Will she finally go for the Happy Ending with the man at the left, or the revenge against the man of the right? She's called "malparida", do you really have to ask?
"Love kills, hate heals."
— Gracia Herrera
Malparida was a 2010 Argentine telenovela. It told the story of the poor Renata Medina, whose mother María Herrera was in love with the rich Lorenzo Uribe. Lorenzo was forced by his family to leave her, and she died a short time later. Renata and her grandmother Gracia swore vengeance against Lorenzo, so she took a job with him, in order to seduce him.
Malparida contains examples of:
- All Just a Dream: Used and abused each day and half or so. Always The Reveal, always the death of an important character, is immediately pointed as someone's dream, someone's speculation, even someone daydreaming... As a result nobody believed in the advertisments when they showed deaths or reveals.
- Cain and Abel: Lorenzo and the admiral have surpassed Sibling Rivalry. The admiral shot his brother and left him for dead (which was a mistake, but the intention is what counts).
- Death by Origin Story: María Herrera. Of course, she never appeared alive.
- Also Julia Uribe, the late sister of Lorenzo and the Admiral. The admiral (in his childhood) was playing with his father's gun, Lorenzo urged him to leave it... and while they struggled for it, the Admiral accidentally shot the gun and killed Julia. He left, and Lorenzo and his father always blamed him for that.
- Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: The priest Marcelo knew some things. He knew that Lorenzo was unaware that María was pregnant when he left her, and that Gracia was keeping that small detail from Renata. He knew about the real family of Esmeralda (but he can't say either thing, because of confession secrecy) He tried to convince Renata to give up the vengeance plot, and be happy with Lautaro. So, Gracia invited him to have tea and discuss things. Before drinking, he invoked the trope, saying that for a moment he feared that Gracia may had poisoned the tea. Gracia laughed at the comment... then, she took a gun and killed the priest right there.
- Downer Ending: Invoked by Gracia's ghost: "this story can not end well" (nearing the real-world end of the telenovela). Indeed, Lautaro finally learned about Renata's crimes, left her, and troubled by all the deaths she had caused, Renata jumps from the top of a church.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Yep. A "Malparida" is exactly what she is.
- He Who Must Not Be Seen: The Admiral played this role, before finally appearing
- I See Dead People: The admiral killed Gracia, but she still manifested as a ghost to Renata. It was either that the power of hate allowed her to keep protecting and guiding her grandson in her quest, or that Renata simply became nuts and began to hear voices. By the way, this ghost had no problems manifesting inside a church, and teases Renata when she prays for the people she just killed.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: When Esmeralda's boyfriend tried to go to her house, she requested a friend to drive him away from there. He could find out that it was the house of the late María Herrera, and be forced to make a lot of umpleasant explanations. So this guy met Esmeralda's boyfriend... and drove him away telling that Esmeralda was his girlfriend.
- Nietzsche Wannabe: Gracia
- One-Word Title
- Religion of Evil: Gracia keeps praying to "San La Muerte" to bring death and misfortune to her enemies.
- Revenge: It's all about that
- Title Theme Tune: The show's opening theme song is also titled, "Malparida". Repeated in the chorus:Y eres mala, muy mala, la reina de la mentira,y eres mala, muy mala, te llaman la malparida(And you're evil, very evil, the queen of lies,and you're evil, very evil, they call you the wicked girl.)
- Also in the first few lines in the second stanza:
Tú eres la que llaman malparida,la que aprieta las heridas para echarse a reír(You are the one they call malparida,the one who squeezes the wounds to laugh.) - The Apprentice: Renata
- The Lancer: Esmeralda
- The Mentor: Gracia guides and advises Renata in her vengeance plot, telling her how to be a Manipulative Bastard, and teasing her when she had moral doubts about the quest. If Renata gives it all up and leaves with Lautaro, who will avenge María Herrera?
- Villain Protagonist: Having seen the premise, who would consider Renata a "hero"? She even find out that Lorenzo was forced to leave his mother, instead of leaving her by his own will, but continued the vengeance plot anyway.
