#diego & bernardo

[dirtyriver]

I'm easy to please. Donald as a private eye fills me with joy every time. Look how happy he is! He's living his dream!

"Une affaire de famille", D 2019-065, in Le Meilleur du Journal de Mickey 13, April 2023, written by Gorm Transgaard, art by Diego Bernardo

[aragarna]

Guy Williams and Gene Sheldon as don Diego de la Vega and Bernardo (Zorro, 1957, 1x30)

[donfadrique]

Happy Friendship Day!

[ladymisteria]

AMAZON PRIME'S ZORRO PROS & CONS.

After days of watching and re-watching the episodes of the new Zorro adaptation, I decided to share what - obviously only in my opinion - are its main pros & cons.

(For fairness, since I will mention spoiler elements, I thought I'd insert my reflections below the cut).

PROS:

MORE POV. It is impossible to start mentioning the pros of this series without mentioning the very obvious - and extremely right - decision to "broaden" the points of view. Perhaps for the first time, in fact, the story is not narrated almost completely by Diego alone, but also by the various other characters who are part of it (be they the Chinese, the natives, etc.).

REALITY. As already said by @aragarna, this new Zorro gets rid of the "we are all friends/we sit at the same table" contours to show - finally! - the tense and highly classist climate of a sadly very particular historical period. We see the hatred and distrust towards the natives, with the enormous difference - compared to other products that focus on this particular "feud" between colonizers and colonized - of knowing "both bells" (I don't know if there is a similar expression, in English, I apologize) and therefore being able to realize how different things are, depending on who tells the stories. This makes the series refreshingly "real" (yes, even if it includes elements like the Spirits of Native American culture).

NOT CLEARLY GOOD/BAD CHARACTERS. Monasterio is no longer the Commander, absolutely "black", devoid of scruples and good sides. Indeed, as the season continues, he increasingly demonstrates that he is an individual who well understands the absolute injustice of what he does - while nevertheless not shying away from doing it because he is faithful to his position. He is in conflict between what his principles and his role impose on him, effectively making him a magnificent "grey" character. Diego and Nah-Lin themselves are wonderful examples of "well-rounded" characters, because even in their most wrong actions, they maintain a sincerely credible and even - at certain points - justifiable motivation.

TECHNICAL VISUAL ASPECT. The scenes are masterfully shot, the soundtrack is not intrusive but rather an excellent way to underline the various thoughts/feelings of the characters, etc..

ZORRO'S LEGACY. The idea of a "generational change" of Zorro, in a choice that potentially makes it possible to see more sides of the same character - trivially because more people interpret him. A fact demonstrated in this same first season, where we had three Zorros, all three with their "characteristic side".

THE DECISION OF DEPRIVE DIEGO OF HIS MOST RECOGNIZABLE TRAIT. Depriving him - and so soon! - of his father (and consequently of the only person who knows him perfectly), the series allows Diego to always act as himself (within the limits desired by the situation of the moment), without having to resort to that supposed inability to defend himself/laziness/cowardice which is renowned as one of the particular signs of his character.

DIEGO IS NOT INVINCIBLE. It might seem stupid, but in many adaptations, Diego is seen as practically infallible. His plans always come to fruition, he never gets hurt, he makes almost no mistakes... This "new" Diego doesn't; here Diego is young (according to my calculations he is just 21/22 years old), he becomes Zorro not because of his choice but because - literally! - the spirits give him (via Night Crow) the costume and send him home with a lapidary: "You are the new Zorro, whether you want it or not", he still acts like a daredevil boy (complete with Bernardo-Mother Hen)... And this translates into some - very justifiable - errors and just as many choices that are not exactly well thought out.

CONS:

TOO MANY IRONS IN THE FIRE. To be clear: the various plot threads are all (well, almost: Samael and Guadalupe and their "inheritance hunt" have not managed to involve me at all, for the moment) interesting and well structured; but they are objectively many, for a single season. We have the Bear Clan, the Russian-American Company that wishes to "take over Los Angeles", Guadalupe's aforementioned inheritance hunt, Nah Lin's desire for revenge, the search for the truth about his father's murder on Diego's part... And of these very few - if not almost none - had an effective conclusion. The feeling I got was that the producers wanted to "play their cards" all at once, in the hope that this would secure them a renewal for a second season. Something along the lines of: "Hey, we need the renewal! Look at all the unresolved things we left!".

LOLITA. I'm sorry to say this, but I just can't understand what the producers had in mind when they created her character. Or rather, to be more precise, when they created her relationship with Diego. She is initially shown to us as angry at Diego for going to Spain (I think?), in an attitude that could even be understood - if only that same attitude didn't remain as if petrified throughout the rest of the season. Why, exactly, does Lolita remain so resentful towards Diego all the time? Because, despite knowing that he loves her (he himself tells her this, when she helps him with his wound, and even in the very first episode), she constantly pretends not to know what feelings bind him to her, and indeed continually acts in such a way as to hurt him on purpose? Mha! It remains meaningless to me.

