03x04 - Chapter 20: Revenge

[bunniefuu]

I want justice.
That's what I'm asking for.

Miss Aguilar,
I told you everything I know.

The judge won't charge Doña Carmen
with the crime. Uribe confessed.

But she collaborated. She was with him.

They hid information.
They started the fire.

There's no proof
that someone started the fire.

The investigation is closed.

[Lidia] Losing a child
turns your life upside down.

You're leaving? Just like that?

[Lidia] The pain is so intense
that it transforms you.

How many people has that woman bribed?

You? Who else? The judge?

I don't like what you're insinuating.

I have more important things to do.

I suggest that you go home
and forget about all this.

[Lidia] But if you know who's responsible
for your sorrow?

What can you do?

[Carmen] That's good advice.

This obsession of yours
has brought us all too many problems.

Get away from me.

Get out of my life.

That won't happen soon.

Because of you, the company's in danger
of intervention by the king.

You exposed Sebastián's secrets,
and if you want to protect the company,

you'll have to ask my son
to take charge of management.

Carlos would never agree to it.

- Oh, no?
- No.

By now, you should understand
the bond between a mother and a child.

Carlos will forgive me.

In the end,
blood ties are always the last to remain.

[Lidia] When we know
who's to blame for our pain,

revenge is not a whim. It's justice.

[theme song playing]

A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES

[Miguel] Pearl, this doesn't add up.
There's money missing.

Last night, a drunk customer left
without paying for a pack.

- That must be it.
- Right.

You tell me this now, instead of
when you gave me the stock list?

I didn't think it was important.

The missing money
is coming out of your salary.

That's not fair, Miguel.

- I'll square it.
- Francisco.

I'll square it, end of story.

Thanks, Francisco.

That girl's not to be trusted.
She lies through her teeth.

- I'm sure she stole that money.
- I know.

CHAPTER 20: REVENGE

I know what Pearl's like
and I'm not f*ring her.

Why not? I don't get it.

What's your thing with her?

[sighs]

Pearl is a lost soul.

A long time ago, I knew a similar woman
and I couldn't help her.

That's not happening this time.

Am I interrupting?

No, I was just going.

Are you all right?

No. I'm not all right.

I don't think
I'll ever get over Eva's death.

- You need time.
- No.

I don't need time, Francisco.

I need Carmen to pay for what she did
to my daughter.

She's going to get off scot-free.

They don't know if they can prove
that someone started the fire.

And Uribe's in jail.

I'm sorry.

Don't be sorry.

I'm going to destroy her.

But I can't do it alone.
I need someone by my side.

Getting revenge on her
won't bring your daughter back.

- It'll only bring you more pain.
- [gasps]

I can't let it go.

I'm going ahead. What about you?

Carmen...

has always had businesses
bordering on the illegal.

The easiest way to get revenge on her
is to uncover one of those businesses.

The Cifuentes family
has always had a trusted secretary

who managed the paperwork.

It was Carolina before,
and now, Carmen...

must have someone.

I think I know who that someone is.

Miriam Zafra.

[Uribe] You took your time
in coming to see me, Doña Carmen.

I thought you'd forgotten about me.

Don't say that, son.

You don't know how many people
I had to bribe to get here.

If you must hand out blame,
then blame bureaucracy.

I'm grateful for your visit.

[sighs] What did the lawyer say?
When do I get out?

The judge has denied bail.

But that can't be.

[Carmen] You confessed to it all.
What did you expect?

No, not everything.
I didn't confess to everything.

Lidia was convinced
that you and I started the fire

- in order to abduct her daughter.
- Lidia, always Lidia.

She put you in here.

Because of her,
we're about to lose the company.

What? Is the king going to intervene?

He might, now that it's known
your marriage to Elisa is null and void

because you're married in Argentina.

But I won't let anyone take what's mine
from me.

Time's up.

Thank you for your visit, Carmen.

Excuse me, madam, but the judge did set
bail for Mr. Uribe. I thought you knew.

I do know, but he must not.

[door opens and closes]

I have the solution
for your problem with Pablo.

- "Lady Chatterley's Lover"?
- Lady Chatterley.

- Maybe you haven't heard of it.
- It's a banned book.

How do you know that?

A friend of a friend of a friend told me.

- Oh?
- Where did you get it?

