Alright. Here we go! Things are getting a bit more interesting on Pulang Araw. And of course it’s because the war has arrived in the Philippines. I think this week’s episodes did a good job of depicting the mix of chaos and uncertainty in the hours and days after the initial attacks by the Japanese forces.
I think the biggest takeaway from this week is that there’s really evil on all sides. As we saw of course first with Uncle Lauro and his goons murdering innocent people and then obviously Lt. Col. Yuta and other high-ranking Japanese officers relishing in the death of Filipinos and Americans alike.
But even more importantly, showing again how it’s the innocents who suffer the most in times of war.
It was very emotional watching the innocent Japanese civilians getting rounded up and treated horribly by the Filipino and American soldiers. Like when the grandma and the little boy didn’t have enough water. Or even just the Japanese civilians speaking to each other in Japanese drawing rebuke from the soldiers.
For now, Filipino civilians aren’t yet experiencing the worst. So it’s also hard watching the sort of calmer reactions and maybe even lack of urgency from many Filipinos knowing what’s ahead for them.
Now, aside from the aftermath of the initial attacks, the main driver of the plot this week was Mama Tanaka’s murder. I think the show did a good job with Eduardo and Uncle Lauro’s confrontation scene. Eduardo was of course completely justified in confronting his murderous uncle. And you can understand Auntie Amalia’s defense of her husband, even though you know she probably wouldn’t care who is killed so long as they get the money they needed.
But again, all of that is part of the setup for the horrors these characters will endure moving forward. They are still oblivious to what this war will truly bring to their lives. So watching any teleserye, including Pulang Araw, definitely requires a major investment. And the hope of course is that it is all leading to satisfying end results.
I will say, my one criticism for this week I guess relates again to the teleserye format. There’s still some jarring pacing issues. Particularly during the episode where Eduardo and Julio visit Hiroshi to tell him about his mother. The focus of that entire section of the episode should’ve been on just them. No cut in to the sisters sharing a laugh. No random scene about the Japanese guys and flies that could absolutely have been saved for later.
The jumping back and forth between those scenes really took away from the weight and emotion of what should be the more important scene. Those cut ins really diminished the impact of what was a heavy and heartbreaking moment. And it would’ve been a really standout moment too.
Both scenes could’ve been saved for later. There was really no need to take the focus away from that moment. And not only was it a disservice to the moment, but also to the actors too.
Alden Richards and David Licauco were quite good in that scene. David Licauco particularly is okay as an actor. But this scene was a huge opportunity for him and I think he delivered one of his stronger performances so far (across all the series I’ve seen him in; Maria Clara at Ibarra, Mano Po Legacy, etc). So the way this scene was presented kind of undermined his performance and the scene itself. That’s too bad.
But hopefully future opportunities for all the actors, especially our Core4, aren’t held back by editing and presentation choices.
I think the contrast to that scene and an example of a scene being presented better was the sequence at the cemetery. Of course, all the main characters were there. But there wasn’t any unnecessary jump to Lt. Col. Yuta. Or Mama Carmela listening to the radio. The focus was rightly on the emotional moments at Mama Tanaka’s burial. And it was the most impactful section this week.
I think that scene was the best character-driven scene for our Core4 throughout these first six weeks of the series. We could see each of Eduardo, Adelina, Teresita and Hiroshi’s characters, where they’ve come from, where they are now in this time of chaos and hints at where they might be going moving forward. Really nice performances from all four as well. With good support from the veteran Epy Quizon too.
Another performance I’d like to applaud this week is Jay Ortega as Akio Watanabe. He’s been sort of a quiet scene stealer as the hardline Japanese operative. Before the arrival of Dennis Trillo’s Lt. Col. Yuta, Akio has served as the negative counterpart to the more positive Tanakas. And the most direct example of the impending Japanese threat.
I’m interested in seeing if we get to see more of Akio vs. Yuta in the future. Adding some depth to the other Japanese characters such as them can go a long way to support the many potential dynamics of the series. There’s a case in making the Japanese invaders as simple moustache-twirling villains. But really exploring these characters and their thought process and background, especially culturally, can boost the stories of our Core4 and the Filipino people as a whole too during the war.
Overall, I think this was still the strongest week so far. It’s kind of crazy that we’re already at Week 6 heading into Week 7! Which brings us closer to the midpoint of the series. I can only hope the momentum keeps moving on this upward trajectory.