#analysis of ysblf

[el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle]

Your Hell is Them, and Their Hell is You.

Mario Calderón's last words were, and I quote, "Ah, Armando, you think hell is that black hole where all us sinners go after death? No. Your hell is here. Your hell is them, and their hell is you. May my God have you in his glory."

Leaving aside how amazing this exit was for an amazing antagonist like Calderón, the quote itself is great and so, so true for Armando’s case.

Armando's whole issue and the cause of the tragedy in the novela, from the beginning, was people's judgment. He couldn't let his presidency fail because he'd disappoint his parents. He couldn't leave Marcela because it was expected of him to marry her and formalize the Mendoza/Valencia relationship. He couldn't fall in love with a poor and lower class woman because he knew what happened to his sister. He couldn't open up about his feelings because he'd be judged and pointed at. This isn't a "poor Armando" thing. It's in fact a criticism for his cowardice and fear of facing his reality.

Mario's last words are from a French play called A Puerta Cerrada (Behind Closed Doors I believe would be the best translation). From what I've understood of it, it is a social critique. Three characters are send to Hell and are waiting together in a room to be tortured. Instead, their torture is each other's presence and judgment.

It is so, so fitting for Armando, and it is fully a last slap in the face for Armando. His hell was social judgment. His hell was them.

I wish I could give a better and more in depth analysis of this play and how it probably speaks of Calderón's inner beliefs, but oh well, this will have to suffice for now!

I'd love to hear y'all's thoughts on this!

[youwontlikethisblog]

Armando Mendoza: A Brief Analysis

Hey, how are you? It's been a while. This will be a lil update so if you want you can skip down to the [GREEN] to start with the post :)

It's been a hectic few months. I finally decided to stop setting it aside and get real about my writing and begun the tedious task of editing the final draft of my original manuscript. I'm a perfectionist(Although if we're considering my posts about YSBLF as an example of that, than you wouldn't expect it lol. I suppose that's what I get for writing post when I haven't had a lick of sleep and don't stop to take breaks while writing the posts and then, half brain dead, I sit down to "edit" the grammar). When it comes to something that truly means a lot to me I do not feel satisfied until it has reached my exact expectations. I've made a few updates on my writing and how it's been going. There's some exciting development on it but I want to wait a little more to be able to fully talk about it and share the news with y'all.

That being said; I still have not continued watching YSBLF since the last time I did a post about the show, y'know, life and all but without further ado, here is the post :)

Armando Mendoza: An Objective and A Not So Deep Dive

Now that I've had some time and space away from the show, I can look at the characters in a more objective manner. I've been considering a lot of things regarding them and I feel like this post might come right out of left field —seeing how I normally seem to "defend" Armando, or some might assume I do— and this post will most likely not do that. In reality, it won't. It'll rightfully so call him out.

See, the stark difference between Marcela and Armando, not personality wise, but writing wise, is that Marcela doesn't really have a backstory. Her past is pretty blurry and the very few clear images we get of it always paint her to be the exact same person. However with Armando his past, while also not clear, is more visible and a little bit more precise than hers. In the post I made for Marcela I wasn't as empathetic as I should have been.

Marcela's past is basically unknown and the very little information we do get doesn't paint her in the best of lights. However, that doesn't mean that she deserved or that what Armando was doing to her was okay. I should have said that in her post. I placed a lot of emphasis on the fact that while Marcela had a right to feel what she did, she didn't have a right to act the way she was. Feelings are valid, actions are not.

Well same goes for Armando.

Armando could have been dating a helicopter as a girlfriend, someone who was possessive and controlling of him, but that doesn't justify nor excuse his horrible behavior towards her. While yes, one could assume that his cheating had to do with his lack of control with life, it still doesn't justify or excuse it. Nothing, ever, justifies cheating.

As I said in the Marcela post: This isn't about her so I won't be explaining her reasoning, her behavior, her actions, or anything of those sorts, therefore, don't take it as me excusing her bad behavior. It's simply being mentioned.

With modern times come modern solutions. Nowadays it's very easy to be able to pick up your phone and google something, read a self-help book, find the root of your childhood trauma and even a therapist. Child development isn't easy to understand to the naked eye and you have to have years of experience on the subject to fully understand how point A gets to point B. I'm no expert of it, just done some basic research on certain topics of childhood trauma and such so while I might have some form of understanding, it's not an exactitude on the subject.

We can estimate that Armando had emotionally absent parents, witnesses how his parents turned their backs on his sister for falling in love with a poor man and the way the elite society they're a part of was about the whole subject. How do we draw to this conclusion?

His father doesn't even know what he went to college for or what he got his degree on. His mother coddles him, only when he acts to her standards, enables a horrible relationship that does not benefit neither her biological son or her basically-adopted daughter. Quite the contrary the show does a good job at showing the drastic parallels of Betty's relationship with her parents compared to Armando and his parents. Consider the fact that any time Armando is on screen with his parents they only talk about two things: His relationship with Marcela and the company.

They don't sound like the warmest of parents do they?

I talk a lot about being a writer and how knowing your characters IS one of the most crucial and important parts of developing your story. I mention this because when you write characters, fleshed out ones, you have at the very least an understanding of their past. Not an exact one, but an understanding in order to have them say the things they do and act the way they do.

Roberto was always cold towards Armando, from the very start. He clearly showed signs that he didn't very much care for him. He cared more about the company, his wife, Daniel, Marcela, Beatriz, and then, at the very end, Armando. With obvious reasons we understand why Roberto didn't trust Armando. It's always been told that he's always been a player, doesn't commit, and is immature, plus with the devil on his shoulder he calls a best friend, Armando isn't the most trustworthy.

