Also, Kim just became so unbearable to me as I neared the end. She just gets so easily annoyed at Brandon and it just seems like she’s taken him for granted. You know, for someone who spent nine years with him, it sure doesn’t seem like it. She said that she knows all of his good and bad, his flaws and imperfections so that suggests she knows him deeper than anyone else would which would then imply she knows what makes him tick and so she doesn’t really get pissed off that easily by something inconsequential. Nope. She got annoyed by him always delegating his tasks and how he never does anything by himself. Oh, but did you forget? He’s the Vice Chairman of Prime Alpha so he’s got a lot of tasks that he can’t do by himself. She got pissed off when he couldn’t make it to the food tasting of their wedding and I understand that but it also just seems like she’s completely disregarded the fact that he was in the middle of a meeting. It’s not like he could up and leave in the middle of it. And when they argued about the wedding planning because of how hectic their schedules had become, she got angry and talked about how her schedule's all messy and how she’s always tired because she’s always got something to do. Well, darling, so does he.
To move away from the incredible mess that Kim, Brandon, and Cyrus are, let’s talk about the rest. There’s nothing wrong much with Sarah, Steph, Jordy, Walter, Kim Marie, and Roni. Sure, Steph pissed me off a couple of times. Why? Because she told Jordy not to put any meaning in their relationship after hooking up with him but when she saw him amiably talking to someone else, she got pissed off and was an asshole towards the guy who only wanted to continue being friendly with her because that’s what she wanted. When things boiled over, he asked if she’s the only one with the right to get angry when everything was unfair and she unashamedly, with full conviction, told him yes.
Surprisingly, Roni and Kim Marie are the only ones I consistently liked unlike their South Korean counterparts, Gwi-nam and Ji-a. Sir Walter is a delight and Sarah and Baldo are okay.
But I cannot ignore how neglected they were. The other thing I thoroughly loved about the South Korean drama was that the subplots were given attention. We see the ups and downs of their relationships in between Young-joon and Mi-so’s. I’d say they were more fleshed out than the subplots here. They were so badly neglected that we barely get anything until a rush job at the last episode which still sounds like such a reach. For a show that ran for 40 episodes, they sure couldn’t find a way to squeeze in the subplots. Gwi-nam and Ji-a at least knew they had feelings for each other and in the last episode of the South Korean drama, Gwi-nam actually took the steps to be more lax and willing to be in a relationship which implies they’d begin a relationship. Yang Cheol and Bong Se-ra’s relationship has only further improved. And while I don’t really approve of Park Yoo-shik and Choi Seo-jin’s relationship, at least we see them get back together. Here, Roni and Kim Marie still haven’t confessed to each other but it’s clear they’re attracted to each other which makes how he found out about her ‘confessing’ almost ridiculous. Baldo and Sarah don’t even have as much screen time together except for a few scenes clearly inspired by the South Korean drama. Philip and Laura’s relationship ends with Philip getting a call from Laura asking him to join her for dinner. Don’t get me started on Jordy and Steph. Christ, we don’t even know where their relationship is headed because they ‘announced’ their relationship to cover up Brandon and Kim’s, so I don’t even trust the implications of them starting an actual relationship.
But holy crap, Paulo Avelino’s acting. I was most surprised by his because I am already aware and in awe of how good Kim Chiu and Jake Cuenca are as actors but Paulo? I didn’t know he had that kind of range. He could do anger, he could do cocky, he could do subtle flirtation good but the breakdowns, the tears, the panic, the desperation? Not to mention the puppy eyes and small pouts. That got me surprised and it fed me! Sounds weird, but let’s go with it. Although, I don’t know why the hell Jake Cuenca portrayed Cyrus as a suspicious person in his first appearances. Like, ‘suspicious man who won’t stop talking to you and won’t take the hint’ vibe. I didn’t even doubt the veteran actors. Obviously, they’re good. Oh, and Race Matias, despite his character being a foil for the plot, did so well as the determined reporter Troy Sebastian.
However, I do feel the need to point out that Brandon does not give off ‘narcissist’ so I feel that calling him a narcissist would be mislabelling him. At most, he just comes off as vain and confident to the point of being cocky. Kim doesn’t seem like an actual workaholic. The show also tries to tell us that she resents him and doesn’t like how narcissistic he is but that doesn’t match with how Kim is portrayed in the series. And, well, the sisters, Kla and Kat, suffered the same trajectory as the show: Starting off good and falling so low. By the end of the show, I was just sick of them.
To conclude, I had high expectations which clearly backfired on me. I got so high from all the hopes I had and fell down so low until there was nothing left. I thought this would be the first Filipino adaptation of a South Korean drama I would wholeheartedly, entirely enjoy and love. It seems that isn’t the case. I don’t understand how strong this started until the momentum kind of killed itself and threw itself over a cliff. The show also struggled with showing, not telling because sometimes, they told us what happened instead of showing us. What kept me going throughout all this was Team Bida Best, the acting of the main cast, and, on occasion when she’s likeable, Brandon and Kim. Needless to say, I won’t be going back to this, lest I feel the desire to slowly drain myself.
