We always love a good soap opera. There is something about the angst that, when well done, can be so addictive. “The Marked Heart” captures this with perfection. Don’t get us wrong; each and every person in the series is as toxic as they can be, and nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions, villains and heroes alike. It is a complicated mess, and we are unable to root for anyone, but it would be unfair to say that we did not enjoy it. However, it is not binge-able in the least. You can maybe watch 2-3 episodes in one sitting, but hey, with our busy lives, that is not a complaint. Therefore, before you watch “The Marked Heart” Season 2, here is everything that happened in Season 1.
Spoilers Ahead
How Do Simon And Camila Meet?
On her wedding day, Camila faints in the middle of taking her vows. She has cardiovascular myopathy, meaning that her heart is too big for her chest, and she has barely two months left to live. Her husband, Zacarias, is ready to do anything to keep her alive, and as a last resort, he turns to organ traffickers to arrange a heart for her. This organ trafficking organization usually makes use of criminals for the organs but is willing to procure other donors if needed. Zacarias does not want Camila to have the heart of a criminal; therefore, he asks them to find a woman who is young, beautiful, and healthy. This woman turns out to be Valeria Duque, the wife of Simon Duque and the mother of two children, who was pregnant when she was killed on the surgical table, and her heart was taken for Camila.
The transplant is a success, though Camila has no idea who her donor is or how Zacarias managed to get the heart for her when there were others way above her on the donor list. Nevertheless, she wants to know who her donor was, despite the law saying they should remain anonymous. Camila has also started feeling distant from Zacarias, and there is some tension in their marriage because of it. One particular day, at a concert, she runs into Simon and is instantly attracted to him. They meet again when she goes to his pizzeria with her friend. Camila is a photographer, and she invites Simon to her exhibition in return for the free pizza and beer that he provided. At the exhibition, Simon finds that one of the photographs taken by Camila was of Valeria. She was in a marathon, and that picture was taken a week before her death. When he tells this to Camila, she gives him the photograph free of charge and, in return, asks him to teach her how to make pizza.
Camila and Simon are getting closer to each other. In the meantime, Camila has been trying to find out who her donor is, which is causing friction between her and Zacarias. He has started cheating on her, or maybe he always was, with his co-worker Rosa. As for Camila, it isn’t long before she gets intimate with Simon. Though she leaves soon after, the problem is that Zacarias has been keeping tabs on her. He has always been a possessive man, and he is a little unhinged when it comes to Camila. After a particular fight where he is especially nasty and says that Camila wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for him, the tensions between them are very high. During this time, when Camila meets Simon to speak with him about what happened between them, she comes to know that his wife was kidnapped and murdered, and her heart was harvested. This piece of news shakes up Camila, and she cannot help the suspicions that set in. When she goes online to do some research, she finds that Valeria was kidnapped on the very day that Camila had her surgery. It is too much of a coincidence, and Camila is questioning everything she knows.
To clear her doubts regarding Zacarias, Camila hacks into his phone with the help of her friend, Alvaro’s aunt. The messages she reads on his phone confirm her suspicions that Zacarias was, in fact, completely aware of Valeria’s murder, and he was the one to arrange it for the sake of Camila’s life. When a devastated Camila confronts Zacarias about it, he comes clean and admits to the guilt he has been dealing with all along. Camila doesn’t know what to do anymore, and somehow, she finds herself in Simon’s house. This time, he sees the mark of the surgery on her chest, and when he tries to ask her about it, she faints. He takes her to the hospital and informs the police that she might be the one with his wife’s heart.
Simon’s Investigation
Simon is a man possessed since his wife’s death. Her body was discovered in a lake after he got a call telling him to look for it there. His entire life has been falling apart since, and despite familial support and responsibilities, he cannot stop himself from taking matters into his own hands. The police discovered that whoever made the call did so from a bowling alley. Simon starts stalking the bowling alleys in the city along with the police, but he is working harder than them. He finds a woman with a certain tattoo that has something to do with life. He follows her to find out more, but she tries to escape from him. However, he gets the better of her and tells her he just wants to talk. The woman, Karla, was the nurse who had been present at the time Valeria’s heart was being taken out of her body. She tells Simon everything, including the fact that she had been killed on the surgical table. Karla’s house had been burned down, and her mother was killed, which forced her to start an entirely new life working as a waitress and a DJ.
Following Karla’s revelation, Simon finds the doctor who had operated on Valeria, but before he can get any further information from him, he escapes with the help of the trafficking organization, which ends up killing him. Even after Karla is killed and upon seeing how ruthless the organization is, Simon is worried about the safety of his family, especially when a suspicious-looking man comes asking questions. He sends his children to live with their aunt and uncle while he continues with his quest. But soon enough, he learns that Camila has had a heart transplant, and his suspicions solidify, especially considering the way she has integrated herself in his family. When Camila lands in the hospital, Zacarias manages to contain the situation by claiming that the illegal organ harvesting could not be traced back to them and that they were never aware of what had transpired. Though they don’t have any proof, Camila confesses to Simon that her heart is indeed Valeria’s, though she is not complicit with Zacarias. Simon doesn’t believe her, and it also doesn’t help that Camila doesn’t know if the feelings she has for Simon are because of her or because of Valeria’s heart beating in her chest.
