Gone yesterday, back today

Angelica Panganiban

WE WERE minding our own business and watching TV as usual last week when we sat up and thought that we’d seen a ghost! The show in question was “Pangako Sa ’Yo,” and we got “scared” and definitely thrown for a loop, because we again saw the long-dead character of Claudia Buenavista, played by Angelica Panganiban, looking a bit out of sorts and befuddled—but none the worse for physical wear!

Whatever happened to everyone’s certainty that she had kicked the bucket in a violent encounter months ago?

Well, welcome to the wonder-full and confounding world of local teleseryes, where nothing is written in stone and last year’s dead-as-a-doornail villain can eerily, breezily “resurrect” to do her evil worst again!

As of this writing, we still don’t know for sure and in detail how her “resurrection” could be “logically” explained.

But, come to think of it, makers of local drama series don’t feel that they really need to observe the rules of logic, because some or most viewers here are too all-accepting, clueless and babaw to have to set straight about their show’s latest crooked twist and turn.

In the nick of time

In any case, the “undead” character’s confounding comeback does come right in the nick of time, because Amor Powers has now forgiven Ian Veneracion’s character, and the series has generally become too unconflicted to sustain viewers’ attention.

Now that Claudia is back, she can resume tormenting Amor, who will quickly go back to combative and vengeful mode—and the series can heat up again—in time for the series’ climax, and final fade.

It’s really quite frustating how “nice” Jodi Sta. Maria’s Amor Powers has become. Another major distraction is the drama’s current focus on its young leads’ (Daniel Padilla, Kathryn Bernardo, Diego Loyzaga) parallel side story, which often shunts its mature characters’ conflict to the sidelines.

So, despite its improbability, the return of Angelica’s virago screen persona could be good for the show, even if it short-circuits some viewers’ neurons in the process!

Improbable twist

About its improbable “resurrection” twist, it’s by no means alone in going off on that “twerky” tack, because the same thing happened some weeks ago on “Marimar,” where people were sure that the title character portrayed by Megan Young had been killed, not just once but twice (double dead!).

Soon enough, however, she came back as the super-wealthy and sophisticated Bella Aldama—and the rest is hysterectomy—er, hysteria—er, pop history!
So, we shouldn’t be surprised that Angelica is going the same “comeback from beyond the grave” route—because, as local TV drama series go, it’s just par for the cornsarned, confounding course!