"High Heat": Do They Mean the Fire, or the Naked Men?

 

I thought that the icon of the Mexican telenovela  High Heat, originally Donde hubo fuego, "Where there was fire," depicted two men kissing.  But one of them could be a woman with a boy's haircut. BUT Episode 8 says "Sparks fly between Gerardo and Fabio"  So I'll watch it.

Scene 1: Ricardo is leaving his wife, pregnant with twins, to go to work.  She asks him not to go.  He says he'll come back in an instant if there's a problem.  Uh-oh, one or both of those unborn twins is a goner.  I'm guessing hostage crisis.  They smooch and discuss how much they love each other. Then he walks off, turns, and she blows him a kiss.  Ugh, sappy!  Maybe he's the goner.

At the fire house, Ricardo is busily show us his chest...um, I mean, putting on his uniform..when his wife calls: her water broke (she's going to give birth now).  As he is heading home, Wife sees a stranger outside!  She drops her orange juice.

Ricardo arrives.  She'll be vanished, or dead.  Nope, just scared.

Scene 2: A fire at the newspaper office.  A frightened woman tells Poncho: "The fire was started in order to silence me, because I know all about your brother's investigation of the Reynosa Butchers."   The woman with a boy's haircut recognizes her.  She explains that she was Daniel's girlfriend.  

"So, do you know who murdered him?" Poncho asks.  "Seriously, I have to get out of here.  But go check to see if Daniel's files on the Reynosa Butchers are still on my desk."

Nope, all burnt up.  Plus Poncho feels bad over not being able to save someone, so his boss consoles him: "People die all the time.  Now go home and rest for a day or so."  

Scene 3: In an apartment downtown, a young woman looks up "breast cancer" online, and then calls her mother.  Every soap has to have a terminal disease; I think it's a Writers' Guild rule.  Mom wants to know why she didn't come to visit in the hospital.  "Oh...um...I was...um...busy."  

Roommate or sister comes in and starts criticizing her for using the kitchen and using her cellphone.  She counters with "you use your telescope too much!"

Scene 4: On the poor side of town, middle aged Angel comes in and is informed by the live-in nurse that "Mr. Guillermo is worse."  Two terminal diseases?  Goody.

Guillermo, no doubt his father, is inarticulate and resistant.  Angel goes off on him: "I work all day, pay for the nurse, come home.  And if I die in a fire, who will take care of you?"

Scene 5: Naked butts of muscle guys in the firehouse locker room.  Naked studmuffin gets a text from Rosario (a girl's name): "Come see me."  

Scene 6: Poncho and Boy-Haircut lead Daniel's Girlfriend into their house. "You can stay here for awhile." 

"Daniel lived here," Poncho points out.  "Why did he never bring you over?"

"He wanted to discuss our relationship with you first."  Why, is she trans?

"Ok, so what did he tell you about his investigation of the Butcher?"

"It has something to do with your Aunt Isabel and an orphanage."  I'm lost.  I'm going to fast forward to the sparks flying.

Minute 24:  Fabio (Nahuel Escobar, left) and Gerardo (Daniel Gama, below) are moving furniture in preparation for the opening of their new nightclub or restaurant.  Fabio gets goofy, trying to squirt Gerardo with his beer.  This leads to a "spark" moment.  The two stare, in tight closeups, for an interminable amount of time, then gradually move in for a kiss.  But before they get there, Gerardo gets a phone call from his wife!  "I'll be right there, honey!"  He leaves.

Minute 30: Gerardo follows Fabio on social media and clicks "like" on his sexy photos.  Fabio is ecstatic: "Gerardo liked my photos!"  His female bff advises him to stop obsessing over Gerardo, but he won't listen.  The end.

Beefcake: Lots.  The fireman hunks can't see to keep their shirts on.  Or their pants.  

Heterosexism: Not a lot in the partial episode I watched.  Turns out that the first scene is a flashback about Ricardo's Dead Wife.

Gay Characters:  I imagine that Fabio and Gerardo are going to have a "come out or not?" relationship.  

Boy-Haircut: Firefighter Olivia.  She's dating Poncho, a male stripper going undercover at the fire station to gather intel on the killer.  Sounds looney, but it's no worse than some of the plotlines on "Days of Our Lives."  

I was going to post a photo of Boy-Haircut Olivia, but I thought you'd rather see Poncho in his underwear. 

My Grade: B.