Yet, that does not excuse Roberto's lousy father role in his son's life. Children need strong(by that I mean emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually present) male role models in their lives, especially father figures. I've said it before that it could be a possibility that Armando's childhood was very much with an emotionally distant father. This creates the perfect breeding ground for a child to constantly feel like they must excel in every part of their lives(perfectionism), have an anxious attitude, a fear of losing the love of their loved ones if they aren't excelling(low self-esteem), and other difficulties. Basically this ball of fear, resentment, anger, perfectionism, and anxiousness(being avoidant) . These issues on their own bring their separate problems that mixed together make for an unlikeable person. I don't know about you, but this sounds a lot like Armando.

Of course there's people who grew up with emotionally unavailable parents and grew up to be fully companionate, kind, loving, and wonderful people. That's the tricky thing about trauma, not one size fits all. Just because two people grew up the same doesn't mean they'll deal with it the same way.

Emotionally absent parents equal physically absent parents when it comes to their children's development.

His mother was the same, though, unlike Roberto, Margarita did love Armando and was present but very conditional with her love. You can have examples of this when Armando and Marcela would be fighting. She always took Marcela's side and pressured Armando to continue the relationship. She also guilted Marcela into staying with Armando. She was never there to comfort her son when he was at his lowest or even before. She was just only ever present in his life and made an effort to talk to him when it came to his engagement to Marcela. Plus, the whole causing Camila to divorce her husband and move to a different country fiasco.

Armando did a fine job of taking after his parents, as he is a perfect reflection of them.

There's one thing that Armando said that has ran laps around my brain for a while now; "I know I did things wrong, damnit I always do!" outside of el Meson.

He's aware of the things he does, even if it's at the heat of the moment, Armando is a self-aware jester, who never cared enough to change until he lost everything.

This change, while outside forces moved him to change, were not the reason why he changed. That's another message that is lost with this show.

Armando didn't change because he fell in love with Betty. Armando only learned to be brave enough to be the person he always aspired to be, because he fell in love. Doesn't matter who he fell in love with, he simply did. The love he received from Betty only taught him to be brave enough to love the same.

The same way Betty was naïve to how depraved any man can be, whether educated or not, rich, poor, or from a "high" society or lower class, Armando too was naïve to what was actually good and bad because he never really had parents that cared enough to teach him. Now this in no way frees Armando from accountability. Lets not forget that the whole point of his personality at the beginning of the story is that he sucks, and is a horrible man.

[TAKE A BREAK IF YOU NEED ONE.]

Sex addiction is a serious addiction. As I've mentioned before, in one of my earliest posts, that Armando shows to have signs of it but I'm no expert so I wouldn't say he does. For example, his affairs often cause issues in his relationship, his professional life, and for himself. While he's aware of all the risk that these affairs cause in his life, he still part takes in them! These are all signs that he has an addiction. However, I don't think that was the intent behind this part of his personality when he was being written, simply there to show how he was a Casanova of sorts.

These are all things I've already talked about in different posts but I wanted to dive a little bit deeper here in case some people haven't read those.

Let's get to the real juicy stuff now.

Armando's horrible, terrible, abusive, treatment of women.

Yeah Armando defended Aura, he wasn't a misogynist, and he didn't abuse his position of power nor assaulted any women(not talking about the constant harassment of Betty after she found the letter yet). Still, Armando was abusive.

He constantly manipulated women into believing he was serious about them just to use them, he gaslit —not only Marcela but all his side chicks— people in order to control a situation, and at times even got physical. Let's not forget the hair pulling, choking, and dragging of Karla, Marce, and Larson. Let's not forget Betty! While he never hit them, the way he acted, was not okay!

Armando was aggressive, he was controlling, and he was manipulative. God, he was awful!

There's no excuse or even a justification for him in this part.

While you can argue that his intentions weren't to harm those girls, he still did it. The moment they didn't behave to his standards, he removed his "love"(infatuation) from them. Does that sound similar to a pattern? like someone else? (Margarita).

However Marcela for this instance was a victim of his. His constant cheating made her so controlling, resentful, and bitter.

A cycle starts somewhere. Whether it be Marce being possessive from the get go of their relationship or Armando cheating first, somewhere the cycle began.

One thing I want to make clear is that both Marcela and Armando were abusive and victims of each other.

From the start of the novela Armando isn't a good person. He's horrible. However, he was meant to be charismatic, which would cause people to over-look those red flags.

There's a lot of sides to Armando's character and that's what makes him complex.

There's obvious reason as to why Armando, in a sense, has some redeeming qualities compared to the people he's surrounded by. You know, he feels remorse for the way he acts, especially towards Marce and Betty. He feels the pressure of not letting his parents down and the responsibility of keeping people employed. However, even if it's remorse, the problem always lays in the fact that he doesn't truly change.

In this half of the post I'm focusing more on his relationship with Marcela.

I've talked about reactionary abuse, toxic relationships, abusive tactics, and patterns in all of my posts regarding Armando and Marcela. I've explained in a simplified way and yet I feel like some people either reject the idea or only want to blame one party.

What makes Marcela and Armando's relationship toxic and not D.A. is that they both enable each other and their bad habits. See, even if Armando were the one that started the conflicts, Marcela also acts out abusively. Basically they up one another in any fight. As if saying "Oh so you're going to threaten to leave? Fine! Then I'll ruin your life! If you leave me it would be like losing my parents all over again." while the other responds with "Marrying you is simply a favor to you! If you speak up about this than the wedding is off!" get the idea?

Marcela enables Armando by acting out in her rage, further pushing him to act out in his cheating and gaslighting. Armando enables Marcela by his cheating and gaslighting. They both feed the cycle and reject any accountability for their actions.

What makes this drastically different in what a typical D.A situation in where the abused reacts abusive(aka mirrors their abuser) is that they BOTH switch sides. One moment Armando is the abuser, the one with the upper hand in the relationship and then, the next, Marcela is the one that is being abusive and in control. Often times they bounce off each other. It's not Armando constantly and only being the Abuser with Marcela mirroring him. They BOTH DO THIS.

