Open Response One

I have chosen the telenovela Tierra de Reyes, which premiered on Telemundo in 2014, and concluded with it's final episode in July of 2015. As Dr. A mentioned on Wednesday, it is a remake of a Colombian-American drama entitled Pasion de Gavilanes. In the pilot, we begin with two boys who discover a body in the river, the body of Alma Gallardo. A flashback occurs as we learn what happened to Alma before she was found dead. She had been having an affair with Ignacio del Junco, a wealthy businessman, whom she believed was leaving his wife for her. Her three brothers: Arturo, Flavio, and Samuel learn about her relationship and immediately doubt his intentions. She finds out that she is pregnant and immediately tells Ignacio, asking that he finally meets her brothers. Before he gets the chance, he is killed in a plane accident. Alma, distraught, attempts to go to his home, but she is mistreated by his wife Cayetana. She is asked to leave and is later found dead. The Gallardo brothers disguise themselves under the name Rey and begin working as laborers at the del Junco ranch in order to get closer to the people that believe to be responsible for Alma's death: Cayetana and her three daughters: Sofia, Irina, and Andrea. I am, without a doubt, hooked on the story and the various plots within each episode. The tone of the telenovela seems to be suspense/mystery and holds several typical characters and telenovela characteristics. There is the main triangle of Sofia, Arturo, and Sofia's sleazy husband Leonardo, a dirty businessman who repeatedly disrespects her and is a prime suspect in Alma's death. There is the alliance of the antagonists, Cayetana and Leonardo, who seem focused on money and the preservation of their reputations. Endearing characters devoted to helping the protagonists, such as the del Junco maid Soledad, and Cayetana's father Don Felipe. The relationships between Irina, Samuel, Flavio, and Andrea, as well as Samuel's love interest Patricia, the exotic dancer married to an illegal gun trafficker, serve as subplots. It is a jam-packed storyline with constant cliffhangers. One of the first things I began noticing was the background music. For example, whenever Arturo and Sofia are in a scene together, there is sweet romantic music playing, almost to enhance the chemistry between them. However, when Leonardo is on screen, tense and fast paced tunes play, almost as if to alert the viewer that he has bad intentions. It's starting to help the show become predictable. I know when I hear a certain soundtrack that an endearing moment is about to happen, or that something shocking is going to occur. Currently in the show, the Gallardo brothers plan is to seduce the del Junco sisters as a method of revenge, which is starting to break some stereotypes. In most television series, seduction is commonly used as a method of betrayal and confusion, but often by women. Men are easily swayed by sex and women that it's typically strategy used by powerful female characters. Secondly, though the goal is for the women to fall in love with them, the Gallardo brothers are starting to be confused by their own emotions as well. Arturo specifically, who is developing real feelings for Sofia, is conflicted in this plan to gain justice for Alma. Men are supposed to uphold this idea of strength and masculinity and a lack of emotions, but the writers are managing to convey just how susceptible to emotion men can be. I'm anxious to find out what happens, and I am already rooting for Arturo and Sofia to be together, but I know the obstacles they are facing are just the beginning.