They Must Know The Truth

Thursday’s Widows episode 1 starts with Juandres and Ramona recording what happened on the night of December 26th at Tano Scaglia. They watch as Gustavo Maldonado enters the pool, joining Tano and Martín de la Luna III. Suddenly something happens, and the people in the pool are electrocuted to death. Juandres and Ramona take off running as fast as they can.

The scene then cuts to Mavi Guevara, our narrator, sitting in the semi-dark; it looks like she is writing in her diary. She claims to know everything that happened that night. She considers it her duty to remind everyone and how they are to blame.

Mavi is a real estate agent  and resident of Altos de las Cascadas. She is married to Ronnie Guevara. Altos de las Cascadas was supposed to be their haven, away from the city. It offered the residents a clear distinction of their status. It perfectly differentiated the haves and the have-nots. Altos de las Cascadas is an exclusive country club. The residents don’t even have to leave to get what they want.

They have so much privilege and care only about what they want. Over the years, the residents have made the concept of family their foundation. They have created a perfect complex that works like clockwork. As Mavi narrates, we meet some of the families living in Cascadas.

We have Tano, a high-powered executive who is married to Teresa. Together, they have two children, Matías and Sofí. Secondly, we have Ernesto Andrade, a plastic surgeon. He is married to Mariana, and they have two adopted kids, Ramona and Pedro. Lastly, we have Martín de la Luna III, an aspirant for the Governor’s seat and his pregnant wife, Lala de la Luna. They have five other kids. Of course, we know Mavi and her husband are also residents of Cascada.

We go back to a few months before the fateful night of December 26th. Mavi is showing a house to a client who wants to buy a house at Cascadas as a birthday present for his wife. The man is named Gustavo Maldonado, and his wife is Carla.

Gustavo likes the house,e and Mavi reminds him that he needs approval from the Altos de las Cascadas committee. Given the club’s reputation, it is important that the new neighbours are compatible to maintain the harmony. Mavi thinks Gustavo is trying to overcompensate since he comes from new money and has yet to learn about handling money appropriately.

Later, at the monthly meeting of the Altos de las Cascadas ladies, Mariana takes charge as the chairwoman. Mavi is working to convince the ladies to approve of the Maldonados as their neighbours. Teresa is unsure about it because Gustavo is Spanish, but in the end, Mariana puts her foot down and approves. They end the meeting with Mavi doing their ritual.

Elsewhere, Tano and Martín are busy playing tennis, and Martín is losing. It seems his mind is more occupied by his future plans. He informs Tano that he left the political party founded by his grandfather. He feels he is not getting the respect he deserves and wants to run as an independent candidate for the Governor position. Tano is happy and proud of him and congratulates him.

Martín asks if Tano can help him get private sponsorship for his campaign. Tano is distracted by the arrival of Gustavo, the new guy. He promises Martín to ask his partners first and get back to him. He is sure Martín will be a governor and believes in him.

On the other hand, Mariana is displeased with her daughter’s dressing style. She asks Ramona to dress and act like she belongs. Mariana insists on calling Ramona as Romina, but her daughter hates the name. Mariana is trying to be a good mom, but it is not easy. Once Mariana leaves, Juandi and Ramona head out to smoke marijuana. They are also obsessed with spying on their neighbours.

Like Ramona, Juandi is frustrated by his parents, who keep arguing over everything. Mavi is angry with Ronnie, who has been jobless for the past six years. After losing his job, Ronnie had the idea of spending all his severance money on a weed greenhouse. As expected, that didn’t turn out great, and he became a lazy bum who is always high.

With Ronnie smoking weed all day, Mavi stepped up to pay the bills. She set up her real estate office at the club and tried her best to keep up with appearances. She couldn’t help but notice the head of security, Wagner, who helped with the moving.

After moving in, Mavi tries to involve Carla, the new lady in Cascada, in their activities. She is intrigued by the fact Gustavo bought Carla a house without consulting her. The ladies meet every Thursday for drinks and gossip. They call this little tradition Thursday’s Widows because they focus solely on having fun as themselves without their husbands.

Carla joins them and finds Mariana and Teresa in a conversation. Teresa is excited about her upcoming family trip, and Mariana is giving her some tips as her friends have been there before. Lala thinks it is better to go on a cruise, and the women tells her to change her baby’s diaper. The conversation switches to Lala and her nanny. Lala says her nanny is on vacation, and they are struggling to find a replacement. Teresa suggests asking Carmen to lend one of her employees, and Carmen refuses. Teresa is bitter about Carmen stealing one of her workers and firing her soon after.