Here it is. I have indicated, I repeat, what for me are the main pros and cons of the season (you will probably have found others, or even none).

[pixiedroid]

[evilhorse]

When you cannot clothe yourself in a lion’s skin, put on that of a fox!

[crying-on-the-six]

Wine tasting - San Diego

[bloodyfeverdreams]

G5 please! I love me a good concussion.

My first ever bad things happen bingo fic! I'm so excited! I hope you all like it, I was so excited I cranked this out in like one day!

This is for Zorro (1957) let me give you a quick guide.

Don Diego de la Vega - Zorro, the main character of the show. He's convinced the rest of Los Angeles that he's a dandy, completely inept with a sword in order to keep people from discovering he's Zorro.

Bernardo - Diego's manservant, and best friend. He's mute, and communicates solely in gestures.

Tornado - Zorro's horse, who's incredibly smart.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63258037

Tornado was shouting.

Wait, Tornado is a horse. He can’t shout. But Diego could still hear the anger, the fear in Tornado’s voice, or neigh he supposed. Whichever. Ugh, his head hurt. He could feel something hard pressed against it, but he couldn’t quite figure out what it was. Oh, Tornado was still shouting, or the horse equivalent anyway. He was pretty sure that that wasn’t a good thing.

He rolled over as he felt himself returning to consciousness, his hand coming to his head as he felt it throbbing. Suddenly, he remembered what he’d been doing, how he’d ended up laying in the dirt with his head against a hard thing. The messenger… he’d accused Sergeant Garcia of stealing the soldiers pay, and the soldiers were going to execute him for it on orders of the Magistrado. But the messengers story had had holes in it, and his last desperate chance to save his friend was to bring the man back to the cuartel and force him to tell the truth. So he forced himself up, trying to ignore the pain in his head as he got to his hands and knees. It took more energy than it should’ve, though Diego wasn’t quite sure why.

Tornado had forced the man against a rock, but the man was swinging at him with a large branch, with no regard to Tornado’s safety. He shouldn’t do that, Diego thought distantly, Tornado was such a good horse. Diego adored him, and besides Bernardo, Tornado was his best friend. He’d been with him the entire time he’d been Zorro, and he’d been as loyal as any horse in the land.

Oh hey, the man was still swinging the branch at Tornado. That wasn’t good. He didn’t want Tornado to get hurt. Tornado was shouting and bucking, as if dueling the messenger as well as a horse could duel a man. Wait… no, he wasn’t dueling, Tornado wasn’t actually getting close enough to trample the messenger, even though Diego knew he was able to. Tornado would get out of the way of the man’s strikes, but he never relinquished his position. Tornado was keeping the messenger on the defensive, was keeping him in place, away from Diego. Diego gasped softly as he realized that Tornado was protecting him. Right, the hard thing pressed against his head. A quick glance showed a rock and he suddenly remembered falling down the hill, and then a sharp pain had turned his vision to black. Hitting the rock at such speed must have knocked him out, and Tornado was protecting him from the messenger who had wanted to take advantage of his inability to defend himself. Tornado truly was a great horse, and so smart too.

Focus, Diego. Tornado needed him, Sergeant Garcia needed him. Zorro would never let an innocent man be killed for something he didn’t do, and he needed to act. He forced himself to stand, swaying a little as he drew his sword. Black spots danced across his vision, but he managed to remain upright somehow. His determination to save his friends kept him going, pushing through any pain he might feel. He could rest later, once he’d saved Sergeant Garcia and returned the money to the soldiers.

A simple touch to Tornado’s back had his horse calming slightly, and Tornado turned to nuzzle him gently. He knew Tornado could sense something was wrong, and Diego was pretty sure he agreed, but he couldn’t let it affect him yet. Zorro was an ideal, a hero, and heroes couldn’t allow themselves to be hurt when others depended on him.

Holding his sword to the messenger’s chest had him telling the whole story, how he’d been told he could keep the soldier’s pay if he’d pretended that Sergeant Garcia robbed him. He’d dressed himself in bandages to hide his nonexistent wounds, and that he’d been given an eagle’s feather to deliver to Monterey by the Magistrado. It seemed this man of ‘law and order’ was just as corrupt as the new Commandante was. But that didn’t matter right now. Now, Diego needed to get back to the pueblo so he could save his friend.

