ROSALES. Given more opportunities to remind everyone of his exceptional thespic gift.
ON “MY Legal Wife,” which is on its last two weeks and counting, the good news is that male lead Jericho Rosales is finally being given more opportunities to remind everyone of his exceptional thespic gift.
When he cheated on Angel Locsin with Maja Salvador, his “guilt” put him on the abashed defensive, so the male point of view in relation to marital infidelity couldn’t more actively kick in. However, now that Angel unilaterally kept their children away from him by living abroad, Jericho’s character has good reason to get angry himself, because she deprived him of his rights as a father.
Thus, Jericho’s portrayal has become more proactive and aggrieved, so he’s able to match Angel’s strong emotions as the feisty drama series rushes to its conclusion.
As for Maja, she’s still unable to keep up with her costars, so we hope that her character will also be able to dramatically come into her own before the series writes, “The End.”
On “Dyesebel,” it’s interesting to see that Sam Milby’s “merman” character is now shaping up as a vindictive villain or antihero in the series, since he’s smarting from the fact that the drama’s heroine has chosen her human lover, played by Gerald Anderson, over him.
Productive route
Come to think of it, Sam also went the antihero route in his last teleserye, so we hope that this doesn’t get to be a habit for him. Yes, villains often have more interesting and colorful things to do than stock and often boring romantic leading men, but greater variety (villain now, hero next time) would be a more productive and less “typecast” route to go for Sam’s career.
Finally, we hope that Sam really learns how to speak Filipino, so that it’s no longer a distracting issue by the time he makes his next film.
On “Be Careful with My Heart,” the daily show has been telecasting for many months, so its writers are hard-pressed thinking up interesting plot twists and new characters to keep the long-running show fairly humming along.
Fine, but we wish that Aiza Seguerra’s character would figure more importantly in upcoming episodes, since she’s a reliably interesting performer. Instead of going with untested newcomers, why not give “Kute” more to do?
Finally, we must note that, despite all sorts of incidental “problems” that cause Sir Chief’s expanded family occasional cause for concern, the extended series’ “perfect fantasy” audience appeal remains stolidly steadfast. He’s still the perfect boss and husband that all maids and many other fantasticating women dream of ending up with.
Trouble is, the character is so unrealistically perfect that actor Richard Yap hasn’t been given the thespic elbow room to come up with enough edge and bite to his portrayal to convince viewers that he has it in him to become an exceptional performer. When will he be allowed to do that?