kacey has no where near the muscle definition that those gymnasts have. She looks like her clothes are going to fall off of her at any point in time, I would put money on Simone Biles to beat Kacey in any challenge, and Simone is even shorter than Kacey - she's not even 5 feet tall, but is far better built and has way more muscle than Kacey does. Also, as for the course not favoring Kacey or other short people, that is completely inaccurate. The course actually favors those who are a bit lighter, given the tremendous amount of upper body obstacles. I'm also sick of people saying that the spider jump only favors the taller competitors - If you pay attention, you will hear and see that the obstacle narrows a bit in. If you get a good jump off the tramp, which Kacey should know how to use given her gymnastics background, you are in a narrow part of the obstacle. Let's also not forget that Kacey is shown to be able to complete this obstacle in training and in competition, so it has nothing to do with her height. In addition, in Japan, the country where this started, most of the men that actually won are just about 5 feet tall (like Kacey). Most of the competitors over there are not tall at all and yet they still do better on a more difficult course than those who are "tall" seem to do here on ANW. Height has absolutely nothing to do with it and can actually be disadvantage, particularly as the courses are very much upper body strength oriented and being lighter/shorter actually helps.

As the series is called "Narcos," meaning it should be about more than Escobar or even the Cali Cartel, they could technically keep it going for more than just two more seasons. It could be an anthology type series, like American Horror Story, and feature a different Cartel each season. I would love to see a more accurate series done on Griselda Blanco (called the "Godmother" or the "Black Widow"), for example. She had ties to the Medellin Cartel and, though some have stated she and Escobar hated one another, apparently they may have actually had an affair, according to Griselda's diaries. Seeing a more accurate series focused on a female drug lord would be interesting. She earned the "Black Widow" nickname as she had a few husbands die/murdered, and she is definitely interesting enough to warrant an accurate series. The version that is out there now on Netflix is way off the mark as far as accuracy goes. It is still somewhat entertaining, but there isn't much that is historically accurate in that version. Beyond Griselda, there are also many of the Mexican Cartels they could have a series about. There is plenty of material out there to keep the series going for some time - I definitely hope they go beyond Escobar and even the Cali Cartel, which is so closely tied to Escobar.

The definition of "omerta" in the quote above is not really accurate. I'll address that in the next paragraph, but it is about silence, not who gets killed or leaving bodies visible to be buried. It's true that most Cartels generally do not have a code or really follow many rules. I live in San Diego, about 45 minutes from the boarder, and have, on a couple of occasions, seen some nasty things when I've crossed over before, so they definitely seem to have few boundaries. However, the mafia hasn't had a code either for some time (if they had stuck to it, perhaps they would be more dominant than they are today). In the mafia of eras past, they did have some kind of code, but leaving bodies out to ensure they were found to have a Christian/proper burial? Not really accurate at all in many cases. Read up on Murder Inc. - that firm was contracted by the mafia and many of the people they are believed to have killed still have not been found. In any case, the "omerta" code (which, as I mentioned, is about silence, by the way - It has nothing to do with who dies or who can be killed or whether or not bodies are found to be burried) largely died out when the Feds caught on to a lot of their ploys and RICO went into effect. This helped cause the mafia to lose its code, which is what "omerta" was about - keeping your mouth shut (one of the key rules was not to snitch, which is where "omerta" should have come into play - meaning to keep silent). How many mafia members and associates are in witness protection or in jail on reduced sentences because they did snitch and cut a deal (see "Goodfellas" and Henry Hill as well as Sammy "the Bull" Gravano, not to mention the Valachi Papers)? Many of them have written books about what actually happened in that world - they were all pretty high ranking, with Sammy even being Underboss (typically next in line to take over the family if something happens to the boss/head), so the books are fascinating to read. I've actually even spoken to Henry Hill (he left witness protection on his own not too long after he was put in and also wrote a cookbook), the main subject of Goodfellas (Ray Liotta played him in the movie), when I was in college doing my undergrad work. The mafia has also killed women and children, despite the fact that it was originally forbidden back in the very early days. Read some of the biographies and autobiographies out there (many written by high ranking mafia members). Those providing info admit that family members (wives, mothers, children, etc.) were killed. In any case, for Queen of the South, there is only one episode left this season and it has not even come close to the storytelling of the original version. This version has deviated so much that I find myself losing interest since I have seen the original. I'll put some notes about the original in spoiler tags. I have no idea what the last episode holds, but they really have deviated from the original series, and not entirely in a good way. The first episode is the only one that is even close to the original, though there are several differences there as well. If this gets renewed, I'm not sure I will stay with it after having seen the original and the relationships and bonds Teresa forms there. They are not replaceable, nor is the setting. The original had a far better setting than this one does and better characters that were much more developed. They had more episodes to work with in the original, but there are certain things that could have been adjusted in this version to make it a much better story.

