‘Thursday’s Widows’ (Original title: Las viudas de los jueves) is a Mexican crime thriller series streaming on Netflix. It is based on the eponymous novel by Argentinian author Claudia Piñeiro. Directed by Humberto Hinojosa Ozcariz, it follows the lives of wealthy people and the problems they have to deal with in their secluded piece of heaven. The cast includes Cassandra Ciangherotti, Irene Azuelo, Zuria Vega, Mayra Hermosill, Pablo Cruz, Juan Pablo Medina, and Omar Chaparro in the pivotal roles in its big ensemble. Through its six episodes, it follows the murder mystery of three men that unravels some dark secrets from their pasts.
Spoilers ahead.
Thursday’s Widows (Netflix Limited Series) Recap:
What is ‘Thursday’s Widows’ on Netflix about?
Thursday’s Widows on Netflix is a Spanish-language series set in a luxurious community. It follows the murder mystery of three wealthy men whose death unravels several dark secrets from their past. The story takes a peek into all the families through each episode to give us an insight into the way they live, think, and make decisions. Although it is a wealthy-people-problem drama, please note that it isn’t a hard-hitting satirical dark comedy like The White Lotus. It works more like a mystery thriller that shows the ugly lives of rich people who put on a mirage of sophistication while hiding some ugly truths.
Thursday’s Widows Episode 1 “They Must Know The Truth” Recap:
On Thursday, December 26, two teens, Ramona & Juandi, notice three middle-aged men – Tano Scaglia (Omar Chaparro), Martin de la Luna (Pablo Cruz Guerrero), and Gustavo Maldonado (Alfonso Bassave) = get inside a swimming pool and die by some sort of electronic malfunction. The moment these men experience this shock, Ramona & Juandi run back before anyone could catch them. Thereafter, we see the past of these dead men, their family histories, and the dynamic relationship between other families living in that affluent neighborhood.
Mavi (Cassandra Cianghertti) becomes the narrator and sheds light on the family coming to live in Alto de las Casacadas. She lives with her husband, Ronie Guevara (Juan Pablo Medina), and their son, Juandi. They had moved from a city to this exclusive neighborhood where she works as a realtor. A few months before the incident, Gustavo had come to find a place for himself and his wife, Carla (Sofia Sisniega), in this piece of paradise. Before actually coming to live there, they needed to be approved by the locals ‘to not ruin the harmony.’
What does the title ‘Thursday’s Widows’ represent?
While the wives spent their time in some pretentious healing activities, the men spent theirs boosting each other’s egos. Thursdays were when the men used to go out for their leisurely activities. In their absence, the wives enjoyed their solitary gatherings where they referred to themselves as ‘Thursday’s Widows.’ During a setback Martin faced in his campaign to be the governor, Tano offered to help him with the necessary funding. Later, Tano made their aspirant neighbor Gustavo disown his smartwatch to be a part of their herd. Gustavo did so as a cost of catering to his demands.
Back at his home, Tano suddenly canceled his trip with Teresa, which upset her. Later, during a celebration at their place, he backed out of helping Martin with the financial help he desperately needed. Back in the Andrades, Mariana (Zuria Vega) kept having clashes with her daughter – Ramona. Mariana and her husband had adopted Ramona when she was six years old. The mother and daughter did not have a healthy relationship. Instead, Ramona used to spend a lot of her time with Mavi’s son – Juandi – smoking marijuana and spying on their neighbors for amusement.
Other families have their own issues. Ronie suffered depression due to the pressures of maintaining his success. So, Mavi had to take charge of the financial responsibilities of their family through her estate business. On December 26, before De la Luna family was supposed to move to Houston, the men got into a pissing war. Tano insulted Ronie for being dependent on his wife. Afterward, Tano and Martin got naked and engaged in some drunken pleasures around the swimming pool. Hurt by their words, Ronie returned home. Later at night, when the lights went off, Ronie fell down from his balcony and severely injured himself.
Thursday’s Widows Episode 2 “The Scaglia Family” Recap:
Tano got everything he wanted in his life. He bought his lavish house by matching the offer with another prospective buyer. But he and Teresa had marital issues. Teresa was hoping he would get a promotion and they would move to Miami. To his dismay, the US-based company suddenly decided to close its Mexico branch in about a year. That made Tano worried about his future and also about satisfying his family’s needs and wants. What is he if not for his wealth? Besides that worry, he had another problem. Because of his high salary and relatively old age, he may not have gotten another job. It led to him taking out his frustration in other ways on his children.