Fetching the man’s horse while riding Tornado made his head spin dangerously, but Tornado kept him steady, making him even more grateful for his friend. Riding back with the messenger behind him made his head even worse, but he refused to let that stop him, knowing Sergeant Garcia’s life was on the line. Diego rode as fast as he could while making sure the messenger was still behind him, praying desperately that his bout of unconsciousness hadn’t doomed his friend to death. 

To his eternal relief, he’d been able to return to the cuartel just in time to save Sergeant Garcia’s life. Diego was very relieved to see his friend unharmed, even if it was hard to focus on him as he stood, most of his energy going into keeping himself steady. Though, he couldn’t help teasing his friend before he tossed the gold in Sergeant Garcia’s direction, just barely able to get it in his hand. Diego then escaped off the roof, trusting that the soldiers wouldn’t go after him today. He heard the soldiers rushing to apprehend the messenger, climbing the roof of the cuartel, but a quick glance told him that the soldiers weren’t interested in him today. He smirked softly, grateful that his trust had been well placed. Though he’d jumped onto Tornado’s back several times and was an expert at it, he nearly fell off as his vision doubled as he looked down upon Tornado, his head spinning as the ground moved and shook in his eyes. But he’d landed in the saddle, if just barely, most likely through muscle memory alone. He urged Tornado home, relieved that his work was done for the day. He’d never wanted to get to bed so badly in his life.

This time, Tornado rode slower, steadier to keep him from bouncing so much in the saddle, and Diego could sense the worry emanating from his friend. Diego softly stroked Tornado’s neck, doing what he could to reassure the horse, though he was grateful for Tornado’s intelligence, his ability to sense Diego’s emotions and react accordingly. He was definitely getting some extra carrots when he got back.

Diego groaned softly, his hand coming to his face, closing his eyes as his stomach rolled at the thought of food, even if it wasn’t for him. Tornado slowed down, then stopped, neighing loudly. Diego gasped at the sound, feeling as if his skull had pierced by a small dagger. He shushed Tornado, just whispering to him to go home. Tornado neighed again in apprehension, but he continued on at a slower pace than before.

Taking stock of himself, Diego found that the throb in his head was even stronger than before, his vision spun and blurred, and he could hear a ringing in his ears that he hadn’t heard before. Diego brought his other hand to his face, clutching himself tightly as if that would help ground him. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he could easily figure out that it was nothing good. Pain, especially at this level, never meant anything good.

Tornado stopped again, but Diego didn’t react for a moment, unsure to why Tornado had stopped. It wasn’t until a hand came to his thigh that he pulled his hands away, and realized that he was home. He looked down to see Bernardo looking up at him. Bernardo took one of his hands and squeezed, his expression painted with worry. Diego smiled softly, yet he could feel his smile showing his exhaustion. Diego went to dismount, but he wobbled and Bernardo clutched him tight, helping him off of Tornado. Bernardo held him to steady him as he swayed, worry shifting to fright. Diego then forced himself to stand on his own to reassure his friend.

“I’m alright, Bernardo.” Diego said, his voice taking on a slight slur that hadn’t been there before. “The messenger and I fought, and we rolled down a hill. I hit my head on a rock, knocked me out, but I’m alright. I saved Sergeant Garcia’s life, that’s all that matters.”

To his surprise, Bernardo shook his head. He pointed at Diego, and then himself before pointing at his heart. It seemed Diego’s health mattered to Bernardo just as much as helping people did. Diego just smiled again, grateful for his friend’s support. Bernardo had always been so loyal to him, he thought no one could ever be such a great friend before.

Suddenly, Bernardo shook him, and Diego groaned, looking at his friend in confusion. “What did you do that for?”

Bernardo bit his lip in fear, and pointed at him. He mimed talking, and then he paused. And kept pausing, his face staying in position before he pretended to shake himself.

“I… hadn’t spoken in a bit?” Diego asked, unsure of what these movements meant.

Bernardo shook his head, but then nodded and waved his head in a maybe gesture, telling Diego that he hadn’t got it quite right.

“I hadn’t moved in a bit?”

Bernardo then nodded, cupping Diego’s cheek softly. Oh, Diego must have just stared for a moment while he was thinking. That was odd, Diego didn’t usually do that.

“It seems I got a little more hurt than I thought I did.” Diego chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Bernardo nodded. He then pointed at Diego, and brought his hands to his cheeks, closing his eyes.

“Ah, yes, I agree, I am very tired.” Diego nodded, before he felt Bernardo’s arms at his sides once again as he swayed. Okay, nodding wasn’t a good idea anymore. “Y-yes. You’re right, my friend. I need rest.”

Bernardo then wrapped Diego’s arm over his shoulder, and began to walk with him up to his room. Diego’s legs didn’t work as well as he wanted them to, and he kept stepping oddly, with his feet sliding in front of the other or not lifting high enough to keep it from catching. The tunnel began to skew sideways as he walked, his head spinning dangerously as Bernardo dragged him to his room.

