History Series / Isabel

** In the sequel ''Carlos, Rey Emperador'', the Mexica Empire is portrayed as a peaceful land ruled by honorable chieftains, almost to the point of the MagicalNativeAmerican trope, instead of the bloody, constantly warring empire it was in reality. As if It wasn't enough that the nastiest aspects of the Mesoamerican society and culture are deleted, Moctezuma actually berates UsefulNotes/HernanCortez because the Alvarado Massacre ended with many butchered Mexicas defiling the temple with their blood, an especially funny claim considering that the Aztec religion involved constant human sacrifice of imperial subjects.
** Also, as it is usual in portrayals of the Conquest of America, Cortés and his men are here alone in their war against the natives, instead of being at the head of a massive army of Tlaxcaltecs and other native states that allied with them against the Mexica. Only in the scenes mentioned above, Cortés' men should have been accompanied by a Tlaxcaltec guard almost twice their own number (who in real life would be instrumental for Cortés and company to get out of the city alive).

** Although he was not the heir of his family, meaning his position in the court was relatively low, he real UsefulNotes/GonzaloFernandezDeCordoba still came from an aristocratic family and was in fact a relative to Fernando himself. Nothing of this is mentioned in the series, possibly to make his ShipTease with Isabel feel more as an impossible love between a high queen and a lowly soldier.

* AllPropheciesAreTrue: An astrologist predicts that Muley-Hacén's youngest son Nasr will "win a thousand battles" and that his eldest, Boabdil, will surrender the city to the Christians. Muley-Hacén replies that that doesn't make sense, but Boabdil does indeed become emir against his wishes and surrenders the city.[[note]] [[GeniusBonus As for Nasr]], in RealLife he converted to Christianity, married into Castilian nobility and led troops to victory... ''against'' Muslim uprisings in Granada, and later also against the Comuneros rebels in Castile during the reign of Charles I/V.[[/note]]

** The Granadans' style of dressing is closer to Ottoman if not full-fledged ArabianNightsDays than properly Nasrid. Granadan soldiers are also almost all armed with scimitars, when they used [[http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espada_jineta straight swords]] in real life. Finally, in a phenom that would almost need its own trope for how often it happens, the Berber Gomeres from Northern Morocco are [[RaceLift portrayed by]] Black African actors.
** The real UsefulNotes/GonzaloFernandezDeCordoba came from an aristocratic family, and was in fact a relative to Fernando himself. Nothing of this is mentioned in the series, possible to make his ShipTease with Isabel feel more as an impossible love between a queen and a soldier.

** UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus' characterization, which makes him arrogant, uncultured, a con man and a liar, also reflects more the classical pop culture preconceptions about him than we know for sure about his personality. It's also notable that in the series, Columbus is helped in the intellectual tasks of his projects by Moor sages rather than Franciscan monks (consultants like Juan Pérez and Antonio de Marchena are fully excised, and it's not even mentioned that Franciscans were who put him in contact with the crown in the first place), making it look like the merit of his enterprise was more due to Muslim brainpower than their own devices. This caused a bout of controversy in real life, with Andalusian politician Elena Tobar criticizing the series for the deviation.
** In the sequel ''Carlos, Rey Emperador'', the Mexica Empire is portrayed as a peaceful land ruled by honorable chieftains, almost to the point of the MagicalNativeAmerican trope, instead of the bloody, constantly warring empire it was in reality. As if the nastiest aspects of the Mesoamerican society and culture weren't excised enough, Moctezuma actually berates UsefulNotes/HernanCortez because the Alvarado Massacre ended with many butchered Mexicas defiling the temple with their blood, an especially funny claim considering that the Aztec religion involved constant human sacrifice of imperial subjects.
** Also, as it is usual in portrayals of the Conquest of America, Cortés and his men are here alone in their war against the natives, instead of being at the head of a massive army of Tlaxcaltecs and other native states that allied with them against the Mexica. Only in the scenes mentioned above, Cortés' men should have been accompanied by a Tlaxcaltec guard more than thrice their own number (who in real life would be instrumental for Cortés and company to get out of the city alive).

** UsefulNotes/GonzaloFernandezDeCordoba joins Alfonso's entourage as a trained and seasoned warrior, rather than as [[AgeLift the 13 year-old page]] he was in real life.