Meanwhile, other family members come across as sexually repressed – hiding their true emotions and desires for fear of public opinion. Teresa’s young gardener noticed her masturbating while calling out his name. On the other hand, her son, Matias, hid his homoerotic desires and smoked drugs as a form of rebellion. Tano hid the truth about his dead-end job from his family and spent weeks at a café – calculating the finances to maintain the lifestyle his family was used to. Mavi noticed him and told Ronie about it.
In the middle of a party they put together for family and friends, Tano attempted suicide. When his daughter noticed him, he did not go forward with it. Eventually, he returned to the party and announced that he was going independent with his business partners and moving to Miami. Finally, on December 26, before his death, he gifted Teresa an expensive watch that meant a lot to him. He also asked her if she would marry someone else in case of his untimely death.
Thursday’s Widows Episode 3 “The Andrade Family” Recap:
Mavi sold an expensive mansion from their neighborhood to the Andrades. Ernesto Andrade (Gerardo Trejoluna) was a plastic surgeon who had earned a lot of wealth through this vocation. He strengthened his relationship with Mariana by transforming her face into the one that satisfied her. In the past, after several physical and emotional struggles with her pregnancy, Mariana decided to adopt a child. That’s how Ramona became a part of their family when she was just six years old. After her arrival, Mariana gave birth to Pedro / Peter.
Because of being her biological son, Mariana pampered him more than her. She kept calling Ramona – Romina, which Ramona hated. Ramona kept addressing her parents by their first names and never behaved with fear of losing what she had. So, even her general behavior seemed rebellious. Despite the taunts from neighborhood kids, she kept her head high. No matter what, Mariana always mentioned that Ramona was her adopted daughter. She kept exercising her control over Ramona’s life.
One day, Mariana cut Ramona’s hair against her will. Furious, Ramona kept reasserting the fact that Mariana was not her mother. Eventually, she opened up about her feelings of abandonment. So, Mariana answered a question Ramona always used to ask her – ‘What would she have done if she had not married Ernesto?’ Mariana spoke about her desire to be someone’s mom, which Ramona helped her with. It strengthened their bond for the time being.
Ernesto kept receiving sexual favors from her in exchange for enhancing her beauty. He also saw her, almost like his guinea pig, like the butterflies he kept obsessively studying about. But Mariana cherished his worship for her beauty and the fact that he was the most successful person in their neighborhood. One day, she offered one of her black tops to her maid – Montse, which she soon took back. Montse hoped to buy that top during a yard sale at the Andrades, but she could not find it. Eventually, she saw Teresa’s daughter wearing it. But Mariana did not object to it and rather offered it as a gift. It hurt Montse that she could not gift that top to her daughter. Ramona sensed that.
During their Halloween escapade, Ramona saw Matias passionately kissing Juandi. On the other hand, Ernesto left his chat with Tano, Martin, and Ronie, who asked him perverse questions about his sexual relationship with Mariana. The next day, Teresa told Mariana what she heard – ‘Ernesto was rude to their husbands.’ Mariana saw it as something that could damage their jovial relationship with the locals. On the fateful night, she had sex with Ernesto despite their arguments. Later, Teresa called her shock, which brought them to the swimming pool. That’s when Ernesto realized that the deaths were accidents.
Thursday’s Widows Episode 4 “The De La Luna Family” Recap:
Unlike other families, the de la Luna family did not get their house from Mavi. Martin and Lala (Mayra Hermosillo) were born there, and Martin’s grandfather was a local governor with a big political clout. So, Martin also hoped to become a governor himself. But there were multiple obstacles. The deciding committee from the party raised the issue of some leaked objectionable photos from his past and about his father, who had to leave the place. So, Martin got agitated and decided to leave the party to stand for the election independently. Around that time, Lala got pregnant.
Martin hired his associate Monica to come work for his campaign. Tano boosted Martin’s ego to make him feel he could be a governor. Liberated by a sense of freedom and self-importance, Martin offered Monica to purchase any clothes she wanted to look more presentable. He blindly trusted her with all the finances and pretended that everything was in his control. But the expenses took a toll on their daily life. Lala had to let go of many of their servants to make up the expenses to fulfill her husband’s dream. Martin’s checks for the vendors bounced, which made him seek Tano’s help for money. Tano told him a story about a man who took his life after realizing he hit rock bottom.
