Change of Heart

I'm very conflicted about my telenovela right now. At the beginning of this story, I was completely sold on the love story between Santa and Santiago. I think Santiago is SO good looking, and he cares about Santa and yada yada yada. What I didn't bank on was that Carlos Ponce's acting would make me change my mind.

The writer of this story (El Chascas) has done a remarkable job of keeping Humberto from being a full on villain. He is complex. He broods a lot. He struggles between hate and love for his wife. But the fact of the matter remains; Santa is his wife. Call me traditional, but I believe marriage is sacred, so from the start I wished that Humberto could just be a character who Santa would want to stay married to. And he's starting to become that. For all his faults, their chemistry is undeniable. Their fight scenes and dialogue are so charged, they could set the room on fire. Even though she is trying to destroy his life, and he is trying to destroy hers, I think there is potential for this to be more than a frenemy relationship. There really could be something there.

As for Santiago, his scenes with Santa have been relying entirely too much on the music lately. Their scenes are dead between the two of them. In my opinion, Santa looks significantly older than Santiago, which makes it more difficult for me to see them together. Also, Santa talks to Santiago like he's a child. She treats him at times almost like she would treat her son. That's weird to me and vaguely uncomfortable. I liked their relationship at first, but with the introduction of Humberto as a viable candidate for Santa's affections, I'm beginning to rethink my statement.

I also love the idea of love blossoming out of hurt and for there to be reconciliation. All in all, Santa and Humberto belong together. I don't think that is going to happen though. If Santa doesn't end up with Santiago, his character will completely go to waste. His only role in the story is to serve as Santa's love interest. Without him doing that, there is no point in him being in the story in the first place. But oh dear Lord, his expression never changes. A person could literally do a montage of that brooding face and have hundreds of pictures of that same expression. It's out of control. I'm a sucker for good acting, so seeing Carlos Ponce spread his wings and own his role is very attractive. On the flip side, bad acting bothers me. So, it's safe to say that right now, Santiago is bothering me, and I don't think he's going to change my mind about him.

I do very much look forward to seeing how this is going to end. I don't even know if this telenovela will have a happy ending.