However, at the very least, Armando at the end of the series took accountability and broke the cycle.

When you write two explosive and complex characters meant to be together you have to separate them from each other. By this I mean that Marcela is her own person away from Armando, just like Armando is his own person away from Marcela. Together, however, they are a volcanic eruption. While, for Marcela, this can translate to just being passionate and intense, for Armando it can be an absolute tragedy that must continue in order to keep every party of people in his life "happy" while in the end, at the very least, he has his affairs to give him something.

Together Armando and Marcela are a horrible duo because all they do is cause harm to one another. That's what makes their relationship toxic, not one sided abuse.

One can argue that the ONLY reason Marcela acted this way was because of Armando, meaning, if you remove the cause of the problem, the issue would be resolved, right?

Not entirely as we're often shown and told that Marcela is this way with everyone. She keeps up with public appearances for the sake of their elite society but she treats people outside of her economic class poorly, en fin she treats anyone that isn't to her standards poorly and inhumanly. What does this tell us? That she on her own is toxic and abusive so even if she were in a healthy relationship, her prejudice and expectations of things causes her to be this way.

Armando was a cause of the problems in the relationship! That's where the tricky part and what makes them complex, is.

We know that Armando and Marcela were basically forced to be together, or groomed. From a young age all they've heard is how they must be together to unite the families, how her dead parents wanted that more than anything. That's placing a lot of pressure on two people.

However, even if this were the case(which it is) Armando's go about and treatment of Marcela was not okay. For the sake of this post let's say that Armando is the reason Marcela is the way she is(meaning we ignore her personality all together). He caused her to be possessive, controlling, toxic, and cold. Marcela was once a kind and sweet person who did nothing but show devotion and adoration for him, and Armando's constant cheating and lying pushed her to be this way.

Armando could have handled it a lot better. If he felt obligated to be with Marcela from the get go, he could have at the very least, like the very minimum treated her as a human being, and not cheated. That's the very least she deserved.

Obviously, we don't know how the start of their relationship was like. All we know is that when they got engaged that he made a promise to Marcela to be faithful and that Marcela knew about the affairs. We know that Armando and Marcela at least had somewhat of a "happy" relationship, despite the affairs and fights they'd get into. (Which this on it's own establishes that Marcela was fully aware of Armando's unfaithfulness before their engagement, that and his promises to be faithful show us that it's been a problem for years.)

Let's consider this; If Armando fell for Betty when she was ugly SIMPLY because of the adoration and devotion she had for him, why didn't he do that with Marcela at the start?

Had she held this devotion and adoration for Armando from the start it would imply that Armando would have fallen for her, same way he did with Betty, and therefore Marcela would have never turned out to be the way she did, right?

Let's be honest here. That's the sole reason why Armando even began to have some sort of confused emotions towards Betty. It made him feel good, boosted his pride and ego, and tide with the fact he trusted her, he liked Betty. So if Marcela would have been the same way at the start, don't you think Armando would have felt the same? Therefore he wouldn't had cheated on Marcela?

Again, that sounds like I'm solely blaming Marcela for the dissolvement of their relationship but I'm not.

Armando is part/responsible for Marcela's possessiveness in their relationship and there's no excuse for it.

What is cheating and why do people cheat?

Cheating can range from emotional intimacy with another person that isn't your partner to physical. The physical can range from simple hand holding to full blown intercourse.

(source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-people-in-relationships-cheat/#:~:text=The%20participants%20admitted%20to%20cheating,desire%2C%20and%20situation%20or%20circumstance.)

In the article linked as a source it mentions that most partners cheat due to a lack of validation, love, or due to neglect in their relationship. What does this tell us?

While cheating is not a valid response to whatever is a lack in a relationship, there's always a valid reason the person feels the way they do. Let me say that again. Cheating is not valid, but the emotions of the person who is cheating, are. Cheating is not valid, but emotions are. What does this mean? (Unless we're talking about a narcissistic abuser. In that case, no. They are not valid) This is overall just a an idea of why cheating occurs in otherwise "healthy" relationships.

If you feel like your relationship lacks validation, love, neglectful, abusive, or there's no spark or desire: LEAVE or go to couple's therapy and work on it with your partner(EXCEPT FOR THE ABUSIVE ONE. LEAVE! LEAVE! LEAVE! LEAVE! There is help for you.).

Emotions are valid, actions are not. A person's feelings are valid but that does not excuse nor justify cheating.

While Armando's cheating was a huge reason why they had fights and arguments, there had to be a reason why he cheated in the first place and while his emotions were valid, his actions were not.

His cheating could have very well begun at the start of the relationship feeling as if he had no real control over his life because of his parents persistent push for him to be with Marcela, which means it had nothing to with Marcela, everything to do with his parents, and ultimately this caused Marcela to be so possessive. Or it could have simply been Marcela who was like that from the start because she too had to deal with the ever guilting of Margarita's "this is what your parents always wanted, for you two to be together and unite the families." In all honesty the real villain of this show is Margarita.

Yes, their relationship was a paradox of sorts. If they broke up, Armando would lose the presidency, the company would dissolve, his parents would hate him, and he'd be a failure. Marcela wouldn't have really lost anything except Armando.

We can go with the 'could have' and 'should have' or 'what if's', but at the end of the day all we've got is what is actually canon in the show and not just speculation.

A few weeks ago I saw this video on my IG feed of FG talking about the ending of YSBLF. He said he didn't give them their happily ever after, since Armando was Betty's executioner(verdugo).

If the writer himself is saying that Armando wasn't all that amazing, I suppose that means he wasn't.

Yes, Armando went through a redemption arc but even then, Armando wasn't the best person. He was simply a better version of himself. He learned to be honest, to view people as his equals, women as humans and not properties, and to be selfless and caring, that's a huge difference from the Armando from the beginning but Armando was still neurotic. He was still a control freak, and was prone to his anger outburst.

