Pride&Passion: the DARCYS' SAGA

and now, the end is near
and so I face, the final curtain...


yeah, almost done...
Rede Globo soap opera's usually last 6 months, 150 to 180 episodes.
Pride and Passion is facing its last moments...


...my friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this, I did it my way

Regrets, I've had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway

And more, much more than this, I did it my way...


yep, it has been a long long way
Sinatra sings it marvelously.
These two gorgeous actors protrayed lovely Darcy and Lizzy in a
controversial retelling of ODC and once it's about to arrive to a close, I guess I can start to sum it up.

There are other Williamsons (Darcy is first name) such as Charlotte -Georgiana-, Lord Williamson -father-, Lady Margareth -Lady Catherine-, Briana -Anne de Bourgh- in this show,
but his post will deal with Darcy and Lizzy.

There's still a few episodes to air, but I've read spoiler (that I won't mention), so I know this post is in good time.

So...

It all started so well, I have to say.

I've already talked about this show here, here, here and here.

But now I'll do it focusing on Darcy and Elisabeta (Lizzy).

The story is set in Brasil, São Paulo State, 1910. (historically, São Paulo has always been a great coffee producer, as Minas Gerais as you see in this map of Brasil).

baggio café

The fictitious city of Coffee Valley, where Elisabeta is born and raised, lives off... coffee production (duh!) and Darcy arrives to see to his railway construction. His dad is an Earl, Lord Williamson, Darcy is his birth name, not surname.

She doesn't see marryiage as the most important thing in her life, in spite of her mother's efforts to marry her 5 daughters. Elisabeta, the eldest, wants to visit the whole big world - people asked me if this Lizzy was based on my Lizzard from 45 days in Europe with Mr. Darcy. Guess it's just a happy coincidence... 
Anyway, the show starts with Elisabeta saying very firmly that yes, she'll marry someday BUT only when she has accomplished a lot in life.

They casually meet when trying to buy the same man trousers because Elisabeta secretly plans to go to a ball Ema (Emma) will throw dressed as a guy in full tux. 
How Cool!

He is astonished a girl can be so feisty over trousers she's buying for her father (as she says)
and gives up on it. Elisabeta pays for the clothing and leaves the store wondering who is the 'arrogant' man. 
Athough they repeat this Darcy is arrogant and prideful, he is really very smiley and polite.
While this Lizzy is known for shrieky and overreactive.

I AM not!!!

So, as the story goes, Jane is invited to tea at Camilo's (Bingley), there's rain and she's sick.

At Camilo (Bingley)'s house's door: Susana (lady Susan), Petúlia (minion), Jane (drenched)

Elisabeta pays a visit to her sister.

'She's not getting better, I'll stay to act as nurse.'

And maybe share our first kiss when night falls...



And a fight afterwards. Huh.

But Jane's condition worsens and she needs a doctor, fast.
Darcy has a car.
'Jump in, Elisabeta!'
'In this machine?'
'Are you afraid?'
'No...'



There's mud, they get stuck, she needs to drive, it's a jolly scene.



And they end up with some sort of camaraderie.

Meanwhile, Ema (Emma) is in full ball mode for her ball to join single men and single women. She insists that Elisabeta should try one of her fancy dresses. 



A bit insecure, Elisabeta wants to, maybe, IDK, somehow, please someone, a certain gentleman, so she puts on a girly dress but it doesn't feel good. 
Confused, she tears it off and runs away in her undies.

But then, guess who sees her on top of a hill on that sunny hot day?

Yeah, in her undies, in a hill, salluting the sun... Darcy has binoculars!...

He is in LUV!

What does he do? 

Jumps in his horse (or car, don't really remember) and runs to her.

'Get out, I'm in my undies!'

'You look gorgeous!'

'I'm embarassed!'

'I'm enthanced!'
'Here, have my coat.'
'Thanks.'

this.

that.

Kiss.

And... they fight.

Well, they're only beginning at this point after all...

Days later, the ball arrives.
Elisabeta is the last one to enter and...



her mother can't even!



tuxedo and heels!

Jane and Elisabeta overhear Darcy and Camilo (Bingley) talking about her unusual clothes and outspoken manners. 

She decides he is an awful man who she'll hate for all the times and times to come.

She leaves the ball in awful terms with Darcy.

But he is a man with a plan...

So much so that soon after he proposes dating!

Will you be my girlfriend?

The event is a garden party when Camilo (Bingley) intends to propose marriage to Jane (healthy by now)

but the vilains arrange a plot so Darcy can overhear Lydia talk bs about their mother wanting profitable $ marriages for all the 5 daughters.

another kiss to say 'yes, I'll date you!'