Yes, I have seen it. It's over 60 episodes, like most telenovela-type series, but it does go into more detail though there is a fair amount of it that isn't as accurate. It's still an interesting watch though. The actor that plays Pablo in that version isn't nearly as good as Wagner Moura and they show Pablo spouting off on a lot of tantrums, but you do see more detail about his rise from when he was 20 or so - still not really his childhood. I don't recall them even showing his father at all in that version or really even mentioning him. Tata and his mother come across as more sympathetic, however (Tata in particular as they make her seem more naïve), so I think Narcos portrayed those two a bit better, especially as the mother was clearly helping Pablo run drugs very early on (the scene with her making the coat with the pockets for Lion to wear to Miami to hide coke in is in the original Colombian version as well). You also see a lot more of his famous ranch and the zoo he built there and a lot more of his overall extravagance. It also goes into more detail into his relationship with the Ochoa brothers and the formation of the Cartel, though again, they did take a decent amount of dramatic license, more than Narcos does in my opinion, but they do have a lot of episodes to fill up. It's still definitely worth watching, however.

Yes, I was thinking of this line when I wrote my post. His mother was an elementary school teacher in real life, if you can believe it. I also thought that Tata shouldn't be pointing fingers though since she was pretty much same way as well now - she takes what she wants as well after having lived this pampered lifestyle and pretending nothing nefarious is going on at all and that the money she spends is earned by perfectly legitimate means, though the look on her face when they show her looking at the newspaper headlines of the policemen that were murdered definitely says otherwise. The contrast between his mother and father is startling, as you mentioned. I wish we had seen a bit more on Pablo's childhood - even just a few flashbacks. Pablo came from a pretty big family - his parents had 7 children. I don't think they ever actually divorced as they were Catholic, so I wonder if they just went their separate ways because Pablo's mom didn't like farm life.

I thought that they were watching, thinking she, or someone close to Pablo may show, but especially the mother since she never missed it and made a point to mention that. I think they probably followed her from there. I was a little distracted at this point by our dogs however, but my husband believes this is what happened as well. Pablo's mother was so upset when she came back and kept insisting it wasn't her fault and they made such a big deal over her not going to that mass, that it makes sense she was followed back, especially as she doesn't appear to take any security measures or would even notice anyone following her.

Does anyone know for sure if they are making a 3rd series of Narcos? The Cali Cartel would be an interesting topic if they did. Overall, I thought this was well done and fairly accurate based on various biographies and things that I've seen and read. I just kept thinking that, when Tata was so worried about being kicked out of that 5 star hotel suite that she claimed to be "jailed" in while having all of her needs taken care of, that she should sell some of her jewelry and clothing if she was so concerned about money and being able to live once they gave her the boot. She really enjoyed the high life, but though she grew up poor, in real life Pablo married her when she was 14 or something ridiculous like that, so I guess she spent most of her life with money and got used to it. They certainly did not make her very sympathetic in Narcos, which I was glad to see. She made her choices and there is no way she didn't know Pablo was setting off all of those bombs and killing all of those police officers and other innocent people. While I felt bad for the children, especially the little girl who was too young to really understand much of what was happening or why they were being shuffled from place to place constantly, I loved that no other country would take them in. Not only did the Germans refuse them, they even kept the money she was bringing into the country with her. The attorney general was a complete ass. The President, while making multiple stupid mistakes, like letting Pablo build his own prison AND staff it with his own guards, was just crazy (and that actually happened in real life), but he was right when he told the attorney general that his stupid attempts to negotiate with Pablo were hurting things even more. That's another reason I was glad Pablo's family couldn't get out of the country - the AG promised it as part of the negotiation for Pablo's surrender but was too stupid to realize that he couldn't make another government take them in. The portrayal of Pablo's mother was interesting as well, and as others have mentioned, the real interview clips they showed at the end show she really was delusional about her son. She clearly enjoyed the benefits of the drug and death business as well and just turned a blind eye to all that was going on, despite the risk it put her grandchildren in. I love how she tried to deny it was her fault that Los Pepes found them and they had to flee from yet another safe house. She was told not to go to mass, yet just like Pablo, she does whatever she wants to do even when it put the children in the line of fire. It also showed what a mama's boy Pablo was as he agreed with her that it wasn't her fault and that he wasn't mad at her in the least - he was doing everything he could to comfort her. He also chose his mother's feelings over Tata's, and seemed to always side with mommy dearest over Tata.