Don't let anyone see you reading it,
especially Lola. Hmm?

You'll see. It'll do you both good.

But Ángeles, what do I do?

Read it with Pablo?
Make some drawings?

Read it in peace, all alone.

And let yourself go. Hmm?

You let yourself go.

[chuckles]

I'm getting ready for work.

"Ours is essentially a tragic age,
so we refuse to take it tragically."

That's dramatic. Good start.

What are you doing here?

We have to talk, son.

Very well.

Let's talk.

Why did you lie to me?

You covered up what happened
with the fire and Uribe's past.

Did you want me to tell Elisa
that her husband was already married?

So you preferred
to cover up Uribe's deception.

I had no choice.
I didn't want to lose the company

which is going to happen because of Lidia.

No, I will not allow you to use this
to rail against her.

Let's not argue, son.

The king is considering
intervening in the company

now that Uribe's in jail
and the marriage to your sister is void.

But I convinced him that letting
you run it would be a better idea.

If you hadn't been at my wedding,
my daughter would still be alive.

So I'm very sorry, Mother,
but you're on your own.

[Ángeles] Mr. Guzmán,
I was told you were looking for me.

Uh... I thought it wasn't a good idea
to be seen together.

Relax, I'll be gone soon.

I just have one question.

Last night, why didn't you
and your husband sleep together?

Answer and don't lie.
I followed you and saw you.

I slept in a friend's boarding house.

I was keeping her company.

Her husband's very ill
and she's having a hard time.

You can talk to her. She works here.
Shall I get her?

I believe you.

But it's odd, and I get the feeling
you're both hiding something.

And believe me,
my intuition never fails me.

You did well
to tell me about Guzmán's visit.

- Did you speak to him afterwards?
- Mmm-hmm.

He obviously doesn't trust us
and asked for a show of loyalty.

He wants me to go with him
to meet a drug smuggler

some guy called the Apache.

What if it's a trap?

No, that man's dangerous.

- Can't you say you can't go?
- That'd be worse.

I need to gain his trust.
It's the only way.

Promise me you'll be careful.
Please.

I promise.

Um...

I have to get back to work.

I'm grateful to you anyway.
Thank you.

My police contact says
she has no record. She's clean.

All he found
was that she changed her name.

What was she called before?

Miriam Expósito.

That's the last name
they use for orphans.

She grew up
in the Orphanage of the Pious Sisters.

I can go there and...

They won't tell you everything.

We have to make up a convincing story.

- Got the plan straight?
- Yes.

Are you sure about this?

[Lidia] Pain doesn't let you sleep.

It doesn't let you rest.

It keeps you alert.

You can only think about
what is hurting you and how to fix it.

[Francisco] Hello, good evening.

I know it's late,
but it's a long way from Madrid.

We came to bring some toys
for the orphans.

Thank you.

Did you speak to the Mother Superior?

She's not here now
and I wasn't told that anyone was coming.

You see...
we lost our daughter recently...

and we'd like the children
to have her things.

Your help is welcome.
Please, come in.

- [Lidia] Thank you.
- [Francisco] Thank you.

[door creaking]

[Francisco] We thank you
from the bottom of our hearts.

[Lidia] We came because
a childhood friend of mine grew up here.

Miriam Expósito.
Perhaps that rings a bell.

We haven't seen each other for years
and I'd like to find her.

ARCHIVE

Perhaps you could give me her address.

No. All those matters
are up to the Mother Superior.

Only she has access to the archives.

Unfortunately,
she's not in the convent now.

But I can tell her when she returns.

[sighs] I wouldn't want to be a bother.
Thank you.

Why don't you
give the children the toys yourselves?

Excuse me,
I need the bathroom.

The second door.

- Shall we?
- Yes.

[door closes]

Here.

What do you say, Manuel?

- Thank you.
- Very good.

Are you all right?

Excuse me.

[sobbing softly]

[child crying in the distance]

[Lidia] For a mother, there is nothing
worse than hearing a child cry

and not being able
to do anything about it.

There's nothing more horrible than that.

[crying continues]

- I got what we came for...
- Shh!

[Lidia] We should go.

[Francisco] Yes.

Hello.

Here.

It looks like Christmas has come early.

[both chuckle]

"Congratulations...

on your promotion.

Your buddies in Accounting."

Thank you very much.