The President, Camila’s Mother, And Simon’s Family
Zacarias works as the campaign manager for the president, Cardenas, whom he believes is a crass and stupid man. But Zacarias is considered a genius in his line of work, and he does everything he can to curate Cardenas’ image as a competent leader. In fact, he arranges a wedding for him to skyrocket his likeability. Camila’s mother, Greta Volcan, who is the former Miss Universe of the country, offers to marry him. Her only reason is that she loves the spotlight, and being the First Lady will give her that. She doesn’t care that Cardenas is a philanderer who has no intention of changing his ways. Greta doesn’t particularly like him, but she wants the title that comes with being the wife of the future president. For a while, it looked like she might not get what she wanted. When Greta discovers what Zacarias has done, she supports him and asks her daughter to just be grateful for the life she has gotten. But Camila is unable to fight her guilt and confesses everything to the police, with one day left until the election. It looks like Greta might have just lost everything, but Cardenas is elected president nonetheless, and she gets what she wants.
There were also some other conspiracies going on behind the scenes. The trafficking organization wants to join hands with Zacarias so that they can get political and policy favors in the future when Cardenas becomes president. When it looked like Zacarias wouldn’t agree, they even approach his opponent, Julia Mondeco. Though Zacarias comes through in the end, by this time, Julia Mondeco and her campaign manager, who are in a relationship, know Cardenas’ and Zacarias’ secret. Once Cardenas becomes president, they warn Zacarias that it won’t be long before the tables turn. And that happens through Simon’s daughter, Samantha.
After the death of Valeria, Sam has tried her best to keep the house together with her dad. Unfortunately, she gets involved with a guy named Tomas, who is a druggie and is involved with the trafficking ring in some capacity. One time, she is taken as collateral in case Tomas is unable to arrange for some money. Though Tomas brings the money, he is a bit late, and the kidnappers try to sexually assault her. However, Sam is protected by Tomas’ grandfather, and in the gunfire that follows, she accidentally kills a man. She cuts all ties with Tomas following that, but unknown to them, one of the men in the gunfire has survived, and he wants revenge now. He kidnaps Tomas and asks Sam to come and save him if she can. Sam takes the risk, and honestly, she could have escaped with Tomas if she had found the keys to her scooter in time. But that doesn’t happen, and she is captured along with Tomas. Though they initially decide to kill her, they later decide to harvest her liver for a customer.
This is where the entire operation starts to unravel itself. Unknown to them all, Simon had integrated himself into the organization through a man named Mariachi, whose defining trait was that he was possessive of his wife. Either way, Simon is in the gang, and he records a conversation between Zacarias and the head of the organization, detailing all their crimes and operations. When he rescues Tomas and Sam with the help of the police, he also gives them the recording, proving Zacarias’ involvement in his wife’s death and disappearance. This would have been an amazing subplot if it did not remind us of Shah Rukh Khan’s character in “Rab ne Bana di Jodi.” Those who get it get it.
Once it is all done, Camila talks to Simon’s children and tells them that she has Valeria’s heart in her body. She also confesses to Simon that she does not know if the attraction between them is real or because of Valeria’s feelings. In the meantime, the police officer in charge of the case turns out to be corrupt, but he is discovered, and the entire ring is brought down with the evidence collected. As for Camila, she leaves the country by taking on a new identity with the help of Alvaro’s aunt, who was the hacker who had helped her before. When Zacarias learns that Camila has left him, he is devastated and starts drowning his sorrows in alcohol. But it looks like Zacarias has not given up. He is still working with the organization, and despite its members being in jail, they have kept up their operations. They find where Camila is hiding, and at the end of “The Marked Heart,” they send her picture to Zacarias along with her location.
What Should We Expect From ‘The Marked Heart’ Season 2?
We can expect Camila to come back to her country. Additionally, Zacarias is now more powerful and deranged than ever, so there is no telling what he is going to do. Also, as Camila was leaving, she said that she wanted to figure out how much of herself belonged to Valeria and how much was her old self. If she has managed to gain that clarity, it will be interesting to see how her feelings for Simon develop. As for Samantha, Tomas has gone on the run to escape the dangerous people who might follow him. We can expect his return in “The Marked Heart” Season 2 and then proceed to see if his relationship with Samantha is still as strong. However, the biggest trouble will be the fact that the opposition is aware of Cardenas’ and Zacarias’ involvement with the organ trafficking ring. They are certainly going to use this information to their advantage. We can expect a lot more drama in Season 2, and we also believe that the soapy quality is going to be up a notch. But we are looking forward to it since this series seems to know how to balance it all out.
