After Thursday and Friday's shows the speculation about Pilar's past has renewed and intensified. Unlike most of the other characters on the show, who have detailed pasts, which we glimpse from time to time. Pilar, however, remains an engima. Her past is a mystery that remains hidden from us and the hints that we recieve only arouses our curosity even more. I have come up with a few ideas about Who Pilar is and where she comes from.
Pilar is from Spain. There have been repeated references to Spain being the 'old country'. That her family; parents, brothers, sisters and cousins live there and that Pilar has not seen them in years. The one exception to this is Marie, Pilar's sister, who lives in another state and with whom Paloma, Luis' sister, is living. Beyond that, we know next to nothing about her family. There has been no mention of either Pilar or Martin's families helping them when Martin disappeared.

Pilar married Martin Fitzgerald when she was 17-19 years old. Theresa reminded Pilar of this when she was telling Pilar that she was old enough to really be in love with Ethan. When, Where and How she and Martin met and fell in love is, at this time, unknown. She and Martin were married in Saint Mary of Margarets Church, in Harmony, 31-33 years ago. Theresa showed Ethan the marriage record at Christmas last year. Also Pilar is no stranger to arranged marriages and how they work. She has seen this with Ivy and Julian and perhaps with other of the Winthrop children, or during her years of service to both the Winthrops and the Cranes. Perhaps, she has even seen this in her own family as well.

What was it that brought Pilar to the U.S.? Did she come here to go to school, to escape an arranged marriage, to be with Martin, to work, or is it some combination of these reasons? We do not know. I suppose that the case could be made that she was born here, but I doubt that this is true. I believe that Pilar immigrated to the US and became a naturalized citizen after marrying Martin. Was she working for the Winthrops before or after she married Martin? Again, we do not know.

Pilar worked for the Winthrops before working for the Cranes. She was a maid in their household and perhaps Ivy's personal maid. She was there long enough to see all of Ivy and Sam's love affair and long enough before that, for Ivy to trust her with the secret of this affair. When Ivy married Julian, she brought Pilar with her to the Crane Mansion, but this was not where her involvement with the Cranes began.

Pilar was introduced to the Cranes while she was working for the Winthrops. I can see Alistair and Mrs. Crane visiting the Winthrop family, planning the marriage of Ivy to Julian. Coordinating their efforts to the benefit their mutual goals and empires. While we know nothing about Mrs. Crane, I have always pictured her as a good, kind and loving woman, appalled at Alistair's cold hearted ways. At this time, Sheridan would be an infant and Mrs. Crane would have needed help with her during these visits and Pilar could have been the one to help her. However, this relationship with Mrs. Crane could have gone back even farther, to before she became pregant with Sheridan. Pilar may know the truth of Sheridan's paternity, whether or not she is Alistair's child or someone elses. Hence the reference to the Cranes being ruthless when it comes to Love, because Pilar saw what Alistair did to punish Mrs. Crane's lover.

Anyways, Mrs. Crane was impressed with Pilar and welcomed the opportunity to have her join the Crane Household Staff. I would be suprised if Mrs. Crane didn't try to hire Pilar away from the Winthrops. I do think that she suggested to Ivy that she should bring Pilar with her, as her personal maid. That she encouraged the Winthrops to let Ivy do this. It was Mrs. Crane who had Pilar move her family into the cottage, turning a guest cottage into Servants Quarters. This gave Pilar a place to stay with easy access to the mansion and her mistresses, Ivy and Mrs. Crane. It may have been Mrs. Crane who appointed Pilar the Housekeeper of the Crane Mansion or she suggested to Ivy, to do this. I really believe that Mrs. Crane respected, trusted and approved of Pilar, because if she hadn't, then Pilar would have never joined the household staff while she lived. We know that this isn't the case.

So, Pilar went to work for the Cranes. She and her family lived in the cottage until Martin disappeared and Alistair kicked them out. Sherian and later Ethan came to see Pilar as a second mother to them. Giving them and the other Crane children the love and support that is so lacking in this family. There may have been a time when Luis and Sheridan were playmates. There may even have been a time when Mrs. Crane personally knew and played with each of Pilar's children. (I would love to see Sheridan find some old photos of Luis and her Mother together.)

The most recent flashbacks of Martin before disappearing, showed Pilar dancing with Martin. She was full of life, happy and very much in love. I think that it is safe to say that Martin is the Love of her Life and her soulmate. Pilar has spent 15 years waiting, hoping and praying for Martin to return to her and their family one day. Such devotion makes me believe that all of the speculation about her having an affair at some point during her marriage is foundless. However, it does support the idea that she may have gone against her family's wishes to be with Martin, to marry him.

Travis Schultz (Ethan) in a recent chat mentioned his belief that the Lopez-Fitzgeralds were blue bloods from before. If this is the case, then Martin, Pilar or both of them are from High Society Families or of Noble Houses. Remember, we know less about the Fitzgerald family then we do of Pilar's family. We know that Pilar has a sister, which is more than we can say of Martin. Pilar and Martin married for Love and most likely against the wishes of their respective families. Pilar and or Martin may have been disowned and disinherited for marrying each other. This could explain why there is no mention of either of the respective families helping Pilar after Martin disappeared.

It is possible that Pilar is the daughter of a Spanish Noble family or that of a sucessfull Spanish businessman / tycoon. That at one point in time she was engaged to a man she did not love, an arranged marriage and she ran away to escape it. That she ran away to be with Martin, the man she loved. Continuing along these lines, Pilar may not be Pilar. She could have taken her mother's maiden name or even the idenity of one of her cousins, as her own when she ran away. Of course, the very same things can be said of Martin as well.

Right now, it is all just speculation on our parts. We will have to wait for JER to reveal the rest to us in his own sweet time. Pilar is an interesting character. Most of the time, all we see is this plain, respectful and loyal servant to the Cranes. The good and loving mother who has the best interests of her children in her heart. Then we see this strong indenpdent woman, who can confront the mighty Julian Crane and without raising her voice, without using a harsh tone and in a totally respectful manner, tell Julian off. Leaving Julian rushing for the booze or to the phone to call Alistair. When she dresses up, either in a party uniform or a nice dress for a special occasion, she becomes a beautiful, attractive woman. Pilar needs more involvement in the storylines and a good storyline of her own. Hopefully, JER will deliver this to us soon.

As I said, it's all just speculation. I have shared some of my speculations and theories about Pilar. What do you think? Who do you think Pilar is?