‘Pag-ibig’ adjusts focus as it eases into its concluding chapter
VARGAS AND ROMANA. The inspiring show has added to their thespic cachet.
As “Ikaw ay Pag-ibig” ever so slowly eases into its concluding “chapter,” we are struck by how the inspirational and “seasonal” series has periodically been adjusting its focus in the past, few weeks. Originally promoted as a “Christmas” series of limited time duration, the show may have become too popular for its own good.
As a Yuletide miniseries, we expected it to wrap up its inspiring story just in time for Christmas Eve. —But, here we are, writing this piece on January 11, and the series has yet to air its final telecast. When will it end? We really can’t say for sure.
Own timeline
Its plot still has a strong Yuletide flavor, however, so it’s likely that, by its own timeline, its storytelling will end on its own version of Christmas Eve. Well, we’ll continue to watch until everything has been tied up into a nice, neat, inspiring Christmas package—even if its final telecast is, how best to put it?—anticlimactic.
At this point, going by the show’s subjective body clock, each of its orphaned angels has found a welcoming home, except Zaijian Jaranilla’s character. But, everybody and his yaya knows that his birth mother (in the person of Dimples Romana’s character) is only a hug away—so, could they hurry up and effect their long-delayed reunion, please?
But, it really is too bad that the series didn’t end with its Christmas Eve episode, as perhaps originally intended, because it would have given everyone perfectly-timed goosebumps. It would also have avoided the “stretched” feeling we sometimes get as we quite regularly view the show, and made its storytelling more of an organic piece.
To be sure, the show has consequently had more time to develop some of its subplots in greater detail, and its other child stars have been given more opportunities to make a good impression on viewers.
Impression
Sometimes, however, the impression made is not quite all that spot-on, especially when the kids are made to mouth excessively wise and mature musings on life. We do wish that, in their efforts to come up with moving, significant and “poetic” dialogue to make the show more inspirational, the show’s writers had reminded themselves that they were writing for kids, not pint-sized philosophers.
Actually, it’s difficult to write believable dialogue for child characters, so by going prolixly poetic, the writers took the facile way out. —Well, welcome to the wonderful world of local TV, where things have to be done as expediently as possible!
Still and all, we look forward to the series’ actual ending, which we presume will come before the month ends and Valentine’s Day makes its palpitating presence felt.
And, no matter how the show actually ends, it can bask in viewers’ estimation of it as the most inspiring drama on the tube. In addition, it had added to the thespic cachet of its young leads and some adult performers like Dimples and Alfred Vargas.
We trust that the series’ success will encourage other channels to also come up with genuinely inspiring dramas to warm viewers’ hearts and revive their optimism in the inherent goodness of life and people—despite all of the downbeat “evidence” to the contrary!