However, this is realistic! Armando didn't change to be the perfect man that was deserving of Betty. He came to be real. He had his traumas and he was healing from them. The love of Betty didn't fix him, contrary, when she stopped showing a pure love towards him, osea, removed her love from him, Armando had no other choice but to LEARN to love properly. In order to do that, he needed to revaluate himself, his goals, his life, and what had pushed him to such a low point in his life and the ironic thing is that Armando's low point wasn't him drunk and suicidal at the bar that night. Armando's low point was the moment he agreed to manipulate Betty in order to retain her devotion and the company.

The downfall of Armando began the moment the novela started. It was a slow trickling drip from the throne he believed he deserved for simply existing and just as that, so was Marcela's.

Unlike with Betty, who was basically seduced to be bad, Armando and Marcela's downfall began from the very beginning.

So many people dismiss the abysmal abuse that was plain in the novela when it's the women acting out this way but are quick to crucify any male who acts the same way.

Now, I'm not saying Armando was only a victim of circumstance because that's not true. If I believed anyone was a victim to circumstance I'd say it was Marcela or Betty.

Why?

Because Armando, with chest puffed in pride, cleared headed, and sober CHOSE to manipulate these women. That's the abhorrent part of his character. That above all he always wanted to save his own skin and while his feelings were complex as to why, at the very end of it, he didn't want to deal with the repercussions.

While Armando wanted to be good, to prove he could be good, to himself, Marcela, and his parents, there lacked a true conviction in him. He felt like he needed to be good in order to have his parents love and approval and one of those things was that he also marry Marcela but he didn't feel inspired to be good.

There's a difference between knowing what's good, wanting to do good, and feeling inspired to be good. See, with inspiration comes motivation and with motivation comes action.

Writing complex characters means that good motives are acted out wrong. It means that bad motives are disguised as good acts. Not fully good, not entirely evil.

When you get to know your characters the rest of the story comes to you naturally and by that I mean that the actions they take, the words they speak, how they are, kind of rolls out of you naturally. You need to know your characters before you sit down to write your story.

Armando's actions are horrible. He was abusive but he was also a victim and I know someone is probably wondering "well why aren't you talking about the way he was towards Betty when she found the letter?" and that's simple.

Armando perfectly mirrored Marcela and Betty perfectly mirrored Armando.

I mentioned this in the Marcela Valencia post but I'll try and talk a bit more about it here.

Armando's constant abuse and violation of Betty is an exact mirroring of Marcela, however, he still chose to act this way knowing that instead of drawing Betty closer to him, that he'd push her further away and while in moments of lucidness Armando attempted to resolve the issues he had with Betty in a calm manner, she wasn't on the same page.

Armando chased Betty all over the place, threw jealousy fits, and forced himself onto her. Marcela did the exact same to him.

However, here's the tricky part of it.

Betty.

Betty was the perfect mirror of Armando. She lied to him, manipulated him, and "cheated" on him. The same way he was towards Marcela.

Obviously this is a simplified version of it but it's the same thing at the end of the day.

Had Betty never acted this way, would Armando have treated her the way he had?

To a lesser degree, I do think so.

I think he would have manipulated her and that he would have thrown some jealousy fit here and there.

See the thing is that if Betty had never given him a taste of his own medicine Armando would have never changed. No matter how much he wanted to or how badly he was in love with Betty.

Armando, to his core, was a coward. That's what he was in the story. Due to this he resorted to manipulation and cheating.

While some of his actions were due to some sort of trauma or the fear of rejection, and came from a place of hurt and self-preservation, Armando still acted wrong.

At least at the end Armando took accountability for his actions and somewhat changed his ways. Was he deserving of getting the girl? Not entirely but was Betty deserving of getting Armando? Not entirely and see that's the problem with writing romance.

Often times the most important bit of the story is cut out because "people don't want to see the reconciliation, they just want to hear about it. "

From what I know, Betty never took accountability for the way she treated Armando after she found the letter and this I will later discuss whenever I get around to watching YSBLF and write a post about the episode but in simpler words: Betty chose to exact revenge on Armando and yes, her emotions were so valid! but her actions were not!

Betty treated Armando the exact same way Armando treated Marcela.

Lastly, I've said Armando is a complex character from the start and while that may be true, this complexity does not excuse his horrible behavior because complexities never do.

Well, I hope y'all enjoy this long over due post, and I apologize for the long hiatus on the YSBLF breakdown posts.

Also, again, sorry if there's any grammar mistakes, I'm working on it! Lol.

'Til next time :)

[mendozasolano]

just some thoughts about Betty/Armando + songs (my two passions, ysblf and music, especially from ts and mitski <3)

[ladysophiebeckett]

crazy recognizing crazy but it's too late for flattery andrey

[buddyhollyscurls]

Thanks to all my fellow YSBLF fans bc I been liking posts all day

[armando-triplepapito]

I love the ysblf fandom! Y’all are so smart!!

I love reading all your thoughts and character analysis. Y’all never fail to make me look at a scene differently🤩

Seeing your guy’s perspective never fails to make my day🥰

[casfa88]

This one is just for you @youwontlikethisblog !!!!

I mean look at that face! Betty had a very sweet and pure beauty from the beginning. Honestly just a haircut and a change of glasses would have been enough! Sometimes I think they had her use a little too much makeup at the end for her character- I think just a good balm for help lips would have been nice and not some of the dark colors they have her use. She still looked good either way but I absolutely agree she was pretty form the beginning and she deserves some "pre make over" love! It is so clear from Armando how much he felt from the beginning - although a lot of their story was angsty really from the beginning you see a tenderness from him towards her and a true feeling of work partners to accomplices to friends to lovers. It is so nice to see how deeply he falls for all she has to offer him and to see his change - and the way she views her. Although we as the audience know she is always beautiful, I can see the slow shift in how the novela shows Armando's perception for her as he subconsciously falls for her and then as he starts to accept that he is truly, for the first time - the only time - in love and is truly loved. He begins to see this sort of sweet, innocent beauty she has.