For those who want to know a little about what happened with Pablo's family, I'll put some info in Spoiler tags. It does not contain any mention of the Cali Cartel.

I was underwhelmed by this episode, as I have been with a few since the premier. The premiere stuck fairly close to the original, but it's been mostly down hill since then. Quite honestly, since James clearly knew Teresa was hiding something about the maid, it just seems a bit unbelievable that he didn't at least tell Camilla or just flat out kill Brenda to set an example or even kill Teresa (of course, killing Teresa means no show, so unlikely that would have happened). He has now put his own life on the line for someone he doesn't seem to like all that much. Also, the odds of Teresa getting into Mexico to take the maid and her son back and then somehow managing to get back to US are slim, yet there was never at any time any risk or danger shown relating to the crossing. I know they used a tunnel, but even despite that, there just seemed to be absolutely no panic at all about getting back and forth. I did giggle a bit when they guy who was working in Epi's kitchen put his headphones in pretty quickly when he realized that he could hear Camilla and Epi screwing in another room. If Camilla breaks her promise to Epi and kills Birdman as she told James she would, how is that going to impact her budding business? Epi isn't a complete idiot and he's managed to keep her reigned in pretty tight so far, so I have no doubt that, regardless of how hard she tries to cover it up/make it look like suicide/an accident/another cartel, etc., that Epi is definitely going to suspect she had a hand in it somehow. This is another reason why I don't think Camilla will ever really be successful - she is slow on the uptake (it took her forever to realize Epi was behind her lost shipments) and she seems to think she can do anything and not be suspected - or even if she is, that she can control Epi, yet he seems to be able to pull her strings better than she can his, especially as she went to Mexico when he asked and went to the fundraiser, etc. I think she can only control Epi for so long, especially as Batman went straight back to him and told him that she tried to get him to turn on him and work for her. That was an incredibly stupid move on her part - she's known Epi and Batman for decades and knows how loyal Batman is, yet still gives Batman all he needs to go back to Epi and cause him to have more her shipments confiscated. Just as an FYI, the actor that plays Batman in the original version really does look bat/Dracula-like - much more so than the actor in this version. You can easily see how he ended up with the nickname. The original has over 60 episodes and yet seems to move at a faster pace than this series, which, if I remember right, only has 2 or 3 episodes left this season (not sure it will be renewed given what I've read elsewhere). Teresa has yet to even really even begin to start to become who she is in the original version and so many of the best characters are missing - including Epi's other henchmen (which all have good nicknames). There are other characters that are my favorites that get introduced a bit later in the original version, so I am holding out hope that they may still bring them in, but given that they've created new and hybrid characters in this version, I have my doubts. It will be a shame if they leave those characters out altogether as the bonds Teresa forms with them and how they play into her becoming La Reina del Sur is pretty significant. I like some of the actors in this version, specifically Alice Braga and the actress that plays Brenda. I want to like Camilla, but she is just so one note, however I don't necessarily think this is the fault of the actress as she doesn't seem to be given the content/writing to show any real range or anything at all. As I mentioned, Camilla also seems a bit too slow on the uptake, which is definitely something you would never expect from a woman who considers herself/building herself to be a drug queenpin. Spoilers below about the original version and some comparisons to the current version: Given that this season is nearly over, I am tempted to re-watch the original ASAP as I do think it is a step or two above this version and I want to be reminded of all of my favorite characters and relationships that, at least so far, haven't shown up in this version yet.