Diego lurched forward to open the door, but Bernardo held him back. Bernardo took off his hat and bandana, and Diego realized he was still in his Zorro disguise. Oh. Whoops. He’d almost just walked into his room where anyone could see that he was Zorro. He felt a surge of gratitude for Bernardo, who kept him together even when he was falling apart.

Bernardo gently let go of Diego, but quickly snatched him back when Diego’s knees nearly gave out. Bernardo frowned, looking around for something to help, before gesturing to Diego for him to sit on the table.

Diego went to nod before remembering that was a bad idea. “I understand.”

Bernardo helped him onto the table, and he laid back against the wall. Soft, deft hands pulled his boots off, as his hands came to his mask. He pulled it off, but he had a hard time opening his eyes again after doing so, his hands hovering uselessly in the air. Bernardo then took his hands and slowly lowered them with a soft smile. Diego hated depending on Bernardo so much when it came to simple things like dressing, but it seemed he had no choice right now. He made a soft, if slightly annoyed noise of affirmation, but Bernardo knew Diego well enough to know that the annoyance wasn’t directed at him, but at Diego himself. He wasn’t spoiled like other kids who he met at university, others that came from wealth as he did, but couldn’t do basic tasks themselves. He was perfectly capable of dressing himself, he didn’t need his friend to do it for him just because he was lazy.

Bernardo shot him a look as he took off Diego’s belt, as if scolding him gently, saying without words that if Diego needed help, Bernardo would help him.

“I know, I know.” Diego slurred as Bernardo helped him take off his shirt. “I just don’t like it. I don’t like making more work for you.”

Bernardo smiled at him, shaking his head softly in fond exasperation, and cupped his cheek for a moment. Diego knew that look well, he got it every time he got ill. It said Diego wasn’t making more work for Bernardo, and that Bernardo was happy to help Diego in whatever way he could. If anything, Bernardo had proved that time and time again as he helped Diego fight as Zorro, be that riding for him or covering for him.

“That doesn’t mean I have to like it, my friend.” Diego murmured softly.

Once Bernardo got him undressed, he hung up the clothes in their usual place, and then they walked into Diego’s room. Bernardo helped him to his bed, and Diego just laid back against his pillows. Bernardo held up his dressing gown, but Diego made a noise of refusal. Getting undressed, even with help, had been far too exhausting and he was far too tired to try dressing again. Bernardo frowned at him, cupping his cheek again.

“I’ll be alright, Bernardo. I just need to sleep this off. I’ll be fine by tomorrow.”

Bernardo gave him an unimpressed look.

“Fine. Two days? Three?”

Bernardo just raised his eyebrow. It was incredible how the man could be so sarcastic while also being completely mute.

Diego sighed. “Next week?”

Bernardo smiled and patted his hand, satisfied with that answer. He then pointed at Diego, and brought his hands to his cheek again. Diego chuckled softly, his eyes becoming heavier as each moment passed.

“Alright, alright, my friend. I shall sleep. Just make sure you come up with a good excuse if my father comes by. I don’t want to be yelled at for being a lazy klutz as well as a dandy.”

Bernardo laughed silently and nodded.

With that, Diego closed his eyes and kept them closed this time. He was asleep before he even noticed Bernardo pulling his duvet to his shoulders and dimming the lights in his room.

[aisharoy16]

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[aragarna]

Guy Williams as don Diego de la Vega and Gene Sheldon as Bernardo (Zorro 1957, 1x23)

[matildasloan0]

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[ladymisteria]

I just finished watching the Amazon Prime-branded Zorro series and, WOW! now that's a series like I haven't seen in far too long!

I admit that at first (when only the plot was known, or even when the trailer came out) I had "turned my nose up at it" - tied as I have always been to my first encounter with Zorro (the 1990 series) - instead... Instead, I followed each episode with bated breath.

And - no small feat - there was not a single dull episode - perhaps only an infinitesimal dip in the third one, which nonetheless goes completely unnoticed in the face of nine other practically perfect episodes.

I laughed (the interactions between Bernardo and Diego are chiefly responsible for this), I got angry (yes, Nah-Lil, I'm referring to you), I made theories and saw them all (even the ones that seemed to be well-established by now) get turned to dust... even the characters turned out to be the exact opposite of what I expected.

And now... now I have to wait (and hope!) for a second season to be filmed - because there are still too many things that didn't get a conclusion.

VOTE: 10/10

[elmartillosinmetre]

Mi crítica del concierto de Rami Alqhai y Javier Núñez anoche en el Alcázar.

[evilhorse]

Our pueblo is under the heel of a dictator!