[ysblf-bettyverse]

Andrey Zhdanov (Armando Mendoza).

Les recomiendo la versión rusa de Yo soy Betty la fea, es increíble.

[el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle]

I think at this point everyone is familiar with the theories talking about how people are unconsciously attracted to characteristics that remind them of their parents (usually, the one that is of the pposite sex to them), and it's pretty obvious that Gaitán was aware of them, too. There's a whole a scene where the joke is Armando and don Hermes' parallels!

Their similarities are in personality, especially in their treatment of Betty. They are both grumpy men who are often times rude, but they are also incredibly protective of those they love (Betty in this case), which is why she doesn't take to heart their bad temper and knows they never mean to offend her and are always looking for the best for her. They don't tolerate anyone mistreating her-- not even the othsr! Which is ironic considering thwy are both quick to yell at her without realizing.

You could also argue that they share physical characteristics not in the sense that they look alike, but rather that they take similar decisions regarding their appearance. For example, that they both take a lot of care into their apparence and are mostly seen wearing formal clothes, as well as the glasses and that old-fashioned vibe.

I think that's a fact of the novela that we all know and have discussed plenty.

But can we talk about how this same phenomenon manifest in Marcela/Margarita? I saw/made a comment about this recently and can't stop thinking about it!

Their resemblance, in this case, is actually just physical. They have the same haircolor at the beginning, and after Marcela's makeover, she gets the same hair length as Margarita. They also keep their hair straight with curved tips towards their necks.

They are also seen wearing very similar colors-- for example, when Margarita and Roberto come back from London the night before the embargo, both Margarita and Marcela are wearing pastel colors. This is unlike Marcela-- she rarely ever wears such sweet, clear, and soft colors.

This leads me to believe that Marcela tried to LOOK like Armando's ideal woman (in addition, she is almost completely what he described as "perfect woman" when using the Oracle of Goddesses-- tall, slim, dhoulder lenght dark heair and non-brown eyes), but she wasn't truly it because she never actually put in practice Margarita's advice: to be Armando's peace. Betty, on the other hand, truly was.

In other words, Gaitán was incredibly clever writing Marcela's character. She is everything one would think is perfect for Armando, down to the whole "parents characteristics" theories-- but their perfection was skin depth!

[el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle]

I find it interesting that even though both Armando and Mario never wanted anything that serious with any woman they've met, Mario has taken the time to actually romance them AND has actually moved in with them/ made them move in with. Doesn't sound that casual to me, but it's also onvious that he has never loved them.

What do y'all think? Did he perhaps actually tried to settle down a few times? Why? Because he wanted to give it a chance to know how it feels and see if it's his thing? He seems to imply that, but you don't just "give it a chance" with the first random and casual fling you have. You need to see and feel something for and with them! In Mario's case, I doubt he loved them. He doesn't seem to even undrrstand how that feels.

Also, what does it say about Armando that even though he has been with loooots of women, he has never needed to do anything as basic as giving them a little detail like a flower or a candy to show interest??? Meanwhile, Mario evidently NEEDS to put in effort (details, jalous scenes, buy them dinner, etc) in order to sleep with them?? Is Armando that much of a seducer, is Mario that bad at it (which I doubt since they both have a very similar flirting style), or does Mario just likes the whole romancing thing? Or does Armando just loses interest as soon as the woman isn't easy to convince and avtually requires sweetness and love and attention???

What do y'all think??

[el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle]

Watching episode 22, and I'm now realizing that one of Betty's many fantasies actually became true. Twice. The first it was a dream come true, and the second, a nightmare come true.

On episode 22, Betty is stuck on an awful double date with Aura Maria, her hookup, and another ugly as hell dude who is angry and disappointed that Betty isn't hot like Aura Maria. After trying a lot to make and keep a convo with this ungrateful rat-looking dude, Betty gives up and starts fantasizing that Armando shows up and asks her to dance. They begin dancing rather close and romantically, and, at this, rat-man gets angry and confronts Armando. Armando punches him and goes back to Betty, who says that he shouldn't have done that, but he tells her how much it bothers him when she's harassed.

Something rather similar happens in real life when Armando fights Román. Armando and Betty are having an intimate moment when Román and his friends show up and begin harassing Betty. Armando gets angry, fights them, and after all that, Betty says he shouldn't have, but he answers that he can't stand it when she's harassed oh to be Betty....

Armando in her imagination is gentlemanly, soft with her, and punches her harasser quickly and is over with it and then the whole scene goes back to only them and their moment of intimacy as if all the anger and violence had evaporated of Armando’s system in that quick hit. Armando feels no pain even though he punched a man in the face and threw him to the floor. Even the red lights of the scene give a rather fantastical element to the fight and the dance. It's quick and the viewer forgets about it immediately because what matters is the dance and the romance.

Armando in real life isn't soft or romantic. He's angry because he got hurt because there was real, prolongued violence. He doesn't speak softly or goes straight back to loving her. He's an actual human who really got angry and actually is in pain from the fight. The scene itself doesn't seem to see violence as something beautiful or romantic. Betty can see it, but she loves it nonetheless because she has always dreamed of him as her savior. How wouldn't she fall face flat in love with him when he straight up brought her fantasy to life?

It gets taken to the horrible extreme with the fight with Nicolás. Once again, Armado is "defending" Betty. Except this time there's nothing remotely romantic. It is Armando taken to his very limit and exposes just how dangerous and violent the whole "defend her honor" could get in a real scenario. It also shows how on many of these occasions with romance stories, this violence doesn't only come from a selfless desire to protect, but also to defend themselves and what they believe is theirs.

I just fond it rather interesting how it started so beautiful and romantic and fantastical, and ended up so brutal and horrible.