* ModestRoyalty: The clothes are realistic, functional (Medieval castles were ''cold''), and ofter somewhat simple, particularly young Isabel's. Truth The Iberian courts that take most of the screen time were not as lavish as the ones in other countries that spring to mind when we hear the word "Renaissance". This is reflected by the brief apparitions of the French court, or when [[YoungFutureFamousPeople Cardinal]] [[Series/TheBorgias Borja]] mentions that he finds Castile dull compared to Rome. The opulence of Seville's nobility in the second season makes the Royal Court in Segovia seem poor and backwards in comparison, and Muslim Granada is just ''fabulous''. It's no wonder that Isabel's wardrobe takes a step upward after visiting Andalusia.

** As explained in the [[http://www.rtve.es/television/20131021/mitos-verdades-inquisicion/771820.shtml accompanying web video]], inquisitors actually didn't interrogate the suspects ''during'' the torture sessions, many times were not even present during them, and a confession extracted during torture was in fact not admitted (one under ''threat'' of torture or between sessions was fair game, however). These are all disregarded to occupy less time, but at least the show has no inquisitors pulling the torture machines or lighting the pyres themselves and it is civil servants doing it instead. The tortures are also the simple ones that were really used like the rack or waterboarding, not the imaginative ones that were made up by fiction writers from the 17th century on.

** The future Henry VIII as a nice 9 year old boy [[HistoricalInJoke consoling]] Catherine of Aragon on her first bethrothed's passing.

* ArmorPiercingSlap: Isabel slaps her [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan brother]] and husband once. Enrique also slaps Pacheco once. The ''only'' thing he ever does to him.

* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: Isabel [[ArmorPiercingSlap slaps]] Alfonso when he says that he'd rather have them be peasants than princes.

** The Infante Alfonso says that he'd rather been born a peasant, earning him an ArmorPiercingSlap from his sister.

* AluminiumChristmasTrees:
** Before release, Olivares joked that people would surely criticize that the show's Isabel was too blonde [[HistoricalBeautyUpdate and pretty]]. Guess what was the first thing people complained about, often waving a [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wpwexIpyV5I/T5RLdQqivGI/AAAAAAAABpE/7OGVLyX7pss/s1600/img060.jpg portrait]] of when [[LogicalFallacies she was pushing 50 and dying of cancer]]. The chronicles of the time do describe the [[http://arquehistoria.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Isabel_la_Cat%C3%B3lica-21-e1350118284550.jpg young Isabel]] as "nice-looking" and say that Fernando and her were [[LoveAtFirstSight instantly smitten]] when they met.
** Young Isabel's annoyance because the Queen piece in chess can only move one square at a time is not an oversight either, as that was [[ShownTheirWork indeed the case]] in Medieval Chess. The change that made this piece so powerful was introduced in Spain during the 1490s, [[HistoricalInJoke in apparent homage to Isabel herself]].
** The scene where Juana de Avis gets artificially pregnant is based on a 15th century chronicle. The method was used by Jewish cattle breeders at the time.
** [[BigBad Juan Pacheco]]'s villainy in the first season was toned ''down''. Yep, he did try to kidnap Enrique IV and [[JokerImmunity got away scott-free]]. The difference is that he did it twice. He also kidnapped Enrique's father (another king) once.
** Some of the 1476 rioteers did enter the Alcázar, although the Infanta was [[RuleOfDrama not directly threatened]].
** Isabel retaking Segovia by herself? It happened. Her dialogue in the scene is even lifted from a historical source word for word.
** The [[VillainBall completely]] [[ContrivedCoincidence ridiculous]] way in which Boabdil is captured by the enemy also happened. Twice.

* AgeLift: As you might have noted by the introduction above, Isabel was ''10'' when she was taken to the Court, but in the series she's still played by then 25 years old Michelle Jenner who looks 14 in the first scene at the very least. 20 years-old Víctor Elías plays the Infante Alfonso, who would be 8 at the beginning of the series, more as a cocky, unfitted teenager than the clueless kid he would have been at the time of the Farce of Avila, and Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (played by ''36'' [[OlderThanTheyLook years old]] Sergio Peris-Mencheta) joins Alfonso's entourage as a late teenager at the very least, [[HistoricalBadassUpgrade already trained and seasoned in combat]], rather than at 13 as in RealLife. These characters' ages are never mentioned on screen, so VagueAge is also at work. On the other hand, 36 year-old Rodolfo Sancho's Fernando of Aragon very much stands out, being 11 years older than Jenner, even though the fact that the two have the same age is an important plot point.