Jane is devasted because not only Camilo doesn't propose (as expected after the days they spent together while she was sick), he humiliates her saying she's only interest in his fortune.
Jane runs away, Elisabeta follows her sister into the woods, they get lost.
The town's men form a search party, Elisabeta is on the verge of death. There's a jaguar involved...



But it's not Darcy who saves her, it's her childhood friend Ernesto.
Darcy is mad with jealous.

Elisabeta - Darcy - Ernesto

Ernesto finds work in Darcy's railroad construction, they are even civil to each other until one day
Elisabeta visits the place and the couple have a love fight (another).

Ernesto tries to help Elisabeta, Darcy doesn't like, the men fight, the girl complains, they accidentally fall over dynamite.





Being both gentlemen, they put the girl in a cart and wheel her out of the tunnel -what the mine has to do with railway? Beats me. - But both men are left behind when the rocks collapse.

That's when Elisabeta realizes she loves Darcy. Desperate, she calls out for help.
Again the whole city is arranged in the difficult rescue. Days later Ernesto's brother remembers a lake somewhere far that has some kind of connection with that tunnel. The brother, Elisabeta and Ema go in hopes to swim into the tunnel and find both men still alive.

When they arrive there, Ernesto has managed to leave, but Darcy hasn't. 
Maybe he drowned...

So much suffering and love...
But he is alive! 



Rescued, he's sent to São Paulo for recovery.



Where Elisabeta is forbidden to see him, even denied to know the hospital he's staying.
It took a few episodes to solve this and once they did, the vilains had to pay!
Also the fake news about Mrs Benedito (Bennet) want for rich sons-in-law. She'll be happy with any men for her girls, thank you very much.



Jane and Camilo are together, so are Darcy and Elisabeta. The vilains are enraged!
They use Darcy's jealousy against him.



Elisabeta is invited to the cinema - such a wonderful thing! - with Ludimila - new friend (Charlotte Lucas) and Olegário (Manwaring from Lady Susan, vilain's vilain)

jealous fight over cinema with friends

They fight.

Then make up.

He buys secret engagment ring.

There's a masquerade.

She dances with Olegário... Darcy fumes!

Fight!

But after a few misunderstandings, they make up.

Then Lydia runs away with Wickham (Uirapuru) from Coffee Valley to São Paulo.

Darcy to the rescue!

And after so much, he decides it's time.
Hunsford!!!
The first proposal...
in front of the whoooole family...

By Elisabeta's face you can imagine how it went...

he is heartbroken.

she is devasted.

heartache everywhere.

She has just managed to live in the big city, wants to conquer the world. 

'It's too early for marriage, you see?

How could you propose without asking me first, you know about my plans and dreams, you know my mother and sisters, why would you want to keep me locked in a cage?'

Days apart licking wounds.

they can't resist each other, even after the first proposal...

Eventually they return to São Paulo...
She starts working in Ludimila's textiles factory as a secretary,

He's so proud he drives her on her first day.

Still friends with (some) benefits, no longer dating, they are warming up again. 

Kiss here, kiss there...

By chance, Elisabeta realizes she really likes to write and starts working at a newpaper.

Darcy visits her there to smooth their love.
It works out.



They are back together.



Since they love each other, she decides they should do the did, the nasty nasty, the love-love-me-do even without marriage commitment. Yep, 1910 plot. I know. Play along, please.









When the vilains find out about it (how? Oh, long story short, they just do.), starts out a series of fake letters where Darcy badmouths Elisabeta and she complains about his manliness. Oh, so lame...

vilains writing the fake letters - Lady Susan -seated- and her maid standing - Exceptional actresses!

Again, sooo much heartache and misunderstanding.
They break up. For good.



His father is blamed this time.
When they make up...
She proposes!



For me, this was the best scene. The girl on her kness proposing with a simple ring she could afford with her meager salary as junior newspaper writer.
He got on is knees immediately.
From then on, they get it on all the time.
Huba-huba!



In Coffee Valley they have an engagement ball - read about it here.







But, this is soap opera and things can't go smoothly.
There comes another vilain, an aunt of his, who gets Elisabeta fired to prove how powerful she is.  
After all, Darcy is supposed to marry her daughter Briana.


The plan is to marry the family's money and title, the Earldom, to her side. Both characters - Lady Catherine and Anne deBourgh, appeared in this point, we had no idea they existed.

Anyway, as Elisabeta's boss protects her, the aunt fires the boss too, a man of color. Oh, dear. They join in a small newspaper and Darcy being Darcy is their partner.

'Oh, love is soooo nice!'

'It is, partner!'

'Loving you, it's easy 'cos you're beautiful...'

The aunt is not happy with their lovy love, sorry to say.



