La otra is a Mexican telenovela that aired in 2002. It stars the beauty queen Yadhira Carrillo, heartthrob Juan Soler, and senior actress Jacqueline Andere.
It is a twin drama with a new twist. The characters, Carlota and Cordelia, really aren't twins, but doppelgangers. Carlota is sweet and innocent, raised by her greedy and abusive mother Bernarda, while Cordelia is cruel, manipulative, and willing to do what is necessary to get what she wants. Carlota meets Alvaro one day and they fall in love. Bernarda, of course, objects to this and does what she can to separate them. She succeeds, and 10 years later, she still hasn't gotten over him. Alvaro, however, has married Cordelia and they have a daughter together. Cordelia treats the daughter with contempt and feels stuck in the marriage. She sees other men on the side, including Alvaro's adopted brother Adrian! Eventually, fate will bring Carlota and Alvaro together again one day.
This show provides examples of:
- Brother–Sister Incest: Bernarda lies to Eugenia and says that Roman, the man that got her pregnant, is her brother. It caused her death.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Adrian loves his parents, especially his foster mother VERY much. NEVER EVER EVER even THINK of harming or insulting either one of them in front of him. Let's say Cordelia had to learn the ultimate lesson by doing so...
- Karma Houdini: Bernarda's ending. Let's see, she ruins a marriage (which caused Carlota to be born, mistreated both of her daughters all their lives, indirectly caused Eugenia's death, ruined Carlota's romance with Alvaro, lied to her about Alvaro's whereabouts, murdered her best friend, her stepson and lover, her step-grandson (by running over a PREGNANT WOMAN), and other people, ALL FOR MONEY. And in the end, she got away with it. Enjoying the company of handsome and rich young guys
- Kill It with Fire: Apolonia sets fire to a shed while the kids are in there, and Juan Pedro goes in to rescue them. He manages to save the kids, but dies of smoke inhalation.
- The Klutz: Natalia. Cordelia happens to be the victim of Natalia's clumsiness most of the time, which really pushes her BerserkButton, causing her to go into mean mother mode.
- Meaningful Name: A few fans have pointed out that if you take out the "C" in Carlota's name, it's an anagram for the show's title.
- Muggingthe Monster: Throughout the show, Romano tries to get revenge on Bernarda for having destroyed his parents' marriage and stealing part of his inheritance. When she runs over his pregnant girlfriend and kills his son, he loses his mind and corners her. But as he started to pull the trigger, a car headlight appeared, distracting them both. She takes advantage of the carelessness and pushes him away and shoots him at point blank range, killing him.
- Parental Favoritism: While she never experienced true parental love in any sense from Bernarda, Eugenia wasn't exactly treated like a human sick in the way that Carlota was. Plus, Bernarda viewed her as potentially able to achieve something in life, while Bernarda viewed Carlota as an "inutil" (useless/good-for-nothing/etc.).
- The Remake: Many plot points seem to at least echo Bette Davis's 1942 movie Now, Voyager, though there are a lot of differences: the mistreated daughter of an abusive female patrician who did not wish for her to be born develops mental health issues as a result of her mother's constant emotional and financial abuse. She briefly finds love but her mother takes it from her because of her need for control and she becomes a recluse and an "old maid". Later, she has a full mental health breakdown but a kind friend and a nice doctor bring her to a sanatorium and she recovers. She goes on a cruise, gets a makeover, and has an affair (briefly under an assumed identity) with a man who is abused by his manipulative wife and tries to protect his daughter, whose experience of abuse echoes the heroine's. The heroine ends up developing maternal feelings for the child, whom she supports and loves, fulfilling her longstanding desire for a child. Other similiarities include a short-lived attempt to get over the man she loves through a more reasonable engagement and her finally standing up to her mother, who proceeds to fake a fall down a flight of stairs. Besides, the character is named Charlotte Vale and when her surrogate daughter asks her about nicknames she could use to refer to her, she briefly considers Carlota.
- Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: Alvaro. As time went on during the TwinSwitch mentioned below, nearly everyone on the ranch has figured out that "Cordelia" is really Carlota. However, Alvaro never figured that out, and didn't find out until his fiancee had to tell him
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Carlota. In the first three weeks of the show (the prologue period), Carlota looks plain and homely. When the show switches to the present and the main plot actually begins, she looks much better, especially when she manages to escape her mother's clutches.
- Twin Switch: After Cordelia is murdered by Adrian, he goes to Carlota and asks her to take her place. She does go to the ranch, and all hell breaks loose from that point on.