Hmm! Oh, coffee.

- Long night, huh?
- Mmm!

[sighs]

You don't mind, do you?
When I go out, I get so hungry.

No. Gobble up the whole cupcake.

However, you're going to tell me
what this means.

[Julio coughing]

Julio, spill it right now.

If you dare tell me you're pretending
to be me at the company...

Okay, I won't tell you.

For God's sake,
you're risking my job, my life.

Sorry.

[sighs]

In my defense, it wasn't me.
They mistook me for you.

Actually, I did kind of go along with it.
[chuckles]

Then, they got me to do the ba...

- Balance.
- Balance, the balance.

Your boss liked it. They promoted me.
You're welcome, by the way.

I wanted to stop, really.
But suddenly, Marga...

Marga? Marga knows about this?

Sure. She told me
to take the promotion.

Come on, it's fine.

Don't worry.
No one has any idea.

I can keep passing myself off as you,
no problem.

No. I have to get back to work.
Today, if possible.

[chuckles] Go to work? You can't even get
to the bathroom. You're lame.

And if Marga finds out, she won't like it.

Marga won't find out.
We're going to do this...

I'll go to work, and you stay here
and pretend to be me.

I stay here? And I do nothing?

Mmm.

[sniffles] At your command, Sergeant.

Athena signing off.
See you on tomorrow's program.

Thank you everyone
for your contributions.

[sighs heavily]

That went well, didn't it?

Carlos, did it go well?

It was a success.
The switchboard operator was overrun.

I don't know if "success" is the word.

Lots of them defended Remedios' husband
and att*cked us.

Well, as Don Quixote said

"The dogs are barking, Sancho,
it means we're on our way."

I agree. Controversy is good.
It means we're having an impact.

People will talk about you.
Isn't that what you wanted?

Yes, exactly.
And we have to prepare tomorrow's program.

Can we come here tonight?

If you want, do two programs.
See you tonight.

- Thank you.
- Thanks, Carlos.

Oh, Carlota, Marga.

We heard you on the radio.
You were fantastic.

- Really? Did I sound nervous?
- Not at all.

I loved that line
"Justice is blind, but not mute."

[bell ringing]

- We have to get back to work.
- Yes.

Are you the journalist
who wrote the piece on Athena?

I have information for you.

I know who's hiding behind the pseudonym.

Know how to use it?

[tires squealing]

Here he comes.

Brought what I asked?

Not yet.

The customs guy
I usually work with is getting snotty.

He wants more money.

I need a clean route
to get my goods to France this week

and you said you'd deal with it.

- Now you come to me with this?
- Relax.

I'm just asking for one more day
and some more money.

No, you don't have one more day.

Now I know I can trust you.

Let's go.

Pablete!
Come have some wine with us later.

Some wine? [chuckles]
I don't know if I can.

Of course, you can.
You made Friday wine day

and Thursday vermouth day.

[chuckles nervously]

And you're buying the first round

since I updated
the list of suppliers for you.

You did what?
You shouldn't have bothered.

Eh! Anything for you.
That's what drinking buddies are for.

[both chuckle]

- We have to talk. I feel awful.
- What's wrong?

- About what?
- About what, Julio?

I'm lying to my husband and that's bad.
I know I got you into all this mess

but every time I think about it,
it eats away at me and...

Shouldn't I tell the truth?

No, no.

Look, I'm passing myself off as Pablo...

and if his boss finds out, I'll get fired.

I mean, Pablo will get fired.
And that's not good.

- No.
- No.

- Pablo's not to blame.
- I know.

[stutters] What's this?

Didn't I tell you
I was doing the bank loan report?

But this is really good.

I mean, it seems good, right?

I think so. I'm going to end up
being an accounting expert.

Honestly, it's much more fun
than connecting calls all day.

[chuckles]

How are you doing?
Let's have a smoke. Come on. Take one.

Operator 3.
To whom do I put you through?

[Cuevas] Ángeles, it's me.

Cristóbal. I was worried about you.

- You needn't be. It's all sorted.
- I thought you'd call sooner.

Are you all right?
How was the meeting with Apache?

The less you know, the better.

I'm seeing Guzmán tonight
at the White Lady, and you have to come.

All right.

But are you all right?
Did it go as you expected?

The cabaret at 10:00.