** Torquemada's own Jewish origins are not hinted.

* ArrangedMarriage: All over the place, successful and otherwise. Most of the plot in Season 1 is directly related to the different attempts by Enrique IV to marry his sister and daughter to different guys.
** HappilyArrangedMarriage: [[EnforcedTrope Enforced]] by Isabel, who chooses Fernando because he is the most likely candidate to give her one (and yet [[ChickMagnet still has its downsides]]). Played straight by Beatriz de Bobadilla and Andrés Cabrera, despite her initial opposition. [[OldManMarryingAChild Princess Juana and Alfonso V]] end having some kind of 'understanding' with him becoming sort of a ParentalSubstitute, [[ParentalIncest disturbing implications]] [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption notwithstanding]].

** Also, as it is usual in portrayals of the Conquest of America, Cortés and his men are here alone in their war against the natives, instead of being at the head of a massive army of Tlaxcaltecas and other native states that allied with them against the Mexica.

* BigBad: Juan Pacheco in the first season. His son Diego tries in later seasons, but is [[InadequateInheritor not up to Dad's talent]].
** BigBadEnsemble: The second season lacks a central villain. The most significant threat in the first half is the King of Portugal, and the King of Granada and his brother in the second half.

* CorruptChurch: The Vatican was at its worst in this time and is depicted as such. Excluding [[OnlySaneMan Veneris]], the top bishops in Spain are just members of the local nobility who use their position to gather more power for themselves and their families, [[BadassPreacher fight in wars]] and father bastards.

* DecadentCourt: Enrique's Court in Segovia is not particularly well run. Muley-Hacén's Granada is even worse, with emphasis on the 'deadly'.

* ExactWords: Fernando gets a rebel leader to surrender after promising amnesty to his men and their families. The leader, however, is arrested and executed.

** The Mendozas are descendants of Film/ElCid.

* HistoricalBadassUpgrade: Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba joins Alfonso's entourage as a trained and seasoned warrior, rather than as [[AgeLift the 13 year-old page]] he was in real life.

** Also inverted with Boabdil, who is depicted as a wimp who can barely hold a sword. In real life he was a great swordsman, but sucked completely as a general.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Excluding the odd servant, the [[ShownTheirWork vast majority]] of characters are historical. The show does not only show people in Castile and Aragon, but also at the Portuguese, Granadan, Flemish, French and Papal Court. Even Henry VIII makes a cameo as a young boy in England.

* HollywoodHistory: The Granada plotline has been criticized as being a bit too simplified, and its wardrobe closer to Ottoman if not ArabianNightsDays than properly Nasrid. Granadan soldiers are also almost all armed with scimitars, when they used [[http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espada_jineta straight swords]] in real life. Finally, the Berber Gomeres from Northern Morocco are [[RaceLift portrayed by]] Black African actors.
** The writers also admit to including dubious stories from the time if they make good television: Juana de Avis' artificial fertilization, Aldonza travelling [[SweetPollyOliver in drag]] with Fernando, Beatriz Osorio having an affair with him, Aixa telling Boabdil to "cry like a woman what you couldn't defend like a man"...

** Mulay-Hacén sees Boabdil as a poet not fit for Emir-ship.

* ModestRoyalty: The clothes are realistic, functional (Medieval castles were ''cold''), and ofter somewhat simple, particularly young Isabel's.
** The Iberian courts that take most of the screen time were not as lavish as the ones in other countries that spring to mind when we hear the word "Renaissance". This is reflected by the brief apparitions of the French court, or when [[YoungFutureFamousPeople Cardinal]] [[Series/TheBorgias Borja]] mentions that he finds Castile dull compared to Rome. The opulence of Seville's nobility in the second season makes the Royal Court in Segovia seem poor and backwards in comparison, and Muslim Granada is just ''fabulous''. It's no wonder that Isabel's wardrobe takes a step upward after visiting Andalusia.

* BigBad: Juan Pacheco in the first season. His son Diego tries in the second season, but is [[InadequateInheritor not up to Dad's talent]].