Facing so much resistance to marry Darcy and the family fortune to her side, the mother orders her daughter to hide naked in Darcy's room and seduce him (you may roll your eyes.). It didn't work, he is a gent.
Humiliated by her mother who says 'you can't even convince a man to deflour you!', Briana sleeps with Olegário, a poor man, the vilain vilain. 

So, Lady Margareth (Catherine) decides it's better to send her back to England. Asleep.


Soon after comes news that Briana woke up during the ship cruise from Brasil do England, jumped into the sea and drowned.
Enraged, Lady Margareth wants blood!

The aunt decides to finish Elisabeta off once and for all and arranges for her to be arrested in a convoluted plan.
The factory she once worked, remember? Ernesto, the childhood friend, remember too? 
Now Ernesto is Ema's boyfriend and he works at the factory. His revolutionary ideas start a strike and Darcy's aunt bribes a manager to put dynamite in the factory to cause an explosion exactly when Elisabeta arrives to cover the story to post on her newspaper. Then, she bribes a law man to place more dynamite on Elizabeta and Darcy's newspaper office to blame her for the death of workers...
Oh, man!
Elisabeta is arrested.



Jailed.



'Do you want to free Elisabeta, my nephew?'
'Of course! Release my fiance! You're out of your mund, aunt!'
'You're a murderer! You killed my daughter! You should have married her! Now you'll marry anyone I choose just o vindicate Briana!'
'Huh?'
'Yes. Marry Susana (Lady Susan), a nobody, just for my revenge! Buahahahaha!'



Makes little sense, but Darcy had to play along to free Elisabeta.
She, on the other hand, didn't agree to any plan and once freed, wanted blood herself!



'Do you want to play, Lady Margareth?'
'I won, you silly little chit!'
'I'm just starting to play. Wait and see!'



First thing Elisabeta did was find Darcy and claim what was hers.



Then found Susana while she was trying a very expensive wedding dress - in front of Darcy - and ripped it off!



And they started to meet in hidding.

Even if ao fresco.

Giving us lovely moments while they tried to find a way to dissolve the evil plan his aunt had. While the woman held the fake evidences against Elisabeta, Darcy was hostage.

When all the characters visit Coffee Valley, Mrs. Benedito meet Lady Margareth. This was a nice thing to watch!


The witch poisoned Elisabeta's favorite horse with a bad plant, Mamacita (Mrs Bennet, in pink) poisoned Lady Margareth (Lady Catherine, in brown) with senna tea! Oh, my bowels! LOL

Much suffering for the horse, for the blackmail, for the life they can't live...

until Ema's father, now Camilo's (Bingley) mom's fiancé who is a veterinarian manages to save Tornado -the horse- and by chance Darcy and Elisabeta find the fake evidences! Ha!

They hide Tornado to Park Mansion (from Northanger Abbey) to confront the vilains.

And burn their torment rendering them both FREE from all evil!

you, Lady Margareth and Susana, can eat my sh*t!

The vilains are devasted!
What to do now?

Darcy knows what to do!

He blind-folds Elisabeta and they ride...



 ...to a small church somewhere to an impromptu marriage!



'What do you say?'
'I accept!'

Mr. and Mrs. Williamson!




Finally!

They have to tell the family and start married life - that they already lived even though they weren't yet commited.

And what about Lady Margareth? Vanquashed? Noooo!
She ordered Elisabeta DEAD!

Here comes the man disguised as the red rider - I talked about him already - draws a firearm...

...Elisabeta gets the cover of a trashcan to use as shield...

...Darcy arrives to help...

...They fight and Darcy is stabbed!

... on the verge of death again!

Luckly he is treated by Rômulo, husband of Cecília (Catherine Morland from Northanger Abbey), one of Elisabeta's sisters. 

Charlotte (Georgiana Darcy) - Elisabeta (Lizzy) - Darcy (sick) - Camilo (Binlgey)

And when he needs blood transfusion, Camilo has his blood type. Thank God!

Once her husband is safe, Elisabeta wants revenge. 
She finds the vilains who ordered her assassination to say Darcy was killed in her instead.

Oh, the horror, the horror!

This is all till now.
The show will end September, 24th. 
I'll be sure to update this post with the outcome to Darcy & Elisabeta eventful love story.

Meawhile, I just entered Brazilian Kindle Storyteller Award with 
CARTAS À DORA
(Letters to Dora)

and my first historical romance series in Portuguese, England XIX century, is about to come out...
Cupidos em Devon

But have historical JAFF available!

We're always talking about the soap opera on Facebook!

In case you want to join the fun in these last weeks...

See ya!

* all pics from twitter*
#darlisa
#orgulhoepaixao

updated sept 10th: my whatsapp friends reminded me the first kiss correct order.