Lala switches the topic to Carmen’s husband, Alfredo, who has long been MIA. Lala claims Martín has been unable to reach him. Carmen says Alfredo comes and goes, but Mavi insists the man never came home. The gossip continues, and the husbands meet at Tano’s house to play dominos. This is the men’s tradition on Thursdays.

To welcome Gustavo, Tano asks him to select one watch from his collection. He goes on a little rant about how time is important to every man. Gustavo chooses one watch, and Tano dares him to break his smartwatch in return. It gets a bit intense as Gustavo stands abruptly and claims he won’t be ordered around. He is pranking the guys, and they continue their party.

Both parties come to a wrap at the end of the day; Teresa reminds the ladies about Tano’s upcoming birthday party. The rule is clear: no gift, no entrance. We later see Alfredo having a drink with Tano and explaining why he divorced her; he wanted to be liberated from the marriage.

The following day, Teresa contacts her travel agents to switch from a schooner to a yacht. She is surprised to learn that Tano postponed the trip. She gets into a fight with Tano for failing to mention such an important detail. Tano insists that there is some trouble at the company and he has to work.

In the meantime, her house help starts betting on how long i will take Teresa to sleep with the gardener, Uriel. It seems Tano doesn’t mind if his wife lusts after another man as long as she doesn’t act on it. The family prepares for Tano’s birthday party and welcomes their guests, who bring expensive gifts.

At the party, Carla and Gustavo meet Ernesto, Mariana’s husband. He doesn’t join the men for their Thursday’s hangouts. On the other hand, Tano gives Martín the bad news that his company can’t invest in his campaign. However, Tano promises to support Martín still. Teresa summons Tano to see his surprise gift. Tano is pissed to see Teresa invited a magician and walks away, forcing Ronnie to take his position as the birthday boy for the magician’s trick.

Teresa follows Tano and tells him that the magician is revenge for ruining her vacation plans. They end up having sex, and Tano reminds Teresa he is also good at winning their little games. Later, Teresa masturbates as she looks at her garden.

The scene cuts to Mavi explaining the deterioration of her marriage. She notes that she fakes her laugh regarding Ronnie’s jokes.

We circle back to December 26th; it was on a Thursday, and Mavi was at work instead of meeting with the other ladies as tradition. There is a knock on her door, and she takes off her wedding ring. She narrates that she wanted to feel desired.

Meanwhile, Martín, Gustavo and Ronnie are at Tano’s house. Tano is holding a gun to his mouth, and the guys are trying to get him to put the gun down. The ladies are worried Lala is having too much wine since she is pregnant. They are also curious why Mavi is busy working.

Teresa suggests they pick Mavi up from her office before heading for a movie and more drinks. The other ladies excitedly agree and call Mavi, but she is unreachable. She is busy having sex with someone in her office. It has to be Wagner; they were giving each other lustful looks the last time they were in the same room! Teresa sees her when they arrive at her office. She rushes back and lies that Mavi was not in her office. They drive off

Back at Tano’s house, Tano and Martín are trying to convince Ronnie to join them in something. Tano argues that Ronnie is a failed husband who Mavi supports. Martín calls Ronnie a coward, and Gustavo is losing his mind over the snow machine which is on. He stands to turn it off while Ronnie has enough and starts walking away.

Tano and Martín try to call him back, but Ronnie insists he is out and the proposal is wrong. Tano and Martín continue to sing and dance. Mavi narrates that was the last Thursday Gustavo, Martín and Tano were seen alive.

Later in the evening, Mavi goes back home. She calls out to Ronnie, who is drinking on the roof and fails to hear her. The lights go off all over Cascadas, and Ronnie falls from the roof. Mavi rushes to him, and the light returns; Ronnie keeps crying, asking to be taken to Tano’s house, but Mavi rushes him to the hospital as he broke his leg. Mavi admits she is terrified to lose Ronnie and everything they own.

The episode ends with Teresa finding the bodies of the three men in her swimming pool after a night out with the ladies. In the background, Mavi continues to narrate and insists the truth must be known, and she will start with Teresa’s story.

The Episode Review

Mavi is the narrator, and we see what happened on December 26th through her perspective. The first episode has set the tone for the characters, and we look forward to a more fleshed-out chapter that will tell us more about each family member.

Based on this episode’s ending scene, we will learn more about Teresa Scaglia in the second episode. Who is she, and why did Tano die? It looks like everyone in Cascadas has a secret, and everything is not as it seems. I wonder what secret Tano and Teresa are keeping.