Jealous after Ellen becomes a second mother to a motherless boy named Michael, Joe blows his life savings to buy her an expensive music box for Mother's Day. Visiting family friend Senora Julia tells Joe the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, with Wishbone imagining himself as Juan Diego.
This is one of the episodes that was written by Mo Rocca. It also features the acting debut of Jensen Ackles, who plays Michael in the contemporary story.
Tropes
- All Myths Are True: Before getting into the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the episode briefly recounts the founding of Tenochtitlan from Aztec Mythology, including the involvement of the Aztec god of war. As far as the episode is concerned, this Aztec myth and the Catholic miracles associated with Juan Diego are equally real. If taken seriously, this would imply that the Aztec gods and the Christian God both exist in this universe.
- The End: The episode ends with a title card reading, "El Fin (The End)".
- Evil Colonialist: Subverted. The scenes portraying the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors seem to play this trope straight. However, this is followed by the story's hero, Juan Diego, being an Aztec who adopted the conquerors' religion, and at the end of the fantasy segment, Senora Julia talks lovingly about how Mexico is built on a mix of Aztec and European influences. The apparent implication is that although the Spanish and the Aztecs got off on the wrong foot to say the least, it worked out in the long term because it created the modern Mexican identity.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: This episode breaks with the show's usual format in a manner similar to "Bark that Bark." Namely, the fantasy portion features two stories instead of one, and some of the narrating is done by a character other than Wishbone, in this case Senora Julia. Unlike with Uncle Homer in "Bark that Bark," however, Senora Julia's actress, Sylvia Caplan Rawley, does not appear in the fantasy portion of the show. One subsequent episode, "Dances with Dogs," would also use a similar format.
- Hijacked by Jesus: In-universe. The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe is ultimately about the Aztec mother goddess being Christianized into a manifestation of The Virgin Mary.
- Madonna Archetype: More than just an archetype. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the actual Virgin Mary herself, presumably visiting from heaven in order to help out with converting the Mexican natives to Catholicism. The episode emphasizes her status as a universal mother figure, tying it into Joe's situation with his real mother.
- Remember the New Guy?:
- For someone whom the Talbots regard as such a close family friend, it's remarkable that Senora Julia has never previously been seen or mentioned on the show. The episode addresses this with the explanation that she moved away years ago and is back for a visit, which also handily explains why she never appears after this episode either.
- This also applies to Michael. He's never been referenced prior to this episode, and yet, he's apparently so much of a second son to Ellen as to instill jealousy in Joe. And just like Senora Julia, Michael disappears after this episode.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Michael only appears onscreen briefly at the end of the episode, and prior to that, he's mentioned just a few times. Nevertheless, the jealousy that he inspires in Joe is what drives the real-world plot.
- Translation Convention: Played with. Because it's an important point that Our Lady is speaking in the language of the Aztecs, her first appearance in the episode starts off with her speaking the Aztec language while Senora Julia's narration talks over her, providing a translation. After one line of this, it transitions to Our Lady speaking English, but presumably, she's still speaking Aztec in-universe.