Also, I'm sure there could be a wholeeee analysis of how Armando is the stereotype of the "perfect" love interest but twisted in a very dark and human way. Also how ysblf's romance is very organic and not fantastical at all

[ladysophiebeckett]

Your posts about ysblf made me watch to rewatch Betty’s revenge part for the millionth time, and there’s something I noticed about Armando’s dry spell era. When he admits to Mario that intimacy with Marcela is basically nonexistent, he then asks him if he had been with anyone else after the last time with Betty to which Armando replies that he has had no time and that he lives for Ecomoda and to please Betty and Marcela. Now, the first times I watched this portion, I kinda got it and what he said made sense somehow because he was indeed under a lot of pressure. However, after rewatching these episodes, I noticed that he had not one (Adriana Arboleda’s event) not two (At El Meson de San Diego after Betty left), but at least three (at Le Noir when he followed Betty and Nicolas) opportunities to be with someone other than Betty (and Marcela), but chose not to, detail that he conveniently hid from Mario.

I think that the first time was during the night of Adriana Arboleda’s event and the only instance that applies when Mario asked him that question. That night he went home alone, even refused the tempting offer to party with the models even after Betty had already ditched him. He wasn’t that indifferent either, because he did go looking for them with the excuse that he wanted them to work for Ecomoda. Now, this might be true, but he is also a man who likes to look at beautiful women. However, after the coast is clear without Betty there and Marcela miles away, he still chose to go back to his apartment early and alone. At this point, he wasn’t as mentally unstable as he is in later episodes since Betty’s revenge was just beginning to take off, so the excuse that his many troubles were dulling his desire for intimacy didn’t apply either at this point. Adding to this, he was more than eager to get to it with Betty before she left. At first, I thought it was annoying that everywhere he went, there would be a former lover that who would openly flirt with him, but looking at it closely, maybe there was another purpose for doing this after all. I feel dense for not noticing it was to show that he had changed and could only be with Betty. Before, I thought it was just to remind us how popular he was and to showcase his internal struggle to admit openly he loved Betty while also being afraid of the backlash. What do you think? Your analysis is honestly some of the best I’ve seen. I’m in awe every time.

Sorry for the long ask, thank you for reading and good day to you 🫶

ive read this ask like 3x and im like,,,,okay wow mind blown. i would usually comment in order of the ask, but im reeling here so im just gonna have to do this adhd style. im sorry.

At first, I thought it was annoying that everywhere he went, there would be a former lover that who would openly flirt with him, but looking at it closely, maybe there was another purpose for doing this after all.

I'm very with you on this. I was too busy being annoyed at random women coming up to him that I didn't see that it was done with the purpose of seeing Armando rejecting them at every turn. Even at le noir, he doesn't care about the woman greeting him that's asking him to stay. It's not like there weren't other opportunities for him to be with anyone else. Something happens when Betty starts rejecting him. Conversations with Mario make Armando believe it's his ego at the front of it. It is and it isn't.

Let's talk about this:

However, after the coast is clear without Betty there and Marcela miles away, he still chose to go back to his apartment early and alone. At this point, he wasn’t as mentally unstable as he is in later episodes since Betty’s revenge was just beginning to take off, so the excuse that his many troubles were dulling his desire for intimacy didn’t apply either at this point.

Adriana's event is Betty's first rejection of him. All throughout the episode Armando is agitated because he can't find her. As soon as she tells him she's leaving with Nicolas, the agitation he felt all evening turns to anger. He goes so far as saying 'You're staying here, because I'm ordering you to'. It becomes his go to excuse when suddenly the boyfriend card doesn't work anymore.

In fact, he uses work as the excuse for why he gets into a fight with Nicolas at Inesita's. There's comparison's to be made between Adriana's event and the fight at Inesita's (aka Jaundice Day aka the night Catalina catches them). Right down to Betty wearing the same outfit when she says 'Let's see how jealous you get'.

Obviously Betty sees how maybe...perhaps...she took it too far.

At the first rejection Armando says something like 'you would rather go to a dinner with him instead of a date with me?? bc i would rather be with you' vs at Inestia's when he says 'you would rather leave with him instead of staying with me?'

It doesn't take a lot to make Armando lose it, in fact both times he grabs Betty in some way. The difference is that at Inesita's he forced to admit to himself that it's jealousy. Not his ego.

When he admits to Mario that intimacy with Marcela is basically nonexistent, he then asks him if he had been with anyone else after the last time with Betty to which Armando replies that he has had no time and that he lives for Ecomoda and to please Betty and Marcela.

I always laugh at that line bc he's failing miserably at all those things. His Betty isn't behaving properly, Marcela isn't being easily placated with his lies, the hidden state of Ecomoda is in shambles. But the only thing he thinks about is Betty. He can't focus on anything bc he knows his relationship with her is in trouble.

We all make jokes about Armando's dry spell and him going crazy--iirc and someone correct me if I'm wrong--but I believe that Marcela said at some point that when Armando was stressed sex would calm him down. I think she says something like this during one of his rejections towards her. So during the gaslighting arc he's going through high stress levels but the cause of the stress and the cure of said stress is Betty.

The cycle of sexual rejection going on in the Betty\Armando\Marcela love triangle is insane and tragic. (and only hilarious fm Armando's pov bc its a karmic punishment).

However, after rewatching these episodes, I noticed that he had not one (Adriana Arboleda’s event) not two (At El Meson de San Diego after Betty left), but at least three (at Le Noir when he followed Betty and Nicolas) opportunities to be with someone other than Betty (and Marcela), but chose not to, detail that he conveniently hid from Mario.

See, I didn't notice this. Or pay attention to what he isn't telling Mario. I'm??? And I'm a huge 'Betty's Gaslighting Arc' fan. Truly always something new to look at. Like you, I was just annoyed. I'm like 'i get it Armando, ur very popular with the ladies'--which is probably what Betty's thinking when she's a witness to some of this. Him not telling Mario that there were other opportunities means Armando is more aware of his feelings and the things happening around him than he lets on. He really does mentally push things away bc he doesn't want to see the bigger picture. He knows that if he told Mario he had other opportunities to sleep with someone and didn't, that Mario would know (even tho we know that Mario knows Armando's in love with Betty).