[Julio groaning]

[Julio] I'm never drinking again, Pablito.

If I had a penny
for every time you said that...

[chuckles]

This time, I'm serious.

Let's see how you handle it.

My workmates insist
on going out for drinks with you.

No.

They said it to you.
To Pablo, not to Julio.

I know they did,
but they want to go out with you.

They've never called me Pablito

or done my reports,
much less told me private things.

How do you do it?

Do what?

Win everyone over like that.
I don't get it. How do you do it?

[sighs heavily]

I don't know, Pablito.
It just comes out.

You know I've always liked
talking to people.

You, on the other hand,
since you were little,

you were stuck inside your world,
your books. That's all you saw.

- Anyway...
- What are you doing?

[grunts]

It seems I'm meeting my friends.

No, no, no.
You said you were never drinking again.

I can go out with my friends
and make them laugh.

If you can do it,
it can't be that hard.

[chuckles]

Lord, what you have to do for family.

Fine, fine, enjoy yourself.

I'm staying in and going to bed early.

I'll pretend my leg hurts.
That way, Marga won't suspect.

Have you seen her?
Do you know where she is?

I don't know.
She must not be back from work yet.

Well...

[Pablo grunts softly]

[exhales]

"I must hold fast to him
and what he's given me, whatever happens.

I had neither heat nor fire in my life,
until he gave it to me.

And I can't stop now."

[knocking on door]

- Who is it?
- It's me. Are you all right?

- You've been in there for ages.
- Yes, Doña Lola. I...

I fell asleep
because the water was so hot.

Come on, get out now
or you'll be as wrinkly as a prune.

Yes, don't worry.

"And the heat consumed her womb

and the tiny flames
made her knees tremble."

[sighs]

[yawning]

What is it, brother?
Are you having second thoughts?

Marga, what are you doing?

- We won't make any noise.
- Get out. Doña Lola...

[shushes] Shut up and leave it to me.

Marga, no.

Marga, Marga...

Marga, no, no, no, no.

Marga, no.

Marga, really, no. Please.

Marga.

Waiter, bring us
your best bottle of champagne.

My partner deserves it.

I need people like you by my side.

People who can be cold-blooded
when it's needed.

Apache played with fire and got burnt.

We can do great things together, Brey.
Great things.

Is something wrong?

Yes, he has a migraine.

He works too hard.

Excuse me.
I'll freshen up in the restroom.

That usually fixes my headache.

[chuckles]

You make a good couple,
a good match.

- What are you doing?
- Do I have to explain, Ángeles?

Yes. Maybe, yes.

When I want something,
I don't stop till I get it.

We know everything, Miriam.

You have a child
at the Convent of the Pious Sisters

and lots of money in your account

more than a secretary to Doña Carmen
would get.

That's not true.

[Francisco]
The manager of the Central Bank

is a regular at the White Lady
and a great friend of mine.

And look.

According to this, your income

comes from the head of the Royal Guard.

Curiously, a respected married man,
a family man. Hmm?

It's easy to imagine
he could be the father of your child.

This is all just supposition.

Then you won't mind us calling his wife.

Wait, wait.

What do you want?

Tell us everything you know
about Carmen de Cifuentes.

- I don't know anything.
- You're her errand girl, her guard dog.

She learned to withhold
any dirt there is on her a long time ago.

If you need someone's help,
it's not me you should turn to.

- I don't believe you. [chuckles]
- No, wait. Wait.

- [telephone clicks]
- Please.

One thing might be useful to you.

This morning, she refused to pay
Mr. Uribe's bail.

When he asked about it,
Carmen lied to him.

She said the judge refused bail

but that's not true.

Why are you stopping here?

You've said nothing
since you came out of the restroom.

Are you all right?

Guzmán told me he likes me...

And I get the feeling he won't stop
until he sleeps with me.

What did you tell him?

We don't want to get him mad.

What do you mean by that?

If you're suggesting
I have to do what he wants...

No need to go that far. Just play along.

Do you think a man like him
would take no for an answer?

You're asking too much.

- We want to trap Guzmán.
- [scoffs]

And to do that,
we have to do some things we don't like.

- And what have you done, huh?
- I k*lled a man.

The Apache.

He pulled out a g*n and...

[sighs]

Guzmán and I buried him
under the stone bridge.

