Since the start of the show, Pilar has been one of the few characters that has remained a mystery to the viewers. Aside from the fact that her husband, Martin, disappeared some 15 years ago, very little is known about her past. I have written about this a while back and it can still be found on the Theories Board. When looking at her past, you are always left with more questions than answers.
However, this is not what I want to talk about. It is her seemingly Hypocritical stand on the truth and her family. How she has enabled Theresa to pursue Ethan by her inactions, while vocally opposing her actions. Concealing from Ethan, Ivy, Gwen and Luis, to name a few, what Theresa was up to. Then you have her being Grace's friend while Ivy is out to destroy her marriage and not telling Grace the truth, not stopping Ivy. I think that I have an understanding of why this is, why Pilar seems to be hypocritical in this way.

Pilar is a private person, she does not wear her heart on her sleeve and she is a strong woman. Strong in will, strong in pride. She has strived to maintain a clear seperation, distinction between her personal life and her professional life. What happens in the Crane mansion, with the Crane family, stays in the mansion, in the family. What happens in her personal life, stays in her personal life. Pilar does not discuess with her family and friends the goings on in the Crane mansion. Nor does she discuess things about her family and friends with the Cranes.

Ivy, with whom Pilar shares a close and personal bond, which goes beyond employer & employee, knew next to nothing about Pilar's family. When Luis interupted Ivy's target practice, when she found Julian in bed with Suzanne, she did not recognise him. Although, Ivy knew that one of Pilar's sons was a police officer, she didn't recognise Luis when she met him. Nor did she know, recognise, Theresa when she met her. Ivy didn't know Pilar's children, because Pilar hardly ever discuessed them with Ivy. Luis' anger towards the Cranes came as a suprise to Ivy, eventhough nearly everyone in Harmony knew about it. Then there was when Martin disappeared, Ivy only learned about his disappearance, when she found Pilar crying in the pantry a couple of days afterwards. What was personal to Pilar remained personal to Pilar.

Eventhough, Theresa wanted to know about the Cranes and their lives. Pilar never painted her a picture of the Cranes. She did not discuess Julian's numerous infidelities, Ivy's loney and loveless marriage nor did she discuess any of questionable activities of the Cranes with her or with Luis. Pilar kept Theresa and Miguel away from the mansion and discouraged Luis from going there as well. The same can be said about her relationship with Sam and Grace. Eventhough the Bennett children and the Lopez-Fitzgerald children grew up side by side. Pilar never discuessed the Cranes with them or them with the Cranes.

When the show started this distinction between personal and professional lives became blurred. Luis started to bump heads with the Cranes and became entangled with Sheridan Crane. Theresa, well Theresa started her pursuit of Ethan, taking a job with Ivy as her personal assistant to be close to Ethan. Theresa's actions forced Pilar into a position where she could only stop her by betraying a trust, and by bringing that which was personal into her professional life. While it would only taking a couple of words to Ivy about Theresa's crush and dream of becoming Mrs. Ethan Crane to end Theresa's access to the mansion, but it would have betrayed Theresa to Ivy. Or with a few words to Luis about where Theresa is working, to thesame result, but this would have betrayed both Theresa and Ivy. While Pilar protected Theresa's intentions from the Cranes, she repeatedly encouraged, pleaded with, asked and even told Theresa to quit he job and to give up her pursuit of Ethan. The only way for Pilar to stop her would have been to betray her and she could not do that.

Look at Ivy's pursuit of Sam. Pilar did with Ivy what she did with Theresa. She pleaded and begged and warned Ivy not to do this. Yet all it would take is for Pilar to tell Grace the real reason why Ivy was trying to be her friend to stop this. Or for her to go to Julian or Alistair with the reason as well. Any of these actions would have been a betrayal. Ivy never asked Pilar for info on Grace, for Pilar to spy on Grace for her. This is because she knew that Pilar would not do this. Not for her, not for anyone. Pilar even tried to stop Ivy from blackmailing Eve, but was unable to. Ivy did not hold this against Pilar, but respected her for it.

I believe that this is one of the reasons way Pilar is still working for Ivy, that Alistair still allows Pilar to work for Ivy. I would say that Alistair respects Pilar more then he does Julian, except that Alistair respects soapscum more then her respects Julian. But it is safe to say that Alistair does respect Pilar. Her integrity, loyalty and discrestion are things that he respects and makes her an ideal employee for the Crane family. If she wasn't working for Ivy, Alistair might have hired her himself. Alistair has commented to Julian more than once that there was more to Pilar then Julian thought and praised her inteligence.

To me, Pilar is someone that you can trust with your deepest darkest secrets, the lives of your children, with your heart, with your soul and be confident that she will never betray you. Never let you down. She is discreet, honest and loyal. She has integrity, which is so lacking in so many of the characters on soaps. However, it is this integrity that is her greatest problem. Theresa and Ivy have both used this against her. Not intentionally, perhaps not even knowingly, but they have. Theresa counted on Pilar not to betray her to Ivy, to Ethan, to Gwen, to Luis and so she asked her not to expose her and to lied to her about her intentions and actions. Ivy counted on this discretion as well, in her pursuit of Sam. Thus leaving Pilar in situations that makes her out to be a hypocrite.

Until we learn more about her past, her family. We will not know how Pilar became the woman she is. Who instilled this strong sense of integrity in her. Where she learned the, as Julian described it, Old World Servant mentality, keeping her mistresses secrets even to the point of taking them with her to the grave. The discretion that Julain and others on the show are so glaringly lacking in, and mockingly look down on, comes from some place and I would like to see from where.

I hope that my thoughts on Pilar have been helpfull to you. I'm having a hard time explaining and understanding her myself at times. But I do feel that it is her integrity and her discretion that defines her the most. They are her greatest strenghts and her greatest weaknesses.

What do you think?