1X08 RUNNING WILD

Aired the week of November 13, 2000

During a spree of burglaries, Tessa's godfather, Don Federico, is killed, robbing the young woman of yet another loved one and providing the Queen of Swords with a very personal reason to stop the bandits. The personal vendetta becomes even more so, when her oldest friend, Ramon, and his lover, Isabelle, are exposed as two of the thieves.

WRITER: Elizabeth Keyishian
DIRECTOR: Richard Martin

GUEST STARS:
FREDDIE DOUGLAS as Ramon
DAISY FUENTES as Isabelle Selvera
DANIEL FREDENBURGH as Teodoro Selvera
XAVIER ELORRIAGA as Don Selvera
ENRIC BENAVENT as Don Federico

"Running Wild". An appropriate title for this episode. This storyline by Elizabeth Keyishian (Writer), Tony Thatcher (Producer) and Richard Martin (Director) provided each of the characters with a different twist in this drama. Guest star Daisy Fuentes and returning actor Freddie Douglas added a dash of secrecy to this episode. I liked the idea of seeing the character of Ramon, Tessa's childhood friend, return in this episode. For some reason Tessa has very few family and friends in California. Maybe the writers can expand on that later.

Daisy Fuentes' character of Isabelle spoke English with such a bad Spanish accent. What's up with that? I wanted to laugh when I heard her speaking. You could tell how hard she worked at making sure her bad accent was present when she spoke. Too funny! Besides that, it was nice to see her on the show.

These were my favorite scenes in the episode "Running Wild":

1. The afternoon romp between Vera and Marcus in his bedroom was absolutely divine. At least these two enjoy each other's company and are having a good time in the process.

2. It is interesting how "The Dons", who are very wealthy, powerful and influential tell Captain Grisham that their taxes pay his salary and they deserve protection. How wonderful that the Dons have such power to request an audience with the royal court to petition for Colonel Montoya's replacement if he can't perform his duty. What a headache for Colonel Montoya. Even though the Dons threatened him, he always triumphs in the end.

3. The scene is when Don Federico tries to stop the thieves with his sword, gets killed and dies in the front entrance to Tessa's home. He also dies in her arms. Where did we see the same scene in which a loved one charges forth with sword in hand, gets killed and dies in her arms? Hum?

4. I loved the way Tessa played Colonel Montoya. I thought her motive and tactic about telling Colonel Montoya how "The Dons" were questioning his authority and saying that he was not fit to command was a very tricky way to get him to do something about capturing the killers. The look on Colonel Montoya's face indicated that she had succeeded in getting to him. What finesse.

5. I found it rather interesting how the writer had Tessa seek revenge against her godfather's killers by working with Colonel Montoya. Her plan of becoming bait and having Colonel Montoya to surprise and capture the thieves was her way of not being the Queen to seek justice. Tessa tells Marta that they can catch the killers and she wouldn't have to hide behind the Queen's mask and that for once she and Colonel Montoya wanted the same thing. The woman is using her brains!

6. Marta carrying a gun! Can the woman defend herself or what? In every episode, Marta continues to surprise me with all her hidden attributes. She definitely takes her role of guardian very seriously.

7. Colonel Montoya never stops amazing me. The scene where he and his soldiers are waiting on the hill overlooking Tessa's and Marta's ordeal down below was a sly move. He would have enjoyed getting his hands on Tessa's hacienda if something had happened to her while she was being robbed by the thieves. Always looking for an opportunity!

8. I thought the scene were Marta tells Tessa, who has just finished seeing Ramon in jail, that people around them could be watching and for her to remember who she is, a powerless young woman who grieves for her godfather. Marta is always there to remind Tessa to be careful.

9. The swordfight at the thieves hideout was great. I liked the way the camera provided an overhead view of the scene. The swordfight could be enjoyed much better. I really liked the way the scene combined both sword and hand-to-hand combat. Kudos to the stuntwoman who performed the scene.

10. The scene in the town square was the best action sequence of this episode. Seeing Natalia, as the Queen, riding double horseback was thrilling. She made it look so good. Even her leap off the horses and landing on the soldiers was a great move. I just enjoyed how the Queen made a mockery of Colonel Montoya's soldiers when she was fighting them. My favorite part of this action sequence was the scene in which the Queen picks up the sledgehammer and raises it up over her head only to see the heavy object pull her back and make her fall to the ground. I thought it was so funny, I laughed so hard. The Queen sure knows how to use a shovel to fight off her attackers. Well I guess the Queen doesn't always have to use her sword to defend herself.

I thought this episode had a nice combination of some secrets, drama and humor. I enjoyed this episode and feel that the writer, producer and director did a splendid job. Congratulations to Natalia and Gaelle (stuntwomen) for providing excellent stunt scenes in this episode. Job well done!

Question: Isn't it rather interesting that the people who encounter the Queen never wonder or ask themselves how she knows them by name?

~Margie~