Also, Kim just became so unbearable to me as I neared the end. She just gets so easily annoyed at Brandon and it just seems like she’s taken him for granted. You know, for someone who spent nine years with him, it sure doesn’t seem like it. She said that she knows all of his good and bad, his flaws and imperfections so that suggests she knows him deeper than anyone else would which would then imply she knows what makes him tick and so she doesn’t really get pissed off that easily by something inconsequential. Nope. She got annoyed by him always delegating his tasks and how he never does anything by himself. Oh, but did you forget? He’s the Vice Chairman of Prime Alpha so he’s got a lot of tasks that he can’t do by himself. She got pissed off when he couldn’t make it to the food tasting of their wedding and I understand that but it also just seems like she’s completely disregarded the fact that he was in the middle of a meeting. It’s not like he could up and leave in the middle of it. And when they argued about the wedding planning because of how hectic their schedules had become, she got angry and talked about how her schedule's all messy and how she’s always tired because she’s always got something to do. Well, darling, so does he.
To move away from the incredible mess that Kim, Brandon, and Cyrus are, let’s talk about the rest. There’s nothing wrong much with Sarah, Steph, Jordy, Walter, Kim Marie, and Roni. Sure, Steph pissed me off a couple of times. Why? Because she told Jordy not to put any meaning in their relationship after hooking up with him but when she saw him amiably talking to someone else, she got pissed off and was an asshole towards the guy who only wanted to continue being friendly with her because that’s what she wanted. When things boiled over, he asked if she’s the only one with the right to get angry when everything was unfair and she unashamedly, with full conviction, told him yes.
Surprisingly, Roni and Kim Marie are the only ones I consistently liked unlike their South Korean counterparts, Gwi-nam and Ji-a. Sir Walter is a delight and Sarah and Baldo are okay.
But I cannot ignore how neglected they were. The other thing I thoroughly loved about the South Korean drama was that the subplots were given attention. We see the ups and downs of their relationships in between Young-joon and Mi-so’s. I’d say they were more fleshed out than the subplots here. They were so badly neglected that we barely get anything until a rush job at the last episode which still sounds like such a reach. For a show that ran for 40 episodes, they sure couldn’t find a way to squeeze in the subplots. Gwi-nam and Ji-a at least knew they had feelings for each other and in the last episode of the South Korean drama, Gwi-nam actually took the steps to be more lax and willing to be in a relationship which implies they’d begin a relationship. Yang Cheol and Bong Se-ra’s relationship has only further improved. And while I don’t really approve of Park Yoo-shik and Choi Seo-jin’s relationship, at least we see them get back together. Here, Roni and Kim Marie still haven’t confessed to each other but it’s clear they’re attracted to each other which makes how he found out about her ‘confessing’ almost ridiculous. Baldo and Sarah don’t even have as much screen time together except for a few scenes clearly inspired by the South Korean drama. Philip and Laura’s relationship ends with Philip getting a call from Laura asking him to join her for dinner. Don’t get me started on Jordy and Steph. Christ, we don’t even know where their relationship is headed because they ‘announced’ their relationship to cover up Brandon and Kim’s, so I don’t even trust the implications of them starting an actual relationship.
But holy crap, Paulo Avelino’s acting. I was most surprised by his because I am already aware and in awe of how good Kim Chiu and Jake Cuenca are as actors but Paulo? I didn’t know he had that kind of range. He could do anger, he could do cocky, he could do subtle flirtation good but the breakdowns, the tears, the panic, the desperation? Not to mention the puppy eyes and small pouts. That got me surprised and it fed me! Sounds weird, but let’s go with it. Although, I don’t know why the hell Jake Cuenca portrayed Cyrus as a suspicious person in his first appearances. Like, ‘suspicious man who won’t stop talking to you and won’t take the hint’ vibe. I didn’t even doubt the veteran actors. Obviously, they’re good. Oh, and Race Matias, despite his character being a foil for the plot, did so well as the determined reporter Troy Sebastian.
However, I do feel the need to point out that Brandon does not give off ‘narcissist’ so I feel that calling him a narcissist would be mislabelling him. At most, he just comes off as vain and confident to the point of being cocky. Kim doesn’t seem like an actual workaholic. The show also tries to tell us that she resents him and doesn’t like how narcissistic he is but that doesn’t match with how Kim is portrayed in the series. And, well, the sisters, Kla and Kat, suffered the same trajectory as the show: Starting off good and falling so low. By the end of the show, I was just sick of them.
To conclude, I had high expectations which clearly backfired on me. I got so high from all the hopes I had and fell down so low until there was nothing left. I thought this would be the first Filipino adaptation of a South Korean drama I would wholeheartedly, entirely enjoy and love. It seems that isn’t the case. I don’t understand how strong this started until the momentum kind of killed itself and threw itself over a cliff. The show also struggled with showing, not telling because sometimes, they told us what happened instead of showing us. What kept me going throughout all this was Team Bida Best, the acting of the main cast, and, on occasion when she’s likeable, Brandon and Kim. Needless to say, I won’t be going back to this, lest I feel the desire to slowly drain myself.