Reviewing Vanessa Aspillaga's Pair of Cold-Blooded Villainesses

When I started watching Hulu's Only Murders in the Building on the day it premiered, I was elated to see (among other actors) Vanessa Aspillaga on the series. Aspillaga plays Ursula, the manager of the Arconia building, on the show, having appeared in nine episodes so far. The reason why I was so happy to see Aspillaga on the show is simple: I had seen her play a pair of very captivating villainesses on other shows. This review covers both of Aspillaga's villainous roles, and they are as follows:

Rosalie Morales

The Blue Bloods episode, "The Brave," opened with Anthony Abetemarco being shot as he was about to speak to a witness, named Rosalie Morales. As the episode established, Rosalie had witnessed the murder of her granddaughter, and as for Anthony, his search for Rosalie led him to a massage parlor, where he was shot. Rosalie was interrogated by Danny Reagan and Maria Baez about Anthony's shooting and the meeting, with Rosalie claiming that she never saw Anthony, and referred to his appearance at the massage parlor as a "detour."

As it turned out, Anthony's shooting was committed by Dominic Carbone, who was ordered by Double Trey's gang leader Victor Ruiz to commit the shooting. His appearance was due to the fact that the Warriors, a rival gang, were selling drugs at the parlor, and in another surprise reveal, Rosalie was a drug courier for the Warriors. Rosalie identified the Treys as her granddaughter's killers, but she hid her own criminal activities. She was offered a simple deal: lead the NYPD to the drop-off point, and she'd only get three years for possession. Rosalie refused, and she was later tracked by Danny and Maria, only for a shootout to happen. One of the shooters was tackled by Danny, and the culprit was revealed as none other than Rosalie, who was arrested. She should have taken the deal.

"The Brave" was the 12th episode of Blue Bloods' eighth season, and aired on January 12, 2018. The aforementioned Aspillaga appeared as the villainous Rosalie Morales, who was quite the criminal villainess; a gang member, a drug courier, and--as the climax showed us--an attempted killer. Rosalie was not only ruthless, she was arrogant. She turned down a sweetheart deal and boasted that she had never been arrested, and she was even brash enough to attempt to shoot at cops because of her hubris, which ended up being her downfall. This was an amazing performance from Aspillaga, and I honestly think that Rosalie Morales is one of the series' best and most underrated villainesses.

Check out Rosalie Morales' profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

Alma Gutierrez

You know, it's been two years and it still bothers me that NBC cancelled Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector after one season. However, I do hang on to the good moments I took from the show, with one of them being Aspillaga's villainous appearance in the episode, "Requiem." The episode centered on the bombing of a building owned by wealthy couple Linda and Greg Vaughn; a bombing that killed four people. The family's nanny, Alma Gutierrez, was shown after Amelia Sachs tended to the couple's only son, Simon, and regarding Alma, she voiced her concern about Simon's protection and the safety of others following this catastrophe.

The episode revealed that a man named Arthur Massey was behind the bombing, as he wanted revenge on the Vaughns. Their buildings had safety violations and caught fire, with Massey's wife and child being killed in one of the buildings. His warnings went ignored, and he later sued the couple and received a settlement as well as a countersuit, leading Massey to plan his vendetta. It was later revealed that while Massey was involved, he wasn't in that particular building and refused to give the location of the other bombs. This led to the conclusion that Massey wasn't working alone, and a search for others connected to the building fires uncovered a familiar name: Alma Gutierrez, whose son was killed in one of the building fires.

Alma had met with Massey and agreed to participate in the bombings, as she was the one who planted the aforementioned bomb, using her position as the Vaughns' nanny to enact her revenge. She was shown taking Simon to apparent safety, but her evil glare at Simon revealed that she had ominous plans for the young boy, which was confirmed when she took out a bomb. Once police arrived, Alma held Simon hostage with one arm and had the detonator in the other, as after Amelia entered, Alma threatened to kill herself and Simon. The vengeful madwoman blamed the Vaughns for the death of her son, Matthew, and even claimed that Simon would grow up to be rich and entitled like his parents, with Simon actually apologizing in response to Alma's venomous rant. Amelia informed Simon that he had nothing to apologize for and also told Alma that her son wouldn't want her to commit such an evil act, prompting the villainess to drop the detonator and apologize to her late son before her arrest.

"Requiem" was Lincoln Rhyme's seventh episode and aired on February 28, 2020. Aspillaga portrayed the episode's villainess, Alma Gutierrez, who served as the show's final female baddie--as well as their best one, IMO. Alma was a woman whose tragedy and immense misplaced blame drove her to absolute madness. Yes, Alma went through a terrible tragedy, but while I do believe in Freudian Excuses, they can be eliminated. Alma's sympathy was gone the moment she decided to attempt to kill young Simon, and what still stays with me is her assumption of Simon during her villainous rant.

This was a boy who Alma watched and appeared to care for, yet she was willing to kill him due to her belief that he would grow up to be entitled. If that's not cold-blooded and cold-hearted, I don't know what it is. This was an absolutely chilling performance from Aspillaga. We see her act out Alma's concern very well in her introductory scene, but when it came to Alma's heel turn against Simon and her rant, it was golden. It was Aspillaga going all in when it came to acting out Alma's cruel and viciously murderous demeanor; a truly stellar performance.

Check out Alma Gutierrez's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

Regarding her acting career, Vanessa Aspillaga has done several other TV shows, including playing four different characters on the original Law & Order. Other shows featuring Aspillaga include Law & Order: SVU, The Good Wife, Nurse Jackie, and Madam Secretary (among others). We should definitely see more of Vanessa Aspillaga on Only Murders in the Building; the show was renewed for a third season!

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