Web of Lies

I don't like the male protagonist of Relaciones Peligrosas. Mauricio is pretty and has a beautiful smile, but I disapprove of every action he takes. He hasn't said anything that was 100% true throughout the entire series. When he first came onto the screen, with his shining teeth and sparkling eyes, he looked directly at the protagonist and told a bold-faced lie about his age.

"I'm 21," said the 17-year old dreamer.

Luckily, I am enthralled by Miranda and her relationship with the teenaged liar she professes to love.

I know we talked in class about the love-hate relationship that viewers have with the dumb stud-of-a-male-protagonist, but I was still not ready. I was not ready to see this boy lie to every single other character in this show. I was not ready to see him fall entirely out of favor with his "one true love," as he calls Miranda. I was not ready to see him fail at every turn.

Relaciones Peligrosas made me think it would be different. They set Mauricio up as different from other protagonist hunks. Every other character singled him out as mature (Miranda, Theresa), hard-working (Sofía), and particularly intelligent (all of Mauricio's classmates). This may be true as far as classes, but when it comes to real life situations, Mauricio is just like the other beautiful male protagonists that came before him.

I don't like the male protagonist of Relaciones Peligrosas, but I know he will redeem himself. For now, these questionable actions serve a purpose. That is, Mauricio drives the plot.

At this point, Mauricio is so far lost in the web of lies that he has spun in the name of defending Miranda that the audience must now accept any of his actions. He is has gotten himself into such an unreasonable situation that he has zero reasonable courses of actions to take. Anything he does, anything he says, is now acceptable simply on the basis of survival.

Does it make sense for him to get into the business of dealing drugs? No, but he has to get the money to pay Oliver or Miranda dies.

Is it appropriate for him to pretend to date Yesenia in order to get money from her? No, but he has to get the money to pay Oliver or Miranda dies.

Is it in any way acceptable for him to beat Diego half to death in the parking lot? No, but he has to get the money to pay Oliver OR MIRANDA DIES.

Those examples may not make perfect sense out of context, but I hope they serve their purpose as examples of how absurd Mauricio's troubles have become.

Because it's a telenovela, however, Mauricio will be forgiven. The audience knows that Mauricio and Miranda will overcome all of these obstacles. Therefore, Mauricio can take actions that make the plot move forward.

The audience accepts that he makes mistakes and further complicates his relationship with Miranda. In fact, we relish these complications. Because it's just going to make the resolution that much better.