Alfredo offered Martin some help for his political campaign in exchange for a return to the party, but Martin refused it. Back home, Teresa made a move on Lala and kissed her, which made Lala uncomfortable. Martin assured his wife that they would survive the financial crisis. But Monica bailed on helping Martin at the last minute and went back to work for the party. After that, the de la Lunas’ situation kept getting worse. Eventually, Martin decided that his family would permanently move to the US to go live with his parents. Lala did not want to leave the place, but Martin could think of no other option. After they sold most of their stuff, Martin became increasingly anxious. Eventually, on December 26, Martin got together with Tano, Ronie and Gustavo. Ronie bailed on something they had planned. The others ended up losing their lives.
Thursday’s Widows Episode 5 “The Maldonado Family” Recap:
Gustavo admired his wife Carla (Sofia Sisniega) for her physical attributes and stayed happy being drunk in her beauty. But, even though the couple kept presenting both as picture-perfect, there was another monstrous side to Gustavo. He was a controlling, abusive husband who did not care about his wife’s interests, wants, or needs. During a chat with other couples, Carla received an invitation to the Thursday’s Widows gathering – which served as a ritual for the women to come together while their husbands stayed busy with leisurely activities. Carla did not want to attend it and act like Gustavo’s trophy wife.
Carla’s unfazed confrontation hurt his fragile ego, and he lashed out at her. He brought out his patriarchal outlook of being a provider so that she could enjoy the riches. So, she apologizes to him to put an end to the argument. He wanted her to fit in with these wives as he did with the men. Carmen told Carla about her unfulfilled desire to be a painter. She and Rose did not want Carla to waste her life and instead pursue what she wanted. But her assertiveness did not sit well with her chauvinist husband. When she purchased a puppy for Lara’s kids with his card, he could not believe it. Thereafter, he prevented her from spending any money without his permission.
Sometime later, Carla got pregnant. She wore a loose shirt, which he did not approve of. Later that day, he lost his calm seeing her speak with a couple in Mavi’s office. Meanwhile, she went to the de la Lunas’ house, where Lala asked her to take the puppy because they were planning to move soon. Back home, he beat her since he hated her not needing him. The monster of a person later cried and sought her sympathy. Mavi saw the result of Gustavo’s beating – Carla with a black eye. She offered her a ride to get an abortion. Eventually, she also helped Carla to leave their neighborhood for good. In Carla’s absence, Tano provoked Gustavo to see that he was nothing without his wife.
Thursday’s Widows Episode 6 “The Guevara Family” Recap:
Because of the unfortunate death of the previous owner, Mavi and Ronie got a house for a cheaper price. Since the owner was caring toward the smallest details, it was in the perfect condition for them to move in without doing much. Even though their marriage looked healthy on the surface, they had their own issues. Besides her marital dissatisfaction, there was a financial component. Ronie refused to work for anything that did not interest him. The bills kept piling, and Mavi had to do all the heavy lifting by herself. In the midst of this, Juandi was caught up with weed, which got him into trouble at school.
Thursday’s Widows (Netflix Limited Series) Episode 6 “The Guevara Family” Ending Explained:
What exactly happened on the night of December 26?
Mavi was deeply dissatisfied with her marriage with Ronie. As a result, she decided to act upon her attraction toward the security guard, Wagner. While they got together at their residence, Tano provoked Ernesto for not being able to provide for his family. He proposed his plan to Martin, Gustavo, and Ronie to make their death look like an accident – so that their families could get a huge sum as insurance money and help save their families. He also held a gun in his own mouth to demonstrate his willingness. However, Ronie did not approve of Tano’s plan.
While the men tried to find a way out of their misery, the children also had their emotional struggles. After a while, Ramona and Juandi kissed each other. Matias did not like the fact that Juandi chose to be with her. Later, on the night of December 26, the young couple witnessed the death of the men from their neighborhood. Turns out, Tano drowned Gustavo in the swimming pool water and died from a sudden electric shock. That’s when the lights went off in their neighborhood. Meanwhile, Ronie, who left their company to return home, fell down from the balcony. Mavi agreed to help him under a condition.
Ronie’s accident left him stuck to a wheelchair. He finally asked his parents for help to solve their financial issues. Mavi confesses that she had sex with Wagner. While Ronnie went all the way to confront Wagner, he backed out at the last minute. Later, at the funeral gathering, Juandi sent a video on the Thursday’s Widows’ group chat. The wives went into shock upon learning that their husbands agreed to Tano’s life-threatening plan. Alfredo made the widows realise that they wouldn’t get the insurance money if the people in charge suspected the deaths were not by accident. This incident ultimately made the wives consider leaving their idyllic lives and confront their ever-present act of pretense.
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