** [[BigBad Juan Pacheco]]'s villainy in the first season was toned ''down''. Yep, he did try to kidnap Enrique IV and [[JokerImmunity got away scott-free]]. The difference is that he did it [[UpToEleven twice]]. He also kidnapped Enrique's father (another king) once.

[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/isabel_tv_poster_small_8508.jpg]]
[-[[caption-width-right:325:Companion book cover.[[labelnote:Eng]]The thrilling fight of a woman to become queen.[[/labelnote]]]]-]

[[CulturalTranslation Conceived]] as [[FollowTheLeader a Spanish answer]] to ''Series/TheTudors'', the three-season series [[ShownTheirWork follows]] [[FreakierThanFiction closely]] the various shenanigans that marked the life and reign of Queen Isabella I of Castile "The Catholic" (1451-1504), beginning in the time when a teenage Isabel and her brother Alfonso were brought from reclusion in the Castle of Arévalo to the DecadentCourt of her half-brother, King Enrique IV, in Segovia. While surviving ridiculous levels of court intrigue, wars and [[TreacherousAdvisor treacherous advisors]], what was once a little girl so far in the line of succession that nobody though she had a hope to rule, puts to good use her strenght and ambition to become the historical figure that we remember today as the Queen that united the crowns of Castile and Aragon through her [[MarryForLove unauthorized marriage]] to King Ferdinand II, conquered Granada, sponsored UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus, founded UsefulNotes/TheSpanishInquisition, and expelled the Jews from Spain. A film depicting the aftermath of Isabel's death, ''The Broken Crown'', was produced by the same cast and crew and was originally intended to be followed by the sequel series ''Carlos, Rey Emperador'' (about Isabel's grandson, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V), but ended being released after ''CRE'' finished its run.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters

%% * MissFanservice: Aldonza de Ivorra.

** Young Isabel's annoyance because the Queen piece in chess can only move one square at a time is not an oversight either, that was [[ShownTheirWork indeed the case]] in Medieval Chess. The change that made this piece so powerful was introduced in Spain during the 1490s, [[HistoricalInJoke in apparent homage to Isabel herself]].

* YouHaveToHaveJews: In such a key period and setting, of course!

[[CulturalTranslation Conceived]] as [[TransatlanticEquivalent a Spanish answer]] to ''Series/TheTudors'', the three-season series [[ShownTheirWork follows]] [[FreakierThanFiction closely]] the various shenanigans that marked the life and reign of Queen Isabella I of Castile "The Catholic" (1451-1504), beginning in the time when a teenage Isabel and her brother Alfonso were brought from reclusion in the Castle of Arévalo to the DecadentCourt of her half-brother, King Enrique IV, in Segovia. While surviving ridiculous levels of court intrigue, wars and [[TreacherousAdvisor treacherous advisors]], what was once a little girl so far in the line of succession that nobody though she had a hope to rule, puts to good use her strenght and ambition to become the historical figure that we remember today as the Queen that united the crowns of Castile and Aragon through her [[MarryForLove unauthorized marriage]] to King Ferdinand II, conquered Granada, sponsored UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus, founded UsefulNotes/TheSpanishInquisition, and expelled the Jews from Spain. A film depicting the aftermath of Isabel's death, ''The Broken Crown'', was produced by the same cast and crew and was originally intended to be followed by the sequel series ''Carlos, Rey Emperador'' (about Isabel's grandson, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V), but ended being released after ''CRE'' finished its run.

[[CulturalTranslation Conceived]] as [[TransatlanticEquivalent a Spanish answer]] to ''Series/TheTudors'', the three-season series [[ShownTheirWork follows]] [[FreakierThanFiction closely]] the various shenanigans that marked the life and reign of Queen Isabella I of Castile, ''the Catholic'' (1451-1504), beginning in the time when a teenage Isabel and her brother Alfonso were brought from reclusion in the Castle of Arévalo to the DecadentCourt of her half-brother, King Enrique IV, in Segovia. While surviving ridiculous levels of court intrigue, wars and [[TreacherousAdvisor treacherous advisors]], what was once a little girl so far in the line of succession that nobody though she had a hope to rule, puts to good use her strenght and ambition to become the historical figure that we remember today as the Queen that united the crowns of Castile and Aragon through her [[MarryForLove unauthorized marriage]] to King Ferdinand II, conquered Granada, sponsored UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus, founded UsefulNotes/TheSpanishInquisition, and expelled the Jews from Spain. A film depicting the aftermath of Isabel's death, ''The Broken Crown'', was produced by the same cast and crew and was originally intended to be followed by the sequel series ''Carlos, Rey Emperador'' (about Isabel's grandson, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V), but ended being released after ''CRE'' finished its run.