Good idea to transfer Topher to Chicago Med Juliet - he's about the only decent thing left in this show and I think he would fit in so nicely with the cast on Chicago Med. :-) On another note, since when did Kenny become indebted to loan sharks? If he needed money to help keep his gym afloat, why not just ask Paul first as Paul was clearly more than willing to give it to him. I get the whole pride thing and not wanting to borrow from friends, but he ended up doing that anyway so he should have just started with Paul.

I am so sick of Shannon and the actress that plays her is bloody awful. Okay, she didn't grow up in the best circumstances, but her whole community (which is by no means a wealthy one) pitched in to send her to uni and to medical school. How many people get that opportunity? I remember one episode where she was actually complaining about it since she would have rather done something else, but since her community needed doctors, that's what they raised money to help her go to school to become. So may people would love to have such an opportunity and all she does is find something to whinge about in every episode - and badly. Paul needs to run away fast. The way she was hell bent on this firefighter patient having this specific diagnosis and was so blinded by it (and too busy feeling for sorry for herself that she may be out of a job) that she didn't even bother to check for other issues/complications that could be tied to her injuries and/or that condition nearly killed the patient - Paul was right to kick her out of the OR. Also, why are the ER docs always in the OR anyway? It should really just be any required specialists, perhaps a trauma surgeon, anesthesiologist, and the OR staff. I have gone to surgery straight from the ER myself and my ER doc is never there - they never even come to see me afterwards as you're under the care of the specialist/other hospital staff. The ER docs generally are not fully trained surgeons and need to be in the ER where their skills and expertise are needed (they may have done a surgical rotation and can perform certain procedures if they have to in a pinch, but most don't do the extra training needed to be a full surgeon in a specific specialty - if I had ever discovered that an ER doc performed delicate brain and spine surgery on me, I would not have been happy at all - and me, being an attorney, pull all my records to check that just such a thing never happens). If the ER docs on this show actually stayed in the ER treating those patients (especially when they are always so busy with multiple traumas coming in, etc.) maybe their waiting room wouldn't always be packed full. Don't pick ER Med as your specialty if you want to spend all your time in the OR. I also have an issue with how they handled the guy who needed the sign off on the physical. They just said they were getting slammed with wildfire victims and all talking about how busy it was, yet Topher takes the ex-military guy back right away to do his physical - that's something that any other ER would tell them to go see their primary care doc for - or make them wait until they had handled all the more critical victims. They triage for a reason, and there is no way they would take a doctor (especially a skilled, experienced one who is familiar with trauma and likely burns given his time in the military who also happens to have the added responsibility of running the ER and coordinating things when traumas come in) away with mass traumas coming in to perform a routine physical in the ER. If they pulled anyone, it should have been the intern - Shannon should be capable of handling a simple physical. Hell, a med student can do that. This show is just so unrealistic in so many ways. It can't make up it's mind whether or not it wants the hospital to be all military only or if it is supposed to be a genuine ER and Trauma Center to serve the entire community. It seems they constantly let their friends just come right on back to be treated, even for minor cuts and scrapes, no matter how busy they are. It's also too similar to Chicago Med - I keep finding myself watching an episode of Chicago Med and thinking, hey, there was no Topher in this episode? Then I remember that Topher isn't on Chicago Med - he's on that other, kind of lower-rent version. The fact that they are on the same network doesn't help either. At least Chicago Med overall has a better cast - much more talented actors - however, the shows do a lot of the same storylines and both also have military components. I'm also sick of Annie and don't see what purpose she serves. She got clingy with Scott way too fast. When he mentioned that if the hospital was bought out he may move back to Dallas, she was all "well what about me?" They've known each other for five minutes and both have substance abuse issues - it is highly unlikely anything good will come out of that relationship. I could see Annie turning into a bunny boiler if Scott tried to break up with her - the fact that she couldn't believe he dared to leave the hospital AFTER his shift was over because he was the only one that believe she didn't steal the meds and wanted to go help in the field with the wildfire victims and then also got jealous that Jordan was going along is not normal behavior. Also, having her "shadow" nurses? With no medical background, training, etc.? Really? Even if there were a legitimate program that allowed her to do such a thing without any medical training or knowledge (I've seen EMTs do it, but they have EMT training - I've never just seen someone off the street come in and shadow a nurse or doctor), no way would they allow her near the Pixus (where they keep the meds - especially the controlled substances). They couldn't risk her seeing a nurse's code put in which would give her free access, though of course the fact that they were short of something would be noticed and investigated, which is what they were doing here. However, the regulations around C2 drugs (narcotics, benzodiazepines like Valium, etc.) are getting so strict in most states now, that some even require sign off and review by a pharmacist even after the doctor orders them before the nurse can even pull the drugs out of the Pixus. I don't think this show will last much longer - even for a summer show, it's pretty awful and there are really no compelling characters. I like Topher, but he alone can't keep this show going.

