Indecisive characters can’t win viewers’ trust

Cristine Reyes, Zanjoe Marudo

Ongoing drama series on TV provide instructive examples of how indecisive scripting and/or portrayal of key characters can weaken their impact on viewers, and inhibit them from attaining viewers’ all-important empathy and trust.

On “Tubig at Langis,” poor Cristine Reyes is being shabbily treated by the mata-pobre mother and sister of her husband (Zanjoe Marudo), and viewers are getting ticked off with him, because he isn’t doing anything decisive to solve the problem!

There was a time when he finally decided to leave his wealthy mother’s huge but unwelcoming house, and thus put a stop to his beloved wife’s misery, so viewers breathed a sigh of relief. At long last, the clueless lug was acting like a man and the head of his household!

Unfortunately, it appears that he was talked out of his finally enlightened decision—so, the last time we caught the show, Cristine was still being savaged by his unrepentant “monster” mom and sadistic sis.

Truly protective

This indecisiveness is bad for Zanjoe in particular and the drama series in general, because viewers expect male dramatic leads to be more assertive and truly protective of the women they profess to love.

So, the sooner Zanjoe is made to manfully live up to this key expectation, the better for everyone involved in the show!

Another example of debilitating indecisiveness is currently playing itself out on “Ang Probinsyano,” where Coco Martin’s heroic cop character is being razzed to breaking point by the new character played by Anne Curtis.

Coco Martin and Anne Curtis

She’s a rich, spoiled and hugely unhappy designer whose sad backstory has made her vengeful to a fault—and she takes her unhappiness out on everybody around her, whom she treats with cruel, vituperative scorn.

First off, the appallingly antagonistic character is improbable in this age of the instantly reactive and chastising social media. But, even if such a publicly hateful person could really exist, our point in this instance is not about her, but about Coco’s character’s less than manful and decisive way of dealing with her.

He’s been tasked with providing security for her due to some kidnappers’ threats, but she keeps insultingly eluding his “protection” and disobeying him with scornful impunity, so he finally quits—and viewers cheer his perfectly understandable decision.

Unfortunately, like Zanjoe in his series, Coco in “Ang Probinsyano” is talked into giving Anne’s nasty character another chance.

The argument that convinces him is of the “How would you feel if her life is really endangered, and you weren’t around to save her?”

Instead of rejecting the specious argument, Coco is made to change his mind, so he’s still reeling from Anne’s vicious tirades—except that they’re now starting to “feel something” for each other, despite their hot and heavy “hate-hate” relationship.

How much longer will this improbably indecisive situation last? The fact that it’s being made to happen to the two series’ male protagonists only makes it more untenable.

So, guys, stop pussyfooting “understandingly” around—and make up your indecisive minds!