* {{Asexuality}}: Enrique IV is uninterested in sex. When he finally brings himself to have sex with his ''gorgeous'' wife for the sake of producing a heir, he still can't achieve penetration.

** Juana de Avis to Anne of Brittany. Both are queens that were forced to marry kings well bellow them in term of looks and intelligence, condemning them to loveless marriages with no children (one because her husband is [[{{Asexuality}} asexual]], the other because of multiple miscarriages).

** In the sequel ''Carlos, Rey Emperador'', the Mexica Empire is portrayed as a peaceful land ruled by honorable chieftains, almost to the point of the MagicalNativeAmerican trope, instead of the bloody, constantly warring empire it was in reality. As if the nastiest aspects of the Mesoamerican society and culture weren't excised enough, Moctezuma actually berates UsefulNotes/HernanCortes because the Alvarado Massacre ended with many butchered Mexicas defiling the temple with their blood, an especially funny claim considering that the Aztec religion involved constant human sacrifice of imperial subjects.

[[CulturalTranslation Conceived]] as [[TransatlanticEquivalent a Spanish answer]] to ''Series/TheTudors'', the three-season series [[ShownTheirWork follows]] [[FreakierThanFiction closely]] the various shenanigans that marked the life and reign of Queen Isabella I of Castile, ''the Catholic'' (1451-1504), beginning in the time when a teenage Isabel and her brother Alfonso were brought from reclusion in the Castle of Arévalo to the DecadentCourt of her half-brother, King Enrique IV, in Segovia. While surviving ridiculous levels of court intrigue, wars and [[TreacherousAdvisor treacherous advisors]], what was once a little girl so far in the line of succession that nobody though she had a hope to rule, puts to good use her strenght and ambition to become the historical figure that we remember today as the Queen that united the crowns of Castile and Aragon through her [[MarryForLove unauthorized marriage]] to King Ferdinand II, conquered Granada, sponsored UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus, founded UsefulNotes/TheSpanishInquisition, and expelled the Jews from Spain. A film depicting the aftermath of Isabel's death, ''The Broken Crown'', was produced by the same cast and crew and was originally intended to be followed by the sequel series ''Carlos, Rey Emperador'' (about Isabel's grandson, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V), but ended being released after ''C.R.E.'' finished its run.

* PrinceCharming: Fernando, [[MisterViceGuy infidelities aside]].

** The third season has the Portuguese and the French as simultaneous threats.
* BookEnds: It snows when Isabel becomes Queen, and it snows when Fernando relinguishes the Castilian Crown after her death.

* MadwomanInTheAttic: Isabel's mother is insane and has been locked away in a castle for years.

** [[PosthumousCharacter Álvaro de Luna]]'s execution, years before the timeframe of the series. We know that Pacheco "conspired" to make it happen and that Isabel's mother blames herself for it and the guilt may have driven her insane.
** Enrique mentioning that he rebelled against his own father, apparently under Pacheco's influence.

* NunTooHoly: Rampant: Alexander VI is Pope in the third season, after all. When Cisneros decides to correct it, he realizes that the problem is even worse than he imagined.

* OutGambitted: Carrillo conspires to place Isabel on the throne of Castile, hoping to become as powerful and her and Fernando ([[TheManBehindTheMan or more]]), as well as to become Cardinal in Rome. He ends getting neither.

* PrinceCharming: Fernando.

** The Infante Alfonso says that he'd rather be a peasant, earning him an ArmorPiercingSlap from his sister. [[GeniusBonus These were]] the FamousLastWords of [[GenerationXerox his father]], [[HistoricalInjoke Juan II of Castile]].

** The future Henry VIII as a nice 9 year old boy [[HistoricalInJoke consoling]] Catherine of Aragon on her first bethrothe's passing.

