KABABAYANS from all over the world shared one common experience last Friday, October 24: watching the finale of “Ikaw Lamang,” as this top-rating teleserye of ABS-CBN came “full circle,” and ended with the opening scene from the March premiere.
As ABS-CBN reported, Ikaw Lamang’s final episode emerged as the most watched TV program in the country. According to data from Kantar Media, the “Full Circle” episode of the series starring Coco Martin and Kim Chiu scored a national TV rating of 34.1%, or 21 points higher compared to its rival program in GMA “Hiram na Alaala” (13.1%).
Aside from the ratings game, ABS-CBN also reported that “Ikaw Lamang” reigned in social networking sites such as Twitter. Its official hashtag #ILFullCircle became the No.1 worldwide trending topic, because of the positive tweets of netizens about the heart-pounding scenes featured in the series finale. On Facebook, I read about speculations about how the story would end.
“Ikaw lamang” has special meaning to me because it was the last teleserye that my Daddy followed closely. Even when we were on our last Skype call as he was in his hospital bed, he nodded when I asked him if he was excited about the plot development of “Ikaw Lamang.” Unfortunately, he died last July 28, before the teleserye ended. Would he have given his seal of approval on the way the drama ended?
In honor of Daddy, I watched “Ikaw lamang” whenever I could in the last two months. I also monitored the conversation on Twitter and Facebook to gauge public opinion and imagination on how this pop art should unfold.
True to formula of a teleserye that hooks its Filipino audience, “Ikaw Lamang” had the following ingredients: love, romance, action, suspense, sibling rivalry, crime, forbidden affair, unrequited love, obsession, fight against social injustice and corruption — all with a dash of humor and comedy every now and then. The series also made sure to end each episode in cliffhanger scenes, so the audience would tune in the next day to know what would happen to the characters. And the music — “Somewhere” and “Ikaw Lamang” would bring tears to every hopeless romantic’s eyes.
Of course personalities are always part of the mix. “Ikaw Lamang” boasted of a strong cast in terms of popularity and acting ability: Coco Martin, Kim Chiu, KC Concepcion, Julia Montes, Jake Cuenca among the the younger ones; and Christopher de Leon, Amy Austria, Joel Torre, Rio Locsin, Mylene Dizon, Ronaldo Valdez, Tirso Cruz III Cherie Gil, Cherry Pie Picaches, Angel Aquino, and John Estrada were among the more seasoned thespians. The child actors/actresses who portrayed the lead characters as children were Zaijan Jaranilla, Xyriel Manabat, Louise Abuel, Alyanna Angeles, Yogo Singh, and Jana Agoncillo.
When Mommy and I talked about it over the phone, she said what I was watching was already Book 2.
The Plot
ABS-CBN described the plot of this master teleserye this way:
In the first minutes of the pilot episode, characters portrayed by Chiu and Martin, apparently strangers, nearly cross paths as they look around an old building.
But in the final scene of “Ikaw Lamang,” the two are revealed to be Andrea and Gabriel after their wedding. After touring the place separately, they meet near the fountain seen in the first episode and share a kiss.
The happy ending, however, did not come easily for the couple. The scene is the culmination of decades of conflict between the respective fathers of Andrea and Gabriel, Franco (Jake Cuenca/Christopher de Leon) and Samuel (Martin/Joel Torre).
Dubbed a master teleserye, “Ikaw Lamang” spanned generations: Book 1 started in the ’60s and ended two decades later. Book 2, which featured a new set of cast, began last August 11 in the year 2005.
Still obsessed with claiming Isabelle (Chiu/Amy Austria) as his wife, Franco kept her captive, along with their daughter Andrea, upon learning that Samuel is still alive years after he plotted his death by setting a ship ablaze.
Samuel and Gabriel’s attempt to save the women they love resulted in Samuel’s death in the hands of Franco. Ultimately, Gabriel avenged his father when Franco accidentally fell off a docked ship as they struggled, and skewered by the hook of a nearby crane.
Andrea and Gabriel’s wedding, as it unfolded, was also the fulfillment of their respective parents’ love story, which started in the small town of Salvacion and endured circumstances that kept Samuel and Isabelle apart.
Under the direction of Malu Sevilla, Manny Palo, and Avel Sunpongco, the master drama series “Ikaw Lamang” is produced by Dreamscape Entertainment Television, the group that created top-rating TV masterpieces such as “Walang Hanggan,” “Ina Kapatid Anak,” and “Juan dela Cruz.”
The Ending
The Filipino Channel’s daily newscast Balitang America asked its TFC viewers: Are you happy about the way the soap “Ikaw Lamang” ended?
Surprisingly, 61 percent of those who voted answered NO. They said “the ending was anti-climactic and very predictable with no big surprises.” Others said “killing the villain does not serve the justice that the characters were seeking for a long time”.
The remaining 39 percent answered YES. They said “the teleserye’s masterful twists were delivered perfectly by the cast.” They were also happy that the good won over evil in the end, and that true love really prevailed.
Many of those who were not happy about the ending, however, asked, “Kailan ang Book 3?”
* * *
Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