That's right - I had forgotten about that. I suppose she wanted him dead because she felt he was a threat to her position combined with still harboring bad feelings over him rejecting her and leaving her to start a new life in America all those years ago when they were teenagers. Bassam is clearly the one she really wanted - not Jamal. Trying to make her a sympathetic figure is not going to be easy, and it shouldn't have been this easy for her to get ahead in the polls either. She's accomplished absolutely zero and has done nothing to help the Abbudinians. She was First Lady - she should have used that power to show that she cared about some of the causes and concerns that the people have. Instead, she's just been lounging around the "golden palace" and going on shopping trips (along with helping Jamal and his staff make poor decisions all to keep her in her position). With everything negative she has done, and it has been shown that she was not liked previously, for some reason it has yet to make the Abbudinians wake up and realize that she really is not a good person and not qualified to run the country. She will be out to satisfy her own agenda, just like always. If she's in the lead now with all of her flaws and hypocrisy, I don't know what it will take to wake the people up. The fact that they seem to love her at the moment when she's done nothing to better the Country even when she had some power just continues to make this show even more incredulous than it already is. If and when her affair with the American General leaks out and the people still stand behind her, then the writing on this show will have hit an even lower point than it has already.

There was something else I just remembered that shows what a hypocrite Leila is. After the gas attack last season, she went to one of the tents that was set up to house the dead and dying. She made a point to have the media with her and was decked out in all her finery as she tried to talk to a little boy who was clearly not going to survive. She put a stuffed toy (a teddy bear, I think?) on his bed, and his mother (?) and others around at the time started screaming at her and the threw blood or something on her and she had to be whisked away by her security detail. Clearly the people hated her and blamed her, at least to some extent, for the gas attack. If she is now leading in the polls, the people of Abbudin must have really short memories. If I were running against her (if and when there is ever an election now), I would definitely bring up that incident - It was clearly a publicity stunt. Also, if I remember right, Jamal did not order the gassing and was against it. It was all on his Uncle, the head General, which I think is one of the reasons Jamal had him killed. I could be misremembering, but I think Leila supported the General, which is part of the reason he disregarded Jamal's orders. So Leila's years of living it up in the palace, helping manipulate her husband, being an outright bitch to those below her though she comes from humble beginnings, have all now been forgotten by the Abbudinians. Meanwhile, Bassam stood up his brother's regime, was believed to have been hanged for it, managed to trek through the dessert to the Bedouins and then helped save the country and hold off the Caliphate with a ragtag group of fighters. He was declared a National Hero even before they knew who he was, and then when they found out, was beloved even more by the people. Yes, he's made many stupid mistakes, especially since Emma was killed, but I would still think his past history and being willing to die to stand up against his own family would count for something more than what Leila has accomplished - which is nothing other than enjoy the lifestyle, money and power.