---However, after the coast is clear without Betty there and Marcela miles away, he still chose to go back to his apartment early and alone....Adding to this, he was more than eager to get to it with Betty before she left---

He says to Betty that he had an evening planned for them (and we'll never know what that was, probably a well lit place but nothing too fancy. and obviously a sexy little nightcap at Mario's apartment). Even says that they're only going to stop at Adriana's event for a bit and then leave. It was meant to be quick appearance to say he was there. He basically had his heart set on spending time with Betty (without Marcela or Mario breathing down his neck) and when it doesn't happen he doesn't think of making new plans with anyone.

This is him when he gets to his apartment:

(Ignore this set up which looks nothing like the apartment they said was his various episodes ago)

This guy is disgustedly looking at Cosmo magazine thinking 'I was supposed to be having sexy times with my gf\assistant and now I'm here....Alone'.

And this is him when Marcela calls him:

Completely annoyed.

If Betty called his cell phone that night and said 'This dinner with Nicolas just ended, do you still want to do something?' One, he wouldn't be making that face above and two, he'd have thrown that Cosmo magazine in the trash and left immediately.

I feel dense for not noticing it was to show that he had changed and could only be with Betty.

Do not feel dense babe, I didn't make this connection either. It's refreshing to still be able to discover new things in programs we've watched over and over again. That's why discussions like this are fun.

Before, I thought it was just to remind us how popular he was and to showcase his internal struggle to admit openly he loved Betty while also being afraid of the backlash.

That's definitely at the forefront of it all but it can also be a mixture of everything above. It's what makes the character nuanced and dimensional. Sometimes we question how is it that he can be faithful to Betty vs unfaithful to Marcela and it's not (just) bc he had magical sex with Betty. If we look at his subtle rejections of other women in the situations you've mentioned above, then really what we're witnessing is him choosing Betty every time. His confession outside of her house, the way he words it 'I can only be with you'--Armando fears he's losing her and he's won't admit to himself what he really feels, so he can't be at his most vulnerable and say 'I only want to be with you' (not that she would believe him).

That's why, at el Admirante, after confessing to reading her diary he's able to say, 'The life that I know I want to share with you'. Because he's knows now that above all she still loves him (and has always loved him). It's very scorpio of him tbh.

So yeah, I definitely agree with you. You've shown me a new way to look at it. Bc again, I hadn't noticed it. I just get too annoyed with him and all these random women. (come to think of it, a woman greets him when he's drinking with Freddy too and he's still like 'ok whatever' about it).

I love long asks I'm just sorry it takes me forever to answer them. I'm very slow and easily distracted.

[ladysophiebeckett]

So, do you think Catalina suspected something was going on with Betty and Armando before she saw them kissing? I just remember that Betty told her she didn’t want Armando to see she was crying, that she didn’t want to return to the office, didn’t want to be there for his wedding (might be wrong about this one but this is what I recall), that her personal and work life were one and the same. Also, she knew she was having a hard time over a man. It all sounds very suspicious and we, as the audience, already knew what was happening, but I realize that from Cata’s pov it could be a different story considering that she also thought Nicolas was Betty’s boyfriend. So maybe she saw Armando was a crappy boss who had Betty in charge of everything, but there was nothing more to it? Your ysblf analysis is always so spot on, I love it ♥️ thank you.

I think for a long time Catalina saw Betty as someone who's labor was being exploited. She's the only one outside of ecomoda to chastise Armando and Mario about her office\working conditions. And the only one in the meetings to say 'hey, if you need her for all these decisions then shouldn't she be in the room?'.

She, like everyone outside of ecomoda, saw how important she was to Armando in regards to work. She's a prime witness to a majority of the decisions that he delegates to Betty. At least 3 scenes exist where Catalina asks Armando something and he, as Betty's secret glorified secretary, sends her to Betty bc she knows the information where as he does not.

However, unlike everyone outside of ecomoda suspecting about the B x A affair, I don't think Catalina suspected because she was too close to the situation. She, like everyone else, thought Nicolas was her boyfriend because that is what she was told.

Betty's behavior clicks for Catalina once she sees the kiss. When Betty seeks her out, Catalina immediately says 'I didn't see a thing'. She's not judgemental about it, she understands why Betty wants to leave. She also immediately knows that Nicolas isn't her boyfriend, only a friend. From that scene on however, all Catalina really knows is that Betty is in a difficult situation with her boss that is way past a working relationship. She doesn't know the hows or the whys until Cartagena. Regardless of not having the full story, Catalina still takes it upon herself to help Betty in any way she can.

It's important to note that Catalina doesn't treat Armando any differently post the kissing she saw. She quietly judges his drinking but says nothing past that. She doesn't quite know his side of it, but just like Betty's previous behavior clicked when she caught them--Armando's behavior also must have clicked. Catalina doesn't know about the plan, but he is Betty's boss and at at glance it wouldn't take a lot to piece together that said boss crossed boundaries with said employee. She's also seen for almost a whole year how much Armando depends on Betty and how that working relationship could have turned into something else.

Despite that, she's still aware there's a power imbalance and takes Betty's side over any faux friendship she may have with the Valancia's and Mendoza's.

I don't think Catalina thought Armando was just a crappy boss because she saw that he saw how smart and capable Betty was. She saw how much he depended on her. She also saw how inattentive he was to planning his wedding to Marcela--'One would say it looks like she's getting married alone', she says at some point. She knew Betty and Armando were close, but didn't know how close.

