Production #108: Running Wild

Writer: Elizabeth Keyishian Director: Richard Martin Cast: Freddie Douglas (Ramon) Daisy Fuentes (Isabelle Selvera) Daniel Fredenburgh (Teodoro Selvera) Xavier Elorriaga (Don Selvera) Enric Benavent (Don Federico)

In a welcome touch of continuity, Tessa's childhood friend Ramon Aguilera ("Vengeance") is back again in "Running Wild." Unfortunately, in the time since his father's death, Ramon has fallen onto hard times, both financially and emotionally. His passionate entanglement with Isabelle Selvera and her petulant brother Teodoro has led young Aguilera into a life of violent crime, preying on the people of his own community.

The otherwise unexceptional script picks up some depth due to the backhistory of Ramon's character and his relationship with Tessa, but raises some intriguing issues which are never adequately addressed. In "Vengeance" we saw Ramon give way to rage and a thirst for revenge when he targeted an innocent don as the murderer of the elder Don Aguilera. Tessa, in the persona of the Queen, saved Ramon from the retaliation of Don Fuentes, a rescue which resulted in the death of a hired man. Now we see this same hotheaded youth sliding even further into self-indulgence and self-pity as he destroys the lives of yet more innocent people.

So it happens that Tessa's well-meaning intervention in saving Ramon from the consequences of his hasty actions eventually leads to the death of her own beloved god-father. The Queen's sacrifice of another life for Ramon's, motivated by her sense of loyalty to a close friend, was dubious enough to begin with and now has a very sour taste indeed. This tragic chain of events could have been a powerful focus for the story. Isabelle and Teodora are guest characters, and unpleasant ones at that, so it is a little difficult to care what becomes of them; but Tessa's culpability in Don Federico's death — albeit indirect and unintentional — has considerable more resonance for the audience. Watching her struggle with the repercussions of her earlier decisions would more fully explore the ethical dilemmas inherent in picking up a weapon and becoming the Queen of Swords. Marta the Gypsy has warned Tessa of these pitfalls in past episodes, and "Running Wild" offered a golden opportunity to transform those asides into substantive drama.

Unfortunately, despite these unsettling implications, the episode never rises above the recounting of the basic plot. In the end, an unreflective Tessa lifts the passive Ramon out of his self-inflicted difficulties; once again she enables him to escape the fatal consequences of his character faults. Abandoning his impoverished mother and sisters, he rides off with the lover who embroiled him in crime in the first place. And I was left wondering just how many more people will suffer as the result of Tessa's decision to help the feckless Ramon and Isabelle flee for Monterrey.

If Tessa had been as worried as I was, perhaps the episode would have worked for me.

—Carmen Carter