[sighs] How about that? Now,
I'm a m*rder*r who kills in cold blood.

No.

You're a good man.

In that situation, you had no choice.
If you hadn't fired...

- he would've k*lled you.
- I acted like one of them.

- I'm just like Guzmán.
- No.

When all this is over,
you'll go back to your normal life

and Guzmán will be in jail.

Don't forget that.

I don't like hearing you
talk about yourself like that.

It's not fair.

So that was it.

The heat, the flames...

[Julio sighs]

I thought I'd never feel it.

Pablo, I'm sorry
I didn't tell you this before

but I was afraid you'd feel bad.

[chuckles] But I liked it, a lot.

I didn't know this was possible.

[front door closing]

I'm going. If Lola finds out I'm here,
she'll k*ll me.

[sighs]

[Mother Superior] Sister Charity,
where did this bear come from?

Oh, a young couple brought it.

They came to donate some things

because they had
recently lost their daughter.

- Did they want anything else?
- No.

Oh. Now I remember,
they asked after a former boarder.

Uh... Miriam Expósito.

You didn't take them to the west wing?

He said he needed the bathroom.
He went, but I stayed with her.

Then, I went with her
to the children's room

and we gave out the toys.
I didn't think...

Miriam's file is missing.

Operator, get me the Telephone Company.

TELEPHONE COMPANY

Doña Carmen, I have the papers
for you to sign.

Don't you have something to tell me?

I'm sorry.
I don't know what you mean.

Lidia and Francisco are investigating you.

They know what you're hiding.

But you're not surprised
because you knew that, didn't you?

Didn't they teach you at the convent
not to bite the hand that feeds you?

Doña Carmen...

they threatened
to make the existence of my son public.

My son.

I had no alternative.

You poor wretch.
There's always an alternative.

Go on, sit down.

Tell me, in detail, what you did.
Perhaps I'm in time to fix it.

What are you saying?

That can't be.

She told me herself I'd been given
unconditional imprisonment.

- Why would she lie to me?
- Because she wants you in here.

Maybe there's something out there
she doesn't want you to find out.

Right now, you could be at home,
comfortable,

but she decided to keep you in here.

- Stop defending her!
- [clicks tongue]

Besides everything else...
[chuckles]

...I can't tell you anything
because I don't know anything.

Fine. I know you don't trust me...

but I could pay your bail right now.

- On one condition...
- [sighs]

that you find out
what Carmen de Cifuentes is hiding.

It's a good deal.

Don't you think?

[man] Mr. Uribe, you're free to go.

Doña Carmen de Cifuentes
has paid your bail.

No, it must be a mistake.

It's a trick. Carmen's trick.
It's impossible...

Please, please. That's enough.

[Lidia] Feeling the truth slip
through your fingers

and not being able to catch it
hurts more than anything.

It's a pain that eats at you
and doesn't let up no matter what.

They let him go?

It's a pain that will only lead you
to lose your head...

and make a mistake.

- [Marga] Lidia.
- What happened?

Did you think
I wouldn't find out your scheme?

You think you're so smart,
but I'm smarter.

I'm not giving up.

You won't get away with it.
You have blood on your hands.

You k*lled my daughter.

That poor creature
only brought us misfortune.

She would've saved us a lot of headaches
if she'd never been born.

- [Carmen groans]
- Lidia!

[squabbling]

She k*lled her! She k*lled her!

- Are you all right?
- Yes, fine.

[Lidia] They say that revenge
is a dish best served cold...

but for me, that would not be the case.

Alba, what do you want?

You wanted to meet me alone.
Why all the mystery?

I want to ask you a favor.

Anything.

You helped me out
when I came back to Madrid.

Thanks to the night I spent
in the boarding house,

I got away from those bastards
who were after me.

Thanks to you,
I could keep on being Pedro Guzmán.

So sh**t, I'll do whatever.

I want the people responsible
for my daughter's death to pay.

I want you to k*ll Carmen de Cifuentes.

k*ll her. Are you sure?

Yes, it's only fair.

You won't be able
to look Carlos in the eye after this.

Pedro, tell me one thing.

Have you ever lost a child?

No, right?

I know very well what I want.

Do it.

[Lidia] The anger my pain produced
moved me.

It could only be placated
by the death of Doña Carmen.

[knock on door]

[Pearl] May I come in?

