The romantic comedy drama ‘Forevermore’
about young love, which had blossomed in the cold foggy mountains in Benguet, was a huge hit. For the average Filipino viewer,
the show has all the elements of a feel good night treat – beautiful mestizo/mestiza
cast, picturesque setting, the underdog vs. powerful
conflict, third parties, and a bit of comic relief (thanks mostly to Bangky and
that cute kid). Undeniably, we can’t blame the women in the house and the neighborhood for usurping the television every night, to the men’s errr... ‘prejudice’.
With
all the anticipation of a promised great ending, the drama finale, unfortunately,
turned out to be no more than a corny, half-baked, and poorly written script to
convince us that the “forevermore” title was justified in the end. “That’s it?”
the young kid in our neighborhood mused. Yup, Xander shouts “may forever pala!”
and automatically there is forever. Somehow, it felt forced.
The
favorite hobby of most men when women watch soap operas is to pester them; give
common predictions, criticize the characters’ sloppy lines, point out errors in
the story line continuity – it is in this moments that men shine to momentarily
become art and TV show critics, philosophers, and what have you, all to
convince the women to switch the channel to the NBA highlights.
Fortunately
or unfortunately, we watched most or some parts of it, and we can only imagine
alternative endings that will save the story in our minds. Here are three better
(or perhaps outrageous) finales (at least for the average guy) for the undoubtedly
successful and engrossing show:
1.
Xander and Alex (Erich) got married and
had babies, while Agnes went on to have a family of her own and successful career in
Japan.
-
After
30 years or so, they will unexpectedly meet each other in La Presa (with
older faces and talk about the places they’ve been…yup, that ‘maybe this time’
song haha). They won’t rekindle their romance, however, since they already have
families of their own. But they do talk for the longest time, reminiscing the
past (with flashback effects). Then, they part ways without glancing back and
realize (maybe through narration) that what they “had” many years ago is pure
love and will never fade ‘forevermore’.
2.
Xander and the La Presa people found out
that the drained water-supply was caused by a certain politician who excavated a
whole mountain, violence erupted and Xander died protecting Agnes.
-
I’m
not a bit happy for how the writers seem to have defended an environmental
rapist. The least that they could’ve done is to show the importance of
watersheds in relation to the water supply. Maybe, connect them somehow to the soap
villains as conspirators to the crime. The hoodlums of the politician drove
them away with violence (just like the real news), and superman (Xander) is
there for the rescue, sacrificing his life to protect Agnes. After 30 years, a
married Agnes visits Xander’s grave admitting that her love for him will always
be there. That, it is true love ‘forevermore’.
3.
Agnes lost her memory in an accident in
the forest. From then, Xander spends forevermore loving, and reminding her that
their love is forever.
-
Agnes
who got lost in the forest (ironically) hit her head and wandered around
without memory. She was later found by Xander and the La Presa people
unconscious. The damage was done, she suffers from anterograde amnesia (like
the 50 first date movie) waking up every day thinking that Xander betrayed her.
Of course, Xander will spend forever convincing and showing Agnes that he
really loves her ‘forevermore’.
Anyone
who have read or watched a Nicholas Sparks’ work would understand what I am
driving in to. Sometimes, tragedy can romanticize everything. Sometimes, loss
and misery can make stories more realistic and beautiful.
However
I also understand why most TV soaps would not dare to have any of these as
their finale. Maybe it is not that the scriptwriters lack talent, but maybe
they are only giving what the population want – a fairytale ending where the protagonists
live happily ever after and villains go to jail.
For the common Filipino people,
there is already too much drama, loss, and tragedy in their real lives, too much
bad news in the media, too much stress and pressure in work, and to pile more
to their psyche may bury them to depression. They need a happy convenient
ending, regardless of how senseless it will be, because most of the time they only turn the box for one thing --- to make
them feel better.
__________________________________:)___________________________________
