50 Years of El Diablo

[Bobbi]

Tonight 50 years ago, CBS aired S06E10, "A Bullet for El Diablo".

One of the weaker episodes from Season 6 involves the two daughters of dictator Emilio Ramos (Richard Angarola). Edith Diaz portrays both Maria and Rita.

Maria is a meek thing attending university in Honolulu. Rita is her illegitimate half-sister who has been living in Hawaii forever. The biggest problem is that they look exactly alike. I have 4 half-sisters, none of us look anything alike.

Anyway, Rita is hell-bent on revenge against her father and sees Maria as the perfect target. Rita recruits Pepe Olivares (A Martinez) and Carlos Rojas (Richard Yniguez) to kidnap Maria and hold her for ransom.

Five-O becomes heavily involved when Ramos arrives in Hawaii demanding to know why they haven't handled the situation. McGarrett immediately butts heads with Ramos as it becomes clear things are dealt with differently in Ramos' country.

When all is said and done, Rita changes places with Maria and kills her father. The kidnappers want a plane to leave the island and there is a serious time crunch. However, nobody gets away with anything and Maria is rescued.

Mr. Mike's review does an excellent job of breaking down the episode. It's here: https://www.fiveohomepage.com/5-0log6.htm#130

There isn't much I like about this episode except to see some early work by A Martinez. I first saw him in the soap opera "Santa Barbara" (don't judge – I was a teenager!). I have seen him in several other works including an emotional role in "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation". He was a father whose son was killed for his bicycle when a criminal was trying to flee from police. It was gut-wrenching.

The whole half-sister but they look alike thing puts me off. They could have solved the issue in any number of ways, such as what Mr. Mike proposes in his review. Because of this issue, I can pass on this episode and be okay.

Regardless, Happy 50th, "A Bullet for El Diablo"!!!

[ringfire211]

Always a big fan of this one. One of my favorites of the season. The whole twin/revenge/assassination thing worked for me! I always took the 2 sisters as being twins, hence why they look alike. But I guess it turns out they had different mothers, right? So I guess they can’t be twins. Hmm…

Still, it’s an episode whose plot I find clever and suspenseful.

[John Chergi]

A Bullet For El Diabolo 2.5 Stars ⭐⭐ 1/2 out of 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. Season 6.

Another solid Season 6 🌊 episode A Bullet For El Diabolo. It's about a young University student Maria attending college in Honolulu. She is suddenly kidnapped by Carlos and Pepe. Maria's father is a hated and wealthy dictator Emilio Ramos. He's from another country. Rita is the mastermind behind the kidnapping. Her father Emilio had a relationship with her mother that led to Rita being born. Maria has a different mother. Rita has a deep hatred of her father and sets the plan into motion. Maria and Rita are half-sisters. They look very much like twins. It's important to the episode.

Mr. Ramos The Dictator arrives in Hawaii to gather more information about the situation and inquiring how it will be handled. As the episode continues, Rita switches places with Maria pretending to be her. Rita kills her Father up close and personal pretending to be Maria in his Hotel Suite and escapes without detection. McG has a brainstorm about 2 Maria's as the person who killed Ramos had to be someone he trusted. Allowing someone to be that close to him. With the ransom paid dropped into a motorboat, Maria's life hangs in the balance. HFO 🌊 is able to rescue Maria in time.

I think this A Bullet For El Diabolo is a solid episode. The 2 Marias are very different. Rita is a more forceful personality while Maria is quiet. They have the same Father but different mothers. I think they could be twins in looks is why the episode usually not rated higher. Many believe this could not be plausible or possible. Agree with Bobbi! I have always been a fan of A Martinez work. I remember in the 1980's his role as Cruz Castillo on Santa Barbara. He's a great actor. JC