As “Ang Probinsyano” swung into its December and Christmas shows, it got “curiouser and curiouser,” finally killing off its heretofore invincible villain, portrayed by Albert Martinez.
But, his death in prison didn’t have the expected consequence of hastening the overstaying series’ conclusion. The show is still a top-rater, so there’s more big-bucks lucre to be made.
Xymon Pineda as Onyok
Therefore, the series has gone in for new plot twists to extend its storytelling, the latest of which focuses on the street-smart character played by child actor Xymon Pineda—who inexplicably ends up living in prison, along with his surrogate dad, Coco Martin’s character, and scores of other hardened jailbirds.
Now, we know that some jails for female convicts do allow for the occasional kid to live with his jailed mother, but Coco’s prison is for men, so what’s going on?
It turns out that prison officials and guards aren’t supposed to know about the kid’s existence in their tightly guarded facility, they’ve been illogically kept in the dark about it for days—so, what else is new?
But viewers put up with the highly improbable twist, because it’s resulted in part in droll scenes in which the errant tyke “teaches” the hardened hoods how to pray, be nice to one another, and other emotionally goose-bumpy viewing experiences. “From the mouth of babes,” and all that, so who cares if it’s not to be believed?
Besides, the touching scenes were played out just in time for Christmas viewing, so anybody who criticized them on point of logic and believability was an old Scrooge and crusty curmudgeon (ouch!) who deserved to be sentenced to two months in solitary confinement!
Dindo Arroyo (left) and Coco Martin in “Ang Probinsyano”
One aspect of its storytelling and casting that the series has gotten right is its spot-on selection of the character actor who’s now the prison’s head (Dindo Arroyo).
It’s been established that he’s a top torturer who’s been promoted to the top post so he can make life even more of a living hell for Coco’s character. And that he won’t stop tormenting the drama’s hero until he’s dead.
We know that won’t happen, but the character actor now playing the prison boss is so effectively nasty and evil that he strikes fear in viewers’ hearts, boosting the show’s essential fear factor, which has been poorly served by some of its other resident villains.
So, bully for the new bully and nemesis as he does his worst, and we wonder how Coco will survive his latest onslaughts!
The big question now is what’s in store for the show after 2016? Will it keep getting profitably extended with new “chapters” and characters, or will it read the handwriting on the wall and conclude its now predictable storytelling?
Logically, it’s clear that it’s time to end on a high note, but TV ratings have their own kind of “logic,” so only the production’s “close-in” insiders know for sure! What do you think?