When she saw them kissing, she was quietly surprised, not because Armando was kissing Betty, but because Betty was caught up in something that no one at ecomoda would imagine her getting caught up in. Betty goes after to her to explain because she feels ashamed and embarrassed, especially because she knows how highly Catalina thought of her and fears she's lost her respect. Betty greatly admires Catalina and appreciates her kindness, and Betty's afraid that she's lost that too.

Betty is always aware that she's 'the other woman' and despite her looks she always knew what her constant closeness to Armando would look like to others. (See: Picasso Exhibit scenes). So getting caught in her office was one of Betty's biggest fears come true and it wasn't even her fault. It was because Armando could never control himself. Whether he was angry or anxious.

In conclusion, I don't personally think Catalina knew or suspected but everything about Betty and Armando made sense after she caught them. And they're incredibly lucky that it was her and not anyone else because if it had been anyone else, all hell would have broken loose that night.

[el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle]

Hi 🥰

I was going through your blog and I loved your analysis of ysblf’s sixth episode (where Marcela dresses up as an executioner). Idk if it was your blog or someone else’s that mentioned the importance of certain sex scenes in ysblf and I can’t stop thinking about it and I keep going back to analyze and come up with my own conclusions. I just wanted to know your opinion on the last sex scene Marcela and Armando had …

(Sorry I wrote this in English, I don’t know how to proficiently write in Spanish)

Hiii!

I'm not sure if the podt you mention is mine! I did a post about how different sex scenes have different emotional values for the participants depending on how explicit they get haha! Sex is very important on ysblf, as it's shown in multiple lights: as an expression of love, vulnerability and trust (betty/armando), wrecklessness and selfishness (AuraMaria/Mario) and even manipulation and humiliation ( patricia/Daniel)

If I'm not mistaken, Marce and Armando’s last night is one of the most aggressive ones. Most of their sex scenes are "reconciliatory" sex, but this one was straight up "sex to shut her up." It was a quick way for Armando to quiet Marcela about his affair and get release at the same time. Many viewers speculated that Armando was so horny and straight to the point that night because he just came from his "dates" with Betty, which at this point we know are becoming more heated (how Rlman and his idiot gang thought they were gonna do it in the car one time when they caught Armando and Betty kissing, and how Calderón even explicitly says that if they tought that it was because those weren't chaste little pecks!) Altough I like this interpretation a lot, due to a lack of more explicit dates from before the Letter, I can't decide if I agree or not with this interpretation for Armando’s urgency that night lol altough it COULD be a very good indicator that Armando was actually and unconciously starting to physically desire Betty, which would make the First Night scene much better as it would add another precedent to Armando’s desire for her.

Yhe scene is also filled with very telling dialogue, such as Armando's "would a man who just came from being with his lover do all that I'm going to do to you right now?" (Something along those lines. I Don't have the quot at hand, but the exact phrasing is very important!) The exact word he uses is "lover/mistress" if I'm not misremembering, which is very important because, as Armando has been letting us know through his talks with Calderón, in his head Marcela and Betty play the opposite role of their title. For him, Marcela is the lover, because as Mario explains, a lover is for screwing, ("what do you have a lover for? Talk about politics?") To which Armando answers "that's what I've got Marcela for." There is no deeper, emotional connection to her. He literally admits the sex is amazong and the only thing keeping him in the relationship. Betty, on the other hand, fulfills the role of "la mujer" (the official one/wife, kinda) because, as he says, their relationship is emotional and mental, not based on sexual attraction. (((Of course, this breaks after the First Night, because Marcela stops even being that Lover, and Betty becomes fully La Mujer)))

In a weird, twisted way, he really didn't just come from seeing his lover, he just arraived to see her and fulfill the only real reason for having a lover...

It sounds a little ugly saying it like that but that's straight up what the show says lol

All sex scenes between those two are filled with deceitfulness, repressed angerness, and a lingering feeling of something violent and animalistic about it, which is a great contrast to Betty and Armando’s soft, vulnerable, and tender first time together!

Don't worry about the language, it's always good to put to some use my rusty English lol

[ladysophiebeckett]

there is so much good ysblf meta on here. literally the best analysis ive ever seen from a fandom. wish i could contribute in some way but unfortunately i just wanna shit post. 

[casfa88]

Reconciliación

I love the story of YSBLF - it is is such a lovely story and I wish they had made the "After Cartagena" section more drawn out and included more details. There are definitely a few "gripes" I have with the novela but one has to be Betty and Armando's reconciliation scenes.

Honestly...I do not mind Armando going down to the production area and talking to the workers. I thought it was a very nice thing to include to show some relatability to all the workers that make it happen. I actually wish this could have been shown more during the story! I thought it was great for Armando to address things in front of them and be open about things he probably would have only said in private before. I do not even mind Betty joining him and addressing the workers as well. BUT...it should have stopped there. They should have at one point "reconciled" as far as work goes and have headed up to the administrative floor to get Daniel out and then ONLY then had a private moment to reconcile their romantic relationship. They deserved it!!

This image even captures how silly it is...look at Freddy right freakin' there! And then the Don Hermes interruption - Why did they make this choice? Ughhhh! I just... it really feels like it cheapens their moment. I would have liked to see the production scene, then they both go up to get Daniel out of there then being left alone in the conference room and then it could have gone into a reconciliation scene. I think I would have like to see Armando kind of getting ready to go, because all though Betty accepted to stay and help him keep EcoModa moving forward he still wants to maintain his distance as he promised. Then Betty is the one to say "Don Armando..espere...por favor necistmaos hablar" or...something along those lines. I also really wish we had seen some of their relationship before the wedding because, well: one- it would have been awesome just to get more story two - It would be so interesting to see how they navigate a full relationship, how they overcome the initial awkwardness that I assume had to have been there and how they grow together. three - It would help people see both their growth and understand their characters more and see that Armando and Betty together is sweet and good ending - that they are good partners and both had to grow and change to get there and being together is not a mistake!

Anyway - I invite you all to share what you would have liked " La Reconciliación" to have been like or at least tidbits you would have liked to see!