Part of my post last week about Molly's return ended up being not too far off: I still cannot stand the Molly character, or nearly any other character, on this show at this point and I knew there was no way Molly was going to let Bassam not continue his reign. She is the real tyrant - she is pulling his strings and playing on his grief and his guilt. I wish this show would kill her off - the character and the actress are just annoying - especially when you see her standing there in top level briefings looking all high and mighty when she is just there for vengeance. Isn't that the kind of thing they are supposed to be trying to stop? Bassam is horribly written and horribly acted, as others have mentioned. Also, what on earth was the point of that Truth and Dignity Commission other than to give his side piece some feigned importance and visibility? We really didn't see any of the hearings at all, other than maybe her telling them "okay, let's get started - close the doors," and certainly didn't see any results of said hearings (though I know the initial purpose was stated that if you came clean, you would be forgiven). However, we never really see anyone admitting to doing anything wrong and then being officially forgiven or pardoned or whatever. Leila is definitely a hypocrite. She preaches about this "golden palace" and how she will never live in it if elected since she is an Abuddinian. All the while, she is wearing her expensive jewels, designer clothing, expensive and expertly done make-up, and seems to conveniently forget that she lived in that "golden palace" for 25+ years and manipulated Jamal to no end - his reign was basically hers. This is not to say Jamal didn't manipulate, threaten and bully as well - he definitely did - but she is no position to claim zero culpability for things that happened when Jamal, and even his father, were in power. Leila claims she will live in a "humble home," yet her sister's place is hardly what I would consider "humble" by Abbudinian standards - especially as her sister and her sister's husband are supporting her now and helping fund her campaign. I cannot believe she is leading in the polls as the people have to remember her standing right by Jamal's side with every decision he made that they didn't agree with and that affected the lives of many people. She got to go home and sleep in her nice, expensive, plush bed every night and then dress in her finest each day whilst being chauffeured around by a crew of bodyguards and making shopping trips to Paris and the like. She certainly didn't seem to hate or dislike it - especially the expensive clothes, jewels and shopping trips. Jamal may have forced her into certain things, but he didn't force her into those things - especially as they appear to continue even now. She also treated the staff like complete shit, which is definitely adds to the hypocrisy since she is now playing up mother's position in service. Fauzi I think is the only character I still like at least to some extent. He did, however, run away to Amsterdam when things in his Country got tough. What does that say about him as a leader? Also, his daughter helped make Ihab what he is today, and now he thinks he can run the Country having just been a journalist? Still, I suppose given the options, he may be the best of the worst. At this point, given the deterioration of characters and storyline, combined with the fact that the majority of the characters are unlikeable at this point and the quality of the acting by most isn't very good, I will be surprised if the show is renewed.

Generally speaking, it has to do with those from Mexico/Latin America that have lighter, even blonde hair, a more fair complexion, etc.. As El Guero happens to have lighter hair and a slightly more fair skin tone, that's what lead to the nickname. I think it's actually slightly more distinct with the actor in the original version, Rafael Amaya - look him up - he's good eye candy :-) , but they did a good job with the actor for this version as well, though we see a lot less of him given that the season is much shorter.

There are actually three versions of the Bridge - one is a Swedish/Danish production (the original, I believe) and has now gone for 3 series, the US version, which only lasted 2 series before cancellation, and the joint French/British Production called The Tunnel, which has now gone for 2 series. I happen to have both the Swedish/Danish and French/UK versions, so am very familiar with both. I speak several languages, so I watch a lot of foreign shows to help keep the languages I know currently and also to pick up on other cultures/languages from those that I'm not too familiar with - especially as my job involves a lot of foreign travel. Talking about a popular TV show can always be a good ice breaker :-) Also, my husband and I like to watch foreign dramas as often many of them are better than what you find on US TV these days, which is too overloaded with crappy reality shows. The US does have some good shows as well too, of course, but they do love to remake European, Latin American and Australian/New Zealand programs quite a bit. Often, however, they don't quite live up the originals. Along with The Queen of the South (La Reina del Sur), compare the original Aussie version of The Slap with the US version, the original Danish version of the Killing vs. the US remake, etc. as other examples.

Thanks Arwen! If you want to know more about the original version, feel free to PM me. It is actually mostly in Castilian rather than Spanish (some Arabic thrown in as well), though Spanish and Castilian are not too different (you mainly just need to get used to a couple of vocabulary changes and the "c" being pronounced as "th" in many words. However, as Teresa is Mexican, she speaks the Spanish dialect most are more familiar with. Of course, it is also subtitled and they translate pretty accurately as I speak fluent Spanish and Castilian and lived in Spain for a while (and San Diego now about 45 minutes from the boarder). :-) I'll have to check out Alice Braga in City of God - this show is the only role I've ever seen her in, so I'm curious to see her in something else. I think she fits the role better than the actress in the original version particularly because, while Alice is definitely beautiful, she doesn't look model-esq through the entire thing. The actress in the original never even seems to even have a bad hair day, despite everything she goes through (though this is fairly typical of telenovelas). If you have some spare time, you may want to read the book as well. My understanding is that the book is based on a true story, and it helps fill in some of the blanks with more truth rather than a large amount of fiction. The comparison is interesting.