It's not a good time.

The missing money.

You can keep it.

Why are you so good to me?

In my experience, when someone helps you,
they want something.

What... what are you doing?

Isn't this what all men want?

I'm not all men.

A shame.

I was looking forward to it.

It's that woman. Lidia, right?

Don't think about her anymore.

Forget her.

Forget her with me.

[grunting]

[breathing heavily]

Are you Carlos Cifuentes,
the station owner?

The very same.
How can I help you?

We're members of the Knights of Order.

Maybe you've heard of us.

You're an organization
against women's suffrage.

We're against everything
that att*cks tradition

and the natural order of things.

We live in turbulent times,
what with Bolsheviks, anarchists

and now, these radicals.

I don't know what radicals you mean.

This morning, one Athena

broadcast suffragist proclamations
from this station.

We demand to know
who's behind that name.

You're in no position
to demand anything from me.

This is my station
and I decide who speaks in it.

We've tried the easy way.

As have I, so I kindly ask you

to take your group somewhere else
or I'll have to call the police.

Then suffer the consequences.

[door unlocks]

[Carmen groans softly]

Does your neck still hurt?

Yes. And it's your fault.

If you hadn't spilled the beans
about Uribe's bail...

[Miriam] You know how sorry I am, really.

I had to give her and Francisco something
to leave you alone.

That woman won't stop
until she finds everything out.

Count on my loyalty.
I'd never betray you on that.

You'd better not.

Lidia mustn't find out
her daughter's alive.

If she finds out
her daughter's in that convent...

You lied to us.

You lied to all of us.

So, Lidia was right from the start.

You started that fire
in order to abduct her daughter.

You manipulated me,
laughed at me.

You made me think I was to blame
for Elisa's death, when it was you.

- You let your own daughter die.
- No, I didn't start the fire.

- And everything you heard...
- Stop lying.

Sebastián, sit down.
We still have a lot to discuss.

No, it's over.

I'm going to tell everyone.

The truth, to be true, must be proven.

And you have no proof,
no credibility to anyone.

You're nothing.

We'll see about that.

[Lidia] They say that justice,
to be effective, must be slow.

Revenge, however, is as swift as a b*llet.

And sometimes, when you want to stop it,
it's already too late.

Lidia.

Sit down, please.

I don't want anyone to hear us.
Sit down, please.

Carmen has ears everywhere.

Why should I believe you?

Now you're the one
who doesn't trust me.

No, I understand.

I did things that I regret.

But listen to me. You were right.

Carmen deceived us all.

Why did she deceive us?

This is a robbery! On the floor!
Nobody move!

Don't do anything. Stay still.

[thief] No heroes, got it?

[Uribe] Relax, don't do anything.

Did you say something?

- What? No.
- [thief] Get up.

- Uh... Take it easy.
- Get up!

[Uribe] Calm down, please.

Calm down.

- Calm down. It's all right.
- You think I didn't see you?

What did I do?

[g*nsh*t]

Help!

Help! A doctor, please!

[ragged breathing]

[straining] Your daughter is alive.

Huh?

[Uribe grunting]

Doña Carmen knows where she is.

[Lidia] As I held Uribe's body,
my hope returned at his final words.

Eva was alive.

But the shadow of my revenge on Carmen
dissipated this joy.

[Miriam] Ma'am, I made the second payment
to the men who took care of Uribe.

What was it?
A robbery gone wrong?

Mmm-hmm.

I hope this makes up
for my past mistakes.

[car horn honking]

[men laughing]

[mutters]

- Juan
- I'm busy. I'm busy, Alba.

Eva's alive and Carmen knows where she is.
There must be a way...

I'm sorry, Alba.

It's too late. It's done.

[Lidia] I'd condemned to death the one
woman who could tell me where Eva was.

[car honking]

For when grief blinds us,
we mistake revenge for justice.

And no two things are more opposed.

Revenge clouds reason
and won't let you see the truth.

It acts like a poison

and sweeps up the innocent
as well as the guilty

without distinction.

[Sister Charity] I'm sorry to interrupt,
madam,

but the Mother Superior asked me
to bring this bottle for the little one.

Hmm?

Thank you, Sister Charity.

See, Eva?
The food's here at last.

[Lidia] And the worst of it is,
that in the end,

you realize that revenge
only complicates things even more.