** Beatriz Osorio appears in the second season as a young servant of Isabel, years before she gained fame as an ambitious, ruthless schemer worthy of the Borgia family during her stay in the Canary Islands.

** Despite being one of these very same nobles, Mendoza has a change of heart [[RedemptionEqualsDeath in his deathbed]] and advices Isabel to name a non-noble as the next Archbishop of Toledo (head of the Church in Spain). The chosen one is Cisneros, already in a campaign to fight corruption within the Church. Historians credit Cisneros as the reason Spain avoided the Reformation altogether.

** Alfonso Carrillo bests his nephew during sword practice. [[BadassPreacher Then he puts on his priest robes]]. Juan Pacheco immediately [[InfoDump lies down the exposition]] on the King's lack of interest in sex and how they have to manouvre to get their hands on his brother, [[BigBad dismishing Isabel]] as [[ItWillneverCatchOn a tool to forge international alliances through marriage.]]

** After Fernando receives a life-threatening injury, [[BigBad Charles VIII]] says that the Aragonese will be in his prayers.

[[CulturalTranslation Conceived]] as [[TransatlanticEquivalent a Spanish answer]] to ''Series/TheTudors'', the three-season series [[ShownTheirWork follows]] [[FreakierThanFiction closely]] the various shenanigans that marked the life and reign of Queen Isabella I of Castile, ''the Catholic'' (1451-1504), beginning in the time when a teenage Isabel and her brother Alfonso were brought from reclusion in the Castle of Arévalo to the DeadlyDecadentCourt of her half-brother, King Enrique IV, in Segovia. While surviving ridiculous levels of court intrigue, wars and [[TreacherousAdvisor treacherous advisors]], what was once a little girl so far in the line of succession that nobody though she had a hope to rule, puts to good use her strenght and ambition to become the historical figure that we remember today as the Queen that united the crowns of Castile and Aragon through her [[MarryForLove unauthorized marriage]] to King Ferdinand II, conquered Granada, sponsored UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus, founded UsefulNotes/TheSpanishInquisition, and expelled the Jews from Spain. A film depicting the aftermath of Isabel's death, ''The Broken Crown'', was produced by the same cast and crew and was originally intended to be followed by the sequel series ''Carlos, Rey Emperador'' (about Isabel's grandson, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V), but ended being released after ''C.R.E.'' finished its run.

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: Enrique's Court in Segovia is not particularly well run. Muley-Hacén's Granada is even worse, with emphasis on the 'deadly'.

* ArmorPiercingSlap: Isabel slaps her [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan brother]] and [[YourCheatingHeart husband]] once. Enrique also slaps Pacheco once. The ''only'' thing he ever does to him.

** HappilyArrangedMarriage: [[EnforcedTrope Enforced]] by Isabel, who chooses Fernando because he is the most likely candidate to give her one (and yet [[ChickMagnet still has]] [[YourCheatingHeart its downsides]]). Played straight by Beatriz de Bobadilla and Andrés Cabrera, despite her initial opposition. [[OldManMarryingAChild Princess Juana and Alfonso V]] end having some kind of 'understanding' with him becoming sort of a ParentalSubstitute, [[ParentalIncest disturbing implications]] [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption notwithstanding]].

** Beatriz Osorio appears in the second season as a young servant of Isabel, years before she gained fame as an ambitious, ruthless schemer worthy of the Borgia family during her stay in the Canary Islands.
* YourCheatingHeart:
** Fernando keeps fooling around despite Isabel's constant pleas. Eventually she gives up and tells him to at least do it in secret.
** Juana de Avis' adventure outside marriage doesn't exactly help her daughter's case.

** Before release, Olivares joked that people would surely criticize that the show's Isabel [[LatinoIsBrown was too blonde]] [[HistoricalBeautyUpdate and pretty]]. Guess what was the first thing people complained about, often waving a [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wpwexIpyV5I/T5RLdQqivGI/AAAAAAAABpE/7OGVLyX7pss/s1600/img060.jpg portrait]] of when [[LogicalFallacies she was pushing 50 and dying of cancer]]. The chronicles of the time do describe the [[http://arquehistoria.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Isabel_la_Cat%C3%B3lica-21-e1350118284550.jpg young Isabel]] as "nice-looking" and say that Fernando and her were [[LoveAtFirstSight instantly smitten]] when they met.