If you’ve seen the original, this episode was pretty dull. The US version of the original (La Reina del Sur) has deviated a fair amount from the original, and mostly not in good ways. The US version has a much higher budget, but is definitely lacking in story and character development. Quite a few of the characters here appear to be hybrids, but they, along with the plot differences, just make this kind of a watered down version of the original. Granted, the original was 1 season of over 60 episodes (I think airing most nights of the week – not a once a week show), so that gave much more time for story/character/background development, which is really lacking here. Many of the characters in the US version almost seem cartoonish, which wasn’t the way the original was written. The only upside to the US remake that I’ve seen so far is that I like the actress playing Teresa a bit better. The actress in the original was not bad at all, I just prefer the one in the US version though the story has deviated considerably, even the location. Given that it is early in the US version, perhaps things will change, though I don’t think there are many episodes left this season, and who knows if it will be renewed? if the low number of postings on this board are any indication, it likely may not be. In addition, some things they have strayed from the original would be far too hard to recover from, including missing several of the best characters. US seasons are short – especially for a summer series – so I’m not sure where they will go from here or if they will be able to get as many people hooked on this version as were on the original. Given that I binged watched the 60+ episodes of the original in about a week, it definitely held my attention. The US version has yet to grab me in quite the same way. I will put the rest in Spoiler Tags for those who don’t wish to know anything about the original. Fair warning, these are fairly significant Spoilers and contain a good amount of detail about the original.

Before Emma was killed and Bassam announced he wasn't going to run for President, Molly seemed a bit upset by it - like she really wanted to be First Lady. I wonder if now, for however long it is she's been away, she's had some time to grieve over Emma and maybe is now on some crusade about pushing Bassam to run or cancel the election and stay President so that she can try to ensure that Abbudin is reformed and what happened to Emma doesn't happen to anyone else. I'm mainly just throwing this out there since this is a storyline we've seen about a million times, and I can't see how the show works without Bassam as President. Of course, there are a million ways to keep Bassam President and I would be surprised if he actually does leave office or, if he does, that it's not for very long. Molly could also just be coming back to try to convince Sammy to go back to the US with her, which wouldn't surprise me either. I like episodes with no Molly - she just doesn't add anything at all and all Sammy adds is stupidity.

Smurf is also greedy. She kept a lot of the stuff from the jewelry store heist even though she told the boys it all had to be destroyed because of the screw up on the guard surveillance. Also, Smurf has clearly shown Paul that she has complete control over his daughter and she can do anything she wants with Nikki, including turning her into a hard core drug addict. It would not be beyond her to threaten the rest of his family or to just flat out kill Paul and make it look like an accident or suicide or something else. They only got roughly $600k or so from this job and you could see either Craig or Darren (can't remember which) was very reluctant to leave as much behind as they did, which is part of the reason they took the $20k and hid it from Smurf afterwards and Smurf definitely noticed. I just don't think she would cave so easily into giving Paul an extra $50k, especially after the fact, if she really had any intention of paying it to him. I also wouldn't be at all surprised if Smurf made sure to get some evidence against Paul in case he did try to turn them in. After all, J was smart enough to do it with the teacher and Smurf has been at this a long time. She knows how to protect her family. Paul is already guilty of a military crime whether he gets paid or not. If he goes to the cops, he is admitting his role in it as well and he would be subject to Court Martial as he is active military and it happened on a base. Just giving them access, not to mention helping them plan the job, is enough to send him to Leavenworth for a very long time. Hell, even knowing about it and not reporting it is severe enough. He gave them the intel necessary to make it happen - the money he may or may not have received is irrelevant as he is guilty with or without it. Plus, he'd have to prove he never got a share. Smurf and company could say he took all of it and he that he has a grudge against her family due to his daughter. If it comes down to it